Customer Reviews

The Beatles' Story on Capitol Records, Part One : Beatlemania & The Singles

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If you have any interest at all in The Beatles' American issues, this book is the last word on the 45 rpm singles that changed the way music is packaged, marketed, enjoyed and celebrated. Bruce Spizer takes you on a chronological journey from late 1963 to mid 1968 with a detailed account of how and why Capitol Records packaged their Beatles releases for the US market.

There are many people, who are beginning to discover, collect, and appreciate vintage vinyl and The Beatles' issues are undeniably among the primary treasures. However, since the issuance of only the British catalog titles on compact disc, there has not been a resource available to explain the vintage US releases to collectors, let alone dealers. Numerous rumors, counterfeits, bootleg CDs and other pitfalls have been observed in shops, yard-sales, trading floors and auction houses where records can be found, flooding the market with misinformation and ambiguous facts.

This book, and its counterpart, present itemized and detailed information that is practical in style and rich with color illustrations of labels, sleeves, promotional materials and memoranda. For the very first time, in one publication, anyone can see firsthand what made these records so significant and fun! It is a very easy and enjoyable read from cover to cover and it's also broken into useful sections for brief research.

For all the criticisms that have been made about the Capitol releases, much of which has come from The Beatles themselves, these records were the way millions of Americans had initially discovered the "Fab Four" and a certain amount of that magic can be found in the way the music was graphically presented, remixed and issued. This book provides a thorough and highly competent segmental analysis of a cultural phenomenon that still influences generations.

It's finally here! Simply the best book ever done on the history of the Beatles career on that very colorful 'All-American' record company, 'Capitol Records'! Aptly titled "The Beatles' Story on Capitol Records, Part One: Beatlemania & The Singles", it's hot off the presses and I can't say enough about just how welcome this masterpiece is! I was so thrilled and impressed with this extremely well researched and comprehensive book, that I immediately became immersed in the vast array of changes and variants the Beatles records have realized during their many phenomenal achievements at Capitol Records. I can't say enough about just how truly remarkable this book is! If you have Mr. Spizer's first offering titled 'Song's, Pictures and Stories of the Fabulous Beatles on Vee Jay", you already know how comprehensive Bruce is with his research, text, and illustrations! Every original Beatles Capitol records 45rpm single and picture sleeve from the 1960s is fully illustrated front and back in full color! (also a few significant reissues are covered along with many interesting and supporting record facts!). Once you get past the clever and colorful cover that smartly adopts it's theme from the now classic, 'Beatles' Story' album, you'll soon have your eyes popping at all the many details and label variations that jump off the pages! Here's just a sampling, but by no means, all of the incredible features! ..... ***Includes a really nice foreward by former Capitol Records president and CEO, Alan Livingston (1962-1968) ***Features all of the Beatles' Capitol Records promotionally issued 45s & covers ***Includes high quality full color photos of every record label (both sides! ) and picture sleeves/covers at full scale size! ***There are literally dozens of bonus photos throughout the book featuring items so rare, you'll likely not see most in a lifetime! Such treasures include 'In-Store Promotional Displays', 'Custom Posters' and 'Custom Record Browser Boxes' just to name a very few! ***An extremely useful section is added with great color pictures of all known counterfeits to aid in identification! ***Back inside cover includes a full color spread of the all picture sleeves that accompanied their hit singles ***Great anecdotes and accurate history on every release is offered! You'll also learn of 'Capitol Records' story from the beginning with supporting 'construction phase pictures of the famous 'Capitol Tower' in Hollywood! I could ramble on, but I'd like there to be some super surprises left for you when you see it! Trust me, when you view this book, I'm sure you'll be thoroughly impressed! After seeing this book, I'd have gladly paid double the cover price to own a copy if I had to! This one volume is so comprehensive that the author dedicated the entire book to the singles! 'Part Two: The Albums' will be out on or about Oct./Nov. 2000. I guarantee you this Beatles collector will be anxiously awaiting it's arrival! It's 228 pages of pure Beatles history in a high quality laminated hard cover! My strong advice is to "Buy it! Use it! and become an expert!"

For those who lived through the first wave of Beatlemania, or those who wish they had, this book provides a vivid look at the most important aspect of America's love for the Fab Four: the records. Spizer's well researched text clarifies the sometimes confusing circumstances that allowed Beatles singles to be released on several different labels before Capitol took over with its marketing muscle. The real treat comes in page after page of color photos of rare picture sleeves, promotional materials, even record club marketing of the Beatles. The book is pricey, but every penny is on the pages-- beautifully done! Even if you've been following the Fabs since February 1964, I'll bet you will learn something new and see something you have never seen before in scores of Beatle books.

It's the perfect companion to the Perry Cox price guides! The books of Bruce Spizer play the other side of the record. It's amazing just how much detail is packed in these titles. Painstakingly researched, it's a Beatles' fan dream come true. With Bruce and Perry on the scene, we get it all!!!

Ever since I read Bruce's book about the Beatles on Vee Jay Records, I couldn't wait for him to tackle Capitol Records, too. He has done an outstanding job of explaining the ins and outs of why Capitol released the singles they did. And for those of us who like the technical aspects of different label and package differences, he does not disappoint. I highly recommend this book for all Beatle fans who grew up listening to all those Capitol "manufactured" singles and albums as well as anyone else who wants to know more about an aspect of Beatles' history that is not very well known. Part 2-The Albums will be published this Spring. I can't wait.

After reading the VJ book I couldn't wait to get my hands on this one. This book is complete in every detail about the Beatles history on Capitol. Don't get me started on the graphics, Let me just say that they are quite phenomenal in every way. I'm looking forward to Part 2. Excellent job Bruce!!!

I had heard that Bruce Spizer's books were full of images of record labels, so I wasn't sure I'd be interested in them. A friend of mine who is a serious collector told me this book was the one to start with. As it turns out, it combines lots of new information with a really great trip down memory lane. While I don't find every version of every label particularly interesting, there's a lot in this book that's REALLY great! The opening section on Beatlemania in America is an excellent overview of the subject. The chapters on each of the 45s include great images of picture sleeves and vintage Billboard ads; and Spizer describes in fascinating detail how the songs were written and recorded. It's hard to believe, but Capitol originally intended for "Act Naturally" to be the A side over "Yesterday." This was because in the early days of Beatlemania, Ringo was the most popular Beatle. (I preferred Paul.) This is just one of the great factoids that Spizer writes about and then illustrates - this one with images of Ringo on covers of a comic book and MAD magazine. The last section details how Capitol Records came to be and how the company creatively used merchandising and promotion to sell records (hard to believe the Beatles needed help!) - again, lots of pictures, e.g., actual press kits, etc. Although I skipped over some of the technical information, it's a great reference book besides being a fun read. The information is new, the stories are fascinating and the pictures really help tell the story. This book was completely worth the price - now I'm saving to buy his other ones!

This was the first Bruce Spizer book that I had bought. It is an amazingly enjoybale piece of work to behold. The thoroughness of the man is never in question and the quality of the book puts many others to shame. The label reproductions are wonderful and helpful if you've bought the original US singles. I've since determined that I've probably picked up a couple of fake Beatles 45's along with the bunch of many originals that I acquired a few years back. Buyer beware but that's luck of the draw I suppose and I'll have to search out original equivalents of those forgeries. This book serves so many useful purposes apart from being entertaining and authorative. Now experienced and would-be collectors can purchase originals better educated than before. Overall the quality is superb and Mr. Spizer's books sit in the same class as those of Mark Lewisohn's "Complete Beatles Chronicle" & "Abbey Road" books as well as the massive "Beatles Anthology" tome. While each part stands alone quite well you must buy Part 2 to complete the set as they complemment each other beautifully. I thoroughly recommend these books to any Beatles fan and lovers of Rock Music books.

Noted author and Beatles historian Bruce Spizer has never ceased to amaze me. After the unbelievable critically acclaimed success of his first book "Songs, Pictures And Stories Of The Fabulous Beatles Records On Vee-Jay", his next step was to focus on the Capitol Records releases. Because there were so many of these titles issued by the label during the 60s, it was only natural that he would break it down into 2 volumes. This 1st one is titled "Part One: Beatlemania & The Singles", which explores every released Beatles single in America from "I Want To Hold Your Hand" to "Lady Madonna", and all points in between. Like the "Vee-Jay" book before it, this edition shows every known existing record label variation, picture sleeve and promotional item that pertains to these releases. Of even more interest is the fact that Mr. Spizer has chosen to also include the 2 EPs Capitol released. These EPs have almost similar titles; "Four By The Beatles" and 4-By The Beatles", with each disc containing 4 songs. Capitol release 19 Beatles singles from December 1963 to March 1968. All of these singles were originally issued in picture sleeves, which was the norm for that time. There were also 6 unique singles released in October 1965 as part of the Star Line series. Capitol also released Compact 33 Discs for the first 3 albums, 2 Open-End Interview discs representing the first 2 albums, a souvenier record issued only in Los Angeles with the song "You Can't Do That" on the B-side, a promotional 7" EP titled "The Beatles Introduce New Songs" and Canadian singles. There is a whole host and wealth of important information in this book that must be read to be fully appreciated. Bruce would eventually release books about the Capitol albums, the Apple years, the Solo Apple records and a sixth book focusing on the Swan/United Artists/Atco/MGM/Metro/Clarion/Polydor record releases. Bruce Spizer is the master at telling the Beatles' story in America.

This book along with all of Bruce Spizer's books are awesome with a capital "A". Every Beatle fan should own Bruce's books. Me being born the year The Beatles conquered America and not being old enough to buy most of these records, these books have really educated me. I don't look at Bruce Spizer's Books as just Beatles books, they are history lessons. These books will be the prize of your library.