Customer Reviews

In The Beginning

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The sound quality is absolutely stunning on this new edition of The Beatles/ Sheridan recordings. The Original Beatles with drummer Pete Best made a fine debut on two classic recordings here.("Cry For A Shadow" and "Ain't She Sweet".) "Ain't She Sweet" even made it as high as number 19 on the Billboard charts in August of 1964!

The only complaint thet I have with this release is the lack of any bonus material. Where for instance is "My Bonnie" with the German intro? The original version of "Sweet Georgia Brown" without the reference to the Beatles would also have been nice. Heck, why not even throw in a few tracks by The Pete Best Combo or anything with Ringo on drums with Rory Storm and The Hurricanes. Anything like this could have really rounded out this disc to a full retrospect from the Beatles early beginnings. Regardless, this album is still a good purchase for any Beatles fan.

This CD is a rare find and a must for serious Beatles colectors. Not only is the the sound much improved (and in beautiful stereo) over previous Polydor reissues but it also has the original Sweet Georgia Brown version, Not the later one with the "reference to the Beatles" which was overdubbed in 1964 when the group became famous. I highly recommend this CD.

I'm very happy with the result - you can examine a noticeable improvement in sound. I own this album in different kinds - but the sound I've never heard before. The engineers did a good job.

Ok, Tony Sheridan slightly missed the class of the big rock'n'roller - but this album is not one of them, the Beatles (and of course Tony) have to feel ashamed. I'm strongly recommended this release.

Further it's a fresh testimony of the wild Reeperbahn days. And as a man, grown up near by Hamburg/Germany, I love this album.

This is not bad stuff. An interesting peek at the Beatles' early commercial recordings. The instrumental "Cry for a Shadow" (aka "beatle Bop") makes you wonder why they didn't record more instrumentals. Tony Sheridan sounds like a British Elvis, and his singing compliments the Beatles' playing quite well, particularly on the ballad "Why." Best of all is the first Beatle record to be publicly released, "My Bonnie" with it's energetic instrumetals and the Fab 4's harmony. Incidentally, you get a chance to hear original drummer Pete Best here. You all know the story about his drumming and firing. In fairness, Pete kept time well, but compare this with a Ringo recording and you be the judge. In either case, get this and get a piece of history that has a nice beat that you can dance to.

Why are people so suprised that this album is mainly Tony Sheridan as opposed to Beatles classics? It was Tony who was the star when the tracks on this album were made, yet The Beatles name is upfront now because they are the band who this album represents in historic content.
If you don't want this then just leave it alone and listen to The Red and Blue albums instead that gather a lot of the hit discs the beatles went onto have over the 7 or 8 years that followed this recording. If you want to hear an important moment in Beatles history, then this album is that.
Tony Sheridan had a record deal with Polydor records in Germany, although he was British, he was touring German pubs/bars/clubs the same time The Beatles did in 1960/61.
He got the Beatles a job, by backing him on several of his records. The importance of once such record "My Bonnie" cannot be denied. It was the record that brought the Beatles to the attention of Brian Epstien, who went on to get them their EMI record deal with George Martin.
"Ain't She Sweet" is a John Lennon lead vocal, but wasn't issued as a single by Polydor until 1964, after the Beatles had become world famous. It was a top 40 hit in both the UK and USA.
Other tracks are either Sheridan solo, or with The Beatles backing him as well as an instrumental track composed by John Lennon & George Harrison. The Beatles at this point consisted of John, George, Paul McCartney and Pete Best. These recordings represent Pete's only appearance on a Beatles record in the 1960s, as he was replaced by Ringo Starr in 1962 (just before they achieved their 1st U.K hit with "Love me do").#
The Beatles cuts on this album were recorded in 1961 (although the Sheridan cuts go up to 1969!). In 1962 the Beatles entered the UK top 40 with "Love Me do", In 1963/4 singles such as "I want to hold your hand" and "She Loves you" and albums such as "Please Please Me", "With The Beatles", etc put the Beatles on the world stage.
By all means this isn't a definitive Beatles hit's album at all and of course doesn't live up to "Rubber Soul", "Sgt. Pepper", "Abbey Road", etc, but this disc nevertheless is a landmark in Beatles history and while the songs didn't make them famous, they nevertheless got the motor running for the pop combo to enjoy a long drive down fame street!

If you do some searching around, you'll find that there's another version of this album available on the Internet. As the owner of both, my advice is to stick with this one: the sound seems a little clearer and the bass is a little more vibrant. The story of German record producer/bandleader Bert Kaempfert signing British rock musician Tony Sheridan to record some sides backed by the Beatles is so well documented that the reader can get all the details elsewhere. This collection shows that Mr. Sheridan (he has lived in Germany so long, perhaps that should be Herr Sheridan) was perhaps one of the two most intriguing figures in pre-British Invasion rock (Johnny Kidd is the other). You can really hear the influence of Elvis Presley in Sheridan's singing -- listen for the affectations in Sheridan's vibrato, if nothing else. However, listen to his work as a guitarist, particularly his improvised solo in "My Bonnie." Such string bends and distortion you're unlikely to find in the work of any other British artist who was recording in 1961. Some of the other tracks fall flat: for example, Sheridan himself basically dismisses his guitar performance on the Jimmy Reed song "Take out Some Insurance" in a number of well-documented interviews. Keep in mind that this album is not really about the Beatles. Sure, "Cry for a Shadow" is the sole Beatles piece ever credited to Lennon and Harrison, and the instrumental sounds as much like the Shadows as the Shadows themselves. And, sure, "Ain't She Sweet" features the Beatles sans Sheridan. The historic Beatles material is OK, but the real meat in this album is the strange mix of old school/progressive in Sheridan, as well as the organ playing of the much underrated British keyboardist Roy Young on the tracks on which Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, and Best (yes, this is the pre-Ringo Beatles) don't appear. Oh, and if you do buy this album just because the pre-fame Beatles appear on part of it, that's all the more reason to buy this one and not the other one you'll see advertised -- the bass response is better on this one. This is especially notable on the most famous cut that's here: "My Bonnie." Not only does this give the release a warmth, but it also puts Paul McCartney's exuberant electric bass solo on "Cry for a Shadow" in the front of the texture on that piece.

If you're a Beatles completist, you've probably got most of these tunes already. What makes this package worth it is the original, long sought ORIGINAL SWEET GEORGIA BROWN. (Not the one with the Beatles references). I remember reading a Beatles discography that described chances of finding this on the original 45 as "remote," and that book was printed in the 1970's. Now it's here in digital format, so you can stop searching German garage sales, or whatever you're doing. So, snap this one up, even if you only get the song itself from Amazon downloader or iTunes.

I bought this album expecting to hear more than two rare Beatles tracks, but that's all there are! The sound quality is quite good, and the two tracks featuring the Beatles sound great, but that's it. The rest are tracks featuring The Beatles backing up Tony Sharidan (England's version of Elvis). Also, according to two books I've read, the liner notes are misleading if not plain WRONG! If you are a purist or a hard core fan, than this is for you, but if you already own Anthology One, don't waste your cash.

Most who buy this CD already know the history and squirrel away their precious Polydor Decca MGM 45s of Tony Sheridan/Beat Brothers/ Beatles that are offered here. I know I do! No sense in repeating what you know.

However, give it another listen. Not as BEATLES, not as 20th Century SAVIORS, but as a grin and have as much fun as they probably did.

Tony Sheridan may have been a Buddy Holley/Elvis wannabe, but he did have a knack for imitation. He, like the rest of the boys, came from a traditional English music hall childhood where contempory and oldies were part of a "good show". That's why creakers like "Sweet Georgia Brown" "My Bonnie" and "Saints" were recorded. It was manditory, promoters thought couldn't sell without it. Had to hit the grams, aunties, and the tots too. (+ listen to "Take Some Insurance Out"..it has an expletive that passed the censors very risque for the day)

This CD has some Beatle favorites. I think John's vocal of "Ain't She Sweet", is as much fun as he may ever had. "Cry for a Shadow", teenage George's tribute to his guitar hero band the Shadows, has the primal tone of his note perfect touch. "My Bonnie" is a great yelp that helped the Beatles realize they could do anything they wanted.

Nicely remastered, this is not an essential CD. It's more like a Flintstone vitamin than a true archaeological tablet.

I wish I could give it zero stars.
This album is almost identical to the album "The Early Tapes of The Beatles" except that it omits two tracks, "Ready Teddy" and "Kansas City," two of the best tracks of the 14 on the album! The 12 tracks on this disc are exactly the same as 12 of the 14 tracks on "The Early Tapes." If you want this music, buy "The Early Tapes" and not "In the Beginning."
Plus, most of the tracks on the album are just Tony Sheridan and his band. It's more like "Tony Sheridan featuring The Beatles" instead of "The Beatles featuring Tony Sheridan."