First released: 1966, December 10

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1. She Loves You (2:21)
   Recorded: July 1, 1963 at Abbey Road, London, England
   John Lennon - lead vocal, rhythm guitar
   Paul McCartney - lead vocal, bass guitar
   George Harrison - lead guitar
   Ringo Starr - drums
2. From Me to You (1:58)
   Recorded: March 5, 1963 at Abbey Road, London, England
   John Lennon - lead vocal, rhythm guitar, harmonica
   Paul McCartney - lead vocal, bass guitar
   George Harrison - lead guitar, harmony vocal
   Ringo Starr - drums
3. We Can Work It out (2:15)
   Recorded: October 20, 1965 at Abbey Road, London, England
   John Lennon - acoustic guitar, harmonium, harmony vocal
   Paul McCartney - lead vocal, bass guitar
   George Harrison - tambourine
   Ringo Starr - drums
4. Help! (2:30)
   Recorded: April 13, 1965 at Abbey Road, London, England
   John Lennon - lead vocal, acoustic guitar
   Paul McCartney - bass guitar, background vocal
   George Harrison - lead guitar, background vocal
   Ringo Starr - drums, tambourine
5. Michelle (2:42)
   Recorded: November 3, 1965 at Abbey Road, London, England
   John Lennon - acoustic guitar, background vocal
   Paul McCartney - lead vocal, bass guitar
   George Harrison - acoustic guitar, background vocal
   Ringo Starr - drums
6. Yesterday (2:08)
   Recorded: June 14, 1965 at Abbey Road, London, England
   Paul McCartney - lead vocal, Epiphone acoustic guitar
   Session musicians - string quartet
7. I Feel Fine (2:20)
   Recorded: October 18, 1964 at Abbey Road, London, England
   John Lennon - lead vocal, rhythm guitar, lead guitar
   Paul McCartney - bass guitar, background vocal
   George Harrison - lead guitar, background vocal
   Ringo Starr - drums
8. Yellow Submarine (2:41)
   Recorded: May 26, 1966 at Abbey Road, London, England with special effects overdubbed June 1, 1966
   John Lennon - acoustic guitar, background vocal, blowing bubbles through a straw
   Paul McCartney - acoustic guitar, background vocal
   George Harrison - tambourine, background vocal, swirling water in a bucket
   Ringo Starr - lead vocal, drums
   Mal Evans, Neil Aspinall, George Martin, Alf, Geoff Emerick, Patti Harrison and studio staff - chorus on fadeout
   Session musicians - brass band
9. Can't Buy Me Love (2:15)
   Recorded: January 29, 1964 at Pathй Marconi Studios, Paris, France
   John Lennon - rhythm guitar
   Paul McCartney - lead vocal, bass guitar
   George Harrison - 12-string lead guitar
   Ringo Starr - drums
10. Bad Boy (2:21)
    Recorded: May 10, 1965 at Abbey Road, London, England
    John Lennon - lead vocal, rhythm guitar, Hammond organ
    Paul McCartney - bass guitar
    George Harrison - lead guitar
    Ringo Starr - drums, tambourine
11. Day Tripper (2:50)
    Recorded: October 16, 1965 at Abbey Road, London, England
    John Lennon - lead vocal, rhythm guitar, tambourine
    Paul McCartney - lead vocal, bass guitar
    George Harrison - lead guitar
    Ringo Starr - drums
12. A Hard Day's Night (2:32)
    Recorded: April 16, 1964 at Abbey Road, London, England
    John Lennon - double-tracked lead vocal, rhythm guitar
    Paul McCartney - bass guitar, harmony vocal
    George Harrison - 12-string lead guitar
    Ringo Starr - drums
    George Martin - piano
13. Ticket to Ride (3:13)
    Recorded: February 15, 1965 at Abbey Road, London, England
    John Lennon - lead vocal, rhythm guitar, tambourine
    Paul McCartney - bass guitar, lead guitar, harmony vocal
    George Harrison - lead guitar
    Ringo Starr - drums
14. Paperback Writer (2:19)
    Recorded: April 13, 1966 at Abbey Road, London, England with an overdub added April 14, 1966
    John Lennon - rhythm guitar, background vocal
    Paul McCartney - lead vocal, bass guitar
    George Harrison - lead guitar, background vocal
    Ringo Starr - drums
15. Eleanor Rigby (2:08)
    Recorded: April 28, 1966 at Abbey Road, London, England with vocals overdubbed April 29, 1966 and another McCartney vocal added June 6, 1966
    John Lennon - harmony vocal
    Paul McCartney - double-tracked lead vocal
    George Harrison - harmony vocal
    Session musicians - four violins, two violas, two cellos
16. I Want to Hold Your Hand (2:27)
    Recorded: October 17, 1963 at Abbey Road, London, England
    John Lennon - lead vocal, rhythm guitar
    Paul McCartney - lead vocal, bass guitar
    George Harrison - lead guitar, harmony vocal
    Ringo Starr - drums

A pretty decent compilation. One disadvantage is that it doesn't include some obvious hits like Love Me Do.

The back cover photograph, is the Beatles in Japan Hotel,1966.And the smoke in the room ?!?!

It was release by the dead paul rumour and the guys who released that said it's because it's some record with the real paul.

This is the first Beatles album that I ever had, it was given to me when I was 3 years old, and it is my official introduction to the Beatles' music. I still have it today. I love this album!

It was Christmas time, 1966. Though hard at work on the beginnings of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band, the Beatles had nothing for EMI to put out during the holiday season (aside from the annual Christmas record for the fan club). Revolver had come out in the first week of August, too early to exploit. What to do? So EMI issued this stopgap collection of 16 older recordings for the European market, in effect creating the first "Beatles Greatest Hits" album. Actually, it's not a predictable hits anthology, for it omits obvious hit singles like "Please Please Me" and "Love Me Do," and includes popular album cuts like "Yesterday" and "Michelle" that were not issued as singles in the U.K. But it doesn't skimp on quantity, offering 16 songs instead of the usual 14, taking the saga all the way up to Revolver, and collecting some British singles into album format for the first time. As for English fanatics who simply had to have everything but might balk at purchasing an album entirely composed of retreads, EMI thought of them too, slipping in the Larry Williams song "Bad Boy" for the first time in Britain (it was included on Beatles VI in America in 1965). The stereo edition features a few anomalies — an electronic stereo "She Loves You" — but mostly offers commonly available mixes. The front cover is a period piece of Carnaby Street kitsch, while the back features a casual Beatles photo circa 1966. Today the album seems like a decent summing up of the Beatles' achievement just before the plunge into "Strawberry Fields" and Sgt. Pepper, though obviously not taking in the whole story. — Richard S. Ginell

Review