How EMI made a mess of The Beatles

The Beatles music is closely controlled these days, soon to be highlighted by the new American albums box set which bans the fake stereo version that actually featured on those albums at the time.

Time and EMI haven’t though always been as kind to The Beatles as (thanks to our friends at superdeluxeediton) we take a look at our favorite Beatles releases that weren’t handled with quite as much care.

With The Beatles (above) and Revolver (below)
with their tampered tracklists.

Those 1970s cassette releases.

Most bands take great care in assembling their album, what tracks open and close the album. Back in the day, you had to add into the mix what songs would close Side 1 of the vinyl LP , and of course open side 2. You would think that with a band of The Beatles stature that such things would be sacrosanct.  Oh no, in the 1970s, EMI issued all the studio albums on cassette and rejigged the running order so as to make the tape lengths roughly equal on both sides.

So for example, instead the first track on the Please Please Me being I Saw Her Standing There (with Paul’s memorable “1,2,3,4..” count-in) it’s Misery on the tape! Only Sgt Pepper’s Hearts Club Band went unbutchered; Rubber Soul doesn’t begin with Drive My Car, The White Album (incredibly) doesn’t end with Goodnight, and Abbey Road kicks off with Here Comes The Sun not Come Together. 
Incredible.

It wasn’t until the reissue in 1987 that the running orders were corrected. Imagine The Stone Roses debut opening with Elizabeth My Dear…

Rock ‘n’ Roll Music compilation(s)

Now this is one I remember from my childhood. As the Beatles contract with EMI ended in 1976, the label sought to exploit their product. Fifties music was staging a bit of a comeback at the time and so EMI hit on the idea of Rock N Roll Music, a double album in June of that year. The artwork was the first thing to take exception to, a mish mash of iconic 50’s images, doubly odd for a band that were such icons of the 60’s. This  prompted Ringo Starr to complain to Rolling Stone: "It made us look cheap and we never were cheap. All that Coca-Cola and cars with big fins was the Fifties!" Lennon was also critical of the artwork and wrote an angry letter to Capitol Records saying it "looks like a Monkees reject" and instead suggested the use of photos by Astrid Kirchherr or Jürgen Vollmer, both of whom had photographed the band during their Hamburg days.  Lennon even offered to design the cover himself.

The gatefold sleeve

Undeniably much of the Beatles early work up to the release of Please Please Me and Beatles For Sale had its heart in the 50’s. Many of those cover versions made up sides 1 and 2 of this new compilation. Sides 3 and  4 picked up what were, however tenuously deemed as being Rock n Roll derived, hence Birthday and Drive My Car

The artwork was improved when this double was split into two albums. As a final insult these ended up on EMI’s budget ‘Music For Pleasure’ label. Beatles don’t do ‘budget’!

The Beatles’ Movie Medley

In the early 80’s the Stars on 45 was in full flow.  A medley of Beatles songs sung by a Lennon sound-alike had been a big hit. An official Beatles medley of snippets from various Beatles songs was produced. It remains the only Beatles single not released on CD, to be honest it works but does it qualify as treating the Beatles material with respect by Jive Bunny-ing it?

Parlophone Records initially refused to issue the single in the UK, regarding the medley as "tacky". But after the import demand for the U.S. release grew, it was finally issued and reached No.10 on the British charts in 1982. The original flip side was an interview with the Beatles about the making of the movie A Hard Day's Night and is considered quite rare. 
Listen below..


Sessions album (unreleased)

EMI had milked their assets relentlessly.  They reissued all the singles in the mid-seventies and were constantly putting out compilations such a Love Songs (1977), Rarities (1978), The Beatles Ballads (1980) and 20 Greatest Hits (1982). There were also a number of box sets including The Beatles Collection (vinyl ‘blue’ box) and The Beatles Box. What they hadn’t done at any point during the 1970s was issue any previously unreleased studio material. The truth was 12 years after the band split they were still not exactly sure what they had, so in 1982 engineer John Barrett was tasked with listening to all the session recordings.

Not the actual sleeve, it was never designed,
this is the bootleg

This eventually lead to The Beatles Live At Abbey Road, a tour of the famous recording studio open to the public for a couple of months in the summer of 1983. This tour was accompanied by a soundtrack featuring outtakes and alternate mixes. Ironically the preparation and reproduction of these tapes meant they fell into the hands of Bootleggers, for many years the John Barrett tapes were a fantastic collection.

Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick eventually prepared a 13-track Sessions album planned for release by EMI in 1985, but never issued due to stong objections by the surviving Beatles. The album consisted of thirteen finished, but unreleased, Beatles songs. A single—"Leave My Kitten Alone", with an alternative version of "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da", which was not to appear on the album, as its B-side—was also planned, but it too was left unissued.

Versions of all the songs planned for Sessions would eventually see official release as part of The Beatles Anthology series in 1995–96, with the exception of "Christmas Time (Is Here Again)", which was concurrently released on the "Free as a Bird" single.


Love Me Do 50th Anniversary reissue

Just to bring things right up to date and show the lack of care and consideration for The Beatles remain… On the 5th October 2012 EMI proudly re-issued the seven-inch single of The Beatles debut single Love Me Do to celebrate 50 years since the original release.

However, EMI had accidentally released the version of the song with session drummer Andy White rather than Ringo behind the kit. Andy played on the album version of Love Me Do, but not the version issued as a single back in 1962 which featured Ringo.

In September 1962 The Beatles had recorded "Love Me Do" twice already: at an EMI audition on 6 June 1962 with Pete Best on drums when he was still a member of the group; and again on 4 September 1962 with Ringo Starr on drums. Producer Geroge Martin had disapproved of Best's drumming and was now also unhappy with newcomer Starr's drumming.  On 11 September 1962 EMI wanted the song recorded again, and The Beatles played "Love Me Do" a third time, this time with White replacing Starr on drums. White was known to to Martins assistant and so was called in to  have a go!

EMI withdraw the incorrect version on the eve of release but not early enough to stop some fans getting deliveries from online sites. A number of copies escaped and a corrected release was made on 22 October.

So there you have it, how a band as huge as The Beatles can still be treat by the label as mere fodder!