However, songs like "I'm A Loser," "Baby's In Black," and "I Don't Want To Spoil The Party" reflect a kind of weariness creeping in that later evolved into the introspective Rubber Soul. I mean, check out the sombre mugs on the album cover!

There aren't that many cover songs here than there were on their first two albums, but the ones they cover are beauts. The best of these is Chuck Berry's "Rock And Roll Music" with that immortal chorus, "give me that rock and roll music/if you wanna dance with me."

That being said, the Beatles have expressed that melancholy in upbeat songs such as "No Reply." That is about a girl who dates someone else and has her family covering for her. The poignancy expressed with the "I nearly died" refrain. And "I'm A Loser," in the same uppity vein, has lyrics such as "Beneath this mask I am wearing a frown." is it for her or for myself that I cry?"

The mid-paced "Baby's In Black" has shades of Dylan, hard to tell since all four of them are singing in contrast to Dylan's stark solo vocal. Love that lyric: "Baby's in black and I'm feeling blue."

Paul sings a nice slow ditty "I'll Follow The Sun", which happened to be one of his earliest compositions dating back to the late 1950's. In contrast, he wildly covers the engaging Little Richard medley, "Kansas City/Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey." Wonder how it sounds compared to the original.

Despite being Buddy Holly fans, "Words Of Love" is the only Holly song done, and it's lovingly done on this album, with Ringo's percussive instrument being a packing case of all things!

George's only song here is the Carl Perkins number "Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby." Ironically, Ringo's song here is also a Carl Perkins number. Both do their admirably best here.

For Sale is still a superior Beatles album despite the sobriety of many of the songs.


The Best Of Both Beatles Worlds   October 16, 2004
Alan Caylow (USA)
16 out of 16 found this review helpful

"Beatles For Sale," the Fab Four's fourth album, is not regarded as highly as their other works. The Beatles hammered this record out pretty fast as they recorded it between tours, and they were pressed for time in coming up with new stuff. Thus, the album is only half original material, while the other half are cover songs (8 Beatles originals and 6 covers, to be precise). But I'm not bothered by this one single bit. Yes, more original songs would've been appreciated, but we must remember that one of the Beatles' early trademarks was doing excellent cover songs as well as their own stuff, and "Beatles For Sale" gives you a healthy dose of both. The end result is a wonderful Beatles album. Regarding the band's original compositions, they're all classics: John Lennon's "No Reply" and "I'm A Loser," Paul McCartney's "I'll Follow The Sun" (an older song that McCartney dug up from his club days with the group) and "What You're Doing," and the duo's brilliant collaborations on "Baby's In Black," "Eight Days A Week," "Every Little Thing," and "I Don't Want To Spoil The Party." The Beatles ain't no slouches when covering other people's songs either, and the batch of covers on "Beatles For Sale" are all tremendous fun. Lennon has a great time at the mike on Chuck Berry's "Rock And Roll Music," McCartney tears it up on the medley of "Kansas City" and "Hey Hey Hey," Ringo Starr gets one of his signature vocal performances on Carl Perkins' "Honey Don't," and George Harrison, also a Carl Perkins fan, does great justice to "Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby." "Mr. Moonlight" is another fine cover, as is the group's rendition of Buddy Holly's "Words Of Love" (with Ringo playing on a packing case!).The Beatles' close friend Derek Taylor wrote in the album's liner notes back in 1964: "The kids of AD 2000 will draw from the music much the same sense of well-being and warmth as we do today." Needless to say, Taylor was 100% right. "Beatles For Sale" may be underappreciated by some, but it shouldn't be. By dividing the album into half originals and half covers, the Fab Four give us the best of both of their musical worlds. Whether doing their own stuff OR other people's, these guys had the magic touch. "Beatles For Sale," filled with great Beatles music from beginning to end, is great testament to that.


The last of their rock'n'roll albums   January 17, 2004
Peter Durward Harris (Leicester England)
14 out of 14 found this review helpful

This, their fourth album, is similar to Please please me and With the Beatles in its general style, featuring a mix of covers and originals. The covers remind us all of the singers who inspired the Beatles - this time it's Carl Perkins, Little Richard, Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry.

The original songs include three songs that were considered for UK singles release but weren't. Eight days a week was released as a single in America, where it went to number one. The other two, No reply and I'm a loser, were not released as singles anywhere as far as I know. I don't want to spoil the party is (by Beatles standards) generally overlooked, but Rosanne Cash covered it and took it to the top of the country charts in the eighties. It was the first cover of a Beatles song to top the country charts and may still be the only one. I'll follow the sun and Baby's in black are other brilliant originals.

This album was the last of its kind. Subsequent album took the Beatles away from their roots as they experimented with different sounds and styles. To some people, that's when the Beatles became interesting, but I enjoy all their music. If you enjoy their early music, you'll love this album.


ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR....   April 30, 2001
Lawyeraau (Balmoral Castle)
17 out of 19 found this review helpful

Coming on the heels of the highly touted, critically successful album, "A Hard Day's Night", this one pales somewhat in comparison. It is still certainly worthy of note, however, as are all albums put out by The Beatles, and it is a very good album by any measure.

Here, only eight of the fourteen tracks were penned by the McCartney/Lennon songwriting duo, but they constitute an interesting shift in style, showing more depth, maturity, and complexity. From the somewhat dark, pensive " I'm a Loser" to the melodic lament of "Baby's in Black", followed by the pop ballad, "I'll Follow the Sun", it is clear that The Beatles are forging in a somewhat new direction.

The other six tracks on this CD are pop and rock standards upon which The Beatles have placed their signature imprimatur. Juxtaposed with the McCartney/Lennon songs, it makes for an interesting, though quirky, listening experience. As with all Beatles CDs, no music collection should be without it.


I'm definitely one of those people who will praise every Beatles album, but...   April 9, 2006
M. Piskula (USA)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful

This is one of The Beatles' best albums. I grew up listening to them, and have probably heard every song ever written by them over 100 times each, if not more...but 'Beatles For Sale' has always stood out more for me. For my entire 20 years, "What You're Doing" has no doubt been a favorite of mine; this is a song that I have never gotten sick of and no kidding, I listen to it at least once every day. If you're a Beatles fan, well, you know exactly what i'm talking about when I say that The Beatles are about as close to perfection that we're ever going to get from any band. With songs like "Eight Days A Week", "Every Little Thing" and "I'll Follow The Sun", how could one not love this album?! There really isn't any low point on this album. Personally, the "Medley" isn't a favorite of mine, but it's ok, because every other song is great. If you don't own this album, you truly don't know what you're missing and if you're just starting to listen to The Beatles, this is a great album to start with.