Something New (Beatles album) explained

Something New
Type:studio
Artist:the Beatles
Cover:TheBeatlesSomethingNewreissuecover.jpg
Recorded:29 January – 4 June 1964
Studio:EMI, London
Genre:Rock and roll[1]
Length:24:47 (mono)
24:27 (stereo)
Label:Capitol
Producer:George Martin
Chronology:The Beatles North American
Prev Title:A Hard Day's Night
Prev Year:1964
Next Title:Hear the Beatles Tell All
Next Year:1964

Something New is an album by English rock band the Beatles, released in 1964 for the North American market only.

The album is the third Capitol LP release and fifth American album release overall by the band, following the United Artists release of A Hard Day's Night. The album includes eight songs from the original British release of A Hard Day's Night, as well as the tracks "Slow Down" and "Matchbox" from the Long Tall Sally EP and the German-language version of "I Want to Hold Your Hand". The mono version also featured the extended single mix of "I'll Cry Instead", while stereo editions included a shorter edit from the UK release of A Hard Day's Night.

Release history

Originally scheduled for 1 August 1964,[2] the album was rush-released on 20 July 1964, ten days after the British release of A Hard Day's Night. It was released in both mono and stereo versions. All mono mixes of the five songs duplicated from the United Artists soundtrack album are identical on both releases. Something New was the only early Capitol Beatles album to contain all tracks in true stereo. The mono release contains alternative versions of "Any Time At All" (a different mix during the instrumental bridge), "I'll Cry Instead" (with the "missing" third verse), "When I Get Home" (the line "Till I walk out that door again" during the song's bridge has a different vocal passage from the UK mono mix), "If I Fell" (Lennon's non-double-tracked introductory vocal), and "And I Love Her" (McCartney's non-double-tracked vocal).

This album was also released on the Parlophone label for sale only on American Armed Forces bases in Europe. These copies have great collector value. The album was also issued in Germany on the Odeon label. The German stereo version contains a reprocessed stereo version of "Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand" and an extended version of "And I Love Her", repeating the closing riff six times instead of four. This mix was later released on the US version of Rarities.[3]

In 2004, Something New was released for the first time on CD as part of The Capitol Albums, Volume 1 box set (catalogue number CDP 7243 8 66876 2 3) containing the US mixes for both mono and stereo. In 2014, the album was released on CD again, both individually, and included in the boxed set The U.S. Albums, which contained the album's running order but with UK mixes as remastered in 2009.

Reception

The album spent nine weeks at No. 2 on the Billboard Top LPs chart in 1964, behind the United Artists A Hard Day's Night album.

Something New was included in Robert Christgau's "Basic Record Library" of 1950s and 1960s recordings, published in (1981).[4]

Personnel

Track listing

All tracks written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney (Lennon–McCartney), except where noted.

Note: "I'll Cry Instead" mono version 2:09, stereo version 1:49.

Charts and certifications

In the U.S., the album sold 1,049,243 copies by 31 December 1964 and 1,443,735 copies by the end of the decade.[5]

Chart performance

Chart (1964–65)Peak
position
US Billboard Top LPs[6] 2
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[7] 38

Certifications

See also

Notes

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Eder . Bruce . Something New – The Beatles . . 2 May 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210214011600/https://www.allmusic.com/album/something-new-mw0000691315 . 14 February 2021.
  2. Billboard July 4,1964, page 1
  3. Web site: "And I Love Her" by the Beatles. The in-depth story behind the songs of the Beatles. Recording History. Songwriting History. Song Structure and Style . Beatlesebooks.com . 9 September 2011.
  4. Book: Christgau, Robert. Robert Christgau. 1981. . Ticknor & Fields. 0899190251. A Basic Record Library: The Fifties and Sixties. https://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/bk-cg70/basics.php. March 16, 2019. robertchristgau.com.
  5. Web site: How Many Records did the Beatles actually sell? . Deconstructing Pop Culture by David Kronemyer . 29 April 2009 . 11 July 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160306054326/http://deconstructingpopculture.com/2009/04/how-many-records-did-the-beatles-actually-sell/ . 6 March 2016 . dmy-all .
  6. Web site: The Beatles Chart History (Billboard 200). Billboard. March 16, 2021. en. March 16, 2021.
  7. Web site: Offizielle Deutsche Charts. Enter "Beatles" in the search bar. GfK Entertainment. 16 May 2016.