TWIST AND SHOUT
“Twist and Shout” is a 1961 song that first became a chart hit by the Isley Brothers. The recording of the Beatles’ first UK album, Please Please Me on February 11, 1963 is notable for 11 songs recorded in a mere 10 hours. “Twist and Shout”, with John Lennon on lead vocals, was the last song recorded; producer George Martin knew Lennon’s voice would suffer from the performance, so he left it until last. Lennon was suffering from a cold, and was drinking milk and sucking on cough drops to soothe his throat. Even so, he produced a memorable vocal performance: a raucous, dynamic rocker. The song enjoyed a resurgence of popularity in 1986 after it was featured in two films, helping propel the single up the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at No. 23 late that summer. Its overall chart longevity, combined with its original four-week run at #2, statistically makes it the Beatles’ second most successful single in the U.S. next to “Hey Jude”. (More from Wikipedia)
“Sad Sad Love” by the Poppees is one of those achingly emotional songs at which John Lennon excelled; two versions of this song are included, and the spare demo version that closes Side 1 of Pop Goes the Anthology might be even better than the studio version. “Since I Fell for You” sounds like a lost Beatles track and is one of the “obscure R&B tunes the Fabs would surely have envied” (as Greg Shaw put it). But the Poppees really hit the mark with their hot fast songs; “She’s So Bad” (recorded live at CBGB) and “She’s Got It” (the “B” side of their second single) recall the fury of the Beatles’ “Twist and Shout” (their biggest cover song; the original was by the Isley Brothers). They also turn in a wonderful live version on Side 2 of the instrumental hit from ages ago, “Apache”.
(December 2010)
* * *
Capitol Records was slow to lock up the Beatles’ recordings in this country. This allowed small American labels to release many of the band’s early singles, notably “She Loves You” b/w “I’ll Get You” on Swan Records, but also including “Please Please Me” b/w “From Me to You” and “Do You Want to Know a Secret” b/w “Thank You Girl” on Vee Jay Records, plus “Love Me Do” b/w “P.S. I Love You” and “Twist and Shout” b/w “There’s a Place” on Vee Jay’s subsidiary Tollie Records. In fact, during that remarkable week in April 1964 when all of the top 5 songs on the Billboard singles chart were Beatles songs – in order, they were “Can’t Buy Me Love”, “Twist and Shout”, “She Loves You”, “I Want to Hold Your Hand”, and “Please Please Me” – just 2 were Capitol releases (#1 and #4).
(January 2013)
