Silver Beatles - At Home 1960

  by Anthony Strutt

published: 28 / 11 / 2011

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This album of very early Beatles recordings consists of two CDs of live rehearsals recorded on a Hodgson Grundig model TK12. The first CD was recorded in April 1960, while the second was recorded in July. The July recording shows a big leap forward in improvement. These recordings are the only home recordings that exist of the young Beatles and both sessions were recorded at Paul McCartney's house at 20 Forthlin Road in Liverpool. This is history, the world's most famous band in rehearsal, two years pre-fame. This is also not the line-up of John, Paul, George and Ringo, but that of John, Paul, George, Pete Best and Stuart Sutcliffe. The sound quality lets it down, but the songs on both CDs show off a hungry band learning their craft, and playing countless songs that are not documented anywhere else. The April 1960 CD opens up with three unnamed instrumentals, which sound, despite their early rock 'n' roll grooves, like a band both tuning up and out of tune. The third instrumental has the subtitle of 'Turn the Switches Off' and a much smoother feel to it. 'Come On People' is the first track to feature vocals. The guitars are raw-sounding and Stu's bass work is minimal. The vocalist is most definitely Paul, but it is hard to work out what he is actually singing. 'I Don't Need No Cigarette, Boy' is slow and jangly with a sad feel. Paul's vocal on this is more audible and shows he loves his craft even at an early age. 'Well, Darling' is sung as a duet, and here at last they really start to get somewhere. The solo is fun, while Paul is charming on the vocals, but the last two minutes upon which John takes over the vocals are somewhat muffled. 'I Don't Know' ends the first disc and is a rocker that has Paul on vocals. The second CD has two versions of 'Hallelujah, I Love Her So'. The first version involves a banjo, while the second has a bigger and rounder sound and on it you can hear the words quite clearly. 'One After 909' appeared officially on 'Let It Be' in 1970, but in 1960 and ten years earlier it still has a magical sound. It is a great fast-paced version that appears fully intact and with a fabulous arrangement. 'Movin and Groovin' is a raw rocker, while 'Ramrod' is short and sounds like a continued version of the previous track. 'Instrumental 1' is a long jam, again very rough but with a decent edge to it. 'Unknown/Matchbox' and 'I Will Always Be in Love With You' both sound like they feature George on vocals. The latter is short and sweet, but the guitars on it sound tinny. 'The World is Waiting for the Sunrise' features John on vocals and has strong backing behind it. 'That's When Your Heartaches Begin' has an Elvis- paced lead vocal from John and a sound that starts to make the group sound like the Beatles and not just another rock 'n' roll band. 'Instrumental 2', which is a rock 'n' roll session, is at nine minutes is a little too long. 'Wildcat 1' is very much a period place, while a second version of 'One After 909'' is as excellent as the first version. 'Some Day' and 'You Must Write Everyday' are both early rockers sung by Paul. 'I Follow the Sun' was later re-recorded for 1964's 'Beatles For Sale' and this is a good version with a decent arrangement 'Hello, Little Girl' was nver recorded anywhere else and has a 60's novelty. It ends with a second stab at 'Wildcat' 'At Home, 1960' is a record that one will not play it to death, but from a historical perspective is worth playing at least once. It is the start of the greatest band ever from Liverpool.

Track Listing:-

1 Insrumental (1)
2 Instrumental (2)
3 Instrumental (3) - Turn the Switches Off
4 Come On People Aka an Important Number
5 I Don't Need No Cigarette Boy
6 Well Darling
7 Idont Know
8 Hallelujah I Love Her So (1)
9 Hallelujah I Love Her So (2)
10 One After 909 (1)
11 Movin and Grooving
12 Ramrod
13 Instrumental (1)
14 Unknown/Matchbox
15 I Will Always Be In Love With You
16 The World is Waiting For the Sunrise
17 That's When Your Heartaches Begin
18 Instrumental (2)
19 Wildcat (1)
20 One After 909 (2)
21 Some Days
22 You Must Write Everyday
23 John Speaks
24 I'll Follow the Sun
25 Hello Little Girl
26 Wildcat (2)

Band Links:-

http://www.thebeatles.com/sites/st_nick/index.html
https://www.facebook.com/thebeatles
https://twitter.com/thebeatles
https://plus.google.com/+TheBeatles

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