BEATLES FOR SALE (ROOM 217)
BEATLES FOR SALE (ROOM 217)
Tortuous schedules and demands continued and despite world-wide tours, TV, film, radio, personal appearances, press, award ceremonies etc etc the ever demanding record company still wanted at least two albums per year and four singles too! How they managed it is incredulous but they did...and how! A multi million selling album in modern times will give an artist three years off (possibly four ) and the ensuing singles will be released from the album. Not in the days of The Beatles. Fourteen new tracks had to be recorded in between their crazy schedule, under pressure, they resorted to type, and echoing their first two albums, ‘Beatles For Sale’ would have a mixture of eight new original songs and six from their Cavern / Hamburg repertoire. Amazingly none of the songs were used as singles in the UK. Echoes of the influence of their new friendship with Dylan can be heard in songs like “I’m a Loser”. It was in some ways seen as a retrograde step as their previous album had been totally written by John and Paul, but in many more ways it was a complete change of direction. This was a much blacker and darker album, with subject matter such as funerals, death, rejection and self pity and this was complimented by a decidedly moody if not sulky album cover, a gatefold sleeve, another innovation, with the four Beatles looking anything like their cheeky, irreverent happy go lucky, boy next door image. The pressure was understandably beginning to tell and even the title “Beatles For Sale” was an intended pun, which aptly summed up their attitude to the mounting demands around them. Commercially .their success continued un-abated with the number one album position confirmed all over the world.
Artwork painted and owned by ©SHANNON
BEATLES FOR SALE (ROOM 217)
Tortuous schedules and demands continued and despite world-wide tours, TV, film, radio, personal appearances, press, award ceremonies etc etc the ever demanding record company still wanted at least two albums per year and four singles too! How they managed it is incredulous but they did...and how! A multi million selling album in modern times will give an artist three years off (possibly four ) and the ensuing singles will be released from the album. Not in the days of The Beatles. Fourteen new tracks had to be recorded in between their crazy schedule, under pressure, they resorted to type, and echoing their first two albums, ‘Beatles For Sale’ would have a mixture of eight new original songs and six from their Cavern / Hamburg repertoire. Amazingly none of the songs were used as singles in the UK. Echoes of the influence of their new friendship with Dylan can be heard in songs like “I’m a Loser”. It was in some ways seen as a retrograde step as their previous album had been totally written by John and Paul, but in many more ways it was a complete change of direction. This was a much blacker and darker album, with subject matter such as funerals, death, rejection and self pity and this was complimented by a decidedly moody if not sulky album cover, a gatefold sleeve, another innovation, with the four Beatles looking anything like their cheeky, irreverent happy go lucky, boy next door image. The pressure was understandably beginning to tell and even the title “Beatles For Sale” was an intended pun, which aptly summed up their attitude to the mounting demands around them. Commercially .their success continued un-abated with the number one album position confirmed all over the world.
Artwork painted and owned by ©SHANNON
BEATLES FOR SALE (ROOM 217)
Tortuous schedules and demands continued and despite world-wide tours, TV, film, radio, personal appearances, press, award ceremonies etc etc the ever demanding record company still wanted at least two albums per year and four singles too! How they managed it is incredulous but they did...and how! A multi million selling album in modern times will give an artist three years off (possibly four ) and the ensuing singles will be released from the album. Not in the days of The Beatles. Fourteen new tracks had to be recorded in between their crazy schedule, under pressure, they resorted to type, and echoing their first two albums, ‘Beatles For Sale’ would have a mixture of eight new original songs and six from their Cavern / Hamburg repertoire. Amazingly none of the songs were used as singles in the UK. Echoes of the influence of their new friendship with Dylan can be heard in songs like “I’m a Loser”. It was in some ways seen as a retrograde step as their previous album had been totally written by John and Paul, but in many more ways it was a complete change of direction. This was a much blacker and darker album, with subject matter such as funerals, death, rejection and self pity and this was complimented by a decidedly moody if not sulky album cover, a gatefold sleeve, another innovation, with the four Beatles looking anything like their cheeky, irreverent happy go lucky, boy next door image. The pressure was understandably beginning to tell and even the title “Beatles For Sale” was an intended pun, which aptly summed up their attitude to the mounting demands around them. Commercially .their success continued un-abated with the number one album position confirmed all over the world.
Artwork painted and owned by ©SHANNON