1962-1966 by Beatles (The) (CD, Oct-1993, 2 Discs, Capitol)

In 1973 when television advertisements for a so-called Alpha-Omega "greatest hits" four album packaged set for the Beatles was shown on the TV air waves, Apple Records was pressed to come out with a Beatles "greatest hits" package of their own and forced the advertisements for this boot legging "greatest hits" ad off television.
The first of these packaged albums that Apple released was called: THE BEATLES 1962-66 and this album over the years has been dubbed by Beatles fans as the "red album".
With an outstanding lists of tracks covering the Beatles early in their careers with the "mop-top" hair styles to the fun and comedy of motion pictures A HARD DAYS NIGHT and HELP!
The hectic touring years of the Fab Four that forced them into the studio years after 1966......!
The musical direction that the Beatles were taking, is in this greatest hits package and covers those musical achievements of ballads such as MICHELLE to PAPERBACK WRITER.
The No.1 hits of the twenty No.1 overall singles the Beatles had with I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND right on to the double sided hits WE CAN WORK IT OUT and DRIVE MY CAR are all featured!
The outstanding album cuts IN MY LIFE from Rubber Soul and ELEANOR RIGBY from Revolver, was the type of music like this that paved the way and set the Beatles in a musical catagories all their own.
Nothing in the way of any other band in the history of Pop Music or Rock n Roll will ever see the likes of the Beatles again. This "greatest hits" package has and covers IT ALL!!!

TRACKS:
CD One
1. Love Me Do
2. Please Please Me
3. From Me to You
4. She Loves You
5. I Want to Hold Your Hand
6. All My Loving
7. Can't Buy Me Love
8. A Hard Days Night
9. And I Love Her
10.Eight Days a Week
11.I Feel Fine
12.Ticket to Ride
13.Yesterday

CD Two:
1. Help!
2. You've Got to Hide Your Love Away
3. We Can Work it Out
4. Day Tripper
5. Drive My Car
6. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)
7. Nowhere Man
8. Michelle
9. In My Life
10. Girl
11. Paperback Writer
12. ELeanor Rigby
13. Yellow Submarine

Most people know how great The Beatles are. Therefore, I should only have to say, "it's The Beatles; need I say more?". Since I'm a nice guy, I'll detail it anyway...
"1962-1966" is a great compilation two-disc album for any Beatles fan. This is the set that shows how this musical phenomenon started. It was released three years after their break-up, a time that society still awaited anxiously for their reunion. Fans had never seen a greatest hits compilation from them before this. Still devoted to them, many rushed for this album. These songs continue to inspire a generation of musicians that have come after them, including The Bangles, Sheryl Crow, Def Leppard, and many more. Therefore, it was more than just their good looks and their bopping heads that made them a wonderful band.

This set explores John, Paul, George, and Ringo through their first two years of fame in the US. When the British Invasion began in 1964, a new musical revolution began. Their long-lasting impact was the least expected. The Beatles were the first of many British acts (The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, Dusty Springfield, etc.) to conquer the US during this time with their first smash it single "I Want To Hold Your Hand". Then, their performance on "The Ed Sullavin Show" that year made music history again. Over 70 million people watched them perform five songs that night. All five of those became smash hits. Their impact, aside the screaming fans, proved that they came to stay.

Before their debut, only doo-wop and rock & roll captured the airways, namely by Elvis Presley. It seemed like society was looking for something new. No other act performed in that style of rock before 1964, including the more accented guitar and the absense of a piano/ keyboard. This gave new meaning to rock music. Their great vocal harmonies gave an added spice for listening pleasure. The lyrics gave these love songs the extra catchiness. Most of these songs were written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. They later became one of the greatest songwriting duos. Through the years, The Beatles's style wonderfully evolved while continuing to make music history.

Those wanting to observe more of their evolution should also buy "1967-1970", which explores lyrics about peace, love, drugs, and anti-war. "1962-1966" is a great album for any Beatles fan to own as it'll continue pleasing listeners for a long time......................

The Red Album CD set is a great set to have for the person who doesn't have the Beatles in their collection and this goes for the Blue set of later tunes by the Beatles. I'm speaking of the US versions. What the buyer must look out for is many sellers are passing these off as the US retail versions by using the bar code info and pricing! So buyer be aware before purchasing as you maybe buying the Russian Federation copies. Also the sellers will just state the title you are buying by not stating the origin so to say nothing really makes you think your getting an authentic copy as most of us would expect to get. Reason I bring this up is there is a big difference in sound quality between the two countries mastering sources.
Very imporatnt some of the Beatles Russian releases have been recorded directly off a clean LP, not all titles come from this source, but listen close as you can hear the needle going through the grooves!
I can make this point for certain as I've purchased a few Beatles titles that have the needle recorded CDs (Let It Be and Abbey Road) I can't tell you the label as it will be easy for them to say, not us, but the proof is using your ear drums! Russian versions I give an average rating, US editions I give a good rating and the Japanese versions I rare a 5 out of a 5!

The Beatles red album is fantastic. It contains most of their early hits, like I want to hold your hand. It also gives hints as to the band they'd morph into in the late sixties, with songs like Yellow submarine. This album is a must for any Beatles fan.

I am a huge fan of the beatles but t the time of the purchase, did not have the budget to buy a new set of the red album,thus, i has to buy a used one. the cd plays well on a radio cd player but it jumps all over the place on the following songs- Ticket To Ride and Yesterday. Im still ok with this album and still enjoy
the songs. Thank You!!