Unless your name is Ryan Adams, you're probably not in the habit of releasing four albums in four years, let alone the same number in one. But that's exactly what the Beatles did in 1965, thanks to Capitol Records' practice of mixing and matching tracks from their U.K. releases to create new, shorter records for the American market. Because standard-issue Beatles discs follow the British discography, The Capitol Albums, Vol. 2 marks the first CD appearance of The Early Beatles (March), Beatles VI (June), the Help! soundtrack (August), and the U.S. version of Rubber Soul (December), which are presented in both mono and stereo. And since the Brits' Please Please Me and Beatles for Sale are available only in mono, that means a lot of tracks are making their stereo CD debut here, including "Please Please Me," "Twist and Shout," "Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey," "What You're Doing," and "Every Little Thing." This is also the first CD appearance of Ken Thorne's incidental music from Help! (James Bond intro, anyone?), as well as of the original wide-separation stereo mixes of Help! and Rubber Soul (not the 1987 George Martin digital remixes that appear on the British discs). All told, a full 82 of this set's 92 tracks have never before been available on CD. It's not quite the sonic revelation that was Vol. 1 (that box contained 32 stereo CD debuts, this one only 14), but it's a great listen nevertheless. Also included is a colorful, 60-page booklet featuring rare photos and liner notes by Beatles historian Bruce Spizer
Love Me Do
Twist And Shout
Chains
Please Please Me
P.S. I Love You
A Taste Of Honey
Chains
Please Please Me
P.S. I Love You
Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey
Eight Days A Week
You Like Me Too Much
Bad Boy
I Dont Want To Spoil The Party
Yes It Is
Dizzy Miss Lizzie
Tell Me What You See
Eight Days A Week
Bad Boy
Words Of Love
What Youre Doing
Yes It Is
Every Little Thing
Youve Got To Hide Your Love Away
I Need You
Youre Gonna Lose That Girl
Help!
Youve Got To Hide Your Love Away
I Need You
Youre Gonna Lose That Girl
Norwegian Wood
You Wont See Me
The Word
Girl
Im Looking Through You
Wait
Run For Your Life
Norwegian Wood
You Wont See Me
The Word
Michelle
Its Only Love
Girl
Im Looking Through You
In My Life
Wait
Run For Your Life