In the summer of '64 when we in the States couldn't get enough of the Beatles, two songs off this album were released as singles: "Ain't She Sweet" and "Cry for a Shadow". The album had been made several years before when they were in Hamburg. The album was made primarily to showcase the talent of their countryman, Tony Sheridan; but, I believe, these two singles were all-Beatles efforts. While "Ain't She Sweet" sounds hokey today, I remember at the time thinking that it was a swinging record. "Cry for a Shadow" is a great instrumental that holds up even today. It pays tribute to the instrumental style of Britain's most popular group at the time, The Shadows. For the trivia-minded, it is the only song that I know of that was composed by Lennon and Harrison. The rest of the album would only be interesting to those who had an interest in the seminal Beatles and as a historical perspective of what european teenagers thought was hot rock and roll in the early '60's

The value of "in the Beginning: The Early Tapes of the Beatles" is more in terms of music history than the actual music. Tony Sheridan earned his place in the story of rock 'n' roll when he recorded "My Bonnie" in 1961. The song was a decent little hit, but today it is remembered because it was the first studio session featuring the Beatles, albeit, as Sheridan's backing group. The Beatles recorded a few tracks with Sheridan in Hamburg in 1961. Those who pick this up think it has songs by the pre-Fab Four will, of course, be disappointed (it is still Pete Best and not Ringo Starr on drums). The playing and the songs are comparable to what eventually came out on the the first CD of the first volume of the Beatles' "Anthology" series. The songs are all pretty sedate covers of popular rock standards from the early years such as "Ain't She Sweet" and "Kansas City." Sheridan sings the lead on all of the songs but one, that being the first track, "Ain't She Shweet," where John Lennon does the singing. The second track, "Cry for a Shadow" is a driving instrumental piece written by Lennon and George Harrison. So the two songs that can legitmately be called Beatles songs are the first two tracks, although Paul McCarntey can be heard in the background on "My Bonnie," for what that is worth.

As for the rest, the Beatles back up Sheridan on a half dozen songs: "When the Saints Go Marching In," "Why, "If You Love Me, Baby," "Sweet Georgia Brown," "My Bonnie," and "Nobody's Child." The remaining five tracks are Tony Sheridan and the Beat Brothers, the original line up for which would have been Sheridan on vocals and guitar backed by guitarists Ken Packwood and Rick Richards, bassist Colin Melander, keyboardist Ian Hines and drummer Jimmy Doyle. However, none of those songs are particularly interesting. The attraction of this album is that you get to hear what John, Paul and George were like as musicians just a couple of years before they spearheaded the British Invasion and basically changed forever a little thing we like to call music. But if you have "Anthology 1" you already have the big three from this one.

At the time this was made, this was one of the few places to get these early recordings made by the Beatles in Hamburg, Germany. They acted as backing group to English rocker Tony Sheridan (who sounds much like a B-grade Elvis Presley). These early recordings are from the days when Pete Best was still behind the drumkit, instead of Ringo Starr.

HIGHLIGHTS:

The Beatles are only really here on 3 tracks, "Ain't She Sweet?" (where John actually sings lead), "Cry for a Shadow" (an instrumental written by the Beatles as a tribute to English star Cliff Richard's backing group The Shadows), and "My Bonnie", where the group really is only there as instrumental backing for Sheridan. This last single is a key piece to Beatles lore, as it was a fan seeking that song in Brian Epstein's NEMS record shop that led him to seek out the group. The rest, as they say, is history.

LOWS:

No real discernable lows so much as a general malaise. Outside of the 3 Beatles tracks, you get garage band versions of classic 50s numbers. You're better off with Little Richard, Dion, Chris Montez, etc etc etc.

BOTTOM LINE:

The 3 you really want this for are available on "Anthology 1" these days with other Fab Four rarities. The other performances aren't especially noteworthy, but if you're here because you're a big Sheridan fan, you may want to look at his Website. It looks like he still records. http://www.tony-sheridan.de/

It is total trickery to put "The Beatles" on this CD cover. This is just Tony Sheridan and his other band. There are only two Beatles songs on the disc, and both are also on The Beatles' "Anthology 1". There are only two good things about this disc.

One: The track "My Bonnie" is complete, without the Paul McCartney interview at the beginning, as on the Anthology. That ruined it.

And two: It's in stereo.

Other than that, it is really bad. The songs are really bad and slow. Really bad 1950s type songs. Don't be lured into buying this like I was!

Most of this album is really [bad]. "Aint She Sweet" and "Cry For a Shadow" are good, the only real Beatles tracks on the whole album. Their rendition of "The Saints" is pretty boring, kind of quiet and bluesy. "My Bonnie" is good because it doesn't have the tail-end of Paul McCartney's interview at the beginning of the track the way it does on Anthology Vol. 1. The only good ones besides the first two and My Bonnie are "Ready Teddy" "Sweeet Georgia Brown" (great 1950s style rock-n-roll numbers), and "Kansas City" which ISN'T the same song as on Beatles For Sale and the BBC and Anthology albums. The liner notes say this song was written by Hank Ballard and although the intro is similar to the Lieber/Stoller song, the rest is quite different.

The other songs are really dull. I couldn't BELIEVE the slow, schmaltzy "Nobody's Child." "Why" is very similar.

Over all, this is not a very good album. Only about half the album is good, and the liner notes in the booklet are uninteresting. This album is quite [bad].