Time to kick off my Year of the Beatles by talking about their first U.K. LP, Please Please Me. It originally came out in 1963, which makes 2013 its 50th anniversary! Overall, I really like the album, which is basically 14 songs of happy, innocent, fresh-faced rock and roll. I think the Beatles’ later work is going to be more interesting, but I can see why this album made them so popular.

I actually did write up my thoughts on all the individual songs…but then I lost them somehow when I published this post! 😦 I had tried to put them under a jump, but in so doing, I inadvertently deleted them. Despite my efforts to restore an earlier draft, it looks like they’re gone for good. So I apologize for not providing the in-depth discussion of individual songs that I wanted to do…I just don’t have it in me to rewrite the whole thing. I’m crushed, but what can you do?

My next Beatles post will be on February 23, when I’ll talk about their second U.K. LP, With the Beatles. (And I’ll have the jump thing figured out by then, I swear!) Stay tuned, and feel free to join me!