Of historical note but much more Sheridan than Early Beatles

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.

Tony Sheridan

Tony is a good rocker and this CD is the album he recorded with The Beatles (re-issued in 1964 as "The Beatles 1st"). The best track is, of course , "My Bonnie", which was a top 10 hit in 1962.

Unnecessary to own for Beatles fans

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 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/