This British import isn't easy to find these days, but it's essential for
Beatles
and British music fans, collecting almost every
Lennon
-
McCartney
song that was not recorded by
the Beatles
, but that did appear on releases by other artists. The bulk of the material dates from 1963 and 1964 and, indeed, most of these were British and/or American hits, some of them quite huge. The tracks by
Peter & Gordon
and
Billy J. Kramer
are probably the best known, but you also get the more obscure compositions they donated to
Cilla Black
,
the Applejacks
the Fourmost
P.J. Proby
Tommy Quickly
, and
Mike Shannon & the Strangers
(who?). As in almost everything else they did,
John
Paul
displayed shrewd judgment in the tracks they passed on to others; most of them are far more lightweight and sappy than
' typical material. And so are most of the interpretations; in cases where
recorded unreleased versions (as with
"Hello Little Girl,"
"Love of the Loved,"
"That Means a Lot"
), the Fab Four's versions are vastly superior. That said, this is irresistibly melodic and jaunty British Invasion pop, with a few late-'60s tracks thrown in by
Carlos Mendes
Chris Barber
. The only notable absentees are the hits by
Mary Hopkin
(
"Goodbye"
) and
Badfinger
"Come and Get It,"
which actually bears a
solo composition credit). ~ Richie Unterberger