The Beatles
With The Beatles

It is undeniable that the history of rock would have had different evolutions without that July 6, 1957. The date of the meeting (which has been the subject of an entire book) between two young teenagers named John Lennon and James Paul McCartney heavily influenced the music of the sixties for the next ten years, becoming an indispensable pillar on which the history of rock would be built. Elvis Presley and Lonnie Donegan sparked the curiosity that the two young men from Liverpool aspired to. Paul was a left-handed guitarist with visible talent and great interpretive ability as a vocalist, who, invited (October 1957) by Pete Shotton (who played in the same band as the guitarist named John), could only agree, laying the foundations of that magical songwriting team that would become known as Lennon-McCartney.

In the beginning, there were the Quarry Men (in honor of Quarry Bank Grammar School attended by Lennon), then came Johnny and The Moondogs, Beatals, Silver Beats, and almost immediately the Silver Beatles. In February 1958, the competent George Harrison (also on guitar) joined them, who, along with his two adventure companions, would play with an indefinite number of musicians, including the experiences of two skilled instrumentalists like John Lowe (piano) and Colin Hanton (drums), enriching the three teenagers from Liverpool until 1960. To listen to rock 'n' roll in Liverpool, there was no need to look to the United States; besides the 45s, the lands bathed by the Mersey (also due to the strong presence of American sailors) became the operational base from which an enviable talent pool capable of spreading its word without difficulty would emerge.

In 1960, with the arrival of bassist Stu Sutcliffe, John, Paul, and George (along with them was drummer Tommy Moore) embarked on a tour in Scotland, which, although not yielding the expected results, led the Silver Beetles to cross national borders for the first approach on German soil and shortly thereafter change their name to the definitive The Beatles. Landing in Hamburg during August 1960, the band, with the addition of Pete Best on drums, consisting of five members, would play every day at the Indra Club until the evening of October 3, when, due to unforeseen problems, the four (Stu would stay with his girlfriend, the photographer Astrid Kirchherr) were forced to leave German soil. Returning to the land of Albion, the early 1961 represented an incredible rise in popularity for the Beatles that they aimed for. The warm performances held at the Cavern Club in Liverpool allowed them to create a very close interaction with their fans, who adored them immensely, making the same venue that had (re)baptized them after the failure in Germany became their faithful home and ... Where It all began!

With Harrison's coming of age, the four returned to Germany and accompanied the singer/guitarist Tony Sheridan in performances at the Top Ten Club in Hamburg, after which they were given the opportunity to record songs initially released only for the German market. The return of the four to Liverpool was without much effort set at the usual Cavern, where the group's frantic supporters spontaneously made themselves heard in droves. Shortly afterward, the appointment of manager Brian Epstein, whose first and arduous task was to fire Best in favor of someone named Richard Starkey (already known with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes precisely in Hamburg land), who would later take on the much more harmonious name of Ringo Starr.

On October 5, 1962, in Great Britain, the first 45 RPM, "Love Me Do" (with a more convincing Andy White on drums), was released, gathering loads of acclaim also due to the numerous broadcasts which the Beatles would be guests of, while on March 22, 1963, their first 33 RPM titled "Please Please Me" was released (in Italy, it would only come out in November with a different cover and titled "I Favolosi Beatles"). The album is a summary that clearly reflects the debut of a band leaving behind a long and sacrificial apprenticeship, paving the way for an artistic evolution simply postponed.

The first notes that reach the ear in this second Lp are those of "It Won't Be Long", captivating and energetic enough, where the simple rhythmic succession of yeah yeah takes the spotlight along with the first examples of an engaging wordplay (be long and belong docet...). The role of captivating at first listen succeeds easily with "All I've Got To Do", with John's soul singing approaching the best of Smokey Robinson. Undoubtedly, "All My Loving", led vocally by Paul, is enjoyable for listeners to fall victim to those sugary choruses that would over time become one of the winning trademarks of the fab four. A perfect uniformity of style among the tracks present on the record quickly becomes evident, which, although not necessitating detailed analysis of each song, cannot ignore the emotional "Till There Was You" (the theme from The Show Man written by Meredith Wilson), where the Lennon-McCartney duo enriches the commendable lyricism with an acoustic accompaniment that will add even more value.

As expected, there couldn't be a proper tribute missing for those who contributed to the rock 'n' roll revolution, such as for "Roll Over Beethoven" (Chuck Berry), and why not pay homage to Motown with "Please Mister Postman" (Marvelettes) or for the magical pen of the Gordy/Bradford duo, capable of producing a compact and engaging track like "Money (That's What I Want)", where a vigorous ensemble interpretation further illustrates how much Lennon's vocal execution is spot on, just as much as the piano introduction played on the occasion by producer George Martin.

"WTB", despite not including only original tracks (only eight out of fourteen!), boasts among the covers, songs - that the band loves most, - intelligently drawn from the American repertoire and reprising them with a personal style perfectly channeled into the emerging beat phenomenon. John, Paul, George, and Ringo not far from the golden path they would undertake, but evidently distant from the Silver Beetles of almost a year earlier, still today confirming the validity of a prophetic statement made by George Martin which I'm sure won't need any translation: "The first album was really of their repertoire, "With the Beatles was the first songbook ... so to speak...