Hey Jude
Both BeatleSongs and Tell Me Why don’t list this album, as it isn’t official canon, especially with the realignment to the U.K. Parlaphone releases. This was a U.S. release compiled by Capitol to eek out another full release by the band that was breaking up. The Hey Jude album was released in February of 1970, and the band officially disbanded in March or April, just as the Let It Be album was being released.
Capitol saw the writing on the wall and was looking for a way to make a bit more money from the group, but with no new songs on the way, Capitol gathered up some singles and B-sides, slapped them together, and brought it to market. Originally the album was to be titled The Beatles Again, but a last minute change was designed to help promote the hit single.
Side one
“Can’t Buy Me Love”
“I Should Have Known Better”
“Paperback Writer”
“Rain”
“Lady Madonna”
“Revolution”
Side two
“Hey Jude”
“Old Brown Shoe”
“Don’t Let Me Down”
“The Ballad of John and Yoko”
I keep forgetting I have this album. Every once in a great while when I do find myself in a used record store and I inevitably head into the Beatles section, I look for this album. Usually I never find it. When I do, I see the album cover, and then am reminded that I do have it. After taking a look at my copy of the album, I am reminded that I really need to replace it. My copy doesn’t have an inner sleeve, and the cover and album are in mediocre condition.
Moving from “Cant’ Buy Me Love” to “The Ballad Of John And Yoko” this compilation spans approximately 5 years, but a world of difference in terms of the group’s musical direction. I also find it odd that despite the fact this is a collection of singles, I don’t enjoy the album nearly as much as I should. While I do like the songs, some more than others, this is very much just a random grouping of songs, which doesn’t help. “Old Brown Show” is fairly middle of the pack as far as Beatles songs are concerned, but I do prefer hearing it on vinyl.