Something New by The Beatles
Something New is The Beatles' third Capitol LP release, but fifth American album following the United Artists release of A Hard Day's Night. This album includes eight songs from the original British release of A Hard Day's Night, as well as the remaining tracks "Slow Down" and "Matchbox" from the Long Tall Sally EP and the German language version of "I Want to Hold Your Hand". It was released in mono and stereo, and all mono mixes of the five songs duplicated from the United Artists soundtrack album are the same. This was the first Capitol Beatles album with all of the tracks in "true" stereo. The mono release contains alternative versions of "Any Time At All" (a different mix during the instrumental bridge), "I'll Cry Instead" (the "missing" third verse), "When I Get Home" (the line "Till I walk out that door again" during the song's bridge has a different vocal passage from the UK mono mix), and "And I Love Her" (McCartney's non-double-tracked vocal). The album spent nine weeks at #2 on the Billboard 200, behind the United Artists A Hard Day's Night album. This album was also released on the Parlophone label for sale only on American Armed Forces bases in Europe. These copies have great collector value. The album was also issued in Germany on the Odeon label. The German stereo version contains a reprocessed stereo version of "Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand" and an extended version of "And I Love Her", repeating the closing riff six times instead of four. This mix was later released on the US version of Rarities. In 2004 this album was released for the first time on CD as part of The Capitol Albums, Volume 1 box set (catalogue number CDP 7243 8 66876 2 3).
Ed Sheeran’s appeal has always stemmed from the authenticity his music exudes. After learning guitar from the age of 11, the British singer-songwriter independently put out five EPs, garnering him a sizeable and wide-ranging fanbase in the UK. Those early releases notably included 2011’s <i>No. 5 Collaborations Project</i>, a collection that brought together Sheeran’s folk-adjacent acoustic pop with his love of rap, featuring some of the UK’s premier grime MCs (including Jme, Wiley and P Money). So when Sheeran’s debut album, <i>+</i>, arrived in 2011—the same year he turned 20—it was perhaps not surprising that his voice was occasionally imbued with the flexible elasticity of rap delivery, his soft vocals often bouncing between a bounding quick pace and a slower, more deliberate troubadour style. Produced and written by Sheeran, with help from Jake Gosling—who’s also worked with the likes of One Direction and Lady Gaga—this is an album of simple but affecting pop music, one that wears its vernacular Britishness and youthfulness on its sleeve: A breakup song about Sheeran’s ex starting her undergraduate degree while he’s on the road is titled “U.N.I.”—a reference to “you and I”, of course, but also “uni” . In the scheme of Sheeran’s career, some of the tracks on <i>+</i> now feel a little insipid. But there’s no denying the fact that many have become staples of an era—after all, this is the album that delivered such hits as “The A Team”, “Drunk”, “You Need Me, I Don’t Need You” and “Lego House”. There’s an earnest quality to these tracks, which tackle alcoholism, the music industry and lost loves—all of it imbued with a directness stemming from the simple combination of Sheeran and his acoustic guitar. One of the most essential debuts of the 2010s, <i>+</i> established Sheeran’s ear for melody, as well as his knack for communicating with his audience—two traits that would power the singer-songwriter’s career in the years ahead.
