An Alternative Beatles Discography - No Covers (1963-1966)

In honor of what would have been John Lennon's 80th birthday, I present to you all how the Beatles' discography may have been if they had done all originals from the get-go. Back in February, The Reconstructor did his own take on With the Beatles with all Lennon/McCartney originals (with one song by George Harrison), and he even said that for A Hard Day's Night, "One and One is Two" would've been track nine as Ringo's vocal spot. I even recall that Auran had been planning on rebooting Something Creative, for which it'll start around 1962/1963, inspired by a Rate Your Music list that did its own Beatles albums with all originals.

So that is where my own take on how the Beatles' discography would be like if they did all original compositions rather than also recording cover songs as filler comes in. We can say that they did cover songs for extended plays released alongside the main albums. Some of you may disagree with the choices I made, and that's perfectly fine; I'll try and explain the choices I made as best as I can, but I'm willing to make some changes to the track listings based on your suggestions. And without further ado, here's my personal take on the revised 1963-1966 discography by the Beatles! You can also listen to them on the playlist I made to see what you guys think.

All tracks are credited to John Lennon and Paul McCartney (Lennon/McCartney), excluding those marked with an asterisk (*) by George Harrison. "Cry for a Shadow" is credited to Harrison/Lennon and "12-Bar Original" to all four Beatles.

Please Please Me (April 12, 1963)

Side A (15:27)

1. I Saw Her Standing There - 2:55

2. Misery - 1:49

3. Hello Little Girl - 1:40 (Anthology 1)

4. Thank You Girl - 2:04 (Past Masters)

5. Like Dreamers Do - 2:36 (Anthology 1)

6. Ask Me Why - 2:24

7. Please Please Me - 1:59

Side B (14:22)

8. Love Me Do - 2:24 (Past Masters)

9. P.S. I Love You - 2:04

10. Do You Want to Know a Secret - 1:56

11. Cry for a Shadow - 2:22 (Anthology 1)

12. Love of the Loved - 1:47 (I Saw Her Standing There)

13. There's a Place - 1:51

14. From Me to You - 1:58 (Past Masters)

Described as innovation upon release, Please Please Me was regarded as a pioneering example of bands' debut albums consisting of all original material rather than simply doing covers of songs by Chuck Berry. But not wanting to abandon covers all together, the Beatles released their Twist and Shout extended play the month before the release of their debut album.

Singles:

• "Love Me Do" / "P.S. I Love You" - October 5, 1962
• "Please Please Me" / "Ask Me Why" - January 11, 1963
• "From Me to You" / "Anna (Go to Him)" - April 12, 1963
• Twist and Shout EP - July 12, 1963
• Side A: "Twist and Shout" / "A Taste of Honey"
• Side B: "Chains" / "Boys"
  

New additions:

• "Hello Little Girl", "Like Dreamers Do" and "Love of the Loved" - All were performed by the Beatles at their unsuccessful audition for Decca Records in 1962. "Hello Little Girl" was written by John Lennon in 1957 and "Like Dreamers Do" and "Love of the Loved" were both written by Paul McCartney in 1959 and 1961, respectively.
• "Thank You Girl" and "From Me to You" - Both were recorded in early March 1963 shortly after the bulk of the album in OTL was recorded. I took some liberties and went with the assumption that they were last-minute inclusions for the album, which would've delayed it by two or three weeks.
• "Cry for a Shadow" - Originally recorded on June 22, 1961 when the Beatles were backing band for Tony Sheridan.

Lastly, "Love Me Do" is the single version that has Ringo on drums, which I think adds a little variation to the album. I could've included "Tip of My Tongue", recorded 1962, but bootlegs of that have yet to surface.

With the Beatles (November 22, 1963)

Side A (14:40)

1. It Won't Be Long - 2:13

2. All I've Got to Do - 2:02

3. All My Loving - 2:07

4. Don't Bother Me* - 2:28

5. Little Child - 1:46

6. I'll Be on My Way - 1:58 (Live at the BBC)

7. I'll Get You - 2:06 (Past Masters)

Side B (15:51)

8. She Loves You - 2:21 (Past Masters)

9. Hold Me Tight - 2:32

10. This Boy - 2:16 (Past Masters)

11. I Call Your Name - 2:09 (Past Masters)

12. I Wanna Be Your Man - 1:59

13. Not a Second Time - 2:07

14. I Want to Hold Your Hand - 2:27 (Past Masters)

Considered an ever better follow-up to Please Please Me, With the Beatles brought these four lads to superstardom by featuring the big hits "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "She Loves You", and even landed themselves a gig on The Ed Sullivan Show upon arrival in America in February 1964. What was the next step for the Fab Four? By starring in their own movie, of course!

Singles:

• "She Loves You" / "Baby It's You" - August 23, 1963
• "I Want to Hold Your Hand" / "You Really Got a Hold on Me" - November 29, 1963
• Four by The Beatles EP - May 11, 1964
• Side A: "Roll Over Beethoven" / "Till There Was You"
• Side B: "Money (That's What I Want)" / "Please Mr. Postman"
  

New additions:

• "I'll Be on My Way" - Given away to Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas who released it as a B-side to "Do You Want to Know a Secret" in April 1963. The Beatles' version was recorded live for the BBC that same month and then broadcast in June on "Side by Side".
• "I'll Get You" and "She Loves You" - Both were recorded in July 1963 and released as a single in August that same year.
• "This Boy" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand" - Both were recorded in October 1963 and released as a single in November that same year.
• "I Call Your Name" - John Lennon wrote it prior to the formation of the Beatles, suggesting that it was during the Quarrymen days. It was later given to Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas in 1963 along with "Bad to Me", and the Beatles eventually recorded their own version for the extended play Long Tall Sally in 1964.

Overall, this track listing follows The Reconstructor's to the note.

A Hard Day's Night (July 10, 1964)

Side A (16:23)

1. A Hard Day's Night - 2:34

2. I Should Have Known Better - 2:43

3. If I Fell - 2:19

4. I'm Happy Just to Dance with You - 1:56

5. And I Love Her - 2:30

6. Tell Me Why - 2:09

7. Can't Buy Me Love - 2:12

Side B (15:58)

8. Any Time at All - 2:11

9.  One and One is Two - 2:11 (fan remix)

10. I'll Cry Instead - 1:45

11. Things We Said Today - 2:35

12. When I Get Home - 2:17

13. You Can't Do That - 2:35

14. I'll Be Back - 2:24

The album of the same name was recorded in conjunction with the Beatles' debut flick, A Hard Day's Night, and showed the Lennon/McCartney duo at their most creative. But with that being said, it did lead to a bit of a burnout.

Singles:

• "Can't Buy Me Love" / "You Can't Do That" - March 20, 1964
• Long Tall Sally EP - June 19, 1964
• Side A: "Long Tall Sally" / "Devil in Her Heart"
• Side B: "Slow Down" / "Matchbox"
• "A Hard Day's Night" / "Things We Said Today" - July 10, 1964

New addition:

• "One and One is Two" - Written and demoed by Paul McCartney for The Strangers with Mike Shannon, who released it as a single in May 1964. For TTL, Ringo sings lead vocals.

A Hard Day's Night always felt a bit short for my liking, and I've personally thought of replacing "When I Get Home" (my least favorite track on the album) with "Matchbox" and "Long Tall Sally", not only to cut down the number of John vocals, but also to give Ringo a vocal spot and Paul even gets an extra one on side two. I even picture "Long Tall Sally" as the album closer. But for this post to work, we'll have to stick solely with original compositions.

Beatles for Sale (December 4, 1964)

Side A (16:36)

1. No Reply - 2:15

2. I'm a Loser - 2:30

3. Baby's in Black - 2:04

4. One After 909 - 2:56 (Anthology 1)

5. I'll Follow the Sun - 1:49

6. You Know What to Do* - 1:59 (Anthology 1)

7. She's a Woman - 3:03 (Past Masters)

Side B (17:37)

8. Eight Days a Week - 2:43

9. Michelle - 2:40 (Rubber Soul)

10. What Goes On - 2:47 (Rubber Soul)

11. Every Little Thing - 2:04

12. I Don't Want to Spoil the Party - 2:33

13. What You're Doing - 2:30

14. I Feel Fine - 2:20 (Past Masters)

After a creative spurt with A Hard Day's Night, the Beatles found themselves feeling creatively drained, and so George Harrison brought in his second composition for the band, but it wasn't quite enough to fill up the album. So John and Paul had to resort to bringing back a couple of older songs, including songs originally planned to be recorded the year prior. The Beatles did get back into a creative spurt the following year, with a couple of surprises.

Singles:

• "I Feel Fine" / "Kansas City/Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey" - November 27, 1964
• 4 by The Beatles EP - February 1, 1965
• Side A: "Honey Don't" / "Words of Love"
• Side B: "Mr. Moonlight" / "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby"
• "Eight Days a Week" / "Rock and Roll Music" - February 15, 1965

New additions:

• "One After 909" - First composed by John Lennon in 1959 (some sources say as early as 1957) and was recorded during the same sessions as "From Me to You" and "Thank You Girl". The song stayed in the vaults for several years before it was finally brought back for Let It Be in 1969.
• "You Know What to Do" - Written by George Harrison and recorded alongside "No Reply" in June 1964 but was not considered for album inclusion. The official version is obviously unfinished, so I imagine that it would've been polished up in the studio.
• "She's a Woman" and "I Feel Fine" - Recorded in October 1964 and released as a single in November that same year.
• "Michelle" - Paul has stated that it first started out as an instrumental in the late 1950s before being brought back for Rubber Soul.
• "What Goes On" - The Beatles first attempted to record an early version in 1963, during the same sessions that produced "From Me to You", "Thank You Girl" and the original version of "One After 909", but it did not happen due to lack of time. Like "Michelle", it was brought back for Rubber Soul. John first composed the song in 1959 and it was rumored to have been played by the Quarrymen during their live performances.

Coming up with material that the Beatles had written by that point was not easy, which is probably no wonder that they resorted to using cover songs in OTL. Once again, I've followed The Reconstructor's take on this to the note.

Help! (August 6, 1965)

Side A (17:01)

1. Help! - 2:18

2. The Night Before - 2:34

3. You've Got to Hide Your Love Away - 2:09

4. I Need You* - 2:28

5. Another Girl - 2:05

6. You're Going to Lose That Girl - 2:18

7. Ticket to Ride - 3:09

Side B (16:46)

8. I've Just Seen a Face - 2:05

9. It's Only Love - 1:56

10. You Like Me Too Much* - 2:36

11. Wait - 2:12 (Rubber Soul)

12. If You've Got Trouble - 2:48 (Anthology 2)

13. Yesterday - 2:05

14. I'm Down - 2:32 (Past Masters)

Another creative spurt had hit the Beatles when they did their second feature length film. For the first time, George Harrison had two lead vocals on an album, as well as two compositions of his own. From there, his songwriting skills would get recognized by the rest of the Beatles camp. But as for Ringo? It would be a few years before he finally brought forth a song by himself.

Singles:

• "Ticket to Ride" / "Yes It Is" - April 9, 1965
• "Help!" / "Tell Me What You See" - July 23, 1965
• "Yesterday" / "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" - September 13, 1965

New additions:

• "Wait" - Originally recorded for Help!, but it was rejected for inclusion and instead ended up on Rubber Soul with overdubs.
• "If You've Got Trouble" - Recorded February 1965 during the Help! sessions but was discarded in favor of "Act Naturally" as Ringo's vocal spot.
• "I'm Down" - Recorded June 1965 and later released as the B-side to "Help!" in July that same year.
  

Unlike Beatles for Sale, it was much easier picking out material to replace cover songs for Help!. I was going to include "Yes It Is", but as you can see, it's a non-album B-side, as is "Tell Me What You See"; just not enough room for everything, which is also why "That Means a Lot" is nowhere to be seen.

Rubber Soul (December 3, 1965)

Side A (17:58)

1. Drive My Car - 2:25

2. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) - 2:01

3. You Won't See Me - 3:18

4. Nowhere Man - 2:40

5. Think for Yourself* - 2:16

6. The Word - 2:41

7. When I'm Sixty-Four - 2:37 (Sgt. Pepper)

Side B (17:01)

8. Day Tripper - 2:50 (Past Masters)

9. Girl - 2:30

10. I'm Looking Through You - 2:23

11. In My Life - 2:24

12. We Can Work It Out - 2:16 (Past Masters)

13. If I Needed Someone* - 2:20

14. Run for Your Life - 2:18

Rubber Soul broke new ground and showcased the Beatles' increasing maturity as lyricists. Once again, George Harrison had two songwriting spots on an album, and many were wondering what he and the other Beatles could come up with next.

Singles:

• "We Can Work It Out" / "Day Tripper" - December 3, 1965
• "Nowhere Man" / "12-Bar Original" - February 21, 1966

New additions:

• "When I'm Sixty-Four" - Written by McCartney in 1958 and even played by the Beatles whenever the amplifiers broke or the electricity went off. It was eventually revisited for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in 1966.
• "Day Tripper" and "We Can Work It Out" - Recorded October 1965 and released as a double A-side single in December that same year.

Since Rubber Soul had lost three songs, I had to bring in the double A-side single as well as "When I'm Sixty-Four" to fill in the gaps. Otherwise, the album is unchanged from OTL.

Revolver (August 5, 1966)

Side A (18:33)

1. Taxman* - 2:36

2. Eleanor Rigby - 2:11

3. I'm Only Sleeping - 2:58

4. Love You To* - 3:00

5. Here, There and Everywhere - 2:29

6. Yellow Submarine - 2:40

7. She Said She Said - 2:39

Side B (18:43)

8. Good Day Sunshine - 2:08

9. And Your Bird Can Sing - 2:02

10. For No One - 2:03

11. Doctor Robert - 2:14

12. Isn't It a Pity* - 4:45

13. Got to Get You Into My Life - 2:31

14. Tomorrow Never Knows - 3:00

Despite the controversy over John Lennon saying that the Beatles were "more popular than Jesus", Revolver further showcased their developing songwriting and sound. This was especially the case for George Harrison, who boasted three tracks on the album. One of them, "Isn't It a Pity", caused a bit of friction in the studio because of how George had wanted to arrange it. Thankfully, however, it all worked out in the end, and once again, the Beatles have reached a new musical peak, most likely spurred on by the innovation of the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds released earlier that year.

Singles:

• "Paperback Writer" / "Rain" - May 30, 1966
• "Eleanor Rigby" / "Yellow Submarine" - August 5, 1966

New addition:

• "Isn't It a Pity" - Originally written in 1966 prior to the Revolver sessions, but it was rejected by the other Beatles. George would later revisit the track for All Things Must Pass, even including two versions. Ringo played drums on both versions. The version utilized is the second one.

Revolver hasn't differed much from OTL apart from replacing "I Want to Tell You" (though that track will not go unused). I've felt lately that George Harrison was the unsung hero of the Beatles; had he gotten recognition for his songwriting earlier, perhaps they would've continued into the 1970s.

Rock 'n' Roll Music (October 21, 1977)

Side A (17:36)

1. Rock and Roll Music - 2:31 (Chuck Berry; Beatles for Sale)

2. Searchin' - 3:00 (Jerry Leiber/Mike Stoller; Anthology 1)

3. Three Cool Cats - 2:25 (Jerry Leiber/Mike Stoller; Anthology 1)

4. Words of Love - 2:04 (Buddy Holly; Beatles for Sale)

5. Please Mr. Postman - 2:34 (Georgia Dobbins/William Garrett/Freddie Gorman/Brian Holland/Robert Bateman; With the Beatles)

6. Honey Don't - 2:57 (Carl Perkins; Beatles for Sale)

7. Long Tall Sally - 2:05 (Enotris Johnson/Robert Blackwell/Richard Penniman; Past Masters)

Side B (18:26)

8. Roll Over Beethoven - 2:45 (Chuck Berry; With the Beatles)

9. Slow Down - 2:56 (Larry Williams; Past Masters)

10. Baby It's You - 2:40 (Mack David/Barney Williams/Burt Bacharach; Please Please Me)

11. Till There Was You - 2:14 (Meredith Wilson; With the Beatles)

12. Leave My Kitten Alone - 2:57 (Little Willie John/Titus Turner/James McDougal; Anthology 1)

13. Anna (Go to Him) - 2:55 (Arthur Alexander; Please Please Me)

14. Matchbox - 1:59 (Carl Perkins; Past Masters)

Side C (18:11)

15. Kansas City/Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey - 2:38 (Jerry Leiber/Mike Stoller/Richard Penniman; Beatles for Sale)

16. Dizzy Miss Lizzy - 2:54 (Larry Williams; Help!)

17. Chains - 2:23 (Gerry Goffin/Carole King; Please Please Me)

18. Boys - 2:24 (Luther Dixon/Wes Farrell; Please Please Me)

19. Besame Mucho - 2:37 (Consuelo Velázquez/Sunny Skylar; Anthology 1)

20. Money (That's What I Want) - 2:49 (Janie Bradford/Berry Bordy; With the Beatles)

21. Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby - 2:26 (Carl Perkins; Beatles for Sale)

Side D (17:31)

22. Act Naturally - 2:30 (Johnny Russell/Voni Morrison; Help!)

23. You Really Got a Hold on Me - 3:01 (Smokey Robinson; With the Beatles)

24. Bad Boy - 2:21 (Larry Williams; Past Masters)

25. Devil in Her Heart - 2:26 (Richard Drapkin; With the Beatles)

26. Mr. Moonlight - 2:38 (Roy Lee Johnson; Beatles for Sale)

27. A Taste of Honey - 2:03 (Bobby Scott/Ric Marlow; Please Please Me)

28. Twist and Shout - 2:32 (Phil Medley/Bert Russell; Please Please Me)

"From their first session to their last, The Beatles would often record covers in the studio for fun and personal satisfaction but never with the intention of them ever being released to the public, preferring to let their albums consist of wholly original material. Now for the first time, 28 of these cover songs have been rescued from the vaults and gathered onto a special double album! Just in time for Christmas!" (quote provided by Uncle Dan in the comments)

Rock 'n' Roll Music is a straight forward compilation of the twenty-four cover songs that the Beatles had put out between 1963 and 1965, along with two covers from the fabled Decca audition - "Searchin'" and "Three Cool Cats" - "Besame Mucho" from the initial EMI session in June 1962, along with a Beatles for Sale outtake, "Leave My Kitten Alone", all from Anthology 1. I had originally arranged it in a similar way to the actual Rock 'n' Roll Music compilation, but after a suggestion from Matthew Firth, I re-arranged it do that the Chuck Berry song was first and "Twist and Shout" came last. What I tried achieving was having each Beatle open and close a side, and never having more than two songs sung by the same Beatle in a row. John sang lead vocals on twelve of the covers (almost an entire album), Paul sang six, George sang five and Ringo sang four, with "Words of Love" being jointly sung by John and Paul. Re-arranging the tracks was not an easy task; your results may vary.

I know that I didn't include "How Do You Do It", but that doesn't really count since it was offered to the Beatles and they rejected it. Personally, there were a lot of songs that they could've still done around 1962/1963 like "I Lost My Little Girl", "You'll Be Mine" and "In Spite of All the Danger", and yet they never thought about bringing them forth for consideration. Well, they did try out "I Lost My Little Girl" during the Get Back sessions but it was never completed in the studio, and Paul didn't play it live until 1991. Who knows how things would've gone had they actually been recorded in the studio in the early 60s?

So how would these changes to the Beatles' earlier albums have affected the later ones? Well, since "When I'm Sixty-Four" and "One After 909" have been recorded and released earlier, that means Sgt. Pepper and Let It Be each lose a pivotal track, but could those losses be made up for by including more of George's material on the albums? And would that in turn have led to the Beatles lasting up to at least the mid 1970s? Would John and George still be alive? We may not be able to say for sure, but it sure as hell would've been one magical mystery tour to take across another universe...

EDIT: (10/11/20) Revised the track listing to Rock 'n' Roll Music to include every cover song from 1963-1965, along with a few outtakes. Also included "Isn't It a Pity" on Revolver, which is now the album's five-minute epic.

EDIT: (5/4/22) Revised track listings to most of the albums as well as liner notes explaining when each song was written up. Now I feel that this version is more definitive.