The Beatles 1958-1962 180g LP (Red Vinyl)

"That'll Be The Day", a Buddy Holly song, and "In Spite Of All The Danger", the only song co-written by Paul McCartney and George Harrison, are taken from a 78RPM shellac disc recorded live in one day, between spring and summer of 1958, by The Quarry Men (the proto-band of The Beatles, featuring John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison, along with John Lowe on piano, and Colin Hanton on drums) at Phillips Sound Recording Service (a low-fi home recording studio in Liverpool).

"Cayenne" was written by Paul McCartney and recorded at his home between spring and summer of 1960 by the four guitar line-up of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Stuart Sutcliffe. "Ain't She Sweet", a 1927 song by Ager & Yellen, was recorded in Hamburg on 22 June 1961 by George, John, Paul, and Pete Best under the band name Beat Brothers, the supporting group for vocalist Tony Sheridan. The Beatles recorded "Love Me Do" three times in 1962 - on June 6, and September 4 and 11 - and on each occasion with a different drummer. The first, featuring Pete Best, remained unissued, while the latter two, featuring Ringo Starr and session player Andy White respectively, were issued on record.

"Besame Mucho", a 1940 song by Consuelo Velazquez, was recorded at Abbey Road at the same session as "Love Me Do" on June 6, 1962, with Pete Best on drums. "How Do You Do It" by Mitch Murray was recorded at Abbey Road at the same session as "Love Me Do" on September 4, 1962, with Ringo Starr on drums. On September 11, 1962, George Martin had arranged for Andy White, a session drummer, to occupy the beat seat, which came as quite a shock to the Beatles and especially to Ringo, who had joined the group less than four weeks earlier, and wondered if this was a sign of things to come. As it happened, this was to be the only occasion where Ringo was replaced in such a fashion. All songs taken from this session are written by Lennon & McCartney. "Love Me Do", with Ringo Starr on tambourine, "P.S. I Love You", which became the Side B of the first Beatles 7", and "Please Please Me", featuring different lead and harmony vocals, a different drum track, and no harmonica.

"The One After 909", "I Saw Her Standing There", and "Catswalk" were taken from their September 1962 live performance at the Cavern Club in Liverpool. "Please Please Me" and "Ask Me Why", co-written by Lennon & McCartney, were recorded at Abbey Road on November 26, 1962, and became their second single. On December 31, 1962, the Beatles were in Hamburg for the last time, performing, among others, the Lennon/McCartney song "I Saw Her Standing There" and Carl Perkins' masterpiece "Lend Me Your Comb", written by Twomey, Wise & Weisman. Despite the poor sound quality, these live recordings are significant historical documents, which is why they are included here.