The Beatles in Italy

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The Beatles in Italy
The Beatles in Italy cover
Compilation album by The Beatles
Released 1965
Recorded 1963 - 1965
Genre Rock Music
Label Parlophone
Producer George Martin
Professional reviews

All Music Guide 2.5/5 stars link

The Beatles in Italy is a Beatles compilation album released in Italy in 1965 (Parlophone PMCQ 315006). Despite its title, The Beatles in Italy is not a live album, but, rather, a compilation of previously released studio recordings. The album was issued in Italy in the summer of 1965 to capitalise on the release of the film, Help!, and it contained studio versions of songs that The Beatles had previously performed in concert in Italy.

As The Beatles in Italy contained no new material, it did not sell very well, and it was soon quietly deleted by Parlophone. The record probably would have remained obscure had not John Lennon, in a 1970 Rolling Stone interview, mistakenly referred to it as a live record. As The Beatles had not issued a live album during their career, the Lennon interview set off a frenzy among Beatle collectors seeking to add the alleged "live" album to their collection.

In the mid-1970s, Parlophone's Italian subsidiary re-released the album. By then, most fans had realized that it was not a live album (and, with the release of The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl in 1977, the demand for a live Beatles album had been met). Nonetheless, imported copies of the album continued to attract the interest of Beatles collectors, who saw it both as a curiosity and as an item needed to complete their collections. The album has not been issued on CD.

[edit] Track listing

[edit] Side One

  1. Long Tall Sally (Johnson/Penniman/Blackwell)
  2. She's a Woman (Lennon-McCartney)
  3. Matchbox (Lennon-McCartney))
  4. From Me to You (Lennon-McCartney)
  5. I Want to Hold Your Hand (Lennon-McCartney)
  6. Ticket to Ride (Lennon-McCartney)

[edit] Side Two

  1. This Boy (Lennon-McCartney)
  2. Slow Down (Williams)
  3. I Call Your Name (Lennon-McCartney)
  4. Thank You Girl (Lennon-McCartney)
  5. Yes It Is (Lennon-McCartney)
  6. I Feel Fine (Lennon-McCartney)