The late Arthur Lee exited a California prison in December of 2001, having served more than five years of a twelve year sentence for negligent discharge of a firearm. The long mandatory sentence resulted from California's ridiculous, now repealed "three strikes you're out" law.

Before being incarcerated Lee had resurrected his moribund career by teaming with a talented group called Baby Lemonade (named for a Syd Barrett song) much as had Brian Wilson with The Wondermints. Once out of prison, Lee took up where he left off, touring the world as Arthur Lee and Love.

While The Beatles' musical arc was ever upward, the group's cinematic efforts traveled in the opposite direction. "A Hard Day's Night" was the group's best film. Shooting in black and white was more of a financial than esthetic choice it worked perfectly to capture the staid post-war period the boys found themselves in growing up.

A woman walks into a butcher shop. She says "Can I see that chicken?" The butcher hands it to her. She smells it in front, she smells it in back, she smells it all over and then hands it back to the butcher saying "Mister, this chicken stinks!" The butcher replies "Lady, could you pass a test like that?"

No chicken could pass that lady's test.

My point is that I felt obliged to take this Beatles box apart and examine it more closely than was probably necessary and be as critical as necessary, from my perspective, which might not be the same as yours.

Released in the U.K. November 22nd, 1963—the day John F. Kennedy was assassinated, many of the songs here weren't released in America until Capitol issued Meet The Beatles! in January of 1964 but a few bitter months after the assassination. America, particularly its youth needed an emotional pick me up and The Beatles provided it, though more on the Vee-Jay album than on this one.

Recorded live at Abbey Road in fewer than ten hours in February of 1963 at a cost of around £400 and issued on March 22 (my Beatles birthday present), Please Please Me captured all of the raw energy of The Beatles playing live at The Cavern Club, though on stage they didn't put the vocals in one P.A. speaker and the instruments in the other!

With but four new tunes, this is arguably the least important Beatles album but it's part of the box so here we go.

Do you realize the original American version's cover omits the words "Nothing is Real"? Someone at Capitol felt the truth was too bizarre for the "kiddies" to handle?