Reel Music
Encyclopedia
Reel Music is a compilation album
featuring a selection of songs by The Beatles
that were featured in their films. The album was released on 22 March 1982 in the United States
and the following day in the United Kingdom
- nearly simultaneously with the theatrical re-release of the film, A Hard Day's Night
, which had been "cleaned" and re-edited with stereo Dolby sound. Reel Music cracked the U.S. Billboard
Top 20, peaking at No. 19. The album was released by Capitol Records
in the United States (catalogue number SV 12199) and Parlophone
in the United Kingdom (PCS 7218). In New Zealand this LP was released on the Parlophone label (PCS 7218) and the inner sleeve and booklet were imported from the U.S. It was the first Beatles album released after John Lennon
's death.
mixes that had previously been unavailable in the US or rare:
and Paul McCartney
.
Side one
Side two
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
featuring a selection of songs by The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
that were featured in their films. The album was released on 22 March 1982 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the following day in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
- nearly simultaneously with the theatrical re-release of the film, A Hard Day's Night
A Hard Day's Night (film)
A Hard Day's Night is a 1964 British black-and-white comedy film directed by Richard Lester and starring The Beatles—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr—during the height of Beatlemania. It was written by Alun Owen and originally released by United Artists...
, which had been "cleaned" and re-edited with stereo Dolby sound. Reel Music cracked the U.S. Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Top 20, peaking at No. 19. The album was released by Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
in the United States (catalogue number SV 12199) and Parlophone
Parlophone
Parlophone is a record label that was founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch was formed in 1923 as "Parlophone" which developed a reputation in the 1920s as a leading jazz label. It was acquired in 1927 by the Columbia Graphophone Company which...
in the United Kingdom (PCS 7218). In New Zealand this LP was released on the Parlophone label (PCS 7218) and the inner sleeve and booklet were imported from the U.S. It was the first Beatles album released after John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
's death.
Unique mixes
The album featured a number of stereoSTEREO
STEREO is a solar observation mission. Two nearly identical spacecraft were launched into orbits that cause them to respectively pull farther ahead of and fall gradually behind the Earth...
mixes that had previously been unavailable in the US or rare:
- The first US release of the British stereo mix of "I Am the WalrusI Am the Walrus"I Am the Walrus" is a 1967 song by The Beatles, written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. Lennon claimed he wrote the first two lines on separate acid trips. The song was in the Beatles' 1967 television film and album Magical Mystery Tour, and was the B-side to the #1 hit "Hello,...
". Previous American releases of the song had the intro edited like the mono mix, although an edit of the British version appeared on Rarities two years before; - The official American debut of the songs "A Hard Day's NightA Hard Day's Night (song)"A Hard Day's Night" is a song by the English rock band The Beatles. Written by John Lennon, and credited to Lennon–McCartney, it was released on the movie soundtrack of the same name in 1964...
" and "Ticket to RideTicket to Ride"Ticket to Ride" is a song by The Beatles from their 1965 album, Help!. It was recorded 15 February 1965 and released two months later. -Composition:...
" in true stereo; - A unique stereo edit of "I Should Have Known BetterI Should Have Known Better"I Should Have Known Better" is a song composed by John Lennon , and originally released by The Beatles on the United Kingdom version of A Hard Day's Night, their soundtrack for the film of the same name....
", with the harmonica error in the intro fixed. This version was issued only on the Capitol pressing and has never appeared on any other record.
Single
- The album was accompanied by the single "The Beatles Movie Medley" b/w "I'm Happy Just to Dance with YouI'm Happy Just to Dance With You"I'm Happy Just to Dance with You" is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and recorded by The Beatles for the film soundtrack to A Hard Day's Night.-Composition:...
," which came with a picture sleeve featuring the same artwork as the album cover. The A-Side of the single featured an artificial medley, in which excerpts from seven songs from Reel Music ("Magical Mystery Tour," "All You Need Is LoveAll You Need Is Love"All You Need Is Love" is a song written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was first performed by The Beatles on Our World, the first live global television link. Watched by 400 million in 26 countries, the programme was broadcast via satellite on 25 June 1967...
," "You've Got to Hide Your Love AwayYou've Got to Hide Your Love Away"You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" is a song by The Beatles. It was written and sung by John Lennon and released on the album Help! in August 1965.-Composition and recording:...
," "I Should Have Known BetterI Should Have Known Better"I Should Have Known Better" is a song composed by John Lennon , and originally released by The Beatles on the United Kingdom version of A Hard Day's Night, their soundtrack for the film of the same name....
," "A Hard Day's NightA Hard Day's Night (song)"A Hard Day's Night" is a song by the English rock band The Beatles. Written by John Lennon, and credited to Lennon–McCartney, it was released on the movie soundtrack of the same name in 1964...
," "Ticket to RideTicket to Ride"Ticket to Ride" is a song by The Beatles from their 1965 album, Help!. It was recorded 15 February 1965 and released two months later. -Composition:...
," and "Get BackGet Back"Get Back" is a song by The Beatles, composed by Paul McCartney and frequently attributed to Lennon–McCartney. The song was originally released as a single on 11 April 1969, and credited to "The Beatles with Billy Preston." A different mix of the song later became the closing track of Let It Be ,...
") were edited together to make a single track. Presumably this was done to compete with the popular "Stars On 45Stars on 45 Medley"Stars on 45" was a song issued in 1981 by the studio group Stars on 45. In some countries including UK, Ireland and New Zealand the band was credited as 'Starsound' and the medley itself was named "Stars on 45"...
" medley, released in 1981.The New Zealand pressing of the single appeared in a picture sleeve. - Originally, the single's B-Side was to be an interview with the group dubbed "Fab Four on Film," which was recorded during the filming of A Hard Day's NightA Hard Day's Night (film)A Hard Day's Night is a 1964 British black-and-white comedy film directed by Richard Lester and starring The Beatles—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr—during the height of Beatlemania. It was written by Alun Owen and originally released by United Artists...
in 1964. Capitol/EMI Records, however, could not obtain the necessary permission to utilise the interview on the single, and "I'm Happy Just to Dance with YouI'm Happy Just to Dance With You"I'm Happy Just to Dance with You" is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and recorded by The Beatles for the film soundtrack to A Hard Day's Night.-Composition:...
" (which appeared in the A Hard Day's NightA Hard Day's Night (film)A Hard Day's Night is a 1964 British black-and-white comedy film directed by Richard Lester and starring The Beatles—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr—during the height of Beatlemania. It was written by Alun Owen and originally released by United Artists...
film but which was not included on the Reel Music album) was substituted as the B-Side shortly before the single was released.
Track listing
All songs written by John LennonJohn Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
and Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
.
Side one
- "A Hard Day's NightA Hard Day's Night (song)"A Hard Day's Night" is a song by the English rock band The Beatles. Written by John Lennon, and credited to Lennon–McCartney, it was released on the movie soundtrack of the same name in 1964...
" - "I Should Have Known BetterI Should Have Known Better"I Should Have Known Better" is a song composed by John Lennon , and originally released by The Beatles on the United Kingdom version of A Hard Day's Night, their soundtrack for the film of the same name....
" - "Can't Buy Me LoveCan't Buy Me Love"Can't Buy Me Love" is a song composed by Paul McCartney and released by The Beatles on the A-side of their sixth British single, "Can't Buy Me Love"/"You Can't Do That".-Interpretation:...
" - "And I Love HerAnd I Love Her"And I Love Her" is a song recorded by The Beatles, written mainly by Paul McCartney . The fifth track on their third album, A Hard Day's Night, it was released 20 July 1964 with "If I Fell" as a single by Capitol Records in the United States, reaching #12 in Billboard.The Beatles performed "And I...
" - "Help!Help! (song)"Help!" is a song by The Beatles that served as the title song for both the 1965 film and its soundtrack album. It was also released as a single, and was number one for three weeks in both the United States and the United Kingdom....
" - "You've Got to Hide Your Love AwayYou've Got to Hide Your Love Away"You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" is a song by The Beatles. It was written and sung by John Lennon and released on the album Help! in August 1965.-Composition and recording:...
" - "Ticket to RideTicket to Ride"Ticket to Ride" is a song by The Beatles from their 1965 album, Help!. It was recorded 15 February 1965 and released two months later. -Composition:...
" - "Magical Mystery TourMagical Mystery Tour (song)"Magical Mystery Tour" is a song by The Beatles, the opening track and theme song for the album, double EP and TV film of the same name. Unlike the theme songs for their other film projects, it was not released as a single.-Composition:...
"
Side two
- "I Am the WalrusI Am the Walrus"I Am the Walrus" is a 1967 song by The Beatles, written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. Lennon claimed he wrote the first two lines on separate acid trips. The song was in the Beatles' 1967 television film and album Magical Mystery Tour, and was the B-side to the #1 hit "Hello,...
" - "Yellow SubmarineYellow Submarine (song)"Yellow Submarine" is a 1966 song by The Beatles, written by Paul McCartney , with lead vocals by Ringo Starr. It was included on the Revolver album and issued as a single, coupled with "Eleanor Rigby". The single went to number 1 on every major British chart, remained at number 1 for four weeks...
" - "All You Need Is LoveAll You Need Is Love"All You Need Is Love" is a song written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was first performed by The Beatles on Our World, the first live global television link. Watched by 400 million in 26 countries, the programme was broadcast via satellite on 25 June 1967...
" - "Let It BeLet It Be (song)"Let It Be" is a song by The Beatles, released in March 1970 as a single, and as the title track of their album Let It Be. It was written by Paul McCartney, but credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was their final single before McCartney announced his departure from the band...
" - "Get BackGet Back"Get Back" is a song by The Beatles, composed by Paul McCartney and frequently attributed to Lennon–McCartney. The song was originally released as a single on 11 April 1969, and credited to "The Beatles with Billy Preston." A different mix of the song later became the closing track of Let It Be ,...
" - "The Long and Winding RoadThe Long and Winding Road"The Long and Winding Road" is a ballad written by Paul McCartney that originally appeared on The Beatles' album Let It Be. It became The Beatles' 20th and last number-one song in the United States on 23 May 1970, and was the last single released by the quartet...
"