The Beatles - First (1985)

The Early Tapes of The Beatles is the first digital repackaging of The Beatles' First, the 1964 German compilation album of Tony Sheridan and The Beatles recordings. The songs were recorded in Hamburg between 1961 and 1963. Most of the tracks feature vocals by Sheridan. Only tracks 1-5, 7, 10, and 11 actually feature the Beatles, with John Lennon singing lead on "Ain't She Sweet" and featuring "Cry for a Shadow", an instrumental written and performed by the British group alone. The other songs are performed by Sheridan and other musicians, identified as "The Beat Brothers". This CD, which was released in 1984, includes two additional tracks and an extended version of "Ya Ya" and was reissued in 2004 with a different design on Universal Music's Spectrum label. The song "Take Out Some Insurance on Me, Baby" was originally mistitled "If You Love Me, Baby" on all versions until 1970 when in the US, it's proper title was used.