1 (Remastered)

“The kids of AD 2000 will understand what it was all about and draw from the music much the same sense of well being and warmth as we do today. For the magic of The Beatles is timeless and ageless.” That prediction, in the sleeve notes for Beatles For Sale, was made by Derek Taylor in 1964, when pop stars had a limited shelf life of perhaps two years. But sure enough, since its release in November 2000, the success of The Beatles’ album 1 proved him right in spectacular fashion with over 30 million sales worldwide …and counting. Decade after decade, the music of The Beatles continues to captivate generation upon generation.

Proving that the simplest ideas are often the best, the compilation included every number one Beatles single listed in the British chart published by Record Retailer and the Hot 100 of Billboard magazine. Fortunately, the 27 chart-toppers fit onto a single CD with just a few seconds of playing time to spare. For those keeping score, six songs were number one just in the U.K.; eight reached the top only in America. “Eight Days A Week,” “Yesterday” and “The Long And Winding Road” were not released on singles in the U.K. Thirteen songs reached number one in both countries.

The tracks play in the chronological order of the dates when the singles were first released. The U.S. fell under the spell of The Beatles a little late, so in 1964 “She Loves You” and “Love Me Do” followed the number one breakthrough of “I Want To Hold Your Hand.” From “A Hard Day’s Night” onwards, the world was in sync as it waited for the next exciting single. Rightly, we celebrate the group’s achievements with their albums, but the release of the next Beatles single was always a much-anticipated event. Listening to 1, you can hear the group’s dazzling progression in performance, songwriting and recording.

Released first on seven-inch vinyl discs, these songs have been heard over the years on a range of formats, including eight-track cartridges, analogue cassettes, compact discs and digital downloads. Now streaming on a device near you, the magic of The Beatles continues to be “timeless and ageless.” — Kevin Howlett