A Second Time (December, 1963, Timaeus)
< file under Beatles In Atlantis >
~ an approximation of this album, using latest remasters, can be heard here on Apple Music ~
Having met their obligation to offer The Beatles' first Atlantean release to a local independent label, EMI was free to issue subsequent material on either or both of their own Atlantis subsidiary labels. With the Twist and Shout LP having made such a splash, EMI did just that — offering the act to their main label, Timaeus. The execs leapt at the chance, but lacking expertise in the pop and rock field, they turned to EMI back in London for guidance. George Martin promptly advised Timaeus enlist the aid of the young A&R man, Tivowr Dorna, who'd had such a success at the indy Plato with the fabs' debut.
Hired away from Plato and installed as the point man for pop and specifically to spearhead future Beatles releases, Dorna was given great latitude in how to proceed. Ironically, though he'd been reluctant to alter The Beatles' debut when contractually obliged to do so, now, free of any such requirement, he decided he simply had to. He'd been aware that, since long before his own career had started, there was no market for singles in Atlantis; in the time since slightly altering Please Please Me for release underseas, it had become clear to him that back in England the opposite was quite true: the Beatles had issued some of their best new material as non-album singles. Determined that the Atlantis audience should not be deprived of these and future such numbers, and aware of the surprisingly growing market for Beatles UK LPs imported into Atlantis, Dorna settled on a twin strategy of including the singles on the LPs for the general record buying public and furthermore significantly altering the main track selection and the artwork so as to entice even those acquiring the imports to buy the local product as well; he couldn't risk losing many sales to Parlophone imports. To further this second goal, he included less common mixes when available. Coupled with the underwater nation's preference for stereo, and the fact that the imports from England, as decided in London, were mostly, though not exclusively, the mono issues, going forward Dorna chose the standard stereo mixes except when a unique stereo (or, on occasion, mono) mix had been prepared for Capitol, as he was receiving those different mixes from Martin. In certain instances, Timaeus also received copies from Capitol, with their own alterations, which Dorna generally aimed to avoid, already applied. In the case of both sides of the Beatles' fourth EMI single, included herein, Dorna chose to go with with the "Duophonic" tapes prepared by Capitol, as no true stereo masters existed.
This approach would have, by extension, made the Atlantis releases quite tempting to some UK and international fans if exported, but EMI prohibited that. Martin — aware of this export prohibition, and seeing the new inroads into the Atlantis market as somewhat of a testing ground, and informed by a fondness for the care Tivor took in preparing Twist and Shout and for his thoughtful correspondence regarding the strategy he intended to take going forward with the Timaeus albums — began to also send a bit of unreleased material to Dorna. Working from what was provided, Dorna prepared a complete composite take of the 1963 One After 909, apparently a model for the edit later mimicked by EMI for the cancelled Sessions archival compilation LP, which eventually saw release on the first installment of the Anthology series. Dorna had meanwhile acquired, either from Brian Epstein or someone at the BBC, transcriptions of on-air Beatles performances, for broadcast in Atlantis. Considering one track — Soldier of Love — essential to the young band's burgeoning catalog, Dorna chose to include the recording on this second Atlantis / first Timaeus LP he was preparing. It became one of only two covers included on A Second Time, thus named after the Lennon/McCartney tune Dorna selected as the album closer. Timaeus managed to get this new release on the shelves in time for the tail end of Atlantis' winter solstice holiday shopping season. Sales were brisk, riding the rising tide of the band's popularity.
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| The second Beatles album released in Atlantis was the first on an EMI label |
1. From Me To You °
2. All I've Got to Do *3. All My Loving *4. I'll Get You [Duophonic] ∞5. Little Child *6. She Loves You [Duophonic] ∞7. It Won't Be Long *
1. I Want to Hold Your Hand ‡2. Till There Was You *3. Soldier of Love [mono] ^4. One After 909 [mono] ª5. Thank You Girl †6. Don't Bother Me ◊7. Not a Second Time *
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