Over the years, there have been countless collections of Beatles covers.  Cherry Red's Grapefruit imprint threw its hat into the ring late last year with a fulsome new 3-CD set.  We Can Work It Out: Covers of The Beatles 1962-1966 concentrates only on the Fab Four's first years, arranging its 85 songs in the order of the original Beatles song releases.  Most, though not all, of the versions are contemporaneous, making this set a particularly enjoyable tour through the rapidly shifting pop music landscape.

We Can Work It Out boasts artists both expected (Peter and Gordon, Cilla Black, Joe Cocker) and unexpected (Liza Minnelli, Noel Harrison, and...Mae West?) while other boldfaced names featured on the set include The Supremes, Petula Clark, The 5th Dimension, Adam Faith, Jackie Trent, and Count Basie.

The Elvis-inspired French singer Herve Forneri, a.k.a. Dick Rivers, was one of the first artists to pick up on the Beatles songbook; his 1963 single of "Love Me Do" ("Je Suis Fou)" kicks off the first disc of this diverse collection.  Diversity is the name of the game on this set as compiled by Russell Beecher and John Reed; Forneri is just one of the many French artists here.  Also heard in the language is "It Won't Be Long" by Les Lionceaux as "Les Temps Est Long," Claude Francois' "I Want to Hold Your Hand" ("Laisse-Moi Tenir Ta Main"), Frank Alamo's "A Hard Day's Night" ("Je Me Bats Pour Gagner"), Les Lionceaux's "No Reply" ("Ne Ris Plus"), and Erick Saint-Laurent's "Eleanor Rigby."  Other non-English renditions include Eugenio Zambelli, or Dino's, "I Should Have Known Better" ("Cerca Di Capire") in Italian.

The songs of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison were always particularly malleable, of their moment but so well-crafted that they quickly joined the pantheon of standard songs.  It didn't take long for their songs to be covered; this set spotlights the first-ever recording of a Lennon/McCartney tune by another artist, Kenny Lynch's "Misery."  (The first cover of a Harrisong is here, too, via Gregory Phillips' "Don't Bother Me.")

We Can Work It Out presents the faithful likes of prolific studio singer Mike Redway's cover of "Bad to Me" (a hit for Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas in what was the second time a Lennon/McCartney tune made the U.S. top 40 by an artist other than The Beatles); the post-Buddy Holly Crickets' "From Me to You;" and Peter and Gordon's lilting McCartney-penned "A World Without Love," the first Lennon/McCartney copyright to achieve that feat.  (It went to No. 1 on both sides of the Atlantic.)  For good measure, Kramer's U.K. hit version of "Do You Want to Know a Secret," produced by George Martin, is also heard.

In addition to "Bad to Me," the set offers a number of other songs not originally released by the Fab Four such as The Fourmost's "Hello, Little Girl," Tommy Quickly's "Tip of My Tongue," Cilla Black's "Love of the Loved," The Applejacks' rollicking "Like Dreamers Do," and "It's For You."  The latter was a hit for Beatle pal Black, but is heard here in a 1964 soundalike cover by Dutch singer Trea Dobbs.

The Beatles' influences are on display, too.  The lads often turned to the R&B sounds of the Motor City ("Please Mr. Postman," "You've Really Got a Hold on Me"), so it's no wonder that Detroit artists frequently returned the favor.  The Supremes' sassy "You Can't Do That" is culled from their British Invasion tribute record A Bit of Liverpool.  Mary Wells' brassy "Please Please Me" and "Help!" are both from her post-Motown days at 20th Century Fox, but the voice behind such hits as "My Guy" is unmistakable.

The Fabs' influence on California pop is also unmistakable; The Mamas and The Papas tipped their hat to the foursome with "I Call Your Name" in 1966.  Champagne soul group The 5th Dimension wrapped their unmistakable pipes around a lightly funky "Ticket to Ride" produced by Bones Howe and arranged and conducted by Jimmy Webb as the odd track out on the 5th's psychedelic concept album The Magic Garden (otherwise written by Webb).  LA's Sunshine Company is heard on a pretty if subdued "I Need You."

The Free Design were from New York, but their sunshine pop sound was certainly redolent of the Golden State.  They're heard on a lovely, baroque-flavored rendition of "Michelle."  Spanky and Our Gang hailed from Chicago but they, too, epitomized sunshine pop.  "And Your Bird Can Sing," produced and arranged by the Philadelphia duo of Jerry Ross and Joe Renzetti, respectively, kicked off the group's recording career on a high note.

Sunshine pop is far from the only (sub)genre represented on this collection.  The Charles River Valley Boys' 1966 album Beatle Country reimagined Fab songs in bluegrass style, further proving their adaptability.  Their jaunty "I've Just Seen a Face" is reprised here.  Folk musicians were also drawn to The Beatles' songbook.  Ireland's all-female group The Coterie's spare, delicate "If I Fell" is a highlight, as is a folksy "I'll Follow the Sun" from future uber-producer Glyn Johns.  Davy Graham brings a freewheeling spirit to "I'm Looking Through You." Rex Harrison's son Noel also dabbled in folk-rock; his take on "She's a Woman" is instantly transporting to Swingin' London with its rollicking beat and organ squeals.  Bluesmen were hardly immune to The Beatles: Junior Parker gives the full slow burn to a funky version of Harrison's biting ode to the "Taxman."

There's a decent helping of jazz, too.  Strawberry Fair's 1969 treatment of "Things We Said Today" (a hit in Australia) pairs a swinging gal with a Dave Brubeck-esque group.  From the same Clarion label comes two tracks from a band called Swingshift: "We Can Work It Out" with a jazz-inflected vocal and a "hot" arrangement, and a haunting "Here, There, and Everywhere."  Best illustrating The Beatles' bridging of the generation and genre gap, though, may be Count Basie's sublimely swinging "Hold Me Tight" from his 1966 Verve album Basie's Beatle Bag. Just as delicious is vibraphonist Gary McFarland and guitarist Gabor Szabo's "The Word" and saxophonist Steve Marcus' epic "Tomorrow Never Knows."

With The Beatles, or The White Album (out of the purview of this collection), John, Paul, George, and Ringo embraced harder rock textures.  Once again, their songs lent themselves to these edgier renditions such as "When I Get Home" from Paul Revere and The Raiders offshoot Brotherhood, or Tempest's proggy 1974 take on "Paperback Writer" which is sped- and amped-up but relatively faithful until guitarist Ollie Halsall cuts loose near the track's conclusion.

Perhaps the most fun tracks are those that take liberties with the original Beatle templates.  The Fabs' friend Alma Cogan's "Eight Days a Week" turns the uptempo romp into a dramatic, slow ballad of desperation with swelling strings and blaring horns...only to deliver a surprise after the 2:30 mark! The big-voiced Frankie Vaughan ("Tower of Strength") took a shot at covering a relatively little-known song, Rubber Soul's "Wait," tearing into the tune with theatrical brio. The familiar sound of Chicago band The Buckinghams is applied to an orchestral "I'll Be Back;" surf-rockers The Ventures do their thing on "I Feel Fine."  Jan and Dean's "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" (also covered by their friends The Beach Boys) has been culled from the duo's Filet of Soul album, originally pitched as a live music-and-comedy album.  (Liberty Records summarily rejected the LP and it didn't see release in its originally-intended form until 2017!)  Canadian group Five Man Electrical Band, best known for "Signs," brings a tight harmony sound to "You're Going to Lose That Girl."  Songwriters Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway deliver a slow, square "There's a Place" from their group The Kestrels as well as attractive "Yesterday," which the duo recorded as David and Jonathan.

Petula Clark threw herself into a bold Tony Hatch production of "Rain," hardly the first song one might expect the pop superstar to tackle; needless to say, Pet acquitted herself quite well.  Jackie Trent, who with her then-husband Tony Hatch provided numerous hits for Petula, growls and shouts her way through a convincing "Got to Get You Into My Life."  Another legendary lady, Liza Minnelli, plays up the pathos inherent in the primarily-McCartney composition "For No One."  George Martin would likely have approved of Nick DeCaro's dramatic string arrangement.

We Can Work It Out happily rescues a number of true curios from obscurity.  A straightforward 1963 "She Loves You" comes from "The Baconeers."  The outfit was led by one Frank Bacon, a.k.a. Ross MacManus, a.k.a. the father of Declan MacManus, a.k.a. Elvis Costello.  Frank/Ross appears again on covers of "Nobody I Know" and "She Loves You." (His Beatle oeuvre would ultimately encompass another four songs while a fifth, "The Long and Winding Road," was credited to Day Costello.  Hmm...)

Mae West's campy "Day Tripper" has already appeared on a Golden Throats volume, but let's not forget that its 1966 parent album Way Out West made the trailblazing actress-writer the oldest woman ever to that point to have an album on the Billboard 200.  (She was 72.)  Almost as off-kilter is Glasgow band The Senate's sprightly "Yellow Submarine" with woozy brass, over-the-top vocals, and ballpark-style organ. The studio band with the offbeat name of Paraffin Jack Flash Limited recorded one album for Pye Records including a lounge/swing take on "Norwegian Wood," included here, that could have provided main title music for a late '60s sitcom.  (That's not necessarily a criticism!)

The collection closes with the cute novelty record "A Letter to The Beatles" from the Fabs' Capitol labelmates The Four Preps, with its liberal (and at the time, unauthorized) quotes of "I Want to Hold Your Hand."  All told, these 85 songs capture every side of The Beatles' earliest years as performed by as eclectic a roster imaginable.  This makes a fine companion to Grapefruit's 2020 collection Looking Through a Glass Onion: The Beatles' Psychedelic Songbook 1967-1972.  You can order the 3-CD set at the links below.

Various Artists, We Can Work It Out: Covers of The Beatles 1962-1966 (Grapefruit/Cherry Red CRJAM3BOX020, 2023) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1

1. Dick Rivers - Love Me Do (Je Suis Fou)
2. The Rattles - P. S. I Love You
3. Mary Wells - Please Please Me
4. Kenny Lynch - Misery
5. Duffy Power - I Saw Her Standing There
6. Billy J. Kramer with The Dakotas - Do You Want to Know a Secret
7. Mike Redway - Bad To Me
8. The Crickets - From Me To You
9. The Baconeers - She Loves You
10. The Merseymen - I'll Get You
11. The Fourmost - Hello Little Girl
12. The Kestrels - There's a Place
13. Tommy Quickly & Remo Four - Tip of My Tongue
14. Cilla Black - Love of the Loved
15. Les Lionceaux - It Won't Be Long (Le Temps Est Long)
16. Marilyn Powell - All My Loving
17. Gregory Phillips - Don't Bother Me
18. Jackie Lynton - Little Child
19. Count Basie - Hold Me Tight
20. Mike Redway - I'll Keep You Satisfied
21. Adam Faith - I Wanna Be Your Man
22. Claude Francois - I Want to Hold Your Hand (Laisse-Moi Tenir Ta Main)
23. Shirley Abicair - This Girl
24. Peter And Gordon - A World Without Love
25. Baby Cortez - Can't Buy Me Love
26. The Supremes - You Can't Do That
27. Frank Bacon - Nobody I Know
28. The Applejacks - Like Dreamers Do
29. The Mamas & The Papas - I Call Your Name
30. Frank Alamo - A Hard Day's Night (Je Me Bats Pour Gagner)
31. Dino & I Kings - I Should Have Known Better (Cerca Di Capire)

CD 2

1. The Coterie - If I Fell
2. Mark Wynter - And I Love Her
3. Me & Them - Tell Me Why
4. Joe Cocker - I'll Cry Instead
5. Strawberry Fair - Things We Said Today
6. Brotherhood - When I Get Home
7. The Buckinghams - I'll Be Back
8. Trea Dobbs - It's for You
9. The Ventures - I Feel Fine
10. Noel Harrison - She's A Woman
11. Les Lionceaux - No Reply (Ne Ris Plus)
12. The Hi-Fi's - Baby's in Black
13. Glyn Johns - I'll Follow the Sun
14. Alma Cogan - Eight Days a Week
15. The 5th Dimension - Ticket to Ride
16. The In-Sect - Yes It Is
17. Mary Wells - Help!
18. The Inbetweens - The Night Before
19. Jan & Dean - You've Got to Hide Your Love Away
20. The Sunshine Company - I Need You
21. The Baskervilles - Another Girl
22. The Five Man Electrical Band - You're Going To Lose That Girl
23. The Baskervilles - You Like Me Too Much
24. Charles River Valley Boys - I've Just Seen A Face
25. David & Jonathan - Yesterday
26. J. Proby - That Means a Lot
27. Mae West - Day Tripper
28. Swingshift - We Can Work It Out
29. Paraffin Jack Flash Ltd - Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)

CD 3

1. Madeline Bell - You Won't See Me
2. Tony Rivers & The Castaways - Nowhere Man
3. Gary McFarland and Gabor Szabo - The Word
4. The Free Design - Michelle
5. The Truth - Girl
6. Davy Graham - I'm Looking Through You
7. Jose Feliciano - In My Life
8. Frankie Vaughan - Wait
9. The Cryan' Shames - If I Needed Someone
10. The Transatlantics - Run for Your Life
11. Tempest - Paperback Writer
12. Petula Clark - Rain
13. The Senate - Yellow Submarine
14. Erick Saint Laurent - Eleanor Rigby
15. Junior Parker - Taxman
16. Zoot - I'm Only Sleeping
17. Swingshift - Here, There and Everywhere
18. Jimmy James - Good Day Sunshine
19. Spanky & Our Gang - And Your Bird Can Sing
20. Liza Minnelli - For No One
21. Rage - Doctor Robert
22. The Rackets - I Want to Tell You
23. Jackie Trent - Got to Get You into My Life
24. Steve Marcus - Tomorrow Never Knows
25. The Four Preps - A Letter To The Beatles​