In the Beginning features the early Beatles — John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Pete Best (Ringo was with Rory Storm & the Hurricanes) — backup singer Tony Sheridan shows up on some rock remakes, and there’s a rare Lennon/Harrison collaboration, “Cry for a Shadow,” featuring Harrison’s striking tonal guitar licks on a jazzy bop instrumental similar to a Phil Upchurch cut. “Ain’t She Sweet,” led by Lennon, is the only non-Sheridan lead. But this is nothing to celebrate, since Sheridan imitates a popcorn Buddy Holly on the poorly recorded and uninspiring tracks, with the instrumental and “Why,” a fluffy ballad he co-wrote, the only exceptions. Originally released on album in 1970, these tunes have undergone repackaging-itis ever since. Cut in Hamburg, Germany, during the summer of 1961, the single “My Bonnie” b/w “The Saints” was initially issued by Polydor and credited to Tony Sheridan & the Beat Brothers; though John, Paul, George, and Pete gigged as the Beatles, Polydor revised their name because “Beatles” sounded like the German slang word for penis (pronounced peedles) and they didn’t need the controversy. The record sold 180,000 copies in Germany and the United Kingdom; in the U.K., the label credit read Tony Sheridan & the Beatles. This CD illustrates the unpredictability of the music industry; Sheridan was being groomed for stardom, not the Beatles, who functioned as glorified session musicians. And though he recorded more sides for Polydor and became a singer/producer/writer of some note, Sheridan’s success never matched the meteoric rise to fame and fortune enjoyed by a band of guys he liked enough to give their first break as studio musicians. – Andrew Hamilton