So, the recent bump to this thread has sent me on a Beatles kick as well. Been listening to all the records. This music never gets old.
I've been putting together playlists of some of the early records that omit all the covers and re-insert the appropriate Past Masters tracks while preserving the official running orders as much as possible. Here's what I've come up with:
Please Please Me
1. I Saw Her Standing There
2. From Me To You
3. Thank You Girl
4. Misery
5. Ask Me Why
6. Please Please Me
7. Love Me Do
8. P.S. I Love You
9. Do You Want To Know A Secret
10. There's A Place
I think this works well - ISHST and FMTY is a great one-two punch at the top, There's A Place works well as a closer, and the whole is a leaner product without the covers(six were dropped). Though I do miss Twist And Shout. It's the only cover I miss from any of these early records.
With The Beatles
1. I Want To Hold Your Hand
2. It Won't Be Long
3. All I've Got To Do
4. All My Loving
5. Don't Bother Me
6. Little Child
7. She Loves You
8. I'll Get You
9. Hold Me Tight
10. I Wanna Be Your Man
11. Not A Second Time
12. This Boy
I know some won't like It Won't Be Long being stripped of its place as the opener, but I Want To Hold Your Hand is such a shot of energy that it didn't really fit anywhere else. She Loves You and it's b-side I'll Get You give the record a boost of adrenaline opening the second side, while This Boy is a quiet closer. This was always a difficult record for me to get through because of all the covers(again, six, nearly half the record), so getting rid of them and adding in the iconic singles improves it for me.
Beatles For Sale
1. No Reply
2. I'm A Loser
3. Baby's In Black
4. I'll Follow The Sun
5. Eight Days A Week
6. Every Little Thing
7. I Don't Want To Spoil The Party
8. She's A Woman
9. I Feel Fine
10. What You're Doing
I always regarded this as the weakest of the early records, because, again, the covers always took me out of it. 6 out of 14 again. But the original material is really solid, and I realize that i never gave it enough of a chance outside No Reply and Eight Days A Week. I think the placement of I Feel Fine gives the back end of the record an umph it was lacking, and its guitar fade-out flows really well into What You're Doing, which I think is a solid closer. She's A Woman isn't really that great of a song, so you could cut if you want, but I just put it there to bulk up the second side. I feel like I've re-discovered this record the most in doing this. Good stuff.
Hard Day's Night and Help have far fewer covers(HDN has none and Help only two) and less to add in(again, nothing for HDN, and only Yes It Is and I'm Down for Help, and I'm not sure either one is worth adding), so there doesn't seem to be much to do with them.