[4] Since The Beatles' early recordings were made between tours in limited time,[5] The Smithereens, according to Reil, "wanted to capture that urgency in their own way".

Once Reil had completed editing and mixing the live album, the band continued work on B-Sides The Beatles, first adding vocals.

[2][3] Drummer Dennis Diken wrote in the album's liner notes: "MAD's influence on The Smithereens as a group and individuals cannot be overstated.

It exposed the follies of our society and showed them for what they were: hypocritical, inane, petty ... and, through the pens of the ingenious writers and artists, hilarious!

I can't begin to count how many kernels of knowledge about books, movies, politics, colloquialisms and social attitudes were zapped into our psyches by MAD".