Among critics, it is considered the band's purest rock and roll album and praised for its soulful takes on both contemporary black music hits and original material.

An album with the same title and similar cover art but containing different songs from the US release, was issued on the EMI subsidiary label Odeon in 1964 for the Japanese market.

through the early part of 1964 and a desire for additional Beatles product, Capitol Records decided to compile a follow-up album as soon as possible.

Included were the five remaining tracks, all cover versions, from With the Beatles: "Roll Over Beethoven", "You Really Got a Hold on Me", "Devil in Her Heart", "Money (That's What I Want)" and "Please Mr. Postman".

Capitol's engineers, headed by record executive Dave Dexter, Jr., added considerable echo and reverb to the songs in order to give the album the atmosphere of a live performance.

The Capitol album mix of "Thank You Girl" is also unique in that it contains three additional harmonica riffs by John Lennon – two during the bridge and one at the end.

A slightly different track listing was released for the Canadian market with similar cover art, under the title The Beatles' Long Tall Sally.

were issued in Canada, although the earlier Canadian LPs remained in print (eventually with stereo mixes) until the late 1980s, when the CD era precipitated their deletion.

[14] Writing of the album in 1969, he said it disproves the fallacy among new rock scholars and listeners that the Beatles had not succeeded artistically until the more melodic period of Rubber Soul (1965) and Revolver (1966).

Instead, he argued it was their ebullient performing style, as on the Second Album's covers of African-American rock and roll songs, which "were touched with soul (compare their Money to the Beach Boys' Barbara Ann) but avoided the sodden seriousness of other white imitators."

[17] Referring to the assortment of tracks assembled by Capitol, Darryl Sterdan of the Toronto Sun wrote: "The hodge-podgery begins [here] ...

Composer, track length and lead vocal credits are taken from Beatles scholars Mark Lewisohn, John C. Winn and Ian MacDonald.