Not playing on two songs is hardly being canned. Martin later said he regretted that decision. He never said he regretted canning pete though.
Even if the songs sucked?
Here's the song list, from wiki:
1. "Like Dreamers Do" (Lennon/McCartney)
2. "Money (That's What I Want)" (Gordy/Bradford)
3. "Till There Was You" (Meredith Wilson)
4. "The Sheik of Araby" (Smith/Wheeler/Snyder)
5. "To Know Her Is to Love Her" (Phil Spector)
6. "Take Good Care of My Baby" (King/Goffin)
7. "Memphis, Tennessee" (Chuck Berry)
8. "Sure to Fall (In Love with You)" (Cantrell/Claunch/Perkins)
9. "Hello Little Girl" (Lennon/McCartney)
10. "Three Cool Cats" (Leiber/Stoller)
11. "Crying, Waiting, Hoping" (Buddy Holly)
12. "Love of the Loved" (Lennon/McCartney)
13. "September in the Rain" (Warren/Dubin)
14. "Bésame Mucho" (Consuelo Velázquez)
15. "Searchin'" (Leiber/Stoller)
Of these 15: 3 made it on to official Beatles Albums, and of the others:
-This version of "To Know Her is to Love Her" might be the best ever recorded in my book.
- Three Lennon-McCartney originals.
- The really cute "Sheik of Araby" (IMO).
- Great harmonies on "Take Good Care of my Baby" - Goffin-King influence huge here!
Sure there were some clunkers on this set list, but I wouldn't go all out and say the songs sucked. But more to the point I was trying to make, it's not easy to be good at such diverse styles (Latin rhythms in "Besame ...", Chuck Berry and "Money" rockers, Phil Spector 3 part harmony Ballad, straight up Goffin-King pop), and to record them all virtually flawlessly in one hour (which I would think means about one take each) is pretty impressive.
I would have been intrigued enough to think of signing them. Makes me wonder - what did George Martin listen when he decided to bring them in for a trial recording - these very same Decca tapes?
P.S. Anyone got a link to "Love of the Loved" - I can't remember hearing that ...