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Ranking The Beatles' official studio albums
20 May 2012
11.52pm
sweetsf
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I like this topic.  We know why they didn’t include the singles on the albums, but boy did they sell their albums short as a result.  Here’s my idea:

 

With the Beatles would have been transformed.  Add in ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand ‘, ‘She Loves You ‘, ‘From Me To You ‘, and even ‘This Boy ‘ (IWTHYH b-side).  4 new songs is a 1/4 of the album!  Chop out ‘Little Child ‘, ‘Hold Me Tight ‘, ‘You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me’ and ‘Devil In Her Heart ‘.  Result – a very good album, at least a big step from ‘Please Please Me ‘.  IWTHYH starts side 1, moving ‘It Won’t Be Long ‘ to start side 2.  SLY 2nd track on side 1.  TB 3rd on side 1.  FMTY end of side 1.  It’s already the best album side ever!  New song listing:

Side 1 – IWTHYH, SLY, TB, ‘Don’t Bother Me ‘, ‘Till There Was You ‘, ‘Please Mr Postman’, FMTY

Side 2 – ‘It Won’t Be Long ‘, ‘All My Loving ‘, ‘Roll Over Beethoven ‘, ‘You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me’, ‘I Wanna Be Your Man ‘, ‘Money’, ‘Not A Second Time

Wow – what a great album!!  9 originals and 5 covers.  Good ratio for 1963.

 

Beatles For Sale would significantly benefit as well.  Add in ‘I Feel Fine ‘ and ‘She’s A Woman ‘, and chop out ‘Mr Moonlight ‘ and ‘Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby ‘.  This album needed anything it could get. I originally thought IFF would start side 1, but I reconsidered given the emotionally mature contact and continuity of the first 3 songs.  They were making a statement with that.  IFF thus ends the album. Much of side 2 is sung by both Lennon and McCartney, so put SAW towards the end of side 1.

 

Help !s singles are already there.  Add ‘I’m Down ‘ (b-side of Help !), to start side 2. Chop out ‘You Like Me Too Much ‘ (sorry George).

 

Rubber Soul would be even better – and that’s saying something!  Add in ‘We Can Work It Out ‘ and ‘Day Tripper ‘, and chop out ‘Wait ‘ and ‘You Won’t See Me ‘. (Wait was hurriedly added at the end because they hadn’t written enough songs, so that’s an obvious choice)  WCWIO ends side 1, and DT begins side 2.

 

Revolver ? Not really.  Unlike WCWIT/DT, ‘Paperback Writer ‘ and ‘Rain ‘ weren’t really that much better than the album tracks.  Maybe add ‘Paperback Writer ‘ and chop out ‘I Want To Tell You ‘.  Add in ‘Rain ‘ and take out ‘And Your Bird Can Sing ‘?  Maybe not.  Both songs would be best in the middle of each side.  Neither feels conclusive enough to ends side 1.  Tomorrow Never Knows can work only as the end of side 2.  ‘Taxman ‘ and ‘Good Day Sunshine ‘ are obvious as the first tracks.

 

Sgt Pepper – George Martin’s admitted his biggest regret was taking off Penny Lane /Strawberry Fields.  So, yes yes yes.  Add PL and SFF, and chop out ‘Lovely Rita ‘ (doesn’t really fit with the album) and ‘Good Morning’ (John admitted he hated this song).  PL in the middle of side 2, move ‘Kite’ to side 2 as well.  Put SFF at the end of side 1 because of the length and the fade out. Only ‘Goodnight’ could follow that. lol

 

MMT it’s tough to say.  The UK version was specifically an EP for the movie.  The US version wasn’t tied to the movie as much, so it could include singles for 1967.  If you add PL and SFF to Pepper (see above), you can’t add them to MMT.  Without them, side 2 is short.  Mix up side 1 and a shorter side 2, and you don’t keep the integrity of the movie tracks all on one side.  Without the singles added in, it’s a crappy album.  In short – who knows.

 

White Album – it’s ‘Hey Jude ‘ for Crissake! Even the Revolution single was great, though I bet John would never have added it over ‘Revolution 1 ‘, and the rest would never have said yes to three versions of ‘Revolution ‘ on the album.  Add in ‘Hey Jude ‘, and chop out the low-hanging fruit ‘Wild Honey Pie ‘.  ‘Goodnight’ is another choice, but what else could follow ‘Revolution 9 ‘?  Imagine Hey Jude ‘ as the last song on side 2?  Perfect!  Take out ‘I Will ‘ and ‘Julia ‘ – place them wherever you want on the 2nd record.  Maybe ‘I Will ‘ in between ‘Savoy Truffle ‘ and ‘Cry Baby Cry ‘ (George/Paul/John on a side short on Paul songs).  ‘Julia ‘ after ‘Mother Nature’s Son ‘, working with the mellow feeling before it picks up with ‘…Monkey’.

 

Why Spector didn’t include ‘Don’t Let Me Down ‘ on Let It Be is beyond me.  Chop out low-hanging fruit ‘Dig It ‘.  End side 1 with DLMD.

 

Of course it’s all subjective.  What do you guys think?

21 May 2012
2.53am
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meanmistermustard
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With the Beatles would have been transformed.  Add in ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand ‘, ‘She Loves You ‘, ‘From Me To You ‘, and even ‘This Boy ‘ (IWTHYH b-side).  4 new songs is a 1/4 of the album!  Chop out ‘Little Child ‘, ‘Hold Me Tight ‘, ‘You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me’ and ‘Devil In Her Heart ‘.  Result – a very good album, at least a big step from ‘Please Please Me ‘.  IWTHYH starts side 1, moving ‘It Won’t Be Long ‘ to start side 2.  SLY 2nd track on side 1.  TB 3rd on side 1.  FMTY end of side 1.  It’s already the best album side ever!  New song listing:

Side 1 – IWTHYH, SLY, TB, ‘Don’t Bother Me ‘, ‘Till There Was You ‘, ‘Please Mr Postman’, FMTY

Side 2 – ‘It Won’t Be Long ‘, ‘All My Loving ‘, ‘Roll Over Beethoven ‘, ‘You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me’, ‘I Wanna Be Your Man ‘, ‘Money’, ‘Not A Second Time

 SLY and It Wont Be Long would clash due to the Yeah Yeah Yeah usage on both, they were right to keep them on separate releases. However thats not possible.

Tho this would get confusing.

Im also not a massive fan of having the hit singles at the start of the album, would keep It wont be long as the opener as it is a natural and place She Loves You on side 2. Lose Devil In Her Heart (George still has two lead vocals) for She Loves You , Hold Me Tight (I Want To Hold Your Hand ), Little Child (From Me To You ) and Till There Was You (This Boy ). Also omitting I’ll Get You and Thank You Girl .

Beatles For Sale would significantly benefit as well.  Add in ‘I Feel Fine ‘ and ‘She’s A Woman ‘, and chop out ‘Mr Moonlight ‘ and ‘Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby ‘.  This album needed anything it could get. I originally thought IFF would start side 1, but I reconsidered given the emotionally mature contact and continuity of the first 3 songs.  They were making a statement with that.  IFF thus ends the album. Much of side 2 is sung by both Lennon and McCartney, so put SAW towards the end of side 1.

You need a George vocal so Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby has to stay.  Would replace SAW with I Dont Want To Spoil The Party as this would mean giving Paul more lead vocals.  (Edit: Actually would take off Kansas City for She’s A Woman , keep the originals plus IDWTSTP is a far better track.)

Help !s singles are already there.  Add ‘I’m Down ‘ (b-side of Help !), to start side 2. Chop out ‘You Like Me Too Much ‘ (sorry George).

Would kick out Dizzy Miss Lizzie instead of YLMTM.

Rubber Soul would be even better – and that’s saying something!  Add in ‘We Can Work It Out ‘ and ‘Day Tripper ‘, and chop out ‘Wait ‘ and ‘You Won’t See Me ‘. (Wait was hurriedly added at the end because they hadn’t written enough songs, so that’s an obvious choice)  WCWIO ends side 1, and DT begins side 2.

Day Tripper would be a far better choice than Wait . For WCWIO lose I’m Looking Thru You.

Revolver ? Not really.  Unlike WCWIT/DT, ‘Paperback Writer ‘ and ‘Rain ‘ weren’t really that much better than the album tracks.  Maybe add ‘Paperback Writer ‘ and chop out ‘I Want To Tell You ‘.  Add in ‘Rain ‘ and take out ‘And Your Bird Can Sing ‘?  Maybe not.  Both songs would be best in the middle of each side.  Neither feels conclusive enough to ends side 1.  Tomorrow Never Knows can work only as the end of side 2.  ‘Taxman ‘ and ‘Good Day Sunshine ‘ are obvious as the first tracks.

Can’t imagine anything happening to Revolver , the album works perfectly. However Rain should replace Doctor Robert . As for Paperback Writer – i would leave it off.

Sgt Pepper – George Martin’s admitted his biggest regret was taking off Penny Lane /Strawberry Fields.  So, yes yes yes.  Add PL and SFF, and chop out ‘Lovely Rita ‘ (doesn’t really fit with the album) and ‘Good Morning’ (John admitted he hated this song).  PL in the middle of side 2, move ‘Kite’ to side 2 as well.  Put SFF at the end of side 1 because of the length and the fade out. Only ‘Goodnight’ could follow that. lol

At this point track numbers didnt matter so SFF at the end of Side 1. But the track listing would have to be shuffled as Penny Lane would need to be side 2 and 3 more Paul songs in a row is too many. Good Morning, Good Morning -> Pepper (reprise) -> ADITL works with all the crossfades and WYWY would have to be the opener, where else would it go. 

MMT it’s tough to say.  The UK version was specifically an EP for the movie.  The US version wasn’t tied to the movie as much, so it could include singles for 1967.  If you add PL and SFF to Pepper (see above), you can’t add them to MMT.  Without them, side 2 is short.  Mix up side 1 and a shorter side 2, and you don’t keep the integrity of the movie tracks all on one side.  Without the singles added in, it’s a crappy album.  In short – who knows.

Add in the Yellow Submarine songs from ’67 (All Together Now , Its All Too Much and Only A Northern Song ) to lift the numbers and change the running order so its not film songs and others.

White Album – it’s ‘Hey Jude ‘ for Crissake! Even the Revolution single was great, though I bet John would never have added it over ‘Revolution 1 ‘, and the rest would never have said yes to three versions of ‘Revolution ‘ on the album.  Add in ‘Hey Jude ‘, and chop out the low-hanging fruit ‘Wild Honey Pie ‘.  ‘Goodnight’ is another choice, but what else could follow ‘Revolution 9 ‘?  Imagine Hey Jude ‘ as the last song on side 2?  Perfect!  Take out ‘I Will ‘ and ‘Julia ‘ – place them wherever you want on the 2nd record.  Maybe ‘I Will ‘ in between ‘Savoy Truffle ‘ and ‘Cry Baby Cry ‘ (George/Paul/John on a side short on Paul songs).  ‘Julia ‘ after ‘Mother Nature’s Son ‘, working with the mellow feeling before it picks up with ‘…Monkey’.

There is also Lady Madonna , The Inner Light and Hey Bulldog . 3 lp set? Would that have been the first.

Why Spector didn’t include ‘Don’t Let Me Down ‘ on Let It Be is beyond me.  Chop out low-hanging fruit ‘Dig It ‘.  End side 1 with DLMD.

Who knows why Spector lost Dont Let Me Down. Singles wise missing Ballad Of John and Yoko, Old Brown Shoe and You Know My Name. Lose Maggie May & Dig It , include those 4, reshuffle the running order and you have 13 songs.

 

Think of all the songs that have been left in the vaults.a-hard-days-night-ringo-13a-hard-days-night-ringo-14

"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)

21 May 2012
11.23am
Ben Ramon
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Personally I like the fact that the singles stand apart from the albums: I remember when I was young and I had digested every single Beatles album and thought I knew it all; then the magic moment when I discovered Past Masters and here were all these new songs I’d never even heard and they were GREAT! (Obviously I already knew a good deal of them already, but there were a lot of undiscovered gems). And think about it: if they’d replaced certain songs on the albums with singles then we’d never hear those replaced songs! They’d be relegated to the vaults probably…

SHUT UP - Paulie's talkin'

21 May 2012
12.30pm
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meanmistermustard
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Left in the vaults till some compilation was released that collected them together, and fans would be wondering why they were in the first place; Mr Moonlight with THAT opening!, Wild Honey Pie becomes some cute outtake. Why werent they put out on an ep or something instead of ripping off the fans by having the singles on the albums?

Im happy to argue either way, the running orders are imprinted in my brain.

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21 May 2012
6.52pm
sweetsf
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meanmistermustard said

With the Beatles would have been transformed.  Add in ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand ‘, ‘She Loves You ‘, ‘From Me To You ‘, and even ‘This Boy ‘ (IWTHYH b-side).  4 new songs is a 1/4 of the album!  Chop out ‘Little Child ‘, ‘Hold Me Tight ‘, ‘You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me’ and ‘Devil In Her Heart ‘.  Result – a very good album, at least a big step from ‘Please Please Me ‘.  IWTHYH starts side 1, moving ‘It Won’t Be Long ‘ to start side 2.  SLY 2nd track on side 1.  TB 3rd on side 1.  FMTY end of side 1.  It’s already the best album side ever!  New song listing:

Side 1 – IWTHYH, SLY, TB, ‘Don’t Bother Me ‘, ‘Till There Was You ‘, ‘Please Mr Postman’, FMTY

Side 2 – ‘It Won’t Be Long ‘, ‘All My Loving ‘, ‘Roll Over Beethoven ‘, ‘You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me’, ‘I Wanna Be Your Man ‘, ‘Money’, ‘Not A Second Time

 SLY and It Wont Be Long would clash due to the Yeah Yeah Yeah usage on both, they were right to keep them on separate releases. However thats not possible.

Tho this would get confusing.

Im also not a massive fan of having the hit singles at the start of the album, would keep It wont be long as the opener as it is a natural and place She Loves You on side 2. Lose Devil In Her Heart (George still has two lead vocals) for She Loves You , Hold Me Tight (I Want To Hold Your Hand ), Little Child (From Me To You ) and Till There Was You (This Boy ). Also omitting I’ll Get You and Thank You Girl .

Lots of good points here.  In my example, remodeling WTB would be akin to tearing down the whole house and rebuilding from scratch.  I didn’t consider the formula of 2 George songs per album, and balancing John/Paul leads.  I kept Wanna Be Your Man for Ringo (and ’cause it’s fun).  I’m OK with SLY and It Won’t Be Long clashing if they’re kept on separate sides.  Sometimes leading with the hits makes sense (AHDN , Help !), and sometimes not.  IWTHYH had that feel of leading you into something exciting. It is also strong enough to end a side as well, so it can close side 1.  It Won’t Be Long is definitely an opener-style song, so it can open side 1, moving SLY to open side 2.  Yes please omit IGY and TYG.

In reconsideration, I’d say they shouldn’t add FMTY to the album, as it wasn’t part of the same sessions that produced With the Beatles.   I say this in part because of your point of adding Lady Madonna to The White Album , which really made me think.  An album should be a composite of its sessions in my opinion.  Given this, FMTY shouldn’t be added.  I’d add back Hold Me Tight , as the lesser of three evil, and because Paul needs more solo lead vocals.

From this, WTB could look like this:

Side 1 – It Won’t Be Long , This Boy , Till There Was You , Don’t Bother Me , Please Mr Postman, Hold Me Tight , I Wanna Hold Your Hand

Side 2 – She Loves You , All My Loving , Roll Over Beethoven , You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me, I Wanna Be Your Man , Money, Not A Second Time

The singles make this album a whole lot better, for sure!

 

Beatles For Sale would significantly benefit as well.  Add in ‘I Feel Fine ‘ and ‘She’s A Woman ‘, and chop out ‘Mr Moonlight ‘ and ‘Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby ‘.  This album needed anything it could get. I originally thought IFF would start side 1, but I reconsidered given the emotionally mature contact and continuity of the first 3 songs.  They were making a statement with that.  IFF thus ends the album. Much of side 2 is sung by both Lennon and McCartney, so put SAW towards the end of side 1.

You need a George vocal so Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby has to stay.  Would replace SAW with I Dont Want To Spoil The Party as this would mean giving Paul more lead vocals.  

Good point with George.  Cut out Kansas City instead.

Help !s singles are already there.  Add ‘I’m Down ‘ (b-side of Help !), to start side 2. Chop out ‘You Like Me Too Much ‘ (sorry George).

Would kick out Dizzy Miss Lizzie instead of YLMTM.

Good choice.  Dizzy Miss Lizzie doesn’t really fit with Help !.  It’s more of a With the Beatles song.  Help ! was a big statement of growing as songwriters and artists.  DML is out.  I’m Down is the perfect replacement.

Rubber Soul would be even better – and that’s saying something!  Add in ‘We Can Work It Out ‘ and ‘Day Tripper ‘, and chop out ‘Wait ‘ and ‘You Won’t See Me ‘. (Wait was hurriedly added at the end because they hadn’t written enough songs, so that’s an obvious choice)  WCWIO ends side 1, and DT begins side 2.

Day Tripper would be a far better choice than Wait . For WCWIO lose I’m Looking Thru You.

You Won’t See Me vs I’m Looking Through You – personal choice, both valid

Revolver ? Not really.  Unlike WCWIT/DT, ‘Paperback Writer ‘ and ‘Rain ‘ weren’t really that much better than the album tracks.  Maybe add ‘Paperback Writer ‘ and chop out ‘I Want To Tell You ‘.  Add in ‘Rain ‘ and take out ‘And Your Bird Can Sing ‘?  Maybe not.  Both songs would be best in the middle of each side.  Neither feels conclusive enough to ends side 1.  Tomorrow Never Knows can work only as the end of side 2.  ‘Taxman ‘ and ‘Good Day Sunshine ‘ are obvious as the first tracks.

Can’t imagine anything happening to Revolver , the album works perfectly. However Rain should replace Doctor Robert . As for Paperback Writer – i would leave it off.

Yes.  Dr Robert vs And Your Bird is personal choice.  Either is fine.  George has 3 songs, so there’s room for Paperback Writer while retaining 1 George song per side.  It isn’t much better, but it’s better enough to do it.

Sgt Pepper – George Martin’s admitted his biggest regret was taking off Penny Lane /Strawberry Fields.  So, yes yes yes.  Add PL and SFF, and chop out ‘Lovely Rita ‘ (doesn’t really fit with the album) and ‘Good Morning’ (John admitted he hated this song).  PL in the middle of side 2, move ‘Kite’ to side 2 as well.  Put SFF at the end of side 1 because of the length and the fade out. Only ‘Goodnight’ could follow that. lol

At this point track numbers didnt matter so SFF at the end of Side 1. But the track listing would have to be shuffled as Penny Lane would need to be side 2 and 3 more Paul songs in a row is too many. Good Morning, Good Morning -> Pepper (reprise) -> ADITL works with all the crossfades and WYWY would have to be the opener, where else would it go. 

True.  There are already 3 Paul songs in a row on the current side 1.  It does seem a bit much.  There are too many Paul songs on Pepper in general, in part because John didn’t write a lot of songs for it.  To keep a balance, 2 Paul songs could be cut for the 2 singles.  Chop Lovely Rita and maybe Fixing A Hole .  You’re right, there’d have to a some reshuffling between side 1 and 2 to keep flow and balance between Paul and John songs.

Strawberry Fields is a long song, so two songs can be moved from side 1 to side 2 to balance its inclusion.  I originally thought to keep Penny Lane on side 1, versus burying it in side 2.  Replace Getter Better with Penny Lane .  I reconsidered this because side 2 would turn into a meandering set of b-sides.

She’s Leaving Home is too slow and sad to abut SFF, so I’d move it to the middle of Side 2.  

So the new album could look like this:

Side 1 – Sgt Pepper , With A Little Help From My Friends , Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds , Getting Better , Strawberry Fields Forever

Side 2 – With You Without You, When I’m 64, Benefit of Mr Kite, Penny Lane , She’s Leaving Home , Good Morning/Pepper Reprise/A Day In The Life

This provides a better balance with Paul and John songs.  Funny how adding one more John song makes a big difference.

MMT it’s tough to say.  The UK version was specifically an EP for the movie.  The US version wasn’t tied to the movie as much, so it could include singles for 1967.  If you add PL and SFF to Pepper (see above), you can’t add them to MMT.  Without them, side 2 is short.  Mix up side 1 and a shorter side 2, and you don’t keep the integrity of the movie tracks all on one side.  Without the singles added in, it’s a crappy album.  In short – who knows.

Add in the Yellow Submarine songs from ’67 (All Together Now , Its All Too Much and Only A Northern Song ) to lift the numbers and change the running order so its not film songs and others.

Hadn’t thought of this.  It’s All Too Much and All Together Now are OK.  It’s Only A Northern Song hurts my head.  Adding these two onto side 2 is fine.  It gives George one song on each side. While I’m a fan of adding only songs that were part of the album’s sessions, MMT needs all the help it can get.  The only issue is double dipping with the Yellow Submarine soundtrack.  I’m not sure when it was decided that these songs would be on it.

White Album – it’s ‘Hey Jude ‘ for Crissake! Even the Revolution single was great, though I bet John would never have added it over ‘Revolution 1 ‘, and the rest would never have said yes to three versions of ‘Revolution ‘ on the album.  Add in ‘Hey Jude ‘, and chop out the low-hanging fruit ‘Wild Honey Pie ‘.  ‘Goodnight’ is another choice, but what else could follow ‘Revolution 9 ‘?  Imagine Hey Jude ‘ as the last song on side 2?  Perfect!  Take out ‘I Will ‘ and ‘Julia ‘ – place them wherever you want on the 2nd record.  Maybe ‘I Will ‘ in between ‘Savoy Truffle ‘ and ‘Cry Baby Cry ‘ (George/Paul/John on a side short on Paul songs).  ‘Julia ‘ after ‘Mother Nature’s Son ‘, working with the mellow feeling before it picks up with ‘…Monkey’.

There is also Lady Madonna , The Inner Light and Hey Bulldog . 3 lp set? Would that have been the first.

This point really made me think, and thus change my ideas for With the Beatles.  Only singles recorded near or during the album sessions should be included in the album. Along these lines, I wouldn’t add any of these to The White Album . because they weren’t recorded as part of the White Album sessions.  Hey Bulldog was probably earmarked for Yellow Submarine by this time.

I do reconsider how I’d move the songs with respect to the length of each side, and how large the physical album would have to be to hold all of their choices.  Supposedly this was a real issue.  Hey Jude is 6+ minutes.  That’s maybe 4 to 5 songs in length.  That’s a lot of reshuffling – but it’s Hey Jude so it’s worth it.  

A good solution would be to cut more songs, even though the group was adamant about keeping everything, and reshuffle some songs to the 2nd LP.  My personal choice to cut is Yer Blues (yuck) and either Cry Baby Cry or Honey Pie .  That’s 6 minutes right there.  I’d really like to take out Long Long Long, but George must have one song per side, so that’s out.

What to reshuffle?  Don’t Pass Me By has to remain on the 1st LP to balance out Good Night on the 2nd.  Blackbird /Piggies /Raccoon have to remain a trio, and thus stay on side 2 of the 1st LP.  Martha’s a great opening, and John needs one song on side 2 with I’m So Tired .

That leaves Why Don’t We/I Will /Julia , which can easily be split.  There’s no perfect place to put them.  I Will and Julia are mellow.  Why don’t we is irreverent.  Side 3 is the more “cheeky” side, so I’d put Why don’t we in between Sexy Sadie and Helter Skelter .  If we cut Honey Pie , I Will can take its place and Julia can follow Cry Baby Cry , and retain the mood that would mix with the “Can you take me back…”  If we cut Cry Baby Cry , then Julia can replace it.  I Will can follow Honey Pie .  Looking at this, I’d pick this scenario.

The White Album is so free-form, there really aren’t any perfect solutions as to how to alter it after adding in Hey Jude .  There are few rules to work with – 1 George song per side, 1 Ringo song per LP.  Bury Revolution 9 , and end with Goodnight.  Other than that – have fun!

Why Spector didn’t include ‘Don’t Let Me Down ‘ on Let It Be is beyond me.  Chop out low-hanging fruit ‘Dig It ‘.  End side 1 with DLMD.

Who knows why Spector lost Dont Let Me Down. Singles wise missing Ballad Of John and Yoko, Old Brown Shoe and You Know My Name. Lose Maggie May & Dig It , include those 4, reshuffle the running order and you have 13 songs.

Let It Be is such a mess that it can easily be the exception to the rule of “recorded in the same sessions”.  Add them all in.  This album is very Paul-heavy, so adding 2 John and 1 George song would help balance it out.  (Across The Universe was added by Spector for this reason).  I can’t come up with a good conclusive album list.

Thanks for your feedback.  You brought a lot of smart ideas into my scenarios.

 

Think of all the songs that have been left in the vaults.a-hard-days-night-ringo-13a-hard-days-night-ringo-14

21 May 2012
11.38pm
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meanmistermustard
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Right i composed a 45 minute reply to this but when i went clicked on post it i was logged out, despite having already posted elsewhere. blue-meanieblue-meanie blue-meanie

It will have to wait.

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22 May 2012
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GeorgeTSimpson
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I don’t really have a problem with singles not included on a studio album but I have one with including covers instead of better original songs which were later released on anthology (or some that remained unreleased)

Please Please Me : Tip of My Tongue (i don’t know how properly it was recorded but I think they could have made a master with mixing some takes, instead of Chains . Like Dreamers Do (instead of A Taste Of Honey ), Hello Little Girl (instead of Baby It’s You ), Love of the Loved (instead of Anna)

With The Beatles : One After 909 (as released on Anthology, i dunno instead of which song but there are many bad covers and Little Child and Hold Me Tight are also bad originals), What Goes On (i think it wasn’t recorded, but they wanted, so that means that it was finished for released and they could have recorded it during the with the

Beatles For Sale : You Know What To Do (instead of Mr. Moonlight, they could have recorded it properly during the Beatles For Sale sessions)

Help : That Means A Lot (instead of Dizzy Miss Lizzy ), If You’ve Got Trouble (instead of Act Naturally )

White Album : Junk, Not Guilty , Child Of Nature , Sour Milk Sea (instead of Revolotion 9, Good Night , Wild Honey Pie )

Once there was a way to get back homewards. Once there was a way to get back home; sleep pretty darling do not cry. And I will sing a lullaby

22 May 2012
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Ben Ramon
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GeorgeTSimpson said
Help : That Means A Lot (instead of Dizzy Miss Lizzy )

I like That Means A Lot but it’s always struck me as a sort of watered-down McCartney-style Ticket To Ride (I’ve often wondered whether these two songs shared a songwriting genesis of sorts, perhaps John and Paul both trying to create a song with that beat), and the production of the take on the Anthology is abysmal. But I’d agree it would be a suitable replacement for Dizzy Miss Lizzy , which is certainly the worst song on Help !

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22 May 2012
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That Means A Lot would have to be rererecorded for it to be included in Help and the outtakes from the second recording attempt show that they had no idea how to do so. Would agree with Ben Ramon that it has too similar a feel to Ticket To Ride , possibly why they did the remake in the first place.

If You Got Trouble was a terrible song and all 4 knew it, Ringo’s “aw rock on anybody” is a very telling comment.

Neither song is helped by their mixes on Anthology 2

Maybe its the running order but Help ! side 2 works well UNTIL you hit Dizzy Miss Lizzy . Its a very good rock and roll song but its placement is wrong, one of the only times when a track is damaged by where it is. George Martin probably didnt know what to do with it.

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22 May 2012
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13: Yellow Submarine (one of Paul’s and two of George’s worst, with a single worthwhile track by John. Moneyspinning at work)

12: Help ! (Only seven good tracks on it! Some really annoying tracks on here, and other fillery ones too. Dizzy Miss Lizzy is George’s worst guitar performance in canon)

11: With The Beatles (Ringo’s stock rhythm – the same beat for nine of the tracks – isn’t working for me and the songs just aren’t up to scratch as a whole, except Don’t Bother Me , Hold Me Tight , All My Loving and It Won’t Be Long )

10: The White Album (Badly recorded, and with Paul’s awful Fender VI taking plunky charge of the bass on some of it, the good songs are let down and the bad ones just stink. Bungalow Bill is more gross than…)

9: A Hard Day’s Night (John narrowly fails to pick up the slack left by Paul only offering three tracks. Not bad, but kind of erratic)

8: Please Please Me (an energetic and wholly enjoyable album showing their craft not quite matured except on the stunning There’s A Place )

7: Beatles For Sale (Less than the sum of its parts, it’s an underrated album, but I love Eight Days A Week especially and the folksiness of the whole thing. Effects and writing start to take real shape here)

6: Magical Mystery Tour (B-side amazing, A-side has two stinkers that tarnish it – Flying and Blue Jay Way )

5: Rubber Soul (Paul and George really start to shine here, with only two weak tracks – Run For Your Life and What Goes On )

4: Let It Be (The songs are just so good! Forget the production (which I like) and listen to the SONGS, they’re almost all great! Underrated to hell, except Dig It , Maggie Mae and For You Blue )

3: Revolver (a little overrated – I said a LITTLE – but still full of great tracks)

2: Sgt. Pepper (just amazing)

1: Abbey Road (despite everything, it sounds like they are – gasp – working together! Love all the songs except for John’s medley pieces)

23 May 2012
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very tough decision:

13:yellow submarine: songtrack album is great the real album not so

12. Beatles For Sale : originals are great covers are abit of dull(except rock n roll music)

11.help: for me a lot of filler on this album but has some classics

10.Please Please Me : very important album for the beatles but some songs are abit dull

9:let it be: spectors producton works welll on some songs not so on others

8: with the beatles: very underrated

7:Magical Mystery Tour : a great psychedelic album

6. a hards day night: fantastic album not a bad song the development of the beatles started here

5. Sgt Pepper : seen as there masterpiece contains the best song ever written imo in A Day In The Life

4. the White Album : so diverse disc 1 is great disc 2 lets it down abit for me

3. Abbey Road : putting the differences aside to create one of the greatest albums ever, the medley rules

2. Rubber Soul : the first album were people really took notice of the beatles as musicians, fantastic songs and a great vibe to this album

1. revolver: way ahead of its time, showed the differences between the beatles, paul as the melodic one with masterpieces such as eleanor ridgy and Here There And Everywhere . john as the experimental one with she said, im only sleeping Tomorrow Never Knows etc. george indian interests from  Love You To , to pauls fantastic indian style guitar playing on taxman, and ringo as the beatle the kids will love with yellow submarine. imo this is the greatest album ever made.

 

peace and love folks a-hard-days-night-ringo-13

23 May 2012
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I’ll throw in a defense of “Dizzy Miss Lizzie” – always one of my faves.

When I pick up a guitar, I’m not unlikely to play either the bass or the lead guitar riff just to get warmed up. Wish I had four hands to play both at the same time. [On the Live at the Hollywood Bowl album, Paul plays a slightly different bass riff which works too]

 

I’ll digress a little further: although this thread concerns the studio albums, if someone were to say to me, “I have no Beatle songs or albums, what should I start with?” I’d answer Past Masters 1 & 2.

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24 May 2012
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sweetsf said

Sgt Pepper – George Martin’s admitted his biggest regret was taking off Penny Lane /Strawberry Fields.  So, yes yes yes.  Add PL and SFF, and chop out ‘Lovely Rita ‘ (doesn’t really fit with the album) and ‘Good Morning’ (John admitted he hated this song).  PL in the middle of side 2, move ‘Kite’ to side 2 as well.  Put SFF at the end of side 1 because of the length and the fade out. Only ‘Goodnight’ could follow that. lol

I must disagree. ‘Penny Lane /Strawberry Fields’ are superb and fit well chronologically. But IMHO ”Lovely Rita ‘ and ‘GM GM’ are classic vocal performances by John, have great hooks and both fit very well on Sgt Pepper style-wise. And does ‘Lovely Rita ‘ deal with such different subjects than those of ‘Penny Lane ‘? They certainly fit with Sgt Pepper better than ‘Within You Without You ‘ (apologies to George) which might be better on a later album. And at over 5 minutes, removal of WYWY alone might free up enough space to fit both ‘Penny Lane ‘ and ‘Strawberry Fields’.

24 May 2012
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AutomaticButt said

10: The White Album (Badly recorded, and with Paul’s awful Fender VI taking plunky charge of the bass on some of it, the good songs are let down and the bad ones just stink. Bungalow Bill is more gross than…)

Wow, as a bassist I’ve always really admired Paul’s tone and playing on the White Album , a really heavy, “dirty” sound for 1968 (double-tracked in a few places too) which I think contributes a lot to the feel of the album. But to each his own, obviously! 🙂

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24 May 2012
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LTJX said

I must disagree. ‘Penny Lane /Strawberry Fields’ are superb and fit well chronologically. But IMHO ”Lovely Rita ‘ and ‘GM GM’ are classic vocal performances by John, have great hooks and both fit very well on Sgt Pepper style-wise. And does ‘Lovely Rita ‘ deal with such different subjects than those of ‘Penny Lane ‘? They certainly fit with Sgt Pepper better than ‘Within You Without You ‘ (apologies to George) which might be better on a later album. And at over 5 minutes, removal of WYWY alone might free up enough space to fit both ‘Penny Lane ‘ and ‘Strawberry Fields’.

Pepper wouldnt work as well as it does without WYWY. The songs thought-provoking lyrics and indian musicianship add another texture of colour and flavour that if removed would leave the album a little more bland. Most people overlook it (i used to skip it but not now – just the first 2 songs) and i get way but its place on Pepper should not be in question (plus its a george vocal, he has to have at least one lead, and its far better than Only A Northern Song ). If you cant stand the lyrics, skip to the instrumental section, turn your speakers up as loud as possible, close your eyes, and let the musicians take you elsewhere. The solo has to be one of the greatest on any beatles song.

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31 May 2012
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AutomaticButt said
12: Help ! (Only seven good tracks on it! Some really annoying tracks on here, and other fillery ones too. Dizzy Miss Lizzy is George’s worst guitar performance in canon)

10: The White Album (Badly recorded, and with Paul’s awful Fender VI taking plunky charge of the bass on some of it, the good songs are let down and the bad ones just stink. Bungalow Bill is more gross than…)

1: Abbey Road (despite everything, it sounds like they are – gasp – working together! Love all the songs except for John’s medley pieces)

I love that guitar riff on “Dizzy Miss Lizzy ” and the song itself. “The White Album “, badly recorded?! Are you kidding me. There was two basses with that plucky “clicking” sound, the Fender IV (John/George) and Fender Jazz Bass (Paul). As a bassist, I can say it really works with the songs they were used on (especially “Yer Blues “). “The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill ” are the weakest Beatles song in my opinion, no fan of it.

John’s medley pieces (“Sun King “, “Mean Mr. Mustard” and “Polythene Pam “) are really good – marked FAB!

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Here goes:

(Disclaimer: All statements below of quality of song or album is totally my opinion, and should be taken as such.)

13) Yellow Submarine – four songs doesn’t an album make.

12) Beatles For Sale – on a song by song basis, it probably isn’t their worst full album, but it has this depressing quality I can’t get over. Though the first 3 songs are fantastic.

11) With The Beatles – although this has my favourite cover (You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me), it has some filler. Hold Me Tight and I Wanna Be Your Man are not up to the standards.

10) Help ! – It’s like WTB. It has some good songs (You’re Gonna Lose That Girl, Help ), but Dizzie Miss Lizzy and Act Naturally keep it back here.

9) Let It Be – Even though I prefer Spector’s version, it still only has 10 proper songs, but those 10 are generally high quality, especially The Long And Winding Road . It’s saying something that this is 9.

8) Please Please Me – 6 months ago, I’d say this was the best debut album ever. While I wouldn’t go that far now, it’s still bloody good.

7) A Hard Day’s Night – this is Lennon’s peak as a Beatle, I’d say. It has loads of great songs, and it also has my possibly favourite Paul song, And I Love Her .

6) Sgt. Pepper – Even though it has one of the best songs ever (A Day In The Life ), it is still, somehow, not as good to me as Magical Mystery Tour .

5) Magical Mystery Tour – With the film songs being generally good, it took side two (with I Am The Walrus ) to lift this album. It did. It has the best 4 song string in any Beatles album (Strawberry Fields to All You Need Is Love ), and it takes a lot to beat Pepper. This does.

4) White Album – it’s not song for song this strong of an album, but when I listen to it cover to cover, it is fantastic. It really shouldn’t be one album.

3) Abbey Road – the medley is absolutely fantastic. And frankly, the whole album is beautiful. You Never Give Me Your Money is Paul’s greatest masterpiece.

2) Revolver – I used to think this was the their best album. And it is still a ridiculously awesome album, with the stinging satire of Taxman to the Indian awesomeness of Love You To , through She Said She Said ‘s total wickedness, to Tomorrow Never Knows ‘ total epicness.

1) Rubber Soul – It may not be stronger then Revolver , but I prefer it. With Michelle , Norwegian Wood, In My Life and Think For Yourself , this is the slightest bit better then Revolver – and that’s saying something.

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4 July 2012
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Was listening to Come Together and then Something and it hit me that its up for debate which album is the Beatles greatest, not just here but in articles all around the word and in so many other places and ways and discussions.

That a band can put out Abbey Road and its up for discussion is quite frankly staggering, and the same can be said for Pepper, Revolver , Rubber Soul and The White Album . Nearly every band in existance would be content to have made an lp as good as A Hard Days Night so for there to be 4 or 5 others that are generally seen to be better is insane. Most artists cant even hit a Beatles For Sale standard (which i love but is generally knocked as not being very good Beatlewise).

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8 July 2012
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“Into the Sky with Diamondssaid

Would your opinions change if the singles released at the time of the albums had been included in the albums?

-If “She Loves You ” and “I Want To Hold Your Hand ” had been on With the Beatles instead of  xxxx ?

-If “Day Tripper ” and “We Can Work It Out ” had been on Rubber Soul instead of xxx?

– “Rain ” and “Paperbook Writer” on Revolver ?

– “Strawberry Fields” and “Penny Lane ” on Sgt Pepper ?

I don’t think this should be discussed the Beatles followed the rules until Sgt. Pepper . All of them had 14 tracks (except for AHDN which has 13 because Ringo couldn’t sing the day when they were gonna record Ringo’s song), no more discussions.

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18 July 2012
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1)  Abbey Road — Immaculate — pure artistry — and a band that could rock

2)  REVOLVER  — the most democratic Beatles album (5 Lennon, 5 McCartney, 3 Harrison — and Ringo):  containing edgy rock, lush romanticism, an all-out acid trip, raga-rock and a kiddytoon.

3)  Rubber Soul — pop craftsmanship at its finest, and maybe John Lennon ‘s finest work

4)  Magical Mystery Tour — a Capitol Records creation rather than a true Beatles album, but a darn good one

5)  THE BEATLES  — a weird and wonderful masterpiece in white (I could easily bump this up to #2, depending on my mood)

6)  A HARD DAYS NIGHT — the only all Lennon-McCartney album in the original 13 — great songs, great sounds, and George’s 12-string

7)  Please Please Me — a great little rock-and-roll band starting out — with no frills, no gimmicks, just talent to burn

8)  WITH THE BEATLES — more great early Beatles gems (espy “All My Loving “), with a couple of duds

9)  Sgt Pepper ‘S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND — ground-breaking, amazing, a technical marvel — but song-for-song not really their best work (except for “A Day In The Life “, which is monumental!)

10)  LET IT BE — any album that contains “Two of Us”, “Get Back “, “Across The Universe ” and “Let It Be ” is worth having — a little thin in places, but still a pretty darn good album

11)  HELP! — another pretty good album, showing a growing maturity in the band, but some of the songs are a bit — well — ordinary, at least by Beatles’ standards

12)  Beatles For Sale — too many covers for my liking, although a couple are pretty good — not a bad album by any means, but compared with the rest of their work, it’s a bit thin

13)  YELLOW SUBMARINE — sorry George Martin, your orchestral stuff on side two is pretty, but as “Rolling Stone” Magazine said, it’s the least-cared-about part of any Beatles album — only four new Beatles songs, and only two of those (“It’s All Too Much ” and the terrific “Hey Bulldog “) rank in the band’s top 100 songs in my opinion

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