7.47am
30 April 2019
Interesting list, some songs were higher/lower than I would’ve put them, but I would’ve put your top 3 somewhere in my top 5.
I will say though for Julia , that while it is melodically lacking technically, I think John is very good at making the same repeated note sound interesting and important.
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knowhereman, Jules8.36am
18 April 2013
Wow, I want to rank all 30 but can’t be bothered to put in the effort. Dear Prudence > Honey Pie .
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50yearslate, knowhereman, Dark Overlord, Vera Chuck and Dave, WeepingAtlasCedars"If you're ever in the shit, grab my tit.” —Paul McCartney
12.32pm
5 December 2019
So I ranked the two discs of the White Album separately to save me from the extra stress of ranking all thirty:
Disc 1
- While My Guitar Gently Weeps
- Happiness Is A Warm Gun
- Julia
- Back In The USSR
- Blackbird
- I Will
- Martha My Dear
- Dear Prudence
- The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill
- I’m So Tired
- Why Don’t We Do It In The Road?
- Glass Onion
- Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da
- Don’t Pass Me By
- Rocky Raccoon
- Piggies
- Wild Honey Pie
Disc 2
- Helter Skelter
- Birthday
- Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey
- Sexy Sadie
- Mother Nature’s Son
- Honey Pie
- Long, Long, Long
- Revolution 1
- Savoy Truffle
- Cry Baby Cry
- Good Night
- Yer Blues
- Revolution 9
"....When I cannot sing my heart, I can only speak my mind...."
"....This ain't no party, this ain't no disco, this ain't no fooling around...."
||She/They ||
5.31pm
29 January 2020
It’s so difficult for me to rank this album. It is the first Beatles album I ever bought and owned, and it has a special place in my life. Sure there are songs that I like more than others, but I feel I couldn’t do without any of them. Collectively, they all help make the album what it is. This is my ranking, based on how I feel today. I say that as my favorites are always changing, however, the ones in my top 10 pretty much always all stay in my top 10. Typically, when longer periods of time have gone by without hearing a song, I get more in the mood for it and might rank it higher.
1. Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey
3. Piggies
5. Why Don’t We Do It In The Road?
6. Glass Onion
8. Back in the U.S.S.R.
9. I’m So Tired
10. Wild Honey Pie
11. Dear Prudence
12. Yer Blues
13. Martha My Dear
14. Don’t Pass Me By
15. Long, Long, Long
16. The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill
17. Revolution 1
18. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
19. Birthday
20. Sexy Sadie
21. Revolution 9
22. Rocky Raccoon
23. Julia
24. I Will
25. Blackbird
28. Honey Pie
29. Cry Baby Cry
30. Good Night
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lovelyritametermaid, Vera Chuck and Dave7.47pm
28 February 2020
- Blackbird (2:18)
- Dear Prudence (3:55)
- Back in the U.S.S.R. (2:43)
- Julia (2:56)
- Helter Skelter (4:29)
- Happiness Is A Warm Gun (2:44)
- Rocky Raccoon (3:33)
- Birthday (2:43)
- While My Guitar Gently Weeps (4:45)
- Yer Blues (4:00)
- Revolution 1 (4:15)
- Honey Pie (2:41)
- Martha My Dear (2:28)
- Savoy Truffle (2:54)
- Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey (2:24)
- Glass Onion (2:17)
- I’m So Tired (2:03)
- Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da (3:08)
- Sexy Sadie (3:15)
- Cry Baby Cry (3:02)
- The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill (3:14)
- Why Don’t We Do It in the Road (1:41)
- Don’t Pass Me By (3:50)
- Mother Nature’s Son (2:48)
- I Will (1:45)
- Piggies (2:04)
- Long, Long, Long (3:06)
- Good Night (3:13)
- Wild Honey Pie (0:52)
- Revolution 9 (8:22)
What is happening? And tell me how you've been.
10.07pm
25 February 2020
Christ, this was hard. Had to rank each side on its own in order to do this.
- Dear Prudence
- While My Guitar Gently Weeps
- I’m So Tired
- Martha My Dear
- Helter Skelter
- Happiness Is A Warm Gun
- Long, Long, Long
- Back In The U.S.S.R.
- Julia
- Glass Onion
- Yer Blues
- I Will
- Cry Baby Cry
- Don’t Pass Me By
- Blackbird
- Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
- Revolution 9 (I wanted to rank this higher, I really did)
- Wild Honey Pie (a lot of people rag on this one, but I just think it’s too short to really hate on that much)
- Birthday
- Sexy Sadie
- The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill
- Savoy Truffle
- Revolution 1
- Mother Nature’s Son
- Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey
- Piggies
- Rocky Raccoon
- Good Night
- Why Don’t We Do It In The Road?
- Honey Pie
I may have to go back and rerank this at some point, not even sure of it now.
5.56am
28 February 2020
What is happening? And tell me how you've been.
8.36am
28 March 2014
9.03am
28 April 2020
In my opinion there are no bad songs on this album. I enjoy the snippets of songs and a joy is that the album is so varied. I may have to be in the mood to listen to some of the songs. However, I tend to listen to a whole side, rather than just cherry pick my favourite songs. If I was burning a compilation CD, it is highly unlikely that I would record ‘Rocky Raccoon ‘ or ‘Goodnight’ for example, they are ok to listen to in the context of the album.
This might prove very difficult, but here goes! In reverse order …
30. Rocky Raccoon – I don’t dislike this song. I have just played it and quite liked it, but maybe that is because I don’t play it often. Anyway, something has to be last.
29. Honey Pie – A catchy song, but I’m not a big fan of Paul’s 20s style songs. This is quite good though and better than ‘Your Mother Should Know ‘, but there are better songs on the album. I much prefer Freddie Mercury / Queen’s ‘Seaside Rendezvous’ and ‘Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy’.
28. Don’t Pass Me By – This is a catchy song and a good first effort form Ringo, but the lyrics are awful and I don’t like the fiddle. It is a shame that one of the others didn’t help him to pull it together and get him to change some of the lyrics.
27. Good Night – I actually like this one and it is a good song to finish the album after the noise and violence of ‘Revolution 9 ‘. However, again Ringo was let down by the others. The sound of the orchestra and the choir is awful and makes it really hard to listen to. However, there is actually quite a nice song in there, once you get past the awful orchestration. A real blot on George Martin’s reputation, this one, unless he was following orders from John? The other versions, with just a guitar or piano accompaniment are really lovely and surely would have been a much nicer way to end the album!
26. Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except For Me And My Monkey – A decent rock song but it doesn’t really flow and is maybe a bit one dimensional … I like the ending though!
25. Mother Nature’s Son – I know I should like this one more than I do. It is a nice song, but it has never really grabbed me.
24. Julia – I feel bad having this so low, as it is such a personal, heartfelt song, but I have to be in the mood for it. Again, it is a nice song.
23. The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill – Catchy, but as pointless as ‘Rocky Raccoon ‘, I feel. Still a nice song, with a bit of a story … I quite like Yoko’s bit in it.
22. Why Don’t We Do It In The Road – I love this, just wish it was longer! Paul’s screaming voice is great!
21. Wild Honey Pie – Love this one too. I don’t understand why most people don’t like it. It has a great rhythm and is a great little snippet of a tune.
20. Glass Onion – Great tune but just not fussed on all the Beatle references in the lyrics.
19. Piggies – I really like this one, but the weakest of George’s songs on the album.
18. Martha My Dear – A bit like ‘Mother Nature’s Son ‘, it is a nice song, but just not a favourite.
17. Cry Baby Cry – Another story song, but better than ‘Bungalow Bill’ … love the snippet of ‘Can You Take me Back’ at the end and then …
16. Revolution 9 – just love this! Love all the little bits and sayings … ‘take this brother, may it serve you well!’
15. Long Long Long – A beautiful song. George writes so many brilliant ‘middle 8’ sections to his songs!
14. Blackbird – Classic McCartney solo acoustic song. Would prefer that the sound effects weren’t used.
13. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da – Brilliant catchy song but can see how playing it over and over would drive the others mad!
12. I Will – I love this song. There is a great version of Paul live singing this solo with an acoustic guitar! Just beautiful!
11. Yer Blues – Great bluesy rocker! Love the playing and the the lyrics.
10. Savoy Truffle – I never really liked this one until fairly recently … though it was just a filler and lame lyrics about a box of chocolates. But now, I love it! The music is amazing, you can feel the pain in the cavities, with the screeching jagged guitar and the blaring of the horns!
9. Helter Skelter – This is a brilliant noisy rock song!
8. Sexy Sadie – Just one of John’s best songs and written about the Maharishi. The musicianship is great!
7. Birthday – Another favourite, which I know a lot of people don’t like. I just think Paul’s vocals are brilliant and I love the little John bit in the middle.
6. Revolution 1 – I have been playing this a lot recently, as I have played Side 4 a lot. I used to think it was just a sub-standard version of the single version, but I play this more now and really like it.
5. I’m So Tired – brilliant song,. brilliant lyrics!
4. Back In The USSR – great catchy Rock ‘N’ Roll song to open the album. I bought this as a single in UK in 1976, I think. I loved it then, and I love it now!
3. Happiness Is A Warm Gun – classic song. Just love it!
2. Dear Prudence – I thought this was my favourite song on the album, until I voted against it in the ‘bracket contest’ and voted for …
1. While My Guitar Gently Weeps – This is a sublime song, from Paul’s piano intro, to George’s singing and Eric Clapton’s guitar solos.
The Top 4 have been my Top 4 for ages now and do interchange a bit, depending on my mood!
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Jules, all things must pass3.43pm
7 April 2020
30) Revolution 9
29) Wild Honey Pie
27) The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill
26) Rocky Raccoon
25) Birthday
24) Good Night
23) Don’t Pass Me By
22) Revolution 1
21) Honey Pie
20) Piggies
19) Why Don’t We Do It in the Road?
18) I Will
17) Savoy Truffle
16) Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey
15) Cry Baby Cry
14) Martha My Dear
13) Long, Long, Long
11) Dear Prudence
10) Glass Onion
8) Yer Blues
6) I’m So Tired
5) Julia
4) Sexy Sadie
3) Blackbird
1) While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Except for the last 4 songs, the others are great.
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JulesThere's nobody there
4.15pm
8 August 2019
@TheQuietOne I am shocked by your placing of Dear Prudence
¿Posta sos argentino?
the watusi
the twist
4.31pm
26 January 2017
Jules said
@TheQuietOne I am shocked by your placing of Dear Prudence¿Posta sos argentino?
11 isn’t so bad for the White Album . I’m glad to see that Sexy Sadie cracked the top five.
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Jules, TheQuietOne"The pump don't work cause the vandals took the handles!"
-Bob Dylan, Subterranean Homesick Blues
"We could ride and surf together while our love would grow"
-Brian Wilson, Surfer Girl
4.37pm
5 December 2019
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TheQuietOne"....When I cannot sing my heart, I can only speak my mind...."
"....This ain't no party, this ain't no disco, this ain't no fooling around...."
||She/They ||
6.43pm
14 June 2016
sir walter raleigh said
Jules said
@TheQuietOne I am shocked by your placing of Dear Prudence
¿Posta sos argentino?
11 isn’t so bad for the White Album . I’m glad to see that Sexy Sadie cracked the top five.
I love the White Album so much I’d feel bad ranking Revolution 9 last.
1.The Beatles 2.Sgt. Pepper 3.Abbey Road 4.Magical Mystery Tour 5.Rubber Soul 6.Revolver 7.Help! 8.Let It Be
9.A Hard Day’s Night 10.Please Please Me 11.Beatles For Sale 12.With The Beatles 13.Yellow Submarine
Most Avid John Fan 2020 and 2021:
8.12pm
8 August 2019
I’ve been listening to the White Album on repeat for the past week to really get my opinions straight again. I felt this needed a re-do because I have changed my mind on some songs.
30) Don’t Pass Me By – There’s no way I’m changing my mind on this song ever. It’s garbage. 0/10
29) Wild Honey Pie – Still not amusing, I’m not into it at all, it just sounds ugly. Probably it was intended to sound that way, but if it’s not gonna serve a purpose then why do it? 2/10
28) Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da – Ob-Erproduced, Ob-Erplayed, Ob-Errated. 2/10
27) Long, Long, Long – Still can’t remember what it sounds like. 3/10
26) Piggies – I don’t know, maybe it’s the baroque piano, or the pig sounds, it’s just not good. I’ll say the same thing I said originally, and quoting Fantano: the song is worth something on its socio-political commentary I guess, but, if the music under your message is garbage, your music is garbage. Pretty much. 3/10
25) I Will – It keeps getting lower and lower on my list. I think it’s boring, and the lyrics are sketchy, and whenever I listen to it I feel like I’m John, underwhelmed by Paul’s corniness. He can do better. 4/10
24) Why Don’t We Do It in the Road? – I have a very personal connection to this song. I got a friend into the Beatles some time ago and he really started liking them, until he listened to the White Album , and then on, it was just this song. He absolutely loved how stupid it was. He’s a smoking buddy of mine, so whenever we were tripping he would put this and we would just sang our lungs out. It was all ironically, of course. The song is essentially bad, but giving it a lower spot just would be a lie. I kind of enjoy it. 4/10
23) Birthday – I feel basically the same, and with time it just impresses me less. 5/10
22) Revolution 9 – Okay, I kind of get it now. Without this song the album wouldn’t be half as interesting and ear-catching. It is too long, I’ll say that, but at least at what it’s trying to do, I can acknowledge it is a journey through barriers of sound. Some people say it’s scary, but since I’ve listened to it so many times, now it just seems more like a wonder. Even when I’m high, it doesn’t scare me the least bit, it’s actually more interesting. But hold your horses, it still isn’t a song, and it certainly isn’t pleasant to listen to. 5/10
21) While My Guitar Gently Weeps – More like While My Production Gently Ruins My Song. 5/10
20) The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill – I’ll give it to you, it is kind of fun. I still don’t like the chorus, and I like the verses. It isn’t certainly a high point but hey, it isn’t nearly the worst either. 5/10
19) Revolution 1 – It’s fine. 6/10
18) Helter Skelter – I just never liked the melody. I really appreciate the labor it has done for hard rock to evolve into metal so quickly during the 70s, but in and of itself, it’s too long to keep my interest. 6/10
17) Mother Nature’s Son – Like Blackbird , but more artificial and bland. It is a standard Paul acoustic song and at times I can enjoy it. 6/10
16) Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey – Out of John’s electric material on the album, this might be the worst, but it’s decent. 6/10
15) Good Night – It fulfills its function. It may not be the greatest on its own but I wouldn’t like it any other way. 7/10
14) Rocky Raccoon – I like how the song evolves and it ultimately builds into this jumpy rhythm. The lyrics are fun and creative, Paul seems to be chill. And when Paul chill, me chill. 7/10
13) Julia – I have a wildly different view of this song after many listens. It’s just hitting me different. I still think the instrumental is very one-note. But Lennon’s vocals are a real treat. At some points it is kind of boring, but there are points were I get chills, I’ll have to say my favourite part is the when I cannot sing my heart line. Aaah, so lovely! 7/10
12) Martha My Dear – It’s great, it’s iconic, it’s classic Paul. 8/10
11) Blackbird – Time doesn’t treat this one as well. It is still bloody beautiful, but others are taking over my top spots. 8/10
10) Back in the U.S.S.R. – *headbumps aggressively* 8/10
9) Honey Pie – Yes, it might not be a top song in my list like it used to. I was probably trying to overcompensate all the indifference it received by other people. I do like it a lot more than most, but I’ll admit it is maybe not the one I should be choosing for my top five. 8/10
8) Glass Onion – The groove keeps grabbing my attention more and more. It’s short, sweet and simple, and the lyrics are groundbreaking. 8/10
7) Savoy Truffle – CREEEEEEEEEEMEEEE. 8/10
6) Sexy Sadie – Two words: chord progression. 9/10
5) Yer Blues – Every time I just get more and more excited when I listen to it. It’s hard as hell. 9/10
4) I’m So Tired – Sad that this has gone down in my ranking, because I think it’s underrated. John is not only phenomenal, but Paul makes the song with his rockstar backing vocals. It creates sensations of frustration and realization that few songs give me. 10/10
3) Happiness Is A Warm Gun – I still can’t decide which is my favourite part. She’s well acquainted, I need a fix, Mother Superior or bang, bang, shoot, shoot. Every piece of this put-together masterpiece is a gem. 10/10
2) Cry Baby Cry – Every time the verses just get more and more beautiful. Everybody disregarding it so much gives me so much pain. I mean, just listen to it, what is wrong with you? This should be top Beatles rated song, John is on fire, every instrument falls on top the other with so much elegance but still a sense of cohesion hard as stone. I am absolutely fascinated by this song and I can’t say enough good things about it. 10/10
1) Dear Prudence – Look, I love Let It Be , I love Hey Jude , I love Strawberry Fields Forever . But this bloody song should be as beloved, if not more. The amount of people that ignore it is astounding. If I don’t think about it too much, it’s probably the best song I’ve ever heard. 10/10
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the twist
11.36am
11 June 2015
Thanks @Jules always enjoy reading your reviews. Just finished listening to every second of the Super Deluxe release and particularly loved the Sessions CDs. The stripped down version of Martha is so wonderful. Paul’s vocal actually creates a feeling of happiness like deep meditation.
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lovelyritametermaid, JulesYou and I have memories
Longer than the road that stretches out ahead
5.49am
28 April 2020
Jules said
HEY BABES
I’ve been working on this for a couple of days. I decided to go on a task of continuing and updating the work of that AvecPaix guy (not gonna @tt him cause I think he’s long gone) and I averaged every post in the thread to create a decent ranking of the tracks off every album. In this case The Beatles. I clarify my process and rules below.
1 – Happiness Is A Warm Gun (656 points)
2 – Dear Prudence (588 points)
3 – While My Guitar Gently Weeps (583 points)
4 – Helter Skelter (517 points)
5 – I’m So Tired (511 points)
6 – Back in the U.S.S.R. (486 points)
7 – Blackbird (479 points)
8 – Yer Blues (447 points)
9 – Sexy Sadie (430 points)
10 – Martha My Dear (402 points)
11 – Glass Onion (381 points)
12 – Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey (377 points)
13 – I Will / Revolution 1 (tied at 369 points)
Interestingly, if a single album of 14 songs was released, based on the average position of each song so far, the album would include the songs above. Of the 14 songs, 8 would be written by John, 5 by Paul and only 1 by George!
On my earlier rating of the album, in the Top 14, 6 were by John, 6 were by Paul and 2 by George although that was just a coincidence.
I think it would have been very hard to decide which songs to include and which to leave out!
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sigh butterfly, Jules10.31am
8 August 2019
alittlebitolder said
Interestingly, if a single album of 14 songs was released, based on the average position of each song so far, the album would include the songs above. Of the 14 songs, 8 would be written by John, 5 by Paul and only 1 by George!
On my earlier rating of the album, in the Top 14, 6 were by John, 6 were by Paul and 2 by George although that was just a coincidence.I think it would have been very hard to decide which songs to include and which to leave out!
When I made mine it had 8 John tracks and 3 by Paul. I think it would be easier deciding which Paul songs to include and harder to decide which John songs to leave out. If you were to made the single White Album out of the top 2 George tracks, the top 5 Paul tracks and top 6 John tracks (+1 from Ringo) this is what it would look like:
1) Back in the U.S.S.R.
3) Glass Onion
4) While My Guitar Gently Weeps
7) I’m So Tired
8) Blackbird
9) Don’t Pass Me By
10) I Will
11) Yer Blues
12) Sexy Sadie
13) Helter Skelter
14) Savoy Truffle
Maybe that’s the closest thing you could reach to a “consensus”.
the watusi
the twist
3.25pm
1 July 2020
i had to edit this post due to my criminally low placement of Dear Prudence .
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JulesLocal George fanatic
2021:
8.52pm
26 January 2017
indeed, Sexy Sadie has a very good piano part.
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Jules"The pump don't work cause the vandals took the handles!"
-Bob Dylan, Subterranean Homesick Blues
"We could ride and surf together while our love would grow"
-Brian Wilson, Surfer Girl
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