B-Sides That Outweigh the A-Side | Fab Forum | The Beatles Bible

Love Me Do – P.S. I Love You

Please Please Me – Ask Me Why

From Me To You – Thank You Girl

She Loves You – I’ll Get You

I Want To Hold Your Hand – This Boy  

Can’t Buy Me Love – You Can’t Do That

A Hard Day’s Night – Things We Said Today

I Feel Fine – She’s A Woman

Ticket To Ride – Yes It Is  

Help ! – I’m Down

We Can Work It Out – Day Tripper *

Paperback Writer – Rain

Yellow Submarine – Eleanor Rigby *

Penny Lane – Strawberry Fields Forever *

All You Need Is Love – Baby, You’re a Rich Man

Hello, Goodbye – I Am The Walrus

Lady Madonna – The Inner Light

Hey Jude – Revolution

Get Back – Don’t Let Me Down

The Ballad Of John And Yoko – Old Brown Shoe

Come Together – Something *

Let It Be – You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)

Here’s the case for This Boy as I’d make it. There is one song that is similar to it – 1965’s Yes It Is . However, I Want To Hold Your Hand was merely the latest in a line of great pop songs they did. However, I’ve always heard I Want To Hold Your Hand right after She Loves You , so maybe that’s a cause.

I won’t go so far as to say that I PREFER “You Know My Name” (one of the Beatles’ most unique, off-the-rubber-wall creations) to “Let It Be ” (fairly turgid, lesser rehash of “Hey Jude ” ) but that’s only because the butchered “(…Number)” on the b-side is far inferior to the full uncut 6:20 version. To imagiine the boys putting something so long and ridiculous (yet metiticulously assembled and performed!) within less than a millimetre of vinyl-width of something so serious as “Let It Be “! In some ways that’s an even greater breach than between “Eleanor Rigby ” and “Yellow Submarine “, which were after all both basically narratives, however much else they were opposed.

(Another great thing about “You Know My Name” never ever mentioned by anybody is what a great showcase it is for Paul’s piano skills! Same chord changes throughout but articulated differently in every section of the song, throwing in fake ska and cocktail latin-jazz and plain old idiot-savant plink-plonk, just great stuff.)

Other than that one, the only b-sides I can unhesitatingy say I definitely prefer are “PS I Love You “, “You Can’t Do That “, “Rain ” and “I Am The Walrus “. Toughest choices (ie. b-sides that are just as good) would be “She’s A Woman “, “Baby You’re A Rich Man ” and “Revolution “. (A “Hey Jude ” shortened to maybe 5 1/2 minutes would definitely have the edge over “Revolution “.)

Biggest gap in quality between A & B side: “She Loves You /I’ll Get You “. One of the most exciting singles of all time backed with one of the Beatles 4 or five worst song ever! “I’ll Get You ” is a drag,a well-known drag, from the soggy “Oh yeah, oh yeah” of the opening right through to the end. They just sound bored. I’ve owned the single for nearly 40 years (an original on the Capitol label that my mum bought in ’64!) and haven’t ever liked that b-side.