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7.50am
5 February 2014
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So… I’ve been pretty quiet on here lately as I’ve been busy with assignments and all that jazz! However, in this time I have also made my complete list of Beatles songs from the worst to the best. I’m going to post the top 100 on here in a countdown style. I’m planning to do 10 per day, until I reach the top 30 when I will do 5 a day and the top 10 will be 1 a day. I’ll post my reasoning why the song is on the list and my overall thoughts!
Some of their most well known songs are missing on this list. It does not mean I don’t enjoy them, I just enjoy these songs more. I can honestly say I LOVE every song on here.
Anyway… let’s get into it!!!!!!
100. When I Get Home
I don’t get why a lot of people find this the worst on the album (that for me is And I Love Her !). It’s an insanely catchy song with some really neat guitar work. Ringo and George sound very excited on this one and they are definitely enjoying the performance. I really like John’s vocal, it sounds quite playful. The lyrics are quite cheeky although they are nothing deep. I don’t think it was ever meant to be one of the album’s highlights, but never the less I really like this.
99. You’re Going To Lose That Girl
The Help ! album is great. The singles are really strong on this one, and so are the album tracks. A favourite for me is this little number. Like the previous song, it’s nothing too serious. But sometimes I like it when they breeze along the edges and provide a song that could be written in a few minutes. Anyway, this song has some really cool little things like bongos and other percussion. The call and response in the song is also really neat, and the high notes sung by John are cool.
Man, Jane Asher inspired some great songs! A typical Rubber Soul song: mainly acoustic with electric flourishes. John had already felt the huge presence of Bob Dylan, and with this song so did Paul. This song sounds best in a setting when people are sitting around a big fire out in the woods (there could be a great Fab Four Playlist for this!). Anyway, I like George’s random guitar work. And Ringo’s…uhhh.. organ playing? Paul is on form and the song fits together perfectly.
97. One After 909
Fun fact: This is one of six songs from the Let It Be album to make the cut. One of the songs they performed on the rooftop, they wrote this as early as the late 1950’s. It was recorded in early 1963 but it wasn’t released until Anthology in 1995. The Beatles went up to that rooftop in 1969 and hammered it out and it’s a truly great performance. It’s cool to hear how their early beat sound sounded like in 1969 after they had tried out many musical styles. Oh, and George is on FIRE.
For me, With the Beatles is A LOT better than Please Please Me . Please Please Me is represented by 3 songs, while With the Beatles is represented by 6! This is a great original by John and he sings it with such passion! It has some really cool chords and for me is a stand out on the album. Oh, and the harmonies during the middle eight are stunning.
The first song down that is universally known by fans. A Hard Day’s Night is represented by a whopping NINE songs making it the 3rd most represented after Abbey Road and The White Album . Can’t Buy Me Love is a great rock and roll number. It’s clearly influenced by the 1950’s rock and roll with a little bit of blues thrown in (listen to the bassline). George gets a great solo and Paul provides one of his greatest vocals up until that point.
94. Polythene Pam
Amplify the electric guitar in this baby and you have a punk song. I’m glad this song was included on Abbey Road . It’s only around 1:30 but it’s one of the best minute and a halves ever spent. I can’t help but laugh at John’s accent in this song – it’s brilliant.
This is the only song in the top 100 list that has Ringo on lead vocals. However, if you asked me a few months ago I would have put With A Little Help From My Friends and Octopus’s Garden above this. This song flat out ROCKS. This song was influential in the development of punk (well in my books anyway). Listen to how raw this song is: the screams, the lead guitar, the drumming. Everything about it is brilliant.
92. Twist And Shout
Fun fact: This is the first of 3 covers on the list. The first song stolen from Please Please Me , this song contains one of John’s finest vocal performances. You can tell he was struggling – he had spent 10 hours singing and he had a cold. His voice wasn’t going to be great. He tried his best and we ended up hearing one of the best vocals of all time. I wish the instrumental track was a little more distorted or louder, that could make it rock even more.
91. Sexy Sadie
We are going from four pretty rocking songs to quite a quiet song. Written about the Maharishi in India and his wicked ways, Sexy Sadie is powered by a hypnotic piano riff. There’s something almost psychedelic about this. There is some pretty neat guitar work at the end, and the vocals are on target as always. I can see how it can be a forgettable song for some (it’s between Everybody’s Got Something to Hide… and Helter Skelter on the album!) but I think it’s a great track. A blueprint for Karma Police by Radiohead for sure.
Tune in tomorrow for 10 more songs including the most played Beatles song according to Last.Fm and the title track to one of their most famous albums!
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Mr. Kite4.23am
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8.28am
5 February 2014
Offline Sorry I didn’t post yesterday, was very busy! As we were…
90. Doctor Robert
The first of eight songs to make an appearance from Revolver , this is one of the more “forgettable” moments for a lot of listeners. I think it’s a great song, better than Harrison’s two deep cuts (Love You To /I Want To Tell You ), Yellow Submarine and better than three of Paul’s most celebrated numbers (Here, There And Everywhere /For No One /Good Day Sunshine ). I love that riff, there is an almost punk edge to it as it is really just one chord with every second note being sustained. As mentioned previously, I sometimes prefer it when they don’t try too hard.
89. Money (That’s What I Want)
The second cover down which means only one more to come and it’s over 30 songs away! This is a damn good song but it took me a while to get into it. That piano riff is great and it adds a heavier tone to the song. Lennon provides one of his most unforgettable moments (look how it’s the closing song…as was Twist And Shout !). I believe it was also one of their longest songs up until that point.
88. I Should Have Known Better
Another great song from A Hard Day’s Night . This was a pretty big song for them outside of the UK and US as it was a single in Australasia and Europe. I’ve always wondered why And I Love Her was on 1962-1966 and this wasn’t. Huh. I can find a few similarities between this and Love Me Do musically (maybe it’s the harmonica intro). Some awesome use of the 12-string too.
87. The Word
First song down from my 2nd favourite album, Rubber Soul . Along with Taxman , I consider this one of their few dives into funk. Listen to that bass and guitar, they intertwine so well. It was one of the first songs written about love that wasn’t openly “I love you girl/do you love me too” and I definitely prefer this to All You Need Is Love as a love anthem. I can dig that harmonium solo even if it sounds a little out of place.
86. I’m So Tired
Oh man, I wish this wasn’t so short. There isn’t a huge deal to it, but what exists is AWESOME. I really like how the song becomes louder at the end of the verse and goes back to quiet for the start of the second. It’s another Lennon bluesy number (he had a few in 1968). I guess it’s an answer to I’m Only Sleeping in a way, although musically quite different.
85. Come Together
Here it is, the most played Fab Four song according to Last.Fm. I think this is SLIGHTLY overrated, but still a damn good song. The bassline is top notch in this one and it’s so damn simple (but creative). I feel the performance could have been stronger, Lennon was on overdrive by this point and he was rapidly losing interest in the band. The lyrics do not make any sense at all but I like them. It’s a very groovy song.
I’m hooked by the heavy bass intro. It’s one of those songs that Lennon and McCartney wrote together but differently at the same time. For me, the biggest downfall is that irritating keyboard. It’s probably the only thing keeping this from the top 50 for me (yes, I know it’s 34 places from #50 but it shows how close every song is in how much I love them). Quite a groovy song, it can be overlooked as it’s the only song on the B-side of MMT that isn’t a huge classic. But it should be more than AYNIL in my opinion.
83. If I Fell
When I started compiling this list, this wasn’t even in the top 120. Now, it could be even higher than #83 but I’m not changing things now. This is a GREAT song! It took me a long time to get into it, but once I did… man. The harmonies! The intro! Everything! Admittedly they have done better love songs (see pretty much everything else to come) but this is still a stand out in their first two years discography. One of those album tracks that still gets recognition.
82. Sgt. Pepper ‘s Lonely Hearts Club Band
For me, Sgt. Pepper ‘s album is the best at the beginning and end. At just over two minutes, the title track gives the rest of the album a very high bar to reach. Along with the reprise, this is the heaviest thing on the album and could give the listener false hope if they were expecting the album to be quite heavy. But it’s such a good song. The guitar licks are great and McCartney’s vocals are awesome.
While I’m So Tired could have done a little better if it was longer, this song probably could have done a little better if it was shorter (see Hey Jude which is still to come). This is a perfect example of a deep track that the general public don’t know about. And boy are they missing out! One of their best forays into psychedelic rock. There is nothing pop about this, it’s pure distortion with some prog qualities. It’s quite experimental and I like it that way. I do feel that if it were a min or two minutes shorter we wouldn’t lose anything, but it is still great the way it is.
Next time we will have a song about a walrus and one of the songs they performed on the rooftop that wasn’t on the Let It Be album which was a let down… (hint hint).
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Wigwam10.09am
5 February 2014
Offline Continuing on… if you want to comment, please do! It’s cool to hear feedback on the songs placing and what you think of the songs 
80. Getting Better
Another track down from one of their most celebrated albums. Sgt. Pepper ‘s is an album full of experimentation, drones and psychedelia. This might be the one song that’s a pretty standard song with no new ground really being broken. But it’s a damn fine song. What really gets me with this song is the contrast between Paul and John. You have Mr. Optimism Paul singing “It’s getting better all the time” then John comes in with his section of beating his woman up and feeling sorry and becoming a changed man. There is a nice bit of tambura in there too.
Recorded during the tough Let It Be /Get Back sessions, this was released as the B-side to Get Back in most countries, if not all. It got a place on a LP a year after release in the USA, but did not make an LP in the UK until 1967-1970 in 1973. A bluesy shuffle, John was using one of his “less is more” strategies with the chorus being simply the title sung in quite a rough way. I think it’s perfect like that. But I wish the guitars were a little louder.
For me, the originals on Beatles For Sale were some of the best songs Lenmac had recorded up until that point. Oddly only four songs from this album get an appearance (Kansas City /Hey Hey Hey Hey, Eight Days A Week & Baby’s In Black came very close!) which is strange now I look back, but that’s the way it worked out. This is a great jangly number with a stellar drum opener courtesy of Richard Starkey. Another quintessential 12-string track.
77. Wait
When songs from Rubber Soul are discussed, people seem to forget about this number. A number that was left off from Help !, Wait is a song that comes as quick as it goes. But for me, it’s a hugely underrated track and definitely should get more recognition. I love the guitar in this, it’s pretty subtle but it fits the song PERFECTLY. There’s a folky undertone that powers the song along, and both John and Paul get to show their vocals off.
Another great section of the Abbey Road medley. There isn’t too much to write about this but the chorus is amazing. And it gets bonus points for having a reprise of You Never Give Me Your Money , which is still a long way off yet. Possibly the only song to feature all four Fabs on vocals.
75. I’m Down
If you haven’t heard the Shea Stadium live recording of this on YouTube, look it up now. Listen to that energy. This was one of the last time Paul got a real rocker for the Beatles, as he would be writing more laid back folk on Rubber Soul and experimenting with psychedelic rock and baroque pop on Revolver /Sgt Pepper . A great rock and roll number that was a live staple in their last year of touring. And what a B-side. Ticket To Ride /Yes It Is and Help /I’m Down are easily two of the best singles of the mid 1960’s in my opinion.
74. Another Girl
Help ! is one of those albums that have handful of very well known songs (Ticket To Ride /Help !/Yesterday /You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away ) but also a lot of deep tracks that rarely get mentioned. And this is one of them. I LOVE the music video from the film. It’s one of my favourites ever. It’s a great rocker with some humorous lyrics. Paul gets a stab at lead guitar and he pulls it off rather well.
73. I Am The Walrus
Here’s a head scratcher. I Am The Walrus only one point higher than Another Girl ? I love this song, but I think they have done better attempts at experimental-psychedelic-whatever. It has taken me a long time to fully appreciate this song, and I still probably haven’t appreciated it as much as I can. But I can easily see why it’s so popular, it’s catchy as hell but at the same time very dissonant and mindblowing. The lyrics are out of this world and the orchestra sounds great. I get lost at the odd middle section and how it reverts to fake stereo.
Two words: Guitar solo. Without a doubt, my favourite solo in the entire Beatles catalogue (tied with Something , Old Brown Shoe and probably a few more). I see this as John being like “F**k you Paul and your obsession with this album, I’m gonna write a song in 10 minutes and make it as challenging as possible for you and Ritchie to play!). But seriously, those time changes! This song is almost proto-prog. And that solo is proto-metal man. Imagine that sort of solo in Helter Skelter … I’ll leave you to dream about that.
71. Glass Onion
Nothing like a self-referential song for ya. Glass Onion is without a doubt one of the weirdest songs on their weirdest album (although Wild Honey Pie or Revolution 9 could take that, but the former is barely a song and we don’t need to talk about the latter). This song combines psychedelic rock, hard rock and orchestral music on the outro. It’s powered by a GREAT bassline and some great chording from George. What grabs me is the lyrics, how many songs does it reference? 10? Just listening to this, you know that only John could have written it.
Up next… 3 Harrison classics in a row and probably their most simple A-side lyrically.
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Mr. Kite11.42am
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@nzbeatlefan, check out the complete stereo mix out there, done for the Anthology DVD, its awesome, as is the Rock Band remix. Both are far superior to the regular mix that switches between stereo and mono.
A lot of folk have the belief that the Beatles music should never be touched and altered from how the Beatles themselves released them back in the 60’s, these show how it can improve the songs significantly.
"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)
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17 December 2012
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@nzbeatlefan With only three covers in the Top 100, it would be interesting if you also did a Top 15, 20 Covers list, to give a perspective on how you view that aspect of them as a band…
"I only said we were bigger than Rod... and now there's all this!" Ron Nasty
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The Beatles Bible 2020 non-Canon Poll Part One: 1958-1963 and Part Two: 1964-August 1966
6.24am
5 February 2014
Offline After I complete the top 100 I’ll give the full list and I’ll highlight the covers
Continuing on!!
70. Don’t Bother Me
The first of three Harrisongs in a row, this song for me is quite a bit better than his two cuts on Help ! Don’t Bother Me is a relatively dark song for their early period. It’s a love song of course, but not so in your face. It has a really nice solo and I really like Harrison’s vocal. I think it was his best up until that point. It’s a forgotten gem that should be more well known.
George’s two numbers on Rubber Soul were considerably better than his two on Help !. While If I Needed Someone is a folky song, Think For Yourself is bordering garage rock. Listen to that fuzz tone. It’s quite a heavy song in a way, even if there is a lot of pop going on as well. This is another song that has slipped through the cracks and should be more well known, but I guess every song can’t be famous!
Our final Harrisong for around 6 songs is the masterpiece from Sgt. Pepper ‘s, Within You Without You . I see a lot of people put this as their least favourite song from the Sgt Pepper album, and at that I scratch my head at that. This song is everything great about the 1967 psychedelic Revolution . It has some great lyrics and is accompanied by some great sitar playing and great vocals. Fun fact: George was the only one playing on this record from the Beatles.
67. She Loves You
The song that started it all really. The Beatles were well known in the UK before this song but they didn’t have the huge appeal that would come after this baby was dropped. A raucous rocker, She Loves You has fine instrument playing from all members. It’s a classic song with the refrain of “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah” being one of the most memorable in music. For me it’s considerably better than I Want To Hold Your Hand . I’d like to have this higher, but every song to come is just a little better.
66. You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away
Another great cut from Help !, this song found Lennon channeling his inner Dylan. Dylanesque numbers had been explored on Beatles For Sale , but it wasn’t until this song that the folk rock Revolution really took its toll on the bands music. A fairly short song that is filled with emotion, this number has become one of the most well known numbers from the album mainly due to it’s inclusion on the 1962-1966 album. And deservedly so, it has great lyrics and a fine melody.
For now I can only post 5 songs, but maybe in a few hours when I get home I can continue these 5 songs off or next time I’ll put up 15.
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Wigwam2.30pm
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4 February 2014
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Love the list so far and agree with a lot of it!
nzbeatlefan said
Man, Jane Asher inspired some great songs! A typical Rubber Soul song: mainly acoustic with electric flourishes. John had already felt the huge presence of Bob Dylan, and with this song so did Paul. This song sounds best in a setting when people are sitting around a big fire out in the woods (there could be a great Fab Four Playlist for this!). Anyway, I like George’s random guitar work. And Ringo’s…uhhh.. organ playing? Paul is on form and the song fits together perfectly.
Love that organ part! Didn’t know it was Ringo. That’s a cool fact.
Can’t wait for more to come!
2.34am
5 February 2014
Offline Thank you Mr Kite! Yeah it’s a cool fact, although his playing is brief and mixed down well.
Anyway, going to do 15 today!
65. Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey
One of those “what the hell” moments in the Beatles catalogue, EGSTHEMAMM is a great rocker with a GREAT bassline. The lyrics are rather odd as many of Lennon’s songs were in the White Album period. It’s a fast paced rocker that has a little bit of proto-punk thrown in. It’s stuck in the middle of the C-side of the album which for me is one of their most consistent album sides.
One of my favourites from this album is the title track. One of their best attempts at psych-pop, Magical Mystery Tour has quite a lot to offer in it’s short time span. Full of horns, the song was recorded shortly after the sessions for Sgt. Pepper ‘s stopped and before Macca even had the idea for the film. It’s powered by a great rhythm section and some great vocals and the song was important enough to feature on 1967-1970.
63. Hello Goodbye
From the same album, Hello Goodbye is one of their most famous songs. A lot of people feel that the B-side, I Am The Walrus , is the better song and this was an “afterthought”. Well for me this is a (slightly) better song. It’s a good bit of fun that doesn’t make me cringe like Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da or When I’m Sixty-Four . The mix of violins, bass, drums and guitar is a great mix and I love the change in style towards the end. Oh, and Ringo nails it. It’s bloody simple, but it’s bloody great.
62. Old Brown Shoe
One of the Beatles finest B-sides, Old Brown Shoe has slipped through the cracks over time even though it was on 1967-1970. A Harrison number, he played all guitar and bass parts as well as singing it. I don’t like the production on the vocals for this one, it almost sounds like he is singing into a corner just after he has eaten $30 of McDonalds. However, everything else about it is spot on. The bass is INSANE, and that guitar solo… well I previously mentioned that it’s my favourite solo along with Good Morning Good Morning and Something . A truly great song.
61. Let It Be
Well, it had to come up at some point. The title track to their final album. One of the best songs on the album, Let It Be is one of their most famous songs and deservedly so. It has taken me quite a while to fully enjoy this number, I used to find it boring and unnecessary. After paying more attention to the lyrics and the melody, I realized that it’s actually a brilliant song. The piano and organ playing is fantastic and George gets a great solo (although there are many variations of this!). This will always be known as one of the greatest songs in history.
60. Get Back
Another song from Let It Be that’s also very famous. While Let It Be is soaked in organs and what not, Get Back is a rootsy-bluesy rocker that is powered by two guitars with Lennon on lead! This was one of the songs that caused George to temporarily quit the band in January 1969. This is how Lennon ended up playing lead, and he handles his solo very well. Billy Preston gets a credit for some awesome electric piano playing which is the only time in the bands output someone actually gets credit other than the fab four themselves.
Aaaaaand another song from Let It Be that’s very famous! Across The Universe has some of the best lyrics in the canon. However, I feel like none of the versions have the right production with the Anthology version coming closest. Written in early 1968, it was recorded along with Hey Bulldog and Lady Madonna but didn’t get a release until 1969 on a compilation album. The song was remixed by Spector in 1970 and put out on the Let It Be album and feels slightly out of place but no one can deny how great the song is and it will sound amazing anywhere.
58. Revolution [Single version]
One of the most iconic guitar intros ever, Revolution was a statement lyrically and musically. It showed the band was very aware of all the destruction happening in the world and wanted to write something about it. It also proved that the Beatles could rock out (although Taxman , And Your Bird Can Sing , You Can’t Do That and many others proved that too). Featuring some very distorted fuzz guitar, Revolution was the B-side to Hey Jude but nowdays is almost seen as an equal A-side. The single version is SO much better than the version on the White Album , although I do like that still.
57. I Call Your Name
A relatively minor song in the Beatles canon, I Call Your Name marked one of their first signs of experimentation. You first of all have this pretty straight forward rock and roll number that John wrote in the 50s/early 60s. Then wham, you have a complete twist in time and tempo and you end up with a ska middle section! This my friends is one of the reasons this band was so great. Who else did that in 1964? Anyway, this is a great little song that should be more well known than it is.
56. Long Tall Sally
Here we go, the final cover song on my top 100. And the second song in a row from the Long Tall Sally EP! This song is one of the most upbeat rockers in the catalogue and features two guitar solos, with the first from John and the second from George. It was a live staple for the band from the early days right up until the final American tour in 1966 (I’m surprised they didn’t sneak it in at the rooftop concert too!). Pauls NAILS his vocal on this baby. Just listen to those screams – beautiful.
55. Please Please Me
The second song taken from the debut album, Please Please Me is great pop rock. It is an insanely catchy song with some nice riffing. This song must have been very frustrating for the band as it reached #1 on all the singles charts in the UK apart from the official one where it stalled at #2! This song is considerably better than Love Me Do , the progression between that song and this is almost as big as the progression from She Loves You to Tomorrow Never Knows for me. The song is a little dirty, but their writing style hides it rather well so the song didn’t get banned like similar songs could have.
54. Yer Blues
“Yes I’m lonely/I wanna die” is not quite on the same page as I Want To Hold Your Hand . Yer Blues is well… blues. With heavy metal thrown in. One of their heaviest songs, this song was written in India where Lennon was feeling “suicidal” as the experience was not as uplifting as he hoped and he was missing the UK (and some woman called Yoko… ring a bell?) While being a serious song, the song is actually a great pisstake of the trend of blues rock to appear in the UK in the 60s. Doesn’t sound anywhere like a Beatles song, but you know, what does a Beatles song sound like?
53. Oh! Darling
It pains me to leave this out of the top 50 but I just couldn’t put this any higher. That’s only because every song to come is so damn amazing. One of the most “normal” songs on Abbey Road , Oh! Darling is a bluesy swamp song that wouldn’t feel too out of place on a Creedence Clearwater Revival album. Paul delivers possibly his best vocal ever here. I really wish there was an alternate version with John on lead vocal because it suits him a little better, but the world would probably collapse at the epicness. Everything about this song is great, and at this point of the countdown I am finding it very hard to fault anything.
If there was ever a genre that combines folk rock and hard rock, this song would be the definition. Take away that incredible guitar duo riff and you have a folk rock song about Mick Jagger (apparently) and how he used to show off his girlfriend all the time. Throw in the guitar riff and we end up with some song that is bordering hard rock, and one of the heaviest songs for 1966. But man, that riff is something. I believe it appeared in the Gibson 100 greatest guitar solos list which is an impressive feat for a song that is so deep in the bands canon.
51. Any Time At All
One of the many, many songs from A Hard Day’s Night to feature on my list, Any Time At All is a favourite of mine. Ironically the first time I ever heard this song was on the radio when they were playing three Beatles songs in a row (the other two were While My Guitar Gently Weeps and And Your Bird Can Sing if I remember). The song opens up with a hit on the toms from Ringo, followed by Lennon yelling “Any time at allllllllllllllllll”. John mentioned that it was intended as a re-write of It Won’t Be Long which is still to feature on this list. Fun fact: Macca sings every second “Any Time At All ” because it was too high for John!
Next time we will visit one of their longest songs clocking at 7:11 and the highest place song from Yellow Submarine .
11.19am
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17 December 2012
Offline @nzbeatlefan said
60. Get Back
Another song from Let It Be that’s also very famous. While Let It Be is soaked in organs and what not, Get Back is a rootsy-bluesy rocker that is powered by two guitars with Lennon on lead! This was one of the songs that caused George to temporarily quit the band in January 1969. This is how Lennon ended up playing lead, and he handles his solo very well. Billy Preston gets a credit for some awesome electric piano playing which is the only time in the bands output someone actually gets credit other than the fab four themselves.
You’re wrong here. A guest musician was credited on another song, and you don’t need to look far from Get Back to find it, as it’s the B-side. Both sides, Get Back and Don’t Let Me Down are credited to “The Beatles with Billy Preston”. Though it should be added that this credit did not feature on any Beatles album until the release of Past Masters in 1988.
"I only said we were bigger than Rod... and now there's all this!" Ron Nasty
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The Beatles Bible 2020 non-Canon Poll Part One: 1958-1963 and Part Two: 1964-August 1966
3.34pm
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1 May 2011
Offline @nzbeatlefan. Yeah, Ringo’s drumming on ‘Hello, Goodbye ‘. Same as with ‘Lady Madonna ‘ in that it takes the song somewhere else which makes it so much better than it could have been – something that can be written for so many Beatles tracks.
And nice to see ‘I Call Your Name ‘ getting a placing, love that ska section.
Keep ’em coming.
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nzbeatlefan"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)
9.48pm
5 February 2014
Offline Sorry I didn’t clarify that @Ron Nasty I mean’t the whole Get Back single release with DLMD. I know both are credited.
Continuing on!
50. Rain
Well nothing like starting with the top 50 with a bang. For many people, Rain is seen as one of the most important B-sides of all time. And I couldn’t agree more! While the fab four had dabbled in psychedelic music on Rubber Soul , Rain was the first hit of proper psych. The B-side of Paperback Writer , Rain also had a music video that was set in a garden like Paperback Writer . Both songs were recorded during the Revolver sessions (imagine PW & Rain being on Revolver instead of Yellow Submarine & Good Day Sunshine !?) and they sound like many of their contemporaries on that album. One of the greatest singles from the Beatles without a doubt.
Another track from the Let It Be album, I’ve Got A Feeling for me represents everything that was right about the late 60’s Beatles. One of the more creative numbers on the album, this song is a bluesy hard rocker featuring vocals from both John and Paul. It has some pretty sweet riffing and axe work and was performed on the rooftop. I definitely prefer the original version to the Naked version, the original sounds so raw while the latter sounds too tidy which doesn’t suit a rootsy rocker like this.
48. Help !
One of my favourite #1’s, Help ! was a huge step forward for the band. By late 1964 the band had been writing love songs in a not so in-your-face way. Help ! is a cry for… help. John had been getting very tired and depressed from touring and wanted something more. He definitely touched on sadness with No Reply and I’m A Loser , but Help ! was the first big song that showed his emotion. Along with Ticket To Ride , this song is a perfect track to show the band in transition from the merseybeat era to the psychedelic era.
47. Hey Bulldog
This is such a great song. There is only one reason it’s not any higher on this list: I’m not a huge fan of the mix of the song. It sounds a little odd and not quite right. But no one can deny that riff. Man. John KILLS it on piano. Ringo KILLS it on drums. Paul KILLS it on bass. George KILLS it on guitar. It’s one of those songs that doesn’t mean a lot at the surface, and with a title of Hey Bulldog you wouldn’t expect it to. Recorded in early 1968, it did not get a release until early 1969 on the Yellow Submarine LP. Imagine this backed with the original version of Across The Universe in June 1968… that would be groundbreaking.
46. All My Loving
I sit there listening to this song wondering how John does those triplets so quickly. I can play a bit of guitar but I haven’t even attempted this part because I know I couldn’t do it. Rhythm guitarists, so underrated. Anyway, this is a very popular song even though it was never officially released in the US or UK (but in most other countries). It’s a fairly typical early era song with not a huge deal of experimentation or anything happening. It’s pure pop with a killer guitar solo. It was performed on that first Ed Sullivan show to crowd delight, but then they could have performed a medley of Wild Honey Pie , Sgt Pepper Inner Groove and Revolution 9 at that point and still got a standing ovation.
45. Hey Jude
When I started compiling this list, this was only one place above Revolution . I listened to this last week and I realised how good this song actually is. If the song was 5:11 instead of 7:11 it might be even higher, but the next 44 songs might stop that from happening anyway. Hey Jude is one of their most famous songs without a doubt. It has a nice background around it, Paul wrote it for Julian who was feeling a little sad during his parent’s divorce (as you would). It was a very caring gesture and I appreciate Paul even more for doing it. The transition from the “song” to the coda is awesome, and is a perfect slice of pop.
One of John’s hazy psychedelic songs from 1966, I’m Only Sleeping is quite often seen as one of the best tracks from Revolver . A primarily acoustic number, it features some incredible backwards guitar work from George. What really gets me is how easy this song floats by. I love it when John sings a screamer tearing his vocal chords but I also love it when he is singing softly into a microphone with nothing but the melody in mind like this one. I really like the lyrics and I can relate to them very well. We still have five songs from Revolver to make the cut.
43. In My Life
Here we go, the most well known and loved song from Rubber Soul . It would be my most loved song too if it wasn’t for Norwegian Wood , You Won’t See Me , If I Needed Someone and Nowhere Man . Words can’t describe how important this song is. While we have had songs about Lennon opening up before, this was the first one where we really got to see him in this light. It’s a deeply personal song with a sexy little piano solo from George Martin (he was really the 5th Beatle). This is another song that I only came to truly appreciate in the last few months or two.
42. Nowhere Man
Another Lennon Rubber Soul number. Nowhere Man was the first song that they released that wasn’t about love in any form. It was about Lennon not where he’s going in life and feeling a bit of a “Nowhere Man “. The Dylan influence is here too but not as much as other songs that I have mentioned. I have a soft spot for George’s solo, it’s nothing flash but it fits the situation perfectly. And the harmonies… wow. They were onto it in 1965! I especially like the lyrics, they flow so well and they are complex for them at the time.
41. The End
I’m so stupid. I’ve mentioned the great solos in Good Morning Good Morning , Old Brown Shoe and Something but I’ve forgotten this one which may be their best solo! The End of course, is the end. Their last proper song on their last recorded album, this song shows all four musicians at their best. First of all you get a hilarious Ringo drum solo which pretty much screams “I hate drum solos”, and then the solo from all solos… Paul, George and John going in turn to provide just under a minute of perfection. Then comes the line that is probably tattooed more than any bible quote. I don’t even need to mention it you all know it so well.
Next time we have our final song from Please Please Me (I’m sure you can all guess it) and songs about Russia and Eric Clapton’s chocolate addiction.
7.31pm
2 June 2014
Offline HOW THE HELL MY SONG (Hey Jude ) ENDED UP ON 55 AND BELOW Nowhere Man .
This song turned me into a beatlemanic and also was my first ever beatle’s song and also is my username
7.57pm
1 November 2013
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9.06am
5 February 2014
Offline Well you never know @Starr Shine? there are three George songs from the White Album to come… maybe you’re in luck!
40. Helter Skelter
Who says the Beatles never did hard rock? This song is HEAVY. Hugely important in the creation of hard rock, Helter Skelter was oddly written from Paul. It almost has “John” written all over it. Something that’s quite interesting is that it has John on bass. You can easily tell that because he has no idea what he is doing. But it sounds good! It’s a very bass heavy song, with lots of psychy guitar chords being thrown at you. Oh, and Ringo got sore fingers from drumming if you didn’t know!
39. I Feel Fine
Another rocker, I Feel Fine was apparently “the first song to use feedback intentionally”. Well it’s most likely the first well known song, but I doubt it would be the first considering the Kinks were doing similar stuff earlier in the year. Not to take anything away from the song, it’s amazing. One of their many number ones, it wasn’t actually a hit until 1965 as it was released around the release of Beatles For Sale in December. I really like the riff, it’s fast and it shows what they were going to do in latter years.
One Two Thee Fawr! One of the greatest count-ins of all time. I Saw Her Standing There has become one of their best known hits from the early years, even though it was not an A-side in the UK or US. It’s a great rock and roll song with an awesome bassline. It’s nothing flashy, it’s just them doing all they could do at the time. I don’t understand how this was left off 1962-1966 when Girl made it on there… really!? Anyways, fantastic song, can’t fault it.
37. Because
Another song from the amazing Abbey Road down. This is another one of those songs that took me a while to get into, but after I gave it the 10th chance I realised how f-ing great it is. The riff, oddly similar to I Want You (She’s So Heavy), is fantastic. I love the interplay from the guitar and the harpsichord. But I couldn’t talk about this song without mentioning the harmonies. My God . Could you get any better harmonies if you tried? This just proves how amazingly those three men can sing in unison (I wonder if Ringo sat in the corner and cried?).
36. Eleanor Rigby
One of those songs that has to be “somewhere” in a top 50, Eleanor Rigby is a song that a rocker could love. Even though it has no standard rock instruments in it, there is something still quite heavy about it. Probably the lyrics, which are rather depressing. But it has turned out to be one of Maccas’ finest ballads and is universally and critically acclaimed. It blows my mind that Yellow Submarine was a bigger song at the time, those two can’t really compare for me.
35. Back in the U.S.S.R.
Can you just imagine Brian Wilson walking into a store in November 1968 and hearing this song and thinking “my band are making records without me!?” (was this released before he “left”??). Back in the U.S.S.R. is well… a Beach Boys pastiche. With a bit of Chuck Berry thrown in. One of the most popular songs from the White Album , it was a single in a few countries in early 1969 with Don’t Pass Me By as a B-side (lol). I love the guitar solo in it and the overall tempo. I would like to hear a version without any jet noises one time as I find them slightly irritating at some points but I get the point of why they are there.
34. Savoy Truffle
The goofiest song in my top 50, Savoy Truffle is about Eric and his chocolate addiction. I’m not kidding. This seems like the better behaved but more immature cousin of Good Morning Good Morning . Maybe it’s the heavy distorted horns. Anyway, as any great George song in existence, it has a great solo. The lyrics are marvelous and it makes a nice change from a lot of other songs around the time. It gets a bonus point for referencing Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da too.
33. I’ll Be Back
One of the greatest album closers of all time, I’ll Be Back is a Rubber Soul song gone missing. I say that because it’s complex enough to fit on that album! Anyway this is a brilliant song that is SEVERELY underrated (a saying I’ll say a lot). I really like the placing for this song, I think it was put on the end because it shows the direction they were attempting to move into. It has some simple lyrics but I love them, I can relate to them a lot. The guitar chords have a great progression and make the song float by without any severe disturbance.
Beatles For Sale has a trilogy of songs that I consider Godly and this is the first of those three. Every Little Thing is ACE. It’s similar to I’ll Be Back in a way, although this prominently features the Rickenbacker 12-string like a lot of others from 1964. It was famously covered by Yes on their debut album, and while their version is epic, I prefer the original because it gets to the point in two minutes!
31. She Came In Through The Bathroom Window
“Ahhh listen to that now… oh… look out” is an interesting way to start a song. That’s because it segues from Polythene Pam , which you may remember also made an appearance on this list. This is my favourite part of the Abbey Road medley and I am always excited to hear this number. I love the guitar work on it. It’s so… Abbey Roadish. Paul has some interesting lyrics, I always chuckle at the “so I quit the police department/found myself a steady job” line. I wish it was longer, I feel it could be an epic number if it were extended by some extra verses and soloing. My 5th favourite song on Abbey Road .
Next time I will be doing only 5 songs per day. We go for a day trip where you can ring but you won’t get a reply!
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meanmistermustard9.08am
5 February 2014
Offline10.35am
Reviewers
Moderators
1 May 2011
Offline I like a bit of controversy – and every list has them as its down to personal taste.
Nowhere Man at #42. Heck, its not the forty-second best song on ‘Rubber Soul ‘.
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Mr. Kite"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)
11.01am
Reviewers
17 December 2012
Offline @meanmistermustard said
Nowhere Man at #42. Heck, its not the forty-second best song on ‘Rubber Soul‘.
What was the forty-second best song on the fourteen song Rubber Soul in your opinion? 
"I only said we were bigger than Rod... and now there's all this!" Ron Nasty
To @ Ron Nasty it's @ mja6758
The Beatles Bible 2020 non-Canon Poll Part One: 1958-1963 and Part Two: 1964-August 1966
12.56pm
Reviewers
Moderators
1 May 2011
Offline 14 tracks you say @Ron Nasty. I got a pirate copy of Rubber Soul with 48 tracks. I thought it sounded dodgy at the time.
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Bulldog, Mr. Kite"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)
2.16pm
17 October 2013
Offline This is great writing……..Your fanship comes over…..but it’s your love of these songs that I ‘dig’
I’n sure you know Paul gets the credit for the solo in Good morning.
can’t wait to see your top ten.
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