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Overrated vs. Underrated songs
27 March 2015
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Entharsis
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meanmistermustard said 

I’d add to the underrated pile (tho i’ve probably stated it before) ‘Run For Your Life ‘ and ‘What Goes On ‘ as they are often slated for daring to exist never mind be on a Beatles record. Run For Your Life ‘ is all out nasty John with a fabulous vocal from him and some wonderful guitar work from George. But the words aren’t very nice and we cant have that.ahdn_paul_01George liked it, enough said.a-hard-days-night-george-4What Goes On ‘ has the best Ringo vocal on anything, the harmonies and backing vocals from John and Paul are amazing and again George’s C&W guitar work is incredible. And just listen to Ringo’s drumming. How solid can you get on a recording?

I completely agree with you on these two. What Goes On took a few listens before it grew on me (now I think it encapsulates the first side) and Run For Your Life is the perfect symmetrical closer for Rubber Soul as the song, along with Drive My Car , bookends the album with two satirical depictions of male/female relationships, in contrast to the nuance of what is in-between.

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27 March 2015
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meanmistermustard said

Entharsis said
Underrated:

No Reply / I’m A Loser / Baby’s In Black : With these first three songs you’d think Beatles For Sale was shaping up to be one of the greatest works of their career, but alas its reliance on covers is more than disappointing (though none of them are bad at all). 

I’d actually go further and say that the first five tracks off ‘Beatles For Sale ‘ (so ‘No Reply ‘, ‘I’m A Loser ‘, ‘Baby’s In Black ‘, ‘Rock And Roll Music ‘ and ‘I’ll Follow The Sun ‘) make it the best opening run on any Beatles album, sadly it starts to slide from ‘Mister Moonlight’ and never quite gets it back. Tho i do love it all from ‘Words Of Love ‘ thru to the closing ‘Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby ‘ something is missing. 

I agree with @meanmistermustard and @Entharsis. Good analysis.

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30 July 2015
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I love Penny Lane – it’s just bursting with joy. I notice your underrated song, Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite, is from Sgt. Pepper‘s (and many feel Peny Lane should have been on it). Are these really your most over- and under-rated Beatles songs of their career?

Trying to pick two from the entire canon is mind boggling.

For overrated I’d say Hey Jude.

For underrated…sheesh there are lots…I have a soft spot in my heart for Lovely Rita. In another topic we were talking about alliteration and I went through the lyrics to it. They’re a masterpiece of rhyme, alliteration, and meter while being incredibly simple on the surface – I compared its prosaic quality to Shakespeare (and I believe it is even iambic pentameter ?

As long as I’m in the overall over- vs underrated song topic, I’ll add a couple more imos:

GMGM is perhaps my favorite song on Sgt. Pepper ‘s (ADITL is also up there), but it gets lost in the amazing tracklist that album has. It’s just awesome from the cock-crow to the biting “and you’re on your own, you’re in the street” lyric (and through the end).

Come Together is overrated – even John said it was a rather mediocre response to Timothy Leary’s need for a campaign song.

Two of Us is such a great song when you think of the meaning – and the harmonies are great. Underrated, barely mentioned.

I’ve Just Seen A Face got an instant 10 from me in the recent poll. Not sure it gets the respect it deserves, possibly because Yesterday follows it.

Hey Bulldog is an awesome song, but as it was just a single I don’t think it gets the recognition it deserves. Dave Grohl rocked it on the 50th anniverary of the Ed Sullivan show.

We Can Work It Out – the message is so great…the line “Life is very short, and there’s no time for fussing and fighting my friends” is one of the greatest lines in pop music.

I know Here Comes The Sun is well loved, but I still think it’s underrated. The lyrics are simple but the message is great and the musical structure is unique.

 

nb: At AG’s suggestion I copied this post (and added to it) from the other newer duplicate topic.

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30 July 2015
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Said before and will say many times over, I dont get the attraction of ‘Penny Lane ‘ and never have since i first heard it on the long play ‘Blue Album ‘ compilation pre-1993. Folk wax lyrical about the imagery created, the chords, how its the equal of ‘Strawberry Fields Forever ‘ and yet still my senses remain untickled and unaroused by it. Its appeal has never appealed to me to the point of it rarely gets a “meh”. There isn’t even anything that hooks me in like the daft vocals by George and John on ‘Ob-la-Di/Da’ or Ringo’s drumming throughout ‘Blue Jay Way ‘. It’s not awful just 

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30 July 2015
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rollingstooone said

Underrated:

She’s Leaving Home

While some rate this song among their best, I think this is a top 5, maybe even top 3 song. If you study Paul’s lyrics, you find so many great nuances and clever use of words. He managed to create a very rich and tangible world with so few words. It helps that the music itself is gorgeous.

I think one of the most amazing qualities of their songs, especially Paul’s, is how they write amazing lyrics using very simple (at first glance) lyrics. I’ve mentioned it over and over but Lovely Rita is a simple song but you can analyze the lyrics for hours, the rhymes, alliteration, symbolism, etc. Here Comes The Sun and And Your Bird Can Sing are two more.

For those who care about the opinions of random non-formumpudlians, I found this list of the 10 most underrated Beatles songs. I have to say I only agree with 3: I’m So Tired , She Said She Said , and especially Hey Bulldog (which I mentioned above).

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Matt Busby said

Hey Bulldog is an awesome song, but as it was just a single I don’t think it gets the recognition it deserves. Dave Grohl rocked it on the 50th anniverary of the Ed Sullivan show.

It’s in my top 10.

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Zig said

Matt Busby said

Hey Bulldog is an awesome song, but as it was just a single I don’t think it gets the recognition it deserves. Dave Grohl rocked it on the 50th anniverary of the Ed Sullivan show.

It’s in my top 10

Why does that not surprise me? It’s in my top 20 (it’s basically a 20-odd-way tie for first) and if you can believe it I never heard it until 2 years ago. It’s about as good as rock and roll gets man!

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31 July 2015
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Zig said

Matt Busby said

Hey Bulldog is an awesome song, but as it was just a single I don’t think it gets the recognition it deserves. Dave Grohl rocked it on the 50th anniverary of the Ed Sullivan show.

It’s in my top 10.

hbImage Enlarger

Wasn’t a single in the UK.

 

I sat in my seat and sat through Yellow Sub twice….mostly just to hear this song. You might be surprised to know that i gave it a 10.

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Wigwam said

Wasn’t a single in the UK.

Imagine my embarassment as yet another glaring gap in my knowledge is revealed :/ I don’t even have Yellow Submarine (well I do now, and am listening to it). I thought I already had all the songs on various collections (I didn’t have the “Sea of” set), and I have of course the song Yellow Submarine . I dunno…I feel stupid, not for the first time since I’ve joined this group! Also it didn’t come with Mono Masters CD set, which claimed to have all the albums in mono (except Abbey Rd. which was never released in mono). Most of Yellow Submarine is included on the Mono Masters CD2 in that set (although I see some of the mixes are different, It’s All Too Much in particular)…maybe I missed the fine print…but it had MMT which I didn’t think had been released in mono either. Finally, I thought I had read somewhere here that Bulldog was a single (and maybe it was in addition to being on Yellow Submarine ). Anyway the point is I have it now, and thank you for the correction!

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Listen i didn’t know it was a single anywhere……….

31 July 2015
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nzbeatlefan said
Overrated:

In My Life (a lot of people put this in their top 5… I would put it in my top 50 still but really.. top 5!?)

The Long And Winding Road

I rated 23 I think songs a 10, and In My Life was one of them, with no hesitation…I wouldn’t put it in my top 5 but it’s in my top 23. It’s one of my true love’s faves, so that helps 🙂

I read somewhere that many fabfans refer to The Long And Winding Road as “The Long and Boring Song.” I dunno, I guess I can see their point, but I relate to the song on an emotional level…having lost a few loves in my lifetime I guess and have gone through times of wanting to find the road back to them. In fact it even touched me at the age of 10, when my parents split – and my dad descended deeper into alcoholism – I thought of “The Long And Winding Road ” back to the close relationship I had with him as a younger child. Not to make you feel sorry for me – I’ve dealt with all those feelings and we all have tales…just that’s one level on which I related to the song.

So I guess one thing you can glean from this post is that I’m a hopeless romantic :p

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nzbeatlefan said
Overrated:
I Want To Hold Your Hand
Eight Days A Week
Yesterday
In My Life (a lot of people put this in their top 5… I would put it in my top 50 still but really.. top 5!?)
Yellow Submarine
Penny Lane
With A Little Help From My Friends
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
All You Need Is Love (probably my #1 most overrated)
I Am The Walrus
Blackbird
The Ballad Of John And Yoko
Come Together
Let It Be
The Long And Winding Road

seems like a long list… but here are big songs of theirs that deserve their recognition IMO
Please Please Me
She Loves You
A Hard Day’s Night
I Feel Fine
Ticket To Ride
Help !
Day Tripper
We Can Work It Out
Norwegian Wood
Eleanor Rigby
Tomorrow Never Knows
Strawberry Fields Forever
A Day In The Life
Hello Goodbye
Hey Jude
Revolution
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Get Back
Something
Here Comes The Sun

I agree completely, some of the overrated songs I still can’t understand why people play it so much! Especially All You Need Is Love , Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds , and I Am The Walrus

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15 Most overrated songs:

Yesterday (I gag whenever I hear this song. I absolutely loathe it!)

Hey Jude (so extremely boring and repetitive)

Twist And Shout (such a stiff and overplayed cover)

All My Loving (just never liked it)

Eleanor Rigby (another boring little piece that has no place whatsoever on the psychedelic and crunchy Revolver )

Yellow Submarine (another one of the public’s favorites, and it’s laughably bad. Just like Eleanor Rigby it shouldn’t have anything to do with Revolver )

We Can Work It Out (just never felt anything for this one)

Sgt. Pepper ‘s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Bad main theme song that’s really just filler. The reprise is much better and groovier)

With A Little Help From My Friends (Yellow Submarine reprise)

Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (pseudo-psychedelic filler)

All You Need Is Love

Blackbird (how can this tune be so well-liked?)

Here Comes The Sun (too overplayed)

Come Together (too overplayed)

Something (too overplayed)

 

15 most underrated songs:

Ask Me Why (a beautiful song that has never received much recognition)

I Call Your Name

All I’ve Got To Do (such a great tune that, usually, barely scratches the bottom on the Beatles “best songs lists”)

Not A Second Time

Every Little Thing

What You’re Doing

I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party

It’s Only Love (Lennon hated it… but I absolutely LOVE IT!)

Wait

She Said She Said (oh boy this track is crunchy!)

I Want To Tell You

Cry Baby Cry

Honey Pie

Sexy Sadie (maybe it’s wrong to include this one?)

Polythene Pam

 

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IAmTheLongbus said
15 Most overrated songs:

Yesterday (I gag whenever I hear this song. I absolutely loathe it)

Completely agree!

Blackbird (how can this tune be so well-liked?)

I’d have to agree with that too.

Something (too overplayed)

Yes. So true.

15 most underrated songs:

I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party

Yes!!

She Said She Said (oh boy this track is crunchy!)

I Want To Tell You

Two of my all-time favourites!

Sexy Sadie (maybe it’s wrong to include this one?)

Good track, I don’t think it is wrong to say it’s underrated.

Polythene Pam   

Glad to see Polythene Pam getting some love!

 

My most underrated song:

Getting Better .

Overrated:

I Want You (She’s So Heavy).

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IAmTheLongbus said
15 Most overrated songs

I won’t even address these because it broke my heart to see such great songs on the list. For me you overplayin Beatles is an oxymoron. 

 

15 most underrated songs:

Ask Me Why (a beautiful song that has never received much recognition)

Sexy Sadie (maybe it’s wrong to include this one?)

john-lennon-salute_gif  

I love Ask Me Why . Really great and interesting harmony. A classic feel good love song: one of the highlights of the early years. As for Sexy Sadie … It is not wrong to include it on an underrated list because it is the most underrated song ever as well as THE GREATEST SONG EVER WRITTEN. Yall know how I feel about Sexy Sadie by now. I jump with joy everytime I see it mentioned.

 

Some more underrated songs: I’m So Tired , I Should Have Known Better , Theres A Place, You Won’t See Me , Rain , Yes It Is , Long Long Long, Yer Blues , I’ve Got A Feeling

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Here’s my top 5 underrated and overrated Beatles songs:

Underrated:

5. When I Get Home (I actually like this song)

4. Savoy Truffle (Such a great song, it’s a shame that only the most hardcore Beatles fans know about it)

3. I’m So Tired (This is a pretty good song)

2. Hold Me Tight (I don’t get why so many Beatles fans hate this song)

1. Mr. Moonlight (I really like this song, I don’t know where all of the hate comes from)

Overrated:

5. Good Night (Not necessarily well known, but since I consider it the worst Beatles song of all time, it needed to go somewhere)

4. Love Me Do (Too simple)

3. A Hard Day’s Night (This is that stereotypical Beatles song)

2. Yesterday (Overplayed and too soft for my tastes)

1. Here Comes The Sun (Overplayed)

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The Hole Got Fixed said

Glad to see Polythene Pam getting some love!

 My most underrated song:

Getting Better .

Yes, Getting Better is very underrated!

sir walter raleigh said

I won’t even address these because it broke my heart to see such great songs on the list. For me you overplayin Beatles is an oxymoron. 

Sorry ahdn_george_05

It think it’s the “public’s” fault because they almost only play the most famous songs in stadiums, shops and on the radio and so forth.

No one in my family was ever into the Beatles and I had barely heard any Beatles songs except the most famous ones. When I discovered the Beatles and listened to their records it was like being a kid in a candy story finding all the “hidden” gems that I’d never heard before. So when I listened to the albums the overplayed ones paled in comparison to the better more “obscure” tracks that I started to love. But I think this is a good thing because then you will, just like I did, like the songs (and the band as a whole) you’ve never heard before even more.

As for Sexy Sadie … It is not wrong to include it on an underrated list because it is the most underrated song ever as well as THE GREATEST SONG EVER WRITTEN. Yall know how I feel about Sexy Sadie by now. I jump with joy everytime I see it mentioned. 

It’s great! I love the “sit on their table” part.

 

Some more underrated songs: I’m So Tired, I Should Have Known Better, Theres A Place, You Won’t See Me, Rain, Yes It Is, Long Long Long, Yer Blues, I’ve Got A Feeling

Rain is one of my favorite songs! The reason why I didn’t include in “underrated” is because so many britpop and grunge bands (and U2) have covered it and cited it as a superb song. The rest of the songs you mention are also great!

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Dark Overlord said

Underrated:

5. When I Get Home (I actually like this song)

4. Savoy Truffle (Such a great song, it’s a shame that only the most hardcore Beatles fans know about it)

1. Mr. Moonlight (I really like this song, I don’t know where all of the hate comes from)

Agreed.

 

Overrated:

4. Love Me Do (Too simple)

Yes this song is pretty dull tbh.

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Overrated songs for me; All You Need Is Love and With A Little Help From My Friends – but I love Joe Cocker’s  version, it’s amazing. Many of the iconic songs mentioned frequently in this thread are overplayed but not overrated, so they suffer.

Underrated/played and I’m glad they are, sort of?  Long, Long, Long , Things We Said Today , And Your Bird Can Sing , Fixing A Hole , Rain , Old Brown Shoe , Cry Baby Cry , For No One , If I Needed Someone , You Never Giver Me Your Money.

Having said that I would be pretty brutal with the White Album . No double album for me.

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