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2022 FBG, 172 to 1 Beatles Countdown 1-25 lists... And 173 to 1 Countdown from 1-64 lists! (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter Zegras11
- Start date
Dr. Octopus
Footballguy
MAC_32
Footballguy
One after 909 was in my original submission, but got the boot after a Friday night shuffle the day before the deadline led to 3 edits. It was the last cut.
I'm very surprised about Dr Robert.
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
Dr. Octopus
Footballguy
zamboni
Footballguy
BobbyLayne
Footballguy
It’s not super important but I *think* there should be 34 zero vote songs?
204 + Free As A Bird + Real Love is 206 and 172 got votes.
Anyway, NBD. Appreciate all you do, big task running this thread. Been fun to follow along.
simey
Footballguy
I remember playing this song a lot when I got the blue album. Even though it wasn't in my Top 25 favorites, I still love it.
Shaft41
Footballguy
BobbyLayne
Footballguy
A Tase of Honey
is probably one of the two missing songs which received zero Top 25 votes
Zegras11
Footballguy
Zegras11
Footballguy
Thanks, but please do me a favor and quote the entire post.
"Ok, I did this really quick and I could be missing one song. that I'm not going to try an d figure out..."
"
Leroy Hoard
Footballguy
Just realized another big reason why I like this song. The 6/8(or 3/4?) beat. I used to do a wee bit of ballroom dancing and loved the waltz. It just clicked in my head that this would be great to dance to.
Another example Elton - I Need You To Turn To
But I digress
Zegras11
Footballguy
I Want You (She’s So Heavy)
2022 Ranking: 60
2022 Lists: 13
2022 Points: 122
Ranked Highest by: @Murph (6) @jamny (6) @Pip's Invitation (7) @zamboni (7) @shuke (15)
2019 Ranking/Lists/Pts: 72/4/34
Getz comments: Getting to the point where it's going to be hard to @ everyone in every song that voted. Very solid increase from 2019 on the amount of voters and points. Hope this makes my 64 list.
Krista4
My 2019 ranking: 75
2019 write-up:
I Want You (She's So Heavy) (Abbey Road, 1969)
This is the prime example in Beatledom of a song I admire more than love. If I were to do a list of "best" songs, this would probably be in the top five. I think everything about it is brilliant, especially the bass lines. I also think that, among all the Beatles catalogue, this song is the one that could most likely fit right into music today. Not saying it's a single that [insert name of popular singer right now since I am old and have no clue] would release it, but it could slide right into alternative rock. It's just that, if I'm going to listen to Beatles music, there are 54-94 songs I'll probably put on first.
I don't feel like I'm going to do this song justice in my write-up, so I'm hoping that someone who has it in their top 10 can step in and talk about it instead. This is my friend Jane's favorite Beatles song; maybe I should ask her.
Mr. krista: "It’s a really good song that reminds me of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins's 'I Put a Spell on You.' [Sings.] Paul McCartney’s bass line is the rock star in there. The song is such a dirge. [Sings bass line and plays air bass.] I like the Moog freak-out at the end. I had a Moog app for a while and thought I could make noise music. I couldn’t."
Suggested covers: This makes sense: Flaming Lips This makes less sense: Sarah Vaughan Thanks, munga!: Umphrey's McGee
2022 Supplement: Hey! Here’s one where I really fell down on the job in 2019, so I have a chance for redemption.
This song, like many from this time, was a love song for Yoko. John wanted to see how far he could go in expressing himself with an economy of words: “In 'She's So Heavy,' I just sang, 'I want you, I want you so bad, she's so heavy, I want you,' like that.” He described his ultimate goal as writing a “perfect” song using only one word; Yoko had made this drawing in 1964 that contained only one word: https://www.moma.org/collection/works/127491 .
The sound of this song is among the heaviest the Beatles ever recorded, with layers and layers of overdubs and use of a variety of new playthings, including the Moog synthesizer, to give the massive sound that the band wanted. John’s desperate, increasingly distressed vocal flows perfectly from whisper to scream, with the tempo changes to match, and the punctuation of his lines with the guitar imitation of the vocal is brilliant. Other standouts to me are Paul’s wandering bassline and Ringo’s unusually heavy and deranged drumming. The ending might be a “love or hate,” but I love it. At that point John has worked the band (and the listeners) into such a frenzy that the abrupt silence seems perfect. Geoff Emerick has said that he thought it was going to fade out, but “suddenly John told me, 'Cut the tape.’ I was apprehensive at first: We'd never done anything like that. 'Cut the tape?' But he was insistent, and he wound up being right.”
We got a bit of rehearsal of this song in the Get Back documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHjxNCYgahA and a longer audio-only version of an early, funkier jam session of the song can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00yc9deNrL0
Guido Merkins
By 1969 John was totally in love with Yoko. Like it or not, most of the material he was cranking out, had to do with his relationship with Yoko. One of those is I Want You (She’s So Heavy) which closes out side one of the Abbey Road album.
The song is unusual for several reasons. It’s length, almost 8 minutes. The minimalist lyrics. The time signature changes. The laid back sections of I Want You contrasted with the shouting of the She’s So Heavy sections. That one section of I want you that almost goes into a Latin rhythm. And while most people try to avoid white noise on a record, John asked for it and got it, louder and louder at the end until you can’t stand it anymore, then it just cuts off abruptly. When I first got the cassette I thought it was defective.
I Want You(She’s So Heavy) is another of those songs you can play with joy to people who call the Beatles “not rock” or “bubblegum.” It’s an extremely heavy record that predates even Black Sabbath by a few months. Also notable is Ringo’s drumming and Paul’s bass runs which is in between verses.
2022 Ranking: 60
2022 Lists: 13
2022 Points: 122
Ranked Highest by: @Murph (6) @jamny (6) @Pip's Invitation (7) @zamboni (7) @shuke (15)
2019 Ranking/Lists/Pts: 72/4/34
Getz comments: Getting to the point where it's going to be hard to @ everyone in every song that voted. Very solid increase from 2019 on the amount of voters and points. Hope this makes my 64 list.
Krista4
My 2019 ranking: 75
2019 write-up:
I Want You (She's So Heavy) (Abbey Road, 1969)
This is the prime example in Beatledom of a song I admire more than love. If I were to do a list of "best" songs, this would probably be in the top five. I think everything about it is brilliant, especially the bass lines. I also think that, among all the Beatles catalogue, this song is the one that could most likely fit right into music today. Not saying it's a single that [insert name of popular singer right now since I am old and have no clue] would release it, but it could slide right into alternative rock. It's just that, if I'm going to listen to Beatles music, there are 54-94 songs I'll probably put on first.
I don't feel like I'm going to do this song justice in my write-up, so I'm hoping that someone who has it in their top 10 can step in and talk about it instead. This is my friend Jane's favorite Beatles song; maybe I should ask her.
Mr. krista: "It’s a really good song that reminds me of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins's 'I Put a Spell on You.' [Sings.] Paul McCartney’s bass line is the rock star in there. The song is such a dirge. [Sings bass line and plays air bass.] I like the Moog freak-out at the end. I had a Moog app for a while and thought I could make noise music. I couldn’t."
Suggested covers: This makes sense: Flaming Lips This makes less sense: Sarah Vaughan Thanks, munga!: Umphrey's McGee
2022 Supplement: Hey! Here’s one where I really fell down on the job in 2019, so I have a chance for redemption.
This song, like many from this time, was a love song for Yoko. John wanted to see how far he could go in expressing himself with an economy of words: “In 'She's So Heavy,' I just sang, 'I want you, I want you so bad, she's so heavy, I want you,' like that.” He described his ultimate goal as writing a “perfect” song using only one word; Yoko had made this drawing in 1964 that contained only one word: https://www.moma.org/collection/works/127491 .
The sound of this song is among the heaviest the Beatles ever recorded, with layers and layers of overdubs and use of a variety of new playthings, including the Moog synthesizer, to give the massive sound that the band wanted. John’s desperate, increasingly distressed vocal flows perfectly from whisper to scream, with the tempo changes to match, and the punctuation of his lines with the guitar imitation of the vocal is brilliant. Other standouts to me are Paul’s wandering bassline and Ringo’s unusually heavy and deranged drumming. The ending might be a “love or hate,” but I love it. At that point John has worked the band (and the listeners) into such a frenzy that the abrupt silence seems perfect. Geoff Emerick has said that he thought it was going to fade out, but “suddenly John told me, 'Cut the tape.’ I was apprehensive at first: We'd never done anything like that. 'Cut the tape?' But he was insistent, and he wound up being right.”
We got a bit of rehearsal of this song in the Get Back documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHjxNCYgahA and a longer audio-only version of an early, funkier jam session of the song can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00yc9deNrL0
Guido Merkins
By 1969 John was totally in love with Yoko. Like it or not, most of the material he was cranking out, had to do with his relationship with Yoko. One of those is I Want You (She’s So Heavy) which closes out side one of the Abbey Road album.
The song is unusual for several reasons. It’s length, almost 8 minutes. The minimalist lyrics. The time signature changes. The laid back sections of I Want You contrasted with the shouting of the She’s So Heavy sections. That one section of I want you that almost goes into a Latin rhythm. And while most people try to avoid white noise on a record, John asked for it and got it, louder and louder at the end until you can’t stand it anymore, then it just cuts off abruptly. When I first got the cassette I thought it was defective.
I Want You(She’s So Heavy) is another of those songs you can play with joy to people who call the Beatles “not rock” or “bubblegum.” It’s an extremely heavy record that predates even Black Sabbath by a few months. Also notable is Ringo’s drumming and Paul’s bass runs which is in between verses.
Zegras11
Footballguy
I just posted song #60. The first of these four appears later today at #58. Get your guesses in!
Predict the order of which of these will appear first, second, third and fourth on the count down....
a) Bobby Layne has his first song posted
b) Krista4 has her first song posted
c) Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da is posted.
d) Eight Days A Week is posted.
Predict the order of which of these will appear first, second, third and fourth on the count down....
a) Bobby Layne has his first song posted
b) Krista4 has her first song posted
c) Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da is posted.
d) Eight Days A Week is posted.
krista4
Footballguy
I'm very confused about the post saying A Taste (or Tase) of Honey is missing. Above is the list originally provided. When Bobby cut off Getz's intro when quoting him, he apparently cut off the first song on the list, too.
I don't think it matters anyway, but if one of the interns wants to review and find the missing song, that's cool. All that matters are the songs remaining, though.
krista4
Footballguy
zamboni
Footballguy
I imagine a lot of folks don't like this due to its length. I love it because at this stage, the Beatles had done just about everything else but have an extended jam session to demonstrate their immense talent. And this was their stage to do just that.
simey
Footballguy
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
I wonder if he's setting us up for a shocking reveal that Ob-La-Dot is ranked higher (Binky: lower) than Eight Days a Week.
heckmanm
Footballguy
simey
Footballguy
Dr. Octopus
Footballguy
I had this at 25 - but probably should have been higher.
One night in college at 2:00 in the morning in a bar, me and my buddies Mike and Kurt decided to fly to San Francisco (from NJ) the next day using waiver passes for free flights another friend stole from his job at Continental Airlines.
There's so much to this story but the relevant point is that we were in a cab in San Fran stoned as hell and with the acid we took kicking in when this song came on the radio, the cabbie - who looked like Archie Bunker - turned back and asked "Do you mind if I turn this off?". All three of us simultaneously yelled out "Noooooo!!!" leaving the cabbie to explain he loved the Beatles but this song is too repetitive. Look how wrong you can be.
Last edited by a moderator:
Dr. Octopus
Footballguy
1.
2.
3.
4. If I Needed Someone (76)
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23. She's Leaving Home (63)
24.
25. I Want You (She's So Heavy) (60)
2.
3.
4. If I Needed Someone (76)
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23. She's Leaving Home (63)
24.
25. I Want You (She's So Heavy) (60)
MAC_32
Footballguy
@AAABatteries among others absorb music differently (NTTAWWT), but while length doesn't make a great song the best songs have it. This is absolutely one of them.
BobbyLayne
Footballguy
Gotta be C first. Ain’t no way the consensus has Paul’s jaunty gibberish any higher.
That said…our favorite couple to hang with have cats named Desmond and Molly. I knew immediately they’d be kindred spirits (they’re friends of my fiancé.)
Eight Days a Week will precede K4 and I having the same first song. #cutthebicycleinhalf
C-D-A/B
krista4
Footballguy
I think you could be right about Eight Days a Week. I don't remember hearing people rave about how much they love this song. Could see it being one that gets a lot of votes, but at the lower (Binky, higher) end of the 25.
Zegras11
Footballguy
Dr. Octopus
Footballguy
Everyone knows after Georgia won the College Football Championship everyone ranked them 324th in the Nation.
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
The best use of this was in the solo Beatles countdown when Krista introduced a Paul song as “Hi, Hi, Hi (Binky: Lo, Lo, Lo)”.
Zegras11
Footballguy
simey
Footballguy
I can see k4's friends ranking Ob-la, as well Shaftkid, and sing-a-long lovers like JML, fatguy, etc. It's a happy sounding tune.
John Maddens Lunchbox
Socialism for Dummies
fatguyinalittlecoat
Footballguy
Not even close on this one.
Had Eight Days a Week at #14 so that’s probably the one coming up.
Shaft41
Footballguy
zamboni
Footballguy
Shaft41
Footballguy
This song has steadily risen up the ranks for me over the years, but not quite to lofty top 25 levels. Not having ever owned the Abbey Road album, I was not familiar with it upon getting Beatles: Rock Band in 2009. The first time I sat down to try this one, I distinctly remember thinking: "When is this ever going to end?" The first time my wife heard it, she responded the way she often does when listening to a new Beatles song for the first time: "Man, how high (Binky: low) were they when they wrote that one?" I normally hate dirgey songs, but this one is pretty cool.
krista4
Footballguy
zamboni
Footballguy
Last edited by a moderator:
Zegras11
Footballguy
Oh! Darling
2022 Ranking: 59
2022 Lists: 10
2022 Points: 129
Ranked Highest by: @Wrighteous Ray (6) @FairWarning @ManOfSteelhead (7) @Dr. Octopus (9) @turnjose7 (14) @pecorino (14) @Westerberg (16) @PIK95 (19) @shuke (19) @zamboni (20)
2019 Ranking/Lists/Pts: 73/3/32
Getz comments: Last song with 10 voters. Two more with 12, and then it’s 13+. Shuke with a 3-peat!
Krista4
My 2019 ranking: 77
2019 write-up:
Oh! Darling (Abbey Road, 1969)
Paul was so determined to do this in a throwback style that he had Geoff Emerick record this with 50s-style tape echo and tracked his vocal directly from the speakers (rather than through headphones) to get a "live audience" quality. The story behind the recording is equal parts sweet and sad. Paul would come into the studio every day before the other Beatles arrived in order to record this vocal. Day after day (alone on a hill?), he'd record a shredding version, and, according to Emerick, George Martin "would frequently announce triumphantly, 'That's it; that's the one,' but Paul would overrule him, saying 'No, it's not there yet; let's try again tomorrow." Paul just couldn't quite get it to match what he had in his head that he wanted to hear. But unlike prior songs, he would never sing it in front of the others, nor did he play any recordings of it to seek their input, perhaps because at that point he didn't want to hear their negative remarks. It tells us how bad the vibe was among the band at that point, and I hate picturing Paul on his own trying over and over to get this perfect, though I admire how dedicated he was to getting it just right. Such a contrast to the sessions for "This Boy," where you can hear Paul encouraging John that he can get that solo right.
Despite the sorta sad circumstances, he delivered, though. Maybe he wasn't used to these blistering vocals by this time - it was a long time after his "Kansas City" or "Long Tall Sally" days - but he pulled it off. Even John complimented this song, though he let it be known he wished he could have done that vocal instead and that he would have done it better as it was more in his style.
Mr. krista: "It’s very very good. Very heavy. Good heavy blues doo-*** stuff. The breakdown…[sings the doodoodoo]…is in a lot of rock songs. Fats Domino type song. The vocals are great. It’s the best you ever hear Paul, really beltinit out a bit."
Suggested cover: Florence + the Machine
2022 Supplement: In the marathon solo sessions in which Paul worked on this song, he tried every conceivable setup – standup mic, hand mic, etc. – except that one thing he did not try was using headphones. Instead he sang along with the backing track being played over speakers, as he wanted to imagine he was singing it to a live audience. It’s a bit ironic, then, that he has never played this song at any of his shows. I understand it’s outside of his range now, but I’m surprised he didn’t attempt it when his vocal cords were younger.
We were treated to an early rendition of this song in the Get Back documentary, with Paul at the piano on their last day at Twickenham while the crew is packing up the rest of the gear (song starts ~1:28):
Guido Merkins
By 1969 Paul’s perfectionism in the studio was getting on the other Beatles nerves. Songs like Obla-Di Obla-Da and Maxwell’s Silver Hammer had tested their patience as they went through lots of takes to get something that only Paul could hear.
So it’s not very surprising that when Paul was struggling to get a vocal sound on a new song Oh Darling, that he started coming into the studio early every morning to sing it. Paul was looking for a certain sound and thought that he could only get it by coming in several days in a row. Several days in a row, he’d come in, do a vocal and say “nope, that’s not it. I’ll try again tomorrow.” Needless to say, he finally got it.
Oh Darling harkens back to Paul’s bluesier efforts on She’s A Woman and I’ve Got a Feeling. It is an absolutely brilliant vocal performance. Using all the tricks he had learned, the Little Richard whail, the growl, parts that are sweet and soulful. John said in interviews that he thought Paul didn’t sing it very well and that he could have done it better. Not sure what drug John was on when he said that because it might be Paul’s best vocal ever, at least until Maybe I’m Amazed a year later.
My Dad once said that he loved that song, but who did the original. I told him it was written by McCartney but I see what he meant. It sounds very much like a New Orleans R&B song or something we call “swamp pop.” Great Fats Domino style piano, great guitar and great drumming by Ringo, and George on bass. What a great, soulful song.
2022 Ranking: 59
2022 Lists: 10
2022 Points: 129
Ranked Highest by: @Wrighteous Ray (6) @FairWarning @ManOfSteelhead (7) @Dr. Octopus (9) @turnjose7 (14) @pecorino (14) @Westerberg (16) @PIK95 (19) @shuke (19) @zamboni (20)
2019 Ranking/Lists/Pts: 73/3/32
Getz comments: Last song with 10 voters. Two more with 12, and then it’s 13+. Shuke with a 3-peat!
Krista4
My 2019 ranking: 77
2019 write-up:
Oh! Darling (Abbey Road, 1969)
Paul was so determined to do this in a throwback style that he had Geoff Emerick record this with 50s-style tape echo and tracked his vocal directly from the speakers (rather than through headphones) to get a "live audience" quality. The story behind the recording is equal parts sweet and sad. Paul would come into the studio every day before the other Beatles arrived in order to record this vocal. Day after day (alone on a hill?), he'd record a shredding version, and, according to Emerick, George Martin "would frequently announce triumphantly, 'That's it; that's the one,' but Paul would overrule him, saying 'No, it's not there yet; let's try again tomorrow." Paul just couldn't quite get it to match what he had in his head that he wanted to hear. But unlike prior songs, he would never sing it in front of the others, nor did he play any recordings of it to seek their input, perhaps because at that point he didn't want to hear their negative remarks. It tells us how bad the vibe was among the band at that point, and I hate picturing Paul on his own trying over and over to get this perfect, though I admire how dedicated he was to getting it just right. Such a contrast to the sessions for "This Boy," where you can hear Paul encouraging John that he can get that solo right.
Despite the sorta sad circumstances, he delivered, though. Maybe he wasn't used to these blistering vocals by this time - it was a long time after his "Kansas City" or "Long Tall Sally" days - but he pulled it off. Even John complimented this song, though he let it be known he wished he could have done that vocal instead and that he would have done it better as it was more in his style.
Mr. krista: "It’s very very good. Very heavy. Good heavy blues doo-*** stuff. The breakdown…[sings the doodoodoo]…is in a lot of rock songs. Fats Domino type song. The vocals are great. It’s the best you ever hear Paul, really beltinit out a bit."
Suggested cover: Florence + the Machine
2022 Supplement: In the marathon solo sessions in which Paul worked on this song, he tried every conceivable setup – standup mic, hand mic, etc. – except that one thing he did not try was using headphones. Instead he sang along with the backing track being played over speakers, as he wanted to imagine he was singing it to a live audience. It’s a bit ironic, then, that he has never played this song at any of his shows. I understand it’s outside of his range now, but I’m surprised he didn’t attempt it when his vocal cords were younger.
We were treated to an early rendition of this song in the Get Back documentary, with Paul at the piano on their last day at Twickenham while the crew is packing up the rest of the gear (song starts ~1:28):
Guido Merkins
By 1969 Paul’s perfectionism in the studio was getting on the other Beatles nerves. Songs like Obla-Di Obla-Da and Maxwell’s Silver Hammer had tested their patience as they went through lots of takes to get something that only Paul could hear.
So it’s not very surprising that when Paul was struggling to get a vocal sound on a new song Oh Darling, that he started coming into the studio early every morning to sing it. Paul was looking for a certain sound and thought that he could only get it by coming in several days in a row. Several days in a row, he’d come in, do a vocal and say “nope, that’s not it. I’ll try again tomorrow.” Needless to say, he finally got it.
Oh Darling harkens back to Paul’s bluesier efforts on She’s A Woman and I’ve Got a Feeling. It is an absolutely brilliant vocal performance. Using all the tricks he had learned, the Little Richard whail, the growl, parts that are sweet and soulful. John said in interviews that he thought Paul didn’t sing it very well and that he could have done it better. Not sure what drug John was on when he said that because it might be Paul’s best vocal ever, at least until Maybe I’m Amazed a year later.
My Dad once said that he loved that song, but who did the original. I told him it was written by McCartney but I see what he meant. It sounds very much like a New Orleans R&B song or something we call “swamp pop.” Great Fats Domino style piano, great guitar and great drumming by Ringo, and George on bass. What a great, soulful song.
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