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2022 FBG, 172 to 1 Beatles Countdown 1-25 lists... And 173 to 1 Countdown from 1-64 lists! (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Zegras11
- Start date
ConstruxBoy
Kate's Daddy
Zegras11
Footballguy
Dwayne Hoover
Footballguy
Starting to rack up some songs, not surprised. Hello Goodbye is a fun song, it deserves better fate than outside the top 50.
rockaction
Footballguy
Now that the late night (East Coast!) ebb and flow of the thread is upon is, I'd like just acknowledge this and say thank you. In a thread full of great write-ups, this is high praise and a nice compliment to have gotten. Thanks, Doc Oc.
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Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
Comments on the 6 of mine that have been revealed so far......
"I'm Looking Through You": This one has grown on me over the years. As a teenager and young adult, I was more into the flashy side of the late 60s Beatles - especially the psychedelic stuff. But somewhere along the line my tastes have changed, or at least become more fluid. This song, to me, is just about Apex-Beatles. And it's pretty obvious to me that Paul's biggest influence in writing vocal melodies is Smokey Robinson. Not that Smokey would have written these lyrics or arranged the tune this way, but the way that the words are strung together is definitely like a Miracles record. If you count the human voice as a musical instrument, I'm not sure the Beatles laid down a better musical track than this.
"No Reply": I wanted to cover as many sides of the early Beatles (my favorite period nowadays) as I could in my Top 25. This one has everything the band was great at on mid-tempo love songs. There's an urgency to it, but also a floating quality about this record I always loved.
"Do You Want To Know A Secret": The Beatles cross Johnny Mathis off of their bucket list. My mom was born in 1943 and was a huge rock-and-roll fan after Elvis hit big (though I think Little Richard may have been a bridge too far for her). She had Elvis sneakers, for god's sake (which she ruined cutting grass with an engineless mower). Anyway, she told me that most of the rock fans she knew also were buying Mathis records (and Perry Como and Dinah Shore and...pick an MOR artist from the '50s). It wasn't all-rebellion-all-the-time - a retcon by Boomer music writers in the 60s & 70s. Kids (& me) then, before, and after also love smooth voices singing about love and wanting to shuffle around a dance floor holding someone tight. The Beatles understood this (10,000 bar gigs will ten to do that) and they, unlike most of the Invasion bands, had the chops to pull it off. I wonder if Johnny Mathis ever covered this one.
"Fixing A Hole": I just love the melody. I don't really care what Paul thought he was singing about (this is true for me with most every artist's songs, but especially with Paul's).
"Boys": I wrote about this in either this thread or the sign-up thread. I don't have much to add except that I can't imagine 4 youngsters sounding like they are having more fun than the Beatles did on this one. You can hear them getting more and more lost in the groove they are making as the song goes on until - towards the end - it's like they are communicating in a whole different language. There are very few artists I can think of that can pull that off without it sounding forced (Elvis & Otis are the two biggies).
"She's Leaving Home": There are times when I wish this remarkable piece of music was 60 minutes long. The melody, the Greek Chorus, the sway. I'm not smart enough to describe what they've done here musically. I just know I could listen to it all day long.
"I'm Looking Through You": This one has grown on me over the years. As a teenager and young adult, I was more into the flashy side of the late 60s Beatles - especially the psychedelic stuff. But somewhere along the line my tastes have changed, or at least become more fluid. This song, to me, is just about Apex-Beatles. And it's pretty obvious to me that Paul's biggest influence in writing vocal melodies is Smokey Robinson. Not that Smokey would have written these lyrics or arranged the tune this way, but the way that the words are strung together is definitely like a Miracles record. If you count the human voice as a musical instrument, I'm not sure the Beatles laid down a better musical track than this.
"No Reply": I wanted to cover as many sides of the early Beatles (my favorite period nowadays) as I could in my Top 25. This one has everything the band was great at on mid-tempo love songs. There's an urgency to it, but also a floating quality about this record I always loved.
"Do You Want To Know A Secret": The Beatles cross Johnny Mathis off of their bucket list. My mom was born in 1943 and was a huge rock-and-roll fan after Elvis hit big (though I think Little Richard may have been a bridge too far for her). She had Elvis sneakers, for god's sake (which she ruined cutting grass with an engineless mower). Anyway, she told me that most of the rock fans she knew also were buying Mathis records (and Perry Como and Dinah Shore and...pick an MOR artist from the '50s). It wasn't all-rebellion-all-the-time - a retcon by Boomer music writers in the 60s & 70s. Kids (& me) then, before, and after also love smooth voices singing about love and wanting to shuffle around a dance floor holding someone tight. The Beatles understood this (10,000 bar gigs will ten to do that) and they, unlike most of the Invasion bands, had the chops to pull it off. I wonder if Johnny Mathis ever covered this one.
"Fixing A Hole": I just love the melody. I don't really care what Paul thought he was singing about (this is true for me with most every artist's songs, but especially with Paul's).
"Boys": I wrote about this in either this thread or the sign-up thread. I don't have much to add except that I can't imagine 4 youngsters sounding like they are having more fun than the Beatles did on this one. You can hear them getting more and more lost in the groove they are making as the song goes on until - towards the end - it's like they are communicating in a whole different language. There are very few artists I can think of that can pull that off without it sounding forced (Elvis & Otis are the two biggies).
"She's Leaving Home": There are times when I wish this remarkable piece of music was 60 minutes long. The melody, the Greek Chorus, the sway. I'm not smart enough to describe what they've done here musically. I just know I could listen to it all day long.
BobbyLayne
Footballguy
I love the "Maori Finale", never knew it had a nickname. I have seen another one in their everyday clothes labeled outtakes but it's got an annoying Revolver TV logo plastered over it so not worth posting. The wtf is John doing version is way more fun anyway.The Beatles put together a series of promo videos for this one that were…interesting. Such as the one with hula dancers at the end: https://vimeo.com/436562046
Or the one in their Sgt. Pepper’s uniforms – wtf is John doinghttps://vimeo.com/269302327
Those videos make me enjoy the song more.
MAC_32
Footballguy
Enjoyable song that I never considered near my list, so I think this spot is about perfect.
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
My rank: 7
If you’ve been tracking my Led Zeppelin rankings, you’d know I love the epic stuff, so of course this song is going to be high on my list. It’s both heavy and fluid, minimalist and technical. The guitars are the biggest selling point for me, but I love everything about it. Even the white noise and tape cut at the end.
I have seen this live twice, by 2 bands you’d think were quite disparate, Umphrey’s McGee and Ambrosia. But remember that Ambrosia began their career as a prog band.
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
Interesting that we have what may be Paul’s best vocal and what may be John’s best vocal within 2 picks of each other.
Paul’s vocal is the definite highlight of this song for me. The music seems pretty straightforward. Sonically it seems like a better fit for Let It Be than Abbey Road.
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
The fade-in is great and the arrangement seems pretty advanced for rock music in 1964. And it’s catchy as hell. They were kind of good at that.
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
Not only their best cover, but IMO their high water mark until the I Feel Fine/She’s a Woman single. It’s one of the first Beatles songs I remember hearing. John’s vocal is one of the definitive examples of rock and roll singing. There is so much passion and power here.
I do think this song was hurt by the lists being only 25 entries long — too many amazing originals to reward. I think it will do better on the 64 lists. It will be on mine.
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
Great coda and probably the best use of viola in rock. It’s an attention grabber every time it comes on the radio. I’ve always loved the “wa wa wa wa wa wa, do you say, goodbye, goodbye” part.Hello, Goodbye
2022 Ranking: 56
2022 Lists: 12
2022 Points: 136
Ranked Highest by: Shaft41(Son2) (2) @Dinsy Ejotuz (10) @AAABatteries (13) @prosopis (13) @Dwayne Hoover (14) @Anarchy99 (15) @Dennis Castro (18) @Yankee23Fan (19) @Just Win Baby (24)
2019 Ranking/Lists/Pts: 62/4/48
Getz comments: So four of the bottom ten chalkers picked this one. For me, if fell from #8 to #19, this time.
Krista4
My 2019 ranking: 141
2019 write-up:
Hello, Goodbye (single, 1967)
Paul's song about duality, and he said, unsurprisingly, that it was meant to advocate for the positive side of duality. Sunny, cheery Paul. He even used "ebony ivory" as one of the dualities in an interview about the song. Hmmmm...ebony and ivory...where have I heard that?
My favorite parts of this song are the violas and the coda, which was nicknamed the "Maori Finale." Overall the song all feels too slight for my taste, and despite Paul trying to make a substantive statement with the lyrics they fall flat for me. I don't have much to say about this one - nice melody and an interesting ending, but not enough to get ranked higher.
Mr. krista: "It’s a good song that seems totally trivial. I mean, so cheesy."
Suggested cover: The Cure
2022 Supplement: According to Alistair Taylor (who worked with Brian Epstein and was called “Mr. Fixit” by the Beatles), Paul composed this on a harmonium, instructing Taylor to sit at the other end and hit a note while Paul did the same, and then when Paul shouted a word he was to shout the opposite. I treat some of Taylor’s stories with suspicion, but this one seems about right for Paul.
Even with the duality being front and center in the lyrics, for some reason this song was called “Hello Hello” through its first 16 takes, including this one, which was later released in the Anthology series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ud3TMKw7A-c
The Beatles put together a series of promo videos for this one that were…interesting. Such as the one with hula dancers at the end: https://vimeo.com/436562046
Or the one in their Sgt. Pepper’s uniforms – wtf is John doing
Those videos make me enjoy the song more. Pretty fun. Still wouldn’t rank it any higher, though.
Guido Merkins
Songs don’t always have to be meaningful and deep. Sometimes they can just sound good. Someone asked Paul about how he writes songs and Paul, as an example said, say the opposite of what I say. So, high became low. Yes became no. Stop became go. And hello became goodbye.
Hence was born another #1 single. Hello Goodbye is a great sounding track. Love the guitar and the bass and, of course Ringo. Great vocal. The best part is the ending with the “Heba…heba hello.” It reminds me of Ticket to Ride where they go off into another universe at the end. Paul tells the story of the ending as they did it and it wasn’t quite right, then he had the engineer put full echo on Ringo’s tom toms and it came alive.
As far as the video, it’s also one of my favorite of their promotional videos. They pulled out the Spt Pepper costumes and mime the song. It shows them at different times in regular clothes, the Sgt Pepper clothes and even dressed in the old colarless jackets waving like the young Beatles. There are hula dancers and at the end we see the Beatles dancing with the hula girls, John especially mugging for the camera and doing and exaggerated twist. The funniest part, IMO, is Ringo’s comically small drum kit. Great video. Always entertaining.
Dr. Octopus
Footballguy
1.
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4. If I Needed Someone (76)
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9. Oh, Darling (59)
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23. She's Leaving Home (63)
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25. I Want You (She's So Heavy) (60)
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4. If I Needed Someone (76)
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9. Oh, Darling (59)
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23. She's Leaving Home (63)
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25. I Want You (She's So Heavy) (60)
Zegras11
Footballguy
I have a few entries already for the Guess The Final 15 Contest.
If you send one in today and you pick one of the five songs I'm going to post today,I will out you in this thread I'll PM you right back to make a change.
I expect a list from @krista4 and @Guido Merkins also!!
If you send one in today and you pick one of the five songs I'm going to post today,
I expect a list from @krista4 and @Guido Merkins also!!
Zegras11
Footballguy
Zegras11
Footballguy
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
2022 Ranking: 55
2022 Lists: 14
2022 Points: 139
Ranked Highest by: @whoknew(7) @Wrighteous Ray(hub)(9) @Yankee23Fan (10) @DocHolliday(11) @lardonastick (16) @Ilov80s (18) @JustWinBrady (18) @ConstruxBoy (21) @John Maddens Lunchbox (24) @heckmanm(24)
2019 Ranking/Lists/Pts: 36/7/106
Getz comments: The first of three songs today that take a pretty decent hit from 2019 in the rankings. Despite getting seven more votes and 33 more points.
Krista4
My 2019 ranking: 62
2019 write-up:
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967)
This is a song that used to be a "skip" for me most of the time; once I had the benefit of being forced to listen to it for this project it just kept growing on me. I think what's turned me off in the past is mostly John's vocal on it, and I'm still not a huge fan of the tone of it, though I like the mellow dreaminess. But I love the dreamy quality of the song as a whole, love the bass line, love the drum part that kicks everything up a notch into the chorus, and love the 6/8 to 4/4 and back tempo changes between the verses and chorus. More than anything else, love that Mellotron opening. Some of the lyrics are nonsense, but somehow they still paint a vivid picture for me. And I'm not even taking LSD at the moment!
The belief that the song was about LSD caused it to be banned by the BBC, but John has insisted (and is backed up by Paul) that this was not about LSD and instead is based on this drawing that Julian did of his friend Lucy O'Donnell. When John asked what the drawing was, Julian said was "Lucy in the sky with diamonds." John also has said that the imagery was inspired by Alice in Wonderland, though Paul recalls bouncing psychedelic phrases off each other at John's house. The line "plasticine porters with looking glass ties" appears to have come from The Goon Show, which John loved.
Fun fact: Probably the only song to have 3.2-million-year-old skeletal remains named after it.
Mr. krista: "I like how it started with descending, falling down a staircase, Alice in Wonderland stuff going into psychedelic, like every teenager’s introduction into fantasy or surreality, suspending disbelief. Wish the record had started out with this song; it’s sort of playful but there’s a real menace as well, much like Lewis Carroll’s work. It’s also disorienting and impossible."
Suggested covers: Elton John Black Crowes Bono & Secret Machines And, of course, we can't talk about the song without this classic: William Shatner
2022 Supplement: I still struggle with this song sometimes and should have knocked it down a bit on my 2019 rankings. Everything I loved about it then I still do, except the dreamy quality, which is I think where my ambivalence lies. Sometimes it’s just a bit too much psychedelia for me. Never having dropped acid must have its downsides.
Lucy Vodden, the childhood friend of Julian Lennon about whom he drew the picture, died of lupus in 2009. A few months later, Julian released a tribute song, “Lucy,” with a portion of the proceeds going to two lupus-related charities: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IoW4EFQZf0 Love me some Julian. Say what you will about John’s abilities as a father to Julian, but he sure did end up with an outstanding son. Two of them, actually, as Sean is by all accounts a fantastic person as well.
Guido Merkins
John really disliked people trying to read things into his lyrics. Case in point, one day Julian comes home from school with a drawing of a girl floating in the clouds surrounded by stars. John asked what it was, Julian said “Lucy in the sky with diamonds.” Lucy was one of Julian;s classmates. John thought it was beautiful and writes a song around it. The record comes out and somebody notices that the letter spell LSD. I’ve seen pictures of the drawing and Lucy was a real person, she died a few years back and Julian talked about it. John wrote plenty of acid songs and usually admitted it, but was adamant that Lucy was not an acid song.
John was into Lewis Carroll and the song is inspired by Alice In Wonderland. The lyrics are surreal. Newspaper Taxis, Plasticine Porters, Looking glass ties, tangerine trees, marmalade skies are just some of the images in the song.
The song is interesting in that the verses are in ¾ time and the chorus is in 4/4 time. Paul’s bass part is almost the lead instrument along with the organ. George plays a great guitar part though a Leslie speaker. Ringo coming in on the 4/4 chorus is also a highlight. Lennon’s vocal is just stunning. This is another song that is slightly different in mono and in stereo. The mono version has some flutter on Lennon’s lead vocal.
Lennon was having issues coming up with material, but Lucy is so spectacular that people forget about that. It’s definitely one of the highlights on Pepper.
2022 Ranking: 55
2022 Lists: 14
2022 Points: 139
Ranked Highest by: @whoknew(7) @Wrighteous Ray(hub)(9) @Yankee23Fan (10) @DocHolliday(11) @lardonastick (16) @Ilov80s (18) @JustWinBrady (18) @ConstruxBoy (21) @John Maddens Lunchbox (24) @heckmanm(24)
2019 Ranking/Lists/Pts: 36/7/106
Getz comments: The first of three songs today that take a pretty decent hit from 2019 in the rankings. Despite getting seven more votes and 33 more points.
Krista4
My 2019 ranking: 62
2019 write-up:
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967)
This is a song that used to be a "skip" for me most of the time; once I had the benefit of being forced to listen to it for this project it just kept growing on me. I think what's turned me off in the past is mostly John's vocal on it, and I'm still not a huge fan of the tone of it, though I like the mellow dreaminess. But I love the dreamy quality of the song as a whole, love the bass line, love the drum part that kicks everything up a notch into the chorus, and love the 6/8 to 4/4 and back tempo changes between the verses and chorus. More than anything else, love that Mellotron opening. Some of the lyrics are nonsense, but somehow they still paint a vivid picture for me. And I'm not even taking LSD at the moment!
The belief that the song was about LSD caused it to be banned by the BBC, but John has insisted (and is backed up by Paul) that this was not about LSD and instead is based on this drawing that Julian did of his friend Lucy O'Donnell. When John asked what the drawing was, Julian said was "Lucy in the sky with diamonds." John also has said that the imagery was inspired by Alice in Wonderland, though Paul recalls bouncing psychedelic phrases off each other at John's house. The line "plasticine porters with looking glass ties" appears to have come from The Goon Show, which John loved.
Fun fact: Probably the only song to have 3.2-million-year-old skeletal remains named after it.
Mr. krista: "I like how it started with descending, falling down a staircase, Alice in Wonderland stuff going into psychedelic, like every teenager’s introduction into fantasy or surreality, suspending disbelief. Wish the record had started out with this song; it’s sort of playful but there’s a real menace as well, much like Lewis Carroll’s work. It’s also disorienting and impossible."
Suggested covers: Elton John Black Crowes Bono & Secret Machines And, of course, we can't talk about the song without this classic: William Shatner
2022 Supplement: I still struggle with this song sometimes and should have knocked it down a bit on my 2019 rankings. Everything I loved about it then I still do, except the dreamy quality, which is I think where my ambivalence lies. Sometimes it’s just a bit too much psychedelia for me. Never having dropped acid must have its downsides.
Lucy Vodden, the childhood friend of Julian Lennon about whom he drew the picture, died of lupus in 2009. A few months later, Julian released a tribute song, “Lucy,” with a portion of the proceeds going to two lupus-related charities: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IoW4EFQZf0 Love me some Julian. Say what you will about John’s abilities as a father to Julian, but he sure did end up with an outstanding son. Two of them, actually, as Sean is by all accounts a fantastic person as well.
Guido Merkins
John really disliked people trying to read things into his lyrics. Case in point, one day Julian comes home from school with a drawing of a girl floating in the clouds surrounded by stars. John asked what it was, Julian said “Lucy in the sky with diamonds.” Lucy was one of Julian;s classmates. John thought it was beautiful and writes a song around it. The record comes out and somebody notices that the letter spell LSD. I’ve seen pictures of the drawing and Lucy was a real person, she died a few years back and Julian talked about it. John wrote plenty of acid songs and usually admitted it, but was adamant that Lucy was not an acid song.
John was into Lewis Carroll and the song is inspired by Alice In Wonderland. The lyrics are surreal. Newspaper Taxis, Plasticine Porters, Looking glass ties, tangerine trees, marmalade skies are just some of the images in the song.
The song is interesting in that the verses are in ¾ time and the chorus is in 4/4 time. Paul’s bass part is almost the lead instrument along with the organ. George plays a great guitar part though a Leslie speaker. Ringo coming in on the 4/4 chorus is also a highlight. Lennon’s vocal is just stunning. This is another song that is slightly different in mono and in stereo. The mono version has some flutter on Lennon’s lead vocal.
Lennon was having issues coming up with material, but Lucy is so spectacular that people forget about that. It’s definitely one of the highlights on Pepper.
MAC_32
Footballguy
I understand why others pivoted because it's a cover, but it had no bearing on where I slotted it. The bolded is why this was a no brainer top 10 before figuring the rest out. I didn't expect top 5, but that's how the cards shook out in February. I think if I re-did this now it'd be closer to 10 than 5, but due to absorbing and re-familiarizing myself with more of their other work and not this track itself. This track was, is, and always will be legendary.Pip's Invitation said:
Dr. Octopus
Footballguy
This is a song that seems more "important" than enjoyable to me. I wouldn't skip it while listening to Peppers but it's not a song I would seek out individually or add to a playlist (even one strictly limited to the Beatles).
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MAC_32
Footballguy
Aptly put - I never skip it when listening to Pepper's, but I rarely don't skip it if it comes up on shuffle and never seek it out on its own.
Zegras11
Footballguy
So this is kinda backed up by it being on 14 lists, but with zero Top 5 and only three Top 10.
It's not going to make my Top 64, but I won't skip it if it comes up also.
DocHolliday
Footballguy
I ranked Lucy in the Sky high.
This has always been a favorite of mine. I love the dreamy, psychedelic music and lyrics and the lyrics put such vivid beauty images in my head. More so than most songs. The song is simple but well constructed with great harmonies in the chorus and lovely transitions from chorus to verses which are very different from the transition from verse to chorus. It doesn’t get more abrupt than everything stopping, a few drum beats, and then the chorus. Throw in the switch from 3/4 time to 4/4 time. Just cool. Definitely a Beatles classic for a reason.
This has always been a favorite of mine. I love the dreamy, psychedelic music and lyrics and the lyrics put such vivid beauty images in my head. More so than most songs. The song is simple but well constructed with great harmonies in the chorus and lovely transitions from chorus to verses which are very different from the transition from verse to chorus. It doesn’t get more abrupt than everything stopping, a few drum beats, and then the chorus. Throw in the switch from 3/4 time to 4/4 time. Just cool. Definitely a Beatles classic for a reason.
BobbyLayne
Footballguy
They really are great dudes. It’s so encouraging seeing how Julian evolved over the years.
Sean interviewing Julian at Lennon 80
BobbyLayne
Footballguy
I don’t autoskip anything except Wild Honey Pie. Although I was shuffling this morning, most often I pick an album or a Super Deluxe to listen straight through. Of the latter I find the 50th anniversary edition of Pepper to be the least interesting.
Probably just familiarity thing. I used to blindly accept rock critics (esp. RS) declaration SPLHCB was the first concept album and the apex of Beatles creativity. A) Highway 61 Revisited & Pet Sounds preceded it, and B) it’s a good record it’s more like 4th/5th/6th of the 11 to rank (MMT & YS were really half albums.)
Anyway, I dig Lucy. Have always loved John’s imagery. Songs don’t always have to be about something to appreciate them. Had it at #62 & could probably rank it higher.
Zegras11
Footballguy
All You Need Is Love
2022 Ranking: 54
2022 Lists: 15
2022 Points: 141
Ranked Highest by: @John Maddens Lunchbox (5) @Dinsy Ejotuz (6) @whoknew (8) @prosopis (9) @ProstheticRGK (13) @Tom Hagen (18) @ekbeats (18) @Just Win Baby (19) @Alex P Keaton (23) @BobbyLayne (24) @ConstruxBoy (25)
2019 Ranking/Lists/Pts: 48/7/78
Getz comments: Five of the Bottom 10 Chalk list selected this one. And down goes Bobby Layne, leaving Krista4 as the only one without a song posted so far. I had this at #20 in 2019. Just could not find room for it on the 2022 list. Enjoyed the Elvis cover. The Echo cover was eckkk.
Krista4
My 2019 ranking: 43
2019 write-up:
All You Need Is Love (single, 1967)
From @OrtonToOlsen: "Love the lyrics and vocals but the ‘bun duh dunna dun’ really detracts from everything else." For once, I agree with him on something (other than cats)! I realize I've gone on and on about John's vocal in a variety of songs, but for some reason this is my favorite vocal from him. It's not flashy or difficult like "Twist & Shout" or some of the others, but the tone in his singing here does it for me. His voice sounds sleepy but sincere, and incredibly fluid and hypnotic; it almost feels like a lullaby to me, and I'm entranced by it. The lyrics are lovely; Ringo summed them up as, "It was for love and bloody peace. It was a fabulous time. I even get excited now when I realize that's what it was for: Peace and love, people putting flowers in guns." [Requisite photo of dorky t-shirt I own.] What I don't like in the song, and I dislike it enough to take this from a top 20 down to here, is the simplistic chorus and especially the "bun duh dunna dun." It sounds cheesy, circus-y, and brings the song down.
Setting that aside, there's so much else to love, including the impressive production that I'll cover below. With respect to the song itself, I love to try to keep time through the frequent tempo changes and especially love tapping out those alternating 4/4, 3/4 beats in the intro and the verses. There's something about that dropped note that's charming; I'm just glad I wasn't Ringo. I'm also a huge fan of Fifth Beatle George Martin's arrangement on this; starting with La Marseillaise (French national anthem) to open, through the coda with, among others, snippets of "Greensleeves" and "In the Mood," along with a bit of one of the Brandenburg concertos, the orchestration is outstanding. Speaking of that coda, I love the sonic cornucopiaTM of it.
While I said my write-ups might be truncated for a bit, the background of this song's coming to be is too important and interesting to skip. Might sound quaint now, but the song was written for what was a very big deal at the time: the first live international satellite television broadcast, a BBC show called Our World. More than 20 countries were scheduled to participate, and the Beatles were selected to represent Great Britain in the "Artistic Excellence" portion of the show, much to their...indifference. Brian Epstein showed up to the studio during one of the Sgt. Pepper's recordings, greatly excited to announce this to the lads, but he was met with yawns. It didn't get better for him, as, when pressed by Epstein to be more enthused, John spoke for the group by telling him, "that's what you get for committing us to doing something without asking us first." It seemed the Beatles saw this as a violation of their desire not to perform live anymore, but John unenthusiastically agreed that he'd write a song for it.
Several weeks later, Paul casually asked John if he'd written anything yet, and realizing that they had only a couple of weeks to prepare, John got down to writing the song. The band recorded some backing tracks, including George on a violin(!), but when it came to the vocal, John boldly declared that he would not lip-sync but instead would do the lead vocal live. Not to be outdone, Paul then stated that he would also play the bass live, and the two of them together talked George into performing a live guitar solo as well. Luckily for Ringo, due to technical issues of microphone seepage from the orchestra that would be playing, the drums would have to be pre-recorded, though a last-minute decision did allow him to do a live version of the snare drum roll at the beginning. Though the backing vocals were also pre-recorded, Paul was given a live mic for the show for the ad libs you hear at the end of the song.
The night of the broadcast arrived, and in addition to the Beatles and their wives and girlfriends, a variety of friends were enlisted to sit on the floor surrounding the band while it performed, including usual suspects Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton, Marianne Faithfull, Keith Moon, Graham Nash, and Keith Richards. John was visibly nervous, perhaps because he couldn't use his lyric sheet as he normally would. The broadcasters had decided to station an additional camera in the control booth, and when the broadcast began about 40 seconds early, they nearly caught George Martin and Geoff Emerick in a Scotch toast; they had to scramble madly to hide the bottle and glasses from the camera. Another mad dash was then made to get the pre-recorded tape spooled back to its correct spot to start the song. But somehow, despite everything that could go wrong with a live broadcast, everyone pulled it off! As mentioned, John's vocal is astounding, despite the fact he forgot to take his chewing gum out before they started and he did flub a couple of lyrics. The orchestra hit all its marks perfectly. George pulled off the guitar solo he'd been so nervous about, though he did hit an off note or two starting ~1:26. Most amazingly, there were no technical glitches with the music, but the broadcast did lose video for a few seconds.
The song was then rushed into the studio for some overdubbing in order to release the single, but not much had to be done to it. John redid two lines of flubbed vocal, and Ringo replaced the snare roll they'd made a last-minute decision to perform live. A "wobble" was added to the end of George's solo to mask the bad last couple of notes. Most people might not have even realized the single version wasn't precisely the same as the version they'd watched on TV a couple of weeks prior.
(By the way, for some reason I previously had this listed under Yellow Submarine. While it was used on that as well as Magical Mystery Tour, based on how I've listed other songs this should probably be under the "Singles, etc." category.)
Mr. krista: "Nice job. All-star cast. I think one needs other things – food, shelter. Love is definitely up there. You need love before you need, say, a Nintendo 64. But there are other things I’d put above love. So I disagree with the lyrical premise."
Suggested covers: Nothing can replace that John vocal for me, but if you're Elvis Costello, you can surely come close. Surprised to like this one, but I enjoyed their incorporation of other Beatles's motifs: Echo & the Bunnymen. Daniel Johnston gets to the heart of the matter.
2022 Supplement: Good lord, do you see all those paragraphs up there?
Guido Merkins
In the summer of 1967 the Beatles were a big deal. Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was a phenomenon. Like Thriller or Nevermind later on, Pepper was THE album of the moment. Everyone was grooving on it.
The Beatles were asked to represent Britain on the Our World TV broadcast which was the first show that would be broadcast all over the world via satellite. Days before the broadcast, John said “oh yeah, I need to write something for that.” As usual, the pressure didn’t impact the quality of the work as All You Need Is Love was the PERFECT song for that summer.
All You Need Is Love is like most of the best of Lennon’s work. Seemingly very simple, but with a depth that was more than it seemed on the surface. “All you need is love, love is all you need” is just about as simple a message as can exist, but of course, if you think of the ramifications of what that means, and especially if you believe in a higher power, love IS all you need. The world revolves around love and love is what makes human beings unique.
Apart from the philosophy of the song, the song is interesting. First, John loved songs with changing time signatures, not because he did it on purpose, but because he would write lyrics first sometimes. 4/4, 7/4, 6/4 etc. Second, there are several musical quotations in the song. Greensleaves, Brandenburg Concerto, In the Mood, La Marsailles, and the Beatles own She Loves You are quoted in the intro (La Marsailles) and during the fade out (everything else.) In fact, John singing “she loves you yeah yeah yeah she loves you yeah yeah yeah” is one of the great moments, IMO, in Beatles history.
All You Need Is Love is, in many ways, the Beatles at their absolute zenith. Sure, they would have better songs, but released only weeks after Pepper, at this point the Beatles domination of popular culture was absolute. Just as Strawberry Fields Forever and Penny Lane were a part of Pepper because they led the sessions, All You Need Is Love is kind of a Pepper postscript. They could only go down from here. Brian Epstein would die soon after, then everything would change.
2022 Ranking: 54
2022 Lists: 15
2022 Points: 141
Ranked Highest by: @John Maddens Lunchbox (5) @Dinsy Ejotuz (6) @whoknew (8) @prosopis (9) @ProstheticRGK (13) @Tom Hagen (18) @ekbeats (18) @Just Win Baby (19) @Alex P Keaton (23) @BobbyLayne (24) @ConstruxBoy (25)
2019 Ranking/Lists/Pts: 48/7/78
Getz comments: Five of the Bottom 10 Chalk list selected this one. And down goes Bobby Layne, leaving Krista4 as the only one without a song posted so far. I had this at #20 in 2019. Just could not find room for it on the 2022 list. Enjoyed the Elvis cover. The Echo cover was eckkk.
Krista4
My 2019 ranking: 43
2019 write-up:
All You Need Is Love (single, 1967)
From @OrtonToOlsen: "Love the lyrics and vocals but the ‘bun duh dunna dun’ really detracts from everything else." For once, I agree with him on something (other than cats)! I realize I've gone on and on about John's vocal in a variety of songs, but for some reason this is my favorite vocal from him. It's not flashy or difficult like "Twist & Shout" or some of the others, but the tone in his singing here does it for me. His voice sounds sleepy but sincere, and incredibly fluid and hypnotic; it almost feels like a lullaby to me, and I'm entranced by it. The lyrics are lovely; Ringo summed them up as, "It was for love and bloody peace. It was a fabulous time. I even get excited now when I realize that's what it was for: Peace and love, people putting flowers in guns." [Requisite photo of dorky t-shirt I own.] What I don't like in the song, and I dislike it enough to take this from a top 20 down to here, is the simplistic chorus and especially the "bun duh dunna dun." It sounds cheesy, circus-y, and brings the song down.
Setting that aside, there's so much else to love, including the impressive production that I'll cover below. With respect to the song itself, I love to try to keep time through the frequent tempo changes and especially love tapping out those alternating 4/4, 3/4 beats in the intro and the verses. There's something about that dropped note that's charming; I'm just glad I wasn't Ringo. I'm also a huge fan of Fifth Beatle George Martin's arrangement on this; starting with La Marseillaise (French national anthem) to open, through the coda with, among others, snippets of "Greensleeves" and "In the Mood," along with a bit of one of the Brandenburg concertos, the orchestration is outstanding. Speaking of that coda, I love the sonic cornucopiaTM of it.
While I said my write-ups might be truncated for a bit, the background of this song's coming to be is too important and interesting to skip. Might sound quaint now, but the song was written for what was a very big deal at the time: the first live international satellite television broadcast, a BBC show called Our World. More than 20 countries were scheduled to participate, and the Beatles were selected to represent Great Britain in the "Artistic Excellence" portion of the show, much to their...indifference. Brian Epstein showed up to the studio during one of the Sgt. Pepper's recordings, greatly excited to announce this to the lads, but he was met with yawns. It didn't get better for him, as, when pressed by Epstein to be more enthused, John spoke for the group by telling him, "that's what you get for committing us to doing something without asking us first." It seemed the Beatles saw this as a violation of their desire not to perform live anymore, but John unenthusiastically agreed that he'd write a song for it.
Several weeks later, Paul casually asked John if he'd written anything yet, and realizing that they had only a couple of weeks to prepare, John got down to writing the song. The band recorded some backing tracks, including George on a violin(!), but when it came to the vocal, John boldly declared that he would not lip-sync but instead would do the lead vocal live. Not to be outdone, Paul then stated that he would also play the bass live, and the two of them together talked George into performing a live guitar solo as well. Luckily for Ringo, due to technical issues of microphone seepage from the orchestra that would be playing, the drums would have to be pre-recorded, though a last-minute decision did allow him to do a live version of the snare drum roll at the beginning. Though the backing vocals were also pre-recorded, Paul was given a live mic for the show for the ad libs you hear at the end of the song.
The night of the broadcast arrived, and in addition to the Beatles and their wives and girlfriends, a variety of friends were enlisted to sit on the floor surrounding the band while it performed, including usual suspects Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton, Marianne Faithfull, Keith Moon, Graham Nash, and Keith Richards. John was visibly nervous, perhaps because he couldn't use his lyric sheet as he normally would. The broadcasters had decided to station an additional camera in the control booth, and when the broadcast began about 40 seconds early, they nearly caught George Martin and Geoff Emerick in a Scotch toast; they had to scramble madly to hide the bottle and glasses from the camera. Another mad dash was then made to get the pre-recorded tape spooled back to its correct spot to start the song. But somehow, despite everything that could go wrong with a live broadcast, everyone pulled it off! As mentioned, John's vocal is astounding, despite the fact he forgot to take his chewing gum out before they started and he did flub a couple of lyrics. The orchestra hit all its marks perfectly. George pulled off the guitar solo he'd been so nervous about, though he did hit an off note or two starting ~1:26. Most amazingly, there were no technical glitches with the music, but the broadcast did lose video for a few seconds.
The song was then rushed into the studio for some overdubbing in order to release the single, but not much had to be done to it. John redid two lines of flubbed vocal, and Ringo replaced the snare roll they'd made a last-minute decision to perform live. A "wobble" was added to the end of George's solo to mask the bad last couple of notes. Most people might not have even realized the single version wasn't precisely the same as the version they'd watched on TV a couple of weeks prior.
(By the way, for some reason I previously had this listed under Yellow Submarine. While it was used on that as well as Magical Mystery Tour, based on how I've listed other songs this should probably be under the "Singles, etc." category.)
Mr. krista: "Nice job. All-star cast. I think one needs other things – food, shelter. Love is definitely up there. You need love before you need, say, a Nintendo 64. But there are other things I’d put above love. So I disagree with the lyrical premise."
Suggested covers: Nothing can replace that John vocal for me, but if you're Elvis Costello, you can surely come close. Surprised to like this one, but I enjoyed their incorporation of other Beatles's motifs: Echo & the Bunnymen. Daniel Johnston gets to the heart of the matter.
2022 Supplement: Good lord, do you see all those paragraphs up there?
Guido Merkins
In the summer of 1967 the Beatles were a big deal. Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was a phenomenon. Like Thriller or Nevermind later on, Pepper was THE album of the moment. Everyone was grooving on it.
The Beatles were asked to represent Britain on the Our World TV broadcast which was the first show that would be broadcast all over the world via satellite. Days before the broadcast, John said “oh yeah, I need to write something for that.” As usual, the pressure didn’t impact the quality of the work as All You Need Is Love was the PERFECT song for that summer.
All You Need Is Love is like most of the best of Lennon’s work. Seemingly very simple, but with a depth that was more than it seemed on the surface. “All you need is love, love is all you need” is just about as simple a message as can exist, but of course, if you think of the ramifications of what that means, and especially if you believe in a higher power, love IS all you need. The world revolves around love and love is what makes human beings unique.
Apart from the philosophy of the song, the song is interesting. First, John loved songs with changing time signatures, not because he did it on purpose, but because he would write lyrics first sometimes. 4/4, 7/4, 6/4 etc. Second, there are several musical quotations in the song. Greensleaves, Brandenburg Concerto, In the Mood, La Marsailles, and the Beatles own She Loves You are quoted in the intro (La Marsailles) and during the fade out (everything else.) In fact, John singing “she loves you yeah yeah yeah she loves you yeah yeah yeah” is one of the great moments, IMO, in Beatles history.
All You Need Is Love is, in many ways, the Beatles at their absolute zenith. Sure, they would have better songs, but released only weeks after Pepper, at this point the Beatles domination of popular culture was absolute. Just as Strawberry Fields Forever and Penny Lane were a part of Pepper because they led the sessions, All You Need Is Love is kind of a Pepper postscript. They could only go down from here. Brian Epstein would die soon after, then everything would change.
Zegras11
Footballguy
Five voters just selected the last song posted from this list.
Top 10 Least Chalk
62 --Dinsy Ejotuz---278.5
63 --Getzlaf15---266
64 --Simey---257
65 --Ted Lange as your Bartender---235
66 --Tom Hagen---216
67 --falguy---162
68 --Krista (TJ/Slug)---127
69 --Bobby Layne---119
70 --WorrierKing---98
71 --Krista4---0
Top 10 Least Chalk
62 --Dinsy Ejotuz---278.5
63 --Getzlaf15---266
64 --Simey---257
65 --Ted Lange as your Bartender---235
66 --Tom Hagen---216
67 --falguy---162
68 --Krista (TJ/Slug)---127
69 --Bobby Layne---119
70 --WorrierKing---98
71 --Krista4---0
Guido Merkins
Footballguy
That's a good point. Throughout from the ages of 12-15, I was that weird kid that liked the Beatles.John Maddens Lunchbox said:
Ferris Bueller came out and suddenly everyone's handing me cassette tapes to make a copy. I wonder how many kids my age in the mid 80s had Twist and Shout and Ferris Bueller as their gateway drug into the world of the Beatles.....
Zegras11
Footballguy
krista4
Footballguy
Yeah, I hid almost as soon as I posted. I was more confused about his ranking vs. worrierking, but I get it now.
ETA: I keep thinking higher numbers are less chalky. Now I know how Binky feels. Where is @Binky The Doormat, btw?
Last edited by a moderator:
Zegras11
Footballguy
Bolded: They are right now, but that is starting to rapidly change as the points and number of voters for each song get posted.
There are a lot that were 100-200 two days ago that are in the 500-800 point range now after having a few songs posted in the last ten.
Binky doesn't wake up for another hour.
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
Zegras11
Footballguy
This list is changing rapidly. Won't be long before the Top 10 start a major free fall to the bottom.
Chalk Rankings Top 10. #54 = 119 pts. each Sponsored by: The Bottles
1 --ManOfSteelhead---1390.5
2 --anarchy99---1225
3 --Krista (Sharon)---1216.5
4 --Shaft41---1095
5 --Krista (TJ/Michael)---1085
6 --fatguyinalttlecoat---999
7 --BinkyTheDoormat---964.5
8 --Man Of Constant Sorrow---942.5
9 --OTB_Lifer---929
10 --Dwayne Hoover---890.5
11 --Wrighteous Ray(Hub)---845.5
12 --John Maddens Lunchbox---838.5
13 --FairWarning---833
14 --PIK 95---828
15 --Krista (Craig)---809
16 --Encyclopedia Brown---780.5
17 --zamboni---775.5
18 --rockaction---726.5
19 --murph---702.5
20 --Shaft41(Daughter)---699.5
21 --Shaft41(Son2)---695
22 --Krista (Rob)---693.5
23 --Krista (Worth)---689.5
24 --Oliver Humanzee---672.5
25 --Mac32---670
26 --Guido Merkins---652
27 --Krista (TJ/Alex)---629
28 --ConstruxBoy---620
29 --ProsteticRKG---585
30 --landryshat---578
31 --Dennis Castro---571.5
32 --WhoKnew---543
33 --Krista (Doug)---538
34 --DaVinci---519
35 --turnjose7---518.5
36 --Pip's Invitation---515.5
37 --shuke---514
38 --Uruk-Hai---499
39 --ekbeats---485
40 --jamny---480.5
41 --prosopis---474
42 --Wrighteous Ray---465.5
43 --Alex P Keaton---464
44 --Shaft41(Son1)---458
45 --pecorino---443
46 --Dr. Octopus---434
47 --wikkidpissah---386.5
48 --jwb---382
49 --Heckmanm---378
50 --Gr00vus---371
51 --Just Win Baby---362
52 --Neal Cassady---350
53 --Lardonastick---347
54 --AAABatteries---346
55 --Eephus---339
56 --Oliver Humanzee(Dad)---323
57 --Westerberg---320
58 --Ilov80s---313
59 --DocHolliday---306
60 --yankee23fan---305
61 --Krista (TJ/Holly)---288
62 --Dinsy Ejotuz---278.5
63 --Getzlaf15---266
64 --Simey---257
65 --Ted Lange as your Bartender---235
66 --Tom Hagen---216
67 --falguy---162
68 --Krista (TJ/Slug)---127
69 --Bobby Layne---119
70 --WorrierKing---98
71 --Krista4---0
Chalk Rankings Top 10. #54 = 119 pts. each Sponsored by: The Bottles
1 --ManOfSteelhead---1390.5
2 --anarchy99---1225
3 --Krista (Sharon)---1216.5
4 --Shaft41---1095
5 --Krista (TJ/Michael)---1085
6 --fatguyinalttlecoat---999
7 --BinkyTheDoormat---964.5
8 --Man Of Constant Sorrow---942.5
9 --OTB_Lifer---929
10 --Dwayne Hoover---890.5
11 --Wrighteous Ray(Hub)---845.5
12 --John Maddens Lunchbox---838.5
13 --FairWarning---833
14 --PIK 95---828
15 --Krista (Craig)---809
16 --Encyclopedia Brown---780.5
17 --zamboni---775.5
18 --rockaction---726.5
19 --murph---702.5
20 --Shaft41(Daughter)---699.5
21 --Shaft41(Son2)---695
22 --Krista (Rob)---693.5
23 --Krista (Worth)---689.5
24 --Oliver Humanzee---672.5
25 --Mac32---670
26 --Guido Merkins---652
27 --Krista (TJ/Alex)---629
28 --ConstruxBoy---620
29 --ProsteticRKG---585
30 --landryshat---578
31 --Dennis Castro---571.5
32 --WhoKnew---543
33 --Krista (Doug)---538
34 --DaVinci---519
35 --turnjose7---518.5
36 --Pip's Invitation---515.5
37 --shuke---514
38 --Uruk-Hai---499
39 --ekbeats---485
40 --jamny---480.5
41 --prosopis---474
42 --Wrighteous Ray---465.5
43 --Alex P Keaton---464
44 --Shaft41(Son1)---458
45 --pecorino---443
46 --Dr. Octopus---434
47 --wikkidpissah---386.5
48 --jwb---382
49 --Heckmanm---378
50 --Gr00vus---371
51 --Just Win Baby---362
52 --Neal Cassady---350
53 --Lardonastick---347
54 --AAABatteries---346
55 --Eephus---339
56 --Oliver Humanzee(Dad)---323
57 --Westerberg---320
58 --Ilov80s---313
59 --DocHolliday---306
60 --yankee23fan---305
61 --Krista (TJ/Holly)---288
62 --Dinsy Ejotuz---278.5
63 --Getzlaf15---266
64 --Simey---257
65 --Ted Lange as your Bartender---235
66 --Tom Hagen---216
67 --falguy---162
68 --Krista (TJ/Slug)---127
69 --Bobby Layne---119
70 --WorrierKing---98
71 --Krista4---0
Dr. Octopus
Footballguy
Binky The Doormat
Footballguy
Uruk-Hai said:
yep.
Leroy Hoard
Footballguy
Binky The Doormat
Footballguy
Wrighteous Ray
Footballguy
Oh! Darling was my #6 song and I think it is great. What can I say about it that hasn't already been better said by others. I could listen to it several times in a row, and frequently have, sometimes just to focus on the many different aspects of it.
I think Paul loved being "bluesy". I really like the blues and have several CD's (yes, I still have a few CD's) of fabulous blues artists of the past, so I was pleasantly surprised to come across a documentary about Howlin' Wolf last night. He was pretty fantastic. Not only was his voice amazing, but he was also a really good guitar and harmonica player. He was also a good business man and really made it big in the Chicago blues circuit. In the documentary, he talks about how the blues come from folks singing about their lives, both the good and not-so-good parts, but usually the latter. I think that is very evident in true blues music. Although he did not write it, he sang and played the heck out of Goin' Down Slow. In the documentary, there is a section about his kidney and heart disease and how he continued to entertain even though very ill. The video of him singing that song is shown then, although he recorded it much earlier, and it is very moving.
Anyway, watching this made me see ways in which Wolf, blues and the Beatles are alike. The songs often are about what is happening in the singers' and song writers' lives. And, Hubert Sumlin, a guitar player and long-time friend of Wolf's had these quotes about him, which again I see reflected in Beatles music: "He made you feel things" and "His music was magic." And I love this quote from the man himself: "I couldn't do no yodelin', so I turned to howlin'. And it's done me just fine." The Beatles could probably say the same about some of their best and most famous songs.
Wow, I got wordy and carried away a little. I wonder if Krista got that trait from me!
I think Paul loved being "bluesy". I really like the blues and have several CD's (yes, I still have a few CD's) of fabulous blues artists of the past, so I was pleasantly surprised to come across a documentary about Howlin' Wolf last night. He was pretty fantastic. Not only was his voice amazing, but he was also a really good guitar and harmonica player. He was also a good business man and really made it big in the Chicago blues circuit. In the documentary, he talks about how the blues come from folks singing about their lives, both the good and not-so-good parts, but usually the latter. I think that is very evident in true blues music. Although he did not write it, he sang and played the heck out of Goin' Down Slow. In the documentary, there is a section about his kidney and heart disease and how he continued to entertain even though very ill. The video of him singing that song is shown then, although he recorded it much earlier, and it is very moving.
Anyway, watching this made me see ways in which Wolf, blues and the Beatles are alike. The songs often are about what is happening in the singers' and song writers' lives. And, Hubert Sumlin, a guitar player and long-time friend of Wolf's had these quotes about him, which again I see reflected in Beatles music: "He made you feel things" and "His music was magic." And I love this quote from the man himself: "I couldn't do no yodelin', so I turned to howlin'. And it's done me just fine." The Beatles could probably say the same about some of their best and most famous songs.
Wow, I got wordy and carried away a little. I wonder if Krista got that trait from me!
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