I just realized I had miscounted and have only six more songs in the bottom half rather than the seven I thought I still had to do. Congratulations and welcome to the top half, unnamed song!
But back to the bad news.
108. Fixing A Hole (Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967)
Beatles version:
Spotify YouTube
Credit to
@Godsbrother for this being as high as it is. I'd always thought this was one of my least favorites, bottom 30-40, but then I noticed that he hyped it in a thread or two as underrated, so I thought I should give it a shot. Now when I play it, I can't get it out of my head, in a good way. Maybe as more time goes by it will climb even higher.
See what I did there? "Higher" in a post on a song about pot?
Oh yeah, back to the song. It's about pot. It's about Paul wanting to be free to experiment, to let his mind wander and not be constrained. Maybe to include stuff other than pot, but definitely including pot. And I think that's one of the most admirable qualities about Paul: for all the criticism I've given to many of the vaudeville songs, his experimentation into different types of music well exceeded the others', both during the time of the Beatles and thereafter. He can simply do it all, and even if we don't appreciate the results of his forays into certain genres, I think all his attempts are well-meaning and based on a genuine love for and interest in them. I can't imagine what it would be like to have a mind that brilliant.
Also, he sure did look dreamy in that "Hey Jude" video.
Oh yeah (again), back to the song (again). I might mention chord progressions too often, but these are fascinating and move through minor/major in a way that complements the lyrics beautifully. The lilt of the vocal moving into a more urgent sound along with the guitar, culminating in the blast of "why they don't get in my door," is sublime, as is the guitar work itself. The song shows off Paul's incredible vocal range not just in terms of the notes but the emotion. The harpsichord forming part of the rhythm section is a brilliant touch.
Fun story about the session for this song: a guy showed up at Paul's front door and when Paul asked who he was, he said he was Jesus. Wait, I'll let Paul tell it. "This guy said, 'I'm Jesus Christ.' I said, 'Oop,' slightly shocked. I said, 'Well, you'd better come in then.' I thought, 'Well, it probably isn't. But if he is, I'm not going to be the one to turn him away.' So I gave him a cup of tea and we just chatted...We used to get a lot of people who were maybe insecure or going through emotional breakdowns or whatever. So I said, 'I've got to go to a session but if you promise to be very quiet and just sit in a corner, you can come.' So he did, he came to the session and he did sit very quietly and I never saw him after that. I introduced him to the guys. They said, 'Who's this?' I said, 'He's Jesus Christ.'"
Mr. krista: "I don’t know. I don’t like it. It doesn’t go anywhere. Just plods along. Made totally in the studio rather than the product of songwriting. Seems like a high-dea."
Suggested covers: I dunno about this vocal, but
The Fray. Love it or hate it version from
Electric Würms (count me as hate it).