In this thread I rank my favorite Beatles songs: 204-1.

[pecorino 1,417]

1 hour ago, Ted Lange as your Bartender said:

Dammit - I go on vacation for a few days and all hell breaks loose in here.

In honor of Krista’s epic tireless/thankless work in here, here’s a compilation of some of Ringo’s live drumming.

And ¡saludos! from Riviera Maya (look at me...)

You staying for the Phish shows?

[krista4 13,635]

1 hour ago, Ted Lange as your Bartender said:

Dammit - I go on vacation for a few days and all hell breaks loose in here.

In honor of Krista’s epic tireless/thankless work in here, here’s a compilation of some of Ringo’s live drumming.

And ¡saludos! from Riviera Maya (look at me...)

Love his groove on the first "Twist & Shout" clip. 

[pecorino 1,417]

4 hours ago, simey said:

I like the metaphors in this song. I especially like the line, "Waits at the window, wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door, who is it for?" The strings in this song perfectly fit the mood of it.

Yes, Eleanor Rigby feels like a song that could float all the way to my top 3 if I’m in the right mood or down into this area if I’m not. I can see why Krista’s ordering would be so mercurial. It is almost too perfect of a song, not really rock and roll if you think about it, and (as I alluded to in an earlier post) overexposed through years of radio play. A real gem, and the first of my top ten predicted Krista songs to get knocked out. Bummer.

[krista4 13,635]

Since I haven't posted write-ups for them yet anyway, I'm making a couple of changes.  No, not to Eleanor Rigby.  I'm moving Hey Bulldog to #37 and I'm Looking Through You to #38.  First couple of posts updated.

[krista4 13,635]

7 minutes ago, pecorino said:

Yes, Eleanor Rigby feels like a song that could float all the way to my top 3 if I’m in the right mood or down into this area if I’m not. I can see why Krista’s ordering would be so mercurial. It is almost too perfect of a song, not really rock and roll if you think about it, and (as I alluded to in an earlier post) overexposed through years of radio play. A real gem, and the first of my top ten predicted Krista songs to get knocked out. Bummer.

 And wow, didn't realize that was the first of your predicted 10 to come up.

[Shaft41 680]

15 minutes ago, krista4 said:

44.  I Am The Walrus (Magical Mystery Tour, 1967)

Beatles version:  Spotify  YouTube

Since I'm being lazy, I've decided to post a guest write-up for this one.  From @simey a page or two back:

"I like this song. It is quite weird, especially lyrically, but there are several things about the song I like. I love the intro, and the orchestra throughout the song.  I also like the nonsensical lyrics.  krista, I'm not sure if I am hearing it right, but after John sings, "see how they smile like pigs in a sty see how they snide," do I hear two pig snorts after that? I know how you feel about pig snorts.  My favorite part of the song comes right before that pig line, when they go Ho Ho Ho Hee Hee Hee Ha Ha Ha. 

John says he wrote the first line after one acid trip, and the second line after another acid trip. He got the idea for writing the whacked out lyrics from getting a letter by boy that said his English teacher was having the class analyze Beatles songs. I reckon John chuckled with the thought of them analyzing the lyrics to this song. This was also the song that started the rumor that Paul was dead."

From me:  I don't mind pig snorts so much in a song that's not named "Piggies."  A little too obvious with that one.

Also from me:  In my write-up I intended to mention that this song probably had the biggest drop of any on my list.  When I started, it was in my top 15 or so, but I realized along the way that, while I loved the song, I found myself tuning it out a lot rather than actively listening.  There isn't that same level of instant excitement for me that a lot of other songs provide.

Mr. krista:  "I like the song. I like the distorted vocals and the obscurant lyrics, referencing Lewis Carroll.  Funny cause the walrus is the bad guy in that poem.  Like the brief bits of noise.  It’s still just a strange song.  There’s something terrifying and jarring about it.  It’s creepy.  It’s a haunted house of a song."

Suggested cover:  I like the uptempo rock version from Oingo Boingo

This is the same kind of song for me.  A few years ago, I might have put it in my top 10.  Now, this is about where I'd rank it.  The John songs with nonsense lyrics are automatically knocked down a few pegs (I haven't finished looking at you too, Paul, in that regard.  Or does everyone know you as Nancy?)  The sonic cornucopia is stunning though, and I love the musicality of it.  It's the song you could listen to 100 times and still probably pick out something you've never heard before in the background.  

[krista4 13,635]

8 minutes ago, Shaft41 said:

This is the same kind of song for me.  A few years ago, I might have put it in my top 10.  Now, this is about where I'd rank it.  The John songs with nonsense lyrics are automatically knocked down a few pegs (I haven't finished looking at you too, Paul, in that regard.  Or does everyone know you as Nancy?)  The sonic cornucopia is stunning though, and I love the musicality of it.  It's the song you could listen to 100 times and still probably pick out something you've never heard before in the background.  

This is a great post, but it makes me mad that I didn't come up with "sonic cornucopia." 

[Shaft41 680]

2 minutes ago, krista4 said:

This is a great post, but it makes me mad that I didn't come up with "sonic cornucopia." 

You're still getting back into the groove.  

[Nigel Tufnel 869]

1 hour ago, krista4 said:

44.  I Am The Walrus (Magical Mystery Tour, 1967)

Beatles version:  Spotify  YouTube

Since I'm being lazy, I've decided to post a guest write-up for this one.  From @simey a page or two back:

"I like this song. It is quite weird, especially lyrically, but there are several things about the song I like. I love the intro, and the orchestra throughout the song.  I also like the nonsensical lyrics.  krista, I'm not sure if I am hearing it right, but after John sings, "see how they smile like pigs in a sty see how they snide," do I hear two pig snorts after that? I know how you feel about pig snorts.  My favorite part of the song comes right before that pig line, when they go Ho Ho Ho Hee Hee Hee Ha Ha Ha. 

John says he wrote the first line after one acid trip, and the second line after another acid trip. He got the idea for writing the whacked out lyrics from getting a letter by boy that said his English teacher was having the class analyze Beatles songs. I reckon John chuckled with the thought of them analyzing the lyrics to this song. This was also the song that started the rumor that Paul was dead."

From me:  I don't mind pig snorts so much in a song that's not named "Piggies."  A little too obvious with that one.

Also from me:  In my write-up I intended to mention that this song probably had the biggest drop of any on my list.  When I started, it was in my top 15 or so, but I realized along the way that, while I loved the song, I found myself tuning it out a lot rather than actively listening.  There isn't that same level of instant excitement for me that a lot of other songs provide.

Mr. krista:  "I like the song. I like the distorted vocals and the obscurant lyrics, referencing Lewis Carroll.  Funny cause the walrus is the bad guy in that poem.  Like the brief bits of noise.  It’s still just a strange song.  There’s something terrifying and jarring about it.  It’s creepy.  It’s a haunted house of a song."

Suggested cover:  I like the uptempo rock version from Oingo Boingo

‘Atta girl. 

[Tom Hagen 1,293]

39 minutes ago, Shaft41 said:

This is the same kind of song for me.  A few years ago, I might have put it in my top 10.  Now, this is about where I'd rank it.  The John songs with nonsense lyrics are automatically knocked down a few pegs (I haven't finished looking at you too, Paul, in that regard.  Or does everyone know you as Nancy?)  The sonic cornucopia is stunning though, and I love the musicality of it.  It's the song you could listen to 100 times and still probably pick out something you've never heard before in the background.  

I'm kind of the opposite of you and Krista in this regard.  I don't know nearly enough about music to understand what is going on in a song like Tomorrow Never Knows or I am the Walrus and the nonsensical lyrics of the latter would drop it pretty far down my list. On the other hand, I'm a sucker for a good melody and honest lyrics, so my top 25 is full of very simple songs with lyrics that I can connect to.  I guess the great thing about the Beatles is that when songs range from Yesterday to Helter Skelter they  provide something for just about everyone.

[pecorino 1,417]

52 minutes ago, Shaft41 said:

This is the same kind of song for me.  A few years ago, I might have put it in my top 10.  Now, this is about where I'd rank it.  The John songs with nonsense lyrics are automatically knocked down a few pegs (I haven't finished looking at you too, Paul, in that regard.  Or does everyone know you as Nancy?)  The sonic cornucopia is stunning though, and I love the musicality of it.  It's the song you could listen to 100 times and still probably pick out something you've never heard before in the background.  

Always a favorite of mine. I can distinctly remember the first time I heard it, driving in the car with my older brother who declared it “real music” unlike the crap that was being released then. I got a cassette of Def Lepard’s Pyromania for my birthday but my brother convinced me to buy the Magical Mystery Tour LP which he would tape for me right over it. Which he did and proceeded to keep the album for himself. Still a good deal for me, in retrospect. I never looked back as my love and fascination for the Beatles (and other real music) grew from that moment.

In case I hadn’t linked it before, here is Phish busting out Walrus a few years back. A very rare treat. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=t7OnCRI_fRU

[Shaft41 680]

1 minute ago, Tom Hagen said:

I'm kind of the opposite of you and Krista in this regard.  I don't know nearly enough about music to understand what is going on in a song like Tomorrow Never Knows or I am the Walrus and the nonsensical lyrics of the latter would drop it pretty far down my list. On the other hand, I'm a sucker for a good melody and honest lyrics, so my top 25 is full of very simple songs with lyrics that I can connect to.  I guess the great thing about the Beatles is that when songs range from Yesterday to Helter Skelter they  provide something for just about everyone.

Actually, overall, I'm much more like you.  Walrus is the only one of their "experimental" songs that I really love, and I'm not sure why.  I'm not a big "Tomorrow Never Knows" fan either.  This one is the outlier.  

[Leroy Hoard 10,174]

1 hour ago, krista4 said:

  I'm moving Hey Bulldog to #37 and I'm Looking Through You to #38.  

Personally I would have put them both at 37.5.

But I guess that's why we can't have nice things.

[Leroy Hoard 10,174]

16 minutes ago, pecorino said:

 I got a cassette of Def Lepard’s Pyromania for my birthday but my brother convinced me to buy the Magical Mystery Tour LP which he would tape for me right over it. Which he did and proceeded to keep the album for himself. 

For some reason I find this story to be hilarious.

[Ted Lange as your Bartender 1,818]

1 hour ago, pecorino said:

You staying for the Phish shows?

Unfortunately no - leaving Monday (damn kids and their “education”)

[wikkidpissah 12,610]

1 hour ago, krista4 said:

This is a great post, but it makes me mad that I didn't come up with "sonic cornucopia." 

Sofia Coppola should make a movie called that.

[Uruk-Hai 5,829]

"I Am The Walrus" has two problems if you're tripping:

1. It's too short

2. It's too long

Granted, it's been 30 years since I've done acid and 20 since I've eaten shrooms.........but I think I have those words in the right order.

It's too short because you could never catch the groove quickly enough to get swallowed up in the song. Too long because it's the theme to a horror flick and that damned alarm clock won't shut the #### up and I get to thinking way too hard about what elemental custard is.

It's a cool song, but not a listen over-and-over one for me anymore.

Best acid song of all time is "Munchies For Your Love" - Bootsy's Rubber Band It doesn't agitate (WORST thing a head song can do) and is long enough to let you into it..

[Binky The Doormat 9,252]

1 minute ago, Uruk-Hai said:

"I Am The Walrus" has two problems if you're tripping:

1. It's too short

2. It's too long

Granted, it's been 30 years since I've done acid and 20 since I've eaten shrooms.........but I think I have those words in the right order.

It's too short because you could never catch the groove quickly enough to get swallowed up in the song. Too long because it's the theme to a horror flick and that damned alarm clock won't shut the #### up and I get to thinking way too hard about what elemental custard is.

It's a cool song, but not a listen over-and-over one for me anymore.

Best acid song of all time is "Munchies For Your Love" - Bootsy's Rubber Band It doesn't agitate (WORST thing a head song can do) and is long enough to let you into it..

...tripping my balls off, I once laid on a coach in total darkness for hours - well until mid-morning, listening to the John Lennon single, "So This Is Christmas" over and over and over.   

[krista4 13,635]

43.  All You Need Is Love (single, 1967)

Beatles version:  Spotify  YouTube

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 cornucopia^TM 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.

Edited February 16, 2019 by krista4

[Uruk-Hai 5,829]

3 minutes ago, Binky The Doormat said:

...tripping my balls off, I once laid on a coach in total darkness for hours - well until mid-morning, listening to the John Lennon single, "So This Is Christmas" over and over and over.   

I don't even want to know what "laid on a coach" means, but Good Lord - Yoko Ono bleating "have very Merry Christmas" over and over while you're tripping seems like the worst kind of hell.

[Binky The Doormat 9,252]

1 minute ago, Uruk-Hai said:

I don't even want to know what "laid on a coach" means, but Good Lord - Yoko Ono bleating "have very Merry Christmas" over and over while you're tripping seems like the worst kind of hell.

🤣 Yoko bleating ...

I was laying on my back on my buddy's apartment couch, by myself. 

 

[Binky The Doormat 9,252]

6 minutes ago, krista4 said:

43.  All You Need Is Love (single, 1967)

Beatles version:  Spotify  YouTube

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 cornucopia^TM 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 sounds 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.  Twenty-five countries participated, 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; a last-minute decision did allow him to do a live version of the snare drum roll at the beginning, though.  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, though 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.

back on track - yeah!

[krista4 13,635]

1 hour ago, Tom Hagen said:

I'm kind of the opposite of you and Krista in this regard.  I don't know nearly enough about music to understand what is going on in a song like Tomorrow Never Knows or I am the Walrus and the nonsensical lyrics of the latter would drop it pretty far down my list. On the other hand, I'm a sucker for a good melody and honest lyrics, so my top 25 is full of very simple songs with lyrics that I can connect to.  I guess the great thing about the Beatles is that when songs range from Yesterday to Helter Skelter they  provide something for just about everyone.

I'm all over the map; as I mentioned earlier, while I try to make some sense of what my preferences are, a lot of it is simply "feel."  Lyrics matter to me when they do, and don't when they don't, and a simple song can get me just as much as a complex one.   

A song like "Because" or "I Want You" might be as "good" as "Tomorrow Never Knows," but I don't connect with it as much...why?  Dunno.  On the other end of the spectrum, you'll see a song like "Two Of Us" has some nice elements but is pretty simple overall, yet lands in my top 35.  I doubt many others would have it that high, but it absolutely delights me every time I hear it, and it's the song I previously alluded to that is my favorite "driving song" (shouldn't have surprised me to find that Paul wrote it on a drive with Linda in his Aston Martin!). 

We're all just lucky they gave us so much to choose from, though I greedily wish there were more!

[Leroy Hoard 10,174]

6 minutes ago, krista4 said:

43.  All You Need Is Love (single, 1967)

Beatles version:  Spotify  YouTube

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 cornucopia^TM 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 sounds 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.  Twenty-five countries participated, 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; a last-minute decision did allow him to do a live version of the snare drum roll at the beginning, though.  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, though 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 remember seeing the video for this, lotza big names of the time surrounding the stage like you mentioned. Seemed like the biggest party scene for that moment in time.

[OrtonToOlsen 16,070]

6 hours ago, Nigel Tufnel said:

Can’t find the exact straw that broke the camel’s back but i think we need to encourage krista to finish what she started here. 

 

6 hours ago, shuke said:

 

I really hope Krista was just having a bad night and will reconsider.  

 

5 hours ago, Atomic Punk said:

Remember this is a marathon not a sprint.  What's the rush? Take your time and enjoy the fruits of your labor. We'll still be here when you are ready.

 

2 hours ago, Nigel Tufnel said:

‘Atta girl. 

OH SO MY WRITE UPS WERENT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU PEOPLE?

THATS RIGHT...YOU PEOPLE.

Edited February 16, 2019 by OrtonToOlsen

[krista4 13,635]

11 minutes ago, Leroy Hoard said:

I remember seeing the video for this, lotza big names of the time surrounding the stage like you mentioned. Seemed like the biggest party scene for that moment in time.

Good god, I just wrote 562 paragraphs about this song and forgot to link the video of the performance!  Fixed!

[Binky The Doormat 9,252]

9 minutes ago, krista4 said:

I'm all over the map; as I mentioned earlier, while I try to make some sense of what my preferences are, a lot of it is simply "feel."  Lyrics matter to me when they do, and don't when they don't, and a simple song can get me just as much as a complex one.   

this is my struggle, and I don't know anything about the technical side of music.  It's all feel.  I shifted away from the Beatles a bit after Beatlemania and their music changed so much starting with Rubber Soul - I was listening to Tommy Roe's "Sweet Pea" ...I was 8-9 years old for cripes sake ...what do ya want from me!!!!  And John just scared the hell out of me - those round Hiromoto glasses and crazy hair.  

When I graduated from top 40s AM radio, I was drawn to the White Album and basically skipped over Rubber Soul and Revolver, so the White Album was my favorite for years.  In later years, I would hear a vaguely familiar Beatles song, and really like it ...only to find it was on Rubber Soul or Revolver.  I mean, you heard "Drive My Car" and some others off those albums everywhere, but a bunch doesn't get that much play.  

Rubber Soul and Revolver are now my favorite Beatles albums ...followed up by Abbey Road - which I almost completely ignored for years.  

[Nigel Tufnel 869]

25 minutes ago, OrtonToOlsen said:

 

 

 

OH SO MY WRITE UPS WERENT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU PEOPLE?

THATS RIGHT...YOU PEOPLE.

Let’s not make this racial. 

[krista4 13,635]

32 minutes ago, OrtonToOlsen said:

 

 

 

OH SO MY WRITE UPS WERENT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU PEOPLE?

THATS RIGHT...YOU PEOPLE.

I quoted you in my last write-up!

[Getzlaf15 8,335]

39 minutes ago, krista4 said:

43.  All You Need Is Love (single, 1967)

Beatles version:  Spotify  YouTube

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 cornucopia^TM 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 sounds 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.  Twenty-five countries participated, 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; a last-minute decision did allow him to do a live version of the snare drum roll at the beginning, though.  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, though 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.

Tldr

[Uruk-Hai 5,829]

😄

[Dinsy Ejotuz 11,153]

42 minutes ago, krista4 said:

43.  All You Need Is Love (single, 1967)

Beatles version:  Spotify  YouTube

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 cornucopia^TM 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 sounds 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.  Twenty-five countries participated, 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; a last-minute decision did allow him to do a live version of the snare drum roll at the beginning, though.  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, though 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.

Nice.  You kind of lose track of all the weird #### they did because you've heard the songs so many times.  But it cool to have the In the Mood, Marseilles, etc stuff highlighted again.  Like the reverb you mentioned earlier.  It just seems like part of the song now, not something new and inventive.

 

[Leroy Hoard 10,174]

39 minutes ago, Dinsy Ejotuz said:

Nice.  You kind of lose track of all the weird #### they did because you've heard the songs so many times.  But it cool to have the In the Mood, Marseilles, etc stuff highlighted again.  Like the reverb you mentioned earlier.  It just seems like part of the song now, not something new and inventive.

 

I think this is the part lost on more modern listeners. Once everyone else starts copying things it becomes more common place. But at the time nobody was doing this stuff.

[krista4 13,635]

I had to run to CVS, where I also got Mr. krista Valentine's Day gifts of half-priced candy and a hilariously long receipt.  Don't say I'm not a romantic!

On the way there, "Penny Lane" was playing.  Decided that I didn't rank it where I wished I had after all.  Should have had it lower.

[Ilov80s 20,582]

Interesting 

[Leroy Hoard 10,174]

4 minutes ago, krista4 said:

I had to run to CVS, where I also got Mr. krista Valentine's Day gifts of half-priced candy and a hilariously long receipt.  Don't say I'm not a romantic!

Half priced candy shows true love. Only posers pay full price.

[Binky The Doormat 9,252]

4 minutes ago, krista4 said:

I had to run to CVS, where I also got Mr. krista Valentine's Day gifts of half-priced candy and a hilariously long receipt.  Don't say I'm not a romantic!

On the way there, "Penny Lane" was playing.  Decided that I didn't rank it where I wished I had after all.  Should have had it lower.

ranking it lower ...meaning you liked it better now and wish you have given it a lower number?  

or ranking it lower ...meaning you like it less and it should have received a higher number?

[krista4 13,635]

7 minutes ago, Binky The Doormat said:

ranking it lower ...meaning you liked it better now and wish you have given it a lower number?  

or ranking it lower ...meaning you like it less and it should have received a higher number?

I think you and I use these terms differently.  I mean lower as in I like it less.

[Binky The Doormat 9,252]

7 minutes ago, krista4 said:

I think you and I use these terms differently.  I mean lower as in I like it less.

was expecting this

[Binky The Doormat 9,252]

19 minutes ago, krista4 said:

I had to run to CVS, where I also got Mr. krista Valentine's Day gifts of half-priced candy and a hilariously long receipt.  Don't say I'm not a romantic!

On the way there, "Penny Lane" was playing.  Decided that I didn't rank it where I wished I had after all.  Should have had it lower.

  lol - I picked up a Walgreen's discount bin, As-Seen-On-TV "Himalaya Salt Night-Lite" for my lovely wife at.  

Sweet kicker:  it was discounted because it had been opened and the packaging was all messed up.  Classy.  😁

She laughed.  

[krista4 13,635]

42.  Day Tripper (single, 1965)

Beatles version:  Spotify  YouTube

This one stayed grouped tightly with "I Feel Fine" during most of my maneuverings, with the two flip-flopping frequently but staying close in ranking.  Until I spontaneously decided to rank "I Feel Fine" lower (for Binky:  "higher"), the two were in pretty much the opposite positions than where they ended up.  I'm still not sure which one I prefer.  I think of them similarly primarily because they both feature outstanding riffs.   When I had "I Feel Fine" in this position, it was because of the downward repeated guitar solos and the drumming, and when this one was higher (Binky:  "lower"), it was because it rocks harder and has a vocal that I prefer, though it's hard to follow the lead since Paul and John trade off and weave in and out of unison and harmonies as well.  

As mentioned in the "We Can Work It Out" write-up, this was the double-a-side to that song, though in the US it did slightly worse in the charts than its sister-a-side.  Paul later indicated the song is about drugs, specifically LSD, though the band downplayed that significantly at the time.  John's comments were at times more mysterious, saying it was about "weekend hippies" that only took day trips, "usually on a ferryboat or something" and at times more blunt:  "It was a drug song."

Mr. krista:  "Yeah, I love that song.  Classic riff.  It’s one of those things you think of if you think of classic rock, if you’re one of the unfortunate type of people who have to think of classic rock, or think of things as classic or not.  I’m not going to keep harping on how good of a drummer Ringo is.  I’m just going to keep saying things like, 'I’m not going to keep harping on how good of a drummer Ringo is.'"

Suggested cover:  I didn't have to look any up for this, since Otis exists.  Love how he seems either not to know or not to care about the lyrics.

Edited February 17, 2019 by krista4

[Uruk-Hai 5,829]

4 minutes ago, krista4 said:

42.  Day Tripper (single, 1965)

 

Suggested cover:  I didn't have to look any up for this, since Otis exists.  Love how he seems either not to know or not to care about the lyrics.

You're right - Otis, up until "Dock Of The Bay", didn't give a flying #### about about lyrics. At least, not what lyrics said so much as how they sounded. 

Elton John made a career out of mouthing words that made no sense.

[wikkidpissah 12,610]

1 hour ago, krista4 said:

I had to run to CVS, where I also got Mr. krista Valentine's Day gifts of half-priced candy and a hilariously long receipt.  Don't say I'm not a romantic!

I've always said it's not the length of a drug-store receipt that matters, it's the girth.

[OrtonToOlsen 16,070]

2 hours ago, krista4 said:

I quoted you in my last write-up!

Oh well that makes everything better.  

[Binky The Doormat 9,252]

21 minutes ago, krista4 said:

42.  Day Tripper (single, 1965)

Beatles version:  Spotify  YouTube

This one stayed grouped tightly with "I Feel Fine" during most of my maneuverings, with the two flip-flopping frequently but staying close in ranking.  Until I spontaneously decided to rank "I Feel Fine" lower (for Binky:  "higher"), the two were in pretty much the opposite positions than where they ended up.  I'm still not sure which one I prefer.  I think of them similarly primarily because they both feature outstanding riffs.   When I had "I Feel Fine" in this position, it was because of the downward repeated guitar solos and the drumming, and when this one was higher (Binky:  "lower"), it was because it rocks harder and has a vocal that I prefer, though it's hard to follow the lead since Paul and John trade off and weave in and out of unison and harmonies as well.  

 

1

thanks. 🤣

[krista4 13,635]

41.  I Saw Her Standing There (Please Please Me, 1963)

Beatles version:  Spotify  YouTube

Would rank higher if not for slight creepiness of 20- to 23-year-olds singing about a 17-year-old.  It's not "Ringo in his 30s singing You're Sixteen" creepy, but a tiny bit uncomfortable.  If only they could have made her 18...but I guess that's not enough syllables.  

Helluva way to announce themselves to the world, with this track being the opening track on their first album!  Paul's count-in sparks the energy immediately, and every member of the band here is in fantastic form, from Paul's bass to George's exceptional guitar solo to Ringo's Ringoness to John's especially fine rhythm guitar.  The song features those "oooo"s complete with the headshakes that would later drive the girls wild, and the energy on the bridge veers into a sweet gushiness by the end line "held her hand in mi-i-i-ine!" driving into that falsetto.   The song might not have been the most original in some other ways:  Paul later claimed he'd played a note-by-note replica of the bass line in Chuck Berry's "I'm Talking About You," and a couple of the melody lines are nearly identical to "When The Saints Going Marching In" (compare "how could I dance with another since I saw her standing there" to "I want to be in that number when the saints go marching in").  But the charming youthful exuberance that's supplemented by solid adult performances by every Beatle make this one of my favorite rock songs ever recorded.

Mr. krista:  "I like the song a lot, because that George Harrison guitar solo is so killer but he’s so reserved during the verses.  He’s mostly just rhythm but then just rips this rockabilly solo so much better than any rockabilly musician not named Carl Perkins. It just rips, and even with that standard beat, Ringo manages to be inventive.  I like that Paul is doing the Little Richard 'oooo' while the others are doing the British 'oh.'  You might need umlauts to type that."

Suggested covers:  These guys know how to do a good "ooo," too. Little Richard  Jerry Lee Lewis (with Little Richard)  

Edited February 17, 2019 by krista4

[shuke 20,037]

6 hours ago, krista4 said:

44.  I Am The Walrus (Magical Mystery Tour, 1967)

 

 

HORRIBLE PLACEMENT!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Binky The Doormat 9,252]

too soon.

[shuke 20,037]

6 hours ago, Shaft41 said:

The sonic cornucopia is stunning though

Yes so many great sounds.  That and John's voice propel it into my top 10.

[krista4 13,635]

9 minutes ago, shuke said:

 

HORRIBLE PLACEMENT!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can't quit due to legal threats from wikkid's intellectual property team, so...