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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)

BobbyLayne said:
I think I’m confused.

Are you posting a sequential countdown?

Im reading that as you’re going to randomize and post non-sequentially.
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for the Guess the Final Top 15 contest, I will randomize and post the final 60 songs to make it easier for you guys to create a list.

 
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Getzlaf15 said:
Why is this so hard?   Do you not want a list to pick from?   I mean, you're the one that always says, "I forgot about that one."
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I meant I'm still not following the process - you simply repeated what you had said before ...that's not an explanation

it sounds encouraging ...I want to understand!

 
Getzlaf15 said:
for the Guess the Final Top 15 contest, I will randomize and post the final 60 songs to make it easier for you guys to create a list.
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I get it now.  You are scrambling up the last 60 songs for us to see, and we are to pick from that scramble what we think will be the final 15.  Meanwhile, you will continue to rank the songs.

 
falguy said:
😃

Just thought alpha would be easy for you and help people reviewing to make their selections.

:shrug:
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I wanna see heads explode now, so random it will be.  :lmao:


When I had the thought first, I had sent a random.org list to Guido and Krista, so that was top of mind. 

 
krista4 said:
Once again for the people in the back...IN ORDER OF WHERE YOU THINK THEY WILL RANK.
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ok you two ...no ####### ####.

I get that we submit a list of our projected top 15 - that was never in question

... @Getzlaf15's lack of English/writing/listening skills caused at least two of us to ask: 

I think I’m confused.

Are you posting a sequential countdown?

Im reading that as you’re going to randomize and post non-sequentially.

@simey who apparently understood the confusion caused by the clumsy explanation and zero help - then stepped in to translate  

 
:drive:  Drive My Car  :drive:
2022 Ranking: 62
2022 Lists: 12
2022 Points: 119
Ranked Highest by: @Anarchy99(9) @Gr00vus (10) @DaVinci(12) @heckmanm(14) @Dennis Castro (16) @jwb (19) @prosopis (19) @Shaft41 (20) and Daughter (20) @Dwayne Hoover (22) @FairWarning (22) 
2019 Ranking/Lists/Pts: 45/9/87

Getz comments:  and one vote for Drive My Cart.

Krista4
My 2019 ranking:  53

2019 write-up:

Drive My Car (Rubber Soul, 1965)

It's the beep beeps, y’all.  It's just the damn beep beeps.

This clearly must be a Paul favorite since he still performs it all the time.  Or maybe it's one that's easier for a 70something man to sing.  In any case, it's a great rock song.  Or is it a great pop song?  Whatever, it's great.  But those damn beep-beeps.  Without beep-beeps, it would be top 30 at least.  I despise those beep-beeps.

What I do love:  every other damn thing.  That freaking groove, led by that bass line.  The guitar parts with all those bendy notes.  The arrangement of having the bass and guitar playing similar lines, which was a George idea based on Otis Redding’s “Respect.”  The super-clever non-beep-beep lyrics, including the double-entendres and sexual innuendos (including the title, which was a blues euphemism for sex).  The lyrics weren't originally as clever, as Paul tells it:  "The lyrics were disastrous and I knew it... The lyrics I brought in were something to do with golden rings, which is always fatal. 'Rings' is fatal anyway, 'rings' always rhymes with 'things' and I knew it was a bad idea. Well, we tried, and John couldn't think of anything…then we came back to it, and somehow it became 'drive my car' instead of 'gold-en rings', and then it was wonderful because this nice tongue-in-cheek idea came and suddenly there was a girl there, the heroine of the story, and the story developed and had a little sting, which was 'I actually haven't got a car, but when I get one you'll be a terrific chauffeur.”

Also there is cowbell.  

Beep beep, beep beep, NO!!!!!  

Mr. krista:  "That's pretty good.  The bass line is just murderous.  I like how his bass playing sounds better on each record.  I don’t if it’s better recording, or better budgets and more capable engineers, or better playing, but his bass is more and more integral in those rock songs. Ringo on tambourine, killer.  The way that groove holds together is amazing.  Deep feeling for groove, could work with Paul McCartney to make this heavy elasticity.  Same with The Word.  This is a ####### groove."

Suggested cover:  The Donnas

2022 Supplement:  As discussed in 2019, Paul wrote all the music of this song but couldn’t get a handle on the lyrics.  He brought it to John, and after hitting a wall together, they had a spot of tea, came back to the song, and started envisioning an LA girl who wanted a chauffeur.  The song filled in from there.  Paul admits to having a musical fascination with the back seat of a car (see, e.g., “The Back Seat of My Car”) and has stated that rock and roll owes more to Henry Ford than to Leo Fender:  “We know people shagged before the motorcar, but the motorcar gave the erotic a whole new lease on life.”  The “beep beep” part that I hate is a part of the song that Paul loves, as he is always proud to get “nonsense lyrics” into a song.  He and John sang the beep beeps in close harmony to get the effect of a horn.

Guido Merkins

Cars have been used as a euphemism for sex thoughout the blues and rock.  Robert Johnson’s Terraplane Blues being a prime example.  The Beatles were not nearly as known for sexual euphamisms as the Stones, but a good example of a song about sex is Drive My Car.

Basically, girl has a dream of being a star and she wants her guy to “drive her car.”  Lines like “I can show you a better time” and “you can do something in between” makes it clear that it’s not just a car she wants him to drive.  It’s cool that it’s a reversal of the usual roles where it’s the guy who’s after sex.  This time the girl is the aggressor.  The Stones would make it obvious this song was about sex, but the Beatles throw in “beep beep beep beep yeah”, which maybe kind of dsiguises the true intention.  

Paul struggled to come up with lyrics with this one, at first it was “you can buy me diamond rings”, which was bad, but the melody was good, so he and John worked on the lyrics and came up with this.  George also helped with the arrangement suggesting the idea of the guitar and bass playing the same line.  George claimed Paul played the solo on this one and it’s a real good solo.  

The opening song on Rubber Soul, Drive My Car also had a growing bass presence that had not been present on earlier Beatles records.  A great performance by all involved.

 
Shaft41 said:
At this rate, I think Krista and Bobby are locks to win this contest. They’ll just post their top 15 since none of them will have been named yet. 
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But they are both gonna be so chalky, we have to chip in and buy them cocoa butter.

Also, @Getzlaf15, I sense how painful it is for you to post instructions on the contest, but the unintentional comedy meter is off the charts. I am cracking up over the last page. I really wanted to post a rhetorical question for clarification but was afraid I'd make your head explode.

 
krista4 said:
:cry:  

Grandpa playing "Jesus Loves Me" on harmonica when he was 97 years old.  I chose this one to post because of his sweet smile at the end.  (Apologies for portrait mode.)

He played several songs for us this day.  He also had a question for us about his new fancier cell phone:  "Why do people keep sending me pictures of envelopes?"  Turned out he had over 100 unheard voicemails.  :lol:  
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Grandpa was looking great at 97. He had some wind in him too blowing on that harp. Bravo! 👏

 
ProstheticRGK said:
But they are both gonna be so chalky, we have to chip in and buy them cocoa butter.

Also, @Getzlaf15, I sense how painful it is for you to post instructions on the contest, but the unintentional comedy meter is off the charts. I am cracking up over the last page. I really wanted to post a rhetorical question for clarification but was afraid I'd make your head explode.
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:lmao:

I need the comedy now. Please post it.

 

 
fatguyinalittlecoat said:
I don’t enjoy Drive My Car.  Is that just me?  It seems very well liked but maybe there are other silent Drive My Car haters out there too ashamed to speak up.
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I ranked it waaaaaaay higher in 2019 than I should have.  I don't hate it, but it's probably right around the 103/104 midpoint for me.

 
The Ballad of John and Yoko
2022 Ranking: 61
2022 Lists: 8
2022 Points: 120
Ranked Highest by: @Gr00vus (1) @DaVinci (4) @Man of Constant Sorrow (9) @shuke (9) @Dwayne Hoover (13)  @Murph (14) @wikkidpissah (17) Krista(TJ/Holly) (24)
2019 Ranking/Lists/Pts: 42/6/95

Getz comments: The last song with less than 10 votes.

Krista4
My 2019 ranking:  56

2019 write-up:

The Ballad of John and Yoko (single, 1969)

Written by John on his honeymoon as a snapshot of his wedding to Yoko, this song features only Paul and John, handling all the vocals and instruments.  I not only love the groove, but the song always makes me happy because, after so many years of tension, John and Paul sound like they're just enjoying recording together.  It might be that rekindled enthusiasm that led to the Abbey Road sessions being so much more successful than the Let It Be ones. 

I find the lyrics to this song to be, while self-absorbed, hilarious at times, such as the lines, "The newspapers said, she's gone to his head; they look just like two gurus in drag."  John couldn't resist inserting some controversy into the lyrics, though, including the references to "Christ" and being crucified, harkening back to his "more popular than Jesus" comment and leading to this song being banned in some locales.  He even managed to offend Spain as well, by saying they got "married in Gibraltar near Spain," when Spaniards considered Gibraltar part of their country.  

This song might not have amazing technical merit compared to others, but it just makes me happy.  I love the build of instruments, especially Paul suddenly coming in with maracas following that big pause after the bridge.  Love John's guitar part that goes into a Spanish-sounding vibe at the end.  Most of all, I adore Paul's jabby harmonies in the last verses.  I love to think of the two of them turning out this song after the years of misery.  Geoff Emerick described the session as being a magic time of "two old school chums...with the sheer joy of making music together," and that session convinced Emerick to return and engineer the Abbey Road record.

Mr. krista:  "I think it’s a good song.  I’ve always liked that song.  Remember it was only a few years before that that they went to play Shea Stadium again and didn’t sell out after being 'more popular than Jesus. 'They’re going to crucify me' – hey things go to your head a little bit.  It might be forgivable though when you’re like 20 and sell out Shea Stadium and everyone’s telling you you’re Jesus.  I like the guitar, the kind of Spanish-y stuff."

Suggested covers:  A little something for everyone, or for no one:  Dave Edmunds  Widespread Panic  Teenage Fanclub

2022 Supplement:  Still love this one, maybe even more than I did, in large part due to the happy interactions between Paul and John when they were recording this, the only Beatles song with just the two of them performing.  An earlier take, Take 7, shows more of this as, recording this without the other members of the band, they jokingly call each other “Ringo” (Paul took the drum part for this song) and “George”:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwzHeAnFqrk   Listen through to the end to hear their pure enjoyment of recording together.

Guido Merkins

John often accused Paul of going off by himself and doing songs without the other Beatles.  John wasn’t completely innocent in this.  When John got hot to record, he would sometimes exclude the other Beatles.  So when John had a song he wanted recorded called the Ballad of John and Yoko and George and Ringo weren’t available, he got Paul and said “lets record it.”

Paul playing drums and bass and singing harmony with John playing guitar and singing lead, at one point, John turned around and said “a little faster Ringo” and Paul said “OK George” they proved that they still had unbelievable chemistry when they got together to make music.  It was like being the Nurk Twins again (an early iteration of the Beatles before George when the other members all left the band.)

The song is basically a diary of John’s wedding to Yoko at Gibraltar.  “Taking a plane into Paris.”  “Honeymooning down by the Seine, Peter Brown called say you can make it OK you can get married in Gibraltar near Spain.”  But the most controversial line is “Christ you know it aint easy, you know how hard it can be.  The way things are going, they’re gonna crucify me.”  After the Christ statement in 1966, John was really pushing the envelope.  

It was yet another #1 in 1969 backed with Old Brown Shoe. Another great single.

 
Chalk Rankings Top 10. #64 = 109 pts. each Sponsored by: Travis Etienne's Chinese Driving Instructor

1 --Krista (Sharon)---1216.5

2 --ManOfSteelhead---1160.5

3 --anarchy99---1108

4 --Shaft41---1095

5 --Krista (TJ/Michael)---1085

6 --BinkyTheDoormat---964.5

7 --Man Of Constant Sorrow---942.5

8 --fatguyinalttlecoat---884

9 --Krista (Craig)---809

10 --Wrighteous Ray(Hub)---727.5

 
Top 10 Least Chalk - Sponsored by Crayola Crayons

62 --Lardonastick---113

63 --WorrierKing---98

64 --Tom Hagen---97

65 --Iluv80s---82

66 --yankee23fan---70

67 --Dinsy Ejotuz---42.5

68 --Krista (TJ/Slug)---8

69 --Just Win Baby---8

70 --Krista4---0

71 --Bobby Layne---0

When you have a song from your 1-25 list that is posted, I will assign a score to that song and keep a running total on who is "most" and "least" chalky. Song ranked #172 will get one point. Song ranked #1 will get 172 points. All of this is for fun and means nothing

 
# of Songs to Have Appeared on The Countdown to Date

1 --Krista (Sharon)---17

2 --anarchy99---17

3 --ManOfSteelhead---14

4 --Krista (TJ/Michael)---14

5 --Shaft41---13

6 --Man Of Constant Sorrow---13

7 --Wrighteous Ray(Hub)---12

8 --BinkyTheDoormat---12

9 --Krista (Worth)---11

10 --OTB_Lifer---11

11 --fatguyinalttlecoat---10

12 --Encyclopedia Brown---10

13 --Krista (Craig)---10

14 --Wrighteous Ray---9

15 --rockaction---9

16 --Krista (Rob)---8

17 --murph---8

18 --DaVinci---8

19 --Mac32---7

20 --zamboni---7

21 --Guido Merkins---7

22 --FairWarning---7

23 --Oliver Humanzee---6

24 --PIK 95---6

25 --John Maddens Lunchbox---6

26 --Uruk-Hai---6

27 --Shaft41(Daughter)---6

28 --Dwayne Hoover---6

29 --ProsteticRKG---5

30 --Eephus---5

31 --Krista (TJ/Alex)---5

32 --Pip's Invitation---5

33 --landryshat---5

34 --Neal Cassady---5

35 --jwb---5

36 --ekbeats---4

37 --Shaft41(Son1)---4

38 --jamny---4

39 --Shaft41(Son2)---4

40 --turnjose7---4

41 --Krista (TJ/Holly)---4

42 --wikkidpissah---4

43 --Gr00vus---4

44 --Simey---3

45 --Ted Lange as your Bartender---3

46 --Krista (Doug)---3

47 --prosopis---3

48 --Dennis Castro---3

49 --Heckmann---3

50 --shuke---3

51 --Getzlaf15---2

52 --Alex P Keaton---2

53 --AAABatteries---2

54 --Lardonastick---2

55 --falguy---2

56 --ConstruxBoy---2

57 --WhoKnew---2

58 --DocHoliday---2

59 --Westerberg---2

60 --Oliver Humanzee(Dad)---2

61 --Dr. Octopus---2

62 --pecorino---2

63 --Krista (TJ/Slug)---1

64 --Just Win Baby---1

65 --Dinsy Ejotuz---1

66 --yankee23fan---1

67 --Iluv80s---1

68 --Tom Hagen---1

69 --WorrierKing---1

70 --Krista4---0

71 --Bobby Layne---0

 
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Guess The Final Order of Top 15 Contest now taking entries until Sat Mar 12 11am ET - Charity Prizes to Winner!! 

In 2019, we did a Guess The Final 10 Songs in Order Contest.

In 2022, we are expanding that to Guess The Final 15 Songs In Order Contest.

Official Rules (Approved by HUD)

Article I) Guess the final order of how you think songs #1 through #15 will finish.  Based on the votes of the 71 voters and the countdown in this thread. Accumulate the most points (see Article III below) and you are the winner!

Article II) PM your list to @Getzlaf15 by Saturday, March 12, 11am ET.
Lists will only be accepted that have each song numbered from 1 to 15, with #1 at the Top, and #15 at the bottom. (Sorry Shaft41). Anyone can enter. Even those that did not vote in the current countdown.

You can change your list as many times as you like before the entry deadline. (I'm going to post songs in the regular countdown from #60 to #51, in that order, before the entry deadline. Should one or more of them appear on a list you've already submitted, feel free to make any changes by sending a new 1-15 list, that I can easily cut and paste) I understand that some will need to submit a list earlier than the deadline. Will likely get to song #51 Thursday night, leaving all day Friday and Saturday am to send lists in.

Article III) Scoring:
5 points -  If you hit a RingoBingoTN by guessing exactly right.
Example: If you list "Piggies" to finish in the #12 slot and it does indeed finish #12 when the countdown gets to #12, then you will earn 5 points. This is called a "RingoBingoTN"

3 points -  If your choice winds up one spot away from where it shows up on the countdown in this thread.
Example: If you list "Piggies" to finish in the #12 slot, and it finishes in either the #11 or the #13 slot when the countdown gets to #11 or #13, then you will earn 3 points. This is called a "SimplySimeyTN".  (Simey had the most of these in 2019)

1 point - If your choice winds up anywhere in the Top #1 through #15 on the countdown in this thread, but does not earn 5 or 3 points as detailed above.
Example: If you list "Piggies" to finish in the  #12 slot, and on the countdown in this thread, when the Final 15 are posted,  it finishes #1 through #10, or # 14 or #15, you will earn one point. If you had Piggies #6, then one point if it finishes #1-4, or #8-15) This is called a "BinkyBingoTN". (You don't want to break his 2019 record for these)

Article IV) Standings will be posted for the "Final Order of The Top 15 Contest" in this thread after each song in the regular countdown, ranked #15 down to #1, in that order, is posted. Any ties will be broken by the entry with the most RingoBingo's.

Article V) Prizes:
The winner will have Krista give a donation to the charity of the winner's choice  and her mom donate in your name to the World Central Kitchen.  Final amount will be posted in the thread. Additional prize donors are more than welcome to contribute!

2019 Winner - @falguy Who was kind enough to have me donate $100 to Camp Del Corazon.  A camp on Catalina Island (LA) that kids aged 7-17 can go to for a week, free of charge, that have had open heart surgeries.

2019 Standings
Falguy-14
Simey-14
Man Of CS-13
Shaft41-11
Tom Hagen-11
Uruk-Hai-11
Binky The Doormat-10
Heckmann-9
Wikkidpissah-8
Dr Octupus-5

ETA: If you use the 2019 countdown Final Results in the same order for 2022, you won't come close to winning. :lmao:

 
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Here's a random.org generated list of the final 60 songs on the countdown in this tread.

It is NOT the final order of the countdown of the lists sent in by 71 voters.

It is posted ONLY as an aid to help you select your choices is the "Guess the Final Order of The top 15 Contest" Good Luck!

 

List Randomizer

There were 60 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

Eight Days A Week

You've Got To Hide Your Love Away

All You Need Is Love

Across The Universe

Strawberry Fields Forever

Dear Prudence

Oh Darling

Blackbird

I Feel Fine

And Your Bird Can Sing

Get Back

Rain

Something

Nowhere Man

The Long and Winding Road

Abbey Road Medley

Tomorrow Never Knows

Revolution

I am The Walrus

Day Tripper

Eleanor Rigby

In My Life

Can't Buy Me Love

All My Loving

Penny Lane

A Day in the Life

Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da

Hello, Goodbye

I Want To Hold Your Hand

Help!

Come Together

I've Got a Feeling

Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds

I've Just Seen a Face

Taxman

A Hard Days Night

Twist and Shout

Norwegian Wood

For No One

Back in the USSR

Hey Bulldog

With A Little Help From My Friends

Hey Jude

Two Of Us

I Want You (She's so Heavy)

Don't Let Me Down

Things We Said Today

Paperback Writer

Here Comes The Sun

While My Guitar Gently Weeps

Yesterday

Got To Get You Into My Life

Let It Be

And I Love Her

Helter Skelter

Ticket To Ride

We Can Work it Out

Happiness Is A Warm Gun

She Loves You

I Saw Her Standing There

IP: 160.2.167.14
Timestamp: 2022-03-09 04:43:26 UTC

 
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Getzlaf15 said:
Paul admits to having a musical fascination with the back seat of a car (see, e.g., “The Back Seat of My Car”) and has stated that rock and roll owes more to Henry Ford than to Leo Fender:  “We know people shagged before the motorcar, but the motorcar gave the erotic a whole new lease on life.” 
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So Paul DOES do it in the road, assuming "in a car parked on the side of the road" = "in the road". 

 
simey said:
I don't know if it is comedy or stupidity, but I thought Vera, Dave, and Chuck were Pip's kids. 
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I still don't know whether to laugh or to cry (because you assume that if I thought a child of mine was a serial killer, I'd post about it on a public message board). 🤣

 
Getzlaf15 said:
I’m Only Sleeping
2022 Ranking: 65
2022 Lists: 9
2022 Points: 99
Ranked Highest by: @landrys hat(2) @Guido Merkins (9) Krista(Craig)(9) @Westerberg(9) @Binky The Doormat (16) @rockaction (20) @zamboni (21) @Pip's Invitation (24) Krista(TJ/Michael)(24)
2019 Ranking/Lists/Pts: 75/2/30

Getz comments:   These guys sure seem tired all the time.

Krista4
My 2019 ranking:  29

2019 write-up:

I'm Only Sleeping (Revolver, 1966)

Sleepy lead vocal.  Sleepy guitar. Sleepy backing vocals. Even a sleepy bass fill.  Anyone who's read part of the GMTAN might know that I've had chronic insomnia my whole life, and it colors a lot of my days.  I think that's part of the reason that two "sleep" songs (the other being "I’m So Tired") reach my top 30.  Of course, this one was inspired by John's having exactly the opposite experience than I do, which is that he was an A-1, top-of-the-charts, champion sleeper.  Paul often had to wake him up for their afternoon writing sessions, and in the same article that caused the "more famous than Jesus" uproar, John also reacted to the statement that could sleep indefinitely and was "probably the laziest person in England":  "Physically lazy," John said. 'I don't mind writing or reading or watching or speaking, but sex is the only physical thing I can be bothered with any more."

I love that this song perfectly sets this dreamy, soporific mood.  I get pulled into the intimacy of the song by the vocal but then lulled into its lethargy from everything surrounding it.  Setting aside the obviously languorous vocals, every aspect of the song also seems perfectly calculated to achieve this mood.  The guitar solo offers a hazy, distorted vibe from the effects described in the next paragraph.  The ethereal harmonies seem to emphasize the dreamiest lyrics -  "float upstre-eam," "sleeeee-ping."   Ringo plays as if he's simultaneously finishing a chess game with Mal Evans.  The drowsy bass part sounds like Paul was just awakened from a nap.  He and John seemingly drift in and out of consciousness with the rises and falls of the melody, sudden urgency followed by deep pauses, which is also punctuated by little guitar riffs I love from George (an example is at 0:45-0:47).  Even the vocal parts that seem like they're going to crescendo and crash into the line, "I'm only sleeping" instead pull the chords back down into a comfortable yawn.  In all, the song makes sleep sound full and luxurious, which it would be to me.   

Speaking of a hard day's night, Geoff Emerick describes the recording of this song as being particularly tedious, since George was dead set on having a backwards guitar solo on it.  This groundbreaking idea came from a mistake, when someone accidentally threaded a practice tape backwards, and Paul excitedly asked, "My God, that is fantastic! Can we do that for real?"  But George didn't just want to play it and have it run backwards; he had a specific notation of how he wanted it to sound when reversed, which involved George Martin then taking the forward notation and reversing it so that George could get the sound he wanted.  Actually they recorded not just one backwards part, but two:  one with fuzz guitar and one in normal sound, to be superimposed upon each other.  For six hours, George played the same eight-bar solo, so many times that the assistant engineer's arms were sore for days from turned the heavy tapes over and over.  

In addition to setting to tape the first backward recorded guitar solo ever to be released, the lads continued to experiment with other devices on this track, including varispeed.  In this case, the rhythm tracks were slowed down in the final mix, while the vocal tracks were sped up, leading not just to a deeper, more somnolent sound on the backing, but actually changing the key of the song, resulting in that strange E-flat-minor. 

Fun fact:  you can hear Paul yawn ~2:01.

Mr. krista:  "Song kills it.  I think part of the dreamy quality is that they played it at twice the tempo and then slowed it down, and then that’s what the vocals are recorded over. Then the slightly noodly solos played backwards…  All these disparate-seeming elements fit together seamlessly.  Even listening intently like we are now, nothing seems jarring.  Everything has a purpose."

Suggested cover:  Haven't found one I consider great, so I'll offer this live version from Jeff Tweedy simply because it was recorded at one of the best small concert venues in the US, Lounge Ax in Chicago (RIP).

2022 Supplement:  This one just missed my top 25 again this year, and now as I write this up I wish I’d made space for it.  So many cool things going on here, which I see I already described in tedious detail a few years ago.  Even without the special effects on the guitar and otherwise, you can hear how solid the core of the song was based on the Take 1 acoustic version that was released in the Anthology series:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjeMxLm0vCA

Similar to “If I Fell,” which we might or might not have seen yet, John grabbed whatever he had handy when writing this song.  In this case, he wrote the lyrics on the back of a demand letter for payment of a “radiophone” bill: https://imgur.com/cIElrg4   https://imgur.com/QRB7eFG The letter/lyrics were put up for auction in 2005 but failed to meet their reserve, then were re-auctioned in 2010 for an expected price of £350,000.

Guido Merkins

One of my absolute favorite Beatles songs is I’m Only Sleeping.  I think it’s because it’s a really good song, mostly, but also, there is an emotional attachment to that song.  I’ll never forget sometime in the mid 80s, I discovered that the Revolver released in the UK had 3 extra songs. I had only ever heard the US version.  I was very excited when I found the UK version at my local record store.  For some reason, I’m Only Sleeping struck a chord with me.  I’ve loved it ever since.

It’s a song about Lennon sleeping his life away featuring a drowsy vocal, backwards guitars, great bass and great harmonies.  George was meticulous when recording the backwards solo.  Instead of just playing something and reversing the tape, he would play a small section, listen to it backwards to see what it sounded like, make changes if he wanted, play if backwards.  Once he was satisfied with his note selection, he played it on two parts.  One fuzzed guitar and one not fuzzed guitar.  It took hours, but is a testament to how hard George worked and his work paid off, because it’s brilliant.  Perfectly capturing this feeling of dozing and waking up and maybe being a little fuzzy.  

To aid in making John sound drowsy, they slowed the tape down.  If you want to hear what it would have sounded like without that, there is a demo on Anthology 2 with John on an acoustic that is one of my favorite demos of his.  It’s just lovely.  Like I said, one of my favorites.
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My rank: 24

When I got the entire Beatles catalog on CD, there were three songs I was not too familiar with that I identified with immediately and was baffled why they weren't saturated on FM radio like so many of the other great Beatles songs, nor were they really ever discussed in the circles I frequented. This was one, along with And Your Bird Can Sing and I've Got a Feeling. All three made my 90-minute cassette and are in my top 25 today. I felt like these were my little secret, as much as anything Beatles can be a secret. 

It's another perfect marriage of music and lyrics, and I will ALWAYS think the backwards guitar is cool as ####. The harmonies and bass parts are big for me too.  

 
Getzlaf15 said:
Sgt Peppers Lonely Heart’s Club Band
2022 Ranking: 64
2022 Lists: 9
2022 Points: 109
Ranked Highest by: Krista(TJ/Alex)(7) Krista(Sharon)(8) @whoknew(10) @jamny(11) @ConstruxBoy (13) @DocHolliday (16) @Dwayne Hoover (19) @turnjose7(20) Shaft41(son2) (21)
2019 Ranking/Lists/Pts: 54/5/61

Getz: Finally a song where many that voted for it have had few songs appear so far. WhoKnew, jamny, ConstruxBoy, DocHolliday, DwayneHoover, S41(son2).  Sharon has her 17th song posted to take that lead.  And we cross the 20% mark of all votes appearing.

Krista4
My 2019 ranking:  70

2019 write-up:

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967)

Gah, so many iconic aspects of this song.  Raise your hand if you don't get a little chill when you hear that guitar intro.  [No hands are raised.]  Guitar riff - brilliant.  Ringo's drum fills - brilliant.  John, Paul, and George's vocals - brilliant.  Handing off between the vocals and the instrumental French-horn-led #### - brilliant.  (The cheesy laughing and gasping from the audience - not at all brilliant.)  I'm excited every time I hear this, but I can't rank it more highly because it's not a fully formed song; it's more of an intro.

To be a "concept" album, Sgt. Pepper's doesn't really revolve so much around the concept, and John has said he contributed nothing to the concept idea, but before it veers off into other ideas, this song combines with "With a Little Help From My Friends" to start concept off strong.  While I assume people in this thread know all of the background on the concept, I'll summarize a little of it in case of drive-bys.  After their Candlestick Park concert in August 1966, the Beatles had had enough of the madness and decided to stop touring.  It wasn't just the insanity at the shows themselves, but all the surrounding chaos - the threats coming in the US due to John's "more popular than Jesus" comment, the craziness surrounding their escape from the Philippines, the controversy surrounding their show at the Budokan in Japan, etc.  Touring was a total ####### drag.  After going their separate ways for vacation, on the way back from a safari Paul came up with the idea of a fictitious band that the Beatles could take the place of, perhaps to create some distance between them and the fans.  According to John (WARNING:  unreliable narrator):  "As I read the other day, he said in one of his 'fanzine' interviews that he was trying to put some distance between The Beatles and the public – and so there was this identity of Sgt. Pepper. Intellectually, that's the same thing he did by writing 'He loves you' instead of 'I love you.' That's just his way of working."  

I already did a partial write-up of this when talking about the Reprise, so the only other thing I'll mention here is that album cover, one of the most well-known of all time.  It's a fascinating mish-mosh of 58 individuals, known and not-so-well-known, from actors and singers to writers and artists to philosophers and a guru or two.  John had lobbied to include Jesus and Hitler, but was overruled.  Gandhi was nixed as being possibly sacrilegious, while Elvis didn't make it because they thought he was too big and would object.  Of the people whose permission they sought to put on the cover, only one declined as not willing to do it without payment:  Leo Gorcey of the Bowery Boys.  Shark move, dude.  Nice interactive analysis of the people on the cover here.  

Mr. krista:  "I really like the guitar that’s super-fuzzy and weird.  I know Bob Pollard of Guided by Voices always talked about it, that the whole concept was taken directly from this ####, alter egos to allow them to do total nonsense, everything’s a tape experiment and can’t be reproduced live by four people. It’s hard to say because I feel like I’ve heard that song more than any song in the world."

Suggested cover:  I know it's bad sound quality, but who TF cares:  Jimi

2022 Supplement:  Along with everything I described in my 2019 write-up, the band had nearly being electrocuted in their final San Francisco show and then “chucked in the back of a stainless steel minitruck” after leaving the stage, and said, “####, that’s enough.”  Then - another Mal Evans alert -   Paul says that the name “Sergeant Pepper” came from his misunderstanding Mal when he asked for “salt and pepper” while on a flight from Denver shortly thereafter.  He came up with the idea of the alter egos and even sketched out what they’d look like, in front of a floral clock symbolizing that time stood still because the clock was made of flowers.  He also envisioned that they would be seen receiving a trophy from the “Lord Mayor of London.”

Why yes, Paul also says he had been dropping acid in Denver.   Here’s the sketch:  https://imgur.com/NX90UGN

Guido Merkins

It’s now been more that 50 years ago today that one of the most iconic opening tracks in rock history took place.  The legendary Sgt Pepper album couldn’t exist until Paul wrote the song Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

The story goes that Paul was influenced by these long band names that people were coming up with then and then he sees salt and pepper on an airplane and this idea of Sgt Pepper came from that.  Eventually, Paul envisioned recording an album as this fictitious band to free them up from having to be the Beatles.  The song Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and the reprise opened and closed the show.  So lyrically, the songs are just kind of “hello, we are Sgt Pepper’s band and we hope you will enjoy this show” and “Sgt Pepper’s band again, goodnight and we hope you enjoyed the show.

What you hear when you put it on is interesting.  First, you hear the crowd milling about and the band tuning up. Then a blast of guitar opens the song.  Then into the verse and the crowd applauds, some horns, laughter from the crowd.  Then applause at the end as they introduce Billy Shears who is really Ringo to sing With A Little Help from My Friends.  Really, I find it hard to listen to one without the other.  They don’t make sense apart.

The best part of the song is, of course, that searing guitar.  The rest of it is OK, but it’s not a song, per se, it’s just an intro to the album.  The sound effects are really cool and if you are listening to the mono vs the stereo, different.  The 2017 mix tried to bring the mono sound effects into the stereo and it does a real good job.  I would recommend it.

Another interesting thing about the song is that only three days after it was released, Jimi Hendrix played it with Paul and George in the audience at the Saville Theater.
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It's a really strong, exciting opener, but is held back in my rankings because it's so overtly an intro. I love how it leads into With a Little Help from My Friends, and if we were able to rank them as one piece, that would probably make my top 10. The opening combo is what really struck me the first time I put on my parents' copy of Pepper on vinyl, when I was in 6th grade or thereabouts. 

As brilliant as Pepper is, I wish more of its tracks had the energy of this one. I realize they were trying to move beyond the standards of rock and roll at the time, but a little more spring in the step from time to time wouldn't have hurt. 

 
Getzlaf15 said:
She’s Leaving Home
2022 Ranking: 63
2022 Lists: 12
2022 Points: 109
Ranked Highest by: @Uruk-Hai (8) @Oliver Humanzee(dad)(12) @ManOfSteelhead (15) @Binky The Doormat (15) @Shaft41 (15) @pecorino (17) @Encyclopedia Brown (19) @John Maddens Lunchbox (22) @Dr. Octopus (23)
2019 Ranking/Lists/Pts: 103/2/15

Getz comments:  One of the 2019 songs that moved up the most in 2022, 40 spots.  Ten more votes and 94 more points. Only one Top 10 vote though. First song with over 10 votes.

Krista4
My 2019 ranking:  133

2019 write-up:

She's Leaving Home (Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967)

I dunno...a lot of you guys seem to love this song, including tim who raved about what a beautiful ballad John wrote.   But the version I've heard, by Paul, doesn't do a lot for me and seems painfully earnest, except...I absolutely adore the string arrangement and one particular lyric.  So much so that this ranks at #133 almost solely on the basis of these two things.  When I hear this song, I'm entranced by the strings and tune everything else out, which is good since I don't enjoy much else of it, especially especially the "Greek chorus" over what I find a weak Paul vocal.  The "parents" singing as the Greek chorus and the "byyyye byyyye" make me cringe every time.

This is a song where Paul is a bit John-esque in that he based it, loosely, on something he'd read in the paper, rather than coming up with a fictitious world all his own as he often did.  In this case, Paul read a story about a girl named Melanie Coe who had run away from her posh home, to the befuddlement of her parents.  Interestingly, Ms. Coe enjoyed the song for some time without imagining it was about her; it was only years later that her mother put it together for her after seeing an interview with Paul.  In part she had never imagined it was her because she didn't leave with "a man from the motor trade."

The string arrangement is perhaps my favorite in a Beatles song, which is interesting since it's one of the only arrangements not by George Martin, who was too busy at the time and (unwillingly) ceded to Mike Leander.  I find the arrangement tight and not extraneous in any way as Martin's sometimes were.  The second thing I love about the song is one lyric in particular:  "She's leaving home after living alone for so many years."  Obviously the girl in question was not living literally alone, so the implication is devastating but possibly familiar to anyone who has felt that distance with those to whom we're physically closest.  It's one of my favorite single lines in a Beatles song.

Fun fact:  Coincidentally, Ms. Coe won a lip-synch contest at which the Beatles performed and Paul presented the award a few years before the song was written. 

If you think I have it too low, at least I like it more than Mr. krista does:  "So ####### boring.  She leaves a comfortable life for more comfort.  Oh, she’s bored, so she gets to go have fun.  That’s the whitest #### ever.  And her parents are bummed.  Who gives a ####.  The stakes are so pitifully low.  'Oh, I’ve like to have more fun, so I guess I’ll leave.'"

Suggested cover:  One of my favorite covers of any Beatles song, Billy freaking Bragg

2022 Supplement:  Paul has later said that, in addition to the news story, he was influenced in writing this by the broadcast by the weekly television series The Wednesday Play, of a play called “Cathy Come Home,” directed by Ken Loach, which was a play about homelessness and was viewed by a quarter of the UK population on its initial broadcast.  He viewed the recording as almost a script for this play, with a narrator describing the protagonist’s actions along with a mini Greek chorus.  Paul isn’t sure a song like this could be written now, except in musical theater, which was a genre he says John hated with one exception:  West Side Story.  John and Paul had seen that one together, including the film, and thought it “ballsy enough” for them both.  😊  

Guido Merkins

George Martin had been involved in everything the Beatles had done.  But in 1967 during the sessions for Sgt Pepper, Paul was inspired and ready to work on a new song called She’s Leaving Home, but Martin was unavailable.  So Paul called another arranger to help him with the strings and, for the first time, going around George Martin.  Martin was hurt, but got over it and produced the session.

She’s Leaving Home is the brother of Eleanor Rigby in that it is strictly using strings and none of the traditional Beatles instruments.  There was also a harp on the recording, Sheila Bromberg, the first female to play on a Beatles record.  Alse interesting is the difference between the stereo and mono mix of the song.  The mono is much faster, and therefore at a higher pitch than the stereo version.  

Paul wrote the song inspired by a news story of a girl running away from home.  I like the line about “meeting a man from the motor trade.”  I also like Paul singing and John singing as the voice of the parents (we gave her most of our life….)

I like the song, but it feels a bit forced when compared to Rigby.  Of course, Rigby is one of the Beatles best songs, so that might not be a fair comparison. 
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It's gorgeous, and John's counter-vocal and the bye-byes are the best parts of the song. It is a little "show tune" in spots, but it's not "granny ####" by any means. 

 
Getzlaf15 said:
:drive:  Drive My Car  :drive:
2022 Ranking: 62
2022 Lists: 12
2022 Points: 119
Ranked Highest by: @Anarchy99(9) @Gr00vus (10) @DaVinci(12) @heckmanm(14) @Dennis Castro (16) @jwb (19) @prosopis (19) @Shaft41 (20) and Daughter (20) @Dwayne Hoover (22) @FairWarning (22) 
2019 Ranking/Lists/Pts: 45/9/87

Getz comments:  and one vote for Drive My Cart.

Krista4
My 2019 ranking:  53

2019 write-up:

Drive My Car (Rubber Soul, 1965)

It's the beep beeps, y’all.  It's just the damn beep beeps.

This clearly must be a Paul favorite since he still performs it all the time.  Or maybe it's one that's easier for a 70something man to sing.  In any case, it's a great rock song.  Or is it a great pop song?  Whatever, it's great.  But those damn beep-beeps.  Without beep-beeps, it would be top 30 at least.  I despise those beep-beeps.

What I do love:  every other damn thing.  That freaking groove, led by that bass line.  The guitar parts with all those bendy notes.  The arrangement of having the bass and guitar playing similar lines, which was a George idea based on Otis Redding’s “Respect.”  The super-clever non-beep-beep lyrics, including the double-entendres and sexual innuendos (including the title, which was a blues euphemism for sex).  The lyrics weren't originally as clever, as Paul tells it:  "The lyrics were disastrous and I knew it... The lyrics I brought in were something to do with golden rings, which is always fatal. 'Rings' is fatal anyway, 'rings' always rhymes with 'things' and I knew it was a bad idea. Well, we tried, and John couldn't think of anything…then we came back to it, and somehow it became 'drive my car' instead of 'gold-en rings', and then it was wonderful because this nice tongue-in-cheek idea came and suddenly there was a girl there, the heroine of the story, and the story developed and had a little sting, which was 'I actually haven't got a car, but when I get one you'll be a terrific chauffeur.”

Also there is cowbell.  

Beep beep, beep beep, NO!!!!!  

Mr. krista:  "That's pretty good.  The bass line is just murderous.  I like how his bass playing sounds better on each record.  I don’t if it’s better recording, or better budgets and more capable engineers, or better playing, but his bass is more and more integral in those rock songs. Ringo on tambourine, killer.  The way that groove holds together is amazing.  Deep feeling for groove, could work with Paul McCartney to make this heavy elasticity.  Same with The Word.  This is a ####### groove."

Suggested cover:  The Donnas

2022 Supplement:  As discussed in 2019, Paul wrote all the music of this song but couldn’t get a handle on the lyrics.  He brought it to John, and after hitting a wall together, they had a spot of tea, came back to the song, and started envisioning an LA girl who wanted a chauffeur.  The song filled in from there.  Paul admits to having a musical fascination with the back seat of a car (see, e.g., “The Back Seat of My Car”) and has stated that rock and roll owes more to Henry Ford than to Leo Fender:  “We know people shagged before the motorcar, but the motorcar gave the erotic a whole new lease on life.”  The “beep beep” part that I hate is a part of the song that Paul loves, as he is always proud to get “nonsense lyrics” into a song.  He and John sang the beep beeps in close harmony to get the effect of a horn.

Guido Merkins

Cars have been used as a euphemism for sex thoughout the blues and rock.  Robert Johnson’s Terraplane Blues being a prime example.  The Beatles were not nearly as known for sexual euphamisms as the Stones, but a good example of a song about sex is Drive My Car.

Basically, girl has a dream of being a star and she wants her guy to “drive her car.”  Lines like “I can show you a better time” and “you can do something in between” makes it clear that it’s not just a car she wants him to drive.  It’s cool that it’s a reversal of the usual roles where it’s the guy who’s after sex.  This time the girl is the aggressor.  The Stones would make it obvious this song was about sex, but the Beatles throw in “beep beep beep beep yeah”, which maybe kind of dsiguises the true intention.  

Paul struggled to come up with lyrics with this one, at first it was “you can buy me diamond rings”, which was bad, but the melody was good, so he and John worked on the lyrics and came up with this.  George also helped with the arrangement suggesting the idea of the guitar and bass playing the same line.  George claimed Paul played the solo on this one and it’s a real good solo.  

The opening song on Rubber Soul, Drive My Car also had a growing bass presence that had not been present on earlier Beatles records.  A great performance by all involved.
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I love the beep-beeps, they're so much fun! Fun Beatles are some of the best Beatles. Also fun: the cowbell. I have also always loved the melody the piano plays during the chorus -- takes the song to a higher level IMO. Oh yeah, and the bass is awesome too. 

 
Getzlaf15 said:
The Ballad of John and Yoko
2022 Ranking: 61
2022 Lists: 8
2022 Points: 120
Ranked Highest by: @Gr00vus (1) @DaVinci (4) @Man of Constant Sorrow (9) @shuke (9) @Dwayne Hoover (13)  @Murph (14) @wikkidpissah (17) Krista(TJ/Holly) (24)
2019 Ranking/Lists/Pts: 42/6/95

Getz comments: The last song with less than 10 votes.

Krista4
My 2019 ranking:  56

2019 write-up:

The Ballad of John and Yoko (single, 1969)

Written by John on his honeymoon as a snapshot of his wedding to Yoko, this song features only Paul and John, handling all the vocals and instruments.  I not only love the groove, but the song always makes me happy because, after so many years of tension, John and Paul sound like they're just enjoying recording together.  It might be that rekindled enthusiasm that led to the Abbey Road sessions being so much more successful than the Let It Be ones. 

I find the lyrics to this song to be, while self-absorbed, hilarious at times, such as the lines, "The newspapers said, she's gone to his head; they look just like two gurus in drag."  John couldn't resist inserting some controversy into the lyrics, though, including the references to "Christ" and being crucified, harkening back to his "more popular than Jesus" comment and leading to this song being banned in some locales.  He even managed to offend Spain as well, by saying they got "married in Gibraltar near Spain," when Spaniards considered Gibraltar part of their country.  

This song might not have amazing technical merit compared to others, but it just makes me happy.  I love the build of instruments, especially Paul suddenly coming in with maracas following that big pause after the bridge.  Love John's guitar part that goes into a Spanish-sounding vibe at the end.  Most of all, I adore Paul's jabby harmonies in the last verses.  I love to think of the two of them turning out this song after the years of misery.  Geoff Emerick described the session as being a magic time of "two old school chums...with the sheer joy of making music together," and that session convinced Emerick to return and engineer the Abbey Road record.

Mr. krista:  "I think it’s a good song.  I’ve always liked that song.  Remember it was only a few years before that that they went to play Shea Stadium again and didn’t sell out after being 'more popular than Jesus. 'They’re going to crucify me' – hey things go to your head a little bit.  It might be forgivable though when you’re like 20 and sell out Shea Stadium and everyone’s telling you you’re Jesus.  I like the guitar, the kind of Spanish-y stuff."

Suggested covers:  A little something for everyone, or for no one:  Dave Edmunds  Widespread Panic  Teenage Fanclub

2022 Supplement:  Still love this one, maybe even more than I did, in large part due to the happy interactions between Paul and John when they were recording this, the only Beatles song with just the two of them performing.  An earlier take, Take 7, shows more of this as, recording this without the other members of the band, they jokingly call each other “Ringo” (Paul took the drum part for this song) and “George”:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwzHeAnFqrk   Listen through to the end to hear their pure enjoyment of recording together.

Guido Merkins

John often accused Paul of going off by himself and doing songs without the other Beatles.  John wasn’t completely innocent in this.  When John got hot to record, he would sometimes exclude the other Beatles.  So when John had a song he wanted recorded called the Ballad of John and Yoko and George and Ringo weren’t available, he got Paul and said “lets record it.”

Paul playing drums and bass and singing harmony with John playing guitar and singing lead, at one point, John turned around and said “a little faster Ringo” and Paul said “OK George” they proved that they still had unbelievable chemistry when they got together to make music.  It was like being the Nurk Twins again (an early iteration of the Beatles before George when the other members all left the band.)

The song is basically a diary of John’s wedding to Yoko at Gibraltar.  “Taking a plane into Paris.”  “Honeymooning down by the Seine, Peter Brown called say you can make it OK you can get married in Gibraltar near Spain.”  But the most controversial line is “Christ you know it aint easy, you know how hard it can be.  The way things are going, they’re gonna crucify me.”  After the Christ statement in 1966, John was really pushing the envelope.  

It was yet another #1 in 1969 backed with Old Brown Shoe. Another great single.
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The Spanish-y stuff makes this song, as does Paul's bassline. Definitely feels like a clearing of the throat after the Let It Be sessions. 

"They look just like two gurus in drag" may be the funniest self-deprecating lyric in rock history. 

 
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