2022 FBG, 172 to 1 Beatles Countdown 1-25 lists... And 173 to 1 Countdown from 1-64 lists! (2 Viewers)

[fatguyinalittlecoat]

The love/hate with Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-D fascinates me.  I LOVE this song, always have.  I ranked it #11 on my list and I easily could have put it in my top 5, that's how much I like it.  I think it goes back to 4th grade when we sang it in Chorus.  Easily our favorite song.  Even the duds who would normally just mumble their way through most songs would come alive and belt this one out.    I honestly don't get the hate.  

Rock music is cool.

The Beatles are cool.

Songs you sing in 4th grade chorus are not cool.

Nothing about this song is remotely cool.

 

[Binky The Doormat]

Rock music is cool.

The Beatles are cool.

Songs you sing in 4th grade chorus are not cool.

Nothing about this song is remotely cool.

life goes on brah

 

[Uruk-Hai]

1

2

3

4 I Feel Fine

5

6

7

8 She's Leaving Home

9 

10 

11 

12

13 Boys

14 Fixing A Hole

15 

16

17 All My Loving

18

19 Do You Want To Know A Secret

20 

21 

22

23 No Reply

24 I'm Looking Through You

25

 

[Uruk-Hai]

"All My Loving". Not much to add here that hasn't already been said better by others. Though I'll say that I like George's voice when he comes in better than Paul's - might be the key or something. To me, this record is a soundtrack of the sun coming out after 12 days in a row of clouds.

"I Feel Fine". So, there are probably 150 Beatles records I'd be comfortable slotting into a Top 25. This one, though, will always be in my Top 10. This is the sonic equivalent of a 12-cylinder Jag running at peak efficiency. The record both glides and digs at the same time. More Motown/Smokey influence on the vocal construction here - the internal stomps and almost-rhymes on the verses and, especially, the bridges. Artists have been trying to make pop/rock/soul/country (this one has all of those elements) records this good for almost 60 years and almost no one else has been able to match it. 

You can pretty much draw a straight line to what became known as Power Pop from some combination of these two records. 

 

[ekbeats]

Rock music is cool.

The Beatles are cool.

Songs you sing in 4th grade chorus are not cool.

Nothing about this song is remotely cool.

Oh contraire mon ami.  Seeing the biggest bad ### in the school belt out a tune is fantastic. And watching Miss Carmelo get all excited playing the piano is treat that I enjoy to this day.  

 

[AAABatteries]

My list taking some hits now - still top 10 in tact and 18 of top 20.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13. Hello, Goodbye (56)
14.
15.
16.
17. Can't Buy Me Love (49)
18.
19.
20.
21. All My Loving (48)
22. From Me To You (155)
23.
24. Lady Madonna (77)
25. Eight Days A Week (58)

 

[BobbyLayne]

Rock music is cool.

The Beatles are cool.

Songs you sing in 4th grade chorus are not cool.

Nothing about this song is remotely cool.

Oh contraire mon ami.  Seeing the biggest bad ### in the school belt out a tune is fantastic. And watching Miss Carmelo get all excited playing the piano is treat that I enjoy to this day.  

Thanks for reminding me that in the 4th grade we sang American Pie* at a class concert.

Thanks for reminding me that when my daughter was 4 years old - pre-K graduation ceremony 9 years ago - they sang When I'm Sixty-Four.

Paul and ####### timeless granny music.

*ETA: OK, maybe it was A verse and a chorus....the point remains

 

[FairWarning]

Oh La di reminds me of a fun Irish drinking song after partaking for three hours.  Actually being on a legendary album with monster classics was a great change of pace.  A similar song for me is Boogie with Stu on Physical Graffiti.   Just so different, it draws you in.  I get why it is polarizing.

 

[BobbyLayne]

listened to the first ten or so songs from the White Album this morning before church (auto skipped Wild Honey Pie)

guess what’s my earworm rn

 

[Leroy Hoard]

listened to the first ten or so songs from the White Album this morning before church (auto skipped Wild Honey Pie)

guess what’s my earworm rn

Oh blah don't?

 

[Zegras11]

And I Love Her
2022 Ranking: 45
2022 Lists: 13
2022 Points: 172
Ranked Highest by: @zamboni (5) Krista(Craig)(6) @wikkidpissah (6) Shaft41(son1) (8) @simey (8) @ManOfSteelhead (11) @Ted Lange as your Bartender (13) @rockaction (16) @neal cassady (18) @krista4 (21) @MAC_32 (21) @Tom Hagen (23)
2019 Ranking/Lists/Pts: 79/3/27

Getz: Jumps up (binky down) 34 spots in 2022, with 10 more votes and 145 more points. Eight Top 12 votes carried this one.

Krista4
My 2019 ranking:  23

2019 write-up:

And I Love Her (A Hard Day's Night, 1964)

Another deceptively simple but stunningly gorgeous composition by Paul, but let's give George an assist for coming up with that four-note intro and playing all of the guitar parts so beautifully.  It's those four notes that draw me in and make me give a little gasp and swoon as soon as this song comes on.  With all the Beatles much more famous riffs in mind, I still count this as possibly my favorite.  Incredibly, this song was originally recorded with an electric guitar; I simply can't imagine not having those amazing acoustic strums.

When I think of George's guitar work, the word "tasteful" always comes to mind.  I feel a little Andrés Segovia vibe from this song (it also wouldn't feel out of place in an Ennio Morricone-composed soundtrack), but George never goes further with that than he should.  His solo is where I most strongly get that feel, and I love it; that chord change in the solo s devastating in a good way.   

Even though I find George the star of this particular Paul show, I don't want to understate Paul's contributions to...errrr, his own song.  Paul sings with warmth but without syrup.  The repetition of the lyrics might seem a negative to some, but to me it works to emphasize the plaintive melancholy of the song.  I find these lyrics every bit as evocative as those of "Yesterday"; while they seem cheerful read separately, they also seem to be expressing a loss through the mournful melody.  If these lyrics were sung to a different composition, I'd likely dismiss them (and the song) as silly; it's this tension between those lyrics and the sorrowful presentation of them that makes the song intriguing.  What happened to her?  Paul, by the way, pointed out a different subtle aspect of the song that he thought was quite clever and important to the lyrical structure:  "The 'And' in the title was an important thing, 'And I Love Her.'  It came right out of left field; you were right up to speed the minute you heard it.  You would often go to town on the title, but this was almost an aside, 'Oh...and I love you.'"

Also there are bongos and claves.

Simple, but magical and majestic.

Mr. krista:  "It’s a great song.  Harmonies are beautiful.  Lyrics are simple and perfect and don’t #### themselves up trying to be more complicated.  Everything does its job well.  Finished lines and started lines – if you have something good, just play it again. It’s a rock song, not a novel. You don’t need to jam it full of ideas. You have one great musical idea so just use it.  It’s evocative, but also substantive.  It’s satisfying on its own.  Nope, that’s delicious.  And everything served that phrase really well."

Suggested cover:  Paul's favorite cover of this song is from Esther Phillips.  I'd also like to make a public plea here that we will one day soon be able to add the @wikkidpissah cover here.

2022 Supplement:  I recall that in 2019 this song garnered perhaps the most “D’oh, how did I forget to put that on my list” reactions from the other rankers.  The fact that I’m writing it up when I am (about halfway through?  I don’t know and am afraid to look) makes me worry that this happened again, though Getz has kindly somewhat mixed up the songs to keep everything a surprise for Guido and me.

As I’ve previously mentioned, I’ve been relying on Paul’s book The Lyrics for some of my updates this year, since this wasn’t available in 2019.  Most songs, if he addresses them at all, get a page of his thoughts.  This song was awarded nearly three full pages of type, so I suspect it must have been one of Paul’s favorites.  And he’s no dummy; he’s right. 

Paul wrote this one in 1963 in Jane Asher’s family home.  Paul had first met Jane in the spring of 1963 when she interviewed him for Radio Times.  They’d seen her picture before, but only in black-and-white, and the Beatles were surprised by her bright red hair.  Paul and Jane quickly began a relationship and, knowing that Paul was dissatisfied with the stark cold of his Mayfair flat that Brian Epstein had provided, Jane asked if he’d like to have a room in her family home.

Paul says he had never before seen this class of people, “except maybe on the telly.”  Brian Epstein was classy, “but not this kind of classy.”  These people “knew all about art and culture and society,” which Paul had never experienced.  He also missed having a mum, as his had died several years earlier.

One night while they were at the theatre, Paul, still not used to the press, was surprised when several paparazzi started snapping photos of them during an intermission.  He says that is was there that he wanted to tell her that he loved her, and it served as the impetus for this song.

Paul gives George full credit for that distinctive opening guitar hook, in fact even for the idea of an introduction.  Just as they were to begin recording, George suggested an intro and played that four-note riff.  And he likewise credits George Martin for the pleasing chord modulation in the solo, the two Georges together giving the song its strength.

Guido Merkins

For all I know, Paul gave George compliments all the time, but just judging from how their relationship played out, I doubt that’s true.  So years later, after George was gone, somebody asked Paul about And I Love Her.  He said something to the effect of “I had the chords and the lyrics, but then George plays doo-doo-doo-doo………that’s the song.  I didn’t write that.”

Paul is absolutely correct.  And I Love Her is one of Paul’s most enduring ballads, but what would it be without those 4 notes?  It IMMEDIATELY identifies the song.  And I Love Her is from the A Hard Day’s Night film and is a beautiful acoustic ballad.  Paul on bass and lead vocal.  John on the jumbo Gibson.  George on a classical guitar.  Ringo on bongos and claves.  John helped out with the middle (a love like ours….) I especially like the arpeggio George plays starting on the 2nd verse.  I also like how it changes key going into the solo.  Kind of gives it a lift at exactly the right place.

Anthology 1 has an earlier take of the song with drums and electric guitars.  In this case, the Beatles were right to go acoustic.  In the film, they are shown playing the song rehearsing for the show and as the camera goes around Paul it catches the lights from the set and then silhouettes Paul’s face.  It’s something that makes the whole segment go up a level.  So artsy and cool.

 

[FairWarning]

And I love her was one of my toughest cuts.  

 

[prosopis]

Paperback Writer
2022 Ranking: 47
2022 Lists: 13
2022 Points: 161
Ranked Highest by: @Encyclopedia Brown(1) Krista(Rob) (2) @Anarchy99 (7) @Dinsy Ejotuz (9) @FairWarning (9) @Eephus (11) @Yankee23Fan (14)
2019 Ranking/Lists/Pts: 18/14/178

Getz: Song with probably the second largest hit from 2019. One less vote and 17 fewer points dropped it 29 slots from 2019. Maybe the Krista effect on this one?
It did get a #1, #2 and five Top 10 votes.
Three votes on the last six ballots rallied this from around #58. And it was behind the “Dot” song until @prosopis gave it a #16 and 10 points with his third to last ballot that came in.  This was the song I mentioned that was around #85 when 25 votes have been counted.  I had it at #23, down 5 spots from 2019.

Krista4
My 2019 ranking:  66

2019 write-up:

Paperback Writer (single, 1966)

It's just the notion of the "paperback writer" that gets on my ever-loving nerves.  Unfortunately, the beautiful harmonies are used to sing this title over and over, and so I'll be rocking along to the song realizing the lyrics are going nowhere but thinking that's OK, and then I'm hit with that "paperback wri-i-terrrr" and I cringe.  It's just a personal quirk that no one could have predicted since this song is otherwise up my alley.     

Mr. krista:  "Who writes a song about being a writer and makes it a giant run-on sentence?  But it really rocks and the bass line is incredible.  It’s so propulsive I can’t help but really like it.  A song like that is really hard to keep time to, and Ringo crushes it."

I love this song for all the reasons Krista and Mr. Krista don't. That is the awesome thing about music. The way it affects different people. I will tell you all a secret. I always wanted to be a paperback writer. In a perfect world I would be a librarian who writes paperbacks and maybe solves a mystery every now and then. This song tells a great story and rocks. I am glad I saved it from the depths.

 

[prosopis]

I’ve Got a Feeling
2022 Ranking: 46
2022 Lists: 15
2022 Points: 171
Ranked Highest by: @prosopis (1) @Dr. Octopus (6) @ProstheticRGK (9) @Murph (11) @ConstruxBoy (12) @Westerberg (13) @Man of Constant Sorrow (14) @Pip's Invitation (14) @Wrighteous Ray (14)
2019 Ranking/Lists/Pts: 40/6/99

Getz comments:  Moves up six slots from 2019, with a solid, 72 more points. Thought it would do better being on Get Back.

Krista4
My 2019 ranking:  50

2019 write-up:

I've Got A Feeling (Let It Be, 1970)

Love these Paul/John mishmosh songs, linking a song fragment from each of them, and I think this is one of their most successful fusions.  As was often (always?) the case, the Paul portion is generally upbeat, this time reflecting his love for Linda.  Despite this being written at a particularly tough time for John, though - coming on the heels of his drug bust, Yoko's miscarriage, his divorce, and more - I don't hear the usual pessimism or cynicism from John in his portion.  If anything, he sounds more laid-back, maybe detached and resigned to circumstances.  

The best part of this song for me is that, unlike the other similar collaborations, this one doesn't simply go Paul-John-Paul or John-Paul-John, but late in the song merges the two song parts together, one on top of the other.  Interlaying John's mellow sound on top of Paul's more aggressive rock part works beautifully.   The song rocks, thanks to...well, everyone involved.  Paul contributes a passionate rock vocal, though perhaps tending too far into a "cookie monster" feel for my taste, and John and George wail on the guitars after an understated opening riff.  Billy Preston adds another level of groove on the electric piano, and Ringo's fills connect everything together perfectly.  It's great rock, but also playful and fun; the rooftop concert evidences how much they enjoyed this one.

Mr. krista:  "It’s a really good rock song.  It’s like they did The Faces as good or better than The Faces. And I love The Faces."

Suggested covers:  I feel like Eddie Vedder overplays the vocal, but Pearl Jam . Found several live versions by Robyn Hitchcock; this had the best sound quality but not great.

2022 Supplement:  This song snuck into my top 25 at the last minute, when I pulled a switcheroo between this and “I’m Looking Through You” for the coveted #24 spot.  It’s undoubtedly a result of the Get Back documentary and a warm and fuzzy feeling of goodwill between John and Paul that this song conjures for me.  The song arose at a particularly difficult time for John – the breakdown of his marriage, the heroin addiction, and the deterioration of the band.  Paul says all of that is encapsulated in some of the lyrics, such as “everybody pulled their socks up”:  “Those lines refer in some way to…the state of the Beatles.”

Paul has described this song as “a shotgun wedding” between the two songs that each of them had already written (John’s was called “Everyone Had A Bad Year”), and working to put them together evidenced the magical interplay that they had as a songwriting duo.  He describes songwriting together as much easier and their ability to interact and grow and learn from each other as miraculous.  To this day, Paul says he has John whispering in his ear:  “I’m often second-guessing what John would have thoughts – ‘This is too soppy’ – or what he would have said differently, so I sometimes change it.”  

Enjoy more from Get Back:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3S4PYfwuMQs

Guido Merkins

By 1969, John and Paul were not working together very much.  They were trying to recapture something in the Get Back sessions (which would become Let It Be), so that album had a lot more collaboration.  

Enter I’ve Got a Feeling, two unfinished songs by John and Paul that they put together.  Paul singing “i’ve got a feeling”, John singing “everybody had a hard year.”  As usual, together they created a better song than each of the individual pieces.

Paul with the really intense, bluesy vocal on his part, John with the more laid back vocal of the bridge.  Great lead licks by George throughout.  Ringo, as usual, holding it down on the drums. And Billy Preston killing it on the electric piano.

My favorite part is the end where both John and Paul sing their parts together and they fit like a jigsaw puzzle.  The version that appears on the Let It Be album was recorded on the roof, live.  A fantastic performance and proof that the Beatles ALWAYS could do it live, despite what Mick or anybody else said.

I am still working my way through the Get Back documentary. I have not gotten to this part yet. I did not realize this song was part of that and I am super excited to see it. This song always seems to make me feel happy. In my sparring days this was one of my favorites to spar to. I don't really know why but this song works for fighting as good as Eye of the Tiger. While it is great for that, it is also awesome to just chill to. I love the differing vocals and the tune. I do like the Pearl Jam version better than Krista.

 

[prosopis]

"I've Got a Feeling" is one of the new entrants to my list this year, as mentioned above, and while I've always loved it (#50 three years ago), it undoubtedly benefitted from the Get Back bump.  Probably should have had "I'm Only Sleeping," "I'm Looking Through You" or "Blackbird" in there instead.  For some reason I still think of this as @timschochet's brother's favorite Beatles song.

I have not gotten to this part of the documentary yet. This was my #1 and I am stoked to see it. This may get me to watch the documentary faster. I really feel this documentary needs to be redone with a narrator. I am having a hard time getting through it.

 

[prosopis]

OMG just quoting my post to say I read the writeups and:

1) Thank you @krista4for the info on Paul claiming to get challenged to write a non-love song and hanging out with authors and stuff.  Perfect.

2) Also if you think the lyrics to Paperback Writer are dumb then you’re dumb.

ETA:  I think if we did a countdown of just the lyrics no music, Paperback Writer is a top 10.

This guy gets it.

 

[prosopis]

Two of my top 10 are down. My #1 is gone!!!

1) I’ve got a Feeling

2)

3)
4)

5)

6)

7)



9) All You Need is Love - It’s the truth

10)

11)

12)

13) Hello Goodbye - Love singing this, it is a fun song.

14)

15)

16)Paperback Writer- I wish I was a paperback writer.

17) Love me do - Who hasn’t felt like this? One of the best feelings in life. Professing your love and hoping it is returned.

18)

19) Drive my Car - Hell yeah !!!! The beep beeps are fantastic.

20)

21) Blackbird -Love everything about it. “into the light of the dark black night” is brilliant.

22)

23)

24) It Wont be Long - Love the interactions, rock and roll

25)

 

[Zegras11]

With A Little Help from My Friends
2022 Ranking: 44
2022 Lists: 13
2022 Points: 172
Ranked Highest by: Alex (6) @Just Win Baby (6) @Dinsy Ejotuz (8) @Ilov80s (9) @jwb (9) @Gr00vus (11) @Yankee23Fan (11) @Pip's Invitation (13) 
2019 Ranking/Lists/Pts: 33/12/119

Getz: Had this at #19 in 2019. Didn’t make the cut this time. Last song to not get a Top 5 vote.

Krista4
My 2019 ranking:  48

2019 write-up:

With A Little Help From My Friends (Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967)

As much as I love Ringo, and I even like his singing, we can probably all agree that he doesn't have the greatest voice.  This song was written specifically for him and therefore is perfect for his limited range, with one exception:  that last note, far out of Ringo's range.  The vocal was recorded at the end of a long session, and after finishing the backing tracks, Ringo started up the stairs to leave.  Paul called out to him that they should do the vocals first, and unfortunately for Ringo, who said he was "knackered," the rest of the band agreed.  Knowing how nervous Ringo was about the vocal, the other three, In a sweet show of friendship, gathered round him just behind the microphone, (silently) cheering him on.  But that last note was a challenge, and the other Beatles encouraged him through several takes, with George gently telling him he could do it and John giving more blunt advice to "just throw your head back and let 'er rip!"  After a few tries, Ringo hit it, to much cheering and then a celebratory scotch-and-Coke toast.

Ringo sings this so sweetly, and the song gently glides along with great pleasantness.  I love the call-and-response and as-always beautiful harmonies - especially for some reason love the lines, "What do you see when you turn out the light; I can't tell you but I know it's mine."  I don't know what those lines mean, though I've read Paul say it might have been about self-love, but maybe that open interpretation is why I like the lines.   The most essential, superb part of the song for me, though, is Paul's bass line, which is as smoothly melodic and fluid as any he recorded with the Beatles.  This is a song with a simple structure but elevated to another level for me by its sweetness...and that bass line.

Badfinger alert!  The song was initially titled "Bad Finger Boogie," which is the source of the band's name after changing it from The Iveys.

Fun fact:  originally the second line was "would you stand up and throw tomatoes at me" instead of "walk out on me."  In a rare instance of assertiveness, Ringo put his foot down on this, worried that people would actually throw tomatoes on stage at that line, much as they had thrown jelly beans and other items in earlier shows.

Mr. krista:  "It is so much better than that…[five-minute discussion of how much we hate the Cocker version and how it’s about selfishness] I really like the song so much more than that.  He made a really great song suck."

Suggested cover:  Oh hell no I'm not posting that one.  I'd rather listen to John Belushi's parody. 

2022 Supplement:  At the time this was composed, Paul and John were more often working on their own songs rather than the close collaboration they had in the early years.  So this song was sort of a throwback to that time, with them coming together to write for Ringo.  They pulled lines from a recent airing of Julius Caesar on the telly (“lend me your ears”), threw in one of their usual “in-jokes” about drugs (“I get high with a little help from my friends”), and mined the familiar territory of trying to say something dirty without actually saying it.  I’ll let Paul tell that one:  “The line I liked best in it was, ‘What do you see when you turn out the light?’ … You’re talking about your genitals; that’s what it is.  … But I couldn’t say, ‘What do you see when you turn out the light?  your ####.’  It just doesn’t scan.”

As I discussed in 2019, this song was a rally around Ringo, and part of what I love about it is that it is evidence of the entire group working together – in fact the session last all night – in a way that was becoming increasingly uncommon.  Emerick called the session “a touching show of unity among the four Beatles.”  Ringo has closed all of his shows with this song since 1989.  Here’s a seemingly ageless Ringo still sounding in good voice just a dozen years ago (Jim Keltner sighting!):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19C5l_keLJU

Fun fact:  “Billy Shears” or “William Shears” was one of the names that “Paul is dead” conspiracy theorists came up with as the person who allegedly replaced Paul after his fatal car accident in 1966.

Guido Merkins

Ringo was, in many ways, the Beatle that the others rallied around.  In the 70s, it was Ringo who worked with every member of the band.  The Ringo album was the closest we ever got to a Beatles reunion with John, Paul, and George all contributing (albeit separately.)  So, it’s hardly surprising that when John and Paul wrote a song for Ringo on Sgt Pepper that they would hit on this theme and pen With A Little Help from My Friends.  The song perfectly sums up Ringo’s role in the Beatles and really his entire career.

The song started life as Bad Finger Boogie (John played it on piano with a bad finger) which eventually was the name of the band Badfinger.  John and Paul wrote the song mostly together and it had a limited vocal range, except that last note, which Ringo was very nervous about (but he nailed it.)  

The lyrics have some interesting things.  “What would you see when you turn out the lights?  I can’t tell you but I know it’s mine” is meant to suggest something dirty. Also the original line was “would you stand up and throw tomatoes at me” instead of “would you stand up and walk out on me” which Ringo insisted on changing because George once admitted to liking jelly beans (jelly babies in Britain) and they got pelted with them on stage.

I absolutely love the harmonies on this song.  John and Paul doing some of their best work around Ringo’s imperfect voice is just one of the most magical moments on any Beatles song.  If you think about the breakup too much, then listen to this song, it can make you emotional (well, for me anyway.)

Joe Cocker did one of the most famous of all Beatles covers with this song which was a hit single for him and was the theme for The Wonder Years.

 

[Zegras11]

Only three songs left that did not get a Top 3 vote.

 

[fatguyinalittlecoat]

I also hate the Joe Cocker version of “With a Little Help From My Friends” but I did gain some appreciation for why it’s such a significant song when I watched the Woodstock documentary.  From what I remember, it was something like Cocker was the first artist up after a huge rainstorm had trashed the place and everyone was in low spirits.  When he sang the song it was a special feeling of togetherness for all the people at the concert, that they could help each other and they were all friends and they would get through all of it and enjoy the concert by looking out for one another.

I still never want to hear Cocker sing it again, but it gives me a good feeling to think about the sentiment.

 

[wikkidpissah]

And I Love Her

Suggested cover:  Paul's favorite cover of this song is from Esther Phillips.  I'd also like to make a public plea here that we will one day soon be able to add the @wikkidpissah cover here.

wish i could. i'd do a Nipsey-style upload a capella if i could just get the first verse back.

i found my take on it cuz my BFF's favorite Beatle record is Hard Day's Night and he asked me to sing the whole thing with him. on And I Love Her he played the intro but then went to the chords instead keeping it set that way and his "mm-CLACK, mm-mm-CLACK" came out sounding very Merseybeatish (which i think is the reason he likes the album so much). It sent me waaaay back in the beat and i guess my brain didnt make sense of it til the bridge (or middle-8 or whatever) and then it was like "pow". we did kind of a Bill&Ted "whoa" and he went back and kinda played to my singing rather than his original thang.

and, ever since, i cant get the str8read of the first verse right that sets the whole tone of soul-meets-Pacemakers which makes the take special. i just now googled a lyric sheet and, as per usual, i cant get in at the gitgo. soooo close, i'd sing it to anyone in the room but wont lay it down for posterity.

 

[wikkidpissah]

i get why folks hate the Cocker version of WALHFMF - he unceremoniously removes everything Beatle from a Beatles song & that seems like a very stoopit & insulting thing to do - but it's one of my favorite all-time recordings. the build is epic and the rawness on top of that pop structure.....

i saw himself do it live on the Mad Dogs & Englishmen tour the next spring and it vibrated my breastbone so that i thought i was having a heartattack. in the true spirit of the age, soon as i recovered, i turned to my friend and, for the only time in my life, said, "we gotta follow these guys". we blew almost 2 wks of school chasing em to their next 4 dates before cash & courage ran out.

 

[dickey moe]

Pleasantly surprised by what would have been my choice as the best song off of my favorite Beatles album (Revolver) hasn't been chosen yet (assuming it wasn't somehow missed) - Doctor Robert. Always thought that tune was very underrated in their catalog, but maybe it isn't after all.

 

[Murph]

Pleasantly surprised by what would have been my choice as the best song off of my favorite Beatles album (Revolver) hasn't been chosen yet (assuming it wasn't somehow missed) - Doctor Robert. Always thought that tune was very underrated in their catalog, but maybe it isn't after all.

Too lazy to go back and double check, but I'm pretty sure this was one of the songs receiving no votes.

Your vote matters!

 

[falguy]

Only 1 song left from Sgt. Pepper. Safe to say we'll see it later in the list. 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Pleasantly surprised by what would have been my choice as the best song off of my favorite Beatles album (Revolver) hasn't been chosen yet (assuming it wasn't somehow missed) - Doctor Robert. Always thought that tune was very underrated in their catalog, but maybe it isn't after all.

Murph is right, it’s on the no votes list. One of the biggest shockers there.

 

[krista4]

I also hate the Joe Cocker version of “With a Little Help From My Friends” but I did gain some appreciation for why it’s such a significant song when I watched the Woodstock documentary.  From what I remember, it was something like Cocker was the first artist up after a huge rainstorm had trashed the place and everyone was in low spirits.  When he sang the song it was a special feeling of togetherness for all the people at the concert, that they could help each other and they were all friends and they would get through all of it and enjoy the concert by looking out for one another.

I still never want to hear Cocker sing it again, but it gives me a good feeling to think about the sentiment.

Last night I was in the car when "Dark Horse Radio" came on the Beatles channel, and it was dedicated exclusively to "Beware of Darkness."  My favorite post-Beatles song - score!!  I decided to stream it when I got home and found that it was just a bunch of covers of the song, most of them pretty bad.  And what was the second one she played?  Joe ####### Cocker.   

 

[Dr. Octopus]

With A Little Help from My Friends
2022 Ranking: 44
2022 Lists: 13
2022 Points: 172
Ranked Highest by: Alex (6) @Just Win Baby (6) @Dinsy Ejotuz (8) @Ilov80s (9) @jwb (9) @Gr00vus (11) @Yankee23Fan (11) @Pip's Invitation (13) 
2019 Ranking/Lists/Pts: 33/12/119

Getz: Had this at #19 in 2019. Didn’t make the cut this time. Last song to not get a Top 5 vote.

Krista4
My 2019 ranking:  48

2019 write-up:

With A Little Help From My Friends (Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967)

As much as I love Ringo, and I even like his singing, we can probably all agree that he doesn't have the greatest voice.  This song was written specifically for him and therefore is perfect for his limited range, with one exception:  that last note, far out of Ringo's range.  The vocal was recorded at the end of a long session, and after finishing the backing tracks, Ringo started up the stairs to leave.  Paul called out to him that they should do the vocals first, and unfortunately for Ringo, who said he was "knackered," the rest of the band agreed.  Knowing how nervous Ringo was about the vocal, the other three, In a sweet show of friendship, gathered round him just behind the microphone, (silently) cheering him on.  But that last note was a challenge, and the other Beatles encouraged him through several takes, with George gently telling him he could do it and John giving more blunt advice to "just throw your head back and let 'er rip!"  After a few tries, Ringo hit it, to much cheering and then a celebratory scotch-and-Coke toast.

Ringo sings this so sweetly, and the song gently glides along with great pleasantness.  I love the call-and-response and as-always beautiful harmonies - especially for some reason love the lines, "What do you see when you turn out the light; I can't tell you but I know it's mine."  I don't know what those lines mean, though I've read Paul say it might have been about self-love, but maybe that open interpretation is why I like the lines.   The most essential, superb part of the song for me, though, is Paul's bass line, which is as smoothly melodic and fluid as any he recorded with the Beatles.  This is a song with a simple structure but elevated to another level for me by its sweetness...and that bass line.

Badfinger alert!  The song was initially titled "Bad Finger Boogie," which is the source of the band's name after changing it from The Iveys.

Fun fact:  originally the second line was "would you stand up and throw tomatoes at me" instead of "walk out on me."  In a rare instance of assertiveness, Ringo put his foot down on this, worried that people would actually throw tomatoes on stage at that line, much as they had thrown jelly beans and other items in earlier shows.

Mr. krista:  "It is so much better than that…[five-minute discussion of how much we hate the Cocker version and how it’s about selfishness] I really like the song so much more than that.  He made a really great song suck."

Suggested cover:  Oh hell no I'm not posting that one.  I'd rather listen to John Belushi's parody. 

2022 Supplement:  At the time this was composed, Paul and John were more often working on their own songs rather than the close collaboration they had in the early years.  So this song was sort of a throwback to that time, with them coming together to write for Ringo.  They pulled lines from a recent airing of Julius Caesar on the telly (“lend me your ears”), threw in one of their usual “in-jokes” about drugs (“I get high with a little help from my friends”), and mined the familiar territory of trying to say something dirty without actually saying it.  I’ll let Paul tell that one:  “The line I liked best in it was, ‘What do you see when you turn out the light?’ … You’re talking about your genitals; that’s what it is.  … But I couldn’t say, ‘What do you see when you turn out the light?  your ####.’  It just doesn’t scan.”

As I discussed in 2019, this song was a rally around Ringo, and part of what I love about it is that it is evidence of the entire group working together – in fact the session last all night – in a way that was becoming increasingly uncommon.  Emerick called the session “a touching show of unity among the four Beatles.”  Ringo has closed all of his shows with this song since 1989.  Here’s a seemingly ageless Ringo still sounding in good voice just a dozen years ago (Jim Keltner sighting!):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19C5l_keLJU

Fun fact:  “Billy Shears” or “William Shears” was one of the names that “Paul is dead” conspiracy theorists came up with as the person who allegedly replaced Paul after his fatal car accident in 1966.

Guido Merkins

Ringo was, in many ways, the Beatle that the others rallied around.  In the 70s, it was Ringo who worked with every member of the band.  The Ringo album was the closest we ever got to a Beatles reunion with John, Paul, and George all contributing (albeit separately.)  So, it’s hardly surprising that when John and Paul wrote a song for Ringo on Sgt Pepper that they would hit on this theme and pen With A Little Help from My Friends.  The song perfectly sums up Ringo’s role in the Beatles and really his entire career.

The song started life as Bad Finger Boogie (John played it on piano with a bad finger) which eventually was the name of the band Badfinger.  John and Paul wrote the song mostly together and it had a limited vocal range, except that last note, which Ringo was very nervous about (but he nailed it.)  

The lyrics have some interesting things.  “What would you see when you turn out the lights?  I can’t tell you but I know it’s mine” is meant to suggest something dirty. Also the original line was “would you stand up and throw tomatoes at me” instead of “would you stand up and walk out on me” which Ringo insisted on changing because George once admitted to liking jelly beans (jelly babies in Britain) and they got pelted with them on stage.

I absolutely love the harmonies on this song.  John and Paul doing some of their best work around Ringo’s imperfect voice is just one of the most magical moments on any Beatles song.  If you think about the breakup too much, then listen to this song, it can make you emotional (well, for me anyway.)

Joe Cocker did one of the most famous of all Beatles covers with this song which was a hit single for him and was the theme for The Wonder Years.

This was in my top 25. Felt I needed a Ringo and I love the call and response exchanges between Ringo and Paul/John.

If anyone hates this song - chill out dude.

 

[krista4]

And I Love Her
Ranked Highest by: @zamboni (5) Krista(Craig)(6) @wikkidpissah (6) Shaft41(son1) (8) @simey (8) @ManOfSteelhead (11) @Ted Lange as your Bartender (13) @rockaction (16) @neal cassady (18) @krista4 (21) @MAC_32 (21) @Tom Hagen (23)
2019 Ranking/Lists/Pts: 79/3/27

Eight Top 12 votes carried this one.
 

I feel like you're just testing me now.  

Glad to see this one jump so much this year!

 

[Zegras11]

I Saw Her Standing There - 1963
2022 Ranking: 43
2022 Lists: 17
2022 Points: 181
Ranked Highest by: Worth(2) @ManOfSteelhead (5) Son1 (6) @John Maddens Lunchbox(9) @worrierking (12) @AAABatteries (12) @DocHolliday (13) 
2019 Ranking/Lists/Pts: 25/13/150

Getz:  Moved this classic up (binky down) 5 slots from 22 to 17. It still fell 18 slots from 2019. Worrierking finally shows up with his second song.

Krista4
My 2019 ranking:  41

2019 write-up:

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

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)  

2022 Supplement:  Meh, I remember being convinced by some of you in 2019 that there wasn’t anything creepy about that lyric, and so I’ll cede that point.  Given the competition, it still ended up around the same spot in my rankings this year anyway, which I’ve learned means that, according to @AAABatteries, I hate the Beatles.  My #20-40ish are somewhat interchangeable on any given day.  On the days this one is in my top 25, it’s largely due to its incredible energy, as well as George’s guitar work and Paul’s count-in, which blasts my brain every time leading into such an electrifying song.  This earlier take of the song, with no count-in, lacks a little energy at first but then starts ramping up especially around the guitar solo:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0v7AH0XK38  Go George go!!!

For his part, Paul has identified this as one of his very best works over the years.  He recalls writing it at Forthlin Road in 1962 (actual pic of the song being written - https://imgur.com/uZglCaN and that, while he doesn’t know exactly where it dredged from, like many of his songs he took snippets of ideas from other media, including the meter of a poem by Marriott Edgar, rhyming couplets of Shakespeare’s sonnets, and the musical influences of Hoagy Carmichael, George Gershwin, Johnny Mercer, and traditional Irish songwriting.  Looking back at it now, Paul sees a kind of teenage naivete and innocence that couldn’t be invented but came naturally at the time.  

Guido Merkins

One Two Three FAHHH!!!!  Maybe the best count-in in the history of pop music, the Beatles announced their presence forcefully on their very first album with I Saw Her Standing There.  I Saw Her Standing There was mostly a Paul song.  John helped him a bit with the lyrics, most notably with the first line which was “she was just 17, never been a beauty queen.”  John thought that was terrible and suggested “....you know what I mean”, which is great because you really don’t know what he means, but it allows the listener to fill in the blank with all kinds of stuff that’s probably better than what he actually meant.

The song is basically a Chuck Berry type song and a great song to open an album with getting it off to a rocking start.  I Saw Her Standing There is another song that I couldn’t believe wasn’t on the Red Album when I first heard it at the age of 12.  It’s one of the Beatles most well-known tracks.  If the Beatles had been one or two hit wonder with I Saw Her Standing There, they would still be remembered fondly.  But as we know, they went well beyond those early hits.

As I said, the song is a Chuck Berry song, but with the Beatles harmonies and Ringo banging away, but to me, the best part of the song is the guitar solo.  I think it’s just an absolute classic.  Not sounding like Chuck Berry or anybody else, George takes all of those influences and it just comes out totally Harrison.  

 

[Zegras11]

The other end of the list really isn't changing much...

This end is seeing 4-6 voters exit every song now.

Top 10 Least Chalk

62 --DocHolliday---560

63 --shuke---514

64 --Heckmanm---505

65 --Simey---505

66 --Krista4---500

67 --Krista (TJ/Slug)---499

68 --Westerberg---447

69 --Bobby Layne---370

70 --Tom Hagen---344

71 --WorrierKing---228

 

[krista4]

In Beatles countdowns as in life, the 40s have not been kind to me.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.  For No One (53)

13.  All My Loving (48)

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.  And I Love Her (45)

22.

23.

24.  I’ve Got A Feeling (46)

25.

 

[Binky The Doormat]

I Saw Her Standing There - 1963
2022 Ranking: 43

great write up as usual by all - 

however ...GLARING OMISSION IN THE COVER SUGGESTIONS

The Tubes - Live version at Hammersmith Odeon 1977

brings the raucous energy that this song intended.  

 

[BobbyLayne]

https://youtu.be/PQwUMyNJ4A4Sean Lennon interviewing Sir Paul

This was sweet.

Favorite moment is around 26:00-27:00, they were talking about PPM & Sean asks if there were bad throwaway songs they passed on presenting to George Martin. Macca is like “well yeah, there were…how’d that one go…hang on my guitar’s right here” and he starts strumming this simple country ditty called “Just Fun.”

He must have thousands of tunes he’s written or learned, I just thought it was great he pulled out one from the “ANOTHER LENNON McCARTNEY ORIGINAL” notebook days.

(maybe it was? - this interview was last year, right before the book on his lyrics came out.)

 

[simey]

And I Love Her
2022 Ranking: 45
2022 Lists: 13
2022 Points: 172
 @simey (8)

This is my favorite love ballad of Paul's with the Beatles. It's simple and perfect. I love the latin feel of the notes coming out of  George's classical guitar, and I like the subtle but great bongo and clave sounds from Ringo, and then there is John's gentle strumming on the acoustic guitar. All these little things make this song special, and of course there is Paul's voice. The clearness of his voice is simply sublime. It's a beautiful song.

 

[Tom Hagen]

This is my favorite love ballad of Paul's with the Beatles. It's simple and perfect. I love the latin feel of the notes coming out of  George's classical guitar, and I like the subtle but great bongo and clave sounds from Ringo, and then there is John's gentle strumming on the acoustic guitar. All these little things make this song special, and of course there is Paul's voice. The clearness of his voice is simply sublime. It's a beautiful song.

I've been trying to put into words why I like And I Love her so much. Turns out I don't have to because @simey expressed it perfectly. 

 

[zamboni]

This is my favorite love ballad of Paul's with the Beatles. It's simple and perfect. I love the latin feel of the notes coming out of  George's classical guitar, and I like the subtle but great bongo and clave sounds from Ringo, and then there is John's gentle strumming on the acoustic guitar. All these little things make this song special, and of course there is Paul's voice. The clearness of his voice is simply sublime. It's a beautiful song.

I was the highest ranked for And I Love Her. sime saved me having to express my thoughts as she encapsulated it spot on. Just a beautiful song.

 

[zamboni]

I also hate the Joe Cocker version of “With a Little Help From My Friends” but I did gain some appreciation for why it’s such a significant song when I watched the Woodstock documentary.  From what I remember, it was something like Cocker was the first artist up after a huge rainstorm had trashed the place and everyone was in low spirits.  When he sang the song it was a special feeling of togetherness for all the people at the concert, that they could help each other and they were all friends and they would get through all of it and enjoy the concert by looking out for one another.

As others have said, Joe’s performance is just different. One of the best performances at Woodstock, even better when some of the mumbling is clarified.

As for the original, who doesn’t love The Wonder Years?

 

[Pip's Invitation]

And I Love Her
2022 Ranking: 45
2022 Lists: 13
2022 Points: 172
Ranked Highest by: @zamboni (5) Krista(Craig)(6) @wikkidpissah (6) Shaft41(son1) (8) @simey (8) @ManOfSteelhead (11) @Ted Lange as your Bartender (13) @rockaction (16) @neal cassady (18) @krista4 (21) @MAC_32 (21) @Tom Hagen (23)
2019 Ranking/Lists/Pts: 79/3/27

Getz: Jumps up (binky down) 34 spots in 2022, with 10 more votes and 145 more points. Eight Top 12 votes carried this one.

Krista4
My 2019 ranking:  23

2019 write-up:

And I Love Her (A Hard Day's Night, 1964)

Another deceptively simple but stunningly gorgeous composition by Paul, but let's give George an assist for coming up with that four-note intro and playing all of the guitar parts so beautifully.  It's those four notes that draw me in and make me give a little gasp and swoon as soon as this song comes on.  With all the Beatles much more famous riffs in mind, I still count this as possibly my favorite.  Incredibly, this song was originally recorded with an electric guitar; I simply can't imagine not having those amazing acoustic strums.

When I think of George's guitar work, the word "tasteful" always comes to mind.  I feel a little Andrés Segovia vibe from this song (it also wouldn't feel out of place in an Ennio Morricone-composed soundtrack), but George never goes further with that than he should.  His solo is where I most strongly get that feel, and I love it; that chord change in the solo s devastating in a good way.   

Even though I find George the star of this particular Paul show, I don't want to understate Paul's contributions to...errrr, his own song.  Paul sings with warmth but without syrup.  The repetition of the lyrics might seem a negative to some, but to me it works to emphasize the plaintive melancholy of the song.  I find these lyrics every bit as evocative as those of "Yesterday"; while they seem cheerful read separately, they also seem to be expressing a loss through the mournful melody.  If these lyrics were sung to a different composition, I'd likely dismiss them (and the song) as silly; it's this tension between those lyrics and the sorrowful presentation of them that makes the song intriguing.  What happened to her?  Paul, by the way, pointed out a different subtle aspect of the song that he thought was quite clever and important to the lyrical structure:  "The 'And' in the title was an important thing, 'And I Love Her.'  It came right out of left field; you were right up to speed the minute you heard it.  You would often go to town on the title, but this was almost an aside, 'Oh...and I love you.'"

Also there are bongos and claves.

Simple, but magical and majestic.

Mr. krista:  "It’s a great song.  Harmonies are beautiful.  Lyrics are simple and perfect and don’t #### themselves up trying to be more complicated.  Everything does its job well.  Finished lines and started lines – if you have something good, just play it again. It’s a rock song, not a novel. You don’t need to jam it full of ideas. You have one great musical idea so just use it.  It’s evocative, but also substantive.  It’s satisfying on its own.  Nope, that’s delicious.  And everything served that phrase really well."

Suggested cover:  Paul's favorite cover of this song is from Esther Phillips.  I'd also like to make a public plea here that we will one day soon be able to add the @wikkidpissah cover here.

2022 Supplement:  I recall that in 2019 this song garnered perhaps the most “D’oh, how did I forget to put that on my list” reactions from the other rankers.  The fact that I’m writing it up when I am (about halfway through?  I don’t know and am afraid to look) makes me worry that this happened again, though Getz has kindly somewhat mixed up the songs to keep everything a surprise for Guido and me.

As I’ve previously mentioned, I’ve been relying on Paul’s book The Lyrics for some of my updates this year, since this wasn’t available in 2019.  Most songs, if he addresses them at all, get a page of his thoughts.  This song was awarded nearly three full pages of type, so I suspect it must have been one of Paul’s favorites.  And he’s no dummy; he’s right. 

Paul wrote this one in 1963 in Jane Asher’s family home.  Paul had first met Jane in the spring of 1963 when she interviewed him for Radio Times.  They’d seen her picture before, but only in black-and-white, and the Beatles were surprised by her bright red hair.  Paul and Jane quickly began a relationship and, knowing that Paul was dissatisfied with the stark cold of his Mayfair flat that Brian Epstein had provided, Jane asked if he’d like to have a room in her family home.

Paul says he had never before seen this class of people, “except maybe on the telly.”  Brian Epstein was classy, “but not this kind of classy.”  These people “knew all about art and culture and society,” which Paul had never experienced.  He also missed having a mum, as his had died several years earlier.

One night while they were at the theatre, Paul, still not used to the press, was surprised when several paparazzi started snapping photos of them during an intermission.  He says that is was there that he wanted to tell her that he loved her, and it served as the impetus for this song.

Paul gives George full credit for that distinctive opening guitar hook, in fact even for the idea of an introduction.  Just as they were to begin recording, George suggested an intro and played that four-note riff.  And he likewise credits George Martin for the pleasing chord modulation in the solo, the two Georges together giving the song its strength.

Guido Merkins

For all I know, Paul gave George compliments all the time, but just judging from how their relationship played out, I doubt that’s true.  So years later, after George was gone, somebody asked Paul about And I Love Her.  He said something to the effect of “I had the chords and the lyrics, but then George plays doo-doo-doo-doo………that’s the song.  I didn’t write that.”

Paul is absolutely correct.  And I Love Her is one of Paul’s most enduring ballads, but what would it be without those 4 notes?  It IMMEDIATELY identifies the song.  And I Love Her is from the A Hard Day’s Night film and is a beautiful acoustic ballad.  Paul on bass and lead vocal.  John on the jumbo Gibson.  George on a classical guitar.  Ringo on bongos and claves.  John helped out with the middle (a love like ours….) I especially like the arpeggio George plays starting on the 2nd verse.  I also like how it changes key going into the solo.  Kind of gives it a lift at exactly the right place.

Anthology 1 has an earlier take of the song with drums and electric guitars.  In this case, the Beatles were right to go acoustic.  In the film, they are shown playing the song rehearsing for the show and as the camera goes around Paul it catches the lights from the set and then silhouettes Paul’s face.  It’s something that makes the whole segment go up a level.  So artsy and cool.

What Simey said.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

With A Little Help from My Friends
2022 Ranking: 44
2022 Lists: 13
2022 Points: 172
Ranked Highest by: Alex (6) @Just Win Baby (6) @Dinsy Ejotuz (8) @Ilov80s (9) @jwb (9) @Gr00vus (11) @Yankee23Fan (11) @Pip's Invitation (13) 
2019 Ranking/Lists/Pts: 33/12/119

Getz: Had this at #19 in 2019. Didn’t make the cut this time. Last song to not get a Top 5 vote.

Krista4
My 2019 ranking:  48

2019 write-up:

With A Little Help From My Friends (Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967)

As much as I love Ringo, and I even like his singing, we can probably all agree that he doesn't have the greatest voice.  This song was written specifically for him and therefore is perfect for his limited range, with one exception:  that last note, far out of Ringo's range.  The vocal was recorded at the end of a long session, and after finishing the backing tracks, Ringo started up the stairs to leave.  Paul called out to him that they should do the vocals first, and unfortunately for Ringo, who said he was "knackered," the rest of the band agreed.  Knowing how nervous Ringo was about the vocal, the other three, In a sweet show of friendship, gathered round him just behind the microphone, (silently) cheering him on.  But that last note was a challenge, and the other Beatles encouraged him through several takes, with George gently telling him he could do it and John giving more blunt advice to "just throw your head back and let 'er rip!"  After a few tries, Ringo hit it, to much cheering and then a celebratory scotch-and-Coke toast.

Ringo sings this so sweetly, and the song gently glides along with great pleasantness.  I love the call-and-response and as-always beautiful harmonies - especially for some reason love the lines, "What do you see when you turn out the light; I can't tell you but I know it's mine."  I don't know what those lines mean, though I've read Paul say it might have been about self-love, but maybe that open interpretation is why I like the lines.   The most essential, superb part of the song for me, though, is Paul's bass line, which is as smoothly melodic and fluid as any he recorded with the Beatles.  This is a song with a simple structure but elevated to another level for me by its sweetness...and that bass line.

Badfinger alert!  The song was initially titled "Bad Finger Boogie," which is the source of the band's name after changing it from The Iveys.

Fun fact:  originally the second line was "would you stand up and throw tomatoes at me" instead of "walk out on me."  In a rare instance of assertiveness, Ringo put his foot down on this, worried that people would actually throw tomatoes on stage at that line, much as they had thrown jelly beans and other items in earlier shows.

Mr. krista:  "It is so much better than that…[five-minute discussion of how much we hate the Cocker version and how it’s about selfishness] I really like the song so much more than that.  He made a really great song suck."

Suggested cover:  Oh hell no I'm not posting that one.  I'd rather listen to John Belushi's parody. 

2022 Supplement:  At the time this was composed, Paul and John were more often working on their own songs rather than the close collaboration they had in the early years.  So this song was sort of a throwback to that time, with them coming together to write for Ringo.  They pulled lines from a recent airing of Julius Caesar on the telly (“lend me your ears”), threw in one of their usual “in-jokes” about drugs (“I get high with a little help from my friends”), and mined the familiar territory of trying to say something dirty without actually saying it.  I’ll let Paul tell that one:  “The line I liked best in it was, ‘What do you see when you turn out the light?’ … You’re talking about your genitals; that’s what it is.  … But I couldn’t say, ‘What do you see when you turn out the light?  your ####.’  It just doesn’t scan.”

As I discussed in 2019, this song was a rally around Ringo, and part of what I love about it is that it is evidence of the entire group working together – in fact the session last all night – in a way that was becoming increasingly uncommon.  Emerick called the session “a touching show of unity among the four Beatles.”  Ringo has closed all of his shows with this song since 1989.  Here’s a seemingly ageless Ringo still sounding in good voice just a dozen years ago (Jim Keltner sighting!):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19C5l_keLJU

Fun fact:  “Billy Shears” or “William Shears” was one of the names that “Paul is dead” conspiracy theorists came up with as the person who allegedly replaced Paul after his fatal car accident in 1966.

Guido Merkins

Ringo was, in many ways, the Beatle that the others rallied around.  In the 70s, it was Ringo who worked with every member of the band.  The Ringo album was the closest we ever got to a Beatles reunion with John, Paul, and George all contributing (albeit separately.)  So, it’s hardly surprising that when John and Paul wrote a song for Ringo on Sgt Pepper that they would hit on this theme and pen With A Little Help from My Friends.  The song perfectly sums up Ringo’s role in the Beatles and really his entire career.

The song started life as Bad Finger Boogie (John played it on piano with a bad finger) which eventually was the name of the band Badfinger.  John and Paul wrote the song mostly together and it had a limited vocal range, except that last note, which Ringo was very nervous about (but he nailed it.)  

The lyrics have some interesting things.  “What would you see when you turn out the lights?  I can’t tell you but I know it’s mine” is meant to suggest something dirty. Also the original line was “would you stand up and throw tomatoes at me” instead of “would you stand up and walk out on me” which Ringo insisted on changing because George once admitted to liking jelly beans (jelly babies in Britain) and they got pelted with them on stage.

I absolutely love the harmonies on this song.  John and Paul doing some of their best work around Ringo’s imperfect voice is just one of the most magical moments on any Beatles song.  If you think about the breakup too much, then listen to this song, it can make you emotional (well, for me anyway.)

Joe Cocker did one of the most famous of all Beatles covers with this song which was a hit single for him and was the theme for The Wonder Years.

My rank: 13

One my very first favorites. It captivated me the first time I heard my parents’ copy of SPLHCB when I was in 6th grade or so. The melody is one of the all-time toe tappers and Ringo does a great job with the vocals — the song is perfectly constructed for his limited range. The call-and-response is a great touch and this song may have the best-sounding bass part on an album full of them. 

I believe this was the only SPLHCB song to make my 90-minute cassette, as I mostly gravitated to stuff with more “edge.” ADITL is my highest-ranked song on the album (as I imagine is the case for a lot of people) but it was played to death on the radio back then. 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

As for the Joe Cocker version, I like it better when I pretend he’s covering Big Brother and the Holding Company or something like that.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

I Saw Her Standing There - 1963
2022 Ranking: 43
2022 Lists: 17
2022 Points: 181
Ranked Highest by: Worth(2) @ManOfSteelhead (5) Son1 (6) @John Maddens Lunchbox(9) @worrierking (12) @AAABatteries (12) @DocHolliday (13) 
2019 Ranking/Lists/Pts: 25/13/150

Getz:  Moved this classic up (binky down) 5 slots from 22 to 17. It still fell 18 slots from 2019. Worrierking finally shows up with his second song.

Krista4
My 2019 ranking:  41

2019 write-up:

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

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)  

2022 Supplement:  Meh, I remember being convinced by some of you in 2019 that there wasn’t anything creepy about that lyric, and so I’ll cede that point.  Given the competition, it still ended up around the same spot in my rankings this year anyway, which I’ve learned means that, according to @AAABatteries, I hate the Beatles.  My #20-40ish are somewhat interchangeable on any given day.  On the days this one is in my top 25, it’s largely due to its incredible energy, as well as George’s guitar work and Paul’s count-in, which blasts my brain every time leading into such an electrifying song.  This earlier take of the song, with no count-in, lacks a little energy at first but then starts ramping up especially around the guitar solo:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0v7AH0XK38  Go George go!!!

For his part, Paul has identified this as one of his very best works over the years.  He recalls writing it at Forthlin Road in 1962 (actual pic of the song being written - https://imgur.com/uZglCaN and that, while he doesn’t know exactly where it dredged from, like many of his songs he took snippets of ideas from other media, including the meter of a poem by Marriott Edgar, rhyming couplets of Shakespeare’s sonnets, and the musical influences of Hoagy Carmichael, George Gershwin, Johnny Mercer, and traditional Irish songwriting.  Looking back at it now, Paul sees a kind of teenage naivete and innocence that couldn’t be invented but came naturally at the time.  

Guido Merkins

One Two Three FAHHH!!!!  Maybe the best count-in in the history of pop music, the Beatles announced their presence forcefully on their very first album with I Saw Her Standing There.  I Saw Her Standing There was mostly a Paul song.  John helped him a bit with the lyrics, most notably with the first line which was “she was just 17, never been a beauty queen.”  John thought that was terrible and suggested “....you know what I mean”, which is great because you really don’t know what he means, but it allows the listener to fill in the blank with all kinds of stuff that’s probably better than what he actually meant.

The song is basically a Chuck Berry type song and a great song to open an album with getting it off to a rocking start.  I Saw Her Standing There is another song that I couldn’t believe wasn’t on the Red Album when I first heard it at the age of 12.  It’s one of the Beatles most well-known tracks.  If the Beatles had been one or two hit wonder with I Saw Her Standing There, they would still be remembered fondly.  But as we know, they went well beyond those early hits.

As I said, the song is a Chuck Berry song, but with the Beatles harmonies and Ringo banging away, but to me, the best part of the song is the guitar solo.  I think it’s just an absolute classic.  Not sounding like Chuck Berry or anybody else, George takes all of those influences and it just comes out totally Harrison.  

Great album opener and one of the best examples of Paul’s counting skills!

The beat is rollicking, the melody is infectious, the vocals ooze with excitement and the guitar solo is perfect. 

Neil Young and Crazy Horse performed this for a Paul tribute show. Neil got around the lyrical landmine by singing “She was just seventeen/And she wasn’t a beauty queen.” https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7gAZq46Yr8k

 

[BobbyLayne]

this might be George Harrison

 

[prosopis]

I also hate the Joe Cocker version of “With a Little Help From My Friends” but I did gain some appreciation for why it’s such a significant song when I watched the Woodstock documentary.  From what I remember, it was something like Cocker was the first artist up after a huge rainstorm had trashed the place and everyone was in low spirits.  When he sang the song it was a special feeling of togetherness for all the people at the concert, that they could help each other and they were all friends and they would get through all of it and enjoy the concert by looking out for one another.

I still never want to hear Cocker sing it again, but it gives me a good feeling to think about the sentiment.

I don't mind the Joe Cocker version. Seems like I am in the minority with that. 

 

[prosopis]

This is my favorite love ballad of Paul's with the Beatles. It's simple and perfect. I love the latin feel of the notes coming out of  George's classical guitar, and I like the subtle but great bongo and clave sounds from Ringo, and then there is John's gentle strumming on the acoustic guitar. All these little things make this song special, and of course there is Paul's voice. The clearness of his voice is simply sublime. It's a beautiful song.

Great write up, thank you.

* edited to correct spelling. This is why I have a tough time breaking into the paperback writing industry.

 

[prosopis]

this might be George Harrison

This is blowing my mind.

 

[simey]

Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da

This song makes me want to start clogging.

 

[krista4]

Welcome back, @simey!  How did your trip go?

 

[dickey moe]

Murph is right, it’s on the no votes list. One of the biggest shockers there.

Wow. Completely off the list? Worse than Rocky Raccoon? You guys are cruel. 

 

[simey]

Welcome back, @simey!  How did your trip go?

It went well.  The first night there was a brief heated political exchange, and I nipped it in the bud fast. Politics were not brought back up after that. The second night the instruments were brought out around midnight, and all of us danced, and I shook my egg. I put them on a table in the "dance" room this morning, and took a picture.