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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)

Getzlaf15 said:
Here Comes The Sun
2022 Ranking: 6
2022 Lists: 39
2022 Points: 618
Ranked Highest by: @Dr. Octopus (1) @Tom Hagen (1) Alex (1) @Westerberg (2) @turnjose7 (3) @Alex P Keaton (3) Daughter (3) OH Dad (3) @Gr00vus (4) @worrierking (4) @Pip's Invitation (4) @Uruk-Hai (5) @simey (5) @falguy (5) @fatguyinalittlecoat (5)
2019 Ranking/Lists/Pts: 2/29/463

Getz: One 16th place vote from 4th place, 10 points. 15 Top 5 and 26 Top 10 votes. Yet only 10 more votes and 155 more points than 2019, and thus, falls from #2 to #6. I had this at #22, down from #14 in 2019.

Krista4
My 2019 ranking:  17

2019 write-up:

Here Comes The Sun (Abbey Road, 1969)

Although this song is musically much more intricate and complicated than it seems, I'm not going to drone on and on about the musicality or analyze the structure, because what I love about this song is that it's joyous and luminous and perfect.  The song came about in a way that, based on the lyrics, isn't at all surprising.  George was getting fed up with all the business parts of being a musician, including all the tension at Apple due to the hiring of Allan Klein, the meetings with bankers and lawyers, the never-ending paperwork:  "Anyway, it seems as if winter in England goes on forever; by the time spring comes you really deserve it. So one day I decided I was going to sag off Apple and I went over to Eric Clapton's house. The relief of not having to go and see all those dopey accountants was wonderful, and I walked around the garden with one of Eric's acoustic guitars and wrote Here Comes The Sun."

Sadly, John did not participate in this song due to first his car accident and then...I dunno, being John, I guess.  The song isn't lacking anything by John's absence, though.  George's vocal on this song is so sweet and pure, and he's supported well by a mysterious group of orchestral musicians that have never been identified, Paul on lovely backing vocals and bass, and especially by Ringo doing what Ringo does best - providing subtle support for the song and then adding a bit of depth where needed with fills and changes.  The time signatures and changes in the song are incredible, but since I vowed not to analyze composition and structure, I"ll just tell you that George first described the song to Ringo as being "in seven-and-one-half time," and the song is variously in 7/8, 11/8, 4/4, and 2/4!

One unusual part worth mentioning is that George using a Moog synthesizer, which had only just been invented and George had had specially made.  George admitted that when it arrived he had absolutely no idea how to use this monstrous contraption, which I think turned out well because the simple sounds he was able to get out of it complemented the song beautifully without going overboard.

Seems fitting that the last song from "Quiet Beatle" would be so quietly perfect.

Mr. krista:  "That’s a great song.  Seems like a song Stevie Wonder could have written, but with a great George Harrison riff."

Suggested cover:  Please enjoy one of my top five favorite Beatles covers of all time:  Richie Havens  Here's his entire set at Woodstock, including this song

2022 Supplement:  Welcome to my top 10, “Here Comes The Sun”!  I don’t know how I left it off in 2019 and blame temporary insanity. 

In late 2019, a previously unreleased version of this song was included in the Abbey Road 50th anniversary sets.  Take 9 shows a fully formed song and George in beautiful voice, with the unexpected weak spot being Ringo’s drumming:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIt8GN2sr4I  No worries, though, as he mastered the “seven-and-a-half time” in the finished product.

Since I don’t have a lot more to say about this wonderful song, instead I’ll talk about his lovely companion song, “Here Comes the Moon,” which was released in 1979 and was my #141 favorite post-Beatles song:

141. Here Comes The Moon (George Harrison, 1979)  Spotify  YouTube

(George #43)

According to Stevie Nicks, who happened by and helped on the song, this began as a parody of “Here Comes The Sun,” but they wrote about the moon because they were “all such night birds.”  The song bears little resemblance to “Here Comes The Sun,” though; to me it emanates a dreaminess that seems fitting for the fade into nighttime as the moon appears.  While the lyrics might not seem to amount to much, I think they give a firm sense of place, as I can picture myself in Hawaii where George wrote the song, watching the moon arrive with a sense of anticipation.  This was written in the same timeframe as “Your Love Is Forever” and released on the same album and, like that one, comes from a place of contentment in George’s life.  It feels mystical and hypnotic in describing a sublime experience for George.  Also, those descending arpeggios on the guitar do it for me, as do the Beatle-y layered vocals.  I could do without the twinkling sounds, which I assume represent stars, but it’s a small-ish quibble.

Guido Merkins

By 1969 things were bad for the Beatles.  The main issue was that, since Brian Epstein’s death, the Beatles were no longer only in the business of creating and recording music.  They now had to play business man, which none of them were thrilled to have to do.  Especially George Harrison.

Winters in England are harsh so there is great joy once spring finally arrives.  One day, George Harrison channeled teenage George Harrison, but instead of skipping school, he ‘sagged off' another business meeting at Apple and went over to Eric Clapton’s house.  Sitting in the garden with one of Eric’s guitars he felt great to NOT be at work and able to enjoy the beautiful spring day.   So lyrics like “long cold lonely winter” and “I feel that ice is slowly melting” are a direct reference to the winter finally being over.

The most distinguishing characteristic of the song is the fingerpicking throughout the song, played high up on the neck of the guitar with a capo on the 7th fret and noodling about in D major.  It has kind of a ringing or a chiming type sound, almost like If I Needed Someone.  Also, there is on this song, and other songs on Abbey Road, the Beatles first use of a Moog synthesizer in the intro.  Ringo’s drumming is great too on this song, especially since this is one of those songs with shifting time signatures.  4/4 through most of it, but changing to 11/8 and 7/8 during the “sun sun sun, here it comes” part.  George was absolutely channeling his knowledge of Indian music with the shifting time signatures.  

Here Comes the Sun is a song I was not familiar with when I first started listening to the Beatles and, for whatever reason, at first I thought it was John. But as it is, George, but this time, was capable of writing songs as good as John and Paul and this is one of them. 
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Here Comes The Sun

64 List Rank: 4

64 List Voters/Points: 21/961

64 List Top 5: 6 @Tom Hagen (1) @turnjose7 (3) @Pip's Invitation (4) @Uruk-Hai (5) @simey (5) @falguy (5)

64 List Top 10: 12 (7, 8, 9, 10, 10, 10)

64 List 1-25 votes: 16 (20, 21, 22, 23)

64 List 26-64 votes: 5

I had this at #20.

2 - 6 - 4 - Here Comes The Sun

 
Getzlaf15 said:
In My Life
2022 Ranking: 2
2022 Lists: 50
2022 Points: 859
Ranked Highest by: @lardonastick (1) @PIK95 (1) @ManOfSteelhead(1) @Dennis Castro (1) @Shaft41 (1) @krista4 (1) @wikkidpissah (1) @AAABatteries (1) @Wrighteous Ray (1) @MAC_32 (1) @Alex P Keaton (1) @simey (2) @Tom Hagen (2) @Ted Lange as your Bartender (2) @neal cassady (3) @Just Win Baby (3) Craig (3)
2019 Ranking/Lists/Pts: 4/22/407

Getz: ELEVEN #1 votes! 23 Top 5 and 30 Top 10 votes was slightly less than Medley there, but there seven more total votes than Medley, most in the #13-19 range, gave them the #2 nod by 43 points. 28 more votes and 452 more points than 2019!
It was my #9 song in 2019, because this was the song that my daughter chose for our dance together at her wedding. While I’m still grateful for that moment, she got divorced over a year ago.  :kicksrock:

Krista4
My 2019 ranking:  1

2019 write-up:

In My Life (Rubber Soul, 1965)

There are only two songs I’ve ever heard that I thought were perfect in their composition and recording, by which I mean that I listen to them and can’t think of a single sound that I would add or subtract or change, or tempo or meter change I would make, not even a single pause I’d extend or contract.  One is Big Star’s “The Ballad of El Goodo.”  And then there’s this.

In 1964, a journalist named Kenneth Allsop asked John why he didn’t write more personal songs, such as the poetry John wrote in his book, In His Own Write. Inspired by that question along with his then-current fascination with Bob Dylan, John set out out to write what he considered the first song to be written specifically about his own life, “a journalistic vision of a trip from home to downtown on a bus naming every sight.”   John considered this “remembrance of friends and lovers of the past” his first major piece of work:   “Up till then it had all been sort of glib and throwaway. And that was the first time I consciously put my literary part of myself into the lyric.” 

Though John wrote the lyrics, Paul contributed significantly to the composition of the song by contributing some of the melody, including on the bridges, as well as the three-part harmonies.  Paul later claimed a bit more, making this one of a couple of songs where the two vocally and publicly disagreed on a substantial part of the songwriting credit, but I don’t want to focus on that here.

As it turns out, it’s hard for me to write about perfection.  This isn’t a song I want to break down element by element, because the beauty arises from each element working perfectly with the others. That said, I’ll list a few of the highlights for me:

The piano part that I thought for years was a harpsichord.  Actually that effect was purposeful, as George Martin describes it:  “I did it with what I call a 'wound up' piano, which was at double speed – partly because you get a harpsichord sound by shortening the attack of everything, but also because I couldn't play it at real speed anyway. So I played it on piano at exactly half normal speed, and down an octave. When you bring the tape back to normal speed again, it sounds pretty brilliant.”  Fittingly, Martin threw down this bit while John was having a break for tea, likely having left with one of his usual vague but insistent directives such as, “Play it like Bach!” or “Make it sound Elizabethan!”

Those harmonies weaving in and out, bringing emphasis to the lines John sings solo.  And John’s vocal, among my favorites from him.

That extra beat/pause just before John goes into the falsetto near the end.

And John’s falsetto near the end.

George’s short but poignant guitar intro.

Drums and percussion.  Mr. krista elaborates on this below.  I’ll just mention the little triplets before dropping back into syncopation on the fifth and seventh lines of the verses.   Subtle but sublime.

I understand the lyrics are great, but I don’t care.  What I hear is only how they’re sung, which is wistfully but with nearly equal parts sadness and contentment.  I don’t have to listen to the words but from only the vocal sound can picture John thinking both fondly and with melancholy about earlier times, not just sappy nostalgia but a clear-eyed reminiscence along with an equal appreciation for what he has today.

Rather than listening to the parts, though, I prefer just to let this one wash over me as a perfect whole.

Mr. krista:  “You know how I feel about this song.  The measured considered drumming is perfect for a song about someone considering or taking stock of their life, and looking back on choices they’ve made with affection at the remove of a few years.  It’s simply perfect.  A hack would do it too fast.  He wisely doesn’t hit the high hat on each note because it’s in eighth notes, which would sound crazy fast and rushed and not measured.  But there’s nothing keeping time – he uses the snare because he’s a lefty, but the snare is always right there where it needs to be, just like the protagonist, who wanders around and is there.  Everything in the song is about the rest of the song.  It works beautifully.  It’s such a beautiful and simple sentiment that it can be expressed perfectly in that short amount of time.  It’s just…great.”

Suggested covers:  Johnny Cash  And because he credits The Beatles with his entire musical career, Ozzy Osbourne

2022 Supplement:  How do you improve upon perfection?  No, no, not my 2019 write-up.  The song.  You can’t, and it’s still my #1.

Guido Merkins

John was trying to write a song about all the “places he remembers” and so he’s listing all these places (including Penny Lane), but soon grew tired of the idea because he thought it was boring.  John used this song as an example of craftsmanship vs inspiration as he said he tried to sit down and write a song, but the song only came to him when he gave that up, then  the song appeared for him.  However it came about, there is no doubt that In My Life is one of John’s most enduring songs.

The song consists of lyrics which recall the people and places in John’s life.  The musical lineup is the standard guitar, bass and drums, but with a piano solo in a baroque style played by George Martin.  The solo was played at half tempo, then the tape was sped up so it sounds a bit like a harpsichord, which gives the song the feeling of a standard.  I like the little guitar riff that George plays at the beginning of the song, at the end of each chorus and at the end of the song.  I also love the drum beat by Ringo.  It kind of goes back to the beat on All I’ve Got to Do from With the Beatles.  This is the perfect example of Ringo’s less is more school.  I think every drummer alive would play 4 beats on the high hat on that song.  Ringo plays one beat per measure on the high hat.  Minimalist and perfect for the song.

There aren’t many other Beatles songs that announce themselves as a standard as much as In My Life.  Maybe Yesterday is the other one.  Maybe Here, There and Everywhere.  My guess is a lot of people want In My Life played at their funeral.  I know I do.  It says everything.  
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In My Life

64 List Rank: 3

64 List Voters/Points: 20/1126

64 List Top 5: 12 @lardonastick (1) @ManOfSteelhead (1) @Shaft41 (1) @krista4 (1) @AAABatteries (1) @Wrighteous Ray (1) @MAC_32 (1) @simey (2) @BobbyLayne (2) @Tom Hagen (3) @Oliver Humanzee (4) @Binky The Doormat (4)

64 List Top 10: 14 (6, 😎

64 List 1-25 votes: 18 (12, 18, 19, 24)

64 List 26-64 votes: 2

Had the most first place votes with seven. (30.4% of all 1st place votes)

I had this at #28.

4 - 2 - 3 - In My Life

 
Getzlaf15 said:
While My Guitar Gently Weeps

64 List Rank: 5

64 List Voters/Points: 20/933

64 List Top 5: 6  @ConstruxBoy (1) @Pip's Invitation (2) @AAABatteries (2) @MAC_32 (3) @BobbyLayne (4) @Tom Hagen (5)

64 List Top 10: 10 (7, 7, 10, 10)

64 List 1-25 votes: 14 (12, 14, 20, 23)

64 List 26-64 votes: 6

Only song to have a vote in all of the Top 5 slots.

I had this #12

3 - 5 - 5 - While My Guitar Gently Weeps
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2 (really 1B)

Getzlaf15 said:
Here Comes The Sun

64 List Rank: 4

64 List Voters/Points: 21/961

64 List Top 5: 6 @Tom Hagen (1) @turnjose7 (3) @Pip's Invitation (4) @Uruk-Hai (5) @simey (5) @falguy (5)

64 List Top 10: 12 (7, 8, 9, 10, 10, 10)

64 List 1-25 votes: 16 (20, 21, 22, 23)

64 List 26-64 votes: 5

I had this at #20.

2 - 6 - 4 - Here Comes The Sun
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4 (RingoBingo!)

Getzlaf15 said:
In My Life

64 List Rank: 3

64 List Voters/Points: 20/1126

64 List Top 5: 12 @lardonastick (1) @ManOfSteelhead (1) @Shaft41 (1) @krista4 (1) @AAABatteries (1) @Wrighteous Ray (1) @MAC_32 (1) @simey (2) @BobbyLayne (2) @Tom Hagen (3) @Oliver Humanzee (4) @Binky The Doormat (4)

64 List Top 10: 14 (6, 😎

64 List 1-25 votes: 18 (12, 18, 19, 24)

64 List 26-64 votes: 2

Had the most first place votes with seven. (30.4% of all 1st place votes)

I had this at #28.

4 - 2 - 3 - In My Life
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89 (um, still in the top half?)

 
Getzlaf15 said:
Abbey Road Medley
2022 Ranking: 3
2022 Lists: 43
2022 Points: 816
Ranked Highest by: @simey (1) @DocHolliday (1) @neal cassady (1) @turnjose7 (1) @zamboni (1) @Dwayne Hoover (1) @shuke (1) @Ted Lange as your Bartender (1) @jwb (2) @pecorino (2) @ekbeats (2) @Uruk-Hai (3) @Dr. Octopus (3) @Binky The Doormat (3) @Pip's Invitation (3) @Dinsy Ejotuz (3) @krista4 (3) @Anarchy99 (3) @Westerberg (3)  
2019 Ranking/Lists/Pts: 5/20/397

Getz comments:  EIGHT first place votes! (2nd highest) and 19 TOP THREE VOTES. 23 more votes and 419 more points than in 2019, and moves from #5 to #3, Medley only had one more vote (43-42) than "Hey Jude," but had a 24-10 advantage in Top 4 votes.
After 35 lists were in: 14 votes for 264 points. 9th place.
Final 36 lists: 29 votes for 552 points.
Missed #2 by 43 points. #2 had seven more votes.
26 Top 5 votes and 31 Top 10 votes

Krista4
My 2019 ranking:  3

2019 write-up:

Abbey Road medley (Abbey Road, 1969)

First, because I promised, and what I need in my life is more ranking, that I would indicate my favorite segments within this song as well, here we go:

She Came In Through The Bathroom Window

Polythene Pam

The End

Golden Slumbers

You Never Give Me Your Money

Carry That Weight

Sun King

Mean Mr. Mustard

This is just phenomenal and probably doesn’t get to be #1 or #2 just because there’s so much to it, including some parts I like significantly less than others.  At its peaks, though, it’s my favorite song; as I already mentioned in a prior write-up (that no one read), the last 23 seconds of “Polythene Pam” leading into the first 47 seconds of “She Came In Through The Bathroom Window” is one of my three favorite Beatles song, along with the bridge in “Something” and the drum fills in “Strawberry Fields Forever.”

Paul described the idea of the “montage” of songs as they referred to it:  ““We did it this way because John and I had a number of songs, which were great as they were, but we'd finished them.  It often happens that you write the first verse of a song and then you've said it all, and can't be bothered to write a second verse, repeating or giving a variation.  So, I said to John, 'Have you got any bits and pieces, which we can make into one long track?'  And he had, and we made a piece that makes sense all the way through.”

While it might have been a desire to use up some loose ends, Paul also had a vision of this melding into an “operatic structure,” or perhaps it could be called “symphonic” instead.  It certainly has that feel to me, successfully combining disparate parts in a flowing fashion, displaying a dozen or more musical styles within the context of one integrated piece.  I think we can call it A BEATLES SHOWCASE!

Mr. krista on the medley as a whole:  “Better than the sum of its parts.  Guided by Voices records remind me of this.  This mixture of disparate styles thrown in there.  In a good Guided by Voices record I usually hate 30% of it but somehow together it seems so complete ”

It’s going to be easier, though not in any way freaking easy, to break this down piece by piece.

You Never Give Me Your Money

This was written by Paul as a rare protest song from him, against the new manager that he had not wanted to bring on:  “This was my lambasting Allen Klein’s attitude to us:  no money, just funny paper, all promises and it never works out.” Like John’s “Happiness Is A Warm Gun,” it’s a mashing together of three different parts. It’s a medley within The Medley!  I love this one; it’s like a “Best of Paul,” with so many different parts and segues and styles thrown in.  His vocal work is fantastic in this song segment, as are all the chord and tempo changes that I won’t go into because I have eight parts to write up.  Sheesh. 

The first portion is the skewering of Allen Klein that Paul mentioned.  George agreed with the sentiment:  “'’Funny paper' – that's what we get. We get bits of paper saying how much is earned and what this and that is, but we never actually get it in pounds, shillings and pence. We've all got a big house and a car and an office, but to actually get the money we've earned seems impossible."  It starts with a melancholy vocal and poignant piano that emphasizes the downbeat nature with some nice pregnant pauses, then adds urgency from the increased tom-tom sound and insistent vocals into the next section.

The second portion is a look back at how the band spent its early years, with some nostalgia but no sappiness.  It describes how the guys didn’t have many prospects and were uncertain their futures, until they decided to dive headlong into the music business and pursue “that magic feeling.”  I love Paul’s jaunty piano work, his bass playing, and old-fashioned ragtime sound, and in particular his singing style and the way he presents “that magic feeling.”

The third portion, including the guitar solo leading into it, is my favorite part; this section is another reference (like “Two Of Us”) to Paul and Linda’s penchant for hopping in the car and getting lost in the countryside.  The rising vocals swell into a major key while Ringo offers a nice counterpoint on to every measure, with guitars and tambourines increasing the urgency, until they fall away into that countdown sequence that you probably find fun and intriguing (if you’re me) or annoying.

Mr. krista: “McCartney was the band dad, wasn’t he? This is Band Dad saying like “#### you guys.”  But it really kind of rocks.”

Suggested cover:  Glenn Tilbrook

Sun King

My favorite part of this one is the soaring transition into it from the prior section, which, as in “Tomorrow Never Knows,” Paul accomplished by including some tape loops, this time with bells, birds, bubbles and crickets.  That transition sets a nice dreamy mood, but this segment of the medley is kind of boring to me, and I’m oddly not that into the rich vocals, including the harmonies.  Maybe it’s all slightly too languid for my taste, even though it sets an appropriately stark mood.  If this comes on the radio in isolation, I always think it’s going to be “Don’t Let Me Down” and then get disappointed.  Paul does a nice bass line, though, as well as some interesting counter-melodies on the organ, and I’m amused by the partly-Spanish gibberish they string together. John thoughtfully called this segment, “a piece of garbage I had around.”    

Fun fact: The guitar part was heavily influenced by Fleetwood Mac’s “Albatross.”   

Mr. krista: “I don’t really care for it singularly that much but I like its inclusion in there.  It breaks it up.” 

Suggested cover:  Gomez

Mean Mr Mustard

This segment was written along with “Polythene Pam” while the lads were in India.  Once they decided to make the medley, John changed the reference in this part from “sister Shirley” to “sister Pam” so that it would link with the latter.  John’s inspiration:  “I'd read somewhere in the newspaper about this mean guy who hid five-pound notes, not up his nose but somewhere else. No, it had nothing to do with cocaine.”Although this is my least favorite section of the medley, I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s “a bit of crap,” as John did.  I like Paul’s cheesy backing vocal and the silliness of the segment in this small of a dosage, but I find myself just killing time to get to the next segment.

As a reminder from my prior write-up (which no one read), this segment was intended to be followed by “Her Majesty,” and when the latter was cut out of the medley, this one lost its final chord, which became part of “Her Majesty” instead. The build-up in this song seems to lead well into “Polythene Pam” anyway.

Mr. krista: “I don’t care for it all that much.”

Suggested cover:  Cornershop

Polythene Pam

LOOK OUT!

As I stated above, the end of this building into the beginning of the next segment is not just my favorite part of this medley, but my favorite part of almost any Beatles song.  This was recorded through with “She Came In Through the Bathroom Window,” so it makes sense that that transition is so compelling.  I get a little bored with the prior two portions of the medley, but beginning here and all the way through “The End,” it rocks my face off.

The character “Polythene Pam” was conceived from a combination of two people.  The first was a girl nicknamed “Polythene Pat,” whom the guys knew from their Cavern Club days, and who garnered the nickname because of her proclivity to eat polythene.  She had a friend who worked at a factory and got her a never-ending supply, which she ate raw as the Good Lord intended, or sometimes would burn and then eat it after it cooled down.  Nom!  The second inspiration was the girlfriend of poet Royston Ellis, who joined John and Ellis for a sleepover (ahem) one night.  As described by Ellis:  “We'd read all these things about leather and we didn't have any leather but I had my oilskins and we had some polythene bags from somewhere. We all dressed up in them and wore them in bed. John stayed the night with us in the same bed. I don't think anything very exciting happened and we all wondered what the fun was in being 'kinky.'”  John remembered it as an actual sexual encounter, though:  “perverted sex in a polythene bag.”

I love every second of this segment, starting with John’s stabbing riffs during the intro, so thrashing for an acoustic guitar, followed by George and Paul joining with their distinctive guitar and bass lines and Ringo on his tom-toms, continuing through John’s Scouse vocal and then the swirling harmonies.  The entire segment is an intense propulsive groove and full of blasting energy, but it’s George’s guitar solo and that final build that make this, together with the next segment, the most rocking part of the song.

Fun fact: You can hear Paul overshoot his bass note ~0:45.  He wanted to fix it, but the others insisted he leave in the mistake.

Mr. krista: “Love it  Awesome track.  Rocks super hard.  Sounds like a great Who song.  Better because the Beatles are a better band.  Really funny lyrics, too.”

Suggested cover:   Bee Gees

She Came In Through The Bathroom Window

Though there are some competing stories, this is most likely based on an incident involving the “Apple Scruffs,” the name given to the girls who would hang out around the studio hoping to see the Beatles.  A few of them found a ladder and actually entered Paul’s house through an open bathroom window while Paul wasn’t home, proceeding to rummage around, meet Martha the sheepdog, and even abscond with some photos and clothing.

As discussed, the lead in to this is perfect, and then Paul’s “oh look out!’ launches us excitedly into the pulse of this song.  I ####### love the harmonies on the chorus, love the guitar work and especially the little “responses” at the end of every line, love the interplay of the bass and guitar, love Ringo’s fills that keep propelling everything ever-more-urgently along, love the off-the-beat handclaps.  My face is missing having been rocked off.  “Oh yeah.”

Mr. krista:  “Also really funny lyrics.  I really like it.  It’s that jivey, bouncy number.  If Paul McCartney had a little less talent and a little more hacker, he’d so be [name redacted.”]  I think he’s just too decent of a person.  Or maybe just so much more true to the music.”

Suggested cover:  Ike & Tina Turner  (see Bee Gees on "Polythene Pam" above)

Golden Slumbers

First and foremost, IT’S FUNNY BECAUSE IT’S TRUE.   :lmao:

Now that we have that out of the way, back to the serious stuff.  This one was conceived by Paul based on a lullaby he found in a songbook at his father’s house.  The song contained lyrics by the poet Thomas Dekker, but Paul couldn’t read music so adapted the lyrics using his own tune.  This was recorded at the same time as “Carry That Weight,” which might account for the fabulous transition.  Speaking of transitions, I wish there were one between this and “Polythene Pam” before it; sounds too chopping to me without that.  These two were initially recorded while John was out due to his car accident; John recorded some backing vocals for “Carry That Weight” about six weeks later but doesn’t appear on this section, so just Paul, Ringo, and George here, along with about a squillion orchestral musicians.

There’s a lot of speculation about the words’ meanings, from mourning the disintegration of the band to longing for his mother to wondering why krista4 ditched him (I might have added that last one), but I don’t particularly care about the lyrics on this one.  Paul’s vocal is the standout, as even Alleged Paul Hater Mr. krista states below; it is gently yearning and chillingly beautiful.  It would be impossible to choose a favorite Paul vocal among the Beatles songs, just as it would be a monumental, perhaps Christ- or at least Salk-like accomplishment to rank 204 Beatles songs, but if one were to be so brazen, she might rank this near the top.  George also contributes a Paul-like fantastic bass line that adds to the emotional reach of this segment.

It’s a perfect lullaby…you know, other than the shout-y bits.

Mr. krista:  “Paul’s vocal is the standout.  Once the lullaby is over, I think you could do without the strings.  It’s strong enough with just his voice and the Beatles.”

Suggested cover:  Ben Folds  (see also Phil Collins on "The End" below)

Carry That Weight

My notes from our initial listening sessions said simply, “####### rocks, dawg.”  No idea why I was channeling a Samuel L. Jackson/Randy Jackson mash-up.

This is another of the segments dealing with Paul’s dissatisfaction with Allen Klein: “We were taking so much acid and doing so much drugs and all this Klein #### was going on and getting crazier and crazier and crazier. Carry that weight a long time: like for ever!  … It was serious, paranoid heaviness and it was just very uncomfortable.”  Poor Allen Klein:  unlike Jane Asher who at least got some love songs, too, he got a bunch of Paul’s #### songs.  Wait, no, he was a #### who deserved it.  

After a new lyrical section (“Boy, you’re gonna carry that weight”), the segment reprises “You Never Give Me Your Money” with new lyrics in its section section, and then repeats the guitar’s arpeggio from the counting section to lead into “The End.” The first part is fantastic and notable for having all four Beatles singing in unison, with Ringo prominently heard!  And I love these reprises as a way to link the entire medley together, and besides I loved them in the first segment, too.  

Mr. krista: “This is a great idea for them all to sing about themselves.  Also a great sing-along idea.  Can’t play that in a bar without half the people singing along.”

Suggested cover:  It ain't gonna be for everyone:  Noah and the Whale  (see also Phil Collins on "The End" below)

The End

It’s A RINGO SHOWCASE!  OK, maybe not quite, but it does feature the only extended Ringo drum solo in Beatles history, and I’m running out of chances to declare anything A RINGO SHOWCASE!  No other songs had contained such a solo, because Ringo in particular hated them. Per Paul:  “Ringo would never do drum solos. He hated those guys who went on and on, incessantly banging while the band goes off and has a cup of tea or something.  And when he joined The Beatles we said, "Ah, what about drum solos then?", thinking he might say, 'Yeah, I'll have a five-hour one in the middle of your set,' and he said, 'I hate 'em!'  We said, 'Great! We love you!'” But on this segment, Paul asked Ringo if he would do a “token solo,” which Ringo resisted until George Martin convinced him to the “bloody solo” he hated.  Geoff Emerick got a kick out of the whole scenario:  “Usually, you have to try to talk drummers out of doing solos! He didn't want to do it, but everybody said, 'No, no, it'll be fantastic!' So he gave in – and turned in a bloody marvelous performance! … It’s not just a drummer going off.”  Ringo’s solo is so beautifully Ringo; as the Human Metronome, it focuses on the beat more than ostentatious flourishes, then reintroduces the full band with a helluva groove.

In addition to the RINGO SHOWCASE!, this segment is notable for containing the band's only instance of Paul, John, and George playing the guitar solo together, which amazingly was a John idea, and he even sent Yoko out of the studio for it to be recorded in private.  In each sequence, the solo begins with Paul, moves to George, and ends with John; I find George’s parts particularly brilliant..  They managed it in one take, which Emerick described resulting from “all the bad blood, all the fighting, all the crap that had gone down between the three former friends was forgotten….  John, Paul, and George looked like they had gone back in time, like they were kids again, playing together for the sheet enjoyment of it.”  He called their joy as a heartwarming “high point of summer 1969,” never failing to make him smile.

Paul’s “very cosmic, philosophical” (per John) final line – “And in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love you make” – sounds kind of simplistic to me, but, whether or not intended, it formed a fitting and poignant farewell, and a graceful exit as the last line recorded by the Beatles together on a record.  The orchestral flourish that follows is appropriately grand and majestic, then marching downward into a thoughtful finish that leaves you feeling like it’s all been tied neatly together.  

Mr krista: “Love the jam in the middle.  I think I and many people first heard that on Paul’s Boutique.  I’d like to know how they recorded Ringo’s drums to sound so monstrous in that solo. Sounded like Dave Grohl or something. Must have festooned that place with 15 microphones.”

Suggested cover:  I wanted to find one with just "The End" in isolation, but since there was nothing suitable, in honor of the RINGO SHOWCASE!, here's Phil Collins on the last three segments.

2022 Supplement:  Oh HELL no. 

Guido Merkins

When John and Paul agreed to record Abbey Road, John wanted a straight forward rock album, just a collection of songs.  Paul wanted to create kind of a suite of songs and connect them.  So the compromise was the side one was just songs.  Side two was the suite of songs.  This is how we get the Abbey Road Medley.

The medley starts with Paul’s You Never Give Me Your Money, which refers to Allan Klein literally never giving money only “funny paper.”  Then goes to John’s Sun King which starts when You Never Give Me Your Money fades with crickets.  Sun King features some mock Latin/Spanish that the Beatles had fun with.  Puns like “cake-and-eat-a” and “chicka-ferdy”, which means FU in Liverpool.  Then comes John again with Mean Mr Mustard about a miserly old man who kept a “10 bob note up his nose.”  Then a very forceful stumming on an acoustic that sounds like an electric (the Who and Stones were probably influences here), which brings us to John’s Polythene Pam, a song which I’ve always though of like Long Tall Sally, a girl “so good looking she looks like a man.”  I love the line “she’s the kind of a girl that makes the ‘News of the World’” in John’s very strong Liverpool accent.  Makes me smile whenever he sings it.  Then there is this great chord progression which gets them from Polythene Pan to She Came in Through the Bathroom Window by Paul.  Apparently this really happened to Paul.  A fan tried to get in to him through the bathroom window.  The song ends and there is a brief moment of silence.

Then the final song cycle begins with Paul’s Golden Slumbers, which is a gentle piano ballad that Paul got the lrycis from some other song, but made up his own melody.  Then Ringo comes in for Carry that Weight with the Beatles (except John who was recovering from an accident) for Carry That Weight.  There is a brief refernce to You Never Give Me Your Money on the line “I never give you my pillow….”  For the finale, which begins with “Oh yeah, alright….” we hear the ONLY recorded drum solo in Ringo’s career followed by a lead guitar dual from Paul, George, and John (in that order) before giving was to a single piano note and the line “And in the end.  The love you take is equal to the love you make” and it ends.

There is so much to say about the Medley.  It seems to reference the Beatles past (yeah yeah yeah in Polythene Pam) and yet break new ground (drum and extended guitar solos were not usually a part of their act).  It is a unique experience in their catalogue and a huge influence on every prog rock act in the 70s, for better and for worse.  I love the solos and if you listen close, you can really hear and tell which one is which (they each play approx a bar before the next one plays and go through 3 cycles).  John is the easiest to tell because it’s pure rhythm.  I love the way they go from song to song, sometimes by fading, sometime by actually playing their way to the next song.  I love George’s little flourish at the very end.  Perfect way to end a Beatles album, or was it?  If you listen long enough there is one of the first hidden track in the history of rock.  Her Majesty was supposed to be in the medley between Mean Mr Mustard and Polythene Pam.  Paul didn’t like it’s placement, so told the engineer to cut it out.  He did and stuck it to the end of the tape.  Paul liked the way it sounded that way, so they kept it.
Click to expand...
Abbey Road Medley

64 List Rank: 2

64 List Voters/Points: 21/1152

64 List Top 5: 12 @simey (1) @Binky The Doormat (1) @DocHolliday (1) @turnjose7 (1) @shuke (1) @MAC_32 (2) @Uruk-Hai (3) @heckmanm (3) @Pip's Invitation (3) @krista4 (3) @Wrighteous Ray (3) @landrys hat (4)

64 List Top 10: 13 (7)

64 List 1-25 votes: 17 (13, 15, 16, 22)

64 List 26-64 votes: 4

Five #1 votes was second most.

I had this at #27.

5 - 3 - 2 - Abbey Road Medley

 
Getzlaf15 said:
A Day In The Life
2022 Ranking: 1
2022 Lists: 51
2022 Points: 949
Ranked Highest by: @Guido Merkins (1) @worrierking (1) @BobbyLayne (1) @falguy (1) Slug (1) @Westerberg (1) @Oliver Humanzee (2) @DocHolliday (2) @Yankee23Fan (2) @wikkidpissah (2) @shuke (2) @Just Win Baby (2) @Alex P Keaton (2) @lardonastick (3) Holly (3) @ProstheticRGK (3) @pecorino (3) @simey (3) @ConstruxBoy (3)
2019 Ranking/Lists/Pts: 1/28/566

Getz: 26 Top 5 votes (tied for most) and 40 Top 10 votes (9 more than any other song). First place by 90 points! Back-to-back winner!

Krista4
My 2019 ranking:  6

2019 write-up:

A Day In The Life (Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967)

It's opposite day in the write-ups; I'm not going to say much about this song, while I have comparatively a dissertation from Mr. krista. I'm not saying much, because c'mon.  There are like whole books that have written about just that final chord, so no one needs me talking about how much I love the drum fills (which are amazing, by the way).  I'm far from alone in stating that this is the best song the Beatles ever recorded.  It might be the best song anyone has ever recorded.

Mr. krista:  "That’s a pretty great song.  I like the part where you can hear someone talking, counting bars out loud on a shaker, that was supposed to be edited out but they ended up leaving it in.  The recording of that song took about 34 hours.  The entire Please Please Me album was 10:45.  Things were different then.  Can’t tell if it’s a major or a minor chord at the end.  Clearly many different instruments, but I don’t know if they’re all tuned differently.  I like the sped up part.  Always thought that was one’s life flashing before one’s eyes.  It might be the last time you hear the Beatles all working meaningfully toward the same goal.  The atonal, discordant crescendo – there’s whole genres of music based on that, and I really like a lot of those records.  It’s hard to believe that the most popular band in the world was doing stuff like this.  That’s just bonkers to me.  It’d be like if Taylor Swift put out a drony, death-metal record.  How is that possible?"

Suggested cover:  Chris Cornell

2022 Supplement:  I still resist the idea that I could write up in a few paragraphs a song about which entire books have been written. But I’ll give some of Paul’s most recent thoughts on that final orchestral section.  At the time, he had been into a lot of avant garde music, especially John Cage, and wanted to have an extraordinary instrumental piece in the song.  Paul talked to George Martin and gave the instruction for each musician to go from the lowest note on their instrument to the highest within a certain number of bars.  They were to get there however they wished:  “When we got to the session, George Martin had to plan it out for them.  Classically trained musicians are thought not to like the idea of improvisation. … The strings were like sheep:  ‘If you’re going up, I’m going up.  I’m not going to be left behind.’  But the trumpets and the wind instruments were very receptive to the idea of letting it all hang out… They were game for anything.”  He goes on:  “We ourselves were determined to really go for it and find way of bringing all these other components into what was known as ‘popular’ music.  We liked the idea that what we were attempting was an extension, rather than just a continuation, of the tradition.”

Well, now didn’t he just sum up The Beatles as a whole perfectly with that last sentence.  Taking the traditions and keeping a thread of them, but adding and expanding the notion of what music can be.  That sums them up for me.  

Guido Merkins

It is no secret that John struggled to come up with material for the Sgt Pepper album.  He got an idea for a song from a circus poster that became Being For the Benefit of Mr Kite and from a breakfast commercial that became Good Morning Good Morning.  So it is the height of irony that in John’s struggle to come up with material that one of his most endearing masterpieces should come from him reading the newspaper.  There were stories about the English Army winning a war and potholes on a street in Blackburn and about a car accident.  These stories were melded together to form a song which started life as “In the Life of” and ended up being called A Day in the Life.

The Beatles Anthology had a scene with George Martin listening to take 1 of the song and John counting in with the phrase “Sugar Plum Fairy Sugar Plum Fairy.”  What follows is, arguably, the most stunning vocal of Lennon’s career.  Filled with pathos and sending chills up your spine, even this first take is stunning in it’s simplicity and just as good as the final version.

John has this song and had an idea for a sound that would start at the bottom of the world and would get louder and louder and end with a climax.  George Martin hit upon an idea of using an orchestra, but knew that would be expensive, so settled for half an orchestra, although after tracking it, it sounded like 2 or 3 orchestras.  Because they didn’t know what would connect the middle part, they had Mal Evans standing there counting 24 bars drenched more and more in echo ending with an alarm clock to mark the 24 bars

For the middle part, Paul had a little ditty lying around that was bouncier than the other parts that begun “Woke up, fell out of bed…”  Then it went back to John’s verses and the final build up that ended with an E Major chord played on like 3 or 4 pianos simultaneously with the sustain pedal pushed down.  The original idea was for all of them to hum the closing note, but it wasn’t strong enough.  As the sound was fading, the engineers were slowly bringing up the faders, so what you are left with is this sound that takes like a minute to fully disappear.  You can faintly hear like a chair squeeking at the very end.  

A Day in the Life remains the ultimate of what the Beatles could do in a studio.  They put it on last on the album because nothing could realistically follow it.  You could almost argue that they did try to follow it, but for the next 3 years, they really wouldn’t come close to topping it.  I think it is literally the high point of their career.  John’s voice, Ringo’s drums and the orchestral buildup and closing chord are the stars of the show.  The song was banned, of course, for the phrase “I’d love to turn you on” which was an intentional reference to drugs.

I can only imagine what this sounded like to the people in 1967.  The first time I heard it in the early 80s, I could hardly believe it.
Click to expand...
A Day in the Life

64 List Rank: 1

64 List Voters/Points: 23/1256. (perfect score was 1472 pts.  85.32% of all points)

64 List Top 5: 11 @BobbyLayne (1) @falguy (1) @otb_lifer (2) @Oliver Humanzee (2) @DocHolliday (2) @ConstruxBoy (2) @shuke (2) @lardonastick (3) @Binky The Doormat (3) @AAABatteries (3) @simey (4)

64 List Top 10: 16 (6, 7, 8, 8, 8, 9)

64 List 1-25 votes: 22 (14, 15, 17, 20, 22, 24)

64 List 26-64 votes: 1

I had this at #24

Lone 26-64 vote was at #64, which had 63 of the 216 non-perfect score points)

22 Top 25 votes just crushed all other songs.

1 - 1 - 1 - A Day in the Life

 
Getzlaf15 said:
A Day in the Life

64 List Rank: 1

64 List Voters/Points: 23/1256. (perfect score was 1472 pts.  85.32% of all points)

64 List Top 5: 11 @BobbyLayne (1) @falguy (1) @otb_lifer (2) @Oliver Humanzee (2) @DocHolliday (2) @ConstruxBoy (2) @shuke (2) @lardonastick (3) @Binky The Doormat (3) @AAABatteries (3) @simey (4)

64 List Top 10: 16 (6, 7, 8, 8, 8, 9)

64 List 1-25 votes: 22 (14, 15, 17, 20, 22, 24)

64 List 26-64 votes: 1

I had this at #24

Lone 26-64 vote was at #64, which had 63 of the 216 non-perfect score points)

22 Top 25 votes just crushed all other songs.

1 - 1 - 1 - A Day in the Life
Click to expand...
 Ringo Bingo.  :pickle:

 
2019  --  2022 --  64

1---1---1---A Day in the Life

5---3---2---Abbey Road Medley

4---2---3---In My Life

2---6---4---Here Comes The Sun

3---5---5---While My Guitar Gently Weeps

10---11---6---Help!

6---9---7---Norwegian Wood

9---7---8---Something

11---4---9---Hey Jude

8---8---10---Let It Be

21---15---11---A Hard Day’s Night

27---14---12---I've Just Seen a Face

7---12---13---Eleanor Rigby

23---18---14---Across The Universe

13---13---15---Strawberry Fields Forever

41---31---16---And Your Bird Can Sing

12---16---17---Ticket To Ride

16---19---18---You've Got To Hide Your Love Away

67---41---19---Two Of Us

43---25---20---Don't Let Me Down

15---10---21---Yesterday

46---42---22---Rain

38---30---23---Hey Bulldog

47---35---24---Helter Skelter

34---22---25---Taxman

53---26---26---Get Back

14---24---27---Penny Lane

24---32---28---Day Tripper

19---29---29---We Can Work it Out

31---28---30---Nowhere Man

20---27---31---Got To Get You Into My Life

29---17---32---Tomorrow Never Knows

37---37---33---Things We Said Today

25---43---34---I Saw Her Standing There

40---46---35---I've Got a Feeling

18---47---36---Paperback Writer

39---36---37---Revolution

17---52---38---Blackbird

28---33---39---I am The Walrus

30---38---40---She Loves You

35---20---41---Come Together

50---51---42---I Feel Fine

26---34---43---Dear Prudence

59T---57---44---Twist and Shout

32---53---45---For No One

22---21---46---I Want To Hold Your Hand

49---75---47---She Said She Said

79---45---48---And I Love Her

72---60---49---I Want You (She's so Heavy)

75---65---50---I'm Only Sleeping

36---55---51---Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds

44---39---52---Happiness Is A Warm Gun

51---49---53---Can't Buy Me Love

58---48---54---All My Loving

33---44---55---With A Little Help From My Friends

55T---58---56---Eight Days A Week

103---63---57---She's Leaving Home

65---23---58---The Long and Winding Road

55T---68---59---Here, There and everywhere

54---64---60---Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

42---61---61---The Ballad of John and Yoko

77---72---62---I'm So Tired

76---66---63---I'm Looking Through You

52---40---64---Back in the USSR

59T---77---65---Lady Madonna

73---59---66---Oh! Darling

63---76---67---If I Needed Someone

62---56---68---If I Fell

92T---67---69---Hello, Goodbye

134---160---70---Lovely Rita

101---96---71---Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey

66---80---72---Savoy Truffle

123T---87---73---I'll Be Back

45---62---74---Drive My Car

48---54---75---All You Need Is Love

118---50---76---Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da

119T---93---77---I Should Have Known Better

110---91---78---Please Please Me

57---71---79---You Won't See Me

127T---97---80---I'm Down

106T---82T---81---Yer Blues

104---86---82---Glass Onion

64---89---83---I'll Follow The Sun

82---70---84---No Reply

68---81---85---The Night Before

NR---118---86---It's All Too Much

95---128---87---I Want To Tell You

91---78---88---The Fool on the Hill

111T---100---89---Do You Want to Know a Secret

127T---142---90---Boys

NR---111---91---Tell Me What You See

123T---117---92---Wait

88---94---93---Magical Mystery Tour

122---155---94---From Me To You

94---104---95---Mother Nature's Son

NR---73---96---When I’m Sixty-Four

89---74---97---You're Going To Lose That Girl

NR---120---98---Love Me Do

92T---99---99---It Won't Be Long

78---69---100---Girl

111T---90---101---Any Time At All

117---129---102---Cry Baby Cry

NR---113---103---Good Morning Good Morning

NR---88---104---Dig A Pony

NR---145T---105---The Word

69---98---106---Fixing a Hole

83T---92---107---I Me Mine

NR---132T---108---Martha My Dear

74---136---109---Good Day Sunshine

105---101---110---Being of the Benefit for Mr Kite

61---119---111---Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)

NR---153T---112---Tell Me Why

86---82T---113---Michelle

NR---112---114---Happy Just To Dance With You

98T---95---115---I'm a Loser

NR---137T---116---Long Long Long

NR---161T---117---Love You To

NR---145T---118---Another Girl

111T---170---119---Money (That's What I Want)

87---NR---120---There's a Place

138T---79---121---Octupus's Garden

121---157T---122---Don't Bother Me

NR---107T---123---She's A Woman

123T---153T---124---Anna (Go To Him)

NR---115---125---Every Little Thing

71---84---126---You Can't Do That

109---107T---127---Because

NR---NR---128---Doctor Robert

NR---157T---129---I'll Cry Instead

135T---148T---130---Don't Pass Me By

NR---125T---131---You Really Got a Hold Of Me

NR---137T---132---Blue Jay Way

NR---167T---133---Free As A Bird

NR---141---134---Julia

NR---106---135---Think For Yourself

138T---130T---136---Getting Better

NR---123T---137---What You're Doing

NR---156---138---Baby, You're a Rich Man

NR---NR---139---One After 909

NR---127---140---Rock and Roll Music

NR---116---141---The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill

90---114---142---All I've Got to Do

NR---144---143---I Don't Want to Spoil The Party

138T---103---144---Within You Without You

131T---166---145---I Need You

NR---169---146---This Boy

138T---171T---147---Flying

102---167T---148---Not A Second Time

NR---121---149---P.S. I Love You

98T---NR---150---When I Get Home

NR---140---151---You Like me Too Much

70---122---152---Run For Your Life

NR---NR---153---Yes It Is

NR---NR---154---It's Only Love

NR---NR---155---Sexy Sadie

106T---109---156---Maxwell's Silver Hammer

NR---85---157---Yellow Submarine

NR---NR---158---Devil In Her Heart

NR---NR---159---Slow Down

111T---151T---160---For You Blue

NR---102---161---Mr. Moonlight

NR---NR---162---I Wanna Be Your Man

119T---NR---163---Hold Me Tight

NR---NR---164---Little Child

NR---NR---165---Good Night

131T---161T---166---Thank You Girl

97---110---167---I Will

NR---NR---168---Baby It's You

129---105---169---Birthday

108---NR---170---You Never Give me my money

NR---134T---171---Real Love

85---NR---172---Misery

138T---NR---173---Piggies

96---139---NR---Baby's in Black

NR---143---NR---Why Don't We Do It In The Road

135T---147---NR---Old Brown Shoe

NR10---150---NR---Roll Over Beethoven

111T---163---NR---Long Tall Sally

NR03---164---NR---I Call Your Name

83T---165---NR---Rocky Racoon

131T---123T---NR---Revolution 9

NR---125T---NR---Your Mother Should Know

NR---130T---NR---Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey

130---132T---NR---Till There was You

80T---134T---NR---Bad Boy

123T---148T---NR---What Goes On

NR09---151T---NR---All Together Now

NR06---157T---NR---Dizzy Miss Lizzy

138T---171T---NR---You Know My Name

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Sorry I screwed up getting my list in.  Here’s what I had fwiw.

1.  2 - In My Life

2.  41 - Two Of Us

3.  3 - Abbey Road Medley

4.  10 - Yesterday

5.  8 - Let It Be

6.  13 - Strawberry Fields Forever

7.  18 - Across The Universe

8.  29 - We Can Work It Out

9.  68 - Here, There and Everywhere

10.  11 - Help!

11.  12 - Eleanor Rigby

12.  23 - The Long And Winding Road

13.  73 - When I'm Sixty-Four

14.  89 - I'll Follow The Sun

15.  4 - Hey Jude

16.  6 - Here Comes The Sun

17.  50 - Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Dot

18.  28 - Nowhere Man

19.  48 - All My Loving

20.  38 - She Loves You

21.  21 - I Want To Hold Your Hand

22.  54 - All You Need Is Love

23.  24 - Penny Lane

24.  1 - A Day In The Life

25.  66 - I'm Looking Through You

26.  56 - Hello, Goodbye

27.  7 - Something

28.  79 - Octopus's Garden

29.  47 - Paperback Writer

30.  46 - I've Got a Feeling

31.  61 - The Ballad Of John and Yoko

32.  27 - Got To Get You Into My Life

33.  118 - It's All Too Much

34.  67 - If I Fell

35.  9 - Norwegian Wood

36.  36- Revolution

37.  52 - Blackbird

38.  17 - Tomorrow Never Knows

39.  44 - With A Little Help from My Friends

40.  142 - Boys

41.  85 - Yellow Submarine

42.  42 - Rain

43.  5 - While My Guitar Gently Weeps

44.  26 - Get Back

45.  14 - I've Just Seen A Face

46.  53 - For No One

47.  15 - A Hard Day's Night

48.  58 - Eight Days A Week

49.  30 - Hey Bulldog

50.  43 - I Saw Her Standing There

51.  78 - The Fool On The Hill

52.  71 - You Won't See Me

53.  35 - Helter Skelter

54.  49 - Can't Buy Me Love

55.  77 - Lady Madonna

56.  16 - Ticket To Ride

57.  70 - No Reply

58.  32 - Day Tripper

59.  33 - I Am The Walrus

60.  19 - You've Got To Hide Your Love Away

61.  22 - Taxman

62.  25 - Don't Let Me Down

63.  40 - Back In The USSR

64.  57 - Twist and Shout

 
1---Hey Bulldog---23

2---Get Back---26

3---Eleanor Rigby---13

4---Help!---6

5---A Hard Days Night---11

6---Two Of Us---19

7---I Want To Hold Your Hand---46

8---Day Tripper---28

9---She Loves You---40

10---I Feel Fine---42

11---Let It Be---10

12---While My Guitar Gently Weeps---5

13---Ticket To Ride---17

14---Rain---22

15---I Saw Her Standing There---34

16---Hey Jude---9

17---Paperback Writer---36

18---Mother Nature's Son---95

19---Hello Goodbye---69

20---Here Comes The Sun---4

21---Norwegian Wood---7

22---Things We Said Today---33

23---All You Need Is Love---75

24---A Day in the Life---1

25---The Night Before---85

26---With A Little Help From My Friends---55

27---Abbey Road Medley---2

28---In My Life---3

29---Can't Buy Me Love---53

30---The Fool on the Hill---88

31---I Should Have Known Better---77

32---I've Just Seen a Face---12

33---We Can Work it Out---29

34---Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da---76

35---Penny Lane---27

36---Nowhere Man---30

37---Magical Mystery Tour---93

38---Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band---60

39---Yellow Submarine---157

40---Eight Days A Week---56

41---Strawberry Fields Forever---15

42---Please Please Me---91

43---If I Fell---69

44---All My Loving---54

45---Lady Madonna---65

46---You Won't See Me---79

47---No Reply---84

48---Boys---90

49---The Ballad of John and Yoko---61

50---Blackbird---38

51---Don't Let Me Down---20

52---She Said She Said---47

53---Taxman---25

54---Helter Skelter---24

55---You've Got To Hide Your Love Away---18

56---And Your Bird Can Sing---16

57---Yesterday---21

58---I am The Walrus---39

59---Something---8

60---Here, There and everywhere---59

61---You Can't Do That---126

62---You're Going To Lose That Girl---97

63---Come Together---41

64---The Long and Winding Road---58

 
My full list of 64:

1. Tomorrow Never Knows
2. While My Guitar Gently Weeps 
3. Abbey Road Medley 
4. Here Comes the Sun 
5. Rain
6. A Day in the Life
7. I Want You (She's So Heavy)
8. Dear Prudence
9. Get Back
10. Come Together
11. Taxman
12. Helter Skelter
13. With a Little Help from My Friends
14. I've Got a Feeling
15. Hey Jude
16. Let It Be
17. I Feel Fine
18. She's a Woman
19. If I Needed Someone
20. Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey
21. Day Tripper
22. And Your Bird Can Sing
23. Blackbird
24. I'm Only Sleeping
25. It's All Too Much
26. She Said She Said
27. Savoy Truffle
28. Martha My Dear
29. Across the Universe
30. Don't Let Me Down 
31. The Word
32. I'm Down 
33. Wait
34. I Want to Tell You
35. Two of Us
36. Revolution
37. Help!
38. Paperback Writer
39. Something
40. Hey Bulldog 
41. Yer Blues
42. Ticket to Ride
43. Eight Days a Week
44. Nowhere Man
45. Twist and Shout
46. I Want to Hold Your Hand
47. Back in the USSR
48. The Fool on the Hill
49. Drive My Car
50. Sexy Sadie
51. I Need You
52. Baby, You're a Rich Man
53. Money (That's What I Want)
54. She Loves You
55. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
56. A Hard Day's Night
57. Strawberry Fields Forever
58. I Am the Walrus
59. Slow Down
60. Boys
61. We Can Work It Out
62. I Saw Her Standing There
63. You've Got to Hide Your Love Away
64. Here, There and Everywhere

 
Thanks so much for doing this, @Getzlaf15. Great work!

Now that the countdown is done, I guess I can finally post my list ranking 205 songs. I won't put the whole thing on this page to spare those trying to read the thread, but my full list can be accessed here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1erxne3wtJNW9ULqucHZMVKUc8O2_Rfdv2Ph0YDWEOQs/edit?usp=sharing

I appreciate @krista4, @Getzlaf15, @Guido Merkins, @Anarchy99, @timschochet and everyone who has contributed to these music threads recently. They are really fun and even though I felt like I knew a lot about this stuff, I learn more every time I go through them. And doing a thread of my own I have a new appreciation for how much work it is. 

Which reminds me, now that this list is done, if you are looking for something to do head over to my Allman Brothers thread. It is obviously a different style and every song won't be as familiar to every person as the songs in the Beatles catalog, but I think they are a diverse enough band that pretty much everyone can find something they really like. 

 
turnjose7 said:
Thanks so much for doing this, @Getzlaf15. Great work!

Now that the countdown is done, I guess I can finally post my list ranking 205 songs. I won't put the whole thing on this page to spare those trying to read the thread, but my full list can be accessed here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1erxne3wtJNW9ULqucHZMVKUc8O2_Rfdv2Ph0YDWEOQs/edit?usp=sharing

I appreciate @krista4, @Getzlaf15, @Guido Merkins, @Anarchy99, @timschochet and everyone who has contributed to these music threads recently. They are really fun and even though I felt like I knew a lot about this stuff, I learn more every time I go through them. And doing a thread of my own I have a new appreciation for how much work it is. 

Which reminds me, now that this list is done, if you are looking for something to do head over to my Allman Brothers thread. It is obviously a different style and every song won't be as familiar to every person as the songs in the Beatles catalog, but I think they are a diverse enough band that pretty much everyone can find something they really like. 
Click to expand...


Love your list.  I think your bottom third looks more like I want mine to look than mine did, with a few notable exceptions (whatcha got against meter maids, bub?).  And your #5 and #6 make me especially happy.

I look forward to reading your Allman Brothers countdown when I have more time to dive in - I've only been able to skim so far.  It's a band I feel like I should know and love much more.

 
I don't care enough to rank Beatles songs once getting to the 'depends on the day' tier, which probably starts around song 80-90 or so. I really don't care to rank Beatles songs once getting to the genuinely bad music tier...but at the same time I have some mild interest how the worst of the Beatles songs would rank. Probably more to see what of my top 8-90 or so are actually in it and to see what's next beyond Revolution 9...a song I had no idea existed until the first full spin through the catalog this winter. What an abomination.

 
MAC_32 said:
I don't care enough to rank Beatles songs once getting to the 'depends on the day' tier, which probably starts around song 80-90 or so. I really don't care to rank Beatles songs once getting to the genuinely bad music tier...but at the same time I have some mild interest how the worst of the Beatles songs would rank. Probably more to see what of my top 8-90 or so are actually in it and to see what's next beyond Revolution 9...a song I had no idea existed until the first full spin through the catalog this winter. What an abomination.
Click to expand...


The worst songs, other than Revolution 9, all have "honey" in the title.  

 
Last edited by a moderator:
MAC_32 said:
I don't care enough to rank Beatles songs once getting to the 'depends on the day' tier, which probably starts around song 80-90 or so. I really don't care to rank Beatles songs once getting to the genuinely bad music tier...but at the same time I have some mild interest how the worst of the Beatles songs would rank. Probably more to see what of my top 8-90 or so are actually in it and to see what's next beyond Revolution 9...a song I had no idea existed until the first full spin through the catalog this winter. What an abomination.
Click to expand...


i have an airtight three that can be sent into orbit after a rainy St. Swithin's Day, tyvm ... they annihalate my ears:

1) Good Day Sunshine

2) Octupi Gardenz

3) The Word 

if i never heard any of 'em again i'd be one chuffed mofo.

after that is the Ringo Tier, you can have 'em: 

Act Naturally, Yellow Subby, What Goes On, Don't Pass Me By, With A Little Help From My Friends. 

so that's a solid eight. 

absolutely toss in the George sitar schtick: Love You Too, Within You/Without You.

there's 10 from me. 

PS - i did slap a Ringo tune in my top fitty, the luscious "Good Night" at #41 ... the arrangement and vocal tracking took away the usual banal warbling.  

 
The Beatles record for most takes on one song is 102. “Not Guilty” (George) was recorded for the White Album but never released.

Interesting. I had the impression nothing was cut from the White Album.

 
BobbyLayne said:
The Beatles record for most takes on one song is 102. “Not Guilty” (George) was recorded for the White Album but never released.
Click to expand...


:jawdrop:

wtf?

BobbyLayne said:
Interesting. I had the impression nothing was cut from the White Album.
Click to expand...


i loooooong (long, long) heard scuttle that "Carnival of Light" was supposed be the epic avant garde piece on the double platter - but we got "Why Don't We Do It In The Road" instead ...

I KID!  I KEEEEED! 

#9, and you kno that drill. 

 
BobbyLayne said:
The Beatles record for most takes on one song is 102. “Not Guilty” (George) was recorded for the White Album but never released.

Interesting. I had the impression nothing was cut from the White Album.
Click to expand...


A recording is available on Anthology 3. It's kind of interesting, but not worth 102 takes. 

 
turnjose7 said:
A recording is available on Anthology 3. It's kind of interesting, but not worth 102 takes. 
Click to expand...
Couple versions on the Super Deluxe White Album (107 tracks) - the Esher demo at George’s bungalow & take 102 in the studio. There’s a few other unreleased songs on there. All of them feel like “yeah I see why that one got cut.”

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Paul's tour kicks off tomorrow in Spokane!  :excited:   Can't wait to see the set list.  Paul sent me a text today with a video of some of the final rehearsals.  The sets and visuals look spectacular, which they should considering how much :moneybag:  they're charging for these tix.

We'll be there next Tuesday, May 3.

 
Opening night setlist!

Can't Buy Me Love

Junior's Farm

Letting Go

Got to Get You Into My Life

Come On to Me

Let Me Roll It

(followed by "Foxy Lady" jam)

Getting Better (first time since 2003)

Women and Wives (Live debut)

My Valentine

Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five

Maybe I'm Amazed

I've Just Seen a Face

In Spite of All the Danger

Love Me Do

Dance Tonight

Blackbird

Here Today

Queenie Eye

Lady Madonna

Fuh You

Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!

Something

Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da

You Never Give Me Your Money (first time since 2003)

She Came in Through the Bathroom Window (first time since 2008)

Get Back

Band on the Run

Let It Be

Live and Let Die

Hey Jude

Encore:

I've Got a Feeling

Birthday

Helter Skelter

Golden Slumbers

Carry That Weight

The End

 
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