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

[otb_lifer]

Penny Lane
2022 Ranking: 24
2022 Lists: 26
2022 Points: 280
Ranked Highest by: @Dennis Castro (2) @Yankee23Fan (7) @FairWarning (7) Son2 (8) @AAABatteries (9) @Uruk-Hai (11) @whoknew(11) @worrierking (14) @DaVinci (14) @Dinsy Ejotuz (15) @Just Win Baby (15)
2019 Ranking/Lists/Pts: 14/18/247

Getz:  2019 - Two 3rds and a 5th vote.  2022 - One 2nd vote. That’s quite a hit from 2019. 26 voters in 2022, is more than six songs yet to show up. Five had this at #11 and four had it at #15 and #25. 12 more votes in 2022, but only 33 more points.

Krista4
My 2019 ranking:  86

2019 write-up:

Penny Lane (single, 1967)

From the beginning, I knew that this would be one of two absolutely beloved songs that I don't dig as much as other people do (little did I know The Fool on the Hill was a third), and that it would rank on my list much lower than it would be on any list of "best" Beatles songs.  Of course I love the song, or it wouldn't be this high, but it clearly doesn't connect with me the way it does for most other people.  The best explanation I have is that, as I think I mentioned earlier in the thread, I mostly don't get nostalgia as a concept.  And if I look at this in comparison to the "nostalgia" of the other a-side of the same single, "Strawberry Fields Forever," I prefer the slight angst of the latter to the idyllic descriptions of this one.  It's sweet and lovely, but I must like the edgier parts of life.

There's a lot I love about this song, though.  It is perfectly polished and clean, and it lilts in a way that puts a smile on my face.  Love that piccolo trumpet.  If some of John's lyrics can read like poetry, I think this song shows that Paul can do the same; I especially love the opening line:  Penny Lane there is a barber showing photographs, of every head he's had the pleasure to know.  That's lovely imagery.  And I'm very taken with the rises and falls and especially the way the refrains rise back into the verses.  I even enjoy the modulation near the end, which is a device I'm not usually keen on.  There's nothing I would change about this song; as it is it's a perfect love letter to where they grew up.  Most days, though, there are just ~85 songs I'd rather listen to. 

I'm sure others here could do a better job of detailing what's great about the song.  So instead of saying, "top 10 for me!!!111" let us know what you love about it, too.   

Mr. krista:  "You could take all the songs from the last four records and make a nifty musical, and I won’t give a #### about any of them."  [NOTE:  I don't remember what he was talking about here.]

Suggested cover:  Elvis Costello

2022 Supplement:  While one of Paul’s most beloved songs still didn’t make it to my top 25 again this year, I continue to appreciate it more as the years go by.  I’m talking, of course, of “Let It Be.”  This one?   [whispers] I still don’t like this one as much as the rest of you do.  Paul does, though!  His favorite line is the one I called out as mine, too, because he imagines the barbershop as being like a gallery displaying an exhibition of paintings in its window, and you can go in and say, “I want the Tony Curtis” or whatever.  Reminds me of when Mr. krista told a barber in Nicaragua he wanted “The Clooney.”  That didn’t turn out so well.

Well…moving on!

Guido Merkins

 Penny Lane is a district in Liverpool that Paul spent time in as a child.  Ironically, it was John who first mentioned Penny Lane in a early draft of what would become "In My Life", but he didn't like it.  Listing a bunch of places and trying to tell stories about it wasn't in John's wheelhouse, BUT it was in Paul's.  

Unlike Strawberry Fields Forever, there aren't a bunch of outtakes and demos of Penny Lane.  Why?  because Paul was musically more literate and more aware of what he wanted in a song that he wrote.  This is probably why both John and George reported that Paul never wanted input on his songs.  Paul usually knew what he wanted.  Paul started with the song on piano and layered everything else on top.  He wanted a very clean recording, so they recorded everything on a separate track.  Paul heard Brandenburg Concerto and heard a piccolo trumpet and wanted to use it for Penny Lane.  They did and it's the most distinguishing characteristic of the final recording.  Penny Lane is told about various places and characters that Paul remembers from his childhood.  The "pretty nurses", "firemen", "barber", etc.  Like John, however, Paul also tells his story in a slightly surreal and vivid way. The barber with "every head he's had the pleasure to know" or the pretty nurses who "feels as if she's in a play". The banker "never wears a mac in the pouring rain".  And all of it is "very strange". Even a little smut with the phrase "finger pie."

Notice, Paul knew exactly what he wanted, unlike John with Strawberry Fields Forever.  Second, the melody is rangy and bounces along on more than just a few notes.  Third the chord progression is a bit more standard than John.  It almost sounds like a standard from the Great American Songbook.  Fourth, Paul writes from his experience, but it's not about himself directly.  He is story telling his own experiences in Penny Lane, what he saw and what he heard.  In this case, you don't learn about what Paul actually thought about his childhood, just that he remembers this stuff.

Strawberry Fields Forever along with Penny Lane are, IMO, the greatest single the Beatles every released (and maybe the greatest anyone’s ever released) so it went straight to #1 in the UK, right?  Nope, the first single since Love Me Do to not reach #1.  Englebert Humperdink’s Release Me, of all things, kept this unbelievable single at #2.  Strange but true facts.

defaced by ugly accusations

Debunked - no apology from mob

 

[heckmanm]

I'll end up with 13 of the top 25

1
2 And Your Bird Can Sing (31)
3 Two Of Us (41)
4
5
6 Get Back (26)
7
8
9
10 Don't Let Me Down (25)
11 Day Tripper (32)
12 Hey Bulldog (30)
13
14 Drive My Car (62)
15
16 Happiness is a Warm Gun (39)
17
18 Savoy Truffle (80)
19 I've Got A Feeling (46)
20
21 Back in the USSR (40)
22 Penny Lane (24)
23
24 Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (55)
25 Wait (117)

 

[AAABatteries]

My first top 10 entry.  Unlike krista, I totally get the nostalgia.  Something about the song makes me happy to think of Paul remembering his younger days.  He's lived an incredible life but I'm sure some of those memories are his favorite.  It makes me reminiscence a little myself for my younger days.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9. Penny Lane (24)
10.
11.
12. I Saw Her Standing There (43)
13. Hello, Goodbye (56)
14. Two Of Us (41)
15. Got To Get You Into My Life (27)
16.
17. Can't Buy Me Love (49)
18. Back In The U.S.S.R. (40)
19. We Can Work It Out (29)
20. Get Back (26)
21. All My Loving (48)
22. From Me To You (155)
23. She Loves You (38)
24. Lady Madonna (77)
25. Eight Days A Week (58)

 

[BobbyLayne]

My first top 10 entry.  Unlike krista, I totally get the nostalgia.  Something about the song makes me happy to think of Paul remembering his younger days.  He's lived an incredible life but I'm sure some of those memories are his favorite.  It makes me reminiscence a little myself for my younger days.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9. Penny Lane (24)
10.
11.
12. I Saw Her Standing There (43)
13. Hello, Goodbye (56)
14. Two Of Us (41)
15. Got To Get You Into My Life (27)
16.
17. Can't Buy Me Love (49)
18. Back In The U.S.S.R. (40)
19. We Can Work It Out (29)
20. Get Back (26)
21. All My Loving (48)
22. From Me To You (155)
23. She Loves You (38)
24. Lady Madonna (77)
25. Eight Days A Week (58)

This is kind of where I land WRT Penny Lane. I've read Tune In: The Beatles, All These Years Vol 1 which covers their childhood through 1962. Have watched a bunch of obscure docs from the U.K. and it's often overlapping interviews with the same characters they knocked about with when they were wannabe Teddy boys. Just resonates with me so much.

For once the jauntiness of the tune and the oddball things like the clanging fire engine bell strike are pitch perfect, for me. I think about the sights and sounds and smells and people of my own childhood. I grew up in a village of 200 in mid-Michigan and in those days we were out and about from sunup to sundown. There were a lot of adults in our lives - the lady who was the postmaster, the butcher at the General Store, the old men sitting outside the John Deere store, et al. Summers were at a tiny cottage on a freshwater lake 3 miles away. There was a lot of laughter and daily adventures - the piccolo trumpet seems to mirror the sense of wonderment, that anything was possible, and it was probably going to be something great.

 

[Tom Hagen]

Penny Lane
2022 Ranking: 24
2022 Lists: 26
2022 Points: 280
Ranked Highest by: @Dennis Castro (2) @Yankee23Fan (7) @FairWarning (7) Son2 (8) @AAABatteries (9) @Uruk-Hai (11) @whoknew(11) @worrierking (14) @DaVinci (14) @Dinsy Ejotuz (15) @Just Win Baby (15)
2019 Ranking/Lists/Pts: 14/18/247

Getz:  2019 - Two 3rds and a 5th vote.  2022 - One 2nd vote. That’s quite a hit from 2019. 26 voters in 2022, is more than six songs yet to show up. Five had this at #11 and four had it at #15 and #25. 12 more votes in 2022, but only 33 more points.

Krista4
My 2019 ranking:  86

2019 write-up:

Penny Lane (single, 1967)

From the beginning, I knew that this would be one of two absolutely beloved songs that I don't dig as much as other people do (little did I know The Fool on the Hill was a third), and that it would rank on my list much lower than it would be on any list of "best" Beatles songs.  Of course I love the song, or it wouldn't be this high, but it clearly doesn't connect with me the way it does for most other people.  The best explanation I have is that, as I think I mentioned earlier in the thread, I mostly don't get nostalgia as a concept.  And if I look at this in comparison to the "nostalgia" of the other a-side of the same single, "Strawberry Fields Forever," I prefer the slight angst of the latter to the idyllic descriptions of this one.  It's sweet and lovely, but I must like the edgier parts of life.

There's a lot I love about this song, though.  It is perfectly polished and clean, and it lilts in a way that puts a smile on my face.  Love that piccolo trumpet.  If some of John's lyrics can read like poetry, I think this song shows that Paul can do the same; I especially love the opening line:  Penny Lane there is a barber showing photographs, of every head he's had the pleasure to know.  That's lovely imagery.  And I'm very taken with the rises and falls and especially the way the refrains rise back into the verses.  I even enjoy the modulation near the end, which is a device I'm not usually keen on.  There's nothing I would change about this song; as it is it's a perfect love letter to where they grew up.  Most days, though, there are just ~85 songs I'd rather listen to. 

I'm sure others here could do a better job of detailing what's great about the song.  So instead of saying, "top 10 for me!!!111" let us know what you love about it, too.   

Mr. krista:  "You could take all the songs from the last four records and make a nifty musical, and I won’t give a #### about any of them."  [NOTE:  I don't remember what he was talking about here.]

Suggested cover:  Elvis Costello

2022 Supplement:  While one of Paul’s most beloved songs still didn’t make it to my top 25 again this year, I continue to appreciate it more as the years go by.  I’m talking, of course, of “Let It Be.”  This one?   [whispers] I still don’t like this one as much as the rest of you do.  Paul does, though!  His favorite line is the one I called out as mine, too, because he imagines the barbershop as being like a gallery displaying an exhibition of paintings in its window, and you can go in and say, “I want the Tony Curtis” or whatever.  Reminds me of when Mr. krista told a barber in Nicaragua he wanted “The Clooney.”  That didn’t turn out so well.

Well…moving on!

Guido Merkins

 Penny Lane is a district in Liverpool that Paul spent time in as a child.  Ironically, it was John who first mentioned Penny Lane in a early draft of what would become "In My Life", but he didn't like it.  Listing a bunch of places and trying to tell stories about it wasn't in John's wheelhouse, BUT it was in Paul's.  

Unlike Strawberry Fields Forever, there aren't a bunch of outtakes and demos of Penny Lane.  Why?  because Paul was musically more literate and more aware of what he wanted in a song that he wrote.  This is probably why both John and George reported that Paul never wanted input on his songs.  Paul usually knew what he wanted.  Paul started with the song on piano and layered everything else on top.  He wanted a very clean recording, so they recorded everything on a separate track.  Paul heard Brandenburg Concerto and heard a piccolo trumpet and wanted to use it for Penny Lane.  They did and it's the most distinguishing characteristic of the final recording.  Penny Lane is told about various places and characters that Paul remembers from his childhood.  The "pretty nurses", "firemen", "barber", etc.  Like John, however, Paul also tells his story in a slightly surreal and vivid way. The barber with "every head he's had the pleasure to know" or the pretty nurses who "feels as if she's in a play". The banker "never wears a mac in the pouring rain".  And all of it is "very strange". Even a little smut with the phrase "finger pie."

Notice, Paul knew exactly what he wanted, unlike John with Strawberry Fields Forever.  Second, the melody is rangy and bounces along on more than just a few notes.  Third the chord progression is a bit more standard than John.  It almost sounds like a standard from the Great American Songbook.  Fourth, Paul writes from his experience, but it's not about himself directly.  He is story telling his own experiences in Penny Lane, what he saw and what he heard.  In this case, you don't learn about what Paul actually thought about his childhood, just that he remembers this stuff.

Strawberry Fields Forever along with Penny Lane are, IMO, the greatest single the Beatles every released (and maybe the greatest anyone’s ever released) so it went straight to #1 in the UK, right?  Nope, the first single since Love Me Do to not reach #1.  Englebert Humperdink’s Release Me, of all things, kept this unbelievable single at #2.  Strange but true facts.

Top 10 for me!!!111

Just kidding. I like Penny Lane, it's fine but it's not really near my top 25. My feelings are similar to Krista's, I feel like it's nostalgia for nostalgia's sake without really having much to say.

 

[BobbyLayne]

... and he, in turn, let down Cyn & Julian in a very big way. 

as i said last month, there's a ton of juggling one has to do with hero worship, especially when one's musical hero is about as perfectly imperfect as can be. 

your points about the song are spot on ... i think we can toss Mr. Epstein & Macca into that hopper of "let down" figures. 

I like Saviors to be perfect, sinless, worthy of sacrificial death and shed blood for the sins of the world.

Heroes, on the other hand, are not God incarnate. I'm cool with them being flawed and having gone through periods when they were bad people. They're still redeemable, bc my redemption is not dependent upon their stainless existence.

_______________

^^^^^ line break indicating a change in the subject ^^^^^

The hatred of Yoko Ono is deeply steeped in misogynistic attitudes, and racism toward an Asian woman. In 1968-70 we were less than a quarter century removed from Hiroshima. I think too a lot of all that centers around our uncomfortableness with a man who so clearly appears emasculated to us, adopting his woman's views, elevating her to peerage when her art is so incredibly uncommercial. It's easy to see why it resonated with so few. That's sort of the whole point of avant garde, to push us into places of discomfort.

_______________

Those are my views. You're more than welcome to have your own, and it's OK if they are different from mine. 

 

[otb_lifer]

I like Saviors to be perfect, sinless, worthy of sacrificial death and shed blood for the sins of the world.

Heroes, on the other hand, are not God incarnate. I'm cool with them being flawed and having gone through periods when they were bad people. They're still redeemable, bc my redemption is not dependent upon their stainless existence.

_______________

^^^^^ line break indicating a change in the subject ^^^^^

The hatred of Yoko Ono is deeply steeped in misogynistic attitudes, and racism toward an Asian woman. In 1968-70 we were less than a quarter century removed from Hiroshima. I think too a lot of all that centers around our uncomfortableness with a man who so clearly appears emasculated to us, adopting his woman's views, elevating her to peerage when her art is so incredibly uncommercial. It's easy to see why it resonated with so few. That's sort of the whole point of avant garde, to push us into places of discomfort.

_______________

Those are my views. You're more than welcome to have your own, and it's OK if they are different from mine. 

i never said he was perfect, matter of fact i've said any number of times that i learnt to deal with these juxtapositions of his character. 

no need for a lesson or finger wag - i stand by my statements. 

 

[BobbyLayne]

i never said he was perfect, matter of fact i've said any number of times that i learnt to deal with these juxtapositions of his character. 

Most people are complex and most issues have nuance. We’re like minded on this.

no need for a lesson or finger wag - i stand by my statements. 

Literally validated your view - you still come back chippy.

Not my issue you interpreted it that way.

 

[Guido Merkins]

I like Saviors to be perfect, sinless, worthy of sacrificial death and shed blood for the sins of the world.

Heroes, on the other hand, are not God incarnate. I'm cool with them being flawed and having gone through periods when they were bad people. They're still redeemable, bc my redemption is not dependent upon their stainless existence.

_______________

^^^^^ line break indicating a change in the subject ^^^^^

The hatred of Yoko Ono is deeply steeped in misogynistic attitudes, and racism toward an Asian woman. In 1968-70 we were less than a quarter century removed from Hiroshima. I think too a lot of all that centers around our uncomfortableness with a man who so clearly appears emasculated to us, adopting his woman's views, elevating her to peerage when her art is so incredibly uncommercial. It's easy to see why it resonated with so few. That's sort of the whole point of avant garde, to push us into places of discomfort.

_______________

Those are my views. You're more than welcome to have your own, and it's OK if they are different from mine. 

I agree with you.  Lennon was human and deeply flawed.....like all of us.  He's also a very famous and very public figure who lots of people have written books about, ESPECIALLY after he was dead and couldn't speak for himself, so I'm not sure what to think about that because we are only getting part of the story and he can't rebut.  

Tragically, he also never had a chance to redeem himself for some of those flaws because of the way he left us.

 

[otb_lifer]

I agree with you.  Lennon was human and deeply flawed.....like all of us.  He's also a very famous and very public figure who lots of people have written books about, ESPECIALLY after he was dead and couldn't speak for himself, so I'm not sure what to think about that because we are only getting part of the story and he can't rebut

there is acceptance of flaws and misdeeds, then there's 'head in the sand' fanboi harrumphing. 

loosen it up a bit, fella - John deserves better than that. 

it's ok ... he was a massive pr1ck at times - it's cool.  we don't need to ignore the smoke. 

 

[Dr. Octopus]

I've always liked the Beatles to a degree. Revolver was my first CD (along with LZ IV). But I really started listening to them more 3-4 years ago when I was in a "trivia contest" with friends and the question was to name a song in which the first lyrics were the title of the song. No one could think of a song like that in time other than me. Hey Jude.

 Help qualifies as well.

 

[Zegras11]

The Long And Winding Road (Naked Version / Remastered 2013)
2022 Ranking: 23
2022 Lists: 20
2022 Points: 283
Ranked Highest by: Rob (1) Daughter (4) Son2 (4) @PIK95 (5) @otb_lifer (6) @falguy (6) @Tom Hagen (7) Michael (7) @ekbeats (12) @neal cassady (13) @pecorino (13) @Gr00vus (14) @FairWarning (15)
2019 Ranking/Lists/Pts: 65/4/45

Getz: Or is this the song that moved up the most in 2022?  Depends on how you want to define it, I guess. Ob-La-Di moved up 68 slots. Road moved up 42 slots.  It went from 1 vote to 13, 10 points to 154. Winding Road went from 4 votes to 20, and 45 points to 283.  That’s an increase of 238 points, which is 84 more points than “dot” increased.  So which one moved up the most?

The four votes in 2019 ranged from #12 to #18.
In 2022, Winding Road had EIGHT votes in the Top 7. There are five songs yet to be posted that can’t make that claim.

So Get Back was a major influence on this countdown, except for one song. I’m wondering why this song had the greatest impact on the list? Hope that can be discussed.

Krista4
My 2019 ranking:  104

2019 write-up:

The Long and Winding Road (Let It Be, 1970)

My view of the Spector-ing of this song is completely the opposite of what I posted above about "I Me Mine."  In this instance, if I were forced to rank the Spector-ed version, it would be in my bottom 20 songs.  I hate what he did on this one that much - to me, it feels like he made it into a Disney song or the part in a particularly schmaltzy rom-com where the two leads run across the screen finally landing into each other's arms.  I also especially despise the "Yeah yeah yeah" from Paul at the end.  I realize some people prefer the Spector version, and I'm not saying those people are all murderers or rapists in their spare time, but that they are not people I'd feel safe being in the same room with.

On my side in the "Spector or no Spector" argument on this song I have some pretty good company - Paul McCartney.  Paul was absolutely livid about Spector being brought in to remix the album, which was done without informing either him or George Martin.  It seems to have been an idea coming from John and Allen Klein (the hiring of whom was another source of huge rancor between Paul and the others), and George and Ringo didn't object.   But Paul's ire was particularly strong in terms of what they did to this song, especially the addition of a female choir, which Paul said never should have been a Beatles record.  In typical nice Paul fashion he later said, "I don't think it made it the worst record ever, but the fact that now people were putting stuff on our records that certainly one of us didn't know about was wrong," but at the time, he was more direct:  God how I  Paul's letter to Allen Klein about this.

Unfortunately the letter didn't do any good.  Nor was George Martin's suggestion accepted that the liner notes should read "Produced by George Martin, over-produced by Phil Spector."

So, I'm evaluating the "Naked" version instead, which is what I've linked above - by the way, I was a little worried about googling "long winding naked" but it all turned out OK.  Listening to that one, what I love most about this song is Paul's voice.  It just might be my favorite Paul vocal in all of Beatledom; it is so pure, tender, and vulnerable.  The problem is that I just don't connect with the rest of the song that well.  Maybe it's just PTSD from the Spector version.  I don't find the lyrics bad, but they also don't do anything for me.  The music is just OK to me - John flubs the bass quite a bit, and I actively dislike some of the piano accompaniment.  But because I love that vocal so hard, I still find this song hauntingly beautiful and count it as a favorite.  Well, a top 100-ish favorite.

Mr. krista:  "The naked version is a lot better, but it’s still not any good.  It just seems so maudlin and affected.  There’s a pomposity about it.  The strings and all that had been the focus of my ire, but hearing it without all that…what I like best are John Lennon’s ####ed-up bass notes."

Suggested cover:  As you'd expect, there are a lot of good covers of this song.  Since Paul said he wrote this song with Ray Charles in mind, and Ray said he cried the first time he heard the song, seems most fitting to post his cover.  Plus, he's Ray Charles.

2022 Supplement:  In 1966, Paul bought a farmhouse on the Mull of Kintyre, a remote retreat from which he could see in the distance a twisting road that would take him to Campbeltown.  Two years later, he developed this song, which became the Beatles’ last #1 hit in the US, reaching that position on June 13, 1970.

Paul has said that what he loves about the song is that it resonates with people in powerful ways:  “For those who were there at the time, there seems to be a double association of terrific sadness and also a sense of hope, particularly in the assertion that the road that ‘leads to your door / will never disappear’.”  He says that he likes to disappear in the writing of his songs, pretending that it is being written or recorded by someone else (as he did with Ray Charles in this one), because “the last thing I’d want to be writing is a Paul McCartney song.”  By putting on a mask, it frees him up and takes away any anxiety, and then at the end, the song takes on its own meaning, with the road leading “not to Campbeltown, but to somewhere you never expected.”

Guido Merkins

One of the most controversial recordings from the Beatles is The Long and Winding Road from the Let It Be album.  Paul brought the song in during the Twickenham sessions in January 1969.  When the idea of a live concert was dropped it was decided that some of the songs could be studio recordings, so at Apple Studios they worked on the song.

Once the album got shelved, John and George brought in Phil Spector who added all kinds of things to the recordings.  The most embellishments were placed on the Long and Winding Road, a harp, heavenly choirs, lots of over the top strings and brass.  After initially approving the mix, Paul began to resent what was done to the song (not sure when he changed his mind or if originally he just went along to keep the peace.)  In any event, this song was front and center in the lawsuit, Paul claiming he would never have done that to the song.  In fairness, however, horns and strings were first suggested by Paul and George during the original sessions. 

I find this song frustrating because there has never been, what I call, a truly satisfactory version of this song released.  The one on the original Let It Be album has too much of the Spector enhancements.  The one on Let It Be Naked is a totally different version, which is not quite as good as the finished version without the enhancements.  The one on Anthology 3 has no enhancements, which it kind of needs a little bit of and it has an annoying spoken word section by Paul.  The best version, I think, is the live one on Wings Over America.  

I like the song a lot, but it’s a shame that the lack of communication and the lack of will near the end resulted in a good song never realizing it’s potential.

 

[BobbyLayne]

 Help qualifies as well.

My Beatles diet was always heavily weight toward Pepper & beyond. The last few months I’ve been listening to everything BUT my favorite period is Help! - Ribber Soul - Revolver being released within 365 days of each other. That to me is their apex as songwriters. Certainly much creativity and experimentation thereafter but just so many great songs on those three.

 

[PIK95]

I wasn't in this draft last time, and I LOVE the beefed up version of Long and Winding Road.  It's perfect to me.  Could have been my number one on some days.  I Me Mine is in the same boat.  Perfection!

On a random side note.  Across the Universe kinda bores me.

 

[BobbyLayne]

I wasn't in this draft last time, and I LOVE the beefed up version of Long and Winding Road.  It's perfect to me.  Could have been my number one on some days.  I Me Mine is in the same boat.  Perfection!

On a random side note.  Across the Universe kinda bores me.

#prepareforbattle

might want to double check your coverages are up to date

 

[falguy]

The Long And Winding Road (Naked Version / Remastered 2013)
2022 Ranking: 23
2022 Lists: 20
2022 Points: 283
Ranked Highest by: Rob (1) Daughter (4) Son2 (4) @PIK95 (5) @otb_lifer (6) @falguy (6) @Tom Hagen (7) Michael (7) @ekbeats (12) @neal cassady (13) @pecorino (13) @Gr00vus (14) @FairWarning (15)
2019 Ranking/Lists/Pts: 65/4/45
 

I don't think the Get Back documentary affected my ranking on this song.  I'm drawn into this song from the very first notes.  Just beautiful.   

 

[BobbyLayne]

That's like 27 straight songs of "man I love this one" reaction.

But not doing so great in the chalk department (2 of the last 3 were outside my Top 25.)

Grateful the ...Naked version exists. Always liked it regardless, but so much better in it's intended form.

 

[PIK95]

I don't think the Get Back documentary affected my ranking on this song.  I'm drawn into this song from the very first notes.  Just beautiful.   

I haven't watched it so...

 

[otb_lifer]

MACCA -  you take me from the insanity of "Helter Skelter" to the gorgeous, breathtakingly poignant "Long & Winding Road" in 3 slot spots. 

I LOVE THIS TO DEATH.

YES, THE SPECTOR VERSION. 

gets me every. damn. time. 

 

[Tom Hagen]

The Long And Winding Road (Naked Version / Remastered 2013)
2022 Ranking: 23
2022 Lists: 20
2022 Points: 283
Ranked Highest by: Rob (1) Daughter (4) Son2 (4) @PIK95 (5) @otb_lifer (6) @falguy (6) @Tom Hagen (7) Michael (7) @ekbeats (12) @neal cassady (13) @pecorino (13) @Gr00vus (14) @FairWarning (15)
2019 Ranking/Lists/Pts: 65/4/45

Getz: Or is this the song that moved up the most in 2022?  Depends on how you want to define it, I guess. Ob-La-Di moved up 68 slots. Road moved up 42 slots.  It went from 1 vote to 13, 10 points to 154. Winding Road went from 4 votes to 20, and 45 points to 283.  That’s an increase of 238 points, which is 84 more points than “dot” increased.  So which one moved up the most?

The four votes in 2019 ranged from #12 to #18.
In 2022, Winding Road had EIGHT votes in the Top 7. There are five songs yet to be posted that can’t make that claim.

So Get Back was a major influence on this countdown, except for one song. I’m wondering why this song had the greatest impact on the list? Hope that can be discussed.

Krista4
My 2019 ranking:  104

2019 write-up:

The Long and Winding Road (Let It Be, 1970)

My view of the Spector-ing of this song is completely the opposite of what I posted above about "I Me Mine."  In this instance, if I were forced to rank the Spector-ed version, it would be in my bottom 20 songs.  I hate what he did on this one that much - to me, it feels like he made it into a Disney song or the part in a particularly schmaltzy rom-com where the two leads run across the screen finally landing into each other's arms.  I also especially despise the "Yeah yeah yeah" from Paul at the end.  I realize some people prefer the Spector version, and I'm not saying those people are all murderers or rapists in their spare time, but that they are not people I'd feel safe being in the same room with.

On my side in the "Spector or no Spector" argument on this song I have some pretty good company - Paul McCartney.  Paul was absolutely livid about Spector being brought in to remix the album, which was done without informing either him or George Martin.  It seems to have been an idea coming from John and Allen Klein (the hiring of whom was another source of huge rancor between Paul and the others), and George and Ringo didn't object.   But Paul's ire was particularly strong in terms of what they did to this song, especially the addition of a female choir, which Paul said never should have been a Beatles record.  In typical nice Paul fashion he later said, "I don't think it made it the worst record ever, but the fact that now people were putting stuff on our records that certainly one of us didn't know about was wrong," but at the time, he was more direct:  God how I  Paul's letter to Allen Klein about this.

Unfortunately the letter didn't do any good.  Nor was George Martin's suggestion accepted that the liner notes should read "Produced by George Martin, over-produced by Phil Spector."

So, I'm evaluating the "Naked" version instead, which is what I've linked above - by the way, I was a little worried about googling "long winding naked" but it all turned out OK.  Listening to that one, what I love most about this song is Paul's voice.  It just might be my favorite Paul vocal in all of Beatledom; it is so pure, tender, and vulnerable.  The problem is that I just don't connect with the rest of the song that well.  Maybe it's just PTSD from the Spector version.  I don't find the lyrics bad, but they also don't do anything for me.  The music is just OK to me - John flubs the bass quite a bit, and I actively dislike some of the piano accompaniment.  But because I love that vocal so hard, I still find this song hauntingly beautiful and count it as a favorite.  Well, a top 100-ish favorite.

Mr. krista:  "The naked version is a lot better, but it’s still not any good.  It just seems so maudlin and affected.  There’s a pomposity about it.  The strings and all that had been the focus of my ire, but hearing it without all that…what I like best are John Lennon’s ####ed-up bass notes."

Suggested cover:  As you'd expect, there are a lot of good covers of this song.  Since Paul said he wrote this song with Ray Charles in mind, and Ray said he cried the first time he heard the song, seems most fitting to post his cover.  Plus, he's Ray Charles.

2022 Supplement:  In 1966, Paul bought a farmhouse on the Mull of Kintyre, a remote retreat from which he could see in the distance a twisting road that would take him to Campbeltown.  Two years later, he developed this song, which became the Beatles’ last #1 hit in the US, reaching that position on June 13, 1970.

Paul has said that what he loves about the song is that it resonates with people in powerful ways:  “For those who were there at the time, there seems to be a double association of terrific sadness and also a sense of hope, particularly in the assertion that the road that ‘leads to your door / will never disappear’.”  He says that he likes to disappear in the writing of his songs, pretending that it is being written or recorded by someone else (as he did with Ray Charles in this one), because “the last thing I’d want to be writing is a Paul McCartney song.”  By putting on a mask, it frees him up and takes away any anxiety, and then at the end, the song takes on its own meaning, with the road leading “not to Campbeltown, but to somewhere you never expected.”

Guido Merkins

One of the most controversial recordings from the Beatles is The Long and Winding Road from the Let It Be album.  Paul brought the song in during the Twickenham sessions in January 1969.  When the idea of a live concert was dropped it was decided that some of the songs could be studio recordings, so at Apple Studios they worked on the song.

Once the album got shelved, John and George brought in Phil Spector who added all kinds of things to the recordings.  The most embellishments were placed on the Long and Winding Road, a harp, heavenly choirs, lots of over the top strings and brass.  After initially approving the mix, Paul began to resent what was done to the song (not sure when he changed his mind or if originally he just went along to keep the peace.)  In any event, this song was front and center in the lawsuit, Paul claiming he would never have done that to the song.  In fairness, however, horns and strings were first suggested by Paul and George during the original sessions. 

I find this song frustrating because there has never been, what I call, a truly satisfactory version of this song released.  The one on the original Let It Be album has too much of the Spector enhancements.  The one on Let It Be Naked is a totally different version, which is not quite as good as the finished version without the enhancements.  The one on Anthology 3 has no enhancements, which it kind of needs a little bit of and it has an annoying spoken word section by Paul.  The best version, I think, is the live one on Wings Over America.  

I like the song a lot, but it’s a shame that the lack of communication and the lack of will near the end resulted in a good song never realizing it’s potential.

I prefer the naked version but I enjoy the Spector version as well.  I love the beautiful melody and the lyrics resonate with me.  I feel like it can be taken as Paul's comment on the band's inevitable breakup, pining for a lost love or reflecting on the people in your life that you know you will always have a connection with even if you don't see them regularly anymore. 

 

[simey]

The Long And Winding Road (Naked Version / Remastered 2013)

This song makes me sad. I don't care to share why, but it consumes me with sorrow. I still think the song is beautiful.

 

[falguy]

I prefer the naked version but I enjoy the Spector version as well.  I love the beautiful melody and the lyrics resonate with me.  I feel like it can be taken as Paul's comment on the band's inevitable breakup, pining for a lost love or reflecting on the people in your life that you know you will always have a connection with even if you don't see them regularly anymore. 

Yes to all of this. 

 

[otb_lifer]

This song makes me sad. I don't care to share why, but it consumes me with sorrow. I still think the song is beautiful.

ditto. 

i walked a very lonely road, literally, to visit my dad in the VA hospital ... always followed by an equally long walk to my then girlfriend, afterward. 

this one hits. hard. 

 

[krista4]

If there was a Beatles song that I would play for someone not familiar with them, it’s Penny Lane.   It has the poppiness of their early stuff, with the production of the later.

I first read this as "poopiness," which I would also agree with.   

 

[Zegras11]

I first read this as "poopiness," which I would also agree with.   

your face....  Oh wait, you're not binky.  

 

[krista4]

Tragically, he also never had a chance to redeem himself for some of those flaws because of the way he left us.

He did in part, in my opinion.  After being nearly a complete absent father to Julian, he took five years off from music in order to raise Sean.   He never really redeemed himself with Julian and Cynthia, of course.  I'd like to think that if he hadn't been murdered, he would have, since he seemed to be in a very good mental space by 1980, but we can never know.  

 

[krista4]

The Long And Winding Road (Naked Version / Remastered 2013)
2022 Ranking: 23
2022 Lists: 20
2022 Points: 283
Ranked Highest by: Rob (1) Daughter (4) Son2 (4) @PIK95 (5) @otb_lifer (6) @falguy (6) @Tom Hagen (7) Michael (7) @ekbeats (12) @neal cassady (13) @pecorino (13) @Gr00vus (14) @FairWarning (15)
2019 Ranking/Lists/Pts: 65/4/45
 

Uh oh, @Shaft41 isn't going to like this!

 

[Shaft41]

The Long And Winding Road (Naked Version / Remastered 2013)
2022 Ranking: 23
2022 Lists: 20
2022 Points: 283
Ranked Highest by: ShaftDaughter (4) ShaftSon2 (4)

My entire thread-long schtick about raising my kids right is invalidated right here.  Totally forgot they did this.  

 

[Zegras11]

Taxman
2022 Ranking: 22
2022 Lists: 22
2022 Points: 285
Ranked Highest by: @FairWarning (1) @Gr00vus (2) @heckmanm (5) @Oliver Humanzee (5) @wikkidpissah (5) @DocHolliday (6) @Encyclopedia Brown (8) @Dwayne Hoover (10) @Anarchy99 (10) @Pip's Invitation (11) Sharon (12) @Alex P Keaton (13) @otb_lifer (14)
2019 Ranking/Lists/Pts: 34/7/114

Getz: Another song that did surprisingly well in 2022. Up 12 slots on 15 more votes and 171 more points. Wasn’t a fan in 2019 at all. But the song has grown on me in the past year. Maybe because I keep getting hit hard by the man and seeing my dollars wasted instead of helping others.

Krista4
My 2019 ranking:  32

2019 write-up:

Taxman (Revolver, 1966)

George's "Oh, so this is what happens to grown-ups" song where he, like the rest of us, first gets a paycheck and sees the government bite out of it.  Unlike my first job at an ice cream joint paying me $2/hour, George perhaps could have afforded to pay a little more, but I can't blame him for protesting what was in fact a 90-95% combined income tax rate in his bracket at the time. Then he learned that the taxes wouldn't even go away when you die due to the "death tax" ("Now my advice for those who die; declare the pennies on your eyes.").  George wasn't the only Beatle upset by this - they all expressed their disgust with this at one time or another.  In fact, since John helped George with the lyrics to this song - notably the lines about the current Prime Minister Mr. Wilson and the opposition party leader and future Prime Minister Mr. Heath - I wouldn't be surprised if some of that cynicism crept into the song from John himself.    

This song represented a first for George, as it was the first time he was given such a coveted spot on a Beatles record - opening track on side one.  This placement as well as the significant time the group put into the song's production indicate to me that this was considered to be one of the record strongest songs...on a record where pretty much every song was insanely good.  Until this thread, I had no idea this was a love/hate song; I assumed all reasonable people loved it.    I assume that those who hate it are mostly turned off by the lyrics, which would be understandable.  Sometimes I find them terribly clever, especially the bridge; sometimes they strike me as irritating or worse as childish or self-serving.  It's my ambivalence over the lyrics that leads to this song missing the top 25.  

wikkid mentioned after I ranked "She's A Woman" that this was the same song.  I should let him point out what he sees as the similarities, but among other things I think the stabby guitars sound similar, and as with the other song, I love that part of this one.  I don't much like Paul's husky vocal on "She's A Woman," though, and prefer George's clear but sneering performance here.  I love the harmonies that come into the call-and-response-style bridge, building to a frenzy that is heightened by the searing guitar solo that follows.  I even love the slightly disturbed-sounding count-in that's not really a count-in, as you can here in the distance the real count-in, all of this harkening back to "I Saw Her Standing There" while simultaneously announcing that this is going to be different.  

The highlights for me, though, are in the bass line/drums, as well as that crazy, brilliant guitar solo.  Credit for almost all of those items goes to Paul.  First, he and Ringo establish a wicked groove with the ever-changing, impossibly quick bass lines and percussion.  Love how these are punctuated after each line of the verse with those cymbal crashes followed by jabby, jarring crashes of simultaneous dueling minor and major chords on the guitars.  Am I the only one who sings "Taxman!!" to those chords even though no one else is singing?  Most importantly, despite this being a George song, Paul performs the guitar solo.  According to Geoff Emerick, "George had a great deal of trouble playing the solo – in fact, he couldn’t even do a proper job of it when we slowed the tape down to half speed.  After a couple of hours of watching him struggle, both Paul and George Martin started becoming quite frustrated.  So George Martin went into the studio and, as diplomatically as possible, announced that he wanted Paul to have a go at the solo instead."  ( @OrtonToOlsen alert.)  Paul told this story slightly differently, indicating that he went to George with an idea for the solo, bringing in an Indian element, and that George suggested he play it.  Despite Emerick's further claim that George was pissed that Paul stole the solo, George stated in an interview in the 1980s that he was pleased to have had Paul play and appreciated that he brought in the Indian feel that George was so intrigued by at the time.  However it came about, there's no doubt that the solo, which was done in one or two takes, was fiercely energetic and stunning, so much so that they decided to re-use it by dubbing it (along with its backing track) over George's vocal at the end of the song.  

Also there's cowbell.

Mr. krista:  "What planet does that guitar solo come from? The 1,2,3,4 is nowhere near the tempo. I’m not sure but I feel like the solos and leads were recorded one way and played backwards.  There’s a real Indian quality.  Ringo’s drums have never sounded like that before.  Just a killer way to open a record.  Doesn’t get any better.  It rocks so hard.  It’s like here, guys, it’s a different thing now.  Surpasses the juvenile lyrics.  Bass line is straight out Jamerson/Motown.  Using his fingers but really heavy, walking all over without stepping on anybody.  He and Ringo just right there – bam."

Suggested cover:  Junior Parker

2022 Supplement:  This song snuck onto my list in the #25 spot this year.  Someone alert the Harrison family!  Am I sure it’s in my top 25?  Of course not, since I’m sure of very little when it comes to Beatles songs.  But the acerbic but clever lyrics that seem to “build” over the course of the song, the bass line, the stabby guitars, and Paul’s guitar solo continue to make it one of my top songs and one of a handful of my favorites from George.

Taxman can be seen as kind of a turning point for George.  Not only, as I mentioned in 2019, did he get his first truly prominent spot on the album, but it was this song that led John to realize that George had become an excellent songwriter.  John claims that he helped George with the lyrics here because Paul wouldn’t, a claim I find doubtful given all the other evidence of Paul helping out on this and other George songs, while John often disappeared when it came to George’s songs.  But whether or not John did participate, he acknowledged that this song changed the dynamic among the three of them, becoming a real songwriter at this point, when prior to that John considered himself and Paul as the only ones (despite George’s prior efforts).  After he became “a composer” in John’s eyes, he produced some of his best and most memorable works with the Beatles on the White Album and Abbey Road.

A near-complete version of this song, with irritating falsetto vocals by John and Paul, was released as part of Anthology 2:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DGn7eUU4kA  This was their last recorded version on the first day of working on this song, and I’m glad they came back the next day to try it again.  This wouldn’t sniff my top 25 with those falsetto parts.

Guido Merkins

Paying taxes is an unfortunate part of life.  When we first realize how much of our money goes to taxes, it can be a little shocking.  Imagine you are a famous rock star in the 1960s and 9 out of every 10 dollars goes to the taxman.  George Harrison realized this and wrote a song called Taxman as a protest against it.

Taxman was a Harrison song given the opening spot on the Revolver album for the first (and only) time.  Lyrics like “one for you 19 for me” and “declare the pennies on your eyes” and “if you get too cold, I’ll tax the heat” make it obvious George is anti-taxation.  He even calls out politicians Wilson and Heath.  John helped him with the lyrics, recalling that Paul “wouldn’t have helped him” and that he didn't want to, but did it because he loved George.

The best part of the song, without a doubt, is the unreal guitar solo played by Paul.  Geoff Emerick in his book, which was very anti-Harrison, made it seem like George couldn’t do the solo so Paul showed him up.  Paul and George both tell a very different story claiming that Paul had an idea for the solo, so Paul played it.  George said he was very happy to have Paul play it and he even put a little Indian thing on it.  In any event, it’s one of the best solos of the 1960s (certainly up to that point, and holds it’s own with the late 60s too) to my ear.  It was so good, they flew it in over the outro as well.  

The rest of the song is just as good with everyone else.  George playing the non-solo lead part.  Ringo and Paul cooking in the engine room and John chiming in with great background vocals with Paul. 

 

[FairWarning]

Looks like I skewed the order with Taxman 1st.

 

[FairWarning]

taxman was one of their first songs that was about more serious subjects.

 

[DocHolliday]

taxman was one of their first songs that was about more serious subjects.

Absolutely killer song.  It’s in my top 25 of course and kicks off my favorite album.   It rocks.   The lyrics are serious. I could listen to this song for hours every day and never complain.   

 

[DocHolliday]

Top 10 for me!!!111

Just kidding. I like Penny Lane, it's fine but it's not really near my top 25. My feelings are similar to Krista's, I feel like it's nostalgia for nostalgia's sake without really having much to say.

Penny Lane may not have the depth of other Beatles songs but the melody is one of their best.   I can’t say Penny Lane without singing it.  Then the melody is my head for hours and I’m in a happy mood. It is Beatles gold.   

 

[Zegras11]

  Unlike my first job at an ice cream joint paying me $2/hour,

@krista4 I'll take two scoops of that new flavor, Rocky Raccoon, sprinkled with a taste of honey please. 


My first job was pumping gas at the 76 Station on Glenoaks and Verdugo in Burbank in 1975.  Made 90 cents/hr.



 

 

[BobbyLayne]

Taxman
2022 Ranking: 22
2022 Lists: 22
2022 Points: 285
Ranked Highest by: @FairWarning (1) @Gr00vus (2) @heckmanm (5) @Oliver Humanzee (5) @wikkidpissah (5) @DocHolliday (6) @Encyclopedia Brown (8) @Dwayne Hoover (10) @Anarchy99 (10) @Pip's Invitation (11) Sharon (12) @Alex P Keaton (13) @otb_lifer (14)
2019 Ranking/Lists/Pts: 34/7/114

Getz: Another song that did surprisingly well in 2022. Up 12 slots on 15 more votes and 171 more points. Wasn’t a fan in 2019 at all. But the song has grown on me in the past year. Maybe because I keep getting hit hard by the man and seeing my dollars wasted instead of helping others.

Krista4
My 2019 ranking:  32

2019 write-up:

Taxman (Revolver, 1966)

George's "Oh, so this is what happens to grown-ups" song where he, like the rest of us, first gets a paycheck and sees the government bite out of it.  Unlike my first job at an ice cream joint paying me $2/hour, George perhaps could have afforded to pay a little more, but I can't blame him for protesting what was in fact a 90-95% combined income tax rate in his bracket at the time. Then he learned that the taxes wouldn't even go away when you die due to the "death tax" ("Now my advice for those who die; declare the pennies on your eyes.").  George wasn't the only Beatle upset by this - they all expressed their disgust with this at one time or another.  In fact, since John helped George with the lyrics to this song - notably the lines about the current Prime Minister Mr. Wilson and the opposition party leader and future Prime Minister Mr. Heath - I wouldn't be surprised if some of that cynicism crept into the song from John himself.    

This song represented a first for George, as it was the first time he was given such a coveted spot on a Beatles record - opening track on side one.  This placement as well as the significant time the group put into the song's production indicate to me that this was considered to be one of the record strongest songs...on a record where pretty much every song was insanely good.  Until this thread, I had no idea this was a love/hate song; I assumed all reasonable people loved it.    I assume that those who hate it are mostly turned off by the lyrics, which would be understandable.  Sometimes I find them terribly clever, especially the bridge; sometimes they strike me as irritating or worse as childish or self-serving.  It's my ambivalence over the lyrics that leads to this song missing the top 25.  

wikkid mentioned after I ranked "She's A Woman" that this was the same song.  I should let him point out what he sees as the similarities, but among other things I think the stabby guitars sound similar, and as with the other song, I love that part of this one.  I don't much like Paul's husky vocal on "She's A Woman," though, and prefer George's clear but sneering performance here.  I love the harmonies that come into the call-and-response-style bridge, building to a frenzy that is heightened by the searing guitar solo that follows.  I even love the slightly disturbed-sounding count-in that's not really a count-in, as you can here in the distance the real count-in, all of this harkening back to "I Saw Her Standing There" while simultaneously announcing that this is going to be different.  

The highlights for me, though, are in the bass line/drums, as well as that crazy, brilliant guitar solo.  Credit for almost all of those items goes to Paul.  First, he and Ringo establish a wicked groove with the ever-changing, impossibly quick bass lines and percussion.  Love how these are punctuated after each line of the verse with those cymbal crashes followed by jabby, jarring crashes of simultaneous dueling minor and major chords on the guitars.  Am I the only one who sings "Taxman!!" to those chords even though no one else is singing?  Most importantly, despite this being a George song, Paul performs the guitar solo.  According to Geoff Emerick, "George had a great deal of trouble playing the solo – in fact, he couldn’t even do a proper job of it when we slowed the tape down to half speed.  After a couple of hours of watching him struggle, both Paul and George Martin started becoming quite frustrated.  So George Martin went into the studio and, as diplomatically as possible, announced that he wanted Paul to have a go at the solo instead."  ( @OrtonToOlsen alert.)  Paul told this story slightly differently, indicating that he went to George with an idea for the solo, bringing in an Indian element, and that George suggested he play it.  Despite Emerick's further claim that George was pissed that Paul stole the solo, George stated in an interview in the 1980s that he was pleased to have had Paul play and appreciated that he brought in the Indian feel that George was so intrigued by at the time.  However it came about, there's no doubt that the solo, which was done in one or two takes, was fiercely energetic and stunning, so much so that they decided to re-use it by dubbing it (along with its backing track) over George's vocal at the end of the song.  

Also there's cowbell.

Mr. krista:  "What planet does that guitar solo come from? The 1,2,3,4 is nowhere near the tempo. I’m not sure but I feel like the solos and leads were recorded one way and played backwards.  There’s a real Indian quality.  Ringo’s drums have never sounded like that before.  Just a killer way to open a record.  Doesn’t get any better.  It rocks so hard.  It’s like here, guys, it’s a different thing now.  Surpasses the juvenile lyrics.  Bass line is straight out Jamerson/Motown.  Using his fingers but really heavy, walking all over without stepping on anybody.  He and Ringo just right there – bam."

Suggested cover:  Junior Parker

2022 Supplement:  This song snuck onto my list in the #25 spot this year.  Someone alert the Harrison family!  Am I sure it’s in my top 25?  Of course not, since I’m sure of very little when it comes to Beatles songs.  But the acerbic but clever lyrics that seem to “build” over the course of the song, the bass line, the stabby guitars, and Paul’s guitar solo continue to make it one of my top songs and one of a handful of my favorites from George.

Taxman can be seen as kind of a turning point for George.  Not only, as I mentioned in 2019, did he get his first truly prominent spot on the album, but it was this song that led John to realize that George had become an excellent songwriter.  John claims that he helped George with the lyrics here because Paul wouldn’t, a claim I find doubtful given all the other evidence of Paul helping out on this and other George songs, while John often disappeared when it came to George’s songs.  But whether or not John did participate, he acknowledged that this song changed the dynamic among the three of them, becoming a real songwriter at this point, when prior to that John considered himself and Paul as the only ones (despite George’s prior efforts).  After he became “a composer” in John’s eyes, he produced some of his best and most memorable works with the Beatles on the White Album and Abbey Road.

A near-complete version of this song, with irritating falsetto vocals by John and Paul, was released as part of Anthology 2:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DGn7eUU4kA  This was their last recorded version on the first day of working on this song, and I’m glad they came back the next day to try it again.  This wouldn’t sniff my top 25 with those falsetto parts.

Guido Merkins

Paying taxes is an unfortunate part of life.  When we first realize how much of our money goes to taxes, it can be a little shocking.  Imagine you are a famous rock star in the 1960s and 9 out of every 10 dollars goes to the taxman.  George Harrison realized this and wrote a song called Taxman as a protest against it.

Taxman was a Harrison song given the opening spot on the Revolver album for the first (and only) time.  Lyrics like “one for you 19 for me” and “declare the pennies on your eyes” and “if you get too cold, I’ll tax the heat” make it obvious George is anti-taxation.  He even calls out politicians Wilson and Heath.  John helped him with the lyrics, recalling that Paul “wouldn’t have helped him” and that he didn't want to, but did it because he loved George.

The best part of the song, without a doubt, is the unreal guitar solo played by Paul.  Geoff Emerick in his book, which was very anti-Harrison, made it seem like George couldn’t do the solo so Paul showed him up.  Paul and George both tell a very different story claiming that Paul had an idea for the solo, so Paul played it.  George said he was very happy to have Paul play it and he even put a little Indian thing on it.  In any event, it’s one of the best solos of the 1960s (certainly up to that point, and holds it’s own with the late 60s too) to my ear.  It was so good, they flew it in over the outro as well.  

The rest of the song is just as good with everyone else.  George playing the non-solo lead part.  Ringo and Paul cooking in the engine room and John chiming in with great background vocals with Paul. 

Truly a seminal release for George as a songwriter and for the band as an entity.

+ Finally a topical song.

They really started to leave behind their signature Merseyside sound here.

So many noteworthy aspects! Per usual, stellar work @krista4 & @Guido Merkins

Love the stabby guitar& biting lyrics!

 

[Zegras11]

Looks like I skewed the order with Taxman 1st.

or it was @krista4 and @Murph's #25 votes that gave it two more points to nudge it up to the next spot, beating Winding Road by two points. 

 

[krista4]

or it was @krista4 and @Murph's #25 votes that gave it two more points to nudge it up to the next spot, beating Winding Road by two points. 

You're welcome, Shaft.

 

[DocHolliday]

My Beatles diet was always heavily weight toward Pepper & beyond. The last few months I’ve been listening to everything BUT my favorite period is Help! - Ribber Soul - Revolver being released within 365 days of each other. That to me is their apex as songwriters. Certainly much creativity and experimentation thereafter but just so many great songs on those three.

I have a hard time choosing a favorite Beatles album.   Abbey Road and Pepper have been favorites but for the last couple of years it’s been Revolver.   Your period of albums from Help!, Rubber Soul, and Revolver is my favorite also.   For years in these threads, I have proclaimed my love of Help! and may like it more than I should.   I can’t quit the first half of that album.  There is some filler in the back half but the beginning of that album is so good.  Most bands would kill for that collection of songs over their career.   

 

[krista4]

@krista4 I'll take two scoops of that new flavor, Rocky Raccoon, sprinkled with a taste of honey please. 


My first job was pumping gas at the 76 Station on Glenoaks and Verdugo in Burbank in 1975.  Made 90 cents/hr.



 

I had to look back to see why I would have brought that up (I don't read my posts).  I worked that job for a total of seven hours.   

 

[falguy]

@krista4 I'll take two scoops of that new flavor, Rocky Raccoon, sprinkled with a taste of honey please. 


My first job was pumping gas at the 76 Station on Glenoaks and Verdugo in Burbank in 1975.  Made 90 cents/hr.



 

My first job was also at an ice cream joint.  Shaw's ice cream. My nickname was 'SCOOP'.  I had one large bicep 

 

[krista4]

I have a hard time choosing a favorite Beatles album.   Abbey Road and Pepper have been favorites but for the last couple of years it’s been Revolver.   Your period of albums from Help!, Rubber Soul, and Revolver is my favorite also.   For years in these threads, I have proclaimed my love of Help! and may like it more than I should.   I can’t quit the first half of that album.  There is some filler in the back half but the beginning of that album is so good.  Most bands would kill for that collection of songs over their career.   

I associate Help! with you since you've mentioned it over the years, as you said.  That three-album period is my favorite as well.  When I did the first countdown, my rankings came out as favoring Revolver and then I think Help! actually was second.  I don't know where the albums would land for me today.

 

[falguy]

I believe this is the complete list of remaining songs (if anyone cares)

Please Please Me
    Misery
    Chains
    Ask Me Why
    Baby It's You
    A Taste Of Honey
    There's A Place
    
With the Beatles
    Little Child
    Please Mister Postman
    Hold Me Tight
    I Wanna Be Your Man
    Devil In Her Heart
    
A Hard Day’s Night
    A Hard Day's Night
    When I Get Home
    
Beatles for Sale
    Words Of Love
    Honey Don't
    Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby
    
Help!
    Help!
    You've Got To Hide Your Love Away
    Ticket To Ride
    Act Naturally
    It's Only Love
    I've Just Seen A Face
    Yesterday
    
Rubber Soul
    Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)
    In My Life
    
Revolver
    Eleanor Rigby
    Doctor Robert
    Tomorrow Never Knows
    
Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
    A Day In The Life
    
Magical Mystery Tour
    NONE
    
The Beatles (aka White Album)
    Wild Honey Pie
    While My Guitar Gently Weeps
    Piggies
    Sexy Sadie
    Revolution 1
    Honey Pie
    Good Night
    
Yellow Submarine
    Only A Northern Song
    
Abbey Road
    Come Together
    Something
    Here Comes The Sun
    Medley
    Her Majesty
    
Let It Be
    Across The Universe
    Dig It
    Let It Be
    Maggie Mae
    One After 909
    
Singles
    Hey Jude
    I Want To Hold Your Hand
    I'll Get You
    Matchbox
    Slow Down
    Strawberry Fields Forever
    The Inner Light
    Yes It Is

Sorry these are not in a random order.

 

[Shaft41]

You're welcome, Shaft.

Let's not pretend 26 is much solace.  

 

[Binky The Doormat]

@krista4 I'll take two scoops of that new flavor, Rocky Raccoon, sprinkled with a taste of honey please. 


My first job was pumping gas at the 76 Station on Glenoaks and Verdugo in Burbank in 1975.  Made 90 cents/hr.



 

minimum wage was $2.10 then - must have been a helluva guy to work for.

 

[Zegras11]

minimum wage was $2.10 then - must have been a helluva guy to work for.

could have been a $1.90 then.   Too long ago to remember.  But I do remember the cents part lol.

 

[Shaft41]

While I will say that I did have many songs receive the Get Back bump (Binky: divot), none of them were close enough to the top 25 to get into it, like is happening for so many other people.  I would have told you before that Let It Be was one of my least favorite albums, and, while it's still nowhere near the top, it's at least more esteemed in my eyes.  It's interesting to see the effect Pete Jackson is having on this thread.  

 

[Tom Hagen]

Taxman
2022 Ranking: 22
2022 Lists: 22
2022 Points: 285
Ranked Highest by: @FairWarning (1) @Gr00vus (2) @heckmanm (5) @Oliver Humanzee (5) @wikkidpissah (5) @DocHolliday (6) @Encyclopedia Brown (8) @Dwayne Hoover (10) @Anarchy99 (10) @Pip's Invitation (11) Sharon (12) @Alex P Keaton (13) @otb_lifer (14)
2019 Ranking/Lists/Pts: 34/7/114

Getz: Another song that did surprisingly well in 2022. Up 12 slots on 15 more votes and 171 more points. Wasn’t a fan in 2019 at all. But the song has grown on me in the past year. Maybe because I keep getting hit hard by the man and seeing my dollars wasted instead of helping others.

Krista4
My 2019 ranking:  32

2019 write-up:

Taxman (Revolver, 1966)

George's "Oh, so this is what happens to grown-ups" song where he, like the rest of us, first gets a paycheck and sees the government bite out of it.  Unlike my first job at an ice cream joint paying me $2/hour, George perhaps could have afforded to pay a little more, but I can't blame him for protesting what was in fact a 90-95% combined income tax rate in his bracket at the time. Then he learned that the taxes wouldn't even go away when you die due to the "death tax" ("Now my advice for those who die; declare the pennies on your eyes.").  George wasn't the only Beatle upset by this - they all expressed their disgust with this at one time or another.  In fact, since John helped George with the lyrics to this song - notably the lines about the current Prime Minister Mr. Wilson and the opposition party leader and future Prime Minister Mr. Heath - I wouldn't be surprised if some of that cynicism crept into the song from John himself.    

This song represented a first for George, as it was the first time he was given such a coveted spot on a Beatles record - opening track on side one.  This placement as well as the significant time the group put into the song's production indicate to me that this was considered to be one of the record strongest songs...on a record where pretty much every song was insanely good.  Until this thread, I had no idea this was a love/hate song; I assumed all reasonable people loved it.    I assume that those who hate it are mostly turned off by the lyrics, which would be understandable.  Sometimes I find them terribly clever, especially the bridge; sometimes they strike me as irritating or worse as childish or self-serving.  It's my ambivalence over the lyrics that leads to this song missing the top 25.  

wikkid mentioned after I ranked "She's A Woman" that this was the same song.  I should let him point out what he sees as the similarities, but among other things I think the stabby guitars sound similar, and as with the other song, I love that part of this one.  I don't much like Paul's husky vocal on "She's A Woman," though, and prefer George's clear but sneering performance here.  I love the harmonies that come into the call-and-response-style bridge, building to a frenzy that is heightened by the searing guitar solo that follows.  I even love the slightly disturbed-sounding count-in that's not really a count-in, as you can here in the distance the real count-in, all of this harkening back to "I Saw Her Standing There" while simultaneously announcing that this is going to be different.  

The highlights for me, though, are in the bass line/drums, as well as that crazy, brilliant guitar solo.  Credit for almost all of those items goes to Paul.  First, he and Ringo establish a wicked groove with the ever-changing, impossibly quick bass lines and percussion.  Love how these are punctuated after each line of the verse with those cymbal crashes followed by jabby, jarring crashes of simultaneous dueling minor and major chords on the guitars.  Am I the only one who sings "Taxman!!" to those chords even though no one else is singing?  Most importantly, despite this being a George song, Paul performs the guitar solo.  According to Geoff Emerick, "George had a great deal of trouble playing the solo – in fact, he couldn’t even do a proper job of it when we slowed the tape down to half speed.  After a couple of hours of watching him struggle, both Paul and George Martin started becoming quite frustrated.  So George Martin went into the studio and, as diplomatically as possible, announced that he wanted Paul to have a go at the solo instead."  ( @OrtonToOlsen alert.)  Paul told this story slightly differently, indicating that he went to George with an idea for the solo, bringing in an Indian element, and that George suggested he play it.  Despite Emerick's further claim that George was pissed that Paul stole the solo, George stated in an interview in the 1980s that he was pleased to have had Paul play and appreciated that he brought in the Indian feel that George was so intrigued by at the time.  However it came about, there's no doubt that the solo, which was done in one or two takes, was fiercely energetic and stunning, so much so that they decided to re-use it by dubbing it (along with its backing track) over George's vocal at the end of the song.  

Also there's cowbell.

Mr. krista:  "What planet does that guitar solo come from? The 1,2,3,4 is nowhere near the tempo. I’m not sure but I feel like the solos and leads were recorded one way and played backwards.  There’s a real Indian quality.  Ringo’s drums have never sounded like that before.  Just a killer way to open a record.  Doesn’t get any better.  It rocks so hard.  It’s like here, guys, it’s a different thing now.  Surpasses the juvenile lyrics.  Bass line is straight out Jamerson/Motown.  Using his fingers but really heavy, walking all over without stepping on anybody.  He and Ringo just right there – bam."

Suggested cover:  Junior Parker

2022 Supplement:  This song snuck onto my list in the #25 spot this year.  Someone alert the Harrison family!  Am I sure it’s in my top 25?  Of course not, since I’m sure of very little when it comes to Beatles songs.  But the acerbic but clever lyrics that seem to “build” over the course of the song, the bass line, the stabby guitars, and Paul’s guitar solo continue to make it one of my top songs and one of a handful of my favorites from George.

Taxman can be seen as kind of a turning point for George.  Not only, as I mentioned in 2019, did he get his first truly prominent spot on the album, but it was this song that led John to realize that George had become an excellent songwriter.  John claims that he helped George with the lyrics here because Paul wouldn’t, a claim I find doubtful given all the other evidence of Paul helping out on this and other George songs, while John often disappeared when it came to George’s songs.  But whether or not John did participate, he acknowledged that this song changed the dynamic among the three of them, becoming a real songwriter at this point, when prior to that John considered himself and Paul as the only ones (despite George’s prior efforts).  After he became “a composer” in John’s eyes, he produced some of his best and most memorable works with the Beatles on the White Album and Abbey Road.

A near-complete version of this song, with irritating falsetto vocals by John and Paul, was released as part of Anthology 2:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DGn7eUU4kA  This was their last recorded version on the first day of working on this song, and I’m glad they came back the next day to try it again.  This wouldn’t sniff my top 25 with those falsetto parts.

Guido Merkins

Paying taxes is an unfortunate part of life.  When we first realize how much of our money goes to taxes, it can be a little shocking.  Imagine you are a famous rock star in the 1960s and 9 out of every 10 dollars goes to the taxman.  George Harrison realized this and wrote a song called Taxman as a protest against it.

Taxman was a Harrison song given the opening spot on the Revolver album for the first (and only) time.  Lyrics like “one for you 19 for me” and “declare the pennies on your eyes” and “if you get too cold, I’ll tax the heat” make it obvious George is anti-taxation.  He even calls out politicians Wilson and Heath.  John helped him with the lyrics, recalling that Paul “wouldn’t have helped him” and that he didn't want to, but did it because he loved George.

The best part of the song, without a doubt, is the unreal guitar solo played by Paul.  Geoff Emerick in his book, which was very anti-Harrison, made it seem like George couldn’t do the solo so Paul showed him up.  Paul and George both tell a very different story claiming that Paul had an idea for the solo, so Paul played it.  George said he was very happy to have Paul play it and he even put a little Indian thing on it.  In any event, it’s one of the best solos of the 1960s (certainly up to that point, and holds it’s own with the late 60s too) to my ear.  It was so good, they flew it in over the outro as well.  

The rest of the song is just as good with everyone else.  George playing the non-solo lead part.  Ringo and Paul cooking in the engine room and John chiming in with great background vocals with Paul. 

I'm a CPA who does mostly tax work and whether in spite of or because of that I never really liked this one.  It's probably because it sometimes feels like someone just set my clients to music.

Also, next time can we do this in like June instead of February and March. Thanks.

 

[krista4]

 bump (Binky: divot),

I will never not laugh at these.   

 

[Alex P Keaton]

The Long And Winding Road (Naked Version / Remastered 2013)
2022 Ranking: 23
2022 Lists: 20
2022 Points: 283
Ranked Highest by: Rob (1) Daughter (4) Son2 (4) @PIK95 (5) @otb_lifer (6) @falguy (6) @Tom Hagen (7) Michael (7) @ekbeats (12) @neal cassady (13) @pecorino (13) @Gr00vus (14) @FairWarning (15)
2019 Ranking/Lists/Pts: 65/4/45

Getz: Or is this the song that moved up the most in 2022?  Depends on how you want to define it, I guess. Ob-La-Di moved up 68 slots. Road moved up 42 slots.  It went from 1 vote to 13, 10 points to 154. Winding Road went from 4 votes to 20, and 45 points to 283.  That’s an increase of 238 points, which is 84 more points than “dot” increased.  So which one moved up the most?

The four votes in 2019 ranged from #12 to #18.
In 2022, Winding Road had EIGHT votes in the Top 7. There are five songs yet to be posted that can’t make that claim.

So Get Back was a major influence on this countdown, except for one song. I’m wondering why this song had the greatest impact on the list? Hope that can be discussed.

Krista4
My 2019 ranking:  104

2019 write-up:

The Long and Winding Road (Let It Be, 1970)

My view of the Spector-ing of this song is completely the opposite of what I posted above about "I Me Mine."  In this instance, if I were forced to rank the Spector-ed version, it would be in my bottom 20 songs.  I hate what he did on this one that much - to me, it feels like he made it into a Disney song or the part in a particularly schmaltzy rom-com where the two leads run across the screen finally landing into each other's arms.  I also especially despise the "Yeah yeah yeah" from Paul at the end.  I realize some people prefer the Spector version, and I'm not saying those people are all murderers or rapists in their spare time, but that they are not people I'd feel safe being in the same room with.

On my side in the "Spector or no Spector" argument on this song I have some pretty good company - Paul McCartney.  Paul was absolutely livid about Spector being brought in to remix the album, which was done without informing either him or George Martin.  It seems to have been an idea coming from John and Allen Klein (the hiring of whom was another source of huge rancor between Paul and the others), and George and Ringo didn't object.   But Paul's ire was particularly strong in terms of what they did to this song, especially the addition of a female choir, which Paul said never should have been a Beatles record.  In typical nice Paul fashion he later said, "I don't think it made it the worst record ever, but the fact that now people were putting stuff on our records that certainly one of us didn't know about was wrong," but at the time, he was more direct:  God how I  Paul's letter to Allen Klein about this.

Unfortunately the letter didn't do any good.  Nor was George Martin's suggestion accepted that the liner notes should read "Produced by George Martin, over-produced by Phil Spector."

So, I'm evaluating the "Naked" version instead, which is what I've linked above - by the way, I was a little worried about googling "long winding naked" but it all turned out OK.  Listening to that one, what I love most about this song is Paul's voice.  It just might be my favorite Paul vocal in all of Beatledom; it is so pure, tender, and vulnerable.  The problem is that I just don't connect with the rest of the song that well.  Maybe it's just PTSD from the Spector version.  I don't find the lyrics bad, but they also don't do anything for me.  The music is just OK to me - John flubs the bass quite a bit, and I actively dislike some of the piano accompaniment.  But because I love that vocal so hard, I still find this song hauntingly beautiful and count it as a favorite.  Well, a top 100-ish favorite.

Mr. krista:  "The naked version is a lot better, but it’s still not any good.  It just seems so maudlin and affected.  There’s a pomposity about it.  The strings and all that had been the focus of my ire, but hearing it without all that…what I like best are John Lennon’s ####ed-up bass notes."

Suggested cover:  As you'd expect, there are a lot of good covers of this song.  Since Paul said he wrote this song with Ray Charles in mind, and Ray said he cried the first time he heard the song, seems most fitting to post his cover.  Plus, he's Ray Charles.

2022 Supplement:  In 1966, Paul bought a farmhouse on the Mull of Kintyre, a remote retreat from which he could see in the distance a twisting road that would take him to Campbeltown.  Two years later, he developed this song, which became the Beatles’ last #1 hit in the US, reaching that position on June 13, 1970.

Paul has said that what he loves about the song is that it resonates with people in powerful ways:  “For those who were there at the time, there seems to be a double association of terrific sadness and also a sense of hope, particularly in the assertion that the road that ‘leads to your door / will never disappear’.”  He says that he likes to disappear in the writing of his songs, pretending that it is being written or recorded by someone else (as he did with Ray Charles in this one), because “the last thing I’d want to be writing is a Paul McCartney song.”  By putting on a mask, it frees him up and takes away any anxiety, and then at the end, the song takes on its own meaning, with the road leading “not to Campbeltown, but to somewhere you never expected.”

Guido Merkins

One of the most controversial recordings from the Beatles is The Long and Winding Road from the Let It Be album.  Paul brought the song in during the Twickenham sessions in January 1969.  When the idea of a live concert was dropped it was decided that some of the songs could be studio recordings, so at Apple Studios they worked on the song.

Once the album got shelved, John and George brought in Phil Spector who added all kinds of things to the recordings.  The most embellishments were placed on the Long and Winding Road, a harp, heavenly choirs, lots of over the top strings and brass.  After initially approving the mix, Paul began to resent what was done to the song (not sure when he changed his mind or if originally he just went along to keep the peace.)  In any event, this song was front and center in the lawsuit, Paul claiming he would never have done that to the song.  In fairness, however, horns and strings were first suggested by Paul and George during the original sessions. 

I find this song frustrating because there has never been, what I call, a truly satisfactory version of this song released.  The one on the original Let It Be album has too much of the Spector enhancements.  The one on Let It Be Naked is a totally different version, which is not quite as good as the finished version without the enhancements.  The one on Anthology 3 has no enhancements, which it kind of needs a little bit of and it has an annoying spoken word section by Paul.  The best version, I think, is the live one on Wings Over America.  

I like the song a lot, but it’s a shame that the lack of communication and the lack of will near the end resulted in a good song never realizing it’s potential.

“The long and winding song……that leads…..to my bore……”

It’s a lovely song.  And I find it dull.

 

[Zegras11]

“The long and winding song……that leads…..to my bore……”

It’s a lovely song.  And I find it dull.

your face is....   Oh wait, you're not Binky.