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In this thread I rank my favorite Beatles songs: 204-1. (5 Viewers)

Looks like I have time for one more.  Might as well rip that band-aid all the way off.

36.  Eleanor Rigby (Revolver, 1966)

Beatles version:  Spotify  YouTube

I've mentioned several times here that I'm a sucker for cello in a rock song, and this is no exception.  Except maybe it's not really a rock song, but that's OK.  Of Paul's made-up worlds, this is the one I find most interesting, if a bit cruel.  Paul's vocal is gorgeous and pure, and the string arrangement is flawless.  Using the strings in place of the drumbeat in a rock/pop song was brilliant.  If I were ranking songs I found most impressive or "genius" by the Beatles, this would rank with "A Day In The Life," "Tomorrow Never Knows," and others near the top of the list. There's nothing I don't like about this song; it just leave me a little cold.  Maybe it's supposed to - after all, it's a song about loneliness and isolation. The melancholy description of lives of futility brings me down, but at least it's in a particularly beautiful and poignant way.

After Paul strummed the idea of this song out on acoustic guitar, it was (unsurprisingly) George Martin's idea that the only accompaniment to the vocal be a double string quartet.  Paul actually was skeptical at first, worried that the song would sound too "Mancini," so while he agreed he directed he wanted the strings to sound "biting."  I think they successfully created that "biting" feel, to the horror of the string musicians.   Unlike traditional set-ups where one mic would be placed high over the musicians' heads, for this composition the mics were placed within an inch or two of each instrument, much to the musicians' discomfort.  In each take, one could hear the sound of the musicians moving their chairs back away from the mics, until George Martin told them to stop!  While it wasn't to the musicians' liking, this approach ultimately gave the song that biting yet lush sound on the strings.

Paul has said that he made up the name "Eleanor Rigby" based on Eleanor Bron, the lead actress in Help!, and then digging around for a last name he liked until he saw the shop name "Rigby & Evens" near the Bristol theater where Jane Asher was performing.  But there was a real Eleanor Rigby in Liverpool, born in 1895 and died in 1944.  If you're a crazy person, you can visit her tombtone in Liverpool as part of your Beatles fandom.

Mr. krista:  "That’s a troubling song.  First, it’s a very beautiful song.  I was trying to listen without listening to the lyrics, which bug me. That’s not how you evoke loneliness. But the strings sound so raw.  Not played with vibrato, it’s just ununununun. Like if Kraftwerk programmed a string quartet.  The mic is just picking up everything that happens.  But also cold, which really does evoke that kind of loneliness.  It’s not an easy song.  People must have thought, 'Where the #### are the Beatles.' Like, where’s the guitar?  The vocals are complex.  It’s like Schubert."

Suggested cover:  This is Paul's favorite cover of the song, and who am I to argue?  Ray Charles  Also, via excellent suggestion by @Ted Lange as your Bartender:  Wes Montgomery.  

 
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Once we were nearing the top 50, I began to reference now and then that I had two outside my top 25 that would likely cause wailing, gnashing of teeth, possible rending of garments.  "Let It Be" and "Eleanor Rigby" were those two, so it should be smoother sailing for a little while.

 
Update on #1 guesses:

  1. simey – Abbey Road medley
  2. Mister CIA – She Said She Said
  3. timschochet – Paperback Writer
  4. pecorino – Hey Jude
  5. Binky the Doormat – In My Life
  6. wikkidpissah – Taxman
  7. Dr. Octopus – Got To Get You Into My Life
  8. Nigel Tufnel – You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away
  9. Uruk-Hai – Ticket to Ride
  10. Dinsy Ejotuz – Let It Be
  11. Tom Hagen – Eleanor Rigby
  12. Spock – Rain
  13. Leroy Hoard – A Day in the Life
  14. rockaction  - I Want to Hold Your Hand
  15. Ted Lange as Your Bartender – In My Life
  16. shuke – Abbey Road medley
  17. Alex P Keaton – Something
  18. Getzlaf15 – With A Little Help From My Friends
  19. zamboni – While My Guitar Gently Weeps
  20. neal cassady – While My Guitar Gently Weeps
  21. Shaft41 – Hey Bulldog
  22. Ilov80s – Norwegian Wood
  23. Officer Pete Malloy – I Want to Hold Your Hand
  24. Godsbrother – Dear Prudence
  25. ManofSteelhead – Eleanor Rigby
  26. mike9289 – I’m Looking Through You
  27. heckmanm: Eleanor Rigby
  28. Atomic Punk – A Day in the Life
  29. [Mrs. Punk – In My Life]
  30. bananafish – Abbey Road medley
  31. bonzai – Abbey Road medley
  32. fatguy – Here Comes the Sun
  33. ScottNorwood- Yesterday
  34. Sebowski – I’m So Tired

 
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krista4 said:
Once we were nearing the top 50, I began to reference now and then that I had two outside my top 25 that would likely cause wailing, gnashing of teeth, possible rending of garments.  "Let It Be" and "Eleanor Rigby" were those two, so it should be smoother sailing for a little while.
Click to expand...
I dunno. You're at #36 now, so it's basically on shuffle as far as outrage goes. You have two left that would have been closer to 100 than 25 for me, but :shrug:

I had one of those two you just listed at #13 and the other not ranked (and it would have been closer to 50 than 25). I was sober for a while this weekend and so probably missed one or two, but I have somewhere between 10 & 12 left in my top 25. Granted, most are after my #11 (Penny Lane, if anyone was wondering), but still.......

 
This thread is a complete & total disaster. Low energy write up. Sad! Third rate music critic.Dopey. Fraud. Low IQ. Totally conflicted.

In my superior ratings system, LIB came in at #10 and ER at #7.

Also, I'm Looking Through You isn't even top 70.

 
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krista4 said:
Apologies to @Yankee23Fan as I know it's a favorite of his, as I'm sure it is for many people.

@Mister CIA, you had it right the first time.

38.  Let It Be (Let It Be, 1970)

Beatles version:  Spotify  YouTube

There's nothing I need to say about what I love about this song, since pretty much every other human loves it, and many musicians have described it as a perfect song.  It's such a beautiful vocal; one of my favorites from Paul.  The build on the chorus is gorgeous and compelling; I love how a new texture is added with each repeat.  The backstory is sweet, with Paul having written it during the White Album sessions when his mother came to him in a dream to let him know that things would be all right even though they were ####ty at the time:  "One night during this tense time I had a dream I saw my mum, who'd been dead 10 years or so. And it was so great to see her because that's a wonderful thing about dreams: you actually are reunited with that person for a second...  In the dream she said, 'It'll be all right.' ... I felt very blessed to have that dream. So that got me writing the song 'Let It Be.' I literally started off 'Mother Mary', which was her name, 'When I find myself in times of trouble', which I certainly found myself in."

The reason it's not as high for me as it is for most people is that the lyrics don’t do it for me like they do for others.  As someone who's not religious or spiritual, I don't connect with the lyrics on that level, nor do I feel the encouragement or self-help notions from them that Paul was expressing.  The words "let it be" don't do anything for me.  As a result, while I think it's a beautiful song, it doesn't grab me or move me at all.  Another downside to the song for me is the guitar solo, which sounds cheesy to me and doesn't compare favorably to the guitar parts in other Beatles songs.  Finally, it's a tiny quibble but I dislike the way Paul swallows the "l" about half the times he says "Let it be," after the "speaking words of wisdom" or "whisper words of wisdom" parts (two turns of phrase that I do like, though).  " 'et it be."  Hurts my ears.

That last paragraph makes it seem like I don't enjoy the song; obviously I do for it to rank this highly.  I simply don't enjoy it as much as others, since I fully expect it to be in the top five of the consensus.   

Mr. krista:  "[After playing him the naked version]  I like guitar solo a lot in that version. It was more kind of mrar-mrar, a little more rocking.  It just doesn’t do it for me the way it does most of humanity.  It’s just a fantasy, like if you just wait an answer will come. Mother Mary doesn’t whisper things to do.  People search for answers.  Whisper words – such a lame line.  I’m sure it meant something to Paul McCartney."

Suggested cover:  Does it matter?  Does anything really matter anymore now that I've gone and done this?  
Click to expand...
I'm surprised it made it this far, given your obvious John bias.   

 
krista4 said:
Apologies to @Yankee23Fan as I know it's a favorite of his, as I'm sure it is for many people.

@Mister CIA, you had it right the first time.

38.  Let It Be (Let It Be, 1970)

Beatles version:  Spotify  YouTube

There's nothing I need to say about what I love about this song, since pretty much every other human loves it, and many musicians have described it as a perfect song.  It's such a beautiful vocal; one of my favorites from Paul.  The build on the chorus is gorgeous and compelling; I love how a new texture is added with each repeat.  The backstory is sweet, with Paul having written it during the White Album sessions when his mother came to him in a dream to let him know that things would be all right even though they were ####ty at the time:  "One night during this tense time I had a dream I saw my mum, who'd been dead 10 years or so. And it was so great to see her because that's a wonderful thing about dreams: you actually are reunited with that person for a second...  In the dream she said, 'It'll be all right.' ... I felt very blessed to have that dream. So that got me writing the song 'Let It Be.' I literally started off 'Mother Mary', which was her name, 'When I find myself in times of trouble', which I certainly found myself in."

The reason it's not as high for me as it is for most people is that the lyrics don’t do it for me like they do for others.  As someone who's not religious or spiritual, I don't connect with the lyrics on that level, nor do I feel the encouragement or self-help notions from them that Paul was expressing.  The words "let it be" don't do anything for me.  As a result, while I think it's a beautiful song, it doesn't grab me or move me at all.  Another downside to the song for me is the guitar solo, which sounds cheesy to me and doesn't compare favorably to the guitar parts in other Beatles songs.  Finally, it's a tiny quibble but I dislike the way Paul swallows the "l" about half the times he says "Let it be," after the "speaking words of wisdom" or "whisper words of wisdom" parts (two turns of phrase that I do like, though).  " 'et it be."  Hurts my ears.

That last paragraph makes it seem like I don't enjoy the song; obviously I do for it to rank this highly.  I simply don't enjoy it as much as others, since I fully expect it to be in the top five of the consensus.   

Mr. krista:  "[After playing him the naked version]  I like guitar solo a lot in that version. It was more kind of mrar-mrar, a little more rocking.  It just doesn’t do it for me the way it does most of humanity.  It’s just a fantasy, like if you just wait an answer will come. Mother Mary doesn’t whisper things to do.  People search for answers.  Whisper words – such a lame line.  I’m sure it meant something to Paul McCartney."

Suggested cover:  Does it matter?  Does anything really matter anymore now that I've gone and done this?  
Click to expand...
While this is in my top 5, I have no qualms with putting it where you did.  It would have probably been in a similar place for me a couple of years ago, but then something changed it for me.  My oldest daughter is now 16 and a sophomore, but when she got to be about 12-13, she developed a real aversion to being places without us.  She stopped going to friends' houses for sleepovers, and then eventually even to visit at all.  She didn't want friends even coming over to our house.  She became a complete homebody with a fair amount of anxiety.  In 7th grade, she was supposed to go with other students to a music contest all day.  We were to come up later in the afternoon and hear the concert they had prepared all day.  We ended up having her have a meltdown in the parking lot and refusing to get on the bus to go.  She had been blessed with tremendous musical talent, but we were afraid she would never be able to share it with others in public.  

By the tail end of 8th grade, nothing had really changed from a social aspect, but she came home one day and said that she was going to try out for a solo for a spring showcase talent show kind of a thing.  We were really pleased, but apprehensive that as the date approached, she would not be able to go through with it because of her anxiety.  She was very secretive about what she was performing, even though she had asked us for ideas on what to play the piano and sing.  But she would work on it weekly with her piano teacher and didn't even really want to practice it when we were around.  

A week or so before the talent show, we got confirmation that she was, indeed, performing "Let It Be".  Prouder parents, we could not be.  As the day approached, she didn't seem to be showing any signs of fear and anxiety, and we were very optimistic.  The day before the concert, she came down sick.  So sick, in fact, that she couldn't perform the night of the concert and stayed home in bed.  She was bummed, as were we.  A month or so later, her school choir was going to perform an outdoor concert with the band during lunchtime downtown.  We found out that the teacher was going to have some soloists perform as well.  I took the day off of work so I could help transport my parents downtown so we could hear her.  Needless to say, she knocked it out of the park, and I'm not sure I've ever been more proud.  

The lyrics do it for me more now after hearing my daughter sing them.  Coming from the place where she was coming from, just calming down and having the confidence to get up there and let it be and share her gift with the world made them mean more to me.  So, there's no way that song can't be near the top for me now.  

 
The Future Champs said:
I'm surprised it made it this far, given your obvious John bias.   
Click to expand...
She said early on in this thread that John's songwriting was more personal, and even exposed the ugly sides of himself, and that type of writing generally appealed to her more.  However, she also has expressed many times over how brilliant and genius Paul is. I too gravitate more towards John's songs, but I love Paul's songs as well, and krista still has more Paul songs coming up in her countdown.  Her countdown isn't what songs she thinks are the best Beatles songs, it is what songs she personally likes the most.

 
I remembered today how in 1965ish my sister played me all her Beatle records until I could correctly tell her which Beatle was singing each song. I mastered it pretty quickly for a non-musical nine year old. She seemed proud of me.

 
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simey said:
She said early on in this thread that John's songwriting was more personal, and even exposed the ugly sides of himself, and that type of writing generally appealed to her more.  However, she also has expressed many times over how brilliant and genius Paul is. I too gravitate more towards John's songs, but I love Paul's songs as well, and krista still has more Paul songs coming up in her countdown.  Her countdown isn't what songs she thinks are the best Beatles songs, it is what songs she personally likes the most.
Click to expand...
Sure.   As someone who leans more towards Paul, I’m just kevetching.

 
I think I said it before but I will say it again.  I love the lyrics to Eleanor Rigby.  They have always fascinated me like no other song.  

 
krista4 said:
Mr. krista:  "Great, another great Paul jam made greater by a great guitar jam.  I like those needlie needlie nees.  [Attempts to sing guitar parts.]  That's a great band, that can do those needlie nees.  Lots of guitarists try to do the needlie nees but it sucks.  Like Guns N Roses, try to do the needlies nees, and it's garbage.  These guys rock the needlie needlie nees."
Click to expand...
Mr K losing it.  Slash kills.  Killed it with GnR and still killing it today.  

 
Haven’t read anything since my last post but wanted to say I’m driving home listening to my #189 song and LOVING IT.  That’s how good all this #### is.

 
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Drive My Car, #52.  Actually I’m good with that ranking.  Beep beep, beep beep, yeah!

 
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OK, I'm home now so can stop live blogging the Beatles Channel.  Will catch up on posts and then try to do a couple of write-ups.  

 
Uruk-Hai said:
I dunno. You're at #36 now, so it's basically on shuffle as far as outrage goes. You have two left that would have been closer to 100 than 25 for me, but :shrug:

I had one of those two you just listed at #13 and the other not ranked (and it would have been closer to 50 than 25). I was sober for a while this weekend and so probably missed one or two, but I have somewhere between 10 & 12 left in my top 25. Granted, most are after my #11 (Penny Lane, if anyone was wondering), but still.......
Click to expand...
Yeah, I figured some of the pointless whining would cease once we reached the arbitrary top 50 line. 

The Future Champs said:
I'm surprised it made it this far, given your obvious John bias.   
Click to expand...
Oh, nevermind.

 
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