Hello everyone arriving here from the link on the Blogger homepage. Heartache With Hard Work is a blog about music, with some songs available for download, and a (usually fairly lengthy) discussion of those songs. Usually, the emphasis is on new indie music, but this week I am indulging in my first love, The Beatles, and going through their entire catalogue, ranking the songs from worst to first. This is installment number 5.
Stick around, read, and comment if you’d like…
Today we encounter two songs that could end up in last place for some people (both campy tunes by Paul, unsurprisingly), a few songs by George, and a TON of early period Lennon/McCartney tracks. These are also the last of the songs that, as much as I like them, I could live without. Everything above here is basically essential to my continued (semi)functional existence.
140. Birthday from The White Album
Alright, who doesn’t listen to this song on their birthday? I sure do. It’s got a great guitar riff (one of their best, actually. The Beatles never really were that much about guitar riffs), but it doesn’t really do much beyond that.
139. Run For Your Life from Rubber Soul
I have a tough time getting over the misogynistic lyrics. I try to see it as part of the many dualisms in John’s personality (especially given it’s placement on an album with “The Word”), and academically, that makes sense to me, but it’s hard to really LIKE a song about tracking down and hurting a woman. Y’know? Other than that, it’s a really good song.
138. This Boy from Past Masters, Vol 1
Gets extra points for its placement in A Hard Day’s Night. Ringo’s stroll around town while the song plays is just perfect. It’s got a great three-part harmony, and some very nice John solo lyrics. It goes very well with “Yes It Is,” another pretty three-part harmony
137. I’ll Get You from Past Masters, Vol 1
This is one of those “could be a lot higher or could be a lot lower depending on my mood” songs. It’s fairly standard early-Beatles fare, albeit a pretty solid example. But the harmonies are great, I love the opening line “Imagine I’m in love with you” with its presaging of “Imagine” almost a decade later, and I like that the harmonica becomes basically a rhythym instrument, never taking the mainstage but always in the background guiding the tune. And it’s fun to listen to them stumble on the words, but just plug along in the bridge (1:14 to 1:18).
136. Words Of Love from Beatles For Sale
One of my favorite Buddy Holly songs, and they do a pleasant cover. It’s not substantially different than the original, though the harmonies (particularly as the song fades) are quite nice.
135. Rocky Racoon from The White Album
A lot of people don’t like this song, and I totally understand why. It’s almost a guilty pleasure for me. Still, I think people get too caught up in the silly lyrics, and the meandering half-singing half-talking, not-quite-on-a-beat introduction. The vaguely country feel is pleasantly done, and the musical interludes (the harmonica moving to the front for one bar, the piano solo, which makes you feel like you’re in a saloon, etc.) are perfect. And, despite the fact that the song is basically three and a half minutes of the same beat, it doesn’t sound monontonous.
134. Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite! from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
My favorite part of this song is the circus-like atmosphere in the middle when everything sounds like it’s going in circles. The story goes that John had them snip the tape into little pieces and re-assemble them at random. The imagery of the song is fantastic, and it only improves it to know that it’s basically all cribbed from an old poster John had. Talk about extracting genius from the mundane… Oh, and that crazy section of looped sounds? They recorded it, cut the tape into snippets, tossed them in the air, and re-assembled them at random. Delightful.
133. Tell Me Why from A Hard Day’s Night
I see this as the representative example of the Beatles’ early period. They have better songs and worse songs, and this one is pretty much right in the middle. It doesn’t really go anywhere new, but it isn’t totally conventional. It’s got a great harmony, some nice drumming to hold the beat, and an occasional guitar flourish from George. It’s got some of the bitterness and anger that set The Beatles (and John in particular) apart from many other contemporary artists, but it doesn’t feel as visceral as some of their very best songs from this period. I can’t imagine this is anyone’s favorite Beatles song, but I also can’t imagine anyone who hates it.
132. Only A Northern Song from Yellow Submarine
I go back and forth a bit with this one. At times I really enjoy the melody, the chaotic background sounds, and the slyly self-deprecating lyrics. At others it sounds SLOOOOOOOW, the background is distracting, and the lyrics seem a little too accurate to be ironic. The song is about how George constantly got pushed into the background as a songwriter, and about the deal they had signed with meant they didn’t actually own any of their music (they all were owned by Northern Songs Ltd.), which seems pretty unfair, and eventually led to Michael Jackson owning the rights to all the Beatles songs. Doh!
131. Baby’s In Black from Beatles For Sale
Let’s begin with “oh how long will it take til she see the mistake she has made” – just a fantastic John/Paul harmony. This song is ranked as highly as it is almost solely for the power of that line. The rest of it is decent, though after many years I’m still undecided about the guitar solo. Unlike most George solos, which provide a subtle twist on the main theme, this one goes off into the woods and spins in circles by itself. While it’s a little jarring, the solo, combined with the plodding, waltz-but-not-quite-a-waltz beat give the song a pleasantly chaotic feel.
130. Flying from Magical Mystery Tour
It’s an instrumental, but it really just sounds like they never got around to finishing the song and adding words. The result is a half-improvised take around some very slight changes in chords. And the music only last about 90 seconds, with another 40 seconds of sound effects as it fades into the distance. All that said, I really enjoy the tune, as well as the slightly bouncy guitar that chugs along. I often find myself humming the tune for hours (or even days) after listening to it, and that should count for something, shouldn’t it?
129. The Night Before from Help!
When I was very very young, this was among my favorites. Then, for a very long time I more or less forgot about it and it was relegated to the bottom of the list. Listening to it closely again for this project, I was reminded of how solid a song it really is. Great vocals by Paul, great drumming by Ringo, lovely background vocals. A devastating little song about betrayel.
128. There’s A Place from Please Please Me
Opens with a great harmonica lick and takes off from there. The drum counterpart when they sing “and it’s my mind” is perfect. And, I think the harmony between John and the backing vocals is perfectly discordant. They track along with each other, but for the verses John is slightly off. Paul and George create the framework while John extemporizes. And then, when they join together for the chorus, it has an even greater effect.
127. You’re Gonna Lose That Girl from Help!
Great background vocals is what sets this song apart for me. Paul and George follow closely behind John, echoing his lyrics, kicking in on each line a second or two before John finishes to create a lovely layered effect.
126. The Inner Light from Past Masters, Vol 2
Here’s something that doesn’t sound the same as the rest of their songs. One of George’s Indian-influenced songs, all the backing instruments are Indian and that lilting whatever-it-is that forms the basis of the introduction and appears occasionally through the rest of the song is really something else. It sounds almost human at times. The lyrics are typical spirtual-George fare: “See all without looking, do all without doing.” This was the B-side for Lady Madonna. Could they have found two more different-sounding songs to put together?
125. Long, Long, Long from The White Album
Why, oh why is this song so quiet? Why is it placed right after “Helter Skelter”? Did they want it to end up as the most obscure Beatles song? I have to admit it was only very recently that I gave this one any real attention. This is due to two factors. First, the magic of MP3s makes it easy to play the song on its own instead of just with the album where the contrast with Helter Skelter makes it a huge let-down. Second, the ability to substantially increase the volume of the track makes it easy to actually HEAR it. It used to be one of my least favorite songs mostly because I didn’t realize it had a tune. Now that I’ve turned up the volume substantially, I realize it’s a beautiful song, especially the lightly played bass riff. With a different production and different album placement, this could really have been great.
124. Your Mother Should Know from Magical Mystery Tour
Another one of Paul’s excursion into the dance hall songs of yesteryear. Still, it also clearly benefits from the late 60s musical scene, with a great little bass line, the strong keyboards that drive the song, and the harmonium interludes. It also benefits from a strong ending, just rolling along for the first 1:45 and then suddenly kicking it up a notch as the drums play a much more prominent role in the final verse.
123. Maxwell’s Silver Hammer from Abbey Road
So the synthesizer is almost ridiculously outdated. So the song is cutesy and yet-another Paul tribute to his father’s music. So it’s about a serial-killer. So what? It’s a great song. The bassline is fantastic, Paul’s voice has just the right amount of sly self-awareness, and the chorus is great. It’s an interesting counterpoint to John’s “Instant Karma!” which came out around the same time. Same theme: slightly different approach.
122. Thank You Girl from Past Masters, Vol 1
An early, short song. It’s one of their happier “gee I love love” songs, which I enjoy. I especially like that it’s not about how she’s pretty, but instead about how he likes being with her, and how she makes him feel good. I really like Ringo’s drumming here, too.
121. I Want to Tell You from Revolver
The fade-in opening is used here to great effect, giving the song the feel of something much larger than the simple two-and-a-half minutes that you hear. George said a few years later that he got it exactly wrong. From the Eastern perspective he would soon adopt, it should be “it isn’t me, it’s just my mind.” It’s funny that he stumbled into a line so radically opposite what he would so believe a few years later.
All entries:
Beatles from worst to first 11 (the top 10)
Beatles from worst to first 10 (30-11)
Beatles from worst to first 9 (50-31)
Beatles from worst to first: Interlude
Beatles from worst to first 8 (75-51)
Beatles from worst to first 7 (100-76)
Beatles from worst to first 6 (120-101)
Beatles from worst to first 5 (140-121)
Beatles from worst to first 4 (160-141)
Beatles from worst to first 3 (175-161)
Beatles from worst to first 2 (190-176)
Beatles from worst to first 1 (206-191)
Beatles from worst to first: Introduction
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I Want To Tell You is EXTREMELY underrated. In my personal top 20.