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Post by B.E. on Apr 9, 2022 13:42:52 GMT
I may need some primal therapy now...
01. Help 02. Something 03. She Loves You 04. Eleanor Rigby 05. Here There and Everywhere 06. I Want To Hold Your Hand 07. Nowhere Man 08. No Reply 09. In My Life 10. Yesterday
11. This Boy 12. Across The Universe 13. If I Fell 14. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) 15. Dear Prudence 16. Happiness Is A Warm Gun 17. You Really Got A Hold Me 18. Revolution 19. I'm Only Sleeping 20. Strawberry Fields Forever
21. Don't Let Me Down 22. Here Comes The Sun 23. She's Leaving Home 24. Money (That's What I Want) 25. Let It Be 26. Hey Jude 27. Rain 28. Oh Darling 29. All I've Got To Do 30. Because
31. And I Love Her 32. I Need You 33. All My Loving 34. A Day In The Life 35. Please Mr. Postman 36. Rock and Roll Music 37. You're Going To Lose That Girl 38. For No One 39. Baby It's You 40. Two Of Us
41. Twist and Shout 42. Long Tall Sally 43. Helter Skelter 44. Ticket To Ride 45. Please Please Me 46. I'm Looking Through You 47. I Should've Known Better 48. I Feel Fine 49. Get Back 50. Taxman
51. Girl 52. I'm So Tired 53. It's Only Love 54. If I Needed Someone 55. Penny Lane 56. I'll Be Back 57. All You Need Is Love 58. With A Little Help From My Friends 59. Back In The USSR 60. Tell Me Why
61. I've Just Seen A Face 62. While My Guitar Gently Weeps 63. She Said She Said 64. A Hard Day's Night 65. You've Got To Hide Your Love Away 66. Mother Nature's Son 67. You Can't Do That 68. I'm A Loser 69. Come Together 70. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
71. Eight Days A Week 72. Day Tripper 73. We Can Work It Out 74. Michelle 75. Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band/Reprise 76. Any Time At All 77. Good Day Sunshine 78. I'll Follow The Sun 79. Dizzy Miss Lizzy 80. Yes It Is
81. I've Got A Feeling 82. Anna (Go To Him) 83. Yer Blues 84. When I Get Home 85. The Long And Winding Road 86. When I'm 64 87. The Word 88. One After 909 89. Blackbird 90. Baby's In Black
91. Sexy Sadie 92. It Won't Be Long 93. The Ballad of John and Yoko 94. Julia 95. Good Morning Good Morning 96. Lovely Rita 97. Not a Second Time 98. Bad Boy 99. Rocky Racoon 100. Cry Baby Cry
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Post by Kapitan on Apr 9, 2022 13:43:00 GMT
Very interesting and eclectic list, Kapitan! I was quite surprised to see tracks like "I Wanna Be Your Man" on your list for some reason. And you seem to have a knack for delivering a one-two punch that messes with my mind - in this instance "Maggie Mae" one spot above "Michelle". I recall you liking "Maggie Mae", but still! Also, I was a little surprised to see so many Medley inclusions, and not just on your list, but you seemed to have decided that the whole Medley was making the cut (except "Her Majesty"). Oh, and I tried desperately to include "Bungalow Bill" but ended up dropping it to make room for a more popular track, I think one of the singles. It reminded me of the many similar decisions I make when we discuss the Beach Boys songs. As much as I like the deep cuts, I don't necessarily like them more than the hits! Still, that one hurt to leave off, so I'm glad to see it on someone's list! (I think you were the only one to include it.) "I Wanna Be Your Man" is the kind of track that I think 20 years ago I wouldn't have included at all, but I have definitely come around more toward that kind of pretty straight-ahead, but really infectious pop-rock song.
"Michelle" is a song I do really like, but there has always been something about it that felt not quite as full as I can imagine it being. I penalize it a little for that. If I were a philosopher I'd say there is some platonic ideal version of the song out there in the world of forms that is really, really perfect!
I truly do love the medley. Always have, I think. A lot of people here seem to have agreed, though I've met people who insist it's a bunch of mediocre, unfinished songs artificially stitched together to be a kind of faux-masterpiece, more style than substance. I'll agree that they're unfinished, and maybe more style than substance. (I mean, how much substance is there to those songs? "Have you seen Polythene Pam?") But it's a brilliant, memorable work. Not everything has to be lyrically deep.
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Post by jk on Apr 9, 2022 13:59:37 GMT
I truly do love the medley. Always have, I think. A lot of people here seem to have agreed, though I've met people who insist it's a bunch of mediocre, unfinished songs artificially stitched together to be a kind of faux-masterpiece, more style than substance. I'll agree that they're unfinished, and maybe more style than substance. (I mean, how much substance is there to those songs? "Have you seen Polythene Pam?") But it's a brilliant, memorable work. Not everything has to be lyrically deep.
I couldn't agree more. That's why "Sun King" is one of my four favourite Beatles tracks:
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Post by B.E. on Apr 9, 2022 15:17:58 GMT
Oh, and I forgot to mention that I counted 11 different songs that were included in posters' top 10 that didn't even make my top 100! (And that's including any Medley selections, in whole or part, as 1 song.) I thought that was pretty cool. Speaks to the greatness of the Beatles.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Apr 9, 2022 15:34:39 GMT
It was on my Top 50 for the longest time. I think it's a great song and an underrated (if there can be underrated Beatles'...things) Paul vocal.
The biggest surprise on your list is the omission of "I Saw Her Standing There". 100+ better songs? And, you do have quite a few songs from Please Please Me on there.
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sockit
The Surfer Moon
Posts: 234
Likes: 181
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Post by sockit on Apr 9, 2022 17:30:15 GMT
Here is my top 50 favorite Beatles songs. This was challenging for me because my Beatles playlist changes almost daily depending on my mood. I get a bit bored with some of the big hits I've heard millions of times. But these top favorites are pretty constant with me. 12. Don't Bother Me This one surprised me, sockit! Particularly, how high you ranked it. You probably noticed that I don't rank the early Beatles very highly. I generally don't listen to much of their pre-1965 output. But "Don't Bother Me" is a real standout in my book. It's a fairly simple tune and the production is a bit rough, but George really shines on this one. I like most of his Beatles tunes, except for his Eastern songs.
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Post by kds on Apr 10, 2022 0:42:19 GMT
Wow, I swear about 75 of the 100 Beatles songs I've chosen could be legit Top 10 songs on any given day. Their catalog is much so, so, so, great. I hear ya! For me, I kinda felt like, yes, I clearly prefer my top 25 to my bottom 25 but the 50 in the middle could either be substituted up or down on any given day. And aside from a few songs that had to be near the top, I don't really have definitive favorites. That was probably the biggest takeaway. Well, that, and the fact that I probably prefer 101-125 more than most other artists' entire catalogs! Love to see this! Help was actually the first Beatles album I remember hearing from front to back, when I was 13 or 14. I've loved that song since.
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Post by kds on Apr 10, 2022 0:46:25 GMT
It's great, it sold, it's the bloody Sheriff John Stone's 50 Greatest Beatles' Songs list, shut up :
12 Across The Universe (Let It Be Naked version) 15 The Long And Winding Road 21 Let It Be 34 Two Of Us 42 Get Back (Let It Be Naked version) Interesting that you went with the Naked versions of a couple tracks, but opted for the album version of "The Long And Winding Road". I say that merely because that's the most popular version for fans to hate on. (I also just find the single vs album vs Naked comparisons of Let It Be tracks interesting in general.) I don't really have strong preferences myself, but I think I value the Naked version of "The Long And Winding Road" more than any other. I definitely prefer the album version of "Let It Be", though, due to that being my favorite of the guitar solos. I think I love John's "I hope we passed the audition" quip too much to not lean towards the album version of "Get Back". I noticed Kapitan preferred the Naked version of "Across the Universe" too. I get that, but I've just never been able to settle on a favorite version of that song. I like elements of each, but I especially can't give up the backing vocals in the Past Masters versions (and I like the sound effects!). I actually listened to all the versions I have in a row the other day to try and decide once and for all, but I couldn't make up my mind. It was an interesting listen, though. There's also different takes on Anthology and the deluxe White Album. And I noticed kds went with the single versions of "Get Back" and "Let It Be". Anyway, I'm rambling... I prefer George's slightly more neat solo on the LIB single, also the coda on the single version of GB.
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Post by B.E. on Apr 10, 2022 13:38:40 GMT
This one surprised me, sockit! Particularly, how high you ranked it. You probably noticed that I don't rank the early Beatles very highly. I generally don't listen to much of their pre-1965 output. But "Don't Bother Me" is a real standout in my book. It's a fairly simple tune and the production is a bit rough, but George really shines on this one. I like most of his Beatles tunes, except for his Eastern songs. It's certainly an interesting song, too, considering it's George's first and the relatively negative subject matter. I think what it's missing for me is background vocals, but I still like it!
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Apr 10, 2022 13:44:35 GMT
Did anybody consider "Leave My Kitten Alone" for their list? I had it on mine for a long time before it finally dropped off.
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Post by B.E. on Apr 10, 2022 13:57:27 GMT
It was on my Top 50 for the longest time. I think it's a great song and an underrated (if there can be underrated Beatles'...things) Paul vocal.
The biggest surprise on your list is the omission of "I Saw Her Standing There". 100+ better songs? And, you do have quite a few songs from Please Please Me on there.
I totally agree about "Oh Darling". I love the genre, the arrangement, the performances...how "heavy" it is. Those background vocals are such a nice touch, Ringo's drumming is top-notch as always, I love the aggressive guitar stabs in the verses and picking in the bridge, and of course Paul's vocal is legendary. As for "I Saw Her Standing There", it's hard for me to explain because I love it, but I honestly just think it lands at #101. It wasn't an oversight. I was listening and tinkering with my list all week, and indeed that was the very last cut. Songwriting-wise, and production-wise, I just don't think it's equal to the likes of "She Loves You" or "I Want To Hold Your Hand" or even "Please Please Me". I think, musically, those singles are more exciting. But, to be clear... I meant to answer this in our Doors discussion, SJS...these lists of mine are strictly favorites lists. I suppose it's possible that I'm just a little tired of "I Saw Her Standing There", enough so that it's dropped down a notch but I think I've always thought of it as not quite as great as their other most popular songs. If I were to rate it, I might go as high as an 8.75, but almost everything else on my top 100 I'd rate a 9 or higher! I sort of liken it to "Surfin' Safari" (although I'm a pretty big proponent of Surfin' Safari", personally) in that it's an important early "hit", a concert staple, but the songcraft and production values, and even musicianship, were eclipsed soon after (even if only slightly). Edit: Sheriff John Stone , yes, I'm also higher on "Baby It's You", "Anna (Go To Him)", and "Twist and Shout". (John is my favorite after all - check out my top 20! ) I was also trying to squeeze "Ask Me Why", "P.S. I Love You", and "There's A Place" into my top 100. I kinda surprised myself in how much Please Please Me I was fighting for.
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Post by B.E. on Apr 10, 2022 14:03:56 GMT
Did anybody consider "Leave My Kitten Alone" for their list? I had it on mine for a long time before it finally dropped off. I did, but to make things easier on myself I excluded it for not being properly released in the 60s (whereas "Bad Boy" was). I LOVE that track, though. I can't believe they couldn't find a home for it. I've sometimes thought, in addition to the original "One After 909", "why not dust it off for the Get Back project when they were a little short on John songs?" To be honest, though, I don't think John could have matched that vocal in January of 1969. That recording released on Anthology is awesome. What a band!
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Post by B.E. on Apr 10, 2022 14:18:34 GMT
What about "This Boy"? I think I was the only one who included it. Though, granted, some of the lists were top 50 or 75, not 100, but still...did no one else consider it?
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Post by B.E. on Apr 10, 2022 14:25:39 GMT
Here is a breakdown of my top 100 by year. For comparison-sake, I included Let It Be in 1969 and "Bad Boy" in 1965:
1963: 14 1964: 17 1965: 21 1966: 8 1967: 11 1968: 15 1969: 14
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Post by carllove on Apr 10, 2022 15:40:10 GMT
Two general observations: 1) It was nice to see "She's Leaving Home" do so well. carllove had it at #2! I had it at #23, KDS at #31, SJS at #33, and Kapitan at #46. Although I've always liked and appreciated it very much, I surprised myself how highly I was ranking it (I had it in the low teens at one point). 2) I loved seeing "You're Going To Lose That Girl" on so many lists! Again, carllove led the way at #22, sockit at #35, I had it at #37, KDS at #87, and Kapitan at #91. “She’s Leaving Home”, is so beautiful with it’s lush orchestration, melancholy sustained notes and the heartbreaking lyrics of the “Greek Chorus”. It also hits home with me as I have an only child daughter who literally had everything money could buy, but left home at 16 to tour with her boyfriend’s band. Wikipedia says that when Paul McCartney visited Brian Wilson and played the song for Brian and his wife on the piano in April 1967, Brian and Marilyn both cried. “It was so beautiful”. Composer Ned Rorem once described it as “equal to any song that Schubert ever wrote”. Interestingly enough, George Martin was not involved in the production of the song, and none of the Beatles played any of the instrumentation. The only two Beatles involved were Paul and John.
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