Worst Beatles Single

I can't believe Strawberry Fields/Penny Lane won the other poll, because it's by far the stinkiest thing in the Beatle catalogue.

Hate "Love Me Do" so damned much. That fucking harmonica!

Yeah that's probably it with Baby You're a Rich Man dragging the otherwise tolerable All You Need Is Love down into the pits

My vote is probably for the labored, wheezy Blueshammer warmup of "Get Back"/"Don't Let Me Down," but I'm going to sleep on it because I know there are times when I've liked both songs more than I do now. "Love Me Do" is at least fun to sing along to.

"All You Need Is Love"

Ticket to Ride, easy.

Come Together

Tossup between Hey Jude and Let It Be. (Hey Jude is probably worse, but B-sides may balance them out.)

lady madonna or ballad of john and yoko

"Ballad of John & Yoko" is such a minor song it shows that the Beatles could have released any old song as a single and it woulda gone Top 10. I'm sure that was released just to keep John happy, since he hadn't had an a-side in a while.

it's funny how the b-sides are better on the entire second half of the list.

Lady Madonna/Inner Light, narrowly over John Yoko/Brown Shoe

WAHT Ballad of John & Yoko is probably in the top 10 of my favorite Beatles tracks.

That last exasperated "CHRIST!" aside, it hasn't grown on me much in the last few years - thought it was great when I first got into the band but there's not too much there to discover. Really wish they'd given it a little more of their usual effort, maybe, you know, gotten the rest of the band to play on it. Ringo could have REALLY helped it out I think.

Voted "Something" b/w "Come Together", two Beatles classics that never did much for me.

Ballad of John and Yoko is probably my favourite Beatles tune. So many others are just too familiar - this song has a great story - giving a fair idea of what it must be like to be a Beatle. "Christ you know it aint easy" quite amusing considering the furore created with the earlier 'God' comments. Plus that wierd burpy guitar playing that sounds quite spacey and strange. Kind of feels more like a Lennon solo joint more than anything but who cares.Its ace.

Also the momentum and repetition in the song kind of nicely matches the feeling of being chased and harried across the planet.

All You Need Is Love / Baby....
vapid and insipid b/w navel-gazing and self-satisfied
Fab Four at their worst

I can't stand Come Together but I love Something, otherwise that was my first pick. I'll probably go with Get Back, it's pretty dull and the b-side is barely a song.

Ballad of John and Yoko is a favorite of mine, and Old Brown Shoe is a very underrated classic.

I feel like it's cheating to pick "Love Me Do/P.S. I Love You" but it's really the only one where I could easily never listen to the A or B side ever again.

All You Need Is Love / Baby....
vapid and insipid b/w navel-gazing and self-satisfied
Fab Four at their worst

I agree about All You Need is Love for all the reasons you mentioned, but I have always really liked Baby You're A Rich Man.

I sort of file Baby You're A Rich Man with the Yellow Submarine songs as "Beatles songs they never play on the radio and I sort of forget about them" - whatever its grating qualities it's still kind of a nice surprise, and worth it just for the twisty, speed-uppy intro, which sort of feels like the last good trip these guys ever went on. The lyric is pointless, though.

Let It Be/You Know My Name

I have a lot of time for saccharine Macca, but man oh man do I hate "Hey Jude"

Nothing against "Revolution", but "Hey Jude" is one of my least favorite songs ever.

Whenever I look at one of the lesser sides of these double-sided singles, it's impossible for me to vote because the other song pulls me back. "All You Need is Love/Baby You're a Rich Man" comes closest to irritating me.

the first three are kinda lame seeing as how they had better songs on the records at the time imo. but yeah, as mentioned up thread, the sucky A-sides are typically balanced out with B-sides i can totally get on board with. I like Baby yr a rich man!! the lyircs are dumb as hell, but man so was like everything else they were doing around then. i like a lot of that MMT stuff though. Ballad of/ old brown shoe might be my favorite... either that or it's getting mega points for not being ruthlessly over-played

I don't hate "Ballad of J&Y" by any means, I just think it's minor. "Hello Goodbye" is probably worse, but "Walrus" on the flip kept me from voting for it.

"Baby You're a Rich Man" would be in my Top 10 Underappreciated Beatles Songs entirely because of the tremendous verses and that swirly psych keyboard; unfortunately the chorus doesn't remotely live up to the rest of the song. (Side note: It occurred to me recently that there aren't any "psychedelic" McCartney songs, only Lennon and Harrison. Am I forgetting any?)

Well, "Yellow Submarine," sorta.

Paul was the last to try acid and it doesn't seem to have ever really been his thing as fully - his free-thinking counterculture type songs tend to be sonically straightforward - "Fool on the Hill" is the main thing that comes to mind. He certainly used the period's freedom as much or more than any of the others, taking the opportunity to cover a ridiculous amount of ground in terms of genre... but there's nothing as soupy and dense as "Walrus" or "It's All Too Much" to his name.

With Paul "psychedelic" often took the form of experimenting with vaudeville ("When I'm 64," etc).

I went "Paperback Writer" b/c it sounds like they're copying the Monkees, which seems really wrong in the scheme of things. "Ballad of J&Y" was saved by the B-side, one of George's best.

"Paperback Writer" beat "Last Train to Clarksville" to stores by a couple of months, but I totally get what you're saying.

ok, you guys don't have to agree with me in "Ballad of John and Yoko" = worst.

But those of you saying "Ballad"'s your favorite, THEN saying "Hey Jude" or "Lady Madonna" or "Paperback Writer" is the worst = CRAZY FUCKING TALK

"Ballad of John and Yoko" = whiniest Top 40 song ever?

ps I don't hate John nor Yoko. I love the Plastic Ono Band stuff

Over at Popular, Tom wrote this, which kind of nails the central problem of the song...whatever its charms, it's kind of hard to become invested in the speaker's woes:

Knocked out quickly with half the band absent it’s a postcard from Lennon and Ono’s ‘68-’69 peace tour, turning on the repeated chorus suggestion that “the way things are going / They’re gonna crucify me”.

The background to this imminent martyrdom includes:

* Honeymoon in Paris
* Marriage in Gibraltar (“near Spain”!!)
* Staying in bed for a week
* Pillow-talk with new wife on spiritual matters
* Stopover in Vienna to eat cake
* Warm reception on return from British press

Set against this we have a certain amount of interested cynicism from other pressmen and some difficulty getting a boat in verse one. Even so it’s fair to say Jesus had a harder time of it.

I really really really hate "You Know My Name, Look Up the Number." Can't believe it's Paul favorite Beatles track.

I sorta love all these a's & b's except the crap from the colorful suit era ("Strawberry Fields", "Penny Lane," most Sgt. Pepper stuff). THOSE are the songs where writing takes a backseat to pastiche, and a bad pastiche it is.

decided to go with "hey jude." no b-side can justify that crap.

All You Need Is Love has always been intolerable.

I don't hate "Ballad of J&Y" by any means, I just think it's minor. "Hello Goodbye" is probably worse, but "Walrus" on the flip kept me from voting for it.

"Baby You're a Rich Man" would be in my Top 10 Underappreciated Beatles Songs entirely because of the tremendous verses and that swirly psych keyboard; unfortunately the chorus doesn't remotely live up to the rest of the song. (Side note: It occurred to me recently that there aren't any "psychedelic" McCartney songs, only Lennon and Harrison. Am I forgetting any?)

― Hideous Lump, Saturday, January 3, 2009 9:09 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

helol goodbye is the only good beatles song marinate on that

helol

"Yellow Submarine" is my least favorite Beatles song. Can't take a second of it.

"Hey Jude" is totally redeemed by its extended coda.

what exactly is wrong with hey jude? it's not the long and winding road for chrissakes! great, great melody, great vocal, wonderful Lennon harmonizing, great buildup, yeah the outros a little gratuitous but he does a good little richard so why not? it's also a very pure sentiment, sort of the anti-Baby Youre a Rich Man. If you see the David Frost "performance" on the Anthology DVD(even though alot of it looks lipsynched), I really defy you not to like it at least a little...

hey jude maybe not objectively horrible (up 4 debate n e way), just tired of hearin that shit

wait a sec...where is long and winding road in this poll?

"Hey Jude" is totally redeemed by its extended coda.

― inhibitionist, Saturday, January 3, 2009 7:25 PM Bookmark

This is the worst part. It seems like it's about 5 hours long.

blasphemy

wait a sec...where is long and winding road in this poll?

Not a UK single.

went with "Let It Be" largely b/c of the b-side about which we should pass over in silence, but the a-side is something I rarely want to hear (still fucking great though).

i voted for the politics of messenger bags

hey jude maybe not objectively horrible (up 4 debate n e way), just tired of hearin that shit

Which is why the thread is called "Worst Beatles Single," not "Beatles Single I'm Most Sick Of" (which would be ending a thread title with a preposition, which is not allowed).

"Ballad of John and Yoko" = whiniest Top 40 song ever?

Does this mean they invented emo?

well, lyrically whiney, not in timbre. I think Billy Corgan has a lot to answer for on the latter front. (and i'm not a smashing pumpkins hatah)

The correct answer here is clearly All You Need is Love.

"s not i's - xcuse me

all you need is love BLOWZ

the correct answer is rarely discussed, thus, silent majority typically rulz rollz

damn, i think i just got drunk!

It's between Lady Madonna and Get Back for me. Lady Madonna is somewhat saved by a likable bridge, and a decent b-side. I really dislike Get Back all the way through. Even the tone of Paul's voice annoys me on it. But...I like Don't Let Me Down, enough to almost offset it. So maybe it's Let It Be/You Know My Name?

"Hello Goodbye"'s my least favorite a-side, but I love "I Am The Walrus" to pick it. Gonna have to go with Let It Be.

too much to pick it, rather

it's funny how few of these singles rank among the best beatles songs for me, and i'm a pretty big fan. "please please me," "hold your hand," "AHDN," "help," "strawberry fields"/"penny lane" and that's about it. i'm sick of all the big mccartney ballads and their late-period back-to-basics stuff doesn't do much for me. "hello goodbye" sounds really forced and contrived, but yeah, "walrus" is more than enough to offset it. "ballad" is lennon at his most insufferable but i like "old brown shoe." i'm probably going to have to go with "lady madonna," which is pleasant enough but really sounds like the first beatles single of all that any old band would have knocked off, nothing special or interesting about it at all.

"Ballad Of John And Yoko".

The single song that I dislike the most is "Come Together", but that one was a double a-side with the brilliant and beautiful "Something".

"Ticket To Ride" without a second thought. It sounds like they're not even trying.

'i feel fine' seems to me as the most boring, mediocre. def. the worst. i can't even remember what the b-side 'she's a woman' sounds like.

BRANG
DANG
DANG
DANG
BRANG
DANG
DANG
doodoobiedoo
doodoobiedoo
mah love don't giive me presents
I know that she's no...peasant

Tossup between Hey Jude and Let It Be. (Hey Jude is probably worse, but B-sides may balance them out.)

― xhuxk, Sunday, 4 January 2009 00:41 (17 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

^

"ticket to ride" is wonderful.

John's vocal is a little bit woozy though, I have to give the haters that. But the rest of the band is in top shape, Ringo is having lots of fun...

The only single on that list wherein both the A side and B side are bad is Day Tripper and We Can Work It Out. Everyone should vote for it. Day Tripper is saved by Yes It Is, Paperback Writer is saved by Rain, Hey Jude by Revolution. Also, You Know My Name (Look Up The Number) is excellent IMO. Obviously it's long and repetitive, but I'll be damned if it isn't the best sounds-like-they-were-having-a-whole-lotta-fun-when-they-recorded-it song i've ever heard.

We Can Work It Out is bad? You are clearly insane.

'm probably going to have to go with "lady madonna," which is pleasant enough but really sounds like the first beatles single of all that any old band would have knocked off, nothing special or interesting about it at all.
otm

what the hell is wrong with day tripper?!?! (xxp)

The Help-era singles are all Godlike. WTF @ people are voting ticket to fucking ride as worst Beatles single???

It's a one riff song.
(xpost)

What's right with it: textbook example of the Beatle's patented layered intro.

Don't know what the beef is with "Ticket To Ride": where else will you find such an enjoyably stop start and stumble drum beat? Well maybe in that Hüsker Dü song that copies it, but still.

Which also functions as proof that it was better when Paul told Ringo what to play but still let Ringo play it, as opposed to playing the drums himself.

"Ticket to Ride" is worth it for the part where John goes "OOoooh..." before the last chorus, alone.

lol at "all other Beatles fans on the internet are batshit insane except ME!!!!".

I'm guilty as charged.

"Ticket To Ride" is not their strongest moment, but obviously beats most of the post 1967 singles anyway.

Paperback Writer/Rain - 10/8, average 9
Day Tripper & We Can Work It Out - 9/8, average 8.5
Help!/I'm Down - 9/8, average 8.5
Strawberry Fields Forever & Penny Lane - 10/7, average 8.5
I Feel Fine/She's A Woman - 9/8, average 8.5
Ticket To Ride/Yes It Is - 10/7, average 8.5
Something & Come Together - 9/7, average 8
A Hard Day's Night/Things We Said Today - 9/7, average 8
Please Please Me/Ask Me Why - 9/5, average 7
She Loves You/I'll Get You - 10/4, average 7
I Want To Hold Your Hand/This Boy - 9/5, average 7
Can't Buy Me Love/You Can't Do That - 8/6, average 7
Hello Goodbye/I Am the Walrus - 6/8, average 7
Hey Jude/Revolution - 5/9, average 7
Eleanor Rigby & Yellow Submarine - 8/4, average 6
Get Back/Don't Let Me Down - 6/6, average 6
From Me To You/Thank You Girl - 6/4, average 5
All You Need Is Love/Baby, You're A Rich Man - 6/4, average 5
Love Me Do/P.S. I Love You - 3/6, average 4.5
Ballad of John and Yoko/Old Brown Shoe - 6/3, average 4.5
Lady Madonna/The Inner Light - 5/3, average 4
Let It Be/You Know My Name (Look Up the Number) - 4/2, average 3

10 pt. scale, obv.

that list is fucking wack. the average rating was 6.2 (yes i counted), and this is the fucking beatles singles! also, paperback writer a ten? i'll get you a four? you can't do that/don't let me down/all you need is love a six?! i realize how ridiculous it is to argue about shit like is, but dude you should lower your standards.

i dont know if this is separate-thread worthy, but what about worst song, single or not? hey bulldog gets my vote. discuss!

I think there's a Worst Beatles Song thread, from pre-poll days. (Whatever the lameness of polls, they at least get everything listed there so you don't forget anything.)

Worst Beatles anything is really contaminated a lot by resentment over canonization of crap songs - so I am very tempted towards contrarian voting for things like the snoozey "Come Together" even though it's clearly better than inoffensive and overlooked filler like "Hold Me Tight." You can guarantee that the winner of that poll would not be anything close to the worst Beatles song.

So here's how it breaks down for me:

CLASSIC through and through:

She Love You/I'll Get You
I Want To Hold Your Hand/This Boy
Paperback Writer/Rain
Eleanor Rigby & Yellow Submarine
Strawberry Fields Forever & Penny Lane
Hello Goodbye/I Am the Walrus (just barely on "Hello Goodbye")

One side saved by another:

From Me To You/Thank You Girl
Can't Buy Me Love/You Can't Do That
A Hard Day's Night/Things We Said Today
Help!/I'm Down
Day Tripper & We Can Work It Out
Hey Jude/Revolution
Please Please Me/Ask Me Why

Nothing classic, but pretty darn good, eh

Ticket To Ride/Yes It Is
Something & Come Together
Ballad of John and Yoko/Old Brown Shoe ("Ballad" is inane but "CHRIST!", "Old Brown Shoe" is memorable, should have gotten more attention from the band)

Kind of dull really:

Love Me Do/P.S. I Love You

Lady Madonna/The Inner Light

Outright LOUSY

Get Back/Don't Let Me Down
All You Need Is Love/Baby, You're A Rich Man
Let It Be/You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)
I Feel Fine/She's A Woman

Starting to really lean towards All You Need/Baby. Probably the one 45 here that if you played it for an alien you would give them no concept of why this band was popular.

Christ, how can anyone dump on "I Feel Fine?" Sounds fucking revolutionary 40+ years later.

Pretty good B-side too.

yeah that is ridiculous, both are 10s if we're playing that game

I guess we're just going to have to agree to disagree call each other crazy.

Never been a big fan of 'Get Back' - especially since that outtake with the original lyrics.

'Don't Let Me Down' is an absolute stinker.

"I Feel Fine," I dunno...I'll give it John's vocal, some of his better rock n roll singing - I just think it's a kind of dumb lyric. "She's A Woman"'s is worse but they're both dopily materialistic, I don't relate to either of them particularly, nor do I much enjoy singing along, which saves several of these songs for me...

Never knew everyone hated "Hey Jude" that much, one of my very favorite Beatles songs. I also love that weird album they built around it.

"Don't Let Me Down" is a dud?!?

I've gone for Paperback Writer/Rain. Especially Rain - songs about the rain suck. Paperback Writer is ok I guess, but a bit boring.

Ballad of John and Yoko is pretty wack too - it's more or less a John solo song.

Get Back is awful, but Don't Let Me Down has that lovely organ riff that makes me feel nostalgic. Think it was one of my Dad's faves.

"Don't Let Me Down" also has that great guitar sound and Paul's agonized harmonies.

At this point, after raking over the sandbox for so long, even for the songs I don't like very much there's some little bit of business, some drum fill, bassline, harmony or weird time signature that saves it for me.
(xpost)

Except for the ones where Macca is the drummer, where I have a hard time not focusing on that. But even those...

that list is fucking wack. the average rating was 6.2 (yes i counted), and this is the fucking beatles singles!

I should have mentioned that I rated these against each other, not against the rest of the world of mere mortals. Add a point or two to everything if you want. "This song goes up to 11."

At least everyone's craziness in this thread will balance out, making it a somewhat unpredictable poll.

I still don't understand this fascination about "Old Brown Shoe". It's OK and all, and yes, it is better than "Ballad Of John And Yoko" and obviously should have been the a-side, but George Harrison has written lots of considerably better songs.

I think it gets the boost of all unheralded B-sides: they avoid overplay by radio as well as by novice fans, then you get to discover them tucked away on the compilation and they sound really fresh compared to everything else. Also a few really good lyrics of a bent George doesn't do so often, mainly "Want a short-haired girl who sometimes wears it TWICE as long!" No idea what that means but I totally know what it means, y'know?

Also "For your sweet top lip I'm in the QUEUE!"

Anthology version is good too.

I should have mentioned that I rated these against each other, not against the rest of the world of mere mortals. Add a point or two to everything if you want. "This song goes up to 11."

well, i'm relieved.

I left out Free As A Bird and Real Love for fear they would derail everything

good choice, but i can't imagine anyone voting for real love. maybe i'm alone on this, but it's definitely in my top 5 john songs.

Dude, people are voting for Paperback Writer and We Can Work It Out here. ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.

XXP But there have been so many good unheralded b-sides. I would say the best completely unheralded Beatles b-side is probably "This Boy". Also love "Thank You Girl".

blasphemy

― miss precious perfect (musically), Saturday, January 3, 2009 7:42 PM Bookmark

When I was a senior in HS, one of the few black students at my all-white school, there was an assembly I couldn't manage to get out of, and at the end of the assembly they played "Hey Jude", which at that point I'd never heard in my life. Everyone else sang along to this song I'd never heard before, and then it got to the coda and it just kept going on and on forever and ever with 2000 white kids surrounding me, enthusiastically chanting this neverending unfamiliar refrain. It was surreal. I have never felt more alienated in my life than that moment and I've absolutely detested "Hey Jude" ever since.

heh owned

Reminds me of Tom Ewing's complaint, that it starts out as an avuncular cheer-up chat and devolves into a gregarious, unsolicited bear-hug from which there's no escape and you wind up feeling sorry for Jude. Anyway I can sympathize, on the general principle that anything used in a school assembly context connotes forced fun, which, aligned with race or not, sucks.

I've already voted, but I would consider rating "Let It Be" higher because George's solos are fantastic.

"Hey Jude" is actually a nice little song that probably would have worked perfectly had George Martin had the balls to stop it at 3 and a half minutes.

Yeah, that's probably otm.

The Let It Be outro is pretty good the first couple times you hear it though.

They were running things by that point, Geir.

I don't think they even recorded that at Abbey rd

i don't hate "hey jude" the way some people do, but i definitely like assagai's awesome version better:

(uh i guess ignore the odd footage of old folx strolling in the park...)

i love don't let me down even tho i generally dislike the beatles

Can't fathom the dislike for Paperback Writer or Ticket to Ride or Day Tripper/We Can Work It Out. Surely the 64-66 run of singles is their best.

I hate Get Back but Don't Let Me Down makes it impossible to vote for. Also, All You Need is Love/Baby You're a Rich Man is pretty bad, relatively speaking of course.

Ultimately I had to go with Love Me Do, just incredibly simplistic and obnoxious. Please Please Me seems light-years ahead of it in every way

Favorite thing about that song is a few tunes removed: it's the story of Steve Jones saying how when Glen Matlock showed him the songs Glen played all these "wanky Beatle chords" and Steve replied: "Look, you're going to get a Major chord and that's it!" "When Glen played 'Anarchy' it didn't sound like 'Anarchy' it sounded like 'Love Me Do'."

Can't fathom the dislike for Paperback Writer
Me neither. It's the sound of Paul liberating himself from that clunky old Hofner.

Love Me Do vs. Ballad of John and Yoko

heyyyyyyyyy Jude

Guys, "Hey Jude" has to be so long because of that long part at the beginning when Ringo isn't drumming.

Let It Be

"Hey Jude" should have started with 2 minutes of Ringo alone, then add Paul and others, end it at 3:30

The version of Let it Be where the especially squealy guitar solo comes rising out of the quiet organ break is my fave.

From Me To You/Thank You Girl is probably the least compelling of these. The others have at least one good song. I Feel Fine is a bore but I like She's A Woman, for example.

Looking at the list reminds me how little use I have for Late John, and even less for solo John. Such laziness and hypocrisy, phoning in that drawly laconic vocal like it's supposed to be some sort of deep metacomment on rockstardom. As if he hadn't scrambled like fuck and craved every bit of the attention, and as if he didn't expect everyone to still lap it up. As if we're all supposed to be wowed by his lack of conviction and by his barely-disguised contempt for us; how deep, he's all dispassionate & like a guru & shit. Spare me.

Most of the crap/overplayed A-sides on this list are redeemed by their flipsides: I'll tolerate "Hey Jude" to get "Revolution", or "Hello Goodbye" (which is easily the worst Beatles #1) for "I Am The Walrus".

But "Old Brown Shoe" is not one of Harrison's better songs, and can't make up for the navel-gazing of "Ballad of John and Yoko", which has a couple clever lines but feels totally phoned-in (and not in a good way). Whenever I used to listen to the blue album as a kid, I'd always skip those two. Thus my vote.

xpost!

Guys, "Hey Jude" has to be so long because of that long part at the beginning when Ringo isn't drumming.

― ilx chilton (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, January 5, 2009 2:18 PM (31 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

ok this is going over my head i think

Funny that we both talked about phoning it in. "Ballad" does kinda feel like a giant fuck-you from Lennon to...well, to everyone but Yoko, really. And not a very interesting one -- I'd far sooner listen to Plastic Ono Band.

Looking at the list reminds me how little use I have for Late John, and even less for solo John. Such laziness and hypocrisy, phoning in that drawly laconic vocal like it's supposed to be some sort of deep metacomment on rockstardom. As if he hadn't scrambled like fuck and craved every bit of the attention, and as if he didn't expect everyone to still lap it up. As if we're all supposed to be wowed by his lack of conviction and by his barely-disguised contempt for us; how deep, he's all dispassionate & like a guru & shit. Spare me.

― Ye Mad Puffin, Monday, January 5, 2009 2:37 PM (13 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

yeah...my distaste for almost anything Lennon did past say '68 is one of those things I have total conviction in but never wanna talk about because it would lead to a lot of annoying arguments or Yoko-blaming or whatever.

yeah, John seems like an asshole in a lot of ways, which makes any Yoko-blaming doubly lame. (There's a lot of Yoko hate in the Bob Spitz bio, which I was recently thumbing through)

that being said I will rep for a lot of solo Lennon stuff. Instant Karma, Pussycats, Plastic Ono Band, Fly, Nobody Loves You When You're Down and Out

Disliking post '68 and solo Lennon is understandable, but his voice has little to do with it. His singing (and guitar playing) are generally sharper than songwriting during these periods.

I dislike Yoko's persona and work, but for the most part I think she just enabled tendencies in John that were already there, and would have come out anyway. Anything he did that sucks, personally or artistically, was his own fault.

</challops>

Anything he did that sucks, personally or artistically, was his own fault.

^^^yes. Its really tiresome to read these accounts of how the Beatles breaking up was all Yoko's fault because she was some kind of gold-digging interloper or whatever. Altho I totally disagree about Yoko's "persona" (not even sure what that means) and work. The golddigger accusation in particular seems kinda baffling to me because obviously anyone who wanted to keep the Beatles gravy train rolling would've tried to keep them TOGETHER.

guys I'm sorry I invoked "Yoko-blaming," I think it's obvious nobody here is really doing that and knows to judge Lennon's work on its own merits.

Yoko's "persona" (not even sure what that means)

I would say "personality", but I don't know her personally (though I know a couple people who met her and John, at least one of whom got a very negative impression of her). So U DONT KNO ME etc., and I can only base my impressions on her public/artistic persona, and the things she says in interviews, etc. All of which generally puts me off. Make sense?

xpost indeed

(For the sake of completeness, I had an acquaintance -- now deceased -- who knew, and loathed, McCartney, and said he was an absolute shithead.)

sure Charlie, no worries. And sorry for the yoko-blaming tangent it was just something I was thinking about the last couple days.

re-reading this list I am surprised to see that "You Know My Name" (and "The Inner Light"!?)were actually released as b-sides. And that Long and Winding Road was not a UK single. (understandable since its such a horrible song, I guess)

Considering all the weed he smokes, and as the noted author of "Monkberry Moon Delight," I'd say what's in his head is closer to mush than shit.

Lord Alfred: "Disliking post '68 and solo Lennon is understandable, but his voice has little to do with it. His singing (and guitar playing) are generally sharper than songwriting during these periods."

Huh? Instant Karma, Imagine, Watching the Wheels, Jealous Guy - all have the germ of perfectly decent rock songs in them, but are mostly ruined by the lazy, convictionless vocal style of the late Lennon.

And I don't mean anything stupidly simplistic like passionate = good, calm = bad, because that way lies Bono-itis. But the contrast between the energy that early-to-mid-career John brought to a vocal performance (cf. Twist and Shout) vs. the flat affect of e.g. All You Need Is Love is pretty telling.

You can arrive at that vocal style honestly and for well-intentioned reasons, but I never got the sense that John made it as a deliberate aesthetic decision; to me it is emblematic of a general self-indulgence that mars his later work. Put plainly, he doesn't sound like he's trying.

a) Maybe he didn't really care about pleasing anyone other than Yoko. b) Maybe he thought, Why bother trying if everyone around you is constantly assuring you that your every utterance is an act of the purest genius? c) He seemed pretty invested in telling everyone that fame/success was bullshit, thus it would be unseemly to appear to be actually seeking it out. d) He was embarrassed by the bubble-gummy Beatlemania material and wanted to distance himself from it, but his counterreaction was to exude contempt for the very IDEA of pleasing an audience. And if an artist doesn't give a hoot about me, I'm liable to return the favor.

Hey, YMP, you wanna pick on lazy singing, go pick on Lou Reed!

I wouldn't call any of the vocals on Plastic Ono Band "convictionless"

Huh? Instant Karma, Imagine, Watching the Wheels, Jealous Guy - all have the germ of perfectly decent rock songs in them, but are mostly ruined by the lazy, convictionless vocal style of the late Lennon.

Sheer madness. Great songs and vocals.

who cares about conviction? I'm sure Wings had plenty of conviction, but in the end, they were still fucking WINGS

It's what you do with conviction... it's what you do with vocals. it's what you do with singing.. it's what you do with orchestrating... etc.

yes. And ditto for "Woman", it doesn't have a "lazy, convictionless vocal" either, if we are talking about the latest work in his book. And to slur the Plastic Ono Band stuff this way, jeez.

I think it's a mix of the attitude problem described, John's own insecurities about his voice (trying to hide behind effects etc.) and just the ruination of said voice from overuse and exhaustion. There's not a Nilsson-esque break point, but by the end I don't think he physically COULD sing the way he used to. I don't mean just that he couldn't go as loud or as high, just the control and clarity and all that. His throat was torn to shreds.

Too bad Yoko was busy buying fur coats and cattle instead of investing in conviction.

t's what you do with conviction... it's what you do with vocals. it's what you do with singing.. it's what you do with orchestrating... etc.
http://www.fleetfeetsyracuse.com/images/newslettermultipleimages/2-5-07/FastTimesAtRidgemontHigh.jpg
You use your face. You use your body. You use everything.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

That's the attitude!

i find lennon increasingly insufferable as a person the older i get, but i don't see how anyone could listen to "cold turkey" or "god" or "instant karma" and say that he's not trying in those performances. he rapidly declined as a vocalist after 1970 (i can't think of any other great singer whose vocal power plummeted so fast in so short a time) but up until then i think there's just as much intensity and conviction there as there was in, say, "money" or "twist and shout."

You guys should hear the Freddie Hubbard (RIP) version of "Cold Turkey"!

re: Lennon's post-Beatles vocals -- wtf? I'd say that's the only thing that DOESN'T suffer in the 70s. Dude always sounded pretty fucking marvelous to these ears, even if he wasn't inspired songwriting-wise ...

Anyhoo, I voted for All You Need Is Love/Baby You're A Rich Man, mainly becuz I heard the former on the radio recently and couldn't get to the end of it. Which almost never happens with Beatles songs! You're A Rich Man is good, but not great. Is Lennon actually singing that "rich, fag jew" backing vocal? I've never been able to tell, but have read that he is ... HMMMM.

I like Ballad of John and Yoko -- I don't really pay attention to the lyrics, but I like the "CHRIST, you know it ain't easy" vocal line. It is a funny song to be a single, though, I'll admit.

Not to belabor the solo Lennon discussion, but one of the things I don't like about a lot of his later stuff is the absence of a lot of the little rhythmic quirks and change-ups that make his best stuff so interesting. Those start to disappear right around when the Beatles broke up, since they're present on the early solo material ("Mother") and the last few Beatles releases ("Across the Universe" and "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" come to mind).

For that matter, there's a little stop-time change-up in the bridge of "Ballad Of John And Yoko" ("You don't take nothing with you but your soul -- think!") which is probably the best part of the song. One thing about the Beatles is that even in the songs I don't like, there are usually good parts.

I know what Puffin means about the conviction thing in Lennon's later stuff. OTOH, I can't think of many examples that I'd agree with, in the sense of "songs that would've been better with a more raw/intense vocal performance". "Imagine" doesn't need it at all, "Instant Karma" has plenty of commitment to my ears, and "All You Need Is Love" isn't that kind of song.

Maybe "Ballad" might benefit from some more urgency, but I think the best example is the "naked" mix of "Don't Let Me Down". It's way better than the original, and benefits tremendously from the high harmony vocals on the chorus (McCartney, I think?), which do give it something more. So that is an example, actually, of how a little extra can help.

And yeah, Lennon's vocal cords were really in rough shape. "Twist and Shout" did some real damage, IIRC, so there were issues as early as that.

xpost Yes, Hubbard's version is great!

In fairness, Lennon's not the only one who suddenly decided, around 1970, that a more streamlined and straightahead style was the way to go. There are shitloads of great bands who put out weird-ass, awesome shit throughout the latter half of the '60s, and then as soon as 1970 rolled around, they started writing straight-up country-rock, blues-rock, and other things that basically adhered to fixed/genre forms.

Ballad of John and Yoko/Old Brown Shoe

The a-side loses its charm after the first chorus; the b-side is just a total waste of time. Almost went for Get Back/Don't Let Me Down but realised I really like the production on DLMD even if it does drag on a bit.

"Nobody Told Me," released in 1984, is one of my favorite Lennon vocals ("Most peculiar, mama!"), so nuts to the idea of a sudden decline.

"Ballad" is the Nurk twins in the studio together, having a blast!

(That pub in Caversham they played is still there, but no blue plaque)

Surprisingly, no meh for "Hello Goodbye" ?

i always thought H/G got a raw deal. it's daft as hell, but it sounds really good to me. plus, b/w Walrus.

b/w Walrus is important

Ballad of John & Yoko. There are several songs I don't much care for here, but mostly they have a killer flipside.

"Walrus" was also a b-side on the Magical Mystery Tour e.p. so was in the chart twice at the same time.

I suppose "From Me to You" is the one that could most easily be disposed of and not miss anything.

Still, I did vote "HMHB"

I'm at a loss in figuring out that acronym. Am I missing something really obvious here?

Half man, half biscuit.

Sorry, got bored.

I think Hello Goodbye is a great song fuck all y'all

"Ballad of John & Yoko".

I'm admittedly a sucker for pretty much everything they ever recorded, Ringo songs included.

But "Hey Jude" is the stinker here for me. Paul Paul Paul, blah blah blah, na na na na na na.

And the b-side would be cute if it wasn't so long, labored, and generally intolerable.

But "Hey Jude" is the stinker here for me...And the b-side would be cute if it wasn't so long, labored, and generally intolerable.

Either you're mixing up "Hey Jude/Revolution" and "Let It Be/You Know My Name", or you must really hate "Revolution 1".

Absolutely fantastically stunningly classic:
From Me To You/Thank You Girl 10/8
She Loves You/I'll Get You 9/8
I Want To Hold Your Hand/This Boy 10/9
A Hard Day's Night/Things We Said Today 9/10
I Feel Fine/She's a Woman 10/5
Day Tripper/We Can Work It Out 8/9
Paperback Writer/Rain 9/10
Strawberry Fields Forever/Penny Lane 10/10
All You Need Is Love/Baby You're a Rich Man 10/7
Hello Goodbye/I Am The Walrus 9/10

Quite good, or one classic and one less classic side:
Please Please Me/Ask Me Why 7/8
Ticket To Ride/Yes It Is 7/6
Help!/I'm Down 9/4
Eleanor Rigby/Yellow Submarine 10/5
Something/Come Together 3/10
Let It Be/You Know My Name (Look Up The Number) 9/4

Completely OK and all that, but not usual Beatles quality:
Love Me Do/PS I Love You 4/6
Can't Buy Me Love/You Can't Do That 6/8
Lady Madonna/The Inner Light 7/6
Hey Jude/Revolution 7/7

Unusually weak for Beatles, but would have been OK by the standards of almost anyone else:
Get Back/Don't Let Me Down 5/5
Ballad Of John And Yoko/Old Brown Shoe 5/5

Something/Come Together 3/10

now, I'd have assumed you'd mark that the other way around...

Apart from that, and I'd swap "Cant buy" and "From me", the list looks fine as a breakdown, even though I disagree with a fair few of the individual track markings.

Hate all the early singles, "Hold Your Hand" was the first remotely bearable one. "Ballad of John and Yoko"/ "Old Brown Nose" is realllllly poor, what a piece of shit... but the real answer is "All You Need Is Love", that's just inexcusable.

^orgnoh rieg

'baby you're a rich man' is good.

I know, but it's goodness is obliterated by the A-side

Something/Come Together 3/10

now, I'd have assumed you'd mark that the other way around...

Yep. Didn't noticed they were swapped. Obviously "Something" is a 10 and "Come Together" a 3.

Apart from that, and I'd swap "Cant buy" and "From me", the list looks fine as a breakdown, even though I disagree with a fair few of the individual track markings.

I don't understand why people don't see the greatness about "From Me To You". It is an absolutely perfect pop song, and one of the best singles ever released. Probably in my Top 20 singles of all time, and as a single track, better than any other single track on any Beatles single. Absolutely fantastic and the best middle 8 ever written!
The lyrics may be rubbish, but I don't care about lyrics.

im surprised how much people hate 'come together' going by this and the other poll.

It's not that it's not great, it's just that it's as close to 'generic' as they got. Coming around the same time as PPM, SLY, and IWHYH, it was um, more of the same.

production is tight imo

Yep. Didn't noticed they were swapped. Obviously "Something" is a 10 and "Come Together" a 3.

See, to me the mark makes sense just as it is.

" Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

But "Hey Jude" is the stinker here for me...And the b-side would be cute if it wasn't so long, labored, and generally intolerable.

Either you're mixing up "Hey Jude/Revolution" and "Let It Be/You Know My Name", or you must really hate "Revolution 1".

You are absolutely right. Pretty sure I clicked on Let it Be when I voted though.

I don't really dislike any of them though. Just think "You Know My Name..." is a sad excuse for an experiment. They could have done so many other things with the time and budgets and creativity at their disposal.

^^"" Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink"

Haha, I'm on a roll.

They did do so many other things etc.

Oh, and check the ska version on Anth3.

Hate all the early singles, "Hold Your Hand" was the first remotely bearable one

Wow, really? Not even "She Loves You"? I think "Please Please Me" is also a head above the others, although that's more just because I think the melody and John's singing are fabulous ("whydoyoumakemeblue," so fun to sing), also great example of the "sad lyrics but happy song" Beatle tactic.

Wow, really? Not even "She Loves You"?

Whoops, yes, I jumped over that one. Not that I ever want to hear it again, mind you.

I can't say I have out right hate for any of the singles. Even the early stuff has elements that still send shivers up my spine. For example, when John and Paul hit those harmonies in the chorus of "Please, Please Me", I hear the Everly Brothers crossed with Buddy Holly as interpreted by a bunch of Liverpool scruffs. Great Stuff. Even "Hey Jude's" endless coda can be soothing if I'm in the right mood. "All You Is Love" is an intentional self-parody of their early style so I let it pass on self-awareness if nothing else.

They were geniuses from "Please Please Me" onwards. "Love Me Do" was nothing special though - just a bunch of white UK guys trying to ape Bruce Channel's "Hey Baby" without adding anything much typically English on top of it.

^^^ 1963: The Year The Beatles Discovered HP Sauce"

I would have thought that if there were one universally loved Beatles song, it would be either "We Can Work It Out" or "All You Need Is Love," and this thread has proven me far, far wrong.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Bruce Channel's "Hey Baby"

Fucking incredible song.

I read somewhere that Bruce Channel played the Cavern in 1962, and showed John Lennon how to play the harmonica that way.

So, the influence was more explicit after all.

Except it was actually Delbert McClinton who played the harmonica on that song/concert, and he was also the one who taught John Lennon. :)

OK, I wrote that from memory.

Wasn't "Eight Days a Week" a single? That one should win.

In the US.

Yeah, I kept wanting to vote for it but it's not canonical.

was going to say paperback writer but forgot the flipside is the glorious Rain.

Then "Lady Madonna" it is. What a piece of shit.

jeezus the only thing worse than radiohead threads are beatles threads...

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Impressive turnout, and VERY close results. Thanks for playing, everyone.

Glad that all that trash talk about the early-mid period singles upthread didn't come to much.

not really that thrilled with this (what's everybody's beef against Lady Madonna? it's up there with Hey Bulldog and Rain as the best Beatles basslines...) but am happy that Hard Day's Night received no votes (and that Ticket to Ride & Paperback Writer scored relatively low)

as having the best Beatles bassline

I have never gotten the ILM hatred against "All You Need Is Love". A brilliant pop song IMO.

And "From Me To You" is one of the best songs ever written!

I remember liking and learning the bassline of "Lady Madonna" in high school but it took me a while to realize that the song as a whole is a real piece of shit, and the lyrics are fucking retarded. Anyway, I'm surprised at the winners here. Some of those are among the best Beatles songs. And "Hard Day's Night" should have been at the top somewhere.

This poll is shit.

This thread has something for everyone

"I have never gotten the ILM hatred against "All You Need Is Love". A brilliant pop song IMO."

Certainly one of my favorite tunes ever. And my love for it dates from early childhood...

I'm just finishing that recent book "Can't Buy Me Love". Really excellent.

Fair result, I'd say

A Hard Day's Night/Things We Said Today

lolz best single by default!

ballad o' j&y/ old brown shoe hate is cRaZy

oh man, Baby You're A Rich Man is soooo good, boo to AYNIL (which I admit, I also like - "nothing you can sing that can't be sung") for bringing it down!

A Hard Day's Night/Things We Said Today

lolz best single by default!

― Courtney Love's Jew Loan Officer (Shakey Mo Collier)

It's a great song.

even John defended "Things We Said Today"!

what's to defend? who says it's not great?

"I have never gotten the ILM hatred against "All You Need Is Love". A brilliant pop song IMO."

See, for me, AYNIL (anal!) is symbolic of shallow 60's "utopianin" ideals, mistaken at the time for actual political radicalism, but mostly used as an excuse for hedonistic indulgence (not that theres anything wrong with that, but jeez just call it what it is).

Those who voted for "Paperback Writer"/"Rain" are clearly not of sound mind.

Lady Madonna is amazing you fuckwits

"See, for me, AYNIL (anal!) is symbolic of shallow 60's "utopianin" ideals, mistaken at the time for actual political radicalism, but mostly used as an excuse for hedonistic indulgence (not that theres anything wrong with that, but jeez just call it what it is)."

Ok... but that doesn't mean it doesn't have a great hook, lyric, harmonies, arrangements, and production. I mean, if you're listening to it in 2009, how much does that "utopian" context matter when evaluating it as a song?

Not that you're not entitled to your opinion, of course.

Well, I don't find it to be intolerable or anything, & yeah, it does have a few nice hooks (Paul's "She Loves You" coda definitely), but the mantra-like schmaltz, combined with my reasons above, made this poll choice a no-brainer for me.

"See, for me, AYNIL (anal!) is symbolic of shallow 60's "utopianin" ideals, mistaken at the time for actual political radicalism, but mostly used as an excuse for hedonistic indulgence (not that theres anything wrong with that, but jeez just call it what it is)."

uh, dude, it's not utoptian nor hedonistic indulgence. love is one of the only things totally actually fucking essential to human survival (food and water would be the other two, obvs, but how lame of a lyric would that make: "all you need is water and food and love"?). john lennon was just stating an ever-so-slightly exaggerated fact.

also: lady madonna = sublime's "what i got." has anyone else ever noticed this?

in every beatles thread on ILM, at least

OK, so I take it the winner here is just another pathetic "I hate hippies and baby boomers"-demonstration from a number of people then?

all you need is love is great

You Know My Name (Look Up the Number) is great.

OK, so I take it the winner here is just another pathetic "I hate hippies and baby boomers"-demonstration from a number of people then?

― Geir Hongro, Wednesday, January 21, 2009 9:33 AM Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

For me, AYNIL has a fine sentiment but just a crap performance, it sounds like someone turned the speed down on the master tape. Just too sluggish and evaporated.

Yes, it's biggest crime is it's plod plod ploddiness, it's the quintessence of plod

Vicious Cop Kills Gentle Fool
leaves behind a ball of wool
but he don't mind
he's a cop and he knows cops aint kind...

Yellow

Should have counted US singles, in which case 'The Long and Winding Road' is definitely the winner of this.

i'm appalled and kinda disgusted that five people voted for "please please me."

yeah that's insane.

j&y is great, you are all gay

Paul's "She Loves You" coda definitely

um that's John

also: lady madonna = sublime's "what i got." has anyone else ever noticed this?

yes and I found it really annoying

Paul's "She Loves You" coda definitely

um that's John

Well . . . A great deal of energy expended at that link arguing that it's both of them.

oh whatever - every account I've ever read has noted that it was John, most recently the Spitz bio. and it sure sounds like John. and it looks like him singing it in the Compleat Beatles etc.

I like how this poll isn't an exact flip of the best Beatles Single Poll

Didn't Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane win that one? Help/I Am Down was up there
whoever voted for Strawberry Fields in this poll should be banned.

oh whatever - every account I've ever read has noted that it was John, most recently the Spitz bio. and it sure sounds like John. and it looks like him singing it in the Compleat Beatles etc.

I'm pretty sure I saw a video of this song, and Paul was the one saying it. No?

you are wrong

towards the end

how did you produce this fraudulent video?

ballad o' j&y/ old brown shoe hate is cRaZy

― now is the time to winterize your manscape (will), Tuesday, January 20, 2009 11:12 AM (2 days ago)

whoever voted for Strawberry Fields in this poll should be banned.
My thoughts exactly. But not because they are so wrong, but because they are so very wrongheaded. That's like saying "sunshine and green grass aren't really my thing."

^Obv. RITH cop, I'll 'fess.

Strawberry Fields Forever isn't the worst Beatles song but it is so massively overrated that I contemplated voting for it just because.

i feel good about my vote for Love me Do/PS I Love you because Love me Do is my least fav of the early iconic beatles tunes and frankly PS I Love You is the rare beatles song where i'm just like "dag dude that's just some bullshit even if it were by herman's hermits or some shit"

xpost MPP: That's exactly the kind of thinking that makes a ass out of you and you.

re the video:

They had already recorded the track for the most part. The lead vocal was most likely live, the fadeout funnies possibly not.

So, John could have sung the "She loves you" bit, and Paul mime it on the broadcast. Or vice versa.

Anyway, it's John singing "Yesterday" just before it.

Anyway, I used to dislike AYNIL, until I got a version which carries on past the fade, and you hear someone playing the intro right at the fade (The Marseilles, or however you spell it) on the guitar reeeeeealy badly!

My vote is probably for the labored, wheezy Blueshammer warmup of "Get Back"/"Don't Let Me Down," but I'm going to sleep on it because I know there are times when I've liked both songs more than I do now. "Love Me Do" is at least fun to sing along to.

― Doctor Casino, Saturday, January 3, 2009 7:29 PM Bookmark

wow, I have no memory of even starting this poll, let alone thinking this. Really got won over to "Don't Let Me Down" about a year after writing that, I knew a few people for whom it was a karaoke staple and surprisingly it had a real electrical connection with the audience, everybody just belting their guts out on the chorus. There's something really ragged and desperate and longing about it that I maybe "get" more now. Could also just be getting older, etc.

I realize it's silly to start questioning specific results--if you vote, you have to vote for something, and anything you vote for will engender strong disagreement from someone; it's the Beatles--but the three that most make me go "Huh?" are "Ticket to Ride/Yes It Is," "I Feel Fine/She's a Woman," and "Paperback Writer/Rain," all of which got 4 or 5 votes. I think of the first and third as two of the greatest two-sided singles ever. I would have voted for something late, although I'd have to relisten to a couple of the non-album B-sides to be sure.

Feel sad for Baby You're A Rich Man, which I love, being stuck with that platitudinous tv show turd.

xp otm re: Paperback Writer/Rain - sure, there's no accounting for subjectivity, but christ wtf ppl?

Hey ILM, leave that crack alone. These results SUCK

The long and winding snooze

Lady Madonna is terrible. Terrible, terrible, terrible.

"Lady Madonna" clicked for me in a big way in just the last year or so, awesome song

All You Need Is Love is one

of the greatest songs ever. (thanks iPhone/bumpy car ride)

i like johns vocals on the verses of AYNIS. the brass arrangement is kinda rough though.

aynil haha

quite an acronym

all you need is stuff (everybody!)

Amazed "Hello Goodbye" didn't 'win' this easy...

Day Tripper & We Can Work It Out 1

i must have been the one to vote for this one because i still hate both of these songs!

How anyone could hate We Can Work It Out is beyond comprehension.

I see I said the same thing 3 years ago.

if someone were to present that song to me i would just dump them -- "try to see it my way"?? "life is very short" ?? if that's all you got i don't even know

But it's just sung and played so beautifully!

And it's their tightest melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic composition! It's fucking astonishing!

All those hooks and melodies and tempos, in 2 minutes! Not a wasted second. Maybe my favourite Beatles song.

Many of these have brilliant b-sides. Baby You're A Rich Man is one of my favorite Beatles songs and All You Need Is Love is awful, I agree but it feels unfair to the b-side. Why would anyone vote for these following two as the worst in the Beatles catalogue is beyond me:

Something / Come Together
Get Back/Don't Let Me Down

Also Lady Madonna is awesome, Sublime rip-off aside. I'll assume you all voted for the horrid b-side instead.

these are all good singles imo

"the inner light" is good though

xp

"We can work it out" is great because the singer is all "I am right and you are wrong, let's compromise". Even Lennon's middle8 is "Fighting is wrong, I think we should talk some more before I lump you one"

Flopson: Not Working It Out

this is the dumbest ilm thread ever

half of the people who participated should be banned from talking about music in any capacity ever again

People who post on a thread merely to say it's the dumbest thread ever are the dumbest posters ever.

I agree with whoever said Baby You're A Rich Man is diminished by its association with the singalong all you need track.

Not sure how you could think Strawberry/Penny Lane is the worst Beatles single and still claim to like the Beatles, I mean that single basically is the distillation of mid-period Beatles

Long and Winding Bore

Long-Winded Road

Lady Madonna seems like a slick and cynical attempt to market to the underappreciated female head-of-household demographic.

I have always hated Lady Madonna. Come Together too. and Get Back also (it might be the Beatles song I hate the most, actually).

For a long time I have found Ballad of J&Y pretty bad but since the remasters I have enjoyed it a lot. It's got a good groove !

for all the complaints about it, Spector's production on Long and Winding Road actually saves it from being a total piece of shit, as demonstrated by the Anthology album.

It's still a song Paul should have given to, like Englebert Humperdink or someone, rather than the Beatles.

Spector's production is the only interesting thing about the song poliopolice otm. the demo version is an ineterminable bore

Or maybe he could have sold it to a movie studio. I could see it as the theme song to some late-60s dry love drama.

Hard Day's Night is kind of a bad song in my book too.

Ficking crazy talk.

My iPad is south African.

AHDN is stupendous. Mainly for Paul's "cos when I get home to you, I find the things that you do" backing vocals.

it feels very half-assed to me. I do realize it was written and recorded in less than 24 hours, for which they maybe deserve some credit, but not too much since the song sucks. XD

Probably would have voted for 'All You Need Is Love/Baby You're A Rich Man', actually! I've never been a massive fan of either song.

I think my least favorite of these is probably i feel fine/she's a woman. never cared for she's a woman and I feel fine is ok but I like almost every other a side more. barring that, I don't love lady madonna/inner light either.

"She's a woman" is too tautological for my tastes as well.

It's also not really a song.

Yes, and it's not a single b-side by The Beatles either..

you know what song kicks ass? "hello goodbye"

the most depressing transition on any beatles CD has to be the second disc of past masters, when you go from 'rain' to 'lady madonna.' the first four tracks are basically the beatles at the top of their game, just so sleek and confident and gorgeous, basically the coolest band ever, the james bonds of pop music. and then you jump ahead two years and already the band's turned into paul mccartney + three lazy stoners just fucking around in the studio.

Reminds me of that Fake Pinterest twitter joke: "a photo of young Paul McCartney and his three handsome butlers. YUM!"

Yeah, I adore Past Masters, especially disc 2, but it took me a long time to reconcile those four songs with what came later. They are, for me, the absolute peak of The Beatles. Which is why the crazy talk upthread is so crazy.

"Lady Madonna" >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> "Rain" imo

I agree with that.

One could also argue that with "Pepper" they stopped being quite so much of a singles band.

Old Brown Shoe >>>> Across The Universe

the james bonds of pop music

im sure this is true re how they treated women

"The Inner Light" >>>>>>>>>>>> "Lady Madonna"

J.D. otm!!!

Lady Madonna better than Rain? Fucken hell.

Despite the bass and drums being fucking awesome I think Rain is a pretty boring song.