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Post by sayne on Aug 29, 2015 10:50:08 GMT -5
Yes, we've seen many lists, but I thought this one was rather interesting. Many of the songs we and others have put towards the top of the list are somewhat lower and some songs we'd never put on the list are there. Gives a rather different perspective. Once again, though, even in this list, any band would give anything to have a song as good as a Beatles song towards the bottom of the list. www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2015/08/50-best-beatles-songs.html
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Post by John S. Damm on Aug 29, 2015 13:31:58 GMT -5
That is a good read, nice catch sayne. I thought the writers(there were several) gave great summaries for all 50 songs. Yes there is a real surprise here for a Top 50 poll!
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Post by Panther on Aug 29, 2015 20:46:55 GMT -5
A few thoughts, as I scroll down the list:
- They really should talk about the de-Spectorized "Long and Winding Road", which is 100 times better, but whatever...
- Quite surprised to see "From Me To You" make this list. I really doubt it would make many fans' Top-50s.
- Sort of surprised to see "Can't Buy Me Love" here, too. At least Annie Black writes: "Beatles diehards are never going to cite this as their favorite".
- Ditto "Eight Days a Week".
- Very good to see "Rocky Raccoon" make the list. I concur.
- Surprised to see "Paperback Writer" make the list, and esp. as high as #31.
- Generally, Beatle-fans seem to like "Cry Baby Cry" more than I do, but still, making the top-30 seems wrong.
- #28 for "Here Comes The Sun" is clearly too low. (Isn't this their #1 song in the Internet-download era?) "Oh! Darling" and "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" are great, but should not be ranked higher than this.
- "Revolution 9" obviously included for humor value.
- Nice to see "Dear Prudence" in the Top-15. (It's probably my #1 Beatle song.)
- "Tomorrow Never Knows" way over-rated as usual.
- "And Your Bird Can Sing?" at #12. Fail.
Question: What happened to 'Here, There, and Everywhere', 'No Reply', 'I'm a Loser', 'Revolution', and 'I'm Looking Through You'? ('From Me to You' and 'Revolution 9' are better than these...?)
'Here, There and Everywhere' is most certainly a no-brainer. It's probably Paul's most harmonically sophisticated song, the most respected by "real" musicians, a certain #1 hit if issued as a single, and even Lennon said it was one of the best things Paul ever did.
Interesting list -- the top 11 was quite good -- but five or six wonky inclusions and three or four unforgivable omissions are disappointing.
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Post by John S. Damm on Aug 29, 2015 22:07:32 GMT -5
Fair comments, Panther. I didn't much care to see "From Me To You" in a top 50. Wasn't "I Feel Fine" omitted here? To me that one has stood the test of time for at least a top 50.
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Post by Panther on Aug 30, 2015 0:11:51 GMT -5
Good call. "I Feel Fine" is a glaring omission as well!
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Post by stavros on Aug 30, 2015 15:10:12 GMT -5
I didn't understand the placement of "Here Comes the Sun". It is the most popular individual Beatles download (or at least it was I haven't checked) and should have been much higher placed. Also the rather bizarre comment Apparently it was a b-side in Japan and nowhere else. I agree about the comment for Two of Us. It's about John & Paul more than Paul & Linda. 20. “Two of Us” Even though McCartney has claimed this song was written for his soon-to-be-wife Linda Eastman, I think it’s really McCartney’s love letter to John Lennon. Would I make it top 20 ? Not so sure. But it's one of those happier moments from Let it Be. I think Revolution 9 and Tomorrow Never Knows were of their time and would be left off my list nowadays. Disappointed "Don't Let Me Down" is not there as well.
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Post by coachbk on Aug 31, 2015 20:47:10 GMT -5
Worst top 50 list I've ever seen! Including Revolution #9 is ridiculous. It is missing one of their very best songs "For No One". And how can Love Me Do and From Me To You be on the list, but not Please Please Me? What about Nowhere Man? I Feel Fine? Taxman? ? Two other songs I would never consider: Rocky Raccoon, Oh Darling, Also (though decent songs) would not have I Want You, She Came In Through The Bathroom Window, Cry Baby Cry A couple things I do like are seeing I've Just Seen A Face and Two Of Us on the list. These don't often make such lists. The top 20 is pretty good. All of these would at least be in my top 100. But there are at least 8 songs from 21-50 that would not make my top 100, much less top 50.
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Post by debjorgo on Aug 31, 2015 22:11:00 GMT -5
My top 21. 1 Hey Jude 2 Revolution 3 Come Together 4 Helter Skelter 5 Happiness is a Warm Gun 6 I Am the Walrus 7 Strawberry Fields 8 Hey Bulldog 9 Two of Us 10 I Want You (She's So Heavy) 11 Get Back 12 Cry Baby Cry 13 I've Got a Feeling 14 Yer Blues 15 Don't Let Me Down 16 In My Life 17 I Should Have Known Better 18 Rain 19 Tomorrow Never Knows 20 I'm a Loser 21 I Saw Her Standing There
An amazing exercise. Very hard to do. Strawberry Fields, my measuring stick for the best Beatle song, is all the way down at Number 7. Amazing!
And oops! I forgot about 'Til There Was You.
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Post by debjorgo on Aug 31, 2015 22:21:40 GMT -5
My top 21. 1 Hey Jude 2 Revolution 3 Come Together 4 Helter Skelter 5 Happiness is a Warm Gun 6 I Am the Walrus 7 Strawberry Fields 8 Hey Bulldog 9 Two of Us 10 I Want You (She's So Heavy) 11 Get Back 12 Cry Baby Cry 13 I've Got a Feeling 14 Yer Blues 15 Don't Let Me Down 16 In My Life 17 I Should Have Known Better 18 Rain 19 Tomorrow Never Knows 20 I'm a Loser 21 I Saw Her Standing There An amazing exercise. Very hard to do. Strawberry Fields, my measuring stick for the best Beatle song, is all the way down at Number 7. Amazing! And oops! I forgot about 'Til There Was You. 6 Paul songs and 15 John songs. That's a lot of love for Lennon from a Paul guy like myself.
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Post by coachbk on Sept 1, 2015 11:12:27 GMT -5
Just realized I Am The Walrus and Revolution are missing too.
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Post by coachbk on Sept 1, 2015 11:14:38 GMT -5
My top 21. 1 Hey Jude 2 Revolution 3 Come Together 4 Helter Skelter 5 Happiness is a Warm Gun 6 I Am the Walrus 7 Strawberry Fields 8 Hey Bulldog 9 Two of Us 10 I Want You (She's So Heavy) 11 Get Back 12 Cry Baby Cry 13 I've Got a Feeling 14 Yer Blues 15 Don't Let Me Down 16 In My Life 17 I Should Have Known Better 18 Rain 19 Tomorrow Never Knows 20 I'm a Loser 21 I Saw Her Standing There An amazing exercise. Very hard to do. Strawberry Fields, my measuring stick for the best Beatle song, is all the way down at Number 7. Amazing! And oops! I forgot about 'Til There Was You. Actually I like their top 21 more than yours. At least 5 songs I would not consider for top 50 in this list
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Post by debjorgo on Sept 1, 2015 17:45:19 GMT -5
My list of the top 21 were the songs I'd consider 5 star. I think we've discussed before our different musical preferences coach. Please see my comments on your comments. Worst top 50 list I've ever seen! Including Revolution #9 is ridiculous. Not top 50 but not ridiculous either. I've said before I've listened to it as much as any song on the White album. But for Paul is Dead clues. I can see though, recognizing it for its daring abandonment of convention. It is missing one of their very best songs "For No One". A five star, regular artist song. But not a five star Beatles song. And how can Love Me Do and From Me To You be on the list, but not Please Please Me? Love Me Do is great. Please Please Me and From Me To You are virtually the same song. Both terribly old fashioned sounding to me. What about Nowhere Man? I Feel Fine? Taxman? ? If I had done the whole top 50, I Feel Fine would have made it in, and probably Taxman, for Paul crazy bass. Nowhere Man, I recognize as a great song, it's just not what I like listening to. Two other songs I would never consider: Rocky Raccoon, Oh Darling, I voted for Rocky Raccoon as my favorite song in a radio contest in the late '60s. I used to like Oh! Darling a lot too.Also (though decent songs) would not have I Want You, She Came In Through The Bathroom Window, Cry Baby Cry 2 top 21 songs for me. Bathroom Window is good too. Maybe with another verse, I might rate it higher. A couple things I do like are seeing I've Just Seen A Face and Two Of Us on the list. These don't often make such lists. We agree on these. I'd give I've Just Seen a Face a 4.5. The top 20 is pretty good. All of these would at least be in my top 100. But there are at least 8 songs from 21-50 that would not make my top 100, much less top 50.
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Post by coachbk on Sept 1, 2015 22:04:00 GMT -5
Since I'm being critical of others, I guess I should list my top 50: 1. Tomorrow Never Knows 2. For No One 3. A Day In The Life 4. Strawberry Fields Forever 5. In My Life 6. Eleanor Rigby 7. Hey Jude 8. Yesterday 9. Let It Be 10. I Am The Walrus 11. Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End 12. Norwegian Wood 13. All My Loving 14. Here Comes The Sun 15. I Saw Her Standing There 16. Nowhere Man 17. All You Need Is Love 18. Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band/With A Little Help From My Friends 19. Here There & Everywhere 20. Back In The USSR 21. Penny Lane 22. Across The Universe 23. While My Guitar Gently Weeps 24. Please Please Me 25. I've Just Seen A Face 26. And Your Bird Can Sing 27. Taxman 28. Help 29. A Hard Days Night 30. Hey Bulldog 31. I Want To Hold Your Hand 32. Revolution 33. Rain 34. The Ballad Of John & Yoko 35. The Fool On The Hill 36. Blackbird 37. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds 38. Dear Prudence 39. Drive My Car 40. I'll Be Back 41. Paperback Writer 42. It Won't Be Long 43. Helter Skelter 44. Something 45. I Should Have Known Better 46. Two Of Us 47. I'm A Loser 48. Lovely Rita 49. You've Got To Hide Your Love Away 50. When I'm 64
Left out plenty of good ones too. Not an easy task!
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Post by debjorgo on Sept 1, 2015 23:09:18 GMT -5
A quick comparison, coach, has you favoring the middle period and me the later period. No Come Together? The End seems a little out of place on your list too. It's very much a later period song.
Many of your picks suffer from burn-out in my mind. Too much radio play. But then again, Hey Jude has probably had more air time than any song but I still get mesmerized when I hear it.
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Post by coachbk on Sept 2, 2015 9:12:06 GMT -5
A quick comparison, coach, has you favoring the middle period and me the later period. No Come Together? The End seems a little out of place on your list too. It's very much a later period song. Many of your picks suffer from burn-out in my mind. Too much radio play. But then again, Hey Jude has probably had more air time than any song but I still get mesmerized when I hear it. No question mid period (RUBBER SOUL, REVOLVER, SGT PEPPER) is my favorite Beatles era! I love the whole side two ABBEY ROAD medley and felt I needed to include something from it on my list. Come Together was under consideration and would likely be in the next 10 or so on my list. It is always a tough balancing out when rating songs to account for the fact that certain songs have had so much more airplay than others, thus those others sound fresher. I agree on Hey Jude. I always get pumped when John joins Paul for the harmonies. Some early ones that I always get pumped when I hear are the "1,2,3,4..." intro to "I Saw Her Standing There", the opening guitar on "I WAnt To Hold Your Hand" and the guitar solo on "All My Loving".
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Post by John S. Damm on Sept 2, 2015 9:53:16 GMT -5
I agree on Hey Jude. I always get pumped when John joins Paul for the harmonies. I also love that part! I will always stop what I am doing if I hear the 1968 studio version of "Hey Jude," I love it that much. Unfortunately, I now tend to get a sudden case of Tourette Syndrome when I hear "Hey Jude" and I can't help but to shout out at the top of my lungs during the fade-out, "You were great, and you were great, and you were great," or "And now the people in the middle seats," or "Now just the boys" or "And now just the wee lasses." It is annoying to those around me for sure but it is even more annoying when Macca ruins a universal anthem with that drivel in concert!
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Post by debjorgo on Sept 2, 2015 17:45:25 GMT -5
I agree on Hey Jude. I always get pumped when John joins Paul for the harmonies. I also love that part! I will always stop what I am doing if I hear the 1968 studio version of "Hey Jude," I love it that much. Unfortunately, I now tend to get a sudden case of Tourette Syndrome when I hear "Hey Jude" and I can't help but to shout out at the top of my lungs during the fade-out, "You were great, and you were great, and you were great," or "And now the people in the middle seats," or "Now just the boys" or "And now just the wee lasses." It is annoying to those around me for sure but it is even more annoying when Macca ruins a universal anthem with that drivel in concert! You sound so sweet tonight! I hated that whole bit the first time I heard it, I think the Charlotte 1993 broadcast. He might as well lead a round with it. I wouldn't let that spoil the '68 single though. That's not fair to anyone around you (who've probably never even heard it live), or yourself.
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