Over at vulture.com, Bill Wyman offers his review of every single one of The Beatles songs. Given that I love reading lists and I love the music of The Beatles, this was an intriguing list to go over.
If you’re interested in reading this as well, here’s the link to the article…
All 213 Beatles Songs, Ranked From Worst to Best
While I’m absolutely certain almost everyone who stumbles upon and reads this list will have issues with it (I certainly did), one must of course realize a) opinions are just that and are unique to almost everyone and b) this is obviously Mr. Wyman’s opinion of the worst to best songs.
Reading the list, its clear Mr. Wyman subscribes to the notion some have that Paul McCartney’s songs tend to be “fluffier” and more “pop” and “lighter” in message than John Lennon’s more “serious” and “artsy” works.
Nonetheless, he does offer plenty of negatives toward John Lennon, in particular noting that the quality of his songs tended to slide as he did into a haze of drugs.
Having read the list, I can’t help but think of what my top ten favorite Beatles songs are. I’ll give it a shot here, but please note these songs are not listed in any particular order:
A Day In The Life – Presented at the tail end of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, this sober, at times eerie song nonetheless features a trippy middle. Fascinating, fascinating song.
Hey Jude – While some may argue the song is overlong, I feel it merits its length. A great piece of work.
Rain – Wonderful John Lennon song that reportedly was the first, in its tail end, to use backward masking. Love the song and its message.
She Said, She Said – Another wonderful John Lennon song, its title inspired by a conversation John Lennon had with Peter Fonda at a party. Love the guitar and drum work.
Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End medley – I suppose this is something of a cheat as these are fragments of songs put together to make a larger song at the end of the album Abbey Road yet when the Golden Slumbers part starts to the end of The End you’re into a great work.
In My Life – Another great John Lennon work, this one features great lyrics and is just a terrific song.
Helter Skelter – Perhaps one of the earliest examples of heavy metal music! Paul McCartney goes crazy in a crazy, crazy song. Love it!
Yesterday – Those who know Beatles lore know that Paul McCartney did this song pretty much single-handedly. According to Mr. McCartney, he awoke one morning with this song in his head. He figured it was an already published work yet went ahead and, with breakfast on his mind, created nonsense lyrics around the song (“Scrambled eggs” versus Yesterday!). When he brought it to the other Beatles he realized it was a new song and, voila, a classic was created.
Here Comes The Sun – George Harrison, especially toward the end of The Beatles’ run, created some terrific songs. This is probably his best.
While My Guitar Gently Sleeps – And this would be, IMHO, George Harrison’s second best, but not by much! Terrific Eric Clapton guitar work on this song.
This list of 10 comprises songs which are currently on my mind and ignores SO MANY great songs –Get Back, Strawberry Fields Forever, Revolution, Let It Be, The Long And Winding Road, Back in the U.S.S.R., Nowhere Man, Lady Madonna, Help!, Tomorrow Never Knows, Eleanor Rigby, etc. etc. etc. that it seems almost silly to list just these. (Note I just listed 11 songs that could just as easily be in The Beatles’ top ten!)
Now, on the opposite end of the spectrum…Which song would I consider The Beatles’ worst?
There are plenty of songs, especially in the early albums, which don’t turn me on. Some are covers (though they did some absolutely smashing covers as well!) and some are original songs.
I don’t like Run For Your Life, though this is mostly because of the misogynistic message it offers. I’m not particularly enamored of Only A Northern Song. There are others here and there I could mention but if there’s one song I really don’t like its:
Revolution #9
An experiment in sonic…something or another… Revolution #9 is presented on the tail end of the otherwise damn fine “White Album” and I’ll listen to maybe a minute or so of it before tiring and hitting the “next” button.
Your mileage, as they say, may vary!