Ahh no... they are both Albums by the Beatles
Posted on 06/22/2015 7:15:19 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
The folks over at Ultimate Classic Rock published their ranking of the Beatles’ albums a couple of weeks ago. God bless them, they tried, but they got it all wrong. So I’m here to set them straight with my ranking. Enjoy!
#13 on UCR‘s list
Yellow Submarine is really only half a Beatles album — the other side is George Martin’s score for the lackluster animated film. Even the half that belongs to the Fab Four contains only four original songs joined by two tunes that appeared earlier. The Yellow Submarine soundtrack really only has value to hardcore Beatles fans.
#12 on UCR‘s list
You can tell on Beatles for Sale that the demands of Beatlemania had taken their toll on John, Paul, George, and Ringo. The weary, somber faces on the cover and the tunes produced on the quick within demonstrate how weary the Fab Four must been at that time. Even though a subpar Beatles album beats most any other artist any day, Beatles For Sale is a noticeable drop from “A Hard Day’s Night,” which preceded this album by a mere 21 weeks.
#10 on UCR‘s list
Here is the beginning of the Fab Four in all their sweaty, frenetic glory. Soulful, immediate, and exciting, Please Please Me shows the promise of so many great things to come. It’s easy to see how Great Britain — and the rest of the world soon after — would succumb to the charms of the lads from Liverpool.
#8 on UCR‘s list
It’s obvious without even seeing the movie that the Beatles had fractured beyond repair. Graceful moments like the title cut and “The Long and Winding Road,” the band’s final two number one hits, and other magical songs like “Across the Universe” and “Two of Us” fall in between odd tracks, creating a record that’s uneven as a whole. At least closing the album with “Get Back” allows the Beatles to leave on a high note.
#9 on UCR‘s list
For the Beatles’ 1967 television special Magical Mystery Tour, the band released the soundtrack in an unusual format in the UK — a double-EP consisting of two seven-inch records with three songs each. The U.S. release appeared on an LP with five singles that hadn’t appeared on an album previously added. The TV special songs range from the infamous, inscrutable “I am the Walrus” to the elegant, nostalgic “Your Mother Should Know,” and the addition of the singles prevents the soundtrack songs from being too uneven. Magical Mystery Tour is a pleasant little collection.
#11 on UCR‘s list
This album is a perfect snapshot of Beatlemania. With the Beatles captures the R&B drenched, ready-for-live-performance vibe of the Fab Four’s early work. The soul covers blend in well with the spirited originals. I dare you: try not to tap your foot or clap your hands. And if you close your eyes, you can almost hear the teenage girls screaming.
#6 on UCR‘s list
The Fab Four’s second film soundtrack serves as a nice bridge from their lighter-weight early days to the deeper, more experimental stuff to come. Only the first seven cuts appeared in the movie Help!, but the other songs — including the two cover tunes — fit nicely with the soundtrack songs. The Beatles rock nicely on hits like the title track and “Ticket to Ride,” while leaving space for more delicate, acoustic moments like the Simon & Garfunkel-esque “I’ve Just Seen a Face” and the eternally beautiful “Yesterday.” It’s a fine effort for a band at a turning point in its career.
#7 on UCR‘s list
The soundtrack to A Hard Day’s Night seems almost unfairly packed with hits, particularly the seven tracks that made the film. With so many fine songs and great memories of their wacky first appearance on the big screen, it ‘s easy to see why it’s a go-to purchase for many fans. It’s worth noting too that A Hard Day’s Night is the first album to feature all-original, all-Lennon-McCartney compositions. This record stands head and shoulders above the rest of the albums of the Beatles’ astonishingly prolific early period.
#3 on UCR‘s list
Here is where the Beatles truly began to transition from a rock-and-roll band to true artists. Rubber Soul displays a new maturity in both lyrics and music. As the band started exploring topics beyond simple love songs, songs like “Nowhere Man” and “In My Life” resonate with depth and emotion, but even love songs like “Michelle” and “Girl” reflect growth in songcraft. With Rubber Soul, the world began to see a greatness that transcended Beatlemania.
#2 on UCR‘s list
Revolver doubled down on the artistry and experimentation of Rubber Soul, yet the album contains some of the band’s most accessible music. Paul shines on this record with memorable performances on songs like “Here, There, and Everywhere,” “Eleanor Rigby,” and “Got to Get You into My Life,” while John chimes in with songs like “Doctor Robert” and “She Said She Said.” George contributes one of his most pointed social commentaries in “Taxman,” while Ringo joins in for the fun of “Yellow Submarine.” Who knew experimentation could be so fascinating and enjoyable?
#4 on UCR‘s list
The ultimate irony of the White Album is that it was the Beatles’ self-titled effort, yet each member brought some of the most disparate songs in the band’s catalog. The White Album suffers from the same problem that plagues so many double albums — too many tracks. Rather than create one kick-ass record, John, Paul, George, and Ringo released 34 tracks, and some of them come across as filler. The album is at turns frightening, baffling, blistering, and downright beautiful. And somehow it works. The Beatles presents a snapshot of a band in the early stages of dissolution in the form of a stunning, flawed epic that still packs a fascinating punch.
#1 on UCR‘s list
Sgt. Pepper is the gold standard that the rock world seems to desire to live up to, and it’s easy to see why. Here’s an album that serves as a perfect time capsule of psychedelia, and it still provides us with Exhibit A that rock music can be art. Under Paul’s leadership, the band presented a loosely connected song cycle that elevated rock to something higher and more fascinating — and Paul got to indulge his Edwardian fancy a little more. Sgt. Pepper belongs near the top of the list for “A Day in the Life” alone. Enough said.
#5 on UCR‘s list
Though Apple released Let It Be later, Abbey Road is for all intents and purposes the Beatles’ swan song. As such, they go out on a high note. This album is rock as experimental art, as beautiful art, and as just plain good music. There’s not a poor track on the record, and everyone gets his turn to lead well. Side 2 shows that by this time the Beatles had perfected their art. I’ve often heard people refer to this side of Abbey Road as a medley, but that’s not quite right. Rather, it’s a collection of shorter suites of music that demonstrate that the Beatles truly went out at the top of their game.
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There you go! Feel free to weigh in with your choices in the comments section below.
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Yes, I laughed when I read "not a poor track on the record." George Harrison later said about M's Hammer "my God, what a fruity song."
There were a few other stinkers. Lennon's paean to Yoko was another one. Few "great" albums are overall perfect. I'm a big Beatles fan, but they had their share of awful songs.
So you think Maxwell’s Hammer is just a real good song?!!!?
Agreed.
My least favorite Beatles songs are Maxwell and Run for you Life (I honestly don’t know what John was thinking with that one). Absolutely anything he did with Yoko stunk and it is very easy to see why see was the beginning of the end for the group.
The rest of the guys were livid that she was allowed to sit in on their sessions and you can see the tension in the video for Let It Be.
Rubber Soul is my favorite, but the top 5 are all good. Back in 1974 I attended the George Harrison and Friends concert in Seattle. It was excellent, they did 4 or 5 Beatles songs - Ravi Shankar could have stayed home, but George loved him. The Byrds opened the show IIRC.
Amen.
Enjoyed your reference to ‘Are You Being Served?’ I met John Inman at a book signing only a few years before he passed away. He still looked like he did on the old TV show and was quite sweet and pleasant with the crowd.
I really liked the Beatles and their music when I was in high school.
The glamor faded fast when I went to college and had to knuckle down.
I liked “The Rutles” and thought Eric Idle made a great Paul, but then,
Monty Python was just about my favorite TV show.
“Confuse a Cat!”
Homer: Why do you need new bands? Everyone knows rock attained perfection in 1974. It’s a scientific fact.
Grand Funk Railroad paved the way for Jefferson airplane, which cleared the way for Jefferson starship. The stage was now set for the Alan Parsons project, which I believe was some sort of hovercraft.
[the teenagers Homer and Barney are doing an acapella version of “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing” in front of a mirror]
Middle-aged Grampa: What the Hell are you two doin’?
Young Barney: It’s called rockin’ out!
Young Homer: You wouldn’t understan’, dad. You’re not *with it*.
Middle-aged Grampa: I used to be with it, but then they changed what *it* was. Now what I’m with isn’t *it*, and what’s *it* seems weird and scary to me. It’ll happen to you...
Homer: That’s all well and good for you, but I used to rock and roll all night and party every day. Then it was every other day... now I’m lucky to find half an hour a week in which to get funky. I’ve got to get out of this rut and back into the groove.
It’s all a matter of subjective opinion and taste, with perhaps a bit of personal history of good things being associated with an album, and perhaps bad things, too.
My list would be for top five:
White Album
Revolver
Rubber Soul
Sgt. Pepper’s
Magical Mystery Tour
But everyone has their own taste.
The conventional wisdom is ‘The Beatles stopped playing concerts because they couldn’t hear themselves onstage and they wanted to experiment in the studio.’
The first half of this quote is accurate but had they been a bit more patient they would have been able to use the monitor systems that quickly became standard (e.g. Woodstock).
Having to write stage-compatible songs kept them from disappearing up their own backsides, which is why 1965-66 was their real peak.
Sgt Pepper is always overrated in their catalogue as well as that of rock album rankings in general.
From a musician’s perspective, when the Rickenbackers, Epiphones and Voxes went out in favor of the Fenders it lost something.
The album is Meet the Beatles not With the Beatles
George had some front considering he frequently squandered his 'two tracks per LP' with his annoying derivative Indian/raga noise.
I’m kinda partial to My Bonnie, remember what was on the flip side?
“The Beatles were great composers and arrangers ...but, a rock band?”
Agree for the most part, but they had a few moments of hard driving music.
RE: Back in 1974 I attended the George Harrison and Friends concert in Seattle.
Was this the unforgettable CONCERT FOR BANGLADESH?
Ahh no... they are both Albums by the Beatles
No, the original Parlophone UK release was ‘With The Beatles.’
‘Meet The Beatles’ was a mishmash by Capitol of the first two UK releases....it also included ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’ which was always a standalone single in the UK.
The US albums were usually done in this cynical fashion but in most discussions of the Beatles’ albums as standalone artistic statements the UK versions are used.
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