Tag Archives: The Beatles

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Song of the Day #450: ‘You’re Going To Lose That Girl’ – The Beatles

helpLast week I suggested that Revolver is a “Paul album” ‐ that is, the balance of the great songs on it were written by Paul McCartney. This week it’s John Lennon’s turn, and the “John album” I’m highlighting is The Beatles’ fifth record, Help!.

Help! was the band’s second soundtrack album, following A Hard Day’s Night, and while it isn’t the equal of that classic it doesn’t fall too short. I consider it probably the most underrated album in The Beatles’ discography. Not that it’s bashed, really, but you just never hear it come up in discussions of the band’s best work… it’s lost in a sea of Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper and Abbey Road.

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Song of the Day #444: ‘For No One’ – The Beatles

beatlesd‘Here, There and Everywhere’ is probably my favorite track on Revolver, but giving it a run for its money is another Paul McCartney tune, ‘For No One.’ This song is the flip side of ‘Here, There and Everywhere,’ as sad and resigned as that song is buoyant. It’s a song about the pain that lingers long after a breakup… the little ache that sneaks up on you unexpectedly. As Paul puts it, “There will be times when all the things she said will fill your head. You won’t forget her.”

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Song of the Day #443: ‘Here, There and Everywhere’ – The Beatles

paulmccaI find that most Beatles albums favor either Lennon or McCartney. Although they share songwriting credit on all their songs the true author of each is well-known, and whether by design or accident their best work seemed to come in clumps.

Of course I’m talking about matters of degree here, as both John and Paul had classic songs on every Beatles album. Also, my favorites might not be everybody’s favorites and some people no doubt think of my “Paul” albums as “John” albums and vice versa. So sound off in the comments if you think I’m nuts.

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Song of the Day #437: ‘Here Comes the Sun’ – The Beatles

bealtesshotI’m sticking with the “quiet Beatle” this weekend.

George Harrison wrote 22 of The Beatles’ 200+ songs and they run the gamut from totally forgettable (‘Blue Jay Way’) to some of the best songs in the catalog (‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps,’ ‘Here Comes the Sun’). He introduced the sitar into the band’s tool kit, putting it to good use on his own ‘Within You Without You’ and ‘The Inner Light’ and making John’s ‘Norwegian Wood‘ possible.

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Song of the Day #436: ‘Long, Long, Long’ – The Beatles

georgeOne of the greatest things about the Beatles catalog is how deep it is. Awhile back I wrote about my theory that it take three great songs to make a great album. Well, in the case of The Beatles, just about every song on each of their albums is great. Even (sometimes especially) the ones casual fans have never even heard of.

I can think of exactly one track in a discography of more than 200 songs that I actually skip: ‘Revolution 9.’ And that’s not even a real song. The rest run the gamut from ‘the best songs ever written’ to ‘pretty good’ with 95% at ‘great’ or better. Not many artists can claim that sort of consistency, and no other band rivals the number of ‘best songs ever written’ — not even close.

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