Dave Bryce Posted June 19, 2001 Share Posted June 19, 2001 This is part of an endless debate that a friend of mine and I have got going, and I'm curious to hear what you forum folks have to say. So, if you're a Beatles fan and you had to say which is the best Beatles song, which one would you choose? dB ==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <== Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve LeBlanc Posted June 19, 2001 Share Posted June 19, 2001 I'm not a big Beatles fan...I mean I like all their music but don't go nuts for it. With that said, "The Long and Winding Road" is a very well written song and sticks out to me as at least one of their best. http://www.youtube.com/notesleb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llarion Posted June 19, 2001 Share Posted June 19, 2001 If I could only listen to one Beatles song, it'd have to be Eleanor Rigby. Elegant and precise, pristine and essential. ------------------ Cheers! Phil "Llarion: The Jazzinator" Traynor www.mp3.com/llarion Smooth Jazz This message has been edited by Llarion on 06-18-2001 at 05:51 PM Cheers! Phil "Llarion: The Jazzinator" Traynor www.llarion.com Smooth Jazz - QUESTION AUTHORITY. Go ahead, ask me anything. http://www.llarion.com/images/dichotomybanner.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Jones Posted June 19, 2001 Share Posted June 19, 2001 Originally posted by Llarion: If I could only listen to one Beatles song, it'd have to be Eleanor Rigby. Elegant and precise, pristine and essential. Agreed. "I may be a craven little coward, but I'm a greedy craven little coward." Daffy Duck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Worley Posted June 19, 2001 Share Posted June 19, 2001 "Happiness Is A Warm Gun" Count that one out sometime... Lots of fun. Regards, Dan Worley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bucktunes Posted June 19, 2001 Share Posted June 19, 2001 That's one of those questions without a conclusive answer! http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif My fave is "A Day In The Life". The fusing together of two seperate songs into one was very clever, and the production was outstanding for it's time. Or since then, for that matter. I also agree with "Long And Winding Road" and you could make a pretty good argument for "Let It Be", too. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif Peace all, Steve ><> Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steadyb Posted June 19, 2001 Share Posted June 19, 2001 In answer to the topic question: no. The Beatles went through too many different musical directions, with utter brilliance at each turn, to compare the best from one period to another. Think about it..."If I Fell", "Help", "Yesterday", "Strawberry Fields", "I Am The Walrus",..."Hey Jude", "Let It Be", "Dear Prudence", "Julia", "While My Guitar Gently Weeps",..."She Loves You, "I Wanna Hold Your Hand", "Something, "You Never Give Me Your Money",..."I've Got a Feeling", "She's Leaving Home", "Revolution", "Helter Skelter"...what criterea would you use??? Pick just one...no way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Jones Posted June 19, 2001 Share Posted June 19, 2001 So lets add fuel to the fire. Who was the creative genius behind the different phases of the Beatles journey? Lennon? McCartney? Collabrative? Michael "I may be a craven little coward, but I'm a greedy craven little coward." Daffy Duck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steadyb Posted June 19, 2001 Share Posted June 19, 2001 Collabrative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dansouth Posted June 19, 2001 Share Posted June 19, 2001 Originally posted by Steve LeBlanc: I'm not a big Beatles fan...I mean I like all their music but don't go nuts for it. With that said, "The Long and Winding Road" is a very well written song and sticks out to me as at least one of their best. Okay, I'll be nice, but it's not going to be easy. TLAWR was a Phil Spector rearrangement of a Beatles song, done after the band had essentially split. It's a "nice" song in a rather un-Beatles sort of way, but it's anathema to most Beatles fans. It's a matter of perspective, of course, and lots of people DO like the song. I still hear it played on the radio. But it's kind of like Jimi with strings - not what the composer would have wanted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dansouth Posted June 19, 2001 Share Posted June 19, 2001 Originally posted by midirat: So lets add fuel to the fire. Who was the creative genius behind the different phases of the Beatles journey? Lennon? McCartney? Collabrative? The collaboration of John's drive with Paul's sweetness. Both brought a huge amount of talent and vision to the table. Can you imagine a world in which John and Paul had never met? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Bryce Posted June 19, 2001 Author Share Posted June 19, 2001 If I had to pick one, I'd probably go with "She Loves You". Simple, catchy, and to the point...great changes...really interesting to listen to...makes you feel great. IMO, pretty much a perfect pop song. My tuppence, dB ==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <== Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dansouth Posted June 19, 2001 Share Posted June 19, 2001 For me, the best Beatles song, hands down, it "She Loves You." Yes, I realize that the lyric is kind of corny, but the performance was amazing. No other Beatles song conveyed that level of jubilation. They were so excited to be making music and to have their music heard around the world. That excitement pours right out of the grooves, through the speakers, and into your soul. I heard "She Loves You" for the first time when they appeared on Ed Sullivan. I would have been about four. We were visiting friends of my parents, who had a daughter my age. When the music started, the two of us did the most unpredictable thing. We both got up and danced like maniacs. I don't think I'd ever seen anyone dance before, except maybe Fred Astaire, but there I was, shaking and jumping around someone's living room like a marionette on amphetamines. The power of that music was totally overwhelming. Meanwhile, two sets of parents sat in disbelief, horrified at the sight our seemingly senseless gyrations. My father would go on to complain for years about "that 'Yeah Yeah Yeah' crap," but for those few precious moments, "She Loves You" was my entire world. That was the first time I danced with a girl and the first time I experienced the unbridled power of rock and roll. If you want a little taste of the power that I felt that day, rent "A Hard Days Night" and fast forward to their on air performance at the end of the film. It helps to have a lovely young lady on hand in case you get the urge to boogy. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/wink.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve LeBlanc Posted June 19, 2001 Share Posted June 19, 2001 TLAWR was a Phil Spector rearrangement of a Beatles song, done after the band had essentially split. It's a "nice" song in a rather un-Beatles sort of way, but it's anathema to most Beatles fans. It's a matter of perspective, of course, and lots of people DO like the song. I still hear it played on the radio. But it's kind of like Jimi with strings - not what the composer would have wanted. Well Dan that was totally uncalled for and quite "uppity" of you http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/wink.gif. I don't like most of Phil Spector's stuff and don't particularly like the arrangment and/or mix he did of TLAWR. I know the history well, I'm young but I wasn't born yesterday (another great song by the way http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif) I've heard Paul McCartney sing that song with just an acoustic guitar and it just really hit me as being one of his best tunes if not the best. So there, I suppose I could have been nicer but heh. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif http://www.youtube.com/notesleb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dansouth Posted June 19, 2001 Share Posted June 19, 2001 Hey, Dave! I see that great minds think alike! http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krakit Posted June 19, 2001 Share Posted June 19, 2001 I love the Beatles about as much as anyone my age that isn't a "Super Fan". I'm 36 and I've owned more than one copy of the Beatles Complete song book. The songs that I felt transended "POP" were: For No One She's Leaving Home Eleanor Rigby For the Benefit of Mr. Kite These songs for me were extremely well constructed pieces that had very original melodies and arrangements. The recording techniques used on Mr. Kite were groundbreaking (thanks to George Martin I believe). I couldn't pick out a "favorite" at all, but these four tunes have something I find extra special. Carl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Bryce Posted June 19, 2001 Author Share Posted June 19, 2001 IShe's Leaving Home Good choice!! I love that song!!! As a matter of fact, I just covered it on the album that I'm working on. It's the first tune that I've done in a really long time where I didn't use any MIDI at all...even miked up the Real Actual Piano. In mono, of course! Has anyone else recorded any Beatles covers? Do you think that it's unusual for keyboard players to want to cover Beatles songs? I don't think so at all... dB ==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <== Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joegerardi Posted June 19, 2001 Share Posted June 19, 2001 I was never a great beatles fan, but enjoyed their stuff that's pre-66. To me, that's when they were a rock band. just good old-fashioned stuff. I never appreciated (and still don't today) all the stuff that came after. If I gotta pick one? "Help." It was at the height of their popularity, the smooth harmonies are great against Lennon's rasp, and it's got a nice beat and you can dance to it! Originally posted by midirat: So lets add fuel to the fire. Who was the creative genius behind the different phases of the Beatles journey? Lennon? McCartney? Collabrative? Michael Michael? Which one was he??????/ http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gifhttp://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gifhttp://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gifhttp://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gifhttp://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif Setup: Korg Kronos 61, Roland XV-88, Korg Triton-Rack, Motif-Rack, Korg N1r, Alesis QSR, Roland M-GS64 Yamaha KX-88, KX76, Roland Super-JX, E-Mu Longboard 61, Kawai K1II, Kawai K4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
batman forgot his cape Posted June 19, 2001 Share Posted June 19, 2001 "even miked up the Real Actual Piano. In mono, of course!" Nice one, Brycie!!.....Sure beats that little plastic MIDI gizmo.... "Please please me", "Paperback Writer" and "I am the Walrus" rule the Beatles songwriting pantheon AFAIC..... Best regards Ade Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jg42 Posted June 19, 2001 Share Posted June 19, 2001 Hehe... Nice topic by the way!!!! I'm a great fan of "Something" - Harrison's song - isn't it? "Here Comes the Sun" was written by George as well... Other honorable mentions are: "Oh, Darling!" and "Because"... ------------------ Cheers, Arseny http://www.mp3.com/arseny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Zeger Posted June 19, 2001 Share Posted June 19, 2001 "In My Life", though it takes on a drippy sentiment around this graduation time of year. No mention yet of "Yesterday"? What about the best "John" song, "Paul" song, "George" song, "Ringo" song? (that last one could be an oxymoron, other than "With a Litte Help from My Friends") Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobro Posted June 19, 2001 Share Posted June 19, 2001 Originally posted by dansouth@yahoo.com: Okay, I'll be nice, but it's not going to be easy. TLAWR was a Phil Spector rearrangement of a Beatles song, done after the band had essentially split. It's a "nice" song in a rather un-Beatles sort of way, but it's anathema to most Beatles fans. It's a matter of perspective, of course, and lots of people DO like the song. I still hear it played on the radio. But it's kind of like Jimi with strings - not what the composer would have wanted. "Not what the composer wanted" is sketchy territory- "Hendrix appeared to be on the edge of new creative bursts just before his death in 1970. He told confidantes including "In from the Storm" producer and engineer Eddie Kramer, who mixed some of Hendrix' most adventurous work and helped put together the 1993 tribute "Stone Free" (with Buddy Guy, the Pretenders and Belly, among others), that he would like to record with full symphonic backing. "- Bill Kisliuk, Jazz Now et al. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" "Something" and "Here Comes the Sun" are my favorite Beatles tunes, all George Harrison tunes I believe. Oddly enough, the Beatles weren't a part of my childhood- the first time I heard a Beatles tune was on the day John Lennon died and I was already a teenager. We had no radio, television or even newspaper until I was about 10, but I know my father must have listened to pop radio at work because he would once in a while throw in some cryptic lines into his usual medley of Ukrainian folk songs, which I found out years later were Parliament lyrics, hehe. Announcing the news of the attack on George Harrison a couple of years ago on the radio, I was surprised to find myself choked up like a sentimental fool- thankfully it turned out not to be another senseless death. "Real Life" is a radically different thing for different people, but the George Harrison tunes immediately, truthfully and poignantly spoke to me when I heard them, so from my perspective they're the "best" Beatles tunes. -CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tusker Posted June 19, 2001 Share Posted June 19, 2001 Originally posted by midirat: So lets add fuel to the fire. Who was the creative genius behind the different phases of the Beatles journey? Lennon? McCartney? Collabrative? I am much too much of a fan of the Beatles to pick a song out. Let's see if I can answer this one. I think it would be Sir George. Not to take anything away from Lennon-McCartney. No other duo could have done what they did. However, I don't think they would have developed in so many directions so quickly without the support and encouragement of a wise elder statesman. Regards, Jerry ------------------ www.tuskerfort.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coyote Posted June 19, 2001 Share Posted June 19, 2001 I love "Tomorrow Never Knows". An aunt gave me Revolver when it first came out - I was 4 years old! I wore out the groove on that song. I guess that's when my parents knew I wasn't gonna end up a normal kid LOL I used to think I was Libertarian. Until I saw their platform; now I know I'm no more Libertarian than I am RepubliCrat or neoCON or Liberal or Socialist. This ain't no track meet; this is football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magpel Posted June 19, 2001 Share Posted June 19, 2001 God no. I could hardly pick a best Beatles album, much less a song. Okay. Revolver, but what about Rubber Soul, Abbey Road? Oh forget it. Steadyb had an excellent list of bests. I would add She Said, She Said and Rain as two favorite Lennon songs. And I'm only Sleeping. The whole Abbey Road side two collage is pretty great. Julia. I Dig a Pony is a personal fave. Hey Bulldog. You Know My Name. As for who was the true genius, I think it was a synergistic thing. After they split, Paul was never as sharp in his lyrcis as he was with the Beatles, and John was never as sharp in his melodies. And yet they rarely wrote togteher. They just brought out the best in each other (apparently they were quite competitive). Poor George. A talent like that as the *third* best songwriter in a band, and a distant third at that? That's pretty harsh. Of course, George always contributed two stellar songs per album. Unfortunately, that's the formula on his solo albums as well... What's the WORST Beatles song? Magpel Check out the Sweet Clementines CD at bandcamp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
humannoyed Posted June 19, 2001 Share Posted June 19, 2001 Favorites: In My Life, Julia, And I Love Her Worst? Why Don't We Do It In The Rude "It is a danger to create something and risk rejection. It is a greater danger to create nothing and allow mediocrity to rule." "You owe it to us all to get on with what you're good at." W.H. Auden Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dspenser Posted June 19, 2001 Share Posted June 19, 2001 IMHO the early stuff. Good 'ol rock and roll. They could wail. My favorite...I Want to Hold Your Hand. That was the sound that changed everything. Others...listen to Paul wail on Long Tall Sally. Great Chuck Berry guitar by George on Roll Over Beethoven. And Day Tripper, can't forget that one. I saw them 3 times live in San Francisco...'64, '65, and '66...the last public concert. The Greatest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip OKeefe Posted June 20, 2001 Share Posted June 20, 2001 No one song could ever be singled out as the best - WAY too many good ones to mention in a few seconds. Lennon / Macca together were much better than either of them alone... but if I had to pick the one who was the more musically talented, Macca would edge it out by just a bit. Better guitarist, one of the best bass players to ever grab a bass (SO melodic while still holding down the bottom end) and the more versitle singer (Sang Yesterday on the same day just after doing I'm Down? Amazing!) and probably as good a writer. Lennon fans are going to KILL me now... but after Paul's also gone, I think history will share my opinion. Phil O'Keefe Sound Sanctuary Recording Riverside CA http://members.aol.com/ssanctuary/index.html pokeefe777@msn.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magpel Posted June 20, 2001 Share Posted June 20, 2001 Well, I'm not going to kill you, but I will suggest that McCartney's solo output has always been pretty vapid, wheras John had a real highlight with the stark and ruthless Plastic Ono Band album, one of my all time favorites. I'll also mention that Eddie Kramer said that Lennon had the best time on guitar of any guitarist he'd ever recorded. I think he was a great guitarist in the feel department. Yeah, Paul was a more technically adept and fully developed musician, for sure, and he had the better ears, but I'd still take Lennon on a good day over just about anyone. That's rock and roll. Magpel PS, imo, the best stuff Paul's done in a while were the 12 or 13 songs he cowrote with Elvis Costello. It was a fresher and more challenged sounding Paul than I've heard since Ram, my favorite Macca solo album. Check out the Sweet Clementines CD at bandcamp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael saulnier Posted June 20, 2001 Share Posted June 20, 2001 I'm with the "there's no one song that is THE BEST"... If I HAD TO pick... I'd go for "Hard Day's Night"... The tension that the opening chord gives... Ahhh... tension and release... what all good music is made of... guitplayer I'm still "guitplayer"! Check out my music if you like... http://www.michaelsaulnier.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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