Favourite Beatles Song Megathread

[Ray Bentos 10]

I mentioned ACROSS THE UNIVERSE earlier in this thread as one of my fave tracks. Beautiful melody & slightly weird vocals. I understand some of the lyrics but not all. In a nut shell what does this song of John's mean? Or doesn't it?

[happyhippy 11]

I mentioned ACROSS THE UNIVERSE earlier in this thread as one of my fave tracks. Beautiful melody & slightly weird vocals. I understand some of the lyrics but not all. In a nut shell what does this song of John's mean? Or doesn't it?

 

I remember asking my RS teacher at school (who was quite mad, but I did go to a posh school, so it was par for the course), what 'Jai guru deva Om' meant, seeing as he was a Vedic follower as well.

 

The nearest he got to it was "Love your teacher as a God" from his, self confessed, limited Sanskrit.

 

I only ever spoke to him about cricket after that.

 

I have to admit that it is a lovely, lovely song.

[Jane123 10]

This is almost impossible

1. Strawberry fields forever (has always been my favourite)

2. The long and winding road

3. A day in the life

4. Hey Jude

5. While my guitar gently weeps

[Ousetunes 10]

I mentioned ACROSS THE UNIVERSE earlier in this thread as one of my fave tracks. Beautiful melody & slightly weird vocals. I understand some of the lyrics but not all. In a nut shell what does this song of John's mean? Or doesn't it?

 

Whilst the Beatles were in India in February 1968, the Beatles' three guitarists were impressed by Donovan's finger-picking technique.

 

The result was some of the acoustic tracks which were released on The Beatles (better known as The White Album) released later that year. Lennon gave us Dear Prudence, Cry Baby Cry (the finger-picked guitar was lost in the piano which replaced it on the track) and Julia and McCartney gave us Mother Nature's Son and Blackbird. All utilised the PIMA finger-picking technique that they had learned from Donovan. (Harrison, needing no such instruction to the technique promptly rattled off While My Guitar Gently Weeps. The acoustic version with capo'd guitar remains the most touching and beautiful demo version of any Beatles track and to these ears is superior to the released re-recording. It finally saw the light of day on Anthology 3. I had the fortune of hearing this over Abbey Road Studio Two's speakers back in 1983. It left me breathless.)

 

One song which uses this style of playing but which didn't make the Double White set was Across The Universe which was actually composed prior to the Beatles' Indian journey. It was recorded on the 4th and 8th February nineteen sixty-eight.

 

Macdonald in Revolution In The Head describes Across The Universe as "Lennon's most shapeless song and that while a Beatle, Lennon was rarely boring. He made an unwanted exception with this track".

 

His obsession was no longer his pop group; it was Yoko (who was to move her bed into Abbey Road Studio 2 breaking Beatles protocol that no-one but themselves and their close associates be in the studio whilst they recorded).

 

The backing vocals on the original were by two Apples Scruffs who must have been amazed to be called in from the cold of standing on the steps of Abbey Road studios, day and night. Lizzie Bravo and Gayleen Pease probably didn't care too much about not receiving a penny for their contribution!

 

The version officially released on No-One's Gonna Change Our World was written in D but speeded up a semitone on the album (thus to Eb). Phil Spector further ruined a pretty soulless track by 'resurrecting' it on Let It Be, but slowing the tape down a semitone (to a drony Db) giving Lennon's voice a yawning feel.

 

Maybe Spector saw an irony in that lost on the Beatles' audience.

[shakermaker 10]

depends how you define 'best song-writer', i suppose

 

sometimes the simplest, most honest music is more enjoyable

[jdgraham83 10]

penny lane

paperback writer

hello goodbye

with a little help from my friends

here comes the sun

 

[Tarquin 10]

Ousetunes

 

 

Have a look here

 

 

 

[Myrtle 10]

Michelle.

Hard days night,

norwegian wood,

yesterday.

[Code13 10]

Be harder to name five least favourite Beatles songs? Being a major Beatles fan, I would say the following are "bumping along the bottom".

 

Wild Honey Pie (just doodling about)

Taxman (mainly because the lyric of multi-millionaires moaning about contributing to the public purse doesn't appeal)

Mr Moonlight (perfunctory cover filler)

Only a Northern Song (to me a cynical "I have to write this to fill the requirement for four new songs on the Yellow Submarine soundtrack - rather like the "clever" lyric on PiL's "Only Wanted to be Loved" viz "We only wanted to finish the album with the minimum amount of effort, which we are now doing very successfully").

Rocky Raccoon (bit of twaddle that would never have made vinyl had "The Beatles" been a single album).

Old Brown Shoe - I must have heard this umpteen times, but can never remember how it goes.

 

In contrast, I actually quite like Revolution #9, What the new Mary Jane and other "usual suspects" for bad Beatles records.

[Ousetunes 10]

Ousetunes

 

 

Have a look here

 

 

 

 

What am I looking at? The guy's pyjamas?

 

Ta for this. I'm impressed with the fact that

 

a) he's managed to mimick Harrison's tone; and

 

b) how 'economical' the whole playing of the song is. I could rattle this off quite soon...

 

 

....once I've bought a decent pair of p.j.s, that is!

 

(PS. My huge post above has been updated.)

[Ousetunes 10]

Be harder to name five least favourite Beatles songs? Being a major Beatles fan, I would say the following are "bumping along the bottom".

 

Wild Honey Pie (just doodling about)

Taxman (mainly because the lyric of multi-millionaires moaning about contributing to the public purse doesn't appeal)

Mr Moonlight (perfunctory cover filler)

Only a Northern Song (to me a cynical "I have to write this to fill the requirement for four new songs on the Yellow Submarine soundtrack - rather like the "clever" lyric on PiL's "Only Wanted to be Loved" viz "We only wanted to finish the album with the minimum amount of effort, which we are now doing very successfully").

Rocky Raccoon (bit of twaddle that would never have made vinyl had "The Beatles" been a single album).

Old Brown Shoe - I must have heard this umpteen times, but can never remember how it goes.

 

In contrast, I actually quite like Revolution #9, What the new Mary Jane and other "usual suspects" for bad Beatles records.

 

Good post.

 

I agree with Mr Moonlight, it truly is the turd hidden amongst the gems of the Beatles recording catalogue. Why did they not substitute Little Willie John's Leave My Kitten Alone with Ringo on lead vocals? Whilst the latter track was by no means brilliant, it was superior to this mess and it at least carried some excitement (something generally accepted as missing from Beatles For Sale).

 

I also agree with you regarding arguably Harrison's worst composition as a Beatle (recorded in February 1967 but not released until January 1969). It's a messy affair and might better have been left aside.

 

I must disagree strongly though with Harrison's Old Brown Shoe, a fantastic BEATLES performance and (poorly mixed vocals aside) one of the finest songs of their latter years.

 

Featuring ultra-tight drumming from Ringo who really gets into the shuffle mood, exciting bass from Paul and a nice and tidy guitar solo from George, this is the one song where the Beatles seem to play like the close, tight unit they once were! (Contrast this with the rushed John and Paul affair of the song's a-side, The Ballad of John And Yoko.)

 

And yes, Revolution 9 is still magnificent.

[Tarquin 10]

What am I looking at? The guy's pyjamas?

 

Ta for this. I'm impressed with the fact that

 

a) he's managed to mimick Harrison's tone; and

 

b) how 'economical' the whole playing of the song is. I could rattle this off quite soon...

 

 

....once I've bought a decent pair of p.j.s, that is!

 

(PS. My huge post above has been updated.)

 

 

I've been looking for the guitar tab of this song for ages.Only found one version but it wasn't very accurate.Shame really as its a lovely song