182 and Counting: The Beatles, Ranked

    The countdown continues with #80-#61...

80
She Said She Said
(#9, Revolver, 1966)
Possibly the least congruous - but most refreshing - part of the Revolver album is when the chorus of "Yellow Submarine" fades out, only to be followed by the stinging guitar riff of "She Said She Said" a few seconds later. Based on a conversation Lennon had with a stoned Peter Fonda, the contempt oozing out of this song's lyrics almost makes it seem like Lennon was anti-drug, except we know that really wasn't the case.
What I like about it: That guitar, and great Lennon lyrics.
What I don't like about it: I legitimately love every song from around 90 on up in this list, so it's getting harder and harder to come up with these. In this case, I guess my only beef would be that the apparent mocking of Fonda doesn't quite square with John pulling lyrics for some of his other songs from his own drug trips

79
And Your Bird Can Sing
(#8, Revolver, 1966)
Another great Lennon rocker off my second favorite album. The guitar here is wonderful too, and though Lennon's lyrics don't make any particular sense, they sound great.
What I like about it: The harmonies on "and your bird can swing", and of course the guitar.
What I don't like about it: It's only two minutes long - songs like this need to go on for a little longer!

78
I'm Only Sleeping
(#7, Revolver, 1966)
I've always liked this song, partially because it could probably be my theme song, certainly on weekends. Besides that, though, it has an appealing melody, and shows off some of Lennon's experimentation early in the album (at track 3 on Revolver, this was the first John track to play), including a backwards guitar solo. The bass on this song also gives it a great soporific feel.
What I like about it: The track has a genuine sleepiness about it that really works with the lyrics - and for that matter, the lyrics are among Lennon's most coherent of the period.
What I don't like about it: Nothing leaps to mind.

77
Two of Us
(#6, Let It Be, 1970)
This song sounds like it might be about Lennon and McCartney's friendship, but actually it's about Paul and Linda. That's kind of a shame, because the harmonies on the song and the vocal improv during the fade suggest a kinship between John and Paul that would have been nice to think about when the album was recorded (though by the time the album came out, I guess it might have rung a bit hollow). On the other hand, the Let It Be... Naked version of the song is superior because it mixes the voices at a higher volume, giving the track a much richer sound and really making it sound like John and Paul were two old buddies having a good time reminiscing. The Spector version, which is the one ranked here, screws up a lot of that by having the voices too low.
What I like about it: Great melody, harmonies, lyrics.
What I don't like about it: The vocal tracks needed to be higher. The Naked version of this song is about the only one I like better than its original counterpart.

76
A Hard Day's Night
(#3, A Hard Day's Night, 1964)
A great rocker to kick off the first-ever album comprised entirely of Lennon/McCartney tunes (and for that matter, the last, at least of those the Beatles released). Everyone should know what song this is the second they hear that opening chord.
What I like about it: The chord is immensely memorable, but Lennon's vocals are great too.
What I don't like about it: The bridges are probably my least favorite part, but I still like them.

75
Yes It Is
(#3, Past Masters Volume One, 1988; first released as the B-side to Ticket to Ride, 1965)
Lennon derided this song as "me trying a rewrite of 'This Boy', but it didn't work" in his Playboy interview, but for what it's worth, I find this song way more enjoyable. First there's George's tone pedal guitar, which gives the whole song kind of an eerie mood. Then there's the harmonies, just as good here as there. The lyrics are better than a lot of comparable early work; great wordplay, and with the tune they exude a faint sense of heartbreak.
What I like about it: "Red is the color that will make me blue, in spite of you, it's true... yes it is, it's true."
What I don't like about it: There's another version of this song, probably on an Anthology, where the group elides the title phrase a bit more when they sing it. In the single version, the kind of stutter-stop between each word sounds a tad awkward, even if it stops the song from being called "Yesidiz."

74
If I Fell
(#2, A Hard Day's Night, 1964)
Great Lennon song, done in kind of a faux-ballad style, and in typical Lennon fashion it sort of turns things on their ear by having him sing about, effectively, making his new squeeze promise that she'll be his girlfriend before breaking up with his old girl. Still, it sounds absolutely beautiful.
What I like about it: "'cause I couldn't stand the pain..." Great melody and harmony on those and other lines.
What I don't like about it: There are some lines where Lennon sounds on the cusp of going off-key, especially the opener, which for a long time as a kid kept me from listening to the song, a big mistake.

73
Can't Buy Me Love
(#1, A Hard Day's Night, 1964)
Paul frequently gets a reputation as the wimp-rocker of the group because he was the one behind the kiddie-oriented songs and many of the ballad-type love songs, but in fact he was probably the group's best straight rocker too, demonstrated well in the early days when he and Lennon were both still writing rock songs most of the time. Lennon may have written more, but McCartney usually did him one better, as evidenced by his "Can't Buy Me Love" being slightly better, although not hugely so, than John's "A Hard Day's Night". Paul's lyrics aren't any stronger than John's for that song, but the rock is just a little better overall, sounding slightly peppier and more infectious.
What I like about it: Great-sounding rock song.
What I don't like about it: Perhaps a bit simple lyrically, but nothing really worth complaining about.

72
Birthday
(#12, The White Album, 1968)
Undeniably simple, certainly from a lyrical standpoint. But it's also undeniably one of the best straight-up rock songs the Beatles ever did. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was another McCartney creation.
What I like about it: It rocks. Love that guitar.
What I don't like about it: If you attempt to play it on a loop, as I did at my 14th birthday party, it gets annoying after only three or four times through.

71
Cry Baby Cry
(#11, The White Album, 1968)
Another case where John actually takes on a sort of story-song that was usually more Paul's style. He makes it a bit dark with the seemingly unconnected chorus exhortation for the baby to cry; since the rest of the song sounds sort of like a cute fairy-tale lullaby, it's almost a bit creepy there. That said, the way the chorus pounds out is the best part of the song, aurally speaking.
What I like about it: Ringo's drums, the guitar, and piano that make the choruses rock. The "can you take me back" part at the end is interesting too.
What I don't like about it: Nothing in particular.

70
Martha My Dear
(#10, The White Album, 1968)
A beautiful-sounding song with very cute lyrics and a great arrangement. The fact that it's being sung to a sheepdog doesn't make it any less cute; Paul's delivery of the title phrase is almost impossibly perfect. It turns out that Paul was the only Beatle to play or sing on this track, yet it's really none the worse for it.
What I like about it: The melody and lyrics.
What I don't like about it: As great as the tune is, the orchestration of it is a bit over the top at times.

69
Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey
(#9, The White Album, 1968)
It doesn't mean a whole lot, but the song sounds great. It opens with an outstanding riff, and the choruses are followed by another good one. Lennon also delivers a solid rock vocal, and the lyrical simplicity actually seems like it could be a semi-parody of the mysticism the group had recently dabbled in.
What I like about it: Great-sounding rock.
What I don't like about it: Pretty lightweight.

68
Revolution
(#8, Past Masters Volume Two, 1988; first released as the B-side to Hey Jude, 1968)
Oh man, that opening riff. A heck of a rock tune from Lennon with screaming fuzzy guitars, and a scream from John himself at the open. I actually used this song as the wakeup track on my alarm clock for a while in college; it's that effective. Some of Lennon's best - and certainly most coherent - lyrics here, as he explains to the counterculture movement that he isn't interested in violence, would rather see the plan before he gets involved in any way, and doesn't think Communism is a goal to which to aspire.
What I like about it: Rocks, and rocks hard, yet still finds room for soaring harmonies.
What I don't like about it: "You tell me that it's evol-tution." Really, this couldn't have been corrected?

67
Tomorrow Never Knows
(#6, Revolver, 1966)
The lyrics are that typical later-Lennon mixture of interesting and obtuse, but they work in the song's context, which was highly experimental, featuring tape loop upon tape loop for most of the content. I used to avoid this song when I first started listening to the album, but it's actually quite enjoyable, if in a different way from a lot of Beatles songs.
What I like about it: The keyboard loop that plays during the fadeout is one of my favorite bits the Beatles ever did; it just sounds great, especially as a closer to such a crazy song, musically.
What I don't like about it: The seagull-like noises are a bit grating.

66
For You Blue
(#5, Let It Be, 1970)
One of George's simplest but nicest tunes. It's a cute little lyric with George telling his woman that he loves her in a couple different ways, but its charm is ratcheted up a bit by the apparent cut-loose feel embodied by Lennon's slide guitar solo and George's cheerleading for him, however sarcastically.
What I like about it: George plays a nice lead guitar here, accompanied by John's bouncy, wavering slide guitar that gives the song an offbeat feel.
What I don't like about it: Nothing really.

65
Don't Let Me Down
(#7, Past Masters Volume Two, 1988; first released as the B-side to Get Back, 1969)
A good soulful rocker from John, with simple but nice lyrics and some great keyboard from Billy Preston. Great rock harmonies during the choruses, too.
What I like about it: When John sings "I'm in love for the first time, don't you know it's gonna last", you feel like he means it.
What I don't like about it: There's no good reason for me not to like this more, yet I don't really. Maybe it's because John was undoubtedly singing about Yoko.

64
Savoy Truffle
(#8, The White Album, 1968)
Nice little rock number from George whose lyrics are mostly about eating dessert (supposedly inspired by Eric Clapton's love of sweets). I like the melody a lot, but the bridge is pretty sweet too.
What I like about it: The horn section adds a great audio component to the track.
What I don't like about it: What seems like a semi-gratuitous shot at Paul in the bridge. As noted in the "Glass Onion" review, I don't care for songs that reference other songs, especially since it seems like George is snipping at Paul using "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da". This song is mostly forgiven since it's only one line.

63
Mother Nature's Son
(#7, The White Album, 1968)
A nice-sounding light ballad from Paul, this is probably one of the most overlooked tracks on the White Album, if not in pretty much the entirety of the Beatles' later catalog. The melody is great and the lyrics are surprisingly good, both tender and meaningful without being about love like so many Paul songs.
What I like about it: Great guitar part by Paul, again the only Beatle to appear on the track.
What I don't like about it: It kind of tapers off lyrically after the second verse, as if Paul was incapable of writing more than six or eight lines that weren't about liking girls.

62
Think for Yourself
(#7, Rubber Soul, 1965)
A good solid George song. Nice rough melody, and some great harmonies in the verses.
What I like about it: Sounds really good.
What I don't like about it: Lyrics are a bit condescending, even by George standards.

61
It's Only Love
(#6, Help!, 1965)
Lennon claimed to always have hated this song, going so far as to tell one magazine, "That's the one song I really hate of mine. Terrible lyric." The lyrics may not be that complicated, but that was hardly out of keeping with the Beatles up to this point, plus there's so much else about the song to like - its melody, for starters, and Lennon's anguished delivery of the supposedly terrible lyrics.
What I like about it: The choruses in particular are great.
What I don't like about it: Nothing in particular. The fact that Lennon was so deadset against it of all his songs makes me wonder about it, though.

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