No. 420: With The Beatles

Band: The Beatles
Album: With the Beatles
Why Rolling Stone gets it right: The second Beatles album is some of the greatest early rock and roll on record.
Why Rolling Stone gets it wrong: Having this and "Meet The Beatles!" is overkill.
Best song: The whole album is great, but "Don't Bother Me" is a favorite.
Worst song: "I Wanna Be Your Man" isn't great.
Is it awesome?: Yes.

I complained about having both "Meet The Beatles!" and "With The Beatles on the same list before. That was kind of stupid, because I missed an opportunity to talk about Beatlemania there and the actual album here.

So it goes.

Anyway, "With The Beatles" was the band's second record in Britain, so the craziness that met "Meet The Beatles!" wasn't evident with this record. The tracklist is slightly different, as "With The Beatles" is the better of the two.

A few things to keep in mind in regards to the album:

• There are several covers on "With The Beatles" and all of them are, in a word, awesome. "Money," "You Really Got a Hold on Me" "and "Please Mister Postman" are John-led songs that show his range. George tears through "Roll Over Beethoven" and "Devil in Her Heart" and Paul's often-overlooked softness peppers "Til There Was You."


• "With The Beatles" also features the first Geroge-penned song, the angry "Don't Bother Me." It's snide and clever, as is George's way.


• The album also features the first Ringo-sung song, the Lennon/McCartney track "I Wanna Be Your Man." The song was played by the Rolling Stones, released a month before the Beatles' version, and was a hit single for the Stones.

"With The Beatles," like "Please Please Me," doesn't have the depth of "Revolver" or "Rubber Soul," but the record is the near definition of early rock and roll. It's mop tops and dancing and girls screaming and suits and excellent harmonies. It's harmonic guitar lines and 4/4 Ringo beats. It's not "A Day in the Life," but no one was doing records like that in 1963.

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And we've come to the last Beatles record on the list. The Beatles are, in my mind, the greatest rock and roll band in history. The Rolling Stones had more of an edge, Led Zeppelin were more of a one-trick pony and the Who became self-indulgent and pompous after a few years. The Kinks were more clever, but also considerably less catchy and interesting.

I love Pink Floyd and I consider Floyd to be a more challenging and interesting band. I often cite Floyd, Mogwai and Tortoise (as you can see on this site) as my favorite three bands, but those three are my favorites with the assumption that I consider the Beatles the greatest band of all time.

I've never not been in a Beatles mood. There is, basically, no emotion that can't be amended, fixed or helped by a Beatles song. The Beatles ruined love songs for me because they wrote about 95% of the greatest love songs, including two of my favorites ("I Will" and "Something"). The band's ability to create those records at such young ages astonishes me.

As we saw with "Band on the Run," the whole was always greater than its parts. Even the best post-Beatles work by any of the four -- in my eyes, George's "All Things Must Pass" -- isn't near even mediocre Beatles songs. Even though John and Paul mostly wrote on their own post-1965, the songs got clear input from both songwriters. And each had their strengths to the process.

And the songs were unparalleled. Any Beatles record stands up to just about any band. They're the best.

No. 388: A Hard Day's Night

(U.K. cover)

(U.S. cover)
Band: The Beatles
Album: A Hard Day's Night
Why Rolling Stone gets it right: The soundtrack to the band's first movie, "A Hard Day's Night" is classic early Beatles: Great hooks, melodic solos and unparalleled harmonies.
Why Rolling Stone gets it wrong: I imagine this could be higher. It is, after all, The Beatles.
Best song: "Things We Said Today" is amazing.
Worst song: "You Can't Do That" isn't perfect.
Is it awesome?: Yes!

Here's an interesting thought: The Beatles recorded "A Hard Day's Night" in one day. I cannot fathom that a band could be so prepared and ready for recording wherein they did not tinker at all with the songs while recording. That's the famous Beatles discipline in its truest form.

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"A Hard Day's Night" isn't a great film by any stretch. It is, however, a lot of fun and a great piece snapshot of Beatlemania.

Because of my own melancholy, I cannot fathom being a Beatlemaniac. In the midst of the 2008 presidential race, I often see people at Barack Obama's rallies fainting or crying. Just the idea of Obama makes these people cry.

I'm in the middle of reading "American Brutus," an excellent book about the conspiracy to kill President Lincoln. The book goes into great detail about the passion and emotion surrounding the evening Lincoln was shot. The fellow theatergoers were all exceedingly excited to catch a glimpse at Lincoln in his box at Ford's Theater that evening.

Celebrities all have varying degrees of import in our lives. I wouldn't cry if saw any presidential candidate speak, but I have a friend who often tears up while watching Obama speak on TV. I imagine I'd cry if Lincoln spoke, but that'd be because the zombies are about to take over.

And, you know, Zombie Lincoln probably knows where to find Zombie General Ulysses S. Grant. And Zombie Grant could surely plan a successful campaign against the living.

But, I digress... I guess I just can't imagine screaming or crying when I see someone famous. Famous people are just people, despite how talented they are.

Look at Paul McCartney. I would argue that he's on the shortlist of greatest songwrtiers ever. As much as I mock his sunnyness, he's written more great songs than anyone outside of a small group (his bandmate John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Roger Waters, maybe Pete Townsend). But, he's still just an aging hippy who thinks nature is totally awesome and fascinating.

(For what it's worth, I agree with him.)

So, the question is this: Is it worth screaming if you see him? I'd suggest that it is not.

Hank Azaria tells a story that his brother-in-law met George Harrison at a party and started, essentially, freaking out. Azaria's brother-in-law approached Harrison and said "It can't be! It can't be you! It can't be!" Harrison, calmly, replied "No, it can't."

(Man, how sad is it that my frame of reference is largely based on Simpsons commentaries? I need to get out more.)

So, my point is this: I've met some of my idols (Steve Albini at a show and I worked with Tony Kornheiser after he got me my job at the Post) and they're just dudes. The Beatles were four young men from Liverpool. Yes, they were four very talented young men, but young men.

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"A Hard Day's Night" is very Lennon-heavy in its songwriting. Ironically, the best song on the album is a McCartney-penned track, "Things We Said Today." It is probably McCartney's best vocal performance, as he stays within his lower vocal range.

Early Beatles records are fantastic in that the albums are full of songs you know. They're wonderful as the intersection of early rock music and popular music. The hooks are unstoppable ("A Hard Day's Night" and "Can't Buy Me Love" are great) and the musicianship is great.

No. 332: Help!

Band: The Beatles
Album: Help!
Why Rolling Stone gets it right: Well, it's The Beatles, so it's great. It's placement, I imagine, is due to its lesser place in the band's discography, but it's still great.
Why Rolling Stone gets it wrong: It is, outside of “Beatles for Sale,” the band's weakest effort.
Best song: I really like “The Night Before.” Of course, “Yesterday” is also a classic.
Worst song: “You Like Me Too Much” isn't great, but it's still a good song.
Is it awesome?: Yes.

Oh, John, Paul, George and Ringo! I've missed you so! Where have you been?

“Help!” isn't a great movie and it's certainly not the best Beatles record, but an album like this reminds you as to how catchy, popular rock should be done. “Act Naturally” is the great sad song that the Beatles didn't often cover, complete with Ringo's sad sack voice. “It's Only Love” is similarly dark, “Help!” also has some negative stuff to it.

It is, in a lot of ways, the band's most negative record. Nearly every song has a tinge of regret in it, probably due to the fact that the band was in the complete grips of American Beatlemania and couldn't, you know, have anything close to a private life.

“The Night Before” is “Fuck and Run” twenty five years earlier, while “You Like Me Too Much” isn't as positive as the normal Lennon/McCartney numbers.

McCartney's masterpiece, “Yesterday,” is among his best sad love songs. The band didn't often write such songs – they were incredibly upbeat – and the story of the song is similar to the story of “Satisfaction.” McCartney consistently says the melody simply came to him and he even put nonsense words into the melody when he was writing (the famous example being “scrambled eggs”). Oddly enough, it's the most covered song of all time. To say it's a classic is a bit of an understatement.

“Help!” is not a fantastic album. There aren't any of the experiments that dot “Revolver” or the White Album. The record wasn't a revelation like “With the Beatles” or “Please Please Me.” Still, it's an amazing record by the best rock and roll band.

No. 86: Let It Be

(just for fun)
Band: The Beatles
Album: Let It Be
Why Rolling Stone gets it right: "Let It Be" is not as consistent as other Beatles albums, but there are some wonderful tracks. As with every Beatles album, there isn't really a terrible song on it. The bad songs are still better than 99% of what's on this list.
Why Rolling Stone gets it wrong: Because it's so uneven, it's hard to justify keeping it in the top 100. Still, this isn't a bad ranking.
Best song: As a George Harrison fan, I adore "I Me Mine." "Across The Universe" is great, as is "Two Of Us."
Worst song: I'm not in love with "Maggie Mae," though that's clearly a jokey song, a la "Wild Honey Pie."
Is it awesome?: It is.

"Everyone involved in the sessions considered them to be disastrous."

Quoting Wikipedia probably isn't the smartest thing in the world, but the unnamed Wiki-er doesn't seem to be far off. The band openly discussed breaking up during the sessions. George Harrison quit during the recording. John Lennon had Yoko Ono, basically, attached to his hip. McCartney acted like he was the band leader in the absence of Lennon's coherence (he was quite involved in a heroin addiction).

Watching the "Let It Be" film (which is out of print and difficult to find. I have a copy and it's an interesting view), it's easy to see. How unhappy these people are. Harrison and McCartney are at each other's throats at one point. Lennon seems pleasantly detached while Yoko stars blankly off into the distance.

(By the way, I want to commend the style of the "Let It Be" film. As per any great documentary, there's no non-digetic sound, so it's eerily quiet when the band isn't playing. The visual style is sparse and, particularly, the shots of Yoko creepily sitting around really make you hate her.)

But what of the music?

"Let It Be" has some great tracks. Harrison's two contributions -- "I Me Mine" and "For You, Blue" -- are great. The title track, while not my bag, is pretty. "Across The Universe" is very cool and spiritual (especially coming from non-religious Lennon). "Get Back" is "Walk On The Wild Side," only years before. The brilliance of "Get Back" mostly lies in Macca's ability to take dark topics and filter them through his own cheery arrangement and vocals.

"Two Of Us" is one of those songs that depress you knowing that the sessions were so bad. While the actual writer is somewhat disputed (Lennon's claim that he wrote it is largely discredited), a wonderful song about friendship sung by the greatest rock songwriting duo of all time is great. Unfortunately, knowing that it was a precursor to the band's breakup a few years later is depressing. It's a look at what used to be and what could've been.

The band almost never worked on a proper track listing or mastering, so in March 1970 (almost a year after the sessions were finished), the band (with Macca's reluctance) just gave the tapes to Phil Spector. Spector did what he does ("wall of sound") and sequenced it.

It's a striking look at the band at its most unhappy. The records are still fantastic, but watching the film really gives you a look into the band at the end.

No. 59: Meet The Beatles!

Band: The Beatles
Album: Meet The Beatles!
Why Rolling Stone gets it right: The Beatles are the most important band ever and this was the album that introduced them to America.
Why Rolling Stone gets it wrong: Well, for one, this album is simply a combination of "With The Beatles" and "Please Please Me" made for the American audience. So, why have this on the list when the other two are already there? It makes no sense to me.
Best song: Sure. Whatever. Let's say "I Want to Hold Your Hand."
Worst song: I'm not in love with "This Boy."
Is it awesome?: I guess, in that "With The Beatles" is awesome and this is basically a bastardized version of that album.

Ugh. As much as my complaints about putting greatest hits compilations on here is warranted, putting two copies of the same record on here is deplorable. "With The Beatles" is mostly an American reissue of the original British "With The Beatles" release, so why have it on here?

I'll leave my "With The Beatles" comments for when it comes up (no. 420, so we've got a ways to go). The inclusion of both records on this list
is idiotic.

No. 39: Please Please Me

Band: The Beatles
Album: Please Please Me
Why Rolling Stone gets it right: The first album by the Beatles was basically their stage act put to disc. That's to say that it was full of pop melodies and danceable rock and roll. Listening to it, it isn't hard to imagine hundreds of screaming girls.
Why Rolling Stone gets it wrong: Well, the early songs aren't as seminal as the mid-career stuff ("Revolver," "Rubber Soul" and "Sgt. Pepper's") and it is littered with a bunch of covers.
Best song: "Please Please Me" is pretty great. "Do You Want to Know a Secret" is amazing. "I Saw Her Standing There" is silly, but good.
Worst song: I don't care for "P.S. I Love You."
Is it awesome?: Sure.

What can you say about the sixth album by the Beatles in the top 40? Their debut was recorded in nine days, mostly because the band had some success with their first two singles. George Martin saw this and made sure the band hastily record the album.

Along with "With The Beatles," "Please Please Me" is iconic of the band's early years. The suits, the mop tops, the harmonies. This is rock and roll of the early 60s at its finest. Some of the early Lennon/McCartney tracks are pretty amazing, specifically the title track and "I Saw Her Standing There," both classics in and of themselves. The cover, of course, of "Twist and Shout" is pretty great, too. Lennon's voice is as raw as ever and plays well to the song.

It's not "Revolver." It's not "Rubber Soul." But, it is pretty great and stands up 45 years after its release.

No. 14: Abbey Road

Band: The Beatles
Album: Abbey Road
Why Rolling Stone gets it right: Some love "Abbey Road" and some don't, but I find it to be great. The second side is an amazing medley of everyone's compositions. The first side has one of the greatest love songs of all time ("Something"), as well as Ringo's silliest/best song ("Octopus' Garden"). "Come Together" is a classic, as is "Oh! Darling." Yes, "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" is kind of ridiculous, but it's pretty amazing linear misanthropic storytelling. gotta hand it to Macca on that one.
Why Rolling Stone gets it wrong: People don't love this album, though I am not really sure why.
Best song: "Something" is probably my favorite love song of all time. I also adore "Here Comes The Sun."
Worst song: I'm not really sure. I love this album almost as much as "Revolver" and almost never skip songs. Maybe "You Never Give Me Your Money?" Even that's a great song.
Is it awesome?: Absolutely.

On a pure enjoyment level, "Abbey Road" is rivaled only by "Revolver" in my head. I adore the Abbey Road Suite on the second side and it features the two best Harrison-penned songs in "Here Comes the Sun" and "Something." It's the Beatles' last record and it features some of their best straight-up songs. There isn't a lot of fooling around with tape loops, parody songs or sitar. It's just pretty music.

It doesn't show a changing band like "Revolver" or the band at the top of its game like "Sgt. Pepper's," but it continues to be the one album I continually enjoy every single time I put it on. There's a lot to be said for that.

No. 10: The Beatles

Band: The Beatles
Album: The Beatles (aka "The White Album")
Why Rolling Stone gets it right: While not at the level of "Revolver" (or, one could argue, "Sgt. Pepper's"), the self-titled album has an amazing collection of songs that spans genres and subjects. You could argue that each member has one of his three best songs on the White Album. Each writer was setting the stage for his solo career, with Paul switching between the light ("Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da") and the loving ("Martha My Dear"), Lennon's sarcasm coming to light ("Glass Onion" and "Sexy Sadie") and George Harrison finally stretching himself ("While My Guitar Gently Weeps"). Ringo even puts out "Don't Pass Me By," which is a wonderful little Ringo song.
Why Rolling Stone gets it wrong: "Experimentation" doesn't mean it necessarily works. "Revolution 9" is total gargbage. "Why Don't We Do It In The Road" is silliness, as is "Wild Honey Pie" (Hell, even the regular "Honey Pie" is ridiculously silly). The production value on "Long, Long, Long" is fitting, but it is hard to hear. The album version of "Revolution 1" isn't as good as the harder single version.
Best song: I like "Savoy Truffle" a whole lot, but it's hardly the best song on the record. "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" is awesome, with time changes and such. "I'm So Tired" is fantastic. "Long, Long, Long" -- even with the vocals low in the mix -- is awesome. The three animal songs on side two ("Blackbird," "Piggies" and "Rocky Raccoon") make for a fantastic little run.
Worst song: "Revolution 9" is hot sewage. It's total garbage.
Is it awesome?: Yes. Without question.

Let me preface this bit by saying that nothing I say is really very original. The White Album is one of the most written-about albums in the history of rock and roll. In fact, I've been reading a lot about the record and one of the things I've found to be fascinating in doing research (yes, I am doing research for this project) of both how much minutae there is to the Beatles songs. The White Album, especially, gave me plenty of pieces of trivia to digest.

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I used to believe the White Album to be a bloated record (a view, incidentally, that has been transferred to Pink Floyd's "The Wall"), but I want to officially recant that view now. While the excess silliness/experimentation certainly drops it below the level of "Revolver" or "Abbey Road," the White Album is still a breathtaking group of songs.

As has been stated a million times before, "The Beatles" (the record's official name) is basically three songwriters (and Ringo, who contributed one track) doing his own thng, with the most clear delineations between John Lennon and Paul McCartney on a Beatles record. John's songs are those about suicide ("Yer Blues"), an ode to his dead mother ("Julia"), a flat-out diss song ("Sexy Sadie") and whatever the hell "Revolution 9" is. On the other hand, Paul sings about songbirds ("Blackbird"), carnival rides ("Helter Skelter") and monkeys having sex ("Why Don't We Do It In The Road?"). All the while, George continued his emergence as a songwriter with "Savoy Truffle," "Long, Long, Long," "Piggies" and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps."

It's pretty clear from everything I've been reading that this was a time period in which the four Beatles just didn't want to be around one another. One of the things I was so struck by in listening to this record again and again is how easily Macca could write different styles of songs. As much as John experimented, Paul really hit several diferent styles of songs, sometimes even as homages to other pop acts. "Rocky Raccoon" is his attempt (a decent one) at a Dylan song, "Back In The U.S.S.R." is Chuck Berry and "Why Don't We Do It In The Road" is Little Richard-esque. He branched out into harder rock with "Helter Skelter." He constructed one of the better love songs with "I Will." Hell, he even did a old tyme-style honky tonk with "Honey Pie." Also, "Birthday," which is up there with "Silly Love Songs" and "Hello Goodbye" for the title of "stupidest lyrics by McCartney." The song rocks, but the lyrics are a little juvenile.

John also experimented, albeit in a weirder way. His messing with song structures gave us "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" and his attempt at blues-rock gave us the ode to depression "Yer Blues." "Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey" is a prelude to "Ballad of John and Yoko." "Glass Onion" is mostly a "fuck you" to the people trying to find meaning in Beatle lyrics.

It's really quite phenomenal how awesome these songs are. These guys were at each others' throats the whole time, yet look at the track listing. Even the ones with silly lyrics (again, "Birthday" comes to mind, as does "I'm So Tired" and "Savoy Truffle") are awesome songs. Yes, there's filler. Lots of filler. But, you can't argue with "Blackbird," "Helter Skelter," "Yet Blues," "Happiness Is a Warm Gun," "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and the other stellar songs.

No. 5: Rubber Soul

Band: The Beatles
Album: Rubber Soul
Why Rolling Stone gets it right: “Rubber Soul” is really the first record where the Beatles experimented with different sounds, starting with the fuzz base of “Think for Yourself” and the sitar on “Norwegian Wood.” Several iconic songs litter “Rubber Soul,” including “Michelle,” “In My Life” and “Nowhere Man.”
Why Rolling Stone gets it wrong: The record isn't as good as the other two in this period. While “Norwegian Wood” is there, it's not that different, sound-wise from the early Beatles records. It's kind of uneven sounding, probably because the band was kind of in a transition to “no drugs Beatles” to “take lots of drugs Beatles.”
Best song: They're all pretty good.
Worst song: I find “In My Life” to be absolutely dreadful, though that's mostly because about 100 people quoted as their senior quotes in my high school yearbook.
Is it awesome?: Sure. Even an uneven mid-career Beatles album is one of the top 50 albums ever.

A lot of people have commented that “Rubber Soul” and “Revolver” should be a double album, though I can't really support that. Most of the best songs come from “Revolver,” though there are some real highlights on “Rubber Soul.” Certainly the two Harrison songs are top-notch. “What Goes On” is a fun Ringo song, but all Ringo songs are fun in their own way. “Nowhere Man” is awesome, and “Norwegian Wood” is beautiful. “You Won't See Me” is a great Macca record. Still, some of the songs are kind of dumb (“Girl,” even with the inhale thing, comes to mind, as does “Wait” and “The Word”). I fluctuate on “Drive My Car.” When I think about it, it's one of the stupidest Beatles songs recorded. On the other hand, “Beep beep, mmm beep beep, yeah!” is an amazing refrain and incredibly singable.

No. 3: Revolver

Band: The Beatles
Album: Revolver
Why Rolling Stone gets it right: It's got some of the best contributions from each Beatle. The Beatles reached out significantly, sound-wise. As far as songwriting, the record spans political (“Taxman”) to the somber love song (“For No One”) to the Eastern (“Love You To”) to the straight up love song (“Here, There and Everywhere”). Also, a fantastic silly song that includes both Ringo and longshoremen sound effects (“Yellow Submarine”). Quite simply, it's a fantastic record and I dare you to find a flaw on it.
Why Rolling Stone gets it wrong: It should be number one.
Best song: Pick it. Personally, I like “Tomorrow Never Knows” this week, but I'm sure I'd love “She Said She Said” tomorrow or “I'm Only Sleeping” the next day or “For No One” the next.
Worst song: I don't really like “Eleanor Rigby” as much as the other songs, but it would still be the best song on 99.9% of all albums.
Is it awesome?: There is no argument. “Revolver” is awesome.

I'm not sure as to why people argue for “Rubber Soul” or “Sgt. Pepper's” as the best Beatles album when “Revolver” exists. I could see “Abbey Road” (largely for finality's sake) but “Revolver came out in the same period and is basically flawless. Again, I'm not the biggest “Eleanor Rigby” fan, but a lot of people fancy it the best “storytelling” Beatles song. “Tomorrow Never Knows” is in the pantheon of greatest songs ever and “For No One” is one of the few introspective, pretty, sad Macca songs (considering he's the guy who did “Maxwell's Silver Hammer”). It has the most Harrison, per album with a whopping three songs, all of which are fantastic. It has the Broadway bombast of “Got to Get You Into My Life” and the classic love song of “Here, There and Everywhere.” Again, it's beautiful.

No. 1: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Band: The Beatles

Album: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Why Rolling Stone gets it right: It is indisputably one of the most important albums of all time. Between the album cover, the sound and the idea of a “concept” album (however wrongheaded that may be), Sgt. Pepper's is a classic. It's the Beatles and many believe it's the Beatles at their best. It has, in my opinion, the best Lennon/McCartney song as its closing track. It – many argue – defined an era, basically, as it came out and was emblematic of the “Summer of Love.”

Why Rolling Stone gets it wrong: It's not the best in the Fab Four's catalog (that'd be Revolver). It's not really a concept album, save for the fact that there is a reprise of the opening track. Also, no one cares about the “Summer of Love” anymore.

Best song:”A Day in the Life,” hands down.

Worst song: Probably “Getting Better,” thought there really isn't a bad song there. “Within You Without You” is not one of George's stronger tracks.

Is it awesome?: Absolutely.

It's hard to argue with the most acclaimed album by rock and roll's best band. While it's not a concept album by any means (any of the songs on the album – save for the reprise – could be on any other album. Notice the musical similarities between “Mystery Tour” and “Sgt. Pepper's.” I find “Revolver” to be both better and more interesting, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with having this one as the best album of all time. It wouldn't be my number one, but it's a fine choice.