Ranking The Beatles

Upon rejoining the band following his departure in the Get Back sessions, George pulled his more serious material, most of which would end up on All Things Must Pass. Along with his blusey and lightweight "For You Blue," he also brought in a stomping little piano song he wrote during the sessions, "Old Brown Shoe." It wouldn't find a home for a few months until the band needed a b-side to "The Ballad of John & Yoko," and even then, it remains one of the more obscure songs in the Beatles catalogue. But that said, I've always loved it. George sings like he's really having fun with it, and whoever the hell is playing whatever on this song (it's all very murky and mysterious) is really killing it. But what's he singing about? George's shoe game was pretty solid after all. Maybe it's about stepping out with a new love? Maybe it's about leaving someone...or someone(s)? It's always a pleasure to welcome our old pal Sean Nelson back to RTB! Sean is best known as the singer of the band Harvey Danger, who's song "Flagpole Sitta" is one of the 90s defining songs, and the tip of the iceburg of a ton of great music in their catalogue that you'd do yourselves a favor to dig into (along with is own solo work). He's also now the host of his own podcast, The Wonder of It All, a deep dive in to the pros and cons of success. He's a great conversationalist so it only makes sense his podcast would be fantastic. Be sure to subscribe to it and tune in! What do you think of Old Brown Shoe at #84? Too high? Too low? Let us know in the comments on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Be sure to check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.rankingthebeatles.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and grab a Rank Your Own Beatles poster, some of our new Revolver-themed merch, a shirt, a jumper, whatever you like! And if you're digging what we do, don't forget to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Buy Us A Coffee⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠!

OK WE'RE FINALLY HERE!! Let's get down to it. During the creation of the White Album as tensions built among the ranks of the Beatles, the members often found themselves working on their own tracks in different studios, sometimes bringing in other members as needed, or working by themselves. While John and Ringo tended to a mix session for Revolution 9, which Paul hadn't been a part of, Paul was in another studio overseeing overdubs on his own "Mother Nature's Son." Following work on that tune, and feeling a creative streak, Paul demoed a (still) unheard song, "Etcetera," and then began building a track based on a guitar riff he came up with in Rishikesh. Adding additional guitars, percussion, and wild vocal acrobatics, Paul and the staff of Abbey Road finish the evening by mixing this weird track, and using their hand against the tape machine to manipulate the speed of the song, giving it it's even weirder sonic warble. In about an hour "Wild Honey Pie" was born, a track that had no real precedent in 1968, as far as it it's experimental nature and sound. It's weird, disjointed, grooves, and works within itself in ways that don't always make sense in passing listens. In headphones, it reveals how dual guitars weave together to form this strange, almost atonal melody, while the man who, at the time, had arguably the greatest voice in popular music throws his voice around in ways others wish they could. It's Paul at his experimental best, giving you just enough to do be different and not overstay its' welcome, and it's the beginning of a through-line that appears throughout his career, whether in his early home solo works, the synthy-strangeness of McCartney II, his collabs with producer Youth as The Fireman, all the way up to his tape loops and sounds he created for his Rockdown album, McCartney III. As Julia puts it, "Wild Honey Pie" walked so "Temporary Secretary" could run. But fear not, listener, Julia's just as perplexed at this ranking as you might be.  Joining us this week to talk about this track is the fantastic Phoebe Lorde, one of the hosts of Another Kind of Mind, which, in our humble opinion, is one of the best Beatle-pods around. Challenging well-worn tropes and narratives about the band, and examining their history with more nuance and deeper, more candid discussion, AKOM is part of a rejuvenation of the discussion of the legacy of the Beatles, refreshing the story and opening it up to new light after all these years. We're big, big fans. With Phoebe along for the ride, we touch on all kinds of points, like trying to break through historical biases in the Beatles' story, finding the space to be creative, defining "experimentation," the weirdness of 1964 Beatles songs on an album called "Beatles 65," and much more! Be sure to listen and subscribe to Another Kind of Mind anywhere you get podcasts, and follow along on their socials on Twitter @akompodcast and on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/anotherkindofmindpod. What do you think? Too high? Too low? Just right? Let us know in the comments on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/rankingthebeatles, Instagram @rankingthebeatles, or Twitter @rankingbeatles! Be sure to check out RTB's official website, www.rankingthebeatles.com! Enjoying the show, and wanna show your support? Buy Us A Coffee!

Written during his house-husband years in the late 1970s, John wrote "Real Love" as part of a planned musical about his and Yoko's life. Despite demoing it a number of times, he didn't record it for his Double Fantasy album in 1980. The song was given a new life though when it was chosen by the remaining Beatles as a song to work on for the Anthology project, eventually making it's home as the second "new" Beatles song associated with the landmark project. It's the more uptempo of the two, and some say it's emerged as the more popular of the two. As a song that was mostly complete before the Threetles got to it, the final version ends up pretty smothered in Jeff Lynne's production style, which maybe prevents it from quite taking off like it should, but despite that, it's a song that's always made me feel happy. Seems I'm not the only one.... Joining us this week is Jack Lawless, the brains behind the Beatles twitter account @BeatlesEarth. With almost 50,000 followers, it's one of the most active Beatle twitter accounts, and one of the best representations of how Beatles fandom has adapted to social media. We chat with Jack about all kinds of things, from the cross-generational fun of chatting about the Fabs, soundtracking parts of your own life to Beatles eras, to run-ins with Yoko and Sean. Be sure to follow Jack on Twitter @BeatlesEarth, and keep an eye out for his upcoming podcast! What do you think? Too high? Too low? Just right? Let us know in the comments on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/rankingthebeatles, Instagram @rankingthebeatles, or Twitter @rankingbeatles! Be sure to check out RTB's new official website, www.rankingthebeatles.com! Enjoying the show, and wanna show your support? Buy Us A Coffee!

It's hard to imagine any other band in history who could pull off recording an album that contains both a genre-defying acid journey like "Tomorrow Never Knows," and full-on children's song like "Yellow Submarine," but that's exactly what the Beatles pulled off on their 1966 album Revolver. In needing a customary Ringo track, Paul, with help from John (as well as Donovan), managed to come up with the perfect vehicle for Ringo's "jovial uncle" persona, while also creating a song that embodied the youthful side of psychedelia and at the same time, a vehicle for ongoing multi-generational fandom. "Yellow Submarine" envisions a utopia where we can all be happy and carefree, and that's one of the best things The Beatles have been able to provide in their legacy. Of course, it's also the springboard for the classic animated film and merchandise mega-product of same name. Joining us this week to talk what might be the ultimate pop children's song is Scott Durbin, progenitor and keyboardist for children' rock band Imagination Movers! Of course, it only seemed appropriate to also bring back the Movers' drummer, and friend of the pod, Kyle Melancon to join in. We talk about a number of topics, from the Movers' recent songwriting award nominations, their work on their Disney Channel show, what makes children's music work, coming to the Beatles late, merchandising, and much more! Follow the Imagination Movers at imaginationmovers.com as they get ready to celebrate their 20th anniversary next year, and check out their super enjoyable most recent album, Happy to Be Here! What do you think? Too high? Too low? Just right? Let us know in the comments on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/rankingthebeatles, Instagram @rankingthebeatles, or Twitter @rankingbeatles! Be sure to check out RTB's new official website, www.rankingthebeatles.com! Enjoying the show, and wanna show your support? Buy Us A Coffee!

By 1966, The Beatles, particular George Harrison, are growing in all sorts of ways. George is living out the most incredible life experiences, immersing himself in eastern religion and culture, and truly blossoming as a songwriter. For the first time, he gets three songs on the band's new album Revolver, and on "I Want To Tell You", he's letting the listener know that there's so much he's seen and learned that he wants to relay, only, he can't find the right way to do it. The frustration turns into music as dissonant chords echo the feeling of hanging one's head against the wall. And this isn't just a fab gear pop rock song. It's a song with pounding piano, a glitchy guitar riff, and melodically oozing the influence of the Indian music he's now studying under Ravi Shankar. It's a real inclusion of eastern music and western pop, and it's the last time we hear George writing as a guitarist for the next year and a half or so. A song with this much going for it is destined to be a stand out on any album in any band's catalog, right? Right? Bad news this week: Julia's M.I.A. for the first time in RTB history. So I understand if you Julia Stans are like, "nah, see you next week, pal." But the good news....our friends Matt, Adam, and Grace from El Vinilo return to the show this week! All the way from across the pond in Liverpool, our old pod pals return to talk about George and his underdog story, running a podcast based on Rolling Stone's top 100 albums only to have Rolling Stone update those top 100 albums in the middle of your podcast, Liverpool adventures, and more! El Vinilo is one of our favorite podcasts, discussing the albums in Rolling Stone's top 100 list, and comparing them to a current chart topping album. Listen and subscribe to them anywhere you get podcasts, and follow along on Instagram @elvinilo! What do you think? Too high? Too low? Just right? Let us know in the comments on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/rankingthebeatles, Instagram @rankingthebeatles, or Twitter @rankingbeatles! Be sure to check out RTB's new official website, www.rankingthebeatles.com! Enjoying the show, and wanna show your support? Buy Us A Coffee!

After George's infamous walk-out during the Get Back/Let It Be session, his return was one of several conditions. He insisted the band move from Twickenham to their own Apple Studio, the idea of the big live show/tv program had to go, and he pulled almost all of his songs from consideration. After spending the winter holidays in the US with Bob Dylan and the Band and other musician pals, he was keenly aware that his songwriting had reached the same level of John and Paul. Songs like "Hear Me Lord" and "All Things Must Pass" went back into George's back pocket, and he left the band with "For You Blue," a song that can best be described as...a happy blues song! It does, however, provide a great moment of real musical connection for the band, playing live with a laid-back vibe and fun feeling, while still striving for new sounds between putting John on lap steel and Paul's experimenting with piano sounds. And while it wouldn't end up being George's only tune on the album, it is the only one of his to feature all four Beatles, and one of the best moments of group camaraderie as musician in the Get Back/Let it Be project. I can't wait to see it in the Peter Jackson film. Joining us to discuss this tune are brothers Paul and Garry Abbott, hosts of the Big Beatles Sort Out podcast, another fantastic podcast in which the hosts...rank the Beatles catalog. Ha. However, whereas ours is based on personal preference and guttural choice, theirs is based on mathematics and analytics, providing a totally different method to our collective madness. We all about what it's like inheriting the Beatles, parallel between Blur and the Beatles, Beatles music being a saving grace in a time of need, and whether or not all this ranking is an exercise in futility. Maybe it is or isn't, but it sure is fun. Be sure to listen to Big Beatles Sort Out anywhere you listen to podcasts, and follow along on Twitter at @big_sort as well! And check out Garry and Paul's musical and creative endeavors as well, as mentioned in the episode.  What do you think? Too high? Too low? Just right? Let us know in the comments on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/rankingthebeatles, Instagram @rankingthebeatles, or Twitter @rankingbeatles! Be sure to check out RTB's new official website, www.rankingthebeatles.com! Enjoying the show, and wanna show your support? Buy Us A Coffee!

After an unintended, Hurricane-induced hiatus, we're back in action! And what better way to get the party started back up than by talking about..."Good Night"? The Ringo-sung, John-penned closer to the White Album has always been somewhat of a polarizing song in the Beatles' cannon. Some love it, some loathe it. Yet, like so many moments in the band's catalog, there's so much more at play here. Where else could a song this saccharine fit than after the audio soundtrack of a revolution? Who else but Ringo could sing something so sweet and soothing? But then again, isn't it rather twisted to end the journey of the White Album with a song like this? Is there maybe some darkness behind the Disney-esque sweetness at play? As always with the Beatles, there's many layers to this glass onion. To dive in this week, we're joined by Jason Kruppa, host of the fantastic Producing The Beatles podcast, and co-author of "All Things Must Pass Away: Harrison, Clapton, and Other Assorted Love Songs," which he wrote with previous guest Ken Womack (see #162 - "Another Girl"). Jason, who also lives here in New Orleans, joined us in RTB headquarters (before we all evacuated for the hurricane) to discuss the ins and outs and secrets of "Good Night," the never-ending wellspring of All Things Must Pass, George's favorite incense, the world of bootlegs, and the on-going saga of Eric Clapton's self-inflicted career and legacy damage. Be sure to check out Jason's podcast at https://www.producingthebeatles.com, on Twitter @ptbeatles, IG @producingthebeatles, and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ProducingTheBeatles, as he breaks down how these brilliant songs were recording from George Martin's production side of things. His book, All Things Must Pass Away can be found anywhere you get good books.  What do you think? Too high? Too low? Just right? Let us know in the comments on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/rankingthebeatles, Instagram @rankingthebeatles, or Twitter @rankingbeatles! Be sure to check out RTB's new official website, www.rankingthebeatles.com! Enjoying the show, and wanna show your support? Buy Us A Coffee! 

After 3 albums where he comes off as the alpha male/leader of the gang, John Lennon seems to be dealing with a crisis of confidence on the band’s fourth album, Beatles For Sale. For the first time, his self-penned songs seem to fully embrace his emotions in a way they hadn’t previously. The self-consciousness on display in “I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party” shows a guy who, while we may have seen him as the life of the party, maybe has been hiding his own fears behind the loud, confident, cocky persona we’ve gotten to know so far. Maybe it’s Dylan’s influence, or maybe he’s just not adjusting to the fame, John’s allowing himself to be incredibly vulnerable on the songs on this record, and definitely on this song. A great Lennon vocal (and self-harmony) shines through a song that’s still memorable, despite having no chorus. George falls prey to the riff-between-each-line move that, while sometimes effective, here kind of takes away my focus from the lyric. But it’s still a super memorable, catchy song, and part of John’s transition from pop-writer-John to introspective-John.  Joining us this week is Dr. Christine Feldman-Barrett. A scholar, author, and Senior Lecturer in the School of Humanities, Languages and Social Science at Griffith University, Australia, her new book, “A Women’s History of the Beatles” is a brilliant look at the influence the band has had on women. From their earliest fans at the Cavern, girls who went headstrong into promoting the band, starting and running fan clubs, and became true friends of the band, to women who were inspired to start their own bands, or allow their love of the band to route their lives to England, to modern generations of fans who continue to reinvent the essence of fandom and keeping the band in the cultural zeitgeist. The book is available in hardback now, with paperback coming in the new year. Its a fantastic read, and sheds light on parts of the Beatles story that haven’t had the light shone on them they deserve. Be sure to follow Christine on Twitter @feldmanbarrett, and pick up her book!!  What do you think? Too high? Too low? Just right? Let us know in the comments on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/rankingthebeatles, Instagram @rankingthebeatles, or Twitter @rankingbeatles! Be sure to check out RTB's new official website, www.rankingthebeatles.com! Enjoying the show, and wanna show your support? Buy Us A Coffee!

This 1963 album Please Please Me album track is a great example of the Beatles understanding the value in digging through record store racks for songs other bands weren't playing. "Chains," a Goffin/King song gave George Harrison a vocal spotlight on the Beatles' debut album, and a place for their impeccable three part harmonies to have a home. There's a great innocence to this track, as the band's love of R&B and girl groups shines through on this song. Maybe it's a lightweight track, but good grief it sure is catchy, and they sing the hell out of it. We're honored to have rock and roll royalty join us this week on the podcast. At the age of 8, Susan Cowsill joined her brothers and mother in the family band The Cowsills, and hit the charts with classics like "The Rain, The Park, and Other Things," "Indian Lake," "Hair," and "Love American Style." The band would serve as the blueprint for The Partridge Family in the early 1970s, but have had an amazing career of their own. Susan has the unique perspective of being on the charts at the same time as the Beatles, and has some great stories to go along with it. In addition to a busy solo career with her own music and working on other's records, she's still touring with her brothers Bob and Paul, and they can be heard this summer on the Happy Together tour, which is one of the most fun shows you can catch if you love great 60s pop and rock. They've also got their own podcast, The Cowsills Podcast, and it's a great glimpse into the fun these siblings are still having after all these years. Susan's on the the BEST voices in rock and pop history, one of the nicest people in the game, and we're so happy to have her on our show! What do you think? Too high? Too low? Just right? Let us know in the comments on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/rankingthebeatles, Instagram @rankingthebeatles, or Twitter @rankingbeatles! Be sure to check out RTB's new official website, www.rankingthebeatles.com! Enjoying the show, and wanna show your support? Buy Us A Coffee!

Happy 1 year birthday to us! Thanks to everyone who's joined us on this ride so far! We're releasing this episode 1 year + a day on from our first episode, and we couldn't be more chuffed to have made it this far. We're so glad you're all here with us! Paul's made no bones about his admiration for the music of his parents' generation, the music hall numbers his family loved that must've filled the Macca home, either on record or when dad Jim played during family gatherings. He claimed to have written "When I'm 64" when he was 14, so it's safe to say he's always had a soft spot for this style of music, though John may have scoffed at it (though his brilliant guitar solo on "Honey Pie" shows that he knew EXACTLY what it needed, so he was better versed than he admits). During one of those Macca family gatherings in 1967, Paul came up with "Your Mother Should Know," a tribute to women before his generation, whom he thought, may be a bit hipper and wiser than the growing generation gap may think. The song serves as the big song & dance number which finishes the Magical Mystery Tour film, and much like the film itself, can be a divisive entry in the Beatles' catalog. As mentioned by our guest this week, to put out a song like this during the height of psychedelia & rock and roll, well, it's a pretty punk rock move on Paul's part.  We're joined this week by one of our favorite singers & songwriters, Mike Viola, who first entered the scene in the late 90s with his band Candy Butchers, and as the singer on the song "That Thing You Do!" from the Tom Hanks' directed film. In addition to writing songs for films such as "Walk Hard - The Dewey Cox Story," and "Get Him To The Greek," Mike is an in-demand songwriter and producer, having worked with artists such as Fall Out Boy, Panic At The Disco, Mandy Moore, Shania Twain, Dan Wilson & Semisonic, The Monkees, and more. We chat with Mike about what makes this song tick and why it's such a classic Paul song despite some of its quirks, creativity being born out of trauma, basing one's entire music career on Ram, meeting Paul (legit some of the best meeting-Paul stories ever), and his absolutely fantastic new album, 2020's Godmuffin, which we at RTB strongly suggest you pick up because it's wonderful. Follow Mike at https://www.mikeviola.com, on Instagram @themikeviola, and on Facebook.com/mikeviolamusic.  What do you think? Too high? Too low? Just right? Let us know what you think! Be sure to join in the conversation on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rankingthebeatles, on Instagram @rankingthebeatles, and on Twitter @rankingbeatles. Enjoying the show and want to show your support? Check out https://anchor.fm/rankingthebeatles/support! Songs featured this week include: Nice To Know You (Candy Butchers - Hang On Mike) That Thing You Do! (The Wonders - That Thing You Do! Soundtrack) USA Up All Night (Mike Viola - Godmuffin) Creeper (Godmuffin) Dear Boy (Mike Viola, Tim Christensen, Tracy Bonham w/ The Damn Crystals - Pure McCartney) All You Can Eat (Godmuffin) Drug Rug (Godmuffin)

It's our 50th Episode! Thanks to everyone who's been along for the ride so far. We're so glad you're here! On to this week! Paul McCartney sometimes is (unfairly) criticized for not bearing himself in his songs in the more upfront ways John often did. While he usually wraps his emotions in bigger stories and concepts, there have been times he's been extremely candid about his life in song. Late 65-66 saw him bearing his thoughts on the struggles of his relationship with Jane Asher in a handful of tracks, especially on Rubber Soul, which is where we find ourselves this week with the song "I'm Looking Through You." The band worked on this song in several arrangement styles over the sessions, before landing on a somewhat loose, fun, folksy track featuring an absurdly great Paul melody, scorching organ in the chorus and some interesting percussion from Ringo (and George on tambourine!). And while the track is undoubtedly great (aren't they all), I sometimes wonder if the Anthology version may have been a bit more interesting and thought out? To get to the heart of this tune, we're joined by our old friend Mark Bryan, guitarist and songwriter of kajillion-times platinum selling band Hootie & The Blowfish. We chat about all manner of things, from Mark and the band's early songwriting and harmony influences, the Beatles material output speed versus the output in modern music, the unspoken language of the Beatles, and Paul's brilliance in writing songs that can be shaped to any style. Mark's new solo album, Midlife Priceless, is out know everywhere, and is a masterful rock and roll/pop album. Stream it everywhere, or buy a cd or record at https://www.markbryanmusic.com. Follow Mark on Facebook and Instagram @markbryanmusic. Songs in this episode from Midlife Priceless include: "Gotta Get Outta Town" "Wanna Make You Feel Something" "A Little More Rock and Roll" Also featured: "I'm Looking Through You" - Steve Earle What do you think? Too high? To low? Just right? Be sure to follow along, leave your comments, and join in on the discussion on the rankings at Facebook (facebook.com/rankingthebeatles), on Twitter @rankingbeatles, and on Instagram @rankingthebeatles. Enjoying the show and want to show your support? Check out https://anchor.fm/rankingthebeatles/support!

The Beatles 3rd single, and their first bonafide #1 hit, is a sub-2 minute blast of all the early hallmarks of early Beatlemania: John & Paul singing together, a super catchy hook, and chord progressions more complex than just about any of their peers were pulling off. And of course, a mop-shaking "wooooo!" The band always viewed this song as a major leap in their songwriting ability and quality, and in learning how to add in complex changes and arrangements, an early and encouraging signal to them that they aren't bound by conventional means of thinking...about anything. Joining us this week is our old pal David Pomerleau, who you may have met on our 3rd episode. He's the bassist for mainstay New Orleans rock/funk band Johnny Sketch & The Dirty Notes, as well as Jonathan's bandmate in The Walrus - A New Orleans Beatles Tribute. After quarantine shut down their original bands, David and Jonathan found themselves picking up more Walrus work than ever, as socially distant porch concerts became the only outlet for live music in New Orleans. A band that played maybe 4 shows a year started playing at least 4 shows a month, for pretty much a whole year. So now, after a year diving deeper into Beatles music, we talk about what's changed in how they view and appreciate Beatles music, and what it's like playing in a (no-costumes) Beatles tribute band. We also discuss working with changing voices, finding new paths as songwriters and performers, pilot koala bears, and silly Beatles trivia. Follow David's musical projects Johnny Sketch & The Dirty Notes (facebook) and The Walrus (instagram @WalrusNOLA) for livestream performances and more! What do you think? Too high? To low? Just right? Be sure to follow along, leave your comments, and join in on the discussion on the rankings at Facebook (facebook.com/rankingthebeatles), on Twitter @rankingbeatles, and on Instagram @rankingthebeatles. Enjoying the show and want to show your support? Check out https://anchor.fm/rankingthebeatles/support!