The Top 10 Beatle Songs In Chronological Order
As someone who has listened to The Beatles since age 5, I would like pass along what I feel are the band’s top 10 tracks in chronological order.
The Beatles are unique in so many ways,to begin with: they’re considered the band that started ‘The Rock Era’ which officially began in 1964 prior to that it was ‘The Rock ‘n Roll Era’.
So many firsts associated with them-the long hair,first recorded guitar feedback,first band to play a stadium,introduction of the Sitar into western music,first live via satellite broadcast,the list goes on and on….
The list below are what I feel are their 10 top tracks but I’ll admit I could have easily come up with another list of 10 other Beatle songs and have used them instead-they had so many great songs-boggles the mind.Enjoy the list below and feel free to give me some ‘feedback’(that was “I Feel Fine” BTW!)
For me the first song of the Beatle top 10 is from the “Help” Album and that track would be ‘Ticket To Ride’, recorded on Feb.15th,1965.Though credited as Lennon/McCartney this is a ‘John’ song and Lennon proudly called it ‘a prototype for heavy metal’and understandably so with the unique driving drum part going courtesy of one Mr.Ringo Starr (who’s real name in case you didn’t know is Richard Starkey)and the accompanying rhythm guitar of John Lennon himself.
Soaring vocal harmonies,a Beatle trademark is taken to new heights on this one with Sir Paul McCartney firmly on top and did you know it was Paul not George playing the lead guitar fills throughout the song?Also worth mentioning- one of the greatest repeated bridge sections(‘I don’t know why she’s riding so high…’)in songwriting history.
We’re still in 1965 for song #2 in this Beatles TOP TEN and this track has the unique honour of being the most covered song in music history.Apparently coming to him in a dream(must have been a particularly good one!)this ballad containing one of the most perfect melodies ever written tells a tale of how simpler things were “Yesterday”.
Recorded June 14,1965 and credited to Lennon/McCartney but in reality a 100% ‘Paul’ song,”Yesterday” features no other Beatle but Paul on lead vocal/acoustic guitar and a string quartet is added(scored by Beatles Producer Sir George Martin) to give the song that special magic touch.One of many unique qualities of this song is the unusual structure-7 bar phrases rather than your usual 8.
Countless bands since have emulated this approach of using a single lead vocal/acoustic guitar and strings when recording their ballads: a good example would be ‘Green Day’ Good Riddance(Time Of Your Life)’a huge hit from the ’90’s, the boys in GreenDay certainly listened to ‘Yesterday’ a few times!
Song #3 She Said She Said
Now it’s 1966 and song #3.This track recorded on June 21,1966 was inspired by a LSD trip John Lennon had in Los Angeles with actor Peter Fonda who kept muttering ‘I know what it’s like to be dead’ while tripping.Credited as a Lennon/McCartney composition ,this is in actuality a ‘John’ song and while Paul played lead guitar on song #1(‘Ticket To Ride’) he was completely absent on this track with Mr.George Harrison not only playing guitar but also Bass on this blistering track best known for the exceptional guitar sounds,drum fills,and powerful trippy sounding vocal by Lennon and again (a la ‘Ticket To Ride’) another brilliant repeated bridge part(‘When I was a boy…’)
Song #4 Sgt.Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band(Reprise)/A Day In The Life
Though actually 2 songs,you can’t listen to one without the other IMO,I’m talking about the closer to ‘Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ and that would be:”Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band(Reprise)”(recorded on April 1,1967) which segues into(speaking of 2 songs!) a track entitled “A Day In The Life” (recorded on January 19,1967).
We’ll start out with “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band(Reprise)”,I particularly like this version over the opener-the track smokes with an excellent up in the mix Bass Guitar part that just drives the song along, great drum fills by Ringo Starr and lots of nice blistering little electric guitar licks thrown in which greatly compliment the vocals.The track segues into:
“A Day In The Life” which is truly a Lennon/McCartney composition;you see “A Day In The Life”is actually a combination of 2 separate songs merged together to create one stunning masterpiece of a song.Let me explain:The bulk of this song was written and sung by Mr.John Lennon with the invaluable middle section courtesy of one Sir Paul McCartney.
The haunting quality of this song (from the acoustic guitar at the beginning right through to the multi over dubbed piano chord that’s pounded out at the end) is the major reason why this song is in The Beatles Top Ten.
Song #5 Within You Without You
3 months into the year of 1967 George Harrison embarks on a philosophical musical journey the likes of which the western music world has never heard…The date is March 15,1967 and Mr.George Harrison has just recorded his Sitar masterpiece “Within You “Without You”,accompanied by Indian Musicians from the ‘Eastern Music Circle’ in the Finchley part of London,the complexity of this arrangement is simply mind boggling with the 2 George’s(Beatle producer Sir George Martin being the other George for those who don’t know)taking full control of the recording with no other Beatle present on this track.This composition is indeed a major part of the ‘Pepper Experience’ with it’s highly philosophical lyrics and eastern instrumentation and will always be considered to be a personal milestone for one George Harrison.
Song #6 Magical Mystery Tour
Still in 1967 which is clearly one of the groups best creative year’s,my next choice is the incredible title track to their psychedelic Film and Album “Magical Mystery Tour” which was the brainchild of Paul McCartney.The title track featuring an energetic brass section was recorded on April 25,1967 and has to be one of the greatest openers The Beatles ever recorded.The track always sounds fresh with the tightest drum sound you’ll ever hear on a Beatle recording and with Lennon and McCartney trading off on the vocals you’ll be taken to new heights with this song.A driving bass and a precise rhythm guitar keep this song moving well with a grand finale style ending that has Lennon/McCartney harmonizing and the brass section going full tilt.
Recorded on September 5,1967 as part the ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ Film “I Am The Walrus” took the group to new psychedelic heights.A 100% ‘John’ song in which we hear John deliver the gnarliest vocal he’s ever recorded in his musical career.
The lyrics are the epitome of creativeness and wit and the song structure combined with the complex string arrangements (and fade out effects) guarantee the listener ‘the trip of a lifetime’ for their ears!The video segment in the film where the song is performed should not be missed either(now that would be considered to be a ‘trip of a lifetime’ for the eyes!).Interestingly enough (since I’m talking about the film too) I’d like to mention that none other than master film maker Steven Spielberg complimented Paul McCartney personally on this film which was way ahead of it’s time
A song written as a dare to The Who’s Pete Townshend who(no pun intended)claimed that his band had the dirtiest,nastiest rock song around at the time.”Helter Skelter” credited to Lennon/McCartney is a 100% ‘Paul’ song and is Paul’s response to Pete’s claim.
Recorded July 18,1967 and clearly one of the most infamous songs ever written and recorded because of the connection of the song to the Manson Family killings which soon started afterwards,”Helter Skelter” is largely thought of as the 1st ‘Heavy Metal’ song.McCartney clearly delivers one of the best vocal performances of his career and sounds incredibly dark in parts as well almost as if he knew what lay ahead…The song is incredibly well supported by Ringo’s drumming,Paul’s bass playing(clearing using a pick for the monster attack)and the brilliant guitar work of Lennon and Harrison.Other instruments most noteably a distorted saxophone were used to further enhance the raucousness of the song.
Song #9 I Want You(She’s So Heavy)
“I Want You(She’s So Heavy)” is John’s tribute of insane desire for Yoko-one of the most powerful tracks ever recorded by this band and also the last track all 4 Beatles worked on in the same room.
Recorded on February 22,1969 the track clocks in at 7:44 making it the 2nd longest Beatle song ever recorded(the longest being another ‘John’ song-the Avantgarde ‘Revolution #9’ ). This track switches between 2 progressions throughout it’s journey and shows how well The Beatles could still work together despite the buildup of problems that was plaguing them.
The lyrics to “I Want You(She’s So Heavy)” are very basic but this is exactly what the composer wanted-just get right to the point.Yes Lennon didn’t feel the need for any fancy wordplay on this one-just a direct forceful lyric was all that he needed to bring this one home and along with Paul,George,and Ringo he brought it home big time with (as far as I’m concerned) the greatest darkest sounding repeating guitar riff known to the music world.As the progression continues,different things are happening-reverb levels on guitars are changing,Paul is all over the fret board on his Bass,Ringo is bashing away in uncanny perfect time and this mysterious noise of insanity is starting to emerge…You’ll have to listen to the track to find out how it ends-I’m not giving that away!
Recorded April 16,1969 John Lennon called it the best song on ‘Abbey Road’ (their last album recorded together),yes this is George Harrison’s 2nd entry into The Beatles Top Ten In Chronological Order and the song is: his epic ballad “Something”.Opening with a wonderful tasteful drum fill by Mr.Ringo Starr (who had one of the best sounding drum sounds ever recorded in popular music for that track and that album),this song is all about that special someone you’ve found and who you don’t ever want to leave(‘don’t want to leave her now’). George sings the lyrics with this tasteful sensitivity while Sir Paul McCartney contributes nothing less than a stellar bass part to the song showing once again(like in “I Want You(She’s So Heavy)” just how well The Beatles (who had gone through so much at this point) could still work together as a musical team to achieve the end objective which is:creating and recording great songs that will stand the test of time.A little piece of trivia here-the late Frank Sinatra called ‘Something’ one of the greatest love songs ever written and I would have to agree 110% with the late ‘Chairman Of The Board’ on that.
izzy806
baratheonpilled
2087
snowghoul
germansingergirl
pixelskylines
romaincrisis
areudirty