1. Strawberry Fields Forever
"No one I think is in my tree..." I love Strawberry Fields Forever but personally prefer the
Take 1 version of it, I think it feels purer in my eyes. Nevertheless, John Lennon speaks to the soul in this song regarding looking within to find an inner sanctuary, away from the craziness and grind of the outside world. The song is less whimsical when one realizes that John Lennon is using a very dark side of himself to cope with his life and this song is not about happy memories, but about how he compartmentalized trauma within his own mind. Can't say much about the other song for reasons.
3. Hey Jude
"WHEN I WAS A ROBBER, IN BOSTON PLACE..." Hey Jude is just a song that will last through the ages, from generation to generation, it is one that speaks to the soul and brings people together despite it being seven minutes long. I love Harrison's cover, but it just doesn't have what it takes to beat a legendary song like Hey Jude.
5. Happiness is a Warm Gun
"Mother Superior jumped-! ah shit... wrong chord!" This was a very tough and very close one, because both have great merit. Day Tripper is an absolute bop, but I think Lennon's miserly and self-indulgent cry of self-loathing tips the scales in my mind. It's just peak 60s Lennon.
8. A Day in The Life
"I read the news today, oh boy..." Another incredibly tough battle, but come on, A Day in the Life is literally my all-time favorite song. It's what I consider the Beatles' catechism. When someone asks what song ultimately defines the legacy of The Beatles, it's A Day in the Life, it's trippy, is dream-like, it's bombastic all its own, Paul's segment is an excellent segue away from the rising discordance of Lennon's rambling, only to be swung back in with Lennon's angelic high tenor. Here Comes The Sun nevertheless is a magnificent piece by George Harrison and it all comes together on, what is at least in my opinion, The Beatles' purest album.
9. Yesterday
"Now I long, for Yesterday..." I mean, it really couldn't be anything else. Yesterday is a wonderful acoustic piece by Paul McCartney and undisputedly the most covered song of all time. It's brilliant in its simplicity, yet its complex lyrics speak volumes. I like Hello, Goodbye, but it is definitely not their best #1 single and especially not against Yesterday.
11. Octopus's Garden
"Great! Greater! Wonderful! Sensational! Fab!" Give me Ringo's best song ever over I Am The Walrus and its psychedelia any day. I don't care what anyone says, if I wrote Octopus's Garden, I'd fucking ride that wave until I die, it's a bop and a wonderful song, and George's guitar licks in that song? To die for.
13. Imagine
"Imagine all the people..." Come on, it's an anthem of peace, love, and brotherhood. I like Revolution, but I think both songs are different dichotomies of the same sort of message, that peace and change cannot be achieved by violent means. Not until an approach with love and brotherhood is tried first.
16. Eight Days a Week
"Hold me... Love me..." It's a battle of the early Beatles' period and I can't help but take Eight Days a Week and its rollicking drum fills by Ringo and Paul's jazzy bass line. I Wanna Hold Your Hand is probably the most stereotypical early-period Beatles song, but that's not necessarily a bad thing tbf. It does tend to blend in with the rest of the period as other musicians were still doing the same thing. I think that's what makes the Beatles so damn fascinating though, their evolution from doing what other bands of the period were doing, to doing their own thing and innovating in fields like no other band had before.
17. As My Guitar Gently Weeps (Acoustic Version)
"I don't know why nobody told you..." Yes, yes, yes. A thousand times yes. The Acoustic version is by far the superior version compared to the White Album version any day of the week. I don't give a shit about Eric Clapton's guitar playing, what I want is a song that speaks to me, and the acoustic version gives more of a wanting, melancholic mood than the fairly rocking White Album version. Had it been the White Album version I almost certainly would have picked Helter Skelter, which is a fucking awesome song and one of my deep-cut favorites with Paul nearly ripping his throat out for this song and poor, poor Ringo getting blisters on his fingers from playing the drum for fucking
hours by that point.
19. Come Together
"She wear no shoe shine..." What's that I hear? Ringo Starr's most iconic drum line, Paul McCartney's most famous bass lick? John Lennon's inane rambling that just
works? The first song of Abbey Road is such a fucking banger, and while it may be cliche to say, it's a masterpiece even 53 years later. I like Live and Let Die (both the song and film), but songs played live have never done it for me. I dunno why, but I always view live songs as inherently inferior quality. Maybe it has to do with wanting to view the complete master product rather than them replicating it without the full components. I dunno.
22. Eleanor Rigby
"All the lonely people..." A classical arrangement, I love Eleanor Rigby as the second song on Revolver after Taxman. It's a wonderful juxtaposition to the rocking song and on its own is a great song. Yellow Submarine is very good too but it does tend to get overplayed at times, but god damn if it isn't a fun song.
Favorites:
8. A Day in The Life
5. Happiness Is a Warm Gun
3. Hey Jude
