Playing the Beatles Backwards

[...] a Comment COMMENTS (8) The Master List | JamsBio Magazine said: [...] 184. “Revolution 9” [...] Carey said: Revolution #9, no problem. Definitely the [...]

[...] The complete list to date. [...]

So much of the white album is soo low here. That’s plain ridiculous.

i want you (she is so heavy) should be number one…this list is wrong

[...] The complete list to date. [...]

10 for effort, but its difficult to reward such a sisyphean task as ranking the beatles catalog, are you a sadist who enjoys getting yelled at by rabid music fans? anyways kudos for trying, you are braver than I. I disagree with your low placement of “I want you (she’s so heavy)” which I believe was years ahead of its time, and I regret that the last 25 seconds of Magical Mystery Tour are tacked on to such a bloody awful song.

Cheers

155. Sun King? I love it!

biggest bull***t i’ve ever seen

Hi you bunch of creeps!

Is there any other meaning for this list except some freaks like you just do not really have nothing else to do? Wake up people and get some real life! You truly are loosers. I can make you 6 bil. of these lists but what is the f*ckin’ point of it?

Truly yours,

the Beatles fan

well, stonda, i think it is far more pathetic to post a message saying how pathetic we all are. why don’t you get a life and not go on sites which clearly offend you. or don’t you have anything better to do?

[...] The complete list to date. [...]

while I disagree with some choices it’s quite refreshing seeing someone slag off the Beatles for a change and the comments are often damn funny. Keep it up. Very interesting so far…

[...] The complete list to date. [...]

wow! i can’t believe I Want You (She’s So Heavy) is so down on the list! i adore that song. the lyrics aren’t very profound i agree, but i love the “heavy” (yeah i said it) feel of the song. and the weird bass lines.

surprised songs like Octopus’s garden and Maxwell’s silver hamemr weren’t lower, too. actually Octopus isn’t even on there, which means it might end up in the top 100? *shivers*

still, i’m just stating an opinion, just like you are! and i am probably not a die hard fan like you are. interesting list, can’t wait to see the rest.

Many excellent songs are ranked amongst the worst. It seems “experimentation”, “originality” or “energy” were not taken into account in the ranking process. For me the worst is “What Goes On”, so it is surprizing to see jewels below.

[...] The complete list to date. [...]

Don’t take life that serieus dude’s, leave ‘em making lists if they want to.

People who complain that people who make these lists are stupid, well.. telling people that over the internet while reading some forum what you think thats stupid is just flat-out being an idiot yourself.

Just sayin’.

Hey Beatles fans. I just wanted to take the time to respond to some of the comments and concerns. First of all, there are admittedly a million lists out there. I just figured that The Beatles deserved one as a celebration of how wonderful their music is. The list proves that, because it shows how some songs that people really love and are undeniably great by most standards, pale (in my opinion) in comparison to other songs in their catalog.
Second, the poor ranking of “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” is causing the most stir. While I don’t deny that it’s well-performed and shows the Beatles to be great musicians, I just don’t feel like there’s much of a song there. And I contend that they could show their chops just as well on one of their two-minute singles as they could on this overlong opus, which feels to me more like an unhinged jam (same with “Yer Blues”) then a fully-realized song.
Finally, does anyone know Greek so I could translate the comment above?
Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone, and keep the comments coming.
Jbev

keep up the good work, jbev. it’s your list, and if people don’t like it, they can piss off. what ever happened to freedom of speech?

First I thought like “you´ve gone completely mad,haven´t you?” or “how dare you sort theis songs by “quality”,huh?”…You know,everyone has his or her favourite songs…for example “I want you” is one of my personal favourites. yeah,sure, I do prefer their later albums like Sgt. Pepper or Abby Road(gosh,the second side set is wonderful),but…well,in fact, I don´t get the point of this page but..whatever,dude;-) If you do, go on. If it can help pass this music to more people, good for ya. Anyway, enjoy all The Beatles music.

tomorrow never knows better be high up

…so this means yellow submarine is a great song right??? Because it isn’t. Even with the whole story/myth about how it came up, it still is no way better then 90% of the songs.

I would say tomorrow never knows is their best song, but this type of list is too lame to be funny.

he should go back to the drawingboard because you said so. piss off! do your own list if you don’t like this one. otherwise shut up.

I’ll bet when you’re done you will disagree with some of your choices. I mean is Good day Sunshine really worse than What Goes On? Great Comments and it is easy to see that you are a True Knowlegdable Beatles Fan & Supporter. I love reading this list and will miss it when it is done..Good Job.

Hey Beatles Fans,
I thought I’d touch base again to address some of your concerns and complaints with the list to date. All of your comments are greatly appreciated, even the ones that say I’m a yahoo.

Many of the negative comments surround “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” and its low ranking, and may of those comments mention the instrumental prowess that The Beatles show in the song. Some people get the impression that I’m anti-music and that I’m all about the lyrics. I don’t feel that’s the case. As you’ll see as the list progresses, some of the songs ranked really high have extremely simple lyrics. However, I don’t think a song should be rated high simply based on complexity alone, lyrical or musical. I feel that a three-note riff can sometimes convey more feeling than the most intricate bass solo. I contend that the group were at their best when they had a great song to work with, and I don’t feel that “I Want You” is anywhere near the quality of their best songs.

The other thing I wanted to address was somewthing brought up by J-Beezie and seconded ny others about the need to be tripping to appreciate certain songs. I admit I have never used any drug stronger than caffeine, so perhaps I can’t say for sure. But I’ve never bought that argument that drugs are necessary to “get” some songs. I’ve heard that about Pink Floyd, but I’m a huge fan of their work. If you stick with the list you’ll find several songs that are psychedelic in nature very high on the list. I think that an open mind is the only absolute requirement to listen to any music, and I’d like to think I have that.

Finally, I often use these little comments to respond to criticism, but I also would like to thank all of those who have given such nice comments. Like I said, all commentary is welcome, but to hear nice things from true fans like yourselves is truly appreciated and makes all the work I’ve put into this list worthwhile. Thank you all so much for that.

Talk to you all again soon. Keep the comments coming.
Jbev

[...] The complete list to date. [...]

Why revolution 9 is at the bottom is something that baffles me. It is a revolutionary musical vision of society and it contains an important message unknown until today. The answer lies in its title, but there are hints throughout the composition. That one doesn’t appreciate its melodical construction is one thing, its meaning is, nevertheless of seminal importance in understanding how John thought and where he was going to go from then on. Check your history books for relevant happenings, especially when ocurring on a 9th, think of John’s birthday, think of revolution and you may end up seeing this work as deserving a much higher place in Beatles’ opus… or not.

I am the Walrus will win

[...] like them, I do recommend that one because the songs were, admittedly, catchy. Catchy noise? This guy is counting down all of The Beatles original songs from worst-to-first. Might be helpful, though I and others likely aren’t in complete agreement. I would say, if you are [...]

i keep waiting this list until it’s done..and also wondering which song would be the number 1.
All you need is love, Hey Jude, A day in the life,Golde Slumbers, Im the walrus..? i really cant wait!
I’am a very very huge beatles fans. Although i’m not really accept with your selection song list, (how come “get back” is #126..?) but still this list shows to us that the beatles is really really ’something’. They are the greatest band ever.. What a fascinating job u’ve done. love it

What? No! This is painful to look at! It’s The Beatles! It doesn’t have to be a competition..
This is insulting to look at..

I think he’ll count Golden Slumbers, Carry That Weight and The End as one song. That leaves I Am The Walrus, Hey Jude, She’s Leaving Home and A Day In The Life for the top 5. Which I personally think it’s gonna be:

5. Abbey Road medley
4. She’s Leaving Home
3. I Am The Walrus
2. A Day In The Life
1. Hey Jude

Aren’t there at least a couple of songs missing? “You Like Me Too Much” (which is perhaps the only song not even worthy of such a chart)? What about “I’ll Be Back,” one of their most amazing and overlooked songs?

tell mw what you see is on the list. number 162. numbers 162-164 don’t come up on the master list page. You like me too much is 164. they are there though. i’ll be back is not. i make 6 songs left, and only 5 spots left. i can’t see i’ll be back making the top 5.

the final 3 from abbey road?

everybody’s trying to be my baby and twist and shout aren’t original beatles’ songs.they are covers therefore they won’t be on the list. i’ll be back is the odd man out. that needs to be on the list.

To all,
Thanks for catching “Ill Be Back”. My greatest fear in doing this was that I’d somehow leave something out and I did. Big-time brain cramp on my part. I’ll make an amendment once we’re all done. Good song, but it is not in the Top 5, for sure. Sorry for the mistake, and thanks again for catching it.
As for the rest, you’ll have all the answers in the next two days.
Jbev

yes, those are the last hits left
i’m verry sorry about hey jude…

I’m actually pretty glad that Hey Jude wasn’t number one… I’m betting A Day in the Life will be with I Am the Walrus as number two. I would have liked While My Guitar Gently Weeps to be higher, and seeing as this is an opinion, obviously I don’t agree, but overall good list.

Would love A day in the life to be #1. Overall, I disagree with a lot of the rankings, but very respectfully. That’s the beauty of the Beatles…everybody has a strong opinion on their favorites. Overall, I find this work to be honest, and the write up of most songs was very good, to say the least. I loved his write up for In my Life…very well written. But She’s Leaving Home in Top 3….over Strawberry, Something, Hey Jude?? Hard to digest!

To use a tainted phrase, your choices were quite “fair and balanced” between Lennon and McCartney, whereas most others would lapse into an all-too-typical “Lennon bias” (yawn).

Placing “She’s Leaving Home” at #3 shows exceptional insight not only into McCartney’s musical brilliance but also the extent to which the very definition of rock and roll can be stretched.

As I mentioned earlier, it looks like you’re missing “You Like Me Too Much,” “Tell Me What You See,” and “I’ll Be Back.”

Lastly, I’d only recommend you give certain Harrison songs another listen (”Think for Yourself,” “Within You Without You”). Had to get my $.02 in…

Well, the list is just one person’s opinion, and I disagree with it very strongly. “Lovely Rita” is better then “Let it Be”? And what is “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” doing at 3rd worst? And “Lucy,” “Sun King,” “Get Back,” “I Wanna Hold Your Hand”??? Why are they not at least in the top 20?

To all,
I’d like to begin by thanking all of you who read this list and also those who left comments. The amount of comments and the intelligence and passion shown by those who left them inspired me to work even harder on the list. Even those of you who disagreed with me pretty vehemently did so with respect, with an exception here or there.
This list was solely my opinion and I expected a lot of disagreement. It surprised me that “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” was by far and away the biggest bone of contention. I expected it to be “Penny Lane” or “I Want To Hold Your Hand” or “Julia” on the low end, and “She’s Leaving Home” on the high end. I stand by my assessment of “I Want You” though; I feel like it was forced and finds The Beatles trying to be something they were not.
I’d also like to thank those of you diligent enough to catch the fact that I accidentally left “I’ll Be Back” off the list. I took notes on it and gave it a rating (which is how I ranked the songs), but somehow I never transferred it to the list. A correction is forthcoming when I get the chance in the next few days.
Finally, some of you have left some of the nicest comments I could ever imagine in praise of this project. I cannot tell you how much that means to me, especially coming from people with whom I share something common: An undying love of the music of The Beatles. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.
Sincerely,
Jbev

Indeed, ‘I Want You’!

Your list sucks! haha… Well Semi-Joking. You got a lot of the positioning really wrong. But well you know.. Never rub another mans rubarb. Too each her own.

ok im am just wanting to say u cant judge the beatle songs ok its impossible becuz everyone has a favarite beatle for example mine is john lennon ok so my 2nd fav beatle song is cometogether becuz he mostly wrote it but the point is everyone has a different opinion so dont judge the beatles cuz nobodys right on what beatles song is the best or which is the worst so dont be judging unless you want commenters to disagree
with peace andlove-tyler

I’m disapointed about the rankings on your list but I respect your opinion.