Featured Stories
By
JBev
November 21st, 2008
To most Beatles fans, choosing between the songs of the Fab 4 is a bit like choosing between children. But, on the JamsBio exclusive, Playing The Beatles Backward, one intrepid fan dares to rank the original songs of The Beatles and give his reasons why in a worst-to-first countdown. Check back each day for the next five songs on the list, prepare to hit the message boards to defend your favorites, and follow the countdown all the way to Number 1.
The complete list to date.
The Last Five:
134. “I Call Your Name”
LISTEN HERE 
The lone original number on the 1964 Long Tall Sally EP (the other three songs were covers of “Long Tall Sally,” “Slow Down” and “Matchbox”), “I Call Your Name” has enough quirks in it that you can see why the group would bury it on such a release. But those quirks do make it stand out a bit from some material that was considered good enough by the band to be included on long players.
Written by John Lennon, it’s got a bit of an off-kilter melody that never goes quite where you expect it to go. Lennon does a great job on lead vocal, and George Harrison’s lead guitar work is exemplary throughout, especially on the strutting middle-eight section. I never hear the ska influences that Lennon claimed were on there, but you can sense that he was trying something a little different from the norm.
The song was originally written for Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas, who did a few Lennon/McCartney numbers. It certainly seems that doing these writer-for-hire gigs helped to stretch the parameters of John’s and Paul’s songwriting. Songs like this one and “Misery,” which was also intended for another artist, find them drifting a bit outside their comfort zone, and the willingness to do that would certainly pay big dividends a little bit further on in their career.
133. “It’s Only Love”
LISTEN HERE
Here is another example of a song that John Lennon, when discussing The Beatles in interviews years after the break-up, complained was lousy. He wrote it and thought that the simplistic lyrics were embarrassing.
You can actually hear the self-consciousness in the way that John sings the line, “Just the thought of you makes nighttime bright.’ John rolls his “r” in the word “bright” in an exaggerated fashion as if to say, “Don’t anybody take this piece of tripe too seriously.” Whereas Paul would have no problem with such open-hearted sentimentality, John can barely spit it out.
But when the chorus arrives, the song elevates into another realm. The lyrics may say that “It’s only love/And that is all,” but the anguish in John’s voice betrays exactly how much this love means to him. Lennon locates all the self-denial in those words, before finally admitting “it’s so hard loving you.” There’s really nothing to fault about that part of the song; as a matter of fact, it’s pretty great.
You have to remember when reading some of these comments by John that he had no use for nostalgia, and he was all about demythologizing his old band once he was on his own as an artist. Oddly enough, I feel he was far more accurate, with a few exceptions, in his assessments of Paul’s material rather than of his own. He was particularly harsh on songs of his he deemed simplistic, whereas Paul could always see the value of, dare I say it, silly love songs like “It’s Only Love.”
As a Beatles fan, I learned long ago to appreciate John’s refreshing lack of tact when discussing the band while generally disregarding those words and forming my own opinions about the songs. I would advise the same for anyone out there hearing “It’s Only Love” for the first time.
132. “If I Needed Someone”
LISTEN HERE
There is no doubt that the 12-string guitar chiming away on this Rubber Soul track was inspired by Roger McGuinn and The Byrds. But give credit to The Beatles for effortlessly copping that signature folk-rock sound and making it their own. One of their great strengths as a band was the ability to transcend even the most obvious of influences through the sheer force of the band’s personality.
One of their great strengths as a band was the ability to transcend even the most obvious of influences through the sheer force of the band’s personality.
Written by George Harrison, “If I Needed Someone” features that unforgettable guitar lick folding back into itself and then unfolding again throughout the song. The three-part harmony is particularly luscious here as well. Indeed, Rubber Soul as a whole might have featured the best in-unison singing in the group’s history, although Abbey Road could certainly stake a claim to that as well.
When the harmonies are absent, a rather humdrum melody is left exposed. George definitely nailed that guitar part, but neglected to complement it much with a suitably strong tune to sing, leaving the song more of a pretty shell than a substantive work.
As for the lyrics, Harrison once again attacks a familiar topic from an unfamiliar angle. In this case, he expressses his devotion to the girl he’s with by writing to the other woman in the triangle, saying that he’d love to be with her if circumstances were different. Even that faint praise he doesn’t fully commit to, using qualifying words like “maybe” and “I guess.” What you really end up hear is a testament to ambivalence.
Such off-center sentiments were often masked by the pretty music, but George was already ahead of his more celebrated songwriting bandmates in terms of writing subversive material like “If I Needed Someone.”
131. “Another Girl”
LISTEN HERE
If you’re wondering why the lead guitar work in this song seems unusually frantic, it’s because that’s Paul McCartney taking the lead, not just on vocals but on guitar as well. He serves “Another Girl” well in his axeman role. George Harrison’s playing was all about precision and efficiency, but Paul plays here like he’s exploring what kind of sounds the guitar can make.
The guitar dirties this one up just enough to give it a little bit of a distinguishing kick.
What that frantic fretwork adds to “Another Girl” is a bit of the unexpected. The otherwise run-of-the-mill number needed it. Paul could write these types of songs in his sleep by this point, tossing off casually catchy melodies with seemingly no exertion whatsoever. The guitar dirties this one up just enough to give it a little bit of a distinguishing kick.
The song finds Paul telling his current paramour that he’s found somebody new. Of course, being Paul, he does this is in the nicest, most non-confrontational way. “I don’t want to say that I’ve been unhappy with you,” he sings. He might as well have said, “It’s not you, it’s me.” Alas, we may have found something about which to fault The Beatles: to paraphrase Seinfeld, they were bad breaker-uppers. Which, considering The Beatles’ popularity with the ladies and the astounding number of girls who likely suffered the fate of the poor soul in “Another Girl,” they must have done serious damage.
130. “Dig A Pony”
LISTEN HERE
Can you really “syndicate any boat you row?” According to John Lennon on “Dig A Pony,” you can. Valuable information wrapped in a gritty rock song. Who can ask for more?
Of all the quasi-improvised numbers found on Let It Be, “Dig A Pony” holds up the best. Yes, I know, that might not be saying much considering some of the others were, as the kids say these days, hot messes.
It is fair to say that, if they had turned out songs as loose and fun as this on their other attempts, the album might have been a fun ramble instead of a frustrating jumble.
The nonsensical lyrics here are a fascinating glimpse into Lennon’s mind at work on the fly. They don’t seem to make any sense as individual lines but they come together and seem to say that anything is possible if you can get by your hang-ups (a message not too dissimilar from “All You Need Is Love,” when you think about it).
The guitars drive hard here (with the exception of John’s wobbly solo) and Ringo predictably holds everything together while spicing things up with some lip-smacking fills. The group may have sounded a bit ragged on that rooftop, but they certainly sounded relaxed, which, considering all the drama they had with each other, is a minor miracle.
In closing, I’d like to say that I cannot independently validate what it means to “do a road hog.” Some lyrics are better left unexplored.
