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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:

54. “Help!”

53. “Helter Skelter”

52. “I Feel Fine”

51. “Yesterday”

50. “A Hard Day’s Night”

49. “Blackbird”

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As they might say in the Old West, this here song is right purdy. (I admit that most of my knowledge of the Old West comes from Yosemite Sam, but that’s neither here nor there.) Using nothing more than an acoustic guitar and his tapping foot, Paul McCartney delivers an achingly lovely melody that ranks right up there with his very best, which is saying something.

While John Lennon was the Beatle known for political statements, Paul got one in here subtly with a song inspired by the racial tensions in the U.S. at the time (1968). Paul made his statement via metaphor, honing in on the general sadness of the situation without getting bogged down in specifics. The phrase “sunken eyes” is poetic and evocative, but in truth it’s that pretty tune that does most of the heavy lifting here.

On a recent solo song, Paul went back to the acoustic technique he used here of playing the bass notes right along with the main melody. The song, “Jenny Wren,” calls “Blackbird” to mind without being an exact copy. Not to go off on a tangent here, but those who have bailed out on Paul’s solo career are missing out on some fine late-period albums.

As for “Blackbird,” I would remove the bird noises edited into the final mix. They just overdo the point and distract from the beauty of Paul’s singing and playing, which is so stunningly fine that it needs no embellishment.

48. “Revolution”

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In the battle over “Revolution,” I think that time has proven that John versus Paul and George was a draw. Lennon was wrong when he balked at recording this song in a souped-up, radio-friendly version. Compared to the crawling pace of Lennon’s preferred version (found on the White Album, see #102 on this list), the single edit is ferocious. All those loud, distorted guitars and walloping drums imbue John’s message with urgency and fire.

On the other hand, if George and Paul, as legend has it, felt that this material was too incendiary for the group to record, they weren’t listening closely enough. Maybe they never got past the title, because a close look at Lennon’s words reveals a message that’s pragmatic and wise. He’s not really coming out on behalf of anything; he’s just advising those with big ideas to make sure they know what they’re doing. Grand intentions mean little without the proper method of implementing them and the right motives for achieving them, and Lennon wasn’t about to attach his name to any movement he considered foolhardy.

And so we’re left with a rock song with something to say, which wasn’t that uncommon back then but is sorely lacking these days. The way John’s screams out the words “All right” at song’s end, it’s as if he’s trying to wish a happy ending into existence by the mere force of his voice. He knew that it wasn’t that simple though, as “Revolution” proves all too well.

47. “Getting Better”

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This gem from Sgt. Pepper’s is beset by a split personality. Playing the Dr. Jekyll role is Paul McCartney, who optimistically puts his past indiscretions to bed and sees a positive future. But lurking inside of him is John Lennon’s Mr. Hyde, who refuses to let things get too sunny with half-hearted statements like “I can’t complain” and “It can’t get no worse.”

The two wrote the song in tandem, but it certainly sounds like a McCartney melody, bouncy and clean. The spiky effect throughout the song that provides the clanking sound was achieved by George Martin whacking the strings of a piano with a mallet, just another example of the inspired studio craft to be found on this monumental album.

But the inherent darkness is all Lennon. As we enter the third verse, the droning tamboura, courtesy of the band’s resident mystic, George Harrison, heralds a subtle change from the upbeat tune up to that point. That’s when Paul sings the gut-punching lyrics, “I used to be cruel to my woman/I beat her and kept her apart/From the things that she loved.” It’s a stunning admission in the middle of this seemingly lighthearted tune, and Lennon later explained that the lyric came from him, a reference to his awful behavior toward women in his past.

I can see where this shocking confession might turn people off to this song, and certainly there is no condoning violence of that kind. But Lennon’s unflinching honesty gives this song a psychological depth that it has no right having otherwise.

Suddenly this character goes from a Pollyanna to a real human being with deep flaws seeking redemption. Suddenly the line, “I’m doing the best that I can” is powerfully poignant. And suddenly “Getting Better” becomes a pop song with a damaged soul and a beating heart.

46. “Hey Bulldog”

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There were only four songs that The Beatles left solely for the Yellow Submarine soundtrack, and they were all truly eccentric tracks. Topping them all, in terms of eccentricity and quality, would have to be the manically catchy “Hey Bulldog.”

Built around an attention-grabbing piano riff that is quickly doubled on electric guitar and tripled on bass, “Hey Bulldog” seems to upbraid a foolish girl and yet still offer a sympathetic ear in the end. John Lennon wrote the lyrics and the band fleshed the song out in the studio in just one evening, and the offhand feel to the recording is fetching. You’ve got some blistering lead guitar from John and Paul playing fantastic stuttering bass runs all over the place.

In between all of the lunacy about bullfrogs and wigwams, a sneakily profound line like “some kind of solitude is measured out in you” finds its way into the mix. The group was on such a roll at the time that this was recorded that they could craft brilliant tracks almost by accident.

All of which leads to Paul barking at John at song’s end in a hilarious finish. What inspired this is a mystery, why they kept it in is unknown, but why it worked is obvious: they were The Beatles. Duh.

45. “Good Morning Good Morning”

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This peppy, horn-fueled romper starts with a death. “Nothing to do to save his life/Call his wife in.” John Lennon begins at the end, and then proceeds to run through a litany of the everyday banalities that make up a routine life. That Lennon was able to tap into this everyman attitude is either a testament to his imagination or an indication that he didn’t see himself any different than the average Joe working 9 to 5 and trying to steal bits of happiness anywhere he can.

No worries though, because the music provides happiness to spare as way of compensation. Starting with a rooster’s alarm call, a frenetic horn section blasts into action and provides the impetus for what’s to come. The backing vocals belt out the refrain to be heard above the din, Ringo’s snares are like bottle rockets popping, and Paul gets a chance at some lead guitar and charges into the fray recklessly in the solo. The narrator may be stuck in a rut, but the accompaniment is a fantastic adventure.

It all ends with a menagerie being led on a cavalry charge by a bugler in the fade-out, a bizarrely apt way for this raucous track to wrap up. “Good Morning Good Morning” is a rather benign greeting for all the wonders that await the listener here.

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