Comments on: Playing The Beatles Backwards: The Ultimate Countdown

By: Micky

Micky — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:01:50 +0000

this is such a sad read. just about everything has been switched. you dont know what your criticizing, let me shoot you in the ass and then make you listen to the white album again… there isnt much i can say cuz your taste in beatles is so bad.

By: Brandon

Brandon — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 05:42:48 +0000

In my opinion you put some of the best songs at the bottom and some of the worst at top. In my opinion I Am The Walrus is one of their WORST songs

By: Garrett

Garrett — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:19:42 +0000

WHAT!!! I Agree with Revolution 9, but I Want You (She’s So Heavy) 3rd WORST!!!! NO!!! And Love You To at 174!! My FAVORITE SONG EVER!!! You sir are clearly not a musician!

By: Georgia

Georgia — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:54:44 +0000

I’m new to the world of the beatles, and have been reading about the Paul McCartney death hoax. I foundthis quite interesting, and hope to listen to all 363 beatles songs there are. That must’ve taken you a while… thank you.
My favourites are Hey Jude, A day in the Life, Yesterday and Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. And all my loving.

By: PurpleNeonLights

PurpleNeonLights — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:22:47 +0000

Two things about Revolution 9:

1) I very seldom choose to listen to it;

2) No smusical work has ever given me the creeps or just plain scared me like Revolution 9. When I was a kid, my friends and I actually would put on Rev 9 with the lights out just feel the unsettling intensity.

So, we have a musical work I don’t listen to, but one that is like no other in the capacity to unsettle me. How do you rank that? Real hard. I guess a gold medal is in order for that capacity to make me uncomfortable, but a two thumbs down because, who wants to listen to it?

For sure, for better or worse, it is a work of genius. Lennon consistently had, to me, that ability to to reach out deeper into the realm of the transcendent and otherworldly than did McCartney. Thank god for McCartney’s keen commercial sense, and common sense (and George Martin’s and Brain Epstein’s, and Alistair Taylor’s, etc.). They provided a vehicle and a counterbalance for Lennon’s expressions of far-outness.

By: lucien

lucien — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:59:28 +0000

I like “Revolution Number 9.” Really. I like how abrasive and creepy it is.

It presages a number of musical styles, though it may not be the progenitor in all cases.

Also, this ranking/review is totally awesome.

By: JR

JR — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 03:27:04 +0000

Wilburr, you criticize people who don’t respect dissenting views than you criticize town hall people who have the nerve not to agree with Obama’s socialist policies. Make up your mind.

By: JR

JR — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 03:20:27 +0000

Finally there is a different take from different generations. I caught the end of the Beatles era, and could remember how big they were. In 1973 the release of the red and blue albums reinforced this. Later generations naturally have a different view of things. Those of us who remember them when they were still together have sentimental attachments for certain reasons, the record art, where we were when we first heard the singles etc. For those much younger than me who are immersing themselves in the Beatles for the first time, enjoy it, read up on them, learn the context, look past the cliches.

By: JR

JR — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 03:13:32 +0000

Re your Lady Madonna question, the problem with modern music is that the songs are turned up way too loud which buries the details, plus the kitchen sink is thrown in right away instead of slowly building (see your Hey Jude comments), and finally, rock and good pop music died about 20-25 years ago, it’s a dirge of mediocrity today. Pretty well all of it.

By: JR

JR — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 03:07:06 +0000

“She’s Leaving Home” rated so highly is absolutely nuts. Rated ahead of “Hey Jude” makes me ask you to turn in your Beatle badge. Everyone’s entitled to their opinion of course. I’d put Paperback Writer, Nowhere Man, Eleanor Rigby, A Day In The Life, Day Tripper, Can’t Buy Me Love, Penny Lane and Ticket To Ride near the top of any such list. No problem with your #1, but I’d put “Hey Jude” atop my own list.

Revolution 9, You Know My Name, Within You Without You, Wild Honey Pie would be near the bottom. Let’s face it though, I can even find sentimental value for songs that I don’t like as much. A true Beatles fan can do that. Anyway, fun reading but your list is way different than mine.

By: JR

JR — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 02:55:45 +0000

“Old Brown Shoe” is one of their better later numbers my friend. Just a solid powerful truck, great fade out. “I Want You She’s So Heavy” is another late classic. Have to totally disagree with those two snubs.

By: Curtis

Curtis — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:47:21 +0000

John intended “Revolution 9″ to be a sound picture; Paul was not involved, and also objected to its melodic deficiencies. But the White Album gets progressively darker, and it was clearly meant to be more disturbing than pleasurable, with the prior lyrics preparing us for the quasi-musical freak-out. Lennon found noises he wanted for specific reasons, hearing it all as mixed together produces an emotional reaction, beyond the aesthetic shock. We may think the craft here is pedestrian, and the same goes for some deceptively simple abstract art: but it’s really difficult to reproduce a Polloch or Rothko – and maybe “Revolution 9″ HAS influenced sound in FILMS, becoming more complex and chaotic with overlayering of tracks and looping. If we could unlock the secrets of the Beatles songs, this ‘experimental’ track might be found to possess the same properties, just with a different message, perhaps one inconsistent with any controlled form. I knew someone who hated it for the obvious reasons, and was otherwise a fan, except for also feeling “A Day In The Life” was impaired by the dissonance of the crescendoes – most people find the effect of those sound monoliths mesmerizing or exhilarating, so reaction to music is very subjective. I wonder how criticism would go if it was accepted the artist achieved a goal, and the reviewer had to guess what it was.

By: Remy K

Remy K — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 02:48:33 +0000

Thanks so much for taking the time to devop this list. I grew up with the Beatles, but never owned one of their records. They were just something in the background that I never took the time to appreciate. With the release of the remasters, I’m now taking the time to listen, learn, and appreciate the brilliance, using your reviews and commentarys as my guide. What a ride!

By: Gray

Gray — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:45:47 +0000

Absolutely brilliant read, mate.