Favorite Beatles tunes/specific-recordings??

[mikelz777]

These are on the heavier-played side but I love them especially for Paul's bass parts. "Paperback Writer" and "Something".

Just try it. Pull those two songs out of your collections, crank it up and concentrate on Paul's bass playing. Great songs, great bass lines.

Edited September 26, 2006 by mikelz777

[Dave James]

I have the first two Beatles' box sets on Capitol, the ones with both the mono and stereo versions. I put a number of the tune on my i-Pod that I thought were good to excellent, but, in general, lesser known and not over abused. Here's what I included:

Ask Me Why

P.S. I Love You

Do You Wan To Know A Secret

Yes It Is (Please Don't Wear Red Tonight)

You Like Me Too Much

I Don't Want To Spoil The Party

Devil In Her Heart

I'm Happy Just To Dance With You

I'll Get You

If I Fell (One of my all time favorites)

The Night Before

I Need You (Another favorite)

Another Girl

You're Gonna Lose That Girl

No Reply

I'll Follow The Sun

I'll Be Back

Up over and out.

[mikelz777]

Another thought- if you wanted to hear a bunch of songs that aren't played out, "The Beatles Live At The BBC" would be a treasure trove. This stuff is primarily from 1963-1964 so I'd imagine a lot of this is what you would have heard when the Beatles toured and played endless hours in Hamburg or when they played at the Cavern Club before they became the "Fab Four". Plus, it's a lot of non-Beatles songs being performed.

Edited September 26, 2006 by mikelz777

[Sundog]

Since you said spectacular remakes of Beatles tunes could be allowed, I offer two:

Wilson Pickett's Hey Jude

Due in no small part to Mr. Duane Allman

I still really like "She's A Woman", "I'm Down", and "I Me Mine" and yes the BBC material was/is a breath of fresh air for jaded Beatle fans.

[Rob C]

I was pretty obsessed with The Beatles when I was around junior-high age. I listened to the records I had then so much I basically never feel the need to hear them again. But I had the U.S. versions of their LPs, and so the "extra" tracks on the UK version of Revolver are exceptions for me, because I didn't get that until the CDs came out, when I was maybe a senior in high school. I'm especially fond of "And Your Bird Can Sing". I still love to hear that one.

[mikeweil]

Forgot to mention Don Ellis' version of "Hey Jude" - he rides the tune back home!

[medjuck]

I'll nominate "When You Got Trouble" which I think is only on Anothogy 2.

[BruceH]

Some of my personal favorites:

"She Said She Said"

"And Your Bird Can Sing"

"I Want to Tell You"

"Dr. Robert"

"I'm Only Sleeping"

"Taxman"

"For No One" (Revolver is chock-full of great semi-obscure Beatles songs)

"I'm Looking Through You"

"If I Needed Someone"

"Wait"

"You Won't See Me"

"I've Just Seen a Face"

"The Night Before"

"I Should Have Known Better"

"Any Time At All"

"I'll Be Back"

"You Can't Do That"

"I'll Follow the Sun"

"Every Litting Thing"

"It Won't Be Long"

"All I've Got to Do"

"I Saw Her Standing There"

"She's a Woman"

"I Feel Fine"

"I'll Get You"

"I'm Down"

also, some of their covers from the earlier albums are classics ("Money", "Anna", "Dizzy Miss Lizzie", "Long Tall Sally", "Twist and Shout", etc)

This is a great list! I'd only add "There's A Place" from the Please Please Me (first British) album, no doubt available on CD now, and "Rain" the B-side to "Paperback Writer" and used to be available on the Hey Jude odds and ends album. "Rain" used to be one of my favorite Beatles songs, still is I guess; could well be one of the best B-sides of all time.

[JSngry]

I've played "Don't Bother Me" as an Ayler-esque dirge & have found it quite to my liking that way.

[J Larsen]

She Said She Said still sounds like it could have come out last week.

[Rooster_Ties]

"She Said She Said" still sounds like it could have come out last week.

Now THAT'S what I'm looking for -- tunes that sound as fresh now as they day they were recorded.

I'd kind of half forgotten about She Said, She Said -- a tune that somebody like Matthew Sweet could have written, and nobody would think otherwise. "She Said, She Said" goes on my list, for sure!!

[Chuck Nessa]

Who are the Beatles and WTF do they have to do with jazz beyond the stupid covers made by artists under pressure?

[JSngry]

Ask Abbey Lincoln.

[ghost of miles]

"Rain" the B-side to "Paperback Writer" and used to be available on the Hey Jude odds and ends album. "Rain" used to be one of my favorite Beatles songs, still is I guess; could well be one of the best B-sides of all time.

Completely forgot "Rain," but you're absolutely right--that is a hell of a song. True that it was the first to use backward masking? (The Beatles are often credited as having done things "first," & it's often not so. They were certainly, wonderfully innovative, but they were also extremely rigorous listeners who absorbed nearly everything coming out, and they were good at nicking from the competition.)

[danasgoodstuff]

"Rain" is, as I'm sure most of you know, available of the current odds 'n ends album, Past Masters I. I am somewhat surprised that "Rain", which I remember as a double A-side receiving plenty o' airplay, would be considered at all abscure, or any other Beatles recording given official release. But then I'm 52 so I've been hearing them as long as I've been interested in music... I think that there are lots of great covers, as well as even more pointless ones, jazz and otherwise, and we're discussing them because some of us like to get (our minds, at least) out of the jazz ghetto now & again.

All you need is love,

Dana

[Guy Berger]

"Rain" is, as I'm sure most of you know, available of the current odds 'n ends album, Past Masters I.

PM II, not PM I.

Guy

[danasgoodstuff]

Guy,

Of course, you're right. I could claim a typo, but it was just a brain fart.

On a not quite wholey unrelated subject, I heard a swinging instrumental of "The Night Before" in a restaurant a while back, anyone have any idea who it might have been?

Don't Let Me Down,

Dana

[felser]

Who are the Beatles and WTF do they have to do with jazz beyond the stupid covers made by artists under pressure?

Chuck, you're showing your age here!

[paul secor]

Who are the Beatles and WTF do they have to do with jazz beyond the stupid covers made by artists under pressure?

Chuck, you're showing your age here!

Could be, but Chuck was around when those "covers made under pressure" came out - and there were too many of them.

[Alexander]

"She Said She Said" still sounds like it could have come out last week.

Now THAT'S what I'm looking for -- tunes that sound as fresh now as they day they were recorded.

I'd kind of half forgotten about She Said, She Said -- a tune that somebody like Matthew Sweet could have written, and nobody would think otherwise. "She Said, She Said" goes on my list, for sure!!

The whole "Revolver" album sounds like it was recorded yesterday. It's one of the highest points in popular music. As much as I love an album like "Pet Sounds," "Revolver" leaves it in the shade...

[Alexander]

"Rain" is, as I'm sure most of you know, available of the current odds 'n ends album, Past Masters I. I am somewhat surprised that "Rain", which I remember as a double A-side receiving plenty o' airplay, would be considered at all abscure, or any other Beatles recording given official release. But then I'm 52 so I've been hearing them as long as I've been interested in music... I think that there are lots of great covers, as well as even more pointless ones, jazz and otherwise, and we're discussing them because some of us like to get (our minds, at least) out of the jazz ghetto now & again.

All you need is love,

Dana

"Rain" and "Paperback Writer" were released as a single to coincide with the British release of "Revolver." Greatest period in Beatles history EVER. Paul's bass on both "Paperback Writer" and "Rain" is outstanding.

[skeith]

Ask Abbey Lincoln.

you talkin' about that interview she gave that appeared on the Ken Burns Jazz series?

Yeah what was she smoking before she said that?

[coooltrane]

I like Wonderall, Rockin' Chair, The Masterplan and Do Ya Know What I Mean as some of the lesser played songs.

Wait . . does a Beatles cover band (oasis) count ?

[Hot Ptah]

"The Inner Light" is rarely played.

[Kalo]

The Knickerbockers' "Lies." Best faux-Beatles song ever.

Check out Al Green's "I Want to Hold Your Hand."

My favorite "obscure" Beatles songs as performed by the Beatles have all pretty much been mentioned in previous posts. But off the top of my head, my favorite favorites would include:

"There's a Place." Amazing song, amazing performance.

The whole second side of the original British A Hard Day's Night album, comprising the songs that were written for the film but did not appear in the film: "Any Time at All," "I'll Cry Instead," "Things We Said Today," "When I Get Home," "You Can't Do That," and "I'll Be Back."

"Rain"

"I'm Only Sleeping"

DEFINITELY "She Said She Said"

"And Your Bird Can Sing"

"Don't Let Me Down"