Big Al Posted April 22, 2004 Report Posted April 22, 2004 Insipred by the 50 Worst Songs thread; if you're a Beatles fan, is there one song (or maybe even more) that absolutely grate on you? For me, it has to be "Hello Goodbye," one of the worst songs ever written to begin with. This wouldn't even be good enough for a McCartney solo album; it has no business being associated with the Beatles. The fact that it got to number one on the charts only indicates just how stoned record-buyers were back then. The words are lazy, the arrangement boring, the sentiment just a notch below pure cheese; Lennon was right on when he said "This one smells from a mile away." How 'bout you? Quote
chris olivarez Posted April 22, 2004 Report Posted April 22, 2004 Insipred by the 50 Worst Songs thread; if you're a Beatles fan, is there one song (or maybe even more) that absolutely grate on you? For me, it has to be "Hello Goodbye," one of the worst songs ever written to begin with. This wouldn't even be good enough for a McCartney solo album; it has no business being associated with the Beatles. The fact that it got to number one on the charts only indicates just how stoned record-buyers were back then. The words are lazy, the arrangement boring, the sentiment just a notch below pure cheese; Lennon was right on when he said "This one smells from a mile away." How 'bout you? That's a good choice. Also "I Am The Walrus"-how stupid/stoned is that and in general I'm not a big fan of their really early stuff but once you got into "A Hard Days Night" territory things started to improve. Quote
wesbed Posted April 22, 2004 Report Posted April 22, 2004 Hey Jude. What a bore. Let's just say the same words, over and over, for something like eight minutes. Revolution #9 was more interesting. Quote
JSngry Posted April 22, 2004 Report Posted April 22, 2004 It would have to be something from 1965, when they hit the burnout wall for a quick minute due to all the touring and stuff. Probably something from BEATLES FOR SALE. I think their cover of "Kansas City" is pretty ephemeral, although it might have been better served by having been recorded a few years earlier. "Hello Goodbye", eh? Goofy, yes, but I still get drawn in by the production/engineering job on that one, how truly FAT all the stringed instruments (guitars, bass, and cellos) sound and how the drum sound is like you're inside the drum (which may very well have been how it was miked, I dunno). And if you were buying 45s back then (and I was), it's a good chance that you played the B-side of this one more than the A. A little ditty called "I Am The Walrus" (and with a different mix that on the MMT album at that!) it was... When it comes to Pop, good/clever/innovative/whatever production can render a song's relative "merit" irrelevant as far as I'm concerned, and I can't think of too many Beatre songs outside of the period mentioned above where this is not the case for me. They weren't all great songs, but they were, for the most part, all great RECORDS. In Pop, the rules are different... Quote
AfricaBrass Posted April 22, 2004 Report Posted April 22, 2004 Insipred by the 50 Worst Songs thread; if you're a Beatles fan, is there one song (or maybe even more) that absolutely grate on you? For me, it has to be "Hello Goodbye," one of the worst songs ever written to begin with. This wouldn't even be good enough for a McCartney solo album; it has no business being associated with the Beatles. The fact that it got to number one on the charts only indicates just how stoned record-buyers were back then. The words are lazy, the arrangement boring, the sentiment just a notch below pure cheese; Lennon was right on when he said "This one smells from a mile away." How 'bout you? That's a good choice. Also "I Am The Walrus"-how stupid/stoned is that and in general I'm not a big fan of their really early stuff but once you got into "A Hard Days Night" territory things started to improve. I LOVE "I Am the Walrus"! I really like "Revolution 9" too. I guess my least favorite Beatles' tracks would have to be some of the throwaways on the White Albums, such as Wild Honey Pie. I also don't have much love for "The Long and Winding Road" and "Let It Be". I like all the drugged out stuff. Quote
JSngry Posted April 22, 2004 Report Posted April 22, 2004 I like "Wild Honey Pie" better than the regular "Honey Pie". It's more drugged out. But I like The Beach Boys WILD HONEY" (song AND album) better than either of'em! Quote
AfricaBrass Posted April 22, 2004 Report Posted April 22, 2004 I like "Wild Honey Pie" better than the regular "Honey Pie". It's more drugged out. But I like The Beach Boys WILD HONEY" (song AND album) better than either of'em! Me too! I love the late sixties post-Smile BB stuff. Quote
Quincy Posted April 22, 2004 Report Posted April 22, 2004 (edited) Some 20 odd years ago I recall a poll of Beatles' fans listing "Mr. Moonlight" after "Revolution 9" as the worst. I think that'd be my pick too, though at times it's so bad it's almost good - to sing along to at least when doing dishes. Least favorite #1s would be "Yesterday" & "Let It Be." Just a combination of heard 'em too many times, the mention "Mother Mary" and other songwriting sins. Edited April 22, 2004 by Quincy Quote
Brandon Burke Posted April 22, 2004 Report Posted April 22, 2004 I guess my least favorite Beatles' tracks would have to be some of the throwaways on the White Albums, such as Wild Honey Pie. I also don't have much love for "The Long and Winding Road" and "Let It Be". I like all the drugged out stuff. This is pretty much what I was going to say...... Quote
Brandon Burke Posted April 22, 2004 Report Posted April 22, 2004 I like "Wild Honey Pie" better than the regular "Honey Pie". It's more drugged out. But I like The Beach Boys WILD HONEY" (song AND album) better than either of'em! I couldn't agree more. Then again, I'm a considerably bigger Beach Boys fan than I am a Beatles fan so..... Quote
DrJ Posted April 22, 2004 Report Posted April 22, 2004 "Why Don't We Do It In the Road" is pretty bad...I like most of the little ditties/psychedelic stuff on THE BEATLES but that one is just plain annoying. I agree with Jim that around mid-65 the Beatles were sounding MIGHTY tired and burned out. Some weaker stuff then for sure - such as "Mr. Moonlight," which may be the worst ever (although I don't think written by them). Thing about the Beatles is even stuff that would probably have been horrible in other hands was usually elevated by SOMETHING - a fantastic vocal performance, great production, a nice riff, something. So you take a piece like "Only A Northern Song" off the YELLOW SUBMARINE soundtrack, and in lesser hands it would be flat our horrible but it actually sounds pretty cool in the execution there. Plus there's that wonderful "It doesn't really matter what clothes I wear..." part, a little song within a song, the kind of thing they used to just toss off as a secondary part of a tune, like eating doughnuts. Quote
chris olivarez Posted April 22, 2004 Report Posted April 22, 2004 AB don't get me wrong compared to the things mentioned in the earlier horrible song thread this is vastly superior. Just not one of my favorite Lennon-McCartney efforts. Quote
AfricaBrass Posted April 22, 2004 Report Posted April 22, 2004 AB don't get me wrong compared to the things mentioned in the earlier horrible song thread this is vastly superior. Just not one of my favorite Lennon-McCartney efforts. That's cool. I've loved the song since I was a little kid. I just dug the imagery. Quote
AfricaBrass Posted April 22, 2004 Report Posted April 22, 2004 I have to admit that the worst Beatles song IMO is "What's the New Mary Jane" - I heard it described once as "how bad Sgt. Pepper's could have been." I actually like it a bit, just because it's so crazy. Quote
J Larsen Posted April 22, 2004 Report Posted April 22, 2004 I don't mind Revolution #9 at all. I never have - even when I was a small child. I mind Mr. Moonlight very much. What a piece of crap! I'm also not too into the McCartney songs on Let it Be (although the title track is okay). Oh La Di was a pretty bad attempt at ska, but it was no Mr. Moonlight. Quote
wesbed Posted April 22, 2004 Report Posted April 22, 2004 Also "I Am The Walrus"-how stupid/stoned is that This is exactly how I feel about Pink Floyd's 'The Wall.' In just two words... describes my detailed feelings quite accurately. How stupid/stoned (and moronic) is the music, especially the second disk, on 'The Wall.' Quote
AfricaBrass Posted April 22, 2004 Report Posted April 22, 2004 I don't mind Revolution #9 at all. I never have - even when I was a small child. I mind Mr. Moonlight very much. What a piece of crap! I'm also not too into the McCartney songs on Let it Be (although the title track is okay). Oh La Di was a pretty bad attempt at ska, but it was no Mr. Moonlight. I remember reading in the 70's that Mr. Moonlight was the least favorite Beatles' song, but I kind of dig it. Lennon had a great vocal on it, and it just has such a weird sound to it. I like 1965 Beatles' music. I know they were probably a bit burnt, but the songs on HELP, to me, were cool. I guess I agree that BEATLES FOR SALE caught them a little worn out, but I dig the heavy rockabilly influence (especially in George's playing). Quote
AfricaBrass Posted April 22, 2004 Report Posted April 22, 2004 Also "I Am The Walrus"-how stupid/stoned is that This is exactly how I feel about Pink Floyd's 'The Wall.' In just two words... describes my detailed feelings quite accurately. How stupid/stoned (and moronic) is the music, especially the second disk, on 'The Wall.' You won't get any argument from me about the Wall. To me it's disco Floyd. I'm also tired of Roger Water's neurosis. He needed some Prozac or something. If I want to hear truly insane Pink Floyd music, I'll listen to PIPER or any of Syd Barrett's solo records. I think Waters saw the cult of Syd Barrett and realized that people love a nutter. Quote
DrJ Posted April 22, 2004 Report Posted April 22, 2004 Yeah, Waters was kind of a loon and turned out some overblown music for sure. But David Gilmour's glorious guitar playing made life worth living as a teenager - love the huge sound and drama of his two leads on "Comfortably Numb," plus I dig his singing. More than made up for Waters. Quote
Brandon Burke Posted April 22, 2004 Report Posted April 22, 2004 Oh La Di was a pretty bad attempt at ska, but it was no Mr. Moonlight. Hmmm....... That never occurred to me. Quote
dave9199 Posted April 22, 2004 Report Posted April 22, 2004 I love them all, though some less than others: Good Night, Ask Me Why, She Loves You didn't age well. Quote
J Larsen Posted April 22, 2004 Report Posted April 22, 2004 I like 1965 Beatles' music. I know they were probably a bit burnt, but the songs on HELP, to me, were cool. I guess I agree that BEATLES FOR SALE caught them a little worn out, but I dig the heavy rockabilly influence (especially in George's playing). Help is a great album!! The first few songs on "For Sale" are all great, then it gets spotty. Rubber Sole was a 1965 record, and a damn good album IMO. How did this dissing on '65 thing get started? Quote
scottb Posted April 22, 2004 Report Posted April 22, 2004 I was a huge Beatles fan back in high school. really all I listened too for about 2 years. Didn't miss much from pop music at the time (1986-1988.) The worst - THE LONG AND WHINING BORE Favorite - impossible to say but THINK FOR YOUSELF is up there. Quote
Rooster_Ties Posted April 22, 2004 Report Posted April 22, 2004 Somebody help me... Long, long ago -- I had a bunch of Beatles bootleg CD's (I think they were the Unsurpassed Masters series (or something similar), something on the "Yellow Dog" label maybe --- does any of that that ring a bell????? God, that was like 15 years ago!! They're long since sold, over 10 years ago.). Anyway, there was this one Beatles tune (pretty sure it was a standard "John and Paul" tune - as far as official song-writing credits go, though my guess is that maybe Paul wrote it) --- that they only performed live on the BBC. It was THE worst song by them that I had every heard. I think it was from around '65 or so, definitely early Beatles, or "early mid" Beatles (at the very latest). Can't for the life of me remember the title, but god - the lyrics and tune (both) were as trite as anything you ever heard, by anyone. Total syrup. Help!! What was that tune???? Somebody got the lyrics?? I know they're out there, on the net somewhere -- but I don't have a clue what to search on, offhand. THAT was the worst Beatles tune ever, I'm sure of it!!! Quote
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