Essential Beatles Songs

Not much to add except that I am now a true believer- they're the greatest band ever!

10. "Hello, Goodbye" (Magical Mystery Tour)
My process for these "Essential Songs" lists is to come up with a rough ten songs, then I sit down and immerse myself in the music. This was not originally among those 'rough' ten songs but quickly emerged as a favorite. I think what set apart "Hello, Goodbye" was the production work on the song. I'd always heard the Beatles and producer George Martin were studio wizards, and this is a prime example taken from the Magical Mystery Tour album. I love all of the layers and different instruments used, which comes through on headphones as there's so much going on in the Left side vs the Right side. Recently I've tried to play around with different filters and mixing techniques when creating imaging for the radio station and to create different layers like this song would be unreal. I'm definitely not up to that level yet.

9. "A Day In The Life" (Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band)
Ten years ago had I made this list, "A Day In The Life" would've been my instant number one without any hesitation. At that time I was becoming a fan of 'prog rock' like Dream Theater and Porcupine Tree, so this Beatles' song seemed as close as I'd get to that genre. The rest of the Beatles' music seemed too light and fluffy and wasn't my thing. "A Day In The Life" sounds like two separate songs, with one frantically descending into the other, which they pulled off brilliantly. While I still enjoy it, I think I prefer that lighter "fluff" these days.

8. "Ticket To Ride" (Help!)
One I had not considered making this 'essential' list either, along with "Hello, Goodbye." I was hooked by the jangling rhythm of the song, with the drumming being a highlight for me, too. People seem to knock Ringo for being the lesser of the Beatles but I feel like it came to his style, "less is more." It wasn't about being a speedy drummer or playing a lot of notes, he just accented the songs perfectly.

7. "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" (Abbey Road)
Such a silly song that I'm sure it will be disputed and stand out like a sore thumb on my list, BUT, it's my list. I just like the juxtaposition- absurd lyrics about a murderer who uses a hammer with an upbeat poppy tune. The "bang bang" sound effect is a nice touch, too. I think I was first introduced to this song through the Steve Martin version in the Sgt Pepper movie and never realized what the lyrics were even about til much later; it was just a fun song I'd heard as a kid.

6. "Paperback Writer" (1962-1966, Red album)
This song makes my list for two reasons, first being my younger sister. When we were younger, my dad would drive to church and sometimes tune the radio to a station playing a program called "The Beatles' Brunch." When this song came on, we acted silly and not only sang "paperback writer", but also sang "hardcover writer" and probably "magazine article writer", too. I'm sure that annoyed my dad. The second reason is that as an adult I've realized that song flat out rocks. The harmonizing in the introduction nearly fools you into thinking it'll be a softer song, yet the instruments kick in and nearly knock you off your feet!

5. "Nowhere Man" (Rubber Soul)
I'd heard this song before, as my only Beatles albums I own are Revolver and Rubber Soul, yet this song didn't particularly stand out until I'd heard it covered by Dokken three years ago when I picked up their old acoustic album.

4. "Getting Better" (Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band)
I love the lines "it's getting better all the time", which is followed by, "Can't get no worse!" The Beatles could write excellent pop songs with sharp wit, and I feel like this one most describes me. The band also shows off their growing repertoire for musical instruments, which I thought was a sitar in the middle of the song, yet wikipedia tells me it's an Indian instrument called a tambura. 

3. "Yesterday" (Help!)
Paul McCartney + a string quartet, what a song! Possibly the finest break-up song ever written and recorded.


2. "Something" (Abbey Road)
While "Yesterday" might be the band's best break-up song, this is their best love song. It's beautiful, and I especially like George Harrison's guitar tone paired with the piano.

1. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (The Beatles, White album)
It's been stated that the Beatles' albums were masterpieces in studio recording, with layered instruments and vocals. I understood what they meant but I never fully "felt" it. Hearing this song with headphones and soaking it into my skull was like hearing music for the first time. It's really that amazing. Even Ringo is great!