Ranking The Beatles

27/12/2024

What has been heard cannot be unheard

Also on December 22: On this day in 1966, the “big edit” was made in “Strawberry Fields Forever.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PNtvnUEjJk

Most of you are familiar with the fact of the finished single being comprised of two different performances, featuring different approaches. As the story goes, John liked aspects of the first version and the remake, while feeling neither fully captured what he was going for. In his mind, the fact of their being in different keys and tempos wasn’t at all an issue: George Martin could just fix it.

Their producer was less confident about this, until discovering that slowing down the fast one and speeding up the slow one brought them to a middle point where they could actually be conjoined - and it worked. It marked yet another milestone in the journey of discovery the Beatles and their producer were undertaking in this, their first post-touring collaboration.

Heard here is take 26.

27/12/2024

#79 - Taxman
Episode out now wherever you get podcasts or at rankingthebeatles.com

What do George Harrison and Big Worm from the movie Friday have in common? Messing with their money is like messing with their emotions. But Big Perm, I mean Big Worm, doesn't write banging rock tunes about it. George's "Taxman," the lead off track on Revolver, finds the guitarist squaring off against the greedy hand of the man for taking 98% (NINETY EIGHT) percent of the Beatles income, income they'd actually (unlike so many millionaires and billionaires) worked INCREDIBLY hard to achieve. It's a fantastically sardonic lyric, with a brilliant performance by the band (Paul's basically inventing psychedelic bass parts here while also providing a ripping guitar solo). It sets the tone for Revolver by moving away from the romantic theme of so many of their songs, into a new, cool, and darker world.

Joining us this week is the wonderful vinylbenjy ! If you're on social media and follow music accounts or record accounts, the odds are high you've seen his smiling, pleasant self showcasing records and cool trivia about them. His record collection is swoonworthy, and the dude knows his stuff! We talk about the joys of record collecting, the importance of chap stick, George’s financial gripes, and Julia’s got a real spicy hot take for us! Check Benjy out on ⁠Instagram, Facebook, and ⁠TikTok .

What do you think about "Taxman" at 79? Too high? Too low? Let us know in the comments!!

26/12/2024

Big Beatley news, friends!
My band The Walrus - A New Orleans Beatles Experience has been awarded a grant by the Threadhead Cultural Foundation to make a record! We'll be making an album of our own takes on the Beatles' catalogue, looking to showcase the lads' influence on New Orleans music. We're thrilled and honored to be one of the Threadhead grant recipients, and can't wait to get cracking on this album in the new year! I can't wait to share it with all of you!

Merry Christmas Threadheads! Our 10th Threadhead Grant was awarded to The Walrus, a collaboration between Andre Bohren, David Pomerleau, Jonathan Pretus, and Felix Wohllebenthat. While the band has been together for over 10 years, prior to 2020 performances were limited to 2 or 3 times a year, mainly for private events. During the pandemic, the band was one of the first to perform a porch concert in June of 2020 and soon became an important source of joy and (safely) street dance parties in otherwisse dark pandemic times. From Jonathan: “We're so excited to receive a Threadhead grand to help fund our album. The Walrus had always been a very remote side project for us, and since the pandemic, we've watched it somehow grow and get bigger and more active and actually turn into a real band. As we've dug further into these songs, we've found our own takes on songs that have been covered so many times and become a unit that doesn't just regurgitate these classics, but has found a way to put our own unique imprint on them. We've been asked for years if WE had an album, and it didn't make sense as, well, THE BEATLES have 12 perfect, readily available ones. But now, we feel like we have a reason to capture our own take on these songs, and want to show how the Beatles' music has influenced New Orleans music, music that originally inspired them, in fact, and with the help of the THCF, we'll finally get a chance to explore that relationship. We're extremely grateful for this opportunity!” For more on The Walrus go to www.walrusnola.com and to help us support local musicians like this become a member at www.thcfnola.org !

24/12/2024

Wishing you all peace and love and a Gary Chrimble this holiday season from all of us here at RTB!
- Julia, Jonathan, Jojo, & Maxwell
And big ❤️ to .alexanian of for this year’s artwork!

24/12/2024

Wishing you all peace and love and a Gary Chrimble this holiday season from all of us here at RTB!
- Julia, Jonathan, Jojo, and Maxwell

(And big ❤ to Ethan Alexanian of Fans On The Run: for this year's artwork!)

23/12/2024

This is...terrifyingly good.

Alternate reality recordings.All lyrics written by The Beatles. Music by The Ai Overlords

20/12/2024

I share this every year because, well, I love the song, I love holiday music, and I think this version slaps. A few years ago, my band released a cover of "Wonderful Christmastime." If your holiday party needs a little yuletide rock and roll, we got you covered. It's available to stream everywhere. If you don't stream, I'll just email you the mp3!

Provided to YouTube by TuneCoreWonderful Christmastime · The Breton SoundWonderful Christmastime℗ 2015 The Breton Sound, LLCReleased on: 2015-12-04Auto-gener...

20/12/2024

YESSSSS!!!! I love this!!!!

Sir Paul McCartney welcomed his former Beatles bandmate Sir Ringo Starr to the stage on Thursday night while playing to a packed crowd at London’s O2 Arena.
Arriving on stage, Sir Ringo said: “I’ve had a great night tonight, it’s been a great show.”
The pair then tore through "Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band" reprise and "Helter Skelter" before The Beatles’ drummer left, adding: “I’m off now, I’ve had a great night and I love you all.”
Macca also was joined by The Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood for the song "Get Back," which saw Paul play his original Hofner 500/1 bass for the first time in 50 years, after it was stolen in 1972. McCartney introduced "Get Back" by talking about the bass that was stolen and finally was returned to him this February. Brandishing it onstage, he revealed that it was the bass’ first stage appearance since it had gone missing: “I haven’t played it in 50 years.”
https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/music/paul-mccartney-ronnie-wood-ringo-starr-the-rolling-stones-sao-paulo-b1201110.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8Es86bfg84

19/12/2024

AAAAAAAAMEN. “It's perfectly understandable for people, in the year 2024 especially, to have a difficult time embracing the concept of uninhibited joy for its own sake, but "Wonderful Christmastime" is best enjoyed when one sheds their hard external layer for a more spontaneous one. In other words: lighten up.”

An opinion piece defending the artistic merit of Paul McCartney's 'Wonderful Christmastime.'

16/12/2024

You’re all welcome!

13/12/2024

Looking forward to this! It’s more than time for Brian to get some love.

"Midas Man," the biopic of Beatles manager Brian Epstein, will be available to watch in North America from Wednesday, January 22, 2025, Pitchfork reports, citing Olyn.com.

https://pitchfork.com/news/biopic-of-beatles-manager-brian-epstein-midas-man-gets-us-release-date/?fbclid=IwY2xjawHIf_1leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHZqXJAQpmrT-hFzwSyEuBbAfa0bdEJWVFg6n1j4suMnuWLZIvVs1gg03uw_aem_hc9IlGOFoEZVVSssvSdjIQ

12/12/2024

#80 - For No One out now at rankingthebeatles.com or anywhere you get podcasts!

Everyone knows that couple...everytime you go on holiday, they seem to get into a fight about SOMETHING. Then everyone's walking on eggshells, trying not to be awkward, not picking sides, just wanting to enjoy their nice vacation, but instead having to deal with someone else's drama.

That seems to be a continuing theme with Paul McCartney and Jane Asher on vacation, only when those fights happen, Paul tends to wander off and pen classic songs, like "For No One." It's a strikingly mature and bold song, featuring only Paul and Ringo, buoyed by a brilliant melody and progression, and a top notch McCartney vocal. It's like the sad ending to the story that began with "She Loves You," addressing YOU, the listener...where it used to be that she loves you, now, she no longer needs you. Brutal, but beautiful.

Returning to the show to discuss this tune is our friend Dr. Duncan Driver! You may have heard him on our "Eight Days A Week" episode a while back, or maybe you've heard him as a contributor to One Sweet Dream. He joins us from the future, or Canberra (listen to how badly Jonathan butchers that in the intro!), to discuss Paul's headspace in 66 when he writes this song, his ascension as an artist, and this classic Macca tune.

What do you think about "For No One" at #80? Too high? Too low? Let us know in the comments!

08/12/2024

Thinking of John today, and always

29/11/2024

#81 - Hey Jude (I'm sorry in advance, but listen before you grab your pitchforks and torches)

Written as a way to show sympathy and encouragement to young Julian Lennon in the face of his parents’ divorce, “Hey Jude” is obviously one of the high water marks of modern popular music. It’s a brilliantly composed song with a powerhouse vocal from Paul, showcasing his ability to go from the sweetest, most emotive and sensitive places to an absolute beast, shredding his voice and screaming from the pits of his you know whats. The rest of the lads turn in a perfect accompaniment, all serving the song as it builds to a chorus that is the prototype for the lighters-aloft stadium anthem, designed to unite masses of people. I’ve experienced what I think may be the closest thing to nirvana singing along to this with Paul and 70,000 strangers, and it’s amazing. But once you’ve done that, and you’ve heard the record a million times, that record doesn’t really compare to that moment. In fact, I find myself not really connecting to the record in that way at all anymore, and more often than not, rarely choose to listen to it. It’s a victim of overexposure in a way, but maybe that’s just a me problem?

To help me sort this out, we’ve called on our old friend James Campion, who literally wrote the book on the subject, Sing A Sad Song: The Emotional Currency of Hey Jude. James joins us to chat about subjective preference vs objective quality, Paul’s ultimate flex, Ted Lasso parallels, and his upcoming book on Price. Follow along with all things JC at ⁠⁠jamescampion.com⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠order a copy of his book⁠⁠ while you’re at it!

What do you think about “Hey Jude” at 81? Too high? Too low? Have I totally lost the plot? Let us know in the comments, go easy on us, and my sincere apologies to Paul Sanchez in advance.

21/11/2024

If there's a band I like to talk about almost as much as the Beatles, it's Oasis. So I was thrilled to join our pal and previous guest Oasis Podcast to rank the Noel Gallagher solo discography!
Find out what's biblical and what's not, and all points in between of the Chief's solo works. Available anywhere you get podcasts, or click the link!
What's your favorite Noel solo record?

Hello and welcome back to the Oasis Podcast

14/11/2024

#82 - Dig A Pony
Out now at rankingthebeatles.com or wherever you get podcasts!

John came into the Get Back project only one fully formed new song, "All I Want Is You," later re-named as "Dig A Pony." After a possibly initial ambivalent reaction, the band tightened it up as the first song recorded in their own Apple Studios. It eventually found it's true home on the rooftop of Apple on a cold January day, where the band nailed it in one rock solid take. The song lumbers and moves in weird ways, almost like a giant kind of stomping slowly, while John delivers a fantastic vocal of some kind of wordplay I've never really understood. Musically, it's just so good though. The riff is classic rock guitar at it's core, held down by the most perfect subdued drumming from Ringo, and a jagged and refined yet unexpected solo from George. It's such an odd song, but it feels so good, you can't not love it.

Joining us this week is New Orleans-based songwriter and producer Nicholas Dayton! Nick writes songs for Sesame Street, which is maybe the coolest job you could ever have. He's also done some acting, and been seen on 30 Rock and Nickoldeon. Add to that he plays bass in a 60s cover band AND an Elton John tribute? It's like a found a long lost sibling! Join us as we chat about hearing Big Bird sing a song you wrote, Lin-Manuel Miranda, 60s music, and so much more!

What do you think about Dig A Pony at 82? Too high? Too low? Let us know in the comments in the comments below! Also, we're now on Bluesky, find us there at https://bsky.app/profile/rankingthebeatles.bsky.social

13/11/2024

Hey friends! Who's over on Bluesky? We are now, and loving it over there. We'll be shutting down our Twitter account this weekend, so join us where the skies are blue, the people are nice, and the site is not owned by a narcissistic oligarch hell-bent on driving society into the ground!

A podcast ranking the entire catalogue of the greatest band of all time!

31/10/2024

#83 - You've Got To Hide Your Love Away
Thousands of words have been written about Bob Dylan's influence on the Beatles. Despite all those words, one need look no further than "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" from the Help! album. Taking the folk trademark of heavily strummed 6 and 12 string acoustic and nylon string guitars, minimal instrumentation, the song finds John delivering (up to this point) one of his most introspective lyrics with a brilliantly intimate and weary vocal performance. The arrangement is mature and subtle, never taking the focus off the lyric. It's real "3 chords and the truth" stuff, and it's fantastic.

Joining us this week is the legendary Steven Page! Steven made a name for himself as lead singer and co-founder of Ba*****ed Ladies before embarking on seriously busy solo career. His 2022 album Excelsior! is fantastic, as his the debut from his Canadian version of the Travelling Wilburys, the Trans-Canada Highwaymen. Check it all out at ⁠stevenpage.com

What do you think of You've Got to Hide Your Love Away at #83? Too high? Too low? Let us know in the comments!