Ranking The Beatles

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!

22/10/2024

Anyone want to go in on this with us?

The fully restored console responsible for recording the Beatles' last album will be for sale October 29.

17/10/2024

#84 - Old Brown Shoe
Episode out now! https://linktr.ee/rankingthebeatles
Upon rejoining the band following his departure in the Get Back sessions, George pulled his more serious material, most of which would end up on All Things Must Pass. Along with his blusey and lightweight "For You Blue," he also brought in a stomping little piano song he wrote during the sessions, "Old Brown Shoe." It wouldn't find a home for a few months until the band needed a b-side to "The Ballad of John & Yoko," and even then, it remains one of the more obscure songs in the Beatles catalogue. But that said, I've always loved it. George sings like he's really having fun with it, and whoever the hell is playing whatever on this song (it's all very murky and mysterious) is really killing it. But what's he singing about? George's shoe game was pretty solid after all. Maybe it's about stepping out with a new love? Maybe it's about leaving someone...or someone(s)?

It's always a pleasure to welcome our old pal Sean Nelson back to RTB! Sean is best known as the singer of the band Harvey Danger, who's song "Flagpole Sitta" is one of the 90s defining songs, and the tip of the iceburg of a ton of great music in their catalogue that you'd do yourselves a favor to dig into (along with is own solo work). He's also now the host of his own podcast, ⁠The Wonder of It All,⁠ a deep dive in to the pros and cons of success. He's a great conversationalist so it only makes sense his podcast would be fantastic. Be sure to subscribe to it and tune in! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLu_AhsJQirp3LaDyH2J0JO_BboEpmaP0Q

What do you think of Old Brown Shoe at #84? Too high? Too low? Let us know in the comments below!

15/10/2024

🚨🚨NEW MERCH DROP!🚨🚨 RTB Revolver merch is out now! We designed this a couple of years ago for our holiday card, and we just love it so much. It’s our fav Beatles album but with 100% more of our stupid faces. Behold Jojo and Maxwell’s majesty! Look at that stupid bit of Ringo’s hair on Jojo’s head! So fab. Right now tshirts are on sale for $13.95, and everything else is 35% off, so grab that hoodie or jumper or puzzle or yoga mat! Available at link in bio and at rankingthebeatles.com!

11/10/2024

In celebration of our triumphant return, we’re dropping some fresh hot new merch at rankingthebeatles.com next week! Check out the current selection now and keep your eyes peeled!

11/10/2024

To celebrate our triumphant return, we’ve got some hot new merch coming your way next week! If you didn’t know we have merch, we do, and you can get it at the link in bio!

10/10/2024

Ohhhhhh hellooooooo.

09/10/2024

Happy birthday, John! Thanks for everything!

01/10/2024

Oh hey….it’s just Paul soundchecking “Now and Then.” Could it be coming to a set list near you???

20/08/2024

We all know Sir Paul was like “puff puff pass, Snoop.”

Snoop Dogg has revealed that Paul McCartney told him to not put out his blunt when the pair met each other.

16/08/2024

Why do you hate us, Paul?

08/08/2024

Hey West Coast friends! If you're in the San Diego, LA, or Del Mar areas, I'll be out there the next few days playing shows with my band The Walrus - A New Orleans Beatles Experience! Come on out and say hi at any of these shows!
You can get tickets for Hess Fest and our LA House Concert at walrusnola.com, and the Del Mar show is free!
If you're not out there but have friends in the area, tell em to come out and see us! A splendid time is guaranteed for all.

01/08/2024

So wish we could make it The Fest For Beatles Fans! So many of our Beatle pals are in this video (and a cameo by yours truly) we’ve already got FOMO. If you’ve never been, you gotta go! Get your tickets!!!

25/07/2024

#85 - One After 909
Out now at rankingthebeatles.com or wherever you get podcasts!

As a songwriter, I could never imagine at this point in my life, putting out song a wrote at 16 or 17. I don't ever want anyone to hear that. But then again, I'm not the Beatles, who were able to resurrect one of the earliest songs in their repertoire, from well before they were even The Beatles. Though the song was in their early setlists for a long time, it never found a home on a Beatles record, even after taking a shot at recording it in 1963. But when nostalgia reared it's head during the Let It Be sessions, this song came back to the fore, and with Billy Preston in tow, it found a new life a scorching little rock song that fit the bill for the Get Back project perfectly. It's the most rocking moment of the whole month, and in their performance on the rooftop that day, for a couple of minutes, you see these world-weary men return back to the young, hopeful, driven boys they were when they first started. Even if the song has no real meaning, it's a fantastic moment with real electricity to it.

Joining us this week are Allison and Erika from BC the Beatles, one of our favorite Beatles podcasts. We chat about their own Beatles journeys, the Beatles' invention of meta-nostalgia, Paul's sock game, Cruisin' Classics, and much more! If you're not listening to BC The Beatles, I dunno what you're waiting for, get on it!.

What do you think about "One After 909" at #85? Too high? Too low? Or just right? Let us know in the comments!