Hello Afterworders. I haven’t posted regularly for a while but I return to you now with a solid Idea. Based on a number of Facebook chats that happened last year, I’m proposing we try to cut the clutter in our lives by reducing our favourite artists’ back catalogues to just 10 songs.
Your Too 10, then: are they the hits, or are they the “deep cuts”? Do you try to go chronologically or mercilessly acknowledge the fact that only the first two albums were any good?
I suggest that the we each publish a 10 perhaps with a little word of explanation, and then when the conversation peters out, move on to a new act. Let’s start with an easy one: in the words of Alan Partridge, “the best of the Beatles”.
Help! / Ticket to Ride / Think for Yourself / And Your Bird Can Sing / Rain / Paperback Writer / Tomorrow Never Knows / Hey Bulldog / Something / Golden Slumbers … Carry That Weight
As for the methodology, I think it suggests I like the quirkily funky rockers best. That’s the way the Beatles are meant to sound for me, and no one else could do it as well, probably due to Ringo’s left-hander on a right-handed kit technique, George Martin’s openness to experimentation, and the “hard little mod” on guitar. And choosing a medley means you can sneak more songs in (my game, my rules). Who else is up for this, then?
My Beatles 10 would be
I saw her standing there
A day in the life
Two of us
Eleanor Rigby
Daytripper
The fool on the hill
Norwegian Wood
Back in the USSR
While my guitar gently weeks
Here comes the Sun
Speaking as someone with scant, almost zero, interest in The Beatles, I like:
1. Don’t Let Me Down
2. Strawberry Fields
3. Come Together
4. And I Love Her
5. Norwegian Wood
6. Dear Prudence
7. Here Comes The Sun
8. Revolution
9. The Ballad Of John & Yoko
10. I’ll Follow The Sun
Wow! This is so hard.
I Saw Her Standing There
This Boy
Things We Said Today
No Reply
Ticket To Ride
And Your Bird Can Sing
She’s Leaving Home
Long Long Long
Don’t Let Me Down
Something
I’m amazed there was no room for Walrus, Bulldog and loads more McCartney.
I am the Walrus
Hey Jude
Tomorrow Never Knows
She’s Leaving Home
Across the Universe
A Day in the Life
Blackbird
Here Comes the Sun
Norwegian Wood
I Feel Fine
Wot, no Pink Litmus Paper Shirt or Carnival of Light?
*sniffs*
Civilians.
Mission impossible, but here goes:
I Want To Hold Your Hand
All My Loving
I Feel Fine
In My Life
Paperback Writer
Eleanor Rigby
Strawberry Fields Forever
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
A Day In The Life
Come Together
Tough call. I’m not even going to try and be methodical about this. Just going to go for it off the top of my head and see what comes out.
1. A Day in the life
2. Here Comes the Sun
3. Happiness Is A Warm Gun
4. Rain
5. Tomorrow Never Knows
6. Hey Bulldog
7. Long Long Long
8. Ticket To Ride
9. Twist and Shout
10. Leave My Kitten Alone
Well there you go. I seem to favour the rockier Lennon tracks over anything else. Along with Harrison’s sensitive stuff.
The thing is, I’m sure if I stuck to those ten songs I would start to miss a bit of McCartney contrast.
Not in order, top-of-head 10:
Tomorrow Never Knows
In My Life
Strawberry Fields Forever
A Day in The Life
Come Together
I’ll Be Back
She Said She Said
For No One
She’s Leaving Home
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
1. Don’t Let Me Down
2. And Your Bird Can Sing
3. Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End
4. I Am The Walrus
5. Helter Skelter
6. The Night Before
7. Lovely Rita
8. Two Of Us
9. All My Loving
10. Dear Prudence
No real thought – off the top of me bonce.
Would probably be different if I did it 10/15 minutes later
What does this say?
To evoke a potential Partridge-ism: I prefer the Blue Album
Very tough, here goes:
1. She Loves You
2. I Should Have Known Better
3. This Boy
4. The Night Before
5. You’re Gonna Lose That Girl
6. Nowhere Man
7. Got To Get You Into My Life
8. The Fool On The Hill
9. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
10. I Want You (She’s So Heavy)
That was hard!
This Boy
I’ll Be Back
You’re Gonna Lost That Girl
In My Life
Rain
Paperback Writer
Strawberry Fields
A Day in the Life
Hey Bulldog
You Never Give Me Your Money
Mostly John, but I do like Paul (and George too). Left out most hits.
And nothing from The White Album (nor Revolver) which may be my favourites, bizarre!
I have always thought, in the back of my mind …
Cheese and Onions
I like this game:
Here Comes the Sun
Penny Lane
In My Life
A Day in the Life
I’ll Follow the Sun
She Loves You
Things We Said Today
And Your Bird Can Sing
Help!
She’s Leaving Home
That hurt…
I Feel Fine
Twist and Shout
You Never Give Me Your Money (if I can’t have the whole Medley)
Let It Be
Happiness is a Warm Gun
She’s Leaving Home
And Your Bird Can Sing
Help!
A Day in the Life
I’m Looking Through You
Off the top of my head without checking, but I love all of those. Just realised I haven’t got Dear Prudence. Or Strawberry Fields Forever. Or two dozen others. I don’t like this game…..
Lady Madonna
The Ballad of John and Yoko
Paperback Writer
Ask Me Why
Thank You Girl
Across the Universe (Charity L.P. version)
Something
The Inner Light
I’m Down
Baby You’re A Rich Man
I appear to have gone b-side crazy.
All those B-sides and still no Rain?
All those b-sides and still no I ‘ll Get You.
Choooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooon!!!
Yes. Yes it is
Old Brown Shoe.
The “Anthology” version of “Old Brown Shoe” is an absolute cracker!
Here we go, without too much contemplation:
And Your Bird Can Sing
Across the Universe
Can’t Buy Me Love
Don’t not Let Me Down
For No One
Girl
Hard Day’s Night
I am the Walrus
Norwegian Wood
Strawberry Fields
Beatlemania Collaboration John and Paul
Indian George
Story-telling Paul
Screaming Paul
Token (Country-and-Western Novelty) Ringo
Rocking John
Entertaining the Masses Paul
John and Paul (and George) Harmonising
Introspective John
Finally good at writing songs George.
That was difficult.
After (not) much deliberation, I have finally concluded the following songs represent all that is good (and bad) about The Beatles.
She Loves You
Within You Without You
Eleanor Rigby
I’m Down
Act Naturally
Money (That’s What I Want)
Hey Jude
This Boy
Strawberry Fields Forever
Something
OK, off post but not, honest, trolling, but I heard this for the first time recently. If nothing else explains why Ricky Fataar was recruited into the Rutles. How many tracks on this album? They all sound Revolver –> Abbey Road
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flame_(The_Flames_album)
i am sure you can/will find review copies.
And Your Bird Can Sing
I’ve Just Seen a Face
Nowhere Man
I Feel Fine
Abbey Road 3-song Finale (we’re allowing that, right?)
You Can’t Do That
I Should Have Known Better
Don’t Let Me Down
Something
For No One
In no particular order…
Rain (this is my absolute favourite)
Strawberry fields Forever
She Said She Said
Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End
Ticket to Ride
In My Life
Across the Universe
Here, There and Everywhere
The Inner Light
For No One
The Ballad of John and Yoko
Come Together
Here Comes the Sun
Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except me and My Monkey
Long, Long, Long
Savoy Truffle
Any Time At All
I Am the Walrus
She Said She Said
Tomorrow Never Knows
I am the walrus
You’ve got to hide your love away
Penny Lane
Here comes the sun
Helter Skelter
A day in the life
Happiness is a warm gun
Golden slumbers // Carry that weight medley
Come together
Magical mystery tour
Anybody else think that the drum fills in The Word sound like Hong Kong Phooey’s car?
^^^
If I can’t have the entire Abbey Road Medly, I’ll leave it out.
I tend to lean very much towards Paul…
1. Paperback Writer
2. Eleanor Rigby
3. Here Comes The Sun
4. Here There And Everywhere
5. Tomorrow Never Knows
6. We Can Work It Out
7. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
8. Penny Lane
9. A Day In The Life
…and after an appropriate silence, the ‘hidden’ track:
10. Goodnight
FWIIW
In no particular order
A day in the life
within you without you
I saw her standing there
Strawberry fields forever
I am the walrus
You’ve got to hide your love away
norwegian wood
While my guitar gently weeps
here comes the sun
Helter skelter
As ever, it would almost certainly be a different ten tomorrow.
I do love a Beatles thread…
Hey, you picked twelve! And I’ve never even heard of the first two!
Yeah the first one is a Buffalo Springfield song I didn’t think you were allowed covers
There’s something happening here
What it is is dead fab gear
Stop Brian, what’s that sound?
There’s the door to a Cellar, let’s go on down.
….Singin’ songs and carryin’ signs
Mostly say – “That’s Paul’s Grandad!”
I’ll Get You
Soldier of Love
Keep Your Hands off my Baby
Happiness is a Warm Gun
Two of Us
Ballad of John and Yoko
I Am The Walrus
Girl
She’s A Woman
You Know My Name
Off top of me bonce
I Want To Tell You
Eight Days A Week
Rain
I Got A Feeling
It’s All Too Much
Revolution
Paperback Writer
In My Life
Penny Lane
Yes It Is
A Man Called Horse spoke of “our favourite artists’ back catalogues” in the OP so – assuming there’s some sort of system in play – I’d like to know who’s next, so as to be more prepared next time…
Wings? (The band The Beatles could have been)
Cliff and The Shadows (fellow 60s movie star minstrels)
East 17? (They, too, all lived in something ending in “-een”
The Jesus and Mary Chain? (They were bigger than The Jesus Chain)
Joe Brown? (Fellow icon of safe road crossing)
Candy Flip? (Also robbed of the number one spot with their – many say definitive – version of Strawberry Fields Forever)
Radiohead? (They’ve never won the Mercury Music Prize either)
The Virgin Prunes? (A major transport hub in their native city is named after one of them)
The Disappointment Choir? (Also big Afterword favourites)
The Lighthouse Family? (Their last three albums weren’t much cop either)
I’m preparing my Miles Davis list as we speak….There’s a lot to think about.
Actually not a bad idea that….
Only a real idiot would go around with any song by the Lighthouse Family in his head!
*Struggles to remove image of Liam Fox singing “‘Cause we could be lifted, lifted, lifted” from head*
Thanks for taking the ball and running with it, everybody. There’s almost too much here to digest. I’m one step ahead as I’ve been attempting this a lot over the last year, but I was thinking Van Morrison next. That’s quite a canon to dig into. What I’m really interested in, though, is how we all lean towards slightly different aspects of an act’s approach. But let’s see how this conversation pans out and if someone proposes another to explore next week.
Stones, Kinks, ‘Oo would be good. Doors, Beach Boys, Dylan. Loadsa choice before we even hit the current century.
There’s music in this century too?
Why wasn’t I informed!
It’s all right, there’s not much to see.
New Seekers
Edison Lighthouse
The Rubettes
Kenny
Patrik Fitzgerald
Hello Goodbye
A Day in the Life
Rocky Raccoon
Hey Bulldog
You Won’t See Me
Til There Was You
Things We Said Today
Two Of Us
Flying
Revolution #9
Sits back waiting for the “you can’t like that rubbish” but I do, it’s never skipped and it always makes me smile.
Nowt wrong with a blast of Rocky Raccoon.
Happiness Is A Warm Gun
I Am The Walrus
Eleanor Rigby
Paperback Writer
Girl
Penny Lane
Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite
I Want You-She’s So Heavy
Strawberry Fields Forever
A Day in The Life
Joni next?
Oooh, yes please.
An excellent suggestion, Mr Vulpes, sir.
– Please Please Me
– I Saw Her Standing There
– Across The Universe
– And I Love Her
– All My Loving
– Come Together
– Strawberry Fields Forever
– Day Tripper
– I Should Have Known Better
– A Day In The Life
Without looking at the albums to make sure I haven’t missed anything…
Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey
Here Comes The Sun
Hey Bulldog
Golden Slumbers to the end of the album
Eleanor Rigby
Come Together
Something
I Want To Hold Your Hand
Rain
I Am The Walrus
The first 9 are definite, but the last one could have been any from dozens of tracks.
Interesting that there hasn’t been a single solitary vote for “Yesterday” yet.
Perhaps we’re all just a bit tired of it…
We’re scrambled egg-bound!
I Want To Hold Your Hand
Thank You Girl
All My Loving
Every Little Thing
It’s Only Love
Love You To
Eleanor Rigby
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
Glass Onion
Get Back