The Worst of the Beatles

[Ptolemy Ptarmigan]

I'm sure it's been done before, but -

[wosl]

[Ptolemy Ptarmigan]

^  Nice one.

This really is one of his as well -

[Cursus]

[The Mollusk]

Not even remotely arsed enough about The Beatles to engage in any replies this might garner but I'd just like to say that Yellow Submarine is a steaming heap of shit song and it completely ruins the otherwise faultless and incredible Revolver.

[Jerzy Bondov]

I like Maxwell's Silver Hammer. I think it's funny. I like how Abbey Road opens with one of Lennon's best, one of Harrison's best, and then... that. He then has to have another song before Ringo gets his turn.

[JesusAndYourBush]

Here we go...

One of the ITV regions "Christmas Tapes" (can't remember if it's Channel TV or Yorkshire TV) for 1988 includes a lengthy sequence taken from "Give My Regards..." of Macca carrying a can of film, this goes on and on and on and it's utterly dull and finally the punchline/reveal is that Paul is delivering the Christmas tape.  The entire tape is only about 15 minutes, and about half of it is taken up by that boring intro.  I guess nothing funny happened that year.

[wosl]

I'd just like to say that Yellow Submarine is a steaming heap of shit song and it completely ruins the otherwise faultless and incredible Revolver.

It's a great song (the drab, tossed-off Doctor Robert is the worst thing on Revolver), but it's an awkward fit, agreed.  Yellow Submarine is to Revolver as Sloop John B (more ill-fitting nautical bobbins, but without the metaphorical dimension YS offers to bail it out) is to Pet Sounds.

[shagatha crustie]

I like Maxwell's Silver Hammer. I think it's funny. I like how Abbey Road opens with one of Lennon's best, one of Harrison's best, and then... that. He then has to have another song before Ringo gets his turn.

Haha, yeah I agree. Abbey Road would be genuinely perfect if he had put a fully-arranged Come and Get It in that slot instead.

[FredNurke]

It's the strangeness of Maxwell that gets to me. A jaunty song about a hammer-wielding serial killer. McCartney is a much odder person than he's generally given credit for.

[wosl]

Disliking it a fair bit, I've never checked out how it came to be created, but imagine it might be Paul trying to rip a sharp spin that "McCartney is the one who does the affable, whimsical songs about quaint characters" reading, which would make it a little less strange and a bit more calculated (see also: Helter Skelter).  Still an odd and lumbering song, though.

[DrGreggles]

I suspect I'd like it more hate it less if it had been tossed off(!) quickly, in the way some of The White Album was, but they spent SO BLOODY LONG on this.
All 4 of The Beatles together in the studio (for one of the final times), and they did take after take of this shit.

[wosl]

McCartney is a much odder person than he's generally given credit for.

[wosl]

I suspect I'd like it more hate it less if it had been tossed off(!) quickly, in the way some of The White Album was, but they spent SO BLOODY LONG on this.

Had no idea it had been that tortuous. Can't credit it for a song like that.  What were they farting around at?  It's a dud!  Leave it and move on to Taxman, you silly herberts!

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

It's a great song (the drab, tossed-off Doctor Robert is the worst thing on Revolver), but it's an awkward fit, agreed.  Yellow Submarine is to Revolver as Sloop John B (more ill-fitting nautical bobbins, but without the metaphorical dimension YS offers to bail it out) is to Pet Sounds.

I agree with this. Doctor Robert is such a nothingy song, whereas Yellow Submarine is full of charm and verve. A great, colourful production, but the song itself would work even without all the bells and whistles. It doesn't really fit on Revolver, no, but the album wouldn't be the same without it. If you got rid of Doctor Robert, no one would really notice or care.

[wosl]

Yellow Submarine is thoroughly engaging and uplifting; a great sing-along for the kids, but with enough other little things going on in it for the oldies to chew on, too. They clearly had a whale making it, and that enthusiasm is no small part of what makes it so winning.  The best Beatle song featuring Ringo on lead vox?  With A Little Help probably edges it, but I'd play YS ahead of Good Night any day of the week.

And with that, it's back to the studio and to The Worst of the Beatles!..

[SpiderChrist]

Four pages in and nobody's mentioned Mr Moonlight yet.

[non capisco]

Four pages in and nobody's mentioned Mr Moonlight yet.

No mention of Mr Moonlight can go without an accompanying link to that Tom Scharpling anecdote.

[Replies From View]

Just appeared in my Twitter timeline!

The Royle Family is looking well.

[DrGreggles]

Sue Johnston on the right

[Hand Solo]

Keith from The Office and Rodney Bewes summit meeting.

I like Mr Moonlight, John's raspy acapella opening, and the general sound, atmosphere, and organ solo (which I know people hate) evoke a premonition of Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite.

[kalowski]

Put me down as another Mr Moonlight lover. Lennon's vocals are so good.

[sutin]

Not even remotely arsed enough about The Beatles to engage in any replies this might garner but I'd just like to say that Yellow Submarine is a steaming heap of shit song and it completely ruins the otherwise faultless and incredible Revolver.

Why would someone with a Ween username say something so ridiculous and wrong?

[Replies From View]

Worst Beatles thing is undoubtedly:

"If you got troubles you don't have more troubles than me"

Ringo warbling away tunelessly on a track that was rightly abandoned and not officially released until the Anthology.


"Ah rock on, anybody!"

[Replies From View]

Noooo! It's daft as fuck, but that's the point. 

Yep, also throughout it Lennon appears to be perpetually on the brink of slipping into Paul Whitehouse saying "I was very, very drunk" and I reckon the latter was inspired by it.

I love You Know My Name Look Up The Number.  So wilfully stupid and silly.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

"Ah rock on, anybody!"

Arguably the most desperate moment in the entire history of popular music. Not that I actually want to argue about it.

[Replies From View]

Maxwell is probably the track that broke up the band, it's shit and the amount of time he spent getting everyone together to run through it must be some kind of obscure torture. I'm sure it made the entire band side together against control freak McCartney. It's Paul trying to show off to his brother he can do Scaffold type material too, someone should have had some Aintree Iron come down upon his head.

I agree with this.  It plops in just as Abbey Road is taking flight, too, which is unforgivable.

[SpiderChrist]

Worst Beatles thing is undoubtedly:

"If you got troubles you don't have more troubles than me"

Ringo warbling away tunelessly on a track that was rightly abandoned and not officially released until the Anthology.


"Ah rock on, anybody!"

Yeah the rhythm of the vocal is just so at odds with the music, the backing vocals are half-arsed too, and as for George's solo, fuck me. The lyrics are back of a fag packet stuff. 

Just had a listen to it on YouTube and made the mistake of reading the comments:

It's too bad this rockin song wasn't on the Help Album. I definitely prefer this Ringo song over Act Naturally.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Just had a listen to it on YouTube and made the mistake of reading the comments:

Amazing how wrong people can be, isn't it? Act Naturally is one of Ringo's best solo spots, it's charming. If You've Got Trouble is a half-arsed mess. I'd love to hear the studio chatter afterwards. George Martin: "I'm sorry, boys, but that was total dogshit." And they all solemnly agree to never mention it again.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Speaking of Ringo, I really don't mind Don't Pass Me By. It's not as if he was trying to write a work of substance, it's a deliberately goofy hoedown fuckabout. In Ringo's head it probably started out as a country number, but I like the way it ended up as some sort of weird mutant hybrid of hillbilly swing and... is he playing a sort of ska beat? It's somewhere in that vicinity.

"You were in a car crash and you lost your hair" is one of the funniest lyrics in the Beatles canon, it's just so bloody odd.