On That Note: The B-tles - The B-Sides

[MeanDean]

Hello and welcome to another weekly offering of On That Note. OTN is a musical discussion thread hosted alternately by @CycloneRulzzz, @cyclones500 and me.

Last Week's OTN "IN BLOOM" can be found here:
https://cyclonefanatic.com/forum/threads/on-that-note-in-bloom.255986/

This week we're going to swerve off the normal topic pattern where we post songs of a particular theme or containing a specific word. Since I'm old school (read: OLD) and a huge Beatles fan I'm curious what others think about some of their music. I have listed all their significant original single releases below. Please review the list and rank the B-side songs - That's the song listed second on each line and in BOLD.

As a minimum please rank 1 through 5 your favorite of the 28 B-Side songs listed.

Optionally, you may also rank your 5 least favorites. For that, rank them 5 through 1, and use #1 for your least favorite.

Or lastly, if you really want to get carried away you may rank all 28!

* I Want to Hold Your Hand had different B-sides in the UK and the US. You may choose/rank either/both

________________________
Love Me Do / P. S. I Love You
Please Please Me / Ask Me Why
From Me To You / Thank You Girl
She Loves You / I'll Get You
* I Want to Hold Your Hand / This Boy or I Saw Her Standing There

Can't Buy Me Love / You Can't Do That
Twist and Shout / There's A Place
A Hard Day's Night / I Should Have Known Better
I Feel Fine / She's A Woman
Eight Days A Week / I Don't Want to Spoil the Party

Ticket to Ride / Yes It Is
Help / I'm Down
Yesterday / Act Naturally
We Can Work It Out / Day Tripper
Nowhere Man / What Goes On

Paperback Writer / Rain
Yellow Submarine / Eleanor Rigby
Penny Lane / Strawberry Fields Forever
All You Need Is Love / Baby You're A Rich Man
Hello Goodbye / I Am the Walrus

Lady Madonna / The Inner Light
Hey Jude / Revolution
Get Back / Don't Let Me Down
Ballad Of John and Yoko / Old Brown Shoe
Something / Come Together

Let It Be / You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)
The Long And Winding Road / For You Blue

 

[MeanDean]

My top 5

1 Rain


2 Don't Let Me Down


3 I Don't Want to Spoil the Party


4 You Can't Do That


5 Revolution

 

[MeanDean]

My Bottom 5


5 Act Naturally



4 Thank You Girl



3 You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)



2 The Inner Light



1 What Goes On

 

[michaelrr1]

I'm not familiar with most of those by name only, so here's what I could come up with for favorites.

1. Revolution
2. I Saw Her Standing There
3. Come Together
4. Eleanor Rigby
5. I Am the Walrus

 

[cyclones500]

Sorry for delay

Top 5

1. Rain



2. Strawberry Fields Forever



3. I Saw Her Standing There



4. Day Tripper



5. Revolution

 

[matclone]

Top Ten:
1. I Saw Her Standing There
2. I Don't Want to Spoil the Party
3. Day Tripper
4. Yes It Is
5. What Goes On
6. Revolution (the single)
7. Strawberry Fields
8. I am a Walrus
9. She's a Woman
10. Don't Let me Down

Some others I like as well, just didn't make the cut. If the Anthology version of "You Know My Name" had been the B side (with the John and Paul lounge lizard cut up), instead of the actual B side (an abbreviated version), it might have made the list.

--I Saw Her Standing There--one of Paul's best songs
--I Don't Want to Spoil the Party--one of John's best songs. Chris Hillman (who should know) once said this was the first country rock song.
--I like What Goes On because of the tasty country guitar from George over the top of a funky rock and roll riff (probably John). A Ringo song that swings unlike the dreadful Don't Pass Me By.
--I also think the Anthology version of She's a Woman (slower, busier) is better than the single.

 

[cyclones500]

I will do my bottom 5 in am --- possibly my full ranking 1 to 28

 

[MeanDean]

Sorry for delay

Top 5

1. Rain



2. Strawberry Fields Forever



3. I Saw Her Standing There



4. Day Tripper



5. Revolution

Odd that we both had Rain as our number one.

 

[MeanDean]

Top Ten:
1. I Saw Her Standing There
2. I Don't Want to Spoil the Party
3. Day Tripper
4. Yes It Is
5. What Goes On
6. Revolution (the single)
7. Strawberry Fields
8. I am a Walrus
9. She's a Woman
10. Don't Let me Down

Some others I like as well, just didn't make the cut. If the Anthology version of "You Know My Name" had been the B side (with the John and Paul lounge lizard cut up), instead of the actual B side (an abbreviated version), it might have made the list.

--I Saw Her Standing There--one of Paul's best songs
--I Don't Want to Spoil the Party--one of John's best songs. Chris Hillman (who should know) once said this was the first country rock song.
--I like What Goes On because of the tasty country guitar from George over the top of a funky rock and roll riff (probably John). A Ringo song that swings unlike the dreadful Don't Pass Me By.
--I also think the Anthology version of She's a Woman (slower, busier) is better than the single.

3 of your top 10 are in my top 5. That's pretty good. We obviously greatly disagree as to which Ringo song is "dreadful."

 

[matclone]

Odd that we both had Rain as our number one.

Also Ringo's number one (for his drumming).

 

[cyclones500]

Also Ringo's number one (for his drumming).

A close second: Tomorrow Never Knows. Or Ticket to Ride.

 

[cyclones500]

My Bottom 5 countdown. Each song has an upside, but I consider these least-essential/most-nondescript.


5. Thank You Girl




4. Yes It Is (Un-Bonus: Dull Song Title is Dull)




3. Ask Me Why




2. I'll Get You




1. Act Naturally
Performance is OK, but a cover song with Ringo on lead vocal — seems unnecessary, especially considering the boundary-stretching material the group was doing at the time. So I’ll put it at the bottom. @MeanDean already posted a clip for his Bottom 5, but I’ll include it again, so we all can bask in the song's greatness.

 

[cyclones500]

If the Anthology version of "You Know My Name" had been the B side (with the John and Paul lounge lizard cut up), instead of the actual B side (an abbreviated version), it might have made the list.

I can dig that observation. For listeners who hate the song, I suppose Anthology version is "just a longer version of bad," but — I'm more forgiving of the song than most, I assume.

B-side version



Anthology version (first major variance around the 1-minute mark)

 

[SouthJerseyCy]

Surprised Elenor isn't getting more love.

1. Elenor Rigby
2. Don't Let me Down
3. I Saw Her Standing There
4. Come Together
5. Revolution

 

[matclone]

I can dig that observation. For listeners who hate the song, I suppose Anthology version is "just a longer version of bad," but — I'm more forgiving of the song than most, I assume.

B-side version



Anthology version (first major variance around the 1-minute mark)

I used to hate this song back in the day when it was the B side to Let it Be.

Two revelations occurred many years later:

1. I heard the Anthology version and thought it was hilarious. John and Paul are really on.

And even later
2. I had a Beatles book with the guitar chords and for no particular reason started trying You Know My Name. I was taken by the beauty of the chords (stripped from all the other stuff going on, e.g., the shouting vocals)--typical John Lennon stuff. Also, with each verse, he never plays it the same, mixing up some chords--another Lennon feature.

Brian Jones on saxophone (yes it was recorded (or at least much of it) in 1967).

 

[Althetuna]

Going rogue on this thread.

Best B side song....

 

[cyclones500]

I used to hate this song back in the day when it was the B side to Let it Be.

Two revelations occurred many years later:

1. I heard the Anthology version and thought it was hilarious. John and Paul are really on.

And even later
2. I had a Beatles book with the guitar chords and for no particular reason started trying You Know My Name. I was taken by the beauty of the chords (stripped from all the other stuff going on, e.g., the shouting vocals)--typical John Lennon stuff. Also, with each verse, he never plays it the same, mixing up some chords--another Lennon feature.

Brian Jones on saxophone (yes it was recorded (or at least much of it) in 1967).

Cool stuff about the guitar chords. When I was first learning guitar I had a couple of Beatles chord/sheet music books, You Know My Name probably was in it, but for some reason I figured it was too complicated to attempt. To this day I haven't thought of finding the chords and playing it ... now you gave me motivation (or at least curiosity )

 

[cyclones500]

I used to hate this song back in the day when it was the B side to Let it Be.

I think I have a soft-spot for the song because Let it Be/You Know My Name was in our family's collection when I first started listening to 45s ... back then, I played both sides of a lot of the records, I knew nothing about what was the "hit."

 

[matclone]

Cool stuff about the guitar chords. When I was first learning guitar I had a couple of Beatles chord/sheet music books, You Know My Name probably was in it, but for some reason I figured it was too complicated to attempt. To this day I haven't thought of finding the chords and playing it ... now you gave me motivation (or at least curiosity )

It wasn't one of the cheap knock off books. Someone took the time to get the chords right. It was a complete collection of Beatles songs. I think it's called Beatles Songbook. Black and white cover.

 

[MeanDean]

Cool stuff about the guitar chords. When I was first learning guitar I had a couple of Beatles chord/sheet music books, You Know My Name probably was in it, but for some reason I figured it was too complicated to attempt. To this day I haven't thought of finding the chords and playing it ... now you gave me motivation (or at least curiosity )

It also has a special place in my Beatles history. I really came into serious fandom in the late 70's when at ISU. A buddy on my floor and I were both doing research/discovery on the band (and there was very little out there to find). Turns out this is the only song (besides The Inner Light) that had not appeared on an album in the US after 1976 saw the inclusion of I'm Down on the Rock and Roll Music collection. So we finally hunted down a 45 and were delighted at how different and 'fun' it was. And basically it was NEW Beatles to us, so that was pretty special.