On That Note: Get Back (to the A-Sides)

[MeanDean]

As teased last night this week's OTN theme is your favorite Beatles Single A-sides. (We did favorite B-sides in an April 2020 OTN.)

Since there's a lot of current media attention due to the Get Back 3-Part Documentary, this seemed like a good time to do this.

Please rank, as a minimum, your top 5 Beatles singles A-Sides from the 27 listed below.

If you are so inclined, you may also rank your bottom 5 songs.

And those of us who are hard core, will rank them all, 1-27

And as usual, your comments or decision process on how/why you ranked as you did, is strongly encouraged.

Last Week's OTN was "Lock and Key" which can be found here:

On That Note: Lock and Key

Welcome back to “On That Note,” CF’s weekly music exploration, co-hosted by @MeanDean, @cyclones500 and myself. This week the topic is songs with titles and lyrics with various forms of the words lock and key. Artist names that qualify are fine too. Last Week's Topic: Favorite albums, 1996

cyclonefanatic.com

To keep it relatively clean we are looking at the 25 singles released in the UK during their active period, 1962-1970. Plus Twist and Shout and Eight Days A Week which were not singles in the UK but were huge hits in the US, so are also included.

This is the list:

Love Me Do
Please Please Me
From Me To You
She Loves You
I Want to Hold Your Hand

Can't Buy Me Love
Twist and Shout
A Hard Day's Night
I Feel Fine
Eight Days A Week

Ticket to Ride
Help
Yesterday
We Can Work It Out
Nowhere Man

Paperback Writer
Yellow Submarine
Penny Lane
All You Need Is Love
Hello Goodbye

Lady Madonna
Hey Jude
Get Back
Ballad Of John and Yoko
Something

Let It Be
The Long And Winding Road

I will post my ranking soon in a follow-up post.

 

[MeanDean]

My top 10:

1. Penny Lane
2. Help
3. Please Please Me
4. Let It Be
5. I Feel Fine

6. We Can Work It Out
7. Yesterday
8. A Hard Day's Night
9. The Long And Winding Road
10. Eight Days A Week



Just a wonderfully image filled song. I will admit I always listen for the alternate ending that was originally only on the Promo version until it was included in the Rarities release. Listen for the extra trumpet notes at 2:49 mark


Fun low-budget thrown together promo film from the period



Something about that opening riff that sticks in my head. Always a personal favorite.

 

[MeanDean]

Just a beautiful song. I remember at the time discussing with my buddies in 8th grade whether this or Simon and Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water (which were battling for chart superiority then) was the better song. What a tough decision even now...



.
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This one fell into a timing gap when I was not yet listening to music. So didn't really discover it until the Red and Blue sets came out in 73.

Love the opening feedback note and the general sonics and overall positive vibe of the song.

 

[CycloneRulzzz]

A person who enjoys the Beatles but wouldn't classify myself as a fanatic my list may strike a nerve with said fanatics but just going by how I personally feel when I hear it. I will go from the bottom up.

 

[CycloneRulzzz]

21-27 This was the easiest part compared to the other two. I'm sure to some these are much higher but didn't do too much for me.


27. Ballad of John and Yoko
26. Long and Winding Road (MeanDean's #9)
25. Lady Madonna
24. Something
23. Get Back
22. Hello Goodbye
21. All you need is love

 

[cyclones500]

As I told The Fellas in our planning session, this is like trying to rank your friends.

I’ll follow @MeanDean format and begin with my top 10.

Including a sound clip for my #1 … Adapting Rate-a-Record from “American Bandstand” — “It’s got a good beat, but you can’t really dance to it.”



1. Ticket to Ride
2. Penny Lane
3. Help!
4. I Feel Fine
5. Paperback Writer
6. Hey Jude
7. Eight Days A Week
8. A Hard Day's Night
9. I Want to Hold Your Hand
10. We Can Work It Out

 

[CycloneRulzzz]

11-20 This area was the second toughest to rank. Truth be told on any given day this area of my list could easily go up or down a few spots.

20. Nowhere Man
19. I feel fine
18. From me to you
17. Please Please Me
16. Ticket to Ride
15. 8 days a week
14. We can work it out
13. Paperback Writer
12. Can't buy me love
11. Penny Lane

 

[MeanDean]

6. We Can Work It OuT

Again, very positive message. I did notice as I was ranking that my top tier of songs leaned towards their middle period. Love the jangling 12 string sound and tight harmonies.



7. Yesterday - no explanation needed.
8. Hard Day's Night - Banging opening chord to the end. From their first, and best, and funnest movie.



9. Long and Winding Road. Nobody else will rank this as high as I will. I have always thought very highly of this song.



10. Eight Days a Week. First Beatles Single I bought, best of my recollection.

 

[CycloneRulzzz]

Going to go one by one for my top 10, to keep the suspense going.

 

[CycloneRulzzz]

#10 Like both of my co hosts I have A hard day's Night in my top 10. Just a great classic Beatles sounding track.

 

[CycloneRulzzz]

#9 She Loves You

Another just good solid song from start to finish

 

[CycloneRulzzz]

#8 Twist and Shout

Probably this high because it reminds me of one of my favorite films of all time Ferris Bueller's Day off.

 

[MeanDean]

11. Ticket to Ride
12. Hey Jude
13. Twist and Shout
14. Something
15. She Loves You
16. Nowhere Man
17. I Want to Hold Your Hand
18. Get Back
19. All You Need Is Love
20. Ballad Of John and Yoko

At some point in my life Hey Jude would have been #1 without question. I guess overplaying and familiarity have caused it to lose some luster. But I can tell you if you ever get to a McCartney concert it is one of the highlights.

 

[jbhtexas]

1. I Feel Fine
2. Can't Buy Me Love
3. Penny Lane
4. Help
5. Paperback Writer

 

[CycloneRulzzz]

#7 Help

Again a song that all 3 OTN hosts share. A song that is as relevant now as then. A message everyone can related too. I know with some stuff going on in my life right now it really hits home how we all need some help from time to time.

 

[CycloneRulzzz]

#6 Love me do

Just a great song and I love the addition of the harmonica sound you get from the very beginning.

 

[matclone]

My top five, when I thought about it, fell together in a minute or two:

1. Hey Jude (my introduction to pop music in Nov 1968, with the transistor radio under the covers. Still fabulous after all these years)
2. I Want to Hold Your Hand (The song that shocked American ears in early '64 . Three guitars, loud, by competent players. Lyrics geared to teens, but the music was oh-so sophisticated ). A real John and Paul collaboration.
3. Hard Day's Night (the cartoon's song and theme of their first and best movie. Supposedly inspired by something Ringo said, John wrote it in a single night. The opening chord (reportedly George's contribution) is signature.
4. We Can Work it Out (a friend came to my house with this 45 (flip side Nowhere Man) and the chord change with the harmonium just knocked me out)
5. Yesterday (Paul's first really big song Nothing was bigger then (1966 or so)

My bottom few:
Love Me Do (first single, not quite up to everthing they did later)
Let It Be (Paul's pretensions)
Long and Winding Road (I like it better than Let it Be but still Paul being pretentious)
Yellow Submarine (gimmicky)

 

[CycloneRulzzz]

#5 Hey Jude

What can be said for this one.

 

[CycloneRulzzz]

#4 Yellow Submarine

Probably will get the most flack for having this one this high. As mentioned above it probably is a tad gimmicky but something about it I really enjoy.

 

[CycloneRulzzz]

#3 I want to hold your hand

Of all of their "romantic type songs" I think it's their best.