Worst Beatles song on Revolver

Previously:
Worst Beatles song on Please Please Me ("A Taste of Honey")
Worst song on With The Beatles ("Roll Over Beethoven")
Worst Beatles song on A Hard Day's Night
Worst song on Beatles For Sale
Worst Beatles song on Help!
Worst Beatles song on Rubber Soul

Anyone want to defend "Doctor Robert"?

Dreading this. No idea how I'm going to choose any of these.

Doctor Robert is great - has the drumless, slowed-down "well well well you're feeling fine" bridge, ringing guitar breaks, beautiful harmonies, hilarious lyrics about acid.

Voting Yellow Submarine, which is fun but really pretty stupid

Here, There and Everywhere bores the tits off me. Everything else has at least a bit of individual charm to it.

Oh, I love Doctor Robert. That wasn't even in the running. I think for me it's between "I'm Only Sleeping" and "Here There Everywhere"

I want to tell you what I voted for, but I can't think of how to explain it.

if any of these "Worst of..." Beatles polls have taught me anything, its that I find other people's opinions about individual songs almost completely unfathomable

of the obvious choices:

Dr. Robert >>>>> GTGYIML > Good Day Sunshine >>>>> Yellow Submarine

Can't believe people rank Dr. Robert lower than Yellow Submarine... that's nuts.

Dr. Robert strikes me as of a piece with the Kinks' David Watts - a quintessentially British character study with a sly, slightly naughty subtext

if any of these "Worst of..." Beatles polls have taught me anything, its that I find other people's opinions about individual songs almost completely unfathomable

OTM. I thought everybody loved "Doctor Robert."

How can anyone not love Yellow Submarine?

"Dr. Robert >>>>> GTGYIML > Good Day Sunshine >>>>> Yellow Submarine"

except for "Doctor Robert" (which I still like a lot), these are the three best songs on here!

But these polls are like "vote for the worst flavor of ice cream" and for the most part, replies are like "uh chocolate b/c once I had it when I was a kid and I vomited later that night". There's just not that much bad to say (except for "Dizzy Miss Lizzy", that one deserves it).

Love You To

I shouldn't read these threads until the polls are over. Too much challops.

i hated this album when i first heard it, and now i love just about every song on it. however "got to get you into my life" is one of my least favourite beatles songs ever so it's a no-brainer here. shakey OTM, and i did try to resist saying this, but HOW CAN ANYONE POSSIBLY VOTE FOR I'M ONLY SLEEPING?!

I like Yellow Submarine fine but sonically its pretty pedestrian (most fun thing is probably the tape collage of sound effects/dialogue in the middle). Its a children's song, and not an exceptionally clever one, but its nice enough.

x-post

There's gonna be so much idiocy on this thread.

Here There And Everywhere wins (loses?) by a tiny whisper, for being an itty bit dull.

Dr Robert is NOT a jaunty English characer study, people; it's about a drug dealer / Leary / LSD / etc, not free prescriptions for pensioners. People are mental.

I'm Only Sleeping just kind of drags on...it's not that I hate it or anything.

If you've every played guitar and sung Yellow Submarine to a toddler, you can't possibly vote against it...

jaunty English drug dealers don't exist? Dude was a dentist who gave them acid!

I know what the song's about!

I don't think an American drug dealer would be portrayed as nearly so convivial or paternalistic

well maybe I take that back - Leary was both

I want to tell you what I voted for, but I can't think of how to explain it.

Is it "I Want To Tell You?"

if any of these "Worst of..." Beatles polls have taught me anything, its that I find other people's opinions about individual songs almost completely unfathomable

ILM in general hasn't taught you that?

But these polls are like "vote for the worst flavor of ice cream" and for the most part, replies are like "uh chocolate b/c once I had it when I was a kid and I vomited later that night".

Strongly disagree with this. There are some Pistachio Pickle-flavored (i.e. flat-out yucky all the time) Beatles songs.

Yeah, I voted for "I Want To Tell You" but I can't really say why besides that it seems wrongly placed with respect to pacing. It would open side two nicely.

I don't think there are any pistachio pickle flavored songs on here, or really on any albums. Even "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" is just butter pecan.

I thought it wad definitely NOT about the dentist?

Y'know how Lennon apparently sings "Bob Robert" near the end of the song? I once was listening to it in a chemicalized state and believed he was referring to the (then-recent) Tim Robbins flick.

who will be the joker who vote tommorow never knows?

anyway,for me is neither "eleanor rigby" - which is so overplayed, and so too-much-paul-schtick i can't stand it,or "love you to" which is the only song i don't remember at all.

hmm wikipedia and associated refs say its about Dr. Robert Freymann, a NY physician who wrote scrips for speed. Coulda sworn I've read the dentist story elsewhere though, but entirely possible I'm mixing up my Beatley trivia

It was definitely the dentist who introduced Lennon etc to LSD, Dr Robert's just about another dude. A yank music writer I'm following on Twitter said he didn't get it because he had "no experience of the NHS".

lolz

who will be the joker who vote tommorow never knows?

I'm assuming it's Geir's least fave.

no Geir will vote for Love You To

"I'm Only Sleeping" -> "Love You To" -> "Here, There and Everywhere" is like a triple-whammy of suck. I think the fact that this sequence comes so early in the track listing is one reason I've never been able to get into "Revolver" as much as some other Beatles albums.

anyone who loves sleeping,even just a little,gotta love i'm only sleeping.

HOW CAN ANYONE POSSIBLY VOTE FOR I'M ONLY SLEEPING?!

Really, it's in my Beatles top five.

The ham-fisted Yellow Submarine always jars horribly when I listen to Revolver, but I'm tempted to vote for the well-intentioned but frankly dull Love You To.

Option Votes
Tomorrow Never Knows 10
Eleanor Rigby 5
For No One 4
Here, There and Everywhere 3
And Your Bird Can Sing 2
She Said She Said 2
Yellow Submarine 2
I'm Only Sleeping 2
Doctor Robert 2
Love You To 1
Got to Get You into My Life 0
I Want to Tell You 0
Good Day Sunshine 0
Taxman 0

"For No One" isn't that good, a bit like a crappy cousin of "Eleanor Rigby". Still an ace album, and some of the songs I dismissed before have totally been saved by the remaster (like GTGYIML).

I don't think there are any pistachio pickle flavored songs on here, or really on any albums.

See, for me, this is where McCartney starts to become a menace. Apart from "Eleanor Rigby," every single one of his songs here gives me a tummy ache. Even Harrison bests him, esp. in the funk dept. with "Taxman." I'm voting for "Good Day Sunshine" which makes me thinks he invented Adult Contemporary (although points for mentioning my 2nd fave album of all-time).

By contrast, I adore every single John here (save for maybe "I'm Only Sleeping" which is, duh, a bit sleepy), esp. "And Your Bird Can Sing" (which Adorno would've loved; hell, it might even be about Adorno) and "Tomorrow Never Knows" (which augured a disco-psych/prog fusion that never really come to pass).

if anyone votes for 'she said she said' my head will implode maybe

even though I love it, "Good Day Sunshine" seems the slightest song here.

"I Want To Tell You" is possibly my fave George song of all time and may have overtaken "I'm Only Sleeping" as my Revolver fave, though like another personal Beatles fave "Julia" is a bit lo-fi considering other tracks on the album. sequence-wise the final 3 songs go together perfectly and seem the most Revolver-y part besides the bracing mindfuck of the first 4 songs - what must that have sounded like in '66?!

Revolver's my fave Beatles LP. seems the most unimpeachable (followed by A Hard Day's Night) - practically the template for a perfect experimental pop album.

eleanor rigby makes 2 minutes seem like 5. I don't want to listen to a song about old ladies and priests! "Ooo...she's darning her socks!"

I'd also like to vote for the album cover.

x-post:

get thee to Popular

Dr Robert is a skipper

"Yellow Submarine". The rest are all brilliant, even though I guess "Got To Get You Into My Life" is my least favourite among the rest.

no Geir will vote for Love You To

I like both of those "Indian" songs. The lack of different harmonies is compensated for in the fact that a lot is going on harmonically above the bass.

Here, There and Everywhere bores the tits off me.

You crazy. That one may be the single greatest composition by the biggest musical genius of the 20th century.

Even Harrison bests him, esp. in the funk dept. with "Taxman."

But who played the bass that brought that very funk, Kevin? Not to mention that guitar solo!

Whatever, though. I'm abstaining from this poll - there's not a track here whose feelings I'd care to hurt.

I just got called crazy by Geir Hongro.

The intro on "I Want To Tell You" is my favorite George riff. Note the seasick Lennon harmonies, and how Paul's get all raga in the last few seconds.

Eleanor Rigby for me, no contest. Love everything about it except the incredibly, maddeningly condescending lyrics.

Besides Eleanor, I think Paul's shit on this album is really strong.

Ppl voting Love You To are serious SB-bait.

"Yellow Submarine". The rest are all brilliant, even though I guess "Got To Get You Into My Life" is my least favourite among the rest.

― Tied Up In Geir (Geir Hongro)

Who are you and what have you done with Geir Hongro?!?!?

Seriously, you prefer "Tomorrow Never Knows" to "Got To Get You Into My Life?!?!"

I just got called crazy by Geir Hongro.

― Samuel (a hoy hoy), Tuesday, 22 September 2009 21:42 (36 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

T-shirt for Samuel!

Geir still has the capacity for surprise I guess

I skip over "Love You To" every time.

Righto : Voted..

Here, There and Everywhere

It's mmm.... OK, as a song, but the arrangement seems to be missing something, and it's totally flat. In an oversmooth way.

OK, "Here, There and Everywhere" was the first song my wife and I danced to at our wedding reception, so fuck a whole lot of you people.

Anyway, I voted "Love You To" not because it is a bad song, but because a) out of George's efforts here I think it's the least of them, and b) I think he did what he was shooting for here much, MUCH better on "Within You, Without You" and "The Inner Light. Sorry, G.

voted "good day sunshine", one of the few beatles songs i absolutely cannot stand

I like "Love You To" best of George's Indian Trilogy - at least it has some drive. (The mashup of "WYWY" with "Tomorrow Never Knows" on the Love album improves that song considerably.)

This is the toughest Beatles album to find a dud on. I'm Yellow Submarining it because I'm over 11 years old, but really, I should abstain.

I like "Love You To" best of George's Indian Trilogy - at least it has some drive.

Love You To >> The Inner Light >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Within You, Without You

Dude was a dentist who gave them acid!

I know what the song's about!

― Hat Trick Swayze (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, September 22, 2009 8:44 PM

You guys, the dentist who dosed George and John's coffee is NOT Dr. Robert, it's the aforementioned dr who prescribed drugs to celebrities in order to hang out with them! Enough!

"For No One" isn't that good, a bit like a crappy cousin of "Eleanor Rigby".

?????????????????????????????????????? omg

Ppl voting Love You To are serious SB-bait

What does this mean? (I voted Love You To) I can't believe Geir Hongro likes Love You To....this line of threads makes me nuts yet I can't stop looking at them!!!

For No One and Eleanor Rigby are brilliant and I am no Paul fan

Toss up between "I'm Only Sleeping" and "Here There & Everywhere" - the rest is wall-to-wall brilliance, not a flaw in it as far as I'm concerned. But both of those songs kind of wear out their welcome for me. I'll vote for IOS just because it seems like HT&E is getting enough votes already..

xpost SB = "suggest ban," the link under posts to suggest banning the poster from the boards.

"For No One" is maybe one of the three or four best songs on here - I guess it gets dismissed as "more maudlin Paul" but, as on "I'm Looking Through You" and just a few other songs, it feels like a maudlin-ness that actually comes from the heart - I believe in this sad sap with his ex's pet names ringing in his head while he's painfully aware that she's moved on and he hasn't. Feels real to me in a way that "Michelle" never will.

for no one is outstanding imo

love you to is subpar raga-harrison but i still like it. inner light & within you without you are awesome!

explain the pure brilliance of yellow sugbanrine plaese?

get thee to Popular

voted "Love You Too."

Paul, who wrote that sub-Pitchfork garbage? Though kudos that the writer was able to devote all of four utterly unconvincing sentences in defense of a song as poor as the writer's argument.

i love that this album was #1 in the u.s. and u.k. for more than a month in '66. so awesome. not to be all cliche, but it would still be a mindblowing #1 record today.

like "hard day's night," this is another one i'm sitting out. there's nothing i dislike enough to vote for it.

what else came out in '66 that could reasonably be called psychedelic? the dead, hendrix, pink floyd and a bunch of others all came in '67.

where did we come from? why are we here? where are we going to...?
(dble-x:p)

(ok, 13th floor elevators was '66. it's just really kind of astounding how fast it happened, the emergence of all of that.)

xp: dexy's, belle and sebastian, momus?

who is John GaltTom Ewing?

good day sunshine. actually, for my 'favorite' beatles album, there are several songs on it I don't care for (yellow sub, good day sunshine, got to get you into my life, doctor robert). I think the ballads (elenor rigby, here there and everywhere, and for no one) are fucking incredible though, the pinnacle of mccartney's writing.

oh yeah I Want to Tell You, a song so slight I forgot it even existed

GTGYIML is crap

Fucking madhead talk.

i was doing okay with the last few threads, but god, i hate you all

love you to rules

GTGYIML is crap

― goole, Wednesday, September 23, 2009 12:17 AM (39 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

wtf

tbh finally hearing this shit in mono totally changed my mind about tons of their songs

i voted yellow submarine, totally corny -- cant stand when they got all kids songs

if you vote for no one or i'm only sleeping, expect an sb

in the mail

suggest fist to the face!!

Yellow submarine is really annoying. I don't know if that's sort of the point in which case it's genius. Must be the second most annoying Beatles song after Obladi Oblada.
Here, there and everywhere is corny as fuck even by Beatles standards but has some nice moments. That'd be my second choice.

the lyrics to taxman (rich popstar whines about the inland revenue) are nauseating enough to distract from the groove.

Very surprised at how many people dislike "I'm Only Sleeping". When I first heard this album I thought it was one of the best things I'd ever heard.

I love this album, but there's a lot of throwaway and I can't seem to make up my mind which is worst out of Good Day Sunshine, Dr Robert and I Want To Tell You. Probably the first one, mostly because I always heard the line as "I've got something I can flap about", which sounds weird and conjures up images of Macca in a paedo-jacket flashing at people.

You're odd.

blame Paul, he mentally scarred me.

Taxman - fucking whingers.

I remember reading somewhere that Dr Robert is the only song from the original Beatles albums that has never been covered by anyone in an official release. Can that be true?

'Yellow Submarine' would be too obvious a choice. It's far from being my favourite, but as novelty songs go it's OK and deserves to survive this poll because we sang it as kids at school (without knowing it was a Beatles song). 'Love You To' is dull, but 'Here, There and Everywhere' is awful - saccharine Paul at his worst (and I like a lot of his stuff that gets on other people's nerves, like 'Good Day Sunshine' and 'Martha My Dear').

Dr Robert

There is a live version of this released in 2005 by Andrew Gold as a bonus track on a re-issue of his album All This and Heaven Too. Apart from that there is a dull one on the Beatlesgrass compilation CD and the nice solo guitar version by Steven King. Aside from those nothing I know of.

OK. I somehow knew there couldn't have been a Beatles song that has never been covered!

Blue Jay way is pretty much uncovered, apart from Colin Newman on a solo album. I think he did it *because* it hadn't been.

.. although that's not even listed on http://www.beatlescoverversions.com/tbl.html

i saw Robyn Hitchcock and Jon Brion play "Blue Jay Way" live once ... It was great!

Love you To, though the lyrics to Taxman are the album's real blot - thanks, George, for inventing rock star whining.

Not too up with my history, but wasn't there some ridiculous tax inflation thing that happened in the mid-60s and sparked at least a couple of "tax" songs, "Sunny Afternoon" being another?

Still, moaning about having to pay nurses is just mad gay.

true, the tax rates for high earners were pretty astronomical back then, but it still makes them sound like twats.

Incidentally, I like these "worst of" classic albums threads we've been having lately - not that I like to concentrate on the negative, but they do seem to start more discussion than everyone just posting "God Only Knows" over and over again.

I don't think there's anything twattish about "Taxman" at all - twattish is Phil Collins showing compassion towards the plight of the homeless by writing and recording a million-selling single all about them, rather than by inviting a few dozen of 'em to come live in one of his mansions.

no, there's definitely something twatish about taxman, but it rocks so hard I can't imagine voting against it.

xp

that is also twattish.

though it goes without saying given that we're talking about phil collins.

Also (re: that freakytrigger article about e. rigby), the review describes it as a"tense and fussy". I say "exactly".

Who hates Good Day Sunshine and Martha My Dear?! Wankers! Martha's about a dog!

the lyrics to taxman (rich popstar whines about the inland revenue) are nauseating enough to distract from the groove.

^^^ This.

Anyone with foolish reservations about "Here There And Everywhere" should listen to the Emmylou Harris version. (Same goes for the Earth Wind & Fire version of "Got To Get You Into My Life", obviously.)

Yeah but the Emmylou Harris version isn't on Revolver, and the version on Revolver IS a bit dull, so I'm still voting for it.

I'm fixating on "worst Beatles SONG", though. "HT&E" is a great song!

yeah, forgot the thread title: It's a bit undercooked (whereas they were in plentycook mode about now) but it's a great song.

I get what you mean, BUT we're talking about pop/rock here, and the platonic essence of the song is the recording, not the score, so I'm judging based on what's on the actual album, not the chord sequence of melody divorced from that.

OR melody.

I Want To Tell You is a bit perfunctory, isn't it?

I wish Paperback Writer and Rain were on here.

Anyone who votes for any of these obvious perfect classics is crazy:

1. Taxman
2. Eleanor Rigby
3. I'm Only Sleeping
5. Here, There and Everywhere
7. She Said, She Said
9. And Your Bird Can Sing

I get what you mean, BUT we're talking about pop/rock here, and the platonic essence of the song is the recording, not the score, so I'm judging based on what's on the actual album, not the chord sequence of melody divorced from that.

The melody and the chord sequence are always on the actual recording.

Yes, but we are not voting on the melody and chord sequence IN ISOLATION of the recording; we are voting on the Beatles' recordings of these songs as released on this album.

and people say my rhetoric gets tedious, gee

(that wasn't aimed at anyone particular but to be fair we are talking about the beatles here, not emmylou harris or whatever)

I always forget Good Day Sunshine and GOT TO GET YOU INTO MY LIFE BA BA BAAA BA are on this album. I have consistently unprogrammed them from the CDs and left them out of tapes for years and years.

I think it's easier to skip Good Day Sunshine since it was the first song on the second side (yes no?) but GOT TO GET YOU INTO MY LIFE is just this horrible cold bucket of awfulness between two otherwise fantastic songs. Honestly, it is the SURPRISE BUTTSECKS of Beatles segues.

Man, I have no idea how people can dislike GTGYIML. I wonder if there's some sort of inverse relationship between the people who hate Eleanor Rigby and the people who hate GTGYIML.

Then I suddenly see you
Did I tell you I need you
Every single day of my life?

Not that keen on Eleanor Rigby, either.

This was the first Beatles CD I bought - and one of the first maybe three or so CDs I bought, period - and it was specifically for "Got To Get You Into My Life." Awesome song.

xp: okay, so that's not it. It just seems like those two songs are where I differ with the majority on this poll so far.

I'm all about I'm Only Sleeping, Love You To, She Said She Said and Tomorrow Never Knows, really.

Yeah, those are hard to fuck with.

This one's the toughest to choose, right?

Yellow Submarine is the only song on this album that will be sung in 300 years. Eleanor Rigby ia kuh-lame.

Eleanor Rigby should not be played so much on oldies radio. I just wish the old bag would die already.

Aretha's version made me a convert.

eleanor rigby haters - why?! it's such an incredible song. although it does smell like old libraries and school halls for some reason. still love it. i once remember seeing a large choir reciting it on tv and it was astonishing.

Difficult choice, its a fantastic album from start to finish. Going for I Want To Tell You, just because.

huh i'd never heard this before

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBBN0T5PYXY

Really?!

I can't really imagine a time when I'd actually want to hear Yellow Submarine - like, deliberately put it on. On the other hand, my four year old son likes it.

Yellow Submarine was in the charts and on the radio when I was four - and oh, how I loved it. Especially the "full speed ahead captain!" bit in the middle, and the bit where the cheeky little fella repeats the lines. All very stimulating to a four-year old's imagination.

Rigby - because I'm mean and don't want to hear about some lonely old lady 10x a day.

Would it be possible these days for a mass audience pop group to put out an album as eclectic as this? I mean, from Yellow Submarine to Tomorrow Never Knows, with a half-dozen other genres in there as well.

zelda - i pine for this kind of thing too. seems that a lot of albums these days concentrate on consistency, working on ploughing a very distinct furrow, which is great - but a lot of my favourite albums throughut history, Beach Boys' "Smiley Smile", The Boo Radleys' "Giant Steps", Aphex's "I Care Because You Do" and of course "Revolver"; are real genrific hopscotchers. Who's doing this kind of thing these days?

Aphex's "I Care Because You Do"

rly?

Faith No More put out some incredibly diverse albums in the 90s.

Also Basement Jaxx.

Generic hopscotching is one of the reasons I've always rated Kevin Ayers so highly.

Funny you should say that, one of the biggest complaints I've read about Joakim's new album is that it "hopped about genres too much" - that kind of thing is frowned upon these days. :-(

Aphex's "I Care Because You Do"

rly?

― Mark G, Wednesday, 23 September 2009 15:24 (8 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

You ask rly?, but at the time it felt incredibly eclectic. I listened to it the other day and admit it has dated somewhat and maybe something like Druqks would be a better example these days. But you've got the harsh industrial beats of "Come On You Slags", experiments like "Ventolin", and this is all juxtaposed with more melodic/ambient material like "Alberto Balsalm" and some of the last few tracks.

I'm sure there are bands out there being eclectic, but there's more emphasis these days on a consistent sound, even if it's one that evolves from album to album. Maybe back in 1966, the genres hadn't been set so much in stone, so the situation was more fluid. Maybe Revolver didn't sound so eclectic then as it does now, when we have all the different genres nailed down.

I have "Druqs" but not "I care", just wondered...

re aphex: not wanting to derail too much, but "I Care" is one of his best. as i say, it works more as a document now as opposed to something that will blow yr mind. it's the album that falls between his early techno/ambient era and his later drill'n'bass/acid stuff but doesn't really rely on any of those styles. as such it's his least predictable record.

inconsistency is more difficult to grasp and to market, ergo it is frowned upon

maybe replace inconsistency with "eclecticism" there

Anyone with foolish reservations about "Here There And Everywhere" should listen to the Emmylou Harris version.

Agreed. The Harris version is so poor that it enables realisation of how good the original is.

Eleanor Rigby

tax man because as my mother says, at this point they were way too young to be singing right wing lyrics

This is nutty, but I love "Good Day Sunshine" because, as the piano gradually gets louder, the drums kick in, and the cymbals echo backwards until the vocals explode, it approximates the feeling of a drug coming on.

true, the tax rates for high earners were pretty astronomical back then

Yeah but as Harrison said later "It's a song that goes regardless if it's the sixties, seventies, eighties or nineties,there's always a taxman.".

Here is a picture of Harrison's house that he bought after paying all that tax.
http://images.francisfrith.com/c10/450/34/henley-on-thames_H73303.jpg

Also it's the f-ing opening track, the big opening statement. It's always pissed me off ,probably because, you know, it's quite good apart from the sentiment.

Dude, you like paying taxes? I dont.

its an honor and a privelege. I like roads and schools and environmental regulations

I mostly ignore the sentiment and think of it as a Monty Python sketch ie about a humorless/evil British taxman in a bowler hat

Only one option. And it stars Ringo.

Or just think about it as a normal working man in a ridiculously high tax place like Chicago or New Jersey getting gouged, while some corporate behemoth like Exxon makes record profits while paying no tax. I can get behind that anti-tax sentiment.

That house above is utterly ludicrous.

Not too up with my history, but wasn't there some ridiculous tax inflation thing that happened in the mid-60s and sparked at least a couple of "tax" songs, "Sunny Afternoon" being another?

― dog latin

i think "sunny afternoon" is tongue in cheek, complaining that he has to relax in a mansion instead of sail in a yacht.

The top tax rate in the UK until the late seventies was 95 percent. You don't have to be Attila the Hun to think that a touch excessive. But yes, 20somethings moaning about how much tax they pay does leave a bit of a bad taste in the mouth.

i've always just thought of "taxman" as the bewildered song of a working-class kid who is suddenly rich and just as suddenly and completely to his surprise discovers that in his bracket, the government gets 95 percent of his money. which is a pretty high number, you have to admit. plus, '60s youth sentiment was broadly anti-government, so it wasn't like he was thinking, "i'm helping to pay for schools and the national health service." more like, "what evil things are you evil fucks doing with my money?"

also, how great is paul's guitar solo on that?

We already had the tax argument on the George Harrison thread, guys!

Yep, despite the slightly dodgy subject matter, Taxman is obviously one of the best songs on Revolver!

Yeah, "Taxman" is no "The Trees" off 2112.

This is nutty, but I love "Good Day Sunshine"

Not nutty. Top 3 songs on the album. Anyone who hates it hates life.

The Trees is on Hemispheres.

"the government gets 95 percent of his money. which is a pretty high number, you have to admit."

"Pretty" high??? yeah, i'd admit that.

"The Trees" is a great song too.

When I first heard that song around freshman year of high school, I interpreted it as this radical call to arms to destroy the upper class "by hatchet, axe, and saw."

Haha awesome

I knew the tax thing was ludicrous, but 95%??? Wow. And rich Americans freak out if someone talks about making them pay an extra 2%.

it was a 95% marginal rate, right? as in, not 19/20ths of your total income, but 95% of everything over a certain figure.

yeah, marginal. and i'm not sure where the top bracket was set. but i imagine that the beatles topped it by a good bit, so a lot of their income would have been at that rate.

what's more obnoxious to you people, George being a greedy fuck ("Taxman") or inventing the rock-n-roll-as-celebrity-charity meme (the Concert for Bangladesh)?

I mean George is basically the template for pop-star-as-philanthropist

Love You To

Yeah, super obnoxious: trying to raise money for starving people. The bastard!

I refer you to Morrissey's comments about We Are the World

I mean George is basically the template for pop star who made awful albums coasting on his reputation.

it was a 95% marginal rate, right? as in, not 19/20ths of your total income, but 95% of everything over a certain figure.

― goole, Wednesday, 23 September 2009 19:09 (3 hours ago) Bookmark

And NOBODY paid that much. I refer you to the house photo once again. And check out the houses the other fab three bought in the mid-60s. None of them were even remotely suffering in any way whatsoever from their onorous tax bill. Whoever heard of a scouser paying tax anyway.

Also, Bill, yes, I'm quite happy to pay taxes.

I heard recently that the band (as in "and the band begin to play") bit was taken from an old 78.

Now that would be an interesting track to track down.

This is another one I'll give a pass too. I'd probably vote for "Yellow Submarine" as my least favourite, but "worst song" seems too strong. And I know Ringo follows these boards, and the one person in the world whose feelings I don't want to hurt are Ringo's.

Peace and love...Peace and love.

and the one person in the world whose feelings I don't want to hurt are Ringo's.

Yeah, he's a right moody old bastard

taxman rocks so hard I can't imagine voting against it.

eleanor rigby haters - why?! it's such an incredible song

HOW CAN ANYONE POSSIBLY VOTE FOR I'M ONLY SLEEPING?!

Ppl voting Love You To are serious SB-bait

"Here, There and Everywhere" was the first song my wife and I danced to at our wedding reception, so fuck a whole lot of you people.

How can anyone not love Yellow Submarine?

if anyone votes for 'she said she said' my head will implode maybe

Who hates Good Day Sunshine?!

if you vote for no one, expect an sb

I thought everybody loved "Doctor Robert."

Man, I have no idea how people can dislike GTGYIML.

I heard recently that the band (as in "and the band begin to play") bit was taken from an old 78.
Supposedly a recording of Georges Krier and Charles Helmer's 1906 composition, "Le Rêve Passe," but I don't know by whom.

love the original spoken intro to Yellow Submarine (link)

xxpost

MVB, you're my hero!

Yeah, that was great! I love how there's no entry for Tomorrow Never Knows.

Goddammit, I just know "Love You To" is gonna take this and I AM NOT HAPPY ABOUT IT.

defend the indefensible: good day sunshine

the echoed vocals at the end are kinda neat

Couldn't finish reading this thread it was getting me so crazy! This album is McCartney's peak- For No One is incredibly beautiful and moving and Here, There, and Everywhere is just perfect in every way, especially the harmonies and that little anxious guitar part in the bridge. Paul even took the time to write some great lyrics! Both make my Beatles' top ten.

Lennon's songs are all great as well and George's Love You To is his first and best Indian song. I dig I Want to Tell You too but it kinda drags at times.

Overall, this was an easy choice for me, it's the Ringo one again despite the fact that it's supposedly a Lennon-McCartney-Donovan! composition. It just doesn't fit on the album and would have worked much better if it just appeared as the flipside to the Eleanor Rigby single.

if you vote for any of the songs in this poll, expect an sb

That good, because I just can't decide on this one. I have deep love for all these songs. I could rank them, but couldn't ever say the lowest ranked song is "worst".

Wait, Donovan? Really? Never heard that before - any details?

you'd have thought donovan would've mentioned that

Folk singer Donovan, with whom McCartney had just begun a friendship, suggested the "sky of blue and sea of green"
http://oldies.about.com/od/thebeatlessongs/a/yellowsubmarine.htm

Donovan bringing the knowledge.

Daha, that sounds kinda familiar now. Thanks. Yeah, maybe not his best moment as a lyricist...but it does the job. (I can just imagine Paul sitting there, stuck for hours - "what could rhyme with 'submarine'?!" - and then Donovan swoops in with this line about the sky being blue....)

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

would expect this and Sgt Pepper's to be the most contentious cos they're the hardest to pick bad or lesser tracks from. on the other hand there seem to be a bunch of loons on here that hate certain Revolver or Pepper's tracks or specific Beatles. kids nowadays!

Got it down to 'Here, There and Everywhere', 'And Your Bird Can Sing' and 'Doctor Robert', but I'm resigned to not being able to cast a vote here.

Folk singer Donovan, with whom McCartney had just begun a friendship, suggested the "sky of blue and sea of green"
http://oldies.about.com/od/thebeatlessongs/a/yellowsubmarine.htm

So far so good. But where, other than on the writing credits (as usual) does John come in?

He came in through the bathroom window.

Didn't anybody tell him?

It was Lennon's idea to hire the cello player and change what Donovan had originally conceived as a waltz to a straight 4/4. Also, he wrote the liner notes for the single...

OK, listened to the album, and decided "Good day sunshine" should get it.

A song about a sunny day, and that's about it.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Oh jesusfuck ILM is just rong.

It's funny, I put "RubSoul" and "rev" on one cD, with the 4 single tracks between.

It's noticeable that the single tracks are mostly "rock", whereas the albums are more "pop".

So, the album they could have made with "Day Tripper", "Rain" and "Paperback Writer" as a basis?

(can you imagine)

Any statistician will tell you, the bigger your sample size, the weirder the outliers. She said she said, wtf?
closer to the median, why do all those strange people not like Dr Robert?

ha, funny 'and your bird can sing' didn't get ANY votes b/c it's a pretty mediocre song and one that i could take or leave. lennon himself thought it sucked & was one of his least favorite songs

but seriously 'yellow submarine' and a whole bunch of other beatles children-oriented songs are probably why so many of you grew up with the fucking band to begin with. y'all are crazy

Can 24 of you please tell me why "Love You To" is bad? It's my favorite Beatles song ever.

Other than using Indian instrumentation, it is plodding and dull from just after the intro, and the melody is unpleasant...and what does the title mean? love you to what? lastly, i think everyone probably compares it unfavorably to within you and inner light. OK?

in honor of this poll's results, here's a cover of "Yellow Submarine" that I contributed the Ringo to. http://www.sendspace.com/file/bkl6fj My friend actually covered the whole of Revolver -- it's pretty good!

The only bad thing about "Love You To" is that it's called "Love You To" even though George sings "I'll make LOVE TO YOU." Like they had a typo when they submitted the tracklisting to EMI.

Another bad thing about it is it reminds me of that awful Boyz II Men song "I'll make love to you if you want me to." But we can't really blame them for that now, can we?

"Yellow Submarine" hate = you always hurt the ones you love.

Well, I Voted "Yellow Submarine" but it isn't bad. The Beatles didn't make any bad songs from late 1965 until mid 1968.

I would have thought Taxman would have picked up more votes, from people not apporving of the lyrics a la Run For Your Life. Both great tracks, but people like to moan.

"Taxman" is classy anyway. And he did organize the Concert for Bangladesh 5 years later anyway, so obviously not that right wing.

?

love the original spoken intro to Yellow Submarine (link)

Loving that! So many more wacky sounds and voices throughout - I wish they'd released that mix instead of the standard one (or at least included it on one of the anthologies).

It's on the cd single for "Real Love"

Never noticed the finger snaps in "Here There and Everywhere" until just now.

ha, funny 'and your bird can sing' didn't get ANY votes b/c it's a pretty mediocre song and one that i could take or leave. lennon himself thought it sucked & was one of his least favorite songs

― mark cl, Saturday, September 26, 2009 11:58 PM (2 years ago)

lol at anyone caring what lennon thought of his own songs -- he also hated 'cry baby cry' which is awesome.

'and yr bird can sing' has been my favorite beatles song for at least five years, but there are no bad songs on this album. it's the 'last exit to springfield' of beatles albums.

and 'good day sunshine' is perfect, saying it sounds like 'adult contemporary' is just batshit crazy.

and why is "adult contemporary" pejorative?

Ask her.

http://www.usafreserveband.af.mil/shared/media/photodb/web/061016-F-9999R-001.jpg

Why, Delilah?

lol at anyone caring what lennon thought of his own songs
yeah, so many of his judgments on beatles tunes in that wenner interview are pretty off -- probably colored by the recent breakup. i imagine if he'd lived we'd have plenty of quotes from him saying how much loved "bird can sing" or whatever.

His judgments much better in the Sheff interview of 1980; he even says quite nice things about "For No One," "Good Day Sunshine," and "Here There Everywhere."

KJB you know you love Delilah.

This poll has maybe the most accurate ever bottom two, those two are absolutely the highest highs of a very high album. "She Said She Said" still blows my mind every time I hear it, what a head trip that must have been in 1966: I know what it's like to be dead?! This guy is clearly going to different kinds of parties than the one he didn't want to spoil a few records back. And the guitars on "And Your Bird Can Sing," my god, talk about joy.

"No one can succeed like Doctor Robert!" guitars of delight

really wish they'd done just one more fuzzed-out mod psych album like this, Pepper's comes close in places but I just fucking love the sound and tone and crisp buzz of everything on this plus Paperback Writer.