Worst song on Beatles For Sale

Previously:
Worst Beatles song on Please Please Me
Worst song on With The Beatles
Worst Beatles song on A Hard Day's Night

The ringer....Mr. Moonlight

"Mr. Moonlight" obv.

But it sounds great on the new remaster, now that's something at least....

no way! it's obviously "I'll Follow the Sun." this may well be my fave Beatles record these days, fwiw.

"I'll Follow The Sun" is probably the best song here. Paul's ballads represented The Beatles at their very best.

in a pig's eye they did!

Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey. A.N.Other makeweight rocker, at least Mr. Moonlight has a unique strangeness to it, but this medley is just filler imo.

With the exception of "Twist And Shout", every Beatles cover version ever is filler.

Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey. A.N.Other makeweight rocker, at least Mr. Moonlight has a unique strangeness to it, but this medley is just filler imo.

― I saw your posse, but now it's me who's bossy (DavidM), Saturday, September 19, 2009 3:49 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

And Geir is RONG as usual -- on this very album "Words Of Love" is noteworthy for being their only officially-released Buddy Holly cover.

They sound kind of exhausted throughout this record. I particularly dislike their cover of "Rock And Roll Music," followed closely by Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey." I agree that "Mr. Moonlight" is okay because it's odd.

"Words Of Love" is noteworthy for George's lengthy solo (longest one on record?)

It's supposedly their worst album (except for Let it be)

I can't pick one, this is what I grew up with!)

Personally, I find it inconceivable that someone who loves the Beatles might prefer "I'll Follow the Sun" to "Eight Days a Week," "Every Little Thing," "What You're Doing" or "I'm a Loser," but, well, I guess it goes to show you never can tell. I'd have to go back and check if I dislike "Sun," "Mr. Moonlight," or (for sheer pointlessness--they're capable of so much more by this point) "Rock and Roll Music" more. I don't really want to do that, so I'll award extra points for laziness and vote for the cover.

I find it inconceivable that someone who loves the Beatles might prefer "I'll Follow the Sun" to "Eight Days a Week," "Every Little Thing," "What You're Doing" or "I'm a Loser,"

They are all great songs, but not as great as "Michelle", "Here There And Everywhere", "And I Love Her" and, well, "I'll Follow The Sun".

Re "Words Of Love" I still find it pointless that the world's best songwriters ever should bother covering inferior composers, and they would have had to go back to Brahms or Schubert or something to find someone who was on their level when it came to musical genius (speaking of Paul in particular here, but John had several strokes of musical genius before he met Yoko too).

"Words Of Love" is probably most interesting as the blueprint for the sound of The Byrds though. Gene Clark and Jim McGuinn surely paid attention there!

Why is Mr. Moonlight so hated? It's not the only song in their catalog that has that feel, but it's always singled out.

"Rock and Roll Music" is more loud and annoying than "Mr. Moonlight," so I'm voting that.

"Mr. Moonlight", "Kansas City" and "Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby" should have been left out in favour of "I Feel Fine", "She's a Woman" and "I Call Your Name"

It's supposedly their worst album (except for Let it be)

I'm always puzzled when this is cited as one of their worst albums as it is by far my favorite of the first four. I'll go with "Kansas City" because it sounds the most perfunctory.

x-post
wow Geir, what a different album that'd be! what kind of track sequence could we build?

I agree with geir here, those are some pretty boring songs (I'd add Rock And Roll Music in there too.... they're fine, just relatively dull, and all of them lack the kind of passion earlier live versions of the same song had, they're kind of watered down and boring). although isn't "I Call Your Name" a bit earlier?

beatles 65 and beatles IV (xpost)

"I Call Your Name" was recorded during the Hard Days Night sessions. I'd swap out "You Better Leave My Kitten All Alone" for any of the covers on BFS.

even the shitty sessions mix on anthology is better than any of those, true

"I'll Follow The Sun" is really good, guys. Very very lovely melody, sung lovely-ly by Paul, and a nice arrangement here that stretches the band a bit. "Mister Moonlight" is one of my favorites - I really dig its murky organ and clunky percussion (cause we love you...WHUMP WHUMP mister moonlight). Just a nice weird swampy sound, really hard to see this being worse than their cover of "Rock n Roll Music," which is even duller than their "Roll Over Beethoven," and also not as good a Chuck Berry song.

The Kansas City thing isn't much better but I like the backing vocals.

If you killed all the covers, "Eight Days A Week" would be my least favorite thing on here. I've never been able to articulate it, but I think it's a weak song, maybe the one time it really SOUNDS like they're trying to write another A Hard Day's Night track but the well has run dry. The corniness of the premise is probably part of that. Whereas the other originals here see them stretching out a lot, all the Byrds-y stuff, the opening Lennon trio, and the countrified "I Don't Want To Spoil The Party."

This is one where I'm really biased by having had Beatles '65 for maybe 9-10 years before getting the British version - so everything "new" to the latter still has an extra charm and novelty to me.

These are depressing threads.

"Kansas City" for me. "Eight Days A Week" is corny but its droniness in the chorus' harmonies fits with the album (a real John-Paul cowrite I assume?).

if nothing else mr. moonlight has a pretty incredible intro vocal, lennon really belts it out.

I love the cover shot of this album and the title. they look so worn out, so many years older than they did just like, eight months earlier, is really underscores the sarcasm of the title.

Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey. A.N.Other makeweight rocker, at least Mr. Moonlight has a unique strangeness to it, but this medley is just filler imo.

― I saw your posse, but now it's me who's bossy (DavidM), Saturday, 19 September 2009 19:49 (Yesterday)

very otm, the medley and rock n roll music are bad, overreverent, toothless, and pointless for the most part. i'll follow the sun is probably my favorite also, i like all the originals and i've made peace + a little more with mr. moonlight. i understand the hate though.

In discussing this album, McCartney seems to quite often make reference to the cover - and George's 'turnip' hairstyle (looks more like a coconut). MUst have made an impression on him.

I'd go with the medley - their rockin' covers rarely do much for me. The originals are all great - relistening recently I realized how much I like "Baby's In Black."

Love Ringo's nervous look on the cover.

These are depressing threads.

― Evan, Sunday, September 20, 2009 4:21 AM

OTM, I gotta stay away from these--I'd much rather keep ravin about the new remasters

outside of this album i can scarcely think of a beatles song i dislike so i have no intention of looking at the other threads

Just re-listening to this now and it really is a great album. I especially think I Don't Wanna Spoil the Party and What You're Doing are particularly underrated. Paul's vocal is especially wonderful on the latter.

For me Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby just edges out Moonlight as the worst here.

Btw these polls are great because they're really getting me to sit down with the new remasters and give songs I've heard hundreds of times fresh listens.

Not gonna vote here, just want to agree with everyone who likes "Mr. Moonlight" for weirdness sake alone. And to note that its placement right after "I'll Follow the Sun" should appeal to "Thread Connections" devotees. (Same as "Tell Me What You See/I've Just Seen a Face" on "Help!")

Ha! That's good, never caught that before.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

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

"You fuckin' people . . ."

http://jaguar.it.miami.edu/~chris/formal_methods_in_the_movies/AFewGoodMen.jpg

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oIHFoLeGcLM/R7LnPm_Dt7I/AAAAAAAAATA/ZbMQK3Evs9c/s400/cryingMoon500.jpg

i love 'rock and roll music'. how the fuck is that worse than 'everybody's trying to be my baby' or 'honey don't'

Yeah guys, you need to go listen to Mr. Moonlight again. I dunno if you need to hear the remaster (I haven't) or my mom's scruffy copy of Beatles '65 but clearly something is wrong here.

It's all in the way he drops into the "...'cause we LOVE you...." all low and shit. John needed to play that card more often IMO.

everyone who voted for "rock and roll music" is wrong.

my dad always tells me that "beatles for sale was always seen as their best", which makes him even more challopsy than me.

everyone who voted for "rock and roll music" is wrong.
Yup. Lennon's vocal is the balls.

everyone who voted for "Mr. Moonlight" is wrong, boring, humorless and predictable.

So Geir voted for it then?