Worst Beatles song on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

I got fed up of waiting.

(Apologies to abanana.)

So many to choose from

You not keen on this album then, Tom? I didn't use to be.

Up until the Love compilation I'd have said Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite, but ever since then I've liked that track a lot more (now it sounds like an actual psychedelic funfair carnival circus, as opposed to like a psychedelic funfair carnival circus 100 miles away and encased in ice).

I'm tempted to go for When I'm 64 through televisual theme over-exposure and it's slightly too jokey/hokey-Paul continuation of the loneliness themes established in Eleanor Rigby and For No One.

People voting for George are getting SB'd fast.

George Martin says leaving Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever off this was the worst decision of his career with The Beatles, pretty much. Anyone agree?

I don't remember why anymore but whatever MacDonald said about "Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite" got me to like it.

I can't vote for anything save "Within You Without You", sb away if you must. My admiration for it has gone up with the remasters, especially on the mono version where the laughing is higher in the mix. What did George think about the laughing?

Fixing A Hole.

Lovely Rita.

There are no bad songs on this glorious album, but "Good Morning, Good Morning" is the least good, so it gets my vote.

xp: u mad

Hongro's getting an SB for that too.

So's Iago. The coda of Rita might be the best thing on the album.

George Martin says leaving Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever off this was the worst decision of his career with The Beatles, pretty much. Anyone agree?

Leaving "I Want To Hold Your Hand", "This Boy", "She Loves You", "I'll Get You", "From Me To You" and "Thank You Girl" off "With The Beatles" (and replacing them with pointless cover versions that should never have been recorded) was much worse.

Not sure that I agree with George Martin. "Penny Lane" and "Strawberry Fields Forever" stand apart from the Sgt Pepper concept, being site-specific and personally autobiographical: Paul on one side of the single and John on the other, so almost literally two sides of the same coin. So the concept of the single is perfect as it stands, and shoving the same tracks onto the album would only have diluted it.

I mean, at least the two forementioned songs would appear on "Magical Mystery Tour" in the US instead, and ultimately be included on the worldwide CD version 20 years later. Along with three other great non-EP tracks.

She's leaving home. the arrangement is horrible.

How good would Past masters 2 be if SFF and PL were on that?

I'm voting "Good Morning Good Morning", which I've always found difficult to love. It's the track where my attention is most likely to wander.

XXP Nothing wrong with a pre-rock era arrangement IMO although I am sure they could have done other interesting things with it too. Anyway, "She's Leaving Home" is a beautiful song and far from the worst here.

She's leaving home. the arrangement is horrible.

You mean the arrangement whereby the girl leaves home and runs off with a second hand car dealer?

I've never been terribly keen on Paul's pastiches of 20s and 30s songs, and he did a lot of them. When I'm 64 is irritating and gets my vote.

How good would Past masters 2 be if SFF and PL were on that?

Well, in that case, it would also have contained "All You Need Is Love", "Baby You're a Rich Man", "Hello Goodbye" and every single "Magical Mystery Tour" EP track. Which would have made it too long.

Oh good grief Geir.

What did George think about the laughing?

It was George's idea. (Harrison, that is)

.. after all the serious music, to lighten the mood.

Ah, right then. It's a beautiful touch that improves the song immensely.

George's track, once again, went up in appreciation over the years.

The Sonic Youth cover on "Knew my father" is fine. (Most of the rest are pointless)

There are no bad songs on this glorious album, but "Good Morning, Good Morning" is the least good, so it gets my vote.

Agree w/the first part, disagree w/the second. "Good Morning, Good Morning" has always been a favorite of mine. I know YOU won't agree, but listening to the mono remaster has really revealed some new things in all of these songs for me.

Anyway, of all the songs, the one that's always come closest to "meh" for me is "Mr. Kite" so . . .

I love Sgt. Pepper Knew My Father, esp. Frank Sidebottom's "Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite" and, right, Sonic Youth's "Within You Without You."

this is my least favourite of the later period albums (bar let it be of course) - a revolver mkII, dressed up as a concept album (which it isn't - hardly any lyrical or musical themes going on here, unlike rubber soul as i soliloquised ont hat thread) - more bells and whistles and less good songs than its predecessor. i much prefer the recent easy star allstars version of the album where they actually manage to make good use of stuff like "within you without you", turning it from a tuneless mess into an awesome dub epic.

That said I can't really fault "Benefit" (FUN!), "Day In The Life" (Awesome!), "She's Leaving Home" (it's interesting lyric wise anyway), "64" (sang it at school, can't hate it), "Fixing A Hole", "Getting Better" - but the rest is either edging very close to the MOR ("A Little Help", although I think some of the wordplay is quite nice), useless psych-lite gumph ("LSD"), or retreads of things they did better on Revolver ("Dr Robert" wasn't very good, so why do another awkwardly plodsome character-song on "Lovely Rita"? And for that matter "Good Day Sunshine" and "Good Morning Good Morning" are both shite).

I think I'm going to vote for "Good Morning Good Morning", it's totally useless!

You're an idiot.

:-(

Also even though I can't blame the Beatles for it, "Mr. Kite" resulted in this awfulness:

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

Lovely Rita is is not a plodding character sketch - it's a joyous celebration of picking up women in uniform and getting high with them!

I voted Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, which I'm sure some people will think is a challop as well. I like the chorus and the verses, but I think that the shift from one to the other is very sudden and awkward. Additional reasons include feeling a little gyped by this song when I finally did drop acid.

These polls are just a steady reminder of how much I HATE Paul McCartney's songwriting/voice/etc. I had all these albums on tape with the Macca songs removed so I've actually forgotten how some of them go.

"Good Morning Good Morning" = don't know how this one goes, though that's a plus point when up against the likes of "When I'm 64"

GOOD MORNING GOOD MORNING GOOD MORNING = isn't that the one that goes I'VE GOT NOTHING TO SAY BUT IT'S OK and so on? Which is actually SCARY AS HELL when you've been actually tripping to the rest of the album.

Oh, the one with no tune? Other than the usual George Harrison one with no tune?

Though I think Getting Better is the one that really inspires my ire. (Except for that telling burst of sarcasm "can't get no worse")

This'll be easy – so many duds. "Within You, Without You," "When I'm Sixty-Four," "Fixing a Hole." I went with "Sixty-Four" because, for all its supposed charm and polish, it makes me want to eat babies.

The middle section of WYWY, when the sitar and strings accelerate against each other and the tabla really starts going for it too; fucking awesome.

I don't hear how this album is Revolver MKII AT ALL, Charlie; in terms of both texture and mood, this is vastly different.

OK I want to hate this record; I should hate it given its rote (and pernicious) position as the greatest this, that, or the other (not to mention its influence on decades of crappy self-expression). But life is rarely so neat and as it turns out, I adore the shit out of the thing (just like Citizen Kane, groan). What can I do? Every track gives me goosebumps and/or chokes me up even my pick for the worst song, "When I'm Sixty-Four" (never noticed Paul rolling his r's at the end of "your" in "grandchildren on your knee" - so cute!). And while I'll continue to pick on Paul, my absolute fave is "She's Leaving Home" which I now hear as one of the last glimpses of a Paul/John utopia.

Yeah, that's a very Scottish pronunciation of "on your knee"; I'd venture at Aberdeen area of Scotland too if I thought I knew wtf I was talking about. I've always been intrigued by it; I assume McCartney has some Scots heritage and is aiming to express that?

I wonder if anyone will vote for the title track. It seems too vestigial for anyone to truly hate (or love?).

And there's no option for the outgroove or do people hear that as part of "A Day in the Life?"

Irish heritage surely? Probably Ulster? (xp)

As I'm used to Pepper on CD I've always heard the outgroove as a coda to A Day In The Life.

voted for mr. kite, so annoying.

Nick, you've gotta remember the last time I really really listened closely to these albums (as opposed to delving into them on occasion) was 10 years ago as a sixth former. Working through those albums in my late teens, I was very disappointed by Peppers when I got to it, especially after Revolver which blew me away. Given this, I have a sneaking suspicion that my ear will be more willing to accept things like WYWY a little more now than it did at 17. I have only so far purchased the Abbey Road remaster so far, so I'm gonna wait till I can afford the new version of Peppers till I do this.

I'd be interested in what way you think the texture and mood of Peppers is so different from Revolver. I maintain Sgt Pepper's is a weaker version of Revolver, and I don't understand why it was this record that got lauded for so many years as this huge progressive step, when I'd consider the difference between Rubber Soul and Revolver much greater than that of Sgt Peppers, which for the most part sounds like a retread of a lot of previous ground. Some great tracks on here, but I find things like "Lovely Rita" and "Good Day Sunshine" to be really awkward-sounding - and I'm a McCartney fan(!)

Kevin OTM about "When I'm Sixty Four" - is it true Macca wrote this one several years prior to it being recorded?

he wrote it in 1935

I wonder if anyone will vote for the title track. It seems too vestigial for anyone to truly hate (or love?).

I love the hellllllll out of the title track and its reprise.

Like, that last little lick at the end of reprise almost brings me tears of joy.

Lovely Rita is a decent enough song, but the production, arrangement and performance elevate it so far above it's compositional worth it's ridiculous. The layered harmonies.. Parts of this song are aural bliss. There's really no need for it to sound this good, and I honestly think it's one of their best recordings.

I should add it's basically a skiffled-up George Formby song

When I'm Sixty Four is some Mr. Bean bullshit

I’ll be honest, “Within You Without You” is the one I’m most tempted to skip.

i am biased towards that one because sonic youth did the cover. takes all sorts...

Which one is the most Qanon song?

A Day In The Life clearly, it's all about getting redpilled in order to see through the fake news

of course it is possible that Mr. Kite is describing the antics that occur in the dungeon below Comet Pizza

Title track is Qanon bc it’s like the entire Beatles have been replaced by a simulacrum band

Crowley at the top of the pyramid

Which one is the most Qanon song?

― Lord Pickles (Boring, Maryland), Wednesday, 7 December 2022 20:50 (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

That would be the one where the singer says that everyone is blind and only he can see reality, quotes the bible, fingerpointingly accuses his date of being "one of them", and sounds like a member of a dangerous cult ("With our love, we could save the world, if they only knew")

Seductive music, but damn the lyrics are sanctimonious garbage. For all it's Mr Bean dinkiness, When Im 64 is at least based in closely-observed real life.

Also the best song.

I just listened to "Within You Without You" and realized I'd completely forgotten it and what I thought was "Within You Without You" was probably "The Inner Light" and even though I played 5 minutes ago I've forgotten it again.

Within You Without You is one of those songs that I'm glad is on the album but don't actually want to hear much. File with Black Angel's Death Song, Aumgn etc.

As for the worst song, I don't think there are any bad songs but yes, When I'm 64 is the throwaway one here. Not a huge fan of Paul's old-time songs.

I don't know, WYWY kind of sums up what I think about this album, it's extremely well arranged and produced but, as a song, it's just not really up to snuff.

Harrisongs annoy me so I’ll say he was the Q Beatle

This thread took a fucking bizarre turn.

context:

Absolutely shrieking over QAnon discovering the Beatles pic.twitter.com/nBn9L9VRz1

— LeiHouse Of Horror IV (@leilaclaire) December 7, 2022

Revolution #9 has got to be the most Q Anon, right? Illusionary patterns and whatnot.

surely it's the song about how paul was dead

The walrus was Q

Burnett, Gentry, Verdon & Diller

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYrsuNh0DPA

when i was young i used to think the worst cut was "She's Leaving Home." but i've grown to really like that one. these days i'd be inclined to pick "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," really just because i think the chorus is a bit of a dud ... wait, didn't i start a thread about that? anyway, crazy that so many people could vote "Within You Without You," which is not only a contender for best Beatles song but also maybe the greatest song of all time, for me!

were there any 60s bands that made sudden detours into psychedelia that actually worked? like the beatles did get there eventually but only a few of the best beatles psych songs are on sgt. pepper's

the who (armenia)
zombies
not a fan of sf sorrow but lots of other ppl are

i guess odessey & oracle is more baroque or something

sgt pepper is like ‘beatles: the musical’, i used to not like that about it and now that’s what i like about it. she’s leaving home is like the most emotionally manipulative song on it probably.

it’s funny i was just thinking of how much i love ‘defecting gray’ but never liked any of sf sorrow even a little, idg what ppl see in that record

the great thing about sudden detours into psych is they don’t have to “work”, there are lots of fascinating trainwrecks, as a style it lends itself well to crazy ambition and colorful missteps.

there are probably also lots of bands that only had one good psych song, like ‘smashed blocked’

there’s also a litany of 50’s holdover acts who made sudden detours into psych, notably del shannon, and those can be more fun to dig up than the 60s bands

also, a few months ago i had a weird dream that the monkees, not the beatles, had recorded sgt. pepper. but you could still hear john and paul singing backup (to like, mickey dolenz) on the chorus of lucy in the sky with diamonds. and there might have been some conspiracy (in the dream) about like, the beatles having had more involvement in it than just being uncredited backup singers on one or two songs.

oh yeah odessy & oracle counts enough there we go

"Hung Up On a Dream" definitely does at least!

"I stood astounded, staring hard/ At men with flowers resting in their hair"

i would respect sgt. pepper's a lot more if it was a fascinating trainwreck

I would say I respect it but I don't like it very much.

I'm just going to come out and say that to me it's wild that some people genuinely don't like the Beatles. I mean, it's not that I don't believe them, it's just my point of view can't comprehend not liking them at all or any of their songs, unless it's based in some sort of associative reasoning

also, a few months ago i had a weird dream that the monkees, not the beatles, had recorded sgt. pepper. but you could still hear john and paul singing backup (to like, mickey dolenz) on the chorus of lucy in the sky with diamonds. and there might have been some conspiracy (in the dream) about like, the beatles having had more involvement in it than just being uncredited backup singers on one or two songs.

This sounds like "Porpoise song"

crazy that so many people could vote "Within You Without You,"

They don't know, they can't see

are you one of them

never liked any of sf sorrow even a little, idg what ppl see in that record

It's the most depressing rock album made up til that time.

For a band that was supposedly manning the barricades against psychedelia, the handful of Kinks records that flirt with the style do so very effectively: "Rainy Day in June", "Fancy", "Lazy Old Sun", "Wicked Annabella".

...on top of pioneering "raga-rock" with "See My Friends".

First album I chose to listen to repeatedly from the parents collection. That Within You Without You was my fav prob says a lot about what a weird 8 year old I was, and drone fandom was inevitable. Thanks George for making my future tinnitus bearable. I liked She's Leaving Home because it provided insight into moody teenagers. Lovely Rita's orgasmic coda was way spookier than Mr Kite.

A guest on the My Favourite Beatles Song podcast recently chose Lovely Rita and gave me a new appreciation for it. It's a podcast I recommend generally – other really good ones have been on Rocky Raccoon and Wait (as chosen by Eggpod's Chris Shaw.

xps to DL i think it’s more how some ppl don’t like fart jokes

*more like

:)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYrsuNh0DPA

#onethreadwithinthread

Heh, almost posted "third time's the charm" or something like that

Lovely Rita's orgasmic coda was way spookier than Mr Kite.

Yeah I've always found that jazzyfunky outro subtly spooky, something even truer of the Magical Mystery Tour coda, neither of which seems to get mentioned much. Just these random moody gear changes that come and go without explanation.

were there any 60s bands that made sudden detours into psychedelia that actually worked?

In my book, basically all of them.

Now all I need is to find Gwen Verdon thread and a Phyllis Diller one.

I feel like I have posted before that the fizzing brightness of the opening chords on "Getting Better" feels like being insanely high.

something even truer of the Magical Mystery Tour coda

OK, Rita is one of my top Beatles songs, and the outro is a big part of that. But the title track from Magical Mystery Tour has always been a bit of an eye-roller for me, so I never even noticed the coda before you mentioned it!

“Magical Mystery Tour” has a lot going on, but it is the point where the bit starts to go a little too far for me.