Ultimate Battle of The Beatles

quickbeam

quickbeam wrote: »

Group T

Tell Me Why vs In My Life

As promised.

quickbeam

Ficheall wrote: »

A Day in the Life (though I hate the very end which startles one right out of one's relaxation)

Agree with this. Otherwise a great song.

Eggonyerface

Group S
The Long and Winding Road
Back in the U.S.S.R
I Feel Fine
Martha My Dear

Group T
In My Life
All You Need is Love
A Day in the Life
Getting Better

Collie D

Group T

Tell Me Why vs In My Life
All You Need is Love vs Hold Me Tight
A Day in the Life vs Paperback Writer
I've Got a Feeling vs Getting Better

Rigor Mortis

Group S

The Long and Winding Road
Back in the U.S.S.R
Revolution 9
Martha My Dear

Group T

In My Life
All You Need is Love
Paperback Writer
Getting Better

Nerdlingr

Group S

Don’t Let Me Down
Back in the U.S.S.R
I Feel Fine
It's All Too Much (tricky choice , but gonna go for this under-rated oft overlooked gem)


Group T

In My Life
All You Need is Love
A Day in the Life
I've Got a Feeling (another tricky choice)

Arghus

Listen close to the guitar solo on All You Need is Love. As much as I love The Beatles, that's one bad solo.

Declan A Walsh

Rigor Mortis wrote: »

Group S

The Long and Winding Road
Back in the U.S.S.R
Revolution 9
Martha My Dear

Group T

In My Life
All You Need is Love
Paperback Writer
Getting Better

It's great to see Revolution 9 getting a vote.

Also Starring LeVar Burton

Declan A Walsh wrote: »

It's great to see Revolution 9 getting a vote.

I gave it a vote 2 hours ago. You've dropped your game Declan. Usually nothing gets by you. :pac:

rainbowtrout

Group S
The Long and Winding Road
Back in the U.S.S.R
I Feel Fine
Martha My Dear

rainbowtrout

Group T

In My Life
All You Need is Love
Paperback Writer - I love Paperback Writer but it's got strong competition here.
Getting Better

EmmetSpiceland

Declan A Walsh wrote: »

It's great to see Revolution 9 getting a vote.

If they’d put a decent beat behind it it could have been something.

Arghus

Putting a decent beat behind it would have defeated the purpose.

Zaph

Group S

Don’t Let Me Down
Back in the U.S.S.R
I Feel Fine
It's All Too Much


Group T

In My Life
All You Need is Love
Paperback Writer
Getting Better

EmmetSpiceland

Group S

Don’t Let Me Down
Oh! Darling
I Feel Fine
It's All Too Much



Group T

In My Life
All You Need is Love
A Day in the Life
I've Got a Feeling

Arghus

In My Life could well be in the mix for a long time. Pleases the casual and the fanatical.

ShaneU

Group S

The Long and Winding Road vs Don’t Let Me Down
Oh! Darling vs Back in the U.S.S.R
I Feel Fine vs Revolution 9
It's All Too Much vs Martha My Dear

Group T

Tell Me Why vs In My Life
All You Need is Love vs Hold Me Tight
A Day in the Life vs Paperback Writer
I've Got a Feeling vs Getting Better

loyatemu

Group S
The Long and Winding Road vs Don’t Let Me Down - TLAWR is overrated. McCartney complained about Phil Spector's schmaltzy production, but the plain version on Let It Be... Naked is just dull.
Oh! Darling vs Back in the U.S.S.R - best Beach Boys pastiche ever!
I Feel Fine vs Revolution 9 - I quite like Rev9, but you need to be in the mood (usually after listening to the rest of the White Album).
It's All Too Much vs Martha My Dear - I've previously given my opinion on the "new" songs on Yellow Submarine. IATM is a nice psychedelic production looking for a song. Martha My Dear is a deceptively complex little song about a sheepdog.


Group T

Tell Me Why vs In My Life - can't really remember Tell Me Why, so In My Life wins by default.
All You Need is Love vs Hold Me Tight - Not crazy about either of these TBH
A Day in the Life vs Paperback Writer - this is not fair, both top notch classics. But ADITL is one of the greatest recordings of all time, and Paperback Writer is just a really good single.
I've Got a Feeling vs Getting Better - IGAF is an often overlooked gem, and a rare Lennon/McC collaboration from the later years.

Arghus

Group S:

The Long and Winding Road vs Don't Let Me Down - No contest here. TLAWR is a madly overrated song. It's plodding and dreary and Phil Spector's production is pure cheese on toast. Don't Let Me Down is sincere and passionate, alternating successfully between calmness and intensity. Hits you in the gut, it's not live, but it has a looseness to it that gives it the performance an edge. One of those where I can't understand people choosing TLAWR over it. Don't Let Me Down is really top notch late period Beatles; the Long and Winding Road is not.

Oh! Darling vs Back in The U.S.S.R. - I like Back in The U.S.S.R a lot. It rocks pretty hard and I especially like the squealing guitar on the final verse. But I've always had a soft spot for Oh! Darling. It's a very interesting mix of a blues and a do-wop number and McCartney absolutely sings his head off on it, maybe my personal favourite vocal performance of his on any Beatles track. And you can get lost in it, the arrangement and production is very layered and satisfying. I especially love the little stabs of guitar during the verses, which are never exactly the same each time - there's one measure in particular where there's a real aggressive edge to the playing, just one, but it gives it something. I love little details like that

I Feel Fine vs Revolution 9 - I Feel Fine is another genius track from the middle period, with some great guitar work, amazing harmonies and truly outrageous hooks, you know yourself: bog standard stuff.

But I'm going to go for Revolution 9 here because I admire the sheer wtf? of it. It's disorientating, irritating but also interesting. While I almost never put it on to listen to, I've listened to enough whacked out shyte over the years to know that it's got "something". It isn't boring, it never stays static enough for that too happen. There's enough compositional skill there at work to ensure that it's engaging if you listen closely. And I love the commitment of putting something like that on a record that went into millions of homes. Maybe 99% thought, "what is that crap?", but I'm sure it intrigued and sparked the curiosity of that other 1% - and that's pretty cool.

It's All Too Much vs Martha My Dear - It's All Too Much is grand. The main melody is great, but it outstays its welcome and goes on far too long without much purpose.

Martha My Dear is the greatest banger about an English sheepdog ever written. Great melodies, cool arrangement. A McCartney trifle that I can't dislike.

Arghus

Group T

Tell Me Why vs In My Life - Tell Me Why has a noisy energy, it clatters in a good way, but In My Life is extraordinary.


All You Need is Love vs Hold Me Tight - I've often felt that of all their big songs All You Need is Love is second only to The Long And Winding Road in not being that great really. The main thing that saves it for me is the downbeat and fairly world weary quality to Lennon's vocals and lyrics during the verses and, yes, the chorus hits like a hammer, but it's still not one of my favourites overall. The arrangement is a bit cheesy and the song is just a bit too repetitive for my liking. But it is a bit more distinctive and iconic than Hold Me Tight.

A Day in The Life vs Paperback Writer - Paperback Writer is pretty decent, more than decent in fact. Band is as tight as a drum and it has great oomph as well as what you would expect.

But, you know, it's up against A Day in The Life. I vividly remember the first time I heard it. First year music class in secondary school, the teacher used to put on all sorts of things to illustrate aspects of what we were reading about in the textbooks. You can imagine what it was like - any piece of music would get a level of rapt attention from everyone in the room, because it was fun and it wasn't work. Everyone just lost it when that orchestra came in out of nowhere. A load of teenagers just lost their shit with excitement - it was a thrilling and magical moment. I still get goosebumps about it today when I hear the song. So, A Day in The Life all day long.

I've Got a Feeling vs Getting Better - Getting Better going through here wouldn't leave me sickened, but IGAF is a damn good tune that's often overlooked, as has been noted above. Love how bluesy it is and how the two sperate parts - one a bit bombastic, the other careworn - manage to create a sum greater than its parts. Great McCartney vocals too.

Reberetta

The Long and Winding Road should have been named the long and winding yawn.

Other than the main verse, I don't consider A Day In The Life special. The middle change-up @2:15-55 "Woke up, fell out of bed.." just ruins the whole melancholic build and drags it down to the depths. It makes a faint recovery but it's too late. The tacked on end is weird but cool beans.

It's All Too Much and Revolution No.9 are tedious, over-long, over-laid, over-produced, pretentious twaddle. I prefer early, simplistic, bubblegum material like Hold Me Tight to songs in that vein; regardless of whether their musicianship is more sophisticated, experimental and/or pioneering in the latter day endeavours.

Sawduck

Group S
Don’t Let Me Down
Oh! Darling
I Feel Fine
Martha My Dear


Group T

Tell Me Why
All You Need is Love
A Day in the Life
Getting Better

Reberetta

Fun Facts

It's All Too Much features the lyrics "with your long blonde hair and your eyes of blue" borrowed by George Harrison from the song Sorrow by The McCoys, a North American outfit.

George likely was familiar with the cover version by The Merseys, a big hit in the U.K in 1966. The most famous version of Sorrow is probably by David Bowie.

abff

Group S

The Long and Winding Road
Back in the U.S.S.R
I Feel Fine
Martha My Dear

abff

Group T

In My Life
All You Need is Love
A Day in the Life
Getting Better

El Gato De Negocios

Fun fact.

A Day In The Life was supposedly partially inspired by the tragic death of Tara Browne, heir to the Guinness (yes, that Guinness) fortune.

Anyway, we have 24 songs left to pair off so this evening will be a triple header to finish out round 1.

After I post the last 12 songs to go through tomorrow evening, I will post a list of all that have been eliminated and we will enter the wild card round.

Zaph

Reberetta wrote: »

Fun Facts

It's All Too Much features the lyrics "with your long blonde hair and your eyes of blue" borrowed by George Harrison from the song Sorrow by The McCoys, a North American outfit.

George likely was familiar with the cover version by The Merseys, a big hit in the U.K in 1966. The most famous version of Sorrow is probably by David Bowie.

I'd never heard It's All Too Much until last night, which is when I discovered that Sorrow was a cover. I'd always assumed it was an original Bowie song.

El Gato De Negocios

Through to the next round.

Group S
The Long and Winding Road
Back in the U.S.S.R
I Feel Fine
Martha My Dear

Group T
In My Life
All You Need is Love
A Day In The Life
Getting Better

EmmetSpiceland

But ‘The Long and Winding Road’ sucks!

El Gato De Negocios

Group U

Baby, You're a Rich Man

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5m-sgtwFck

vs

I'll Follow The Sun

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28d_A_NuJ7A

It Wont Be Long

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVKU6SevefY

vs

When I Get Home

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN8odbpRgnU

I Am The Walrus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1Jm5epJr10

vs

Polythene Pam

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cb0dTdTeHMU

Magical Mystery Tour

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8WMGBuNaus

vs

Fixing A Hole

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPBd8eHQqIw

Group U

Baby, You're a Rich Man vs I'll Follow the Sun
It Won't Be Long vs When I Get Home
I Am The Walrus vs Polythene Pam
Magical Mystery Tour vs Fixing a Hole