Take a Sad Song and Extract Every Last Ounce of Spontaneity from It: the Beatles Uber-Ballad Poll

One thing "Hey Jude" has going for it is the audible "Aw fuckin' 'ell" at 2:59.

I'm voting for "Something".

― mike t-diva,

As it stands, Yesterday. I quite dislike Jude, LAWR and LIB, Michelle is pretty but minor compared to Yesterday I think.

Although JoeStork makes a very fine point.

"Michelle" does have a cool early 60s Euro vibe to it. I imagine there were lots of suave French-language covers.

anyone know of any good ones?

"Hey Jude"
"Let It Be"
"Yesterday"
"The Long and Winding Road"
"Michelle"

"The Long and Winding Road" would have worked better in a more diversified, eclectic album context, the same way that "Good Night" works on the White Album.

Tim's order is very close to my own--switch the bottom two. I still like "Hey Jude" fine; don't know why. "Let It Be," I don't mind. Like someone said earlier, I wish I could hear "Yesterday" for the first time again--I think there's genius in it, but I wore it out at a young age. (There's a George Martin interview clip somewhere where he talks about "Yesterday" and how it was done in the studio...it's fantastic--you can tell it's just about the proudest moment of his life.) I recognize "Michelle" for the good song it is, very unusual, but even going back to when I was a teenager, I was always indifferent to it. "The Long and Winding Road" is the only one of the five I flat-out dislike. Maybe a different arrangement would work for me--I find the orchestral original hopelessly saccharine.

Back in 1971, the big hit-radio station here did a Top 300 countdown. I was 10, and it was a very big deal. Three of these songs--"Let It Be" (#1, I'm pretty sure), "The Long and Winding Road," and "Hey Jude" were in the Top 10.

These must rank amongst the five worst songs in the Beatles catalogue. Something pisses over all of these sappy ballads.

i've always had a soft spot for "Let It Be" and "Yesterday" has never been dimmed by overplay for me, so one of those. might have to flip a coin.

"Michelle" is probably the most famous Beatles song that i can never hum, no matter how times i hear it. just now i put it on and went 'oh, that one,' but i'm sure i'll forget how it goes tomorrow.

but michelle is so easy to hum, the melody is in the name, just sing the name and the tune unfolds straight from there.

rong and whining choads itt

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Michelle....you smell.

someday monkey play piano song

lol, had forgotten that one.

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

lurkers, defend yourselves or face mass reprisal

someday monkey play piano song

― Darin, Sunday, June 14, 2015 1:24 PM (7 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

someday monkey won't play piano song

I just want to know how "Hey Jude" fit on one side of a 45 when usually 4 minute songs got a verse chopped so it would fit

Wtf

don't look at me i voted "Michelle."

i'm shocked that rong and whining choad got 7 votes

it will never disappear

I just don't get it, do people just really hate the coda of Hey Jude for going on so long?

i love hey jude but i've always found paul's ranting over the coda a little hard to take, it's like he can't quite give in to the good communal feeling and just sing along with everybody else, he has to keep on being the center of attention

I don't have a problem understanding people having issues with parts or aspects of Hey Jude but literally everything about TLAWR from the opening vocal line to the final note is just awful garbage

I salute the 7 people who voted for 'The Long and Winding Road', as I salute Phil Spector for adding the orchestra because my god it sounds like arse without it.

i love hey jude but i've always found paul's ranting over the coda a little hard to take, it's like he can't quite give in to the good communal feeling and just sing along with everybody else, he has to keep on being the center of attention

― (The Other) J.D. (J.D.),

yet he blasted George for wanting to answer his lines with guitar wankery

I am sad there is not an isolated bass youtube of Lennon's LAWR bass part, just so I could torture all you Hey Jude voters w it

Um, Shakey, I think those were votes FOR "Hey Jude" and not against

Yes...I was getting progressively more confused in this thread as to what Shakey was trying to say.

Haha oops i thought we were voting for worst

In Edinburgh once I saw a two man, well man and woman, one-man band do a truly awesome version of "Hey Jude." Their names were Pete and Andrea.

This is them, although they don't perform that particular song, alas.https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=373542729400063&id=118032478296415&refsrc=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F&_rdr

Shakey is OTM regarding Lennon's bass playing on 'The Long and Winding Road', though. I actually really like 'The Long and Winding Road', but I can't get on board with the McCartney point of view that the Phil Spector overdubs ruined the track. If anything, it was just the dressing the track needed to distract the listener from the fact that the performances of The Beatles themselves on that song (apart from McCartney, who is obviously the most into it) are incredibly fucking woeful.

For some reason, I find it incredibly difficult to believe that McCartney himself would find that take of the song (without overdubs) to be acceptable for release, since he's legendarily a pain in the arse for getting things right.

eh, i don't know. are you talking about the let it be...NAKED version? everyone's playing is pretty uninspired (and john flubs a few notes, if that's him playing bass), but i'd still take it over the string version.it could just be a pet peeve of mine but i can picture the string players earnestly playing their completely boring part with that look in their eyes like "i am playing strings with the beatles, this is very serious and i will occasionally lean very hard into certain notes even though this is the worst song i've accompanied since 7th grade and everything is a whole note" phil spector was obviously capable of cool things but this was not one of them.

always found john's view on "let it be" the song (from his 1980 playboy interview) amusing:

That's Paul. What can you say? Nothing to do with the Beatles. It could've been Wings. I don't know what he's thinking when he writes "Let It Be".

Wilson Pickett's version totally redeems "Hey Jude"

eh, i don't know. are you talking about the let it be...NAKED version? everyone's playing is pretty uninspired (and john flubs a few notes, if that's him playing bass), but i'd still take it over the string version.it could just be a pet peeve of mine but i can picture the string players earnestly playing their completely boring part with that look in their eyes like "i am playing strings with the beatles, this is very serious and i will occasionally lean very hard into certain notes even though this is the worst song i've accompanied since 7th grade and everything is a whole note" phil spector was obviously capable of cool things but this was not one of them.

― legendary wireless executive (Karl Malone), Wednesday, June 17, 2015 2:21 AM (9 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I would have assumed that '60s string players would have considered playing with The Beatles to be a bit beneath them, if anything.

Let It Be is definitely far from the best of The Beatles albums on the whole from a production and performance standpoint, but I do tend to agree with Lennon on this one... I do think Spector did well to turn those recordings, which, let's face it, aren't what I'd call "prime Beatles", into something releasable.

I kind of like all of these songs? Like, they're not my favourites but I like them all well enough. Never understood why everyone hates TLAWR.

I learned a piano chord I didn't know before from TLAWR, so it gets pass marks from me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2bwlQM8Mas

That's Paul. What can you say? Nothing to do with the Beatles. It could've been Wings. I don't know what he's thinking when he writes "Let It Be".

Well "Let it be" and TLAWR are far from being favorites but I like them. The sadness/depression is touching.
And clearly they're not Beatles' records.
which makes me think that when people say that the iconic songs that remain for Lennon and Harrison are post-Beatles ("Imagine" and "My Sweet Lord" ?) whereas for Macca it's his Beatles songs that will be remembered("Yesterday", "Hey Jude" ?), I guess "Let it be" could count as his post-beatles iconic song that will be played when he passes away...

So "Imagine" Vs "My Sweet Lord" Vs "Let it Be" : FITE!
what about Ringo ?

when people say that the iconic songs that remain for Lennon and Harrison are post-Beatles ("Imagine" and "My Sweet Lord" ?) whereas for Macca it's his Beatles songs that will be remembered("Yesterday", "Hey Jude" ?)

Uh, 'Live and Let Die'?

Sure but "Let it Be" is another level of popularity.
Thinking about it, it's clearly his "Imagine".

everyone's playing is pretty uninspired (and john flubs a few notes, if that's him playing bass)

It is, and Ian MacDonald wrote that Lennon's playing (and passing off what is essentially a rehearsal/run-through as a finished track) amounted to "sabotage" of McCartney's song.

which makes me think that when people say that the iconic songs that remain for Lennon and Harrison are post-Beatles ("Imagine" and "My Sweet Lord" ?) whereas for Macca it's his Beatles songs that will be remembered("Yesterday", "Hey Jude" ?)

he's got nine #1s in America and countless top tens. If not, "Maybe I'm Amazed" or "Jet" will do in a pinch.

Well, that's the thing: Macca's post beatles career has been way more successful of the four, but.

but what?