Worst Beatles song on Revolver

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?