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

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.

this album as a whole irritates me -- too much preciousness, mostly -- but taken individually, i like most of the tracks. it's just the cumulative effect that makes it something i rarely listen to. the title track/reprise is the best bit, imo. contenders for worst (which in this case means most annoying) are "she's leaving home" (because i think the lyrics are sort of lame -- "fun is the one thing that money can't buy," ugh), "within you without you" (george at his most cottonheaded), maybe "good morning good morning," tho it's too slight to really be irksome.

taken individually, i like most of the tracks. it's just the cumulative effect that makes it something i rarely listen to.

Exactly.

It's strange, because even some of the tracks I'm not very fond of ("Within You Without You," "Good Morning," "Mr. Kite" especially) have amazing parts in them (the time signature is "Good Morning," the caliope - ?? -- circus bit in "Kite," etc.) making any of them impossible to write off. And yet, it's still nothing like my most-played Beatles LP. (I'm convinced it's one of the greatest LPs ever, though, for fans of amazing bass lines.) Anyway... "Within You Without You" is one I do tend to skip over, so I'll go with that.

Also "too slight to really be irksome" is exactly what irritates me about the album. There's a whole strain of 'art-pop' birthed by this album which demands a similar attention level.

Thing is, there's so much in the way of accolade heaped upong "OMG OMG SGT. PEPPER OMG BEST RECORD EVAH MADE" etc. contrasted with "NOT AS GOOD AS REVOLVER CHALLOPS" that I was actually quite surprised when I finally, as an adult, heard the album as a whole and realised how many good tracks were on it (and not just the obvious well known ones.) It's a record that is rather overwhelmed by its reputation.

Also, it's true that there's something good in even the bad songs (the "can't get no worse" on Getting Better, the harmonies on the "Isle of Wight" middle 8 of When I'm 64) that I can't bring myself to vote for them.

I might wimp out and vote for the title track which I have always found annoying.

There are no songs worth voting for here. "(Reprise)" by default I suppose.

The title track and "Day in the Life" are the best things on it

... it's the bits in between I'm less impressed by

have always adored “mr kite” and surprised ppl hate it lol

I love "Lovely Rita" — just the sound of the vocals is totally classic.

and McCartney's loopy bass playing! what's not to love.

Yeah I love all of those tracks except When I'm 64, and even then the song does fit into the album's general world.

And Tyler's right, one thing I've really grown to appreciate is Paul's bass-playing on Beatle records, especially on Pepper.

FWIW, with "Good Morning Good Morning," I always thought it was a great lead-in to the finale. It's got a buried anger that feels like it's going to erupt as Lennon details the tedium of everyday rituals, like he's itching for something more out of life.

I dig "Rita" too. "Took her home, I nearly made it / Sitting on the sofa with a sister or two" - Paul's gentle ribaldry is an underrated aspect of his songwriting.

"When I'm Sixty-Four" is cute. Cool piece of trivia: Paul McCartney ended up turning 64 himself a few years ago!

no way

And yet he wrote the song when he was 14, wikipedia tells me. That strain of old-timey songs of Paul's (64, Honey Pie, You Gave Me The Answer etc) has been a constant throughout his career, interesting to see it was there right from the beginning

At least Paul made it to 64. Fuck cancer and psycho fans.

all songs about different aspects of day-to-day British life seen through the same winking mod/hippie lens.

Yep, and “Rita,” “Good Morning,” and “Mr. Kite” all end with, “By the way, I’m observing this while baked”: “Rita”’s reverb-drenched coda, the animals at the end of “Good Morning,” the randomly-cut-up organ in “Mr. Kite.”

I’m not an audiophile but listening to a clean vinyl copy of this on my parents decent stereo with really good headphones was an immersive experience for 8 year old me. Nothing since has sounded as good as that record did then.

I used to listen to my dad's copy on my GE foldout record player. I would immerse myself in the lyrics printed inside the gatefold cover as though they were a holy text.

Ringo sounds so awesome on much of this album.

I love the proto-Roy Wood overdriven horns in “good morning good morning”

proto-Roy Wood yes!

Ringo sounds so awesome on much of this album.

― lets hear some blues on those synths (brimstead), T

Particulary on "A Day in the Life" while John goes ayyyyyyyyyyy-ahhhh

Enjoying a really nice headphone listen to this album r/n, prompted by this revive. For the first time I'm really noticing the stereo (it's my mom's old 60s copy that I grew up with, but I don't know if I've ever done the attentive headphone thing before), which can be pretty distracting in some places!

In my mind the album has a kind of unifying blanket of psychey haze, but it doesn't always. Some parts, like the verses in Lucy, feel oddly almost empty versus the versions in my head! If you can't also hear the stuff that's not there, I get how it could hit your ears as plodding. Good Morning Good Morning has WAY less punch this way, with the chorus just being this thing that happens rather than this enveloping wall of multitasked GOOD MORNINGS ringing out like electrified church bells. OTOH, being able to hear the seams between everything just makes it MORE trippy and unsettling that the lead guitar parts all over the album keep popping up out of the ground for a couple seconds before disappearing again...

But, I'm also noticing lots of specific sonic details that I'm loving! The reverb/decay on virtually everything. Some of the string arrangement on She's Leaving Home (especially under "waiting to keep the appointment she made"). The way Fixing A Hole could almost already be a Ram song, and A Day In The Life, at the beginning, could basically be a John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band song. Everything Ringo does for Getting Better. The charming little guitar part that sneaks into When I'm Sixty-Four in like the last thirty seconds. Lots of the bass parts. Just how good the album-concluding tone is as it sits there, becomes less about the hugeness of its arrival, and becomes, briefly, a womblike ambient wash...

Great album, no bad songs, but She's Leaving Home for "worst."

crazy talk, She's Leaving Home is the 2nd best track on the album after A Day in the Life!

^ that’s what I tend to think too. The only question is would it have been better had George Martin done the strings instead of Mike Leander.

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