Osaga's Quest to give The Beatles another shot

[OsagaRockHero]

As some of you may or may not know, I don't like The Beatles. Recently, however, I've made it my goal to give them another shot. I intend to re-listen to their entire studio catalogue, and then make a decision on where I stand on them. I recently listened to the songs that haven't been on one of their studio albums (essentially Past Masters minus a few tracks). Here are my thoughts.

From Me to You (single), 1963

From Me to You is a light pop-rock song that fits in perfectly with the style of the early Beatles. A simple song that’s lyrics don’t go past the concept of loving a girl. It’s so inoffensive that it hurts.

It’s B-side, Thank You Girl, is pretty much identical to From Me to You. It just feels so bland. It reminds me of SO MUCH early 60s pop-rock. At least it’s short. It’s definitely the weaker of the two tracks here.

4/10

She Loves You (single), 1963

She Loves You is, simply put, a catchy pop single. In terms of music and lyrics, it’s nothing special. It it, however, a very solid single. It’s inoffensive, but at the same time, it’s practically impossible to hate.

It’s B-side, I’ll Get You, is nowhere near as fun as She Loves You, but it’s still not that bad. It’s another short pop single that defines the early Beatles. It’s nothing special, but overall not that bad.

6/10

I Want to Hold Your Hand (single), 1963

I Want to Hold Your Hand is similar to She Loves You in that it’s so catchy that it’s impossible to truly hate. It’s just another fun pop single about being in love with a girl from The Beatles.

It’s B-side, This Boy, is actually better than I Want to Hold Your Hand. It sounds like they’re actually experimenting with their sound. It feels less bubblegum than the first 5 songs I’ve listened to so far. It was actually pretty decent.

6/10

Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand (single), 1964

Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand, and it’s B-side She Liebt Dich, are German re-recordings of I Want to Hold Your Hand and She Loves You, respectively. My review for both of these tracks is the same. They just reek of pointlessness and seem like cheap cash grabs.

2/10

Long Tall Sally EP, 1964

Long Tall Sally is a cover of Little Richard. Standing on its own, it’s a rocking track, but unfortunately, there’s a certain feeling that just doesn’t come through on The Beatles’ version when compared to the original.

I Call Your Name is yet another simple and repetitive song about falling in love with a girl. All I can say is meh.

Slow Down starts off rocking. This is just basic rock 'n roll, and there's something really great about listening to it. This is the best song that I've listened to so far (and that speaks for all the singles, not just the Long Tall Sally EP).

Matchbox is another rock 'n roll song. While it doesn't quite have the energy of Slow Down, it's still a pretty decent listen. Still though, there's nothing special at all about this song.

7/10

I Feel Fine (single), 1964

I Feel Fine is another fairly decent pop single. There has yet to be an amazing song, but this is a very solid track that shows the steady improvement of The Beatles.

It's B-side, She's a Woman, gets repetitive after a while. There’s a little solo in the middle, but man, this song is BORING. This could have been 30 seconds shorter.

5/10

Bad Boy (from Beatles VI), 1965

Bad Boy has a sort of grittiness to it. Something raw, something powerful. Something that I could see coming from an early Stones record. This is a very, very good thing, and this is a very, very good track.

8/10

Yes It Is (from the Ticket to Ride single), 1965

Yes It Is starts out really neat. It’s got this sort of inverted, drone guitar effect, and that sounds really neat. That said, the song is meh overall. It’s not bad, it’s just not that great.

5/10

I’m Down (from the Help! single), 1965

I’m Down makes up for any shortcomings it may have with the short little organ solo in the middle. This really is the best Beatles song that I’ve listened to so far. It’s just so rocking!

9/10

Day Tripper (single), 1965

Day Tripper is, once again, REALLY fluffy. I thought that by the Rubber Soul era these guys were supposed to show technical and creative brilliance. This just feels like everything else I’ve heard so far. Ugh.

The B-side, We Can Work It Out, is on the other hand, a really decent pop song. It’s technically better than Day Tripper, and it’s also generally more fun to listen to. Easily the better of the two tracks here.

6/10

Paperback Writer (single), 1966

Paperback Writer is the first major Beatles song so far that I have legitimately loved. It’s so interesting to listen to. It’s radio friendly without being fluffy, but different enough to be really cool sounding.

It’s B-side, Rain, is another really brilliant song. The things I said about Paperback Writer are all applicable here, but somehow, it manages to do it all better. It’s got some grit to it, but it still keeps it’s pop sensibilities. This is a very good song.

9/10

Lady Madonna (single), 1968

Lady Madonna is a boring song. There is really nothing about this song that keeps my interest. It’s not a bad song or anything like that, it’s just a really boring one.

It’s B-side, The Inner Light, on the other hand, is a very interesting song. It’s got some very neat instrumentation to it, and there’s a real sign of experimentation going on here. This is the Beatles that I’ve always had a thing for. Toward the end, though, it starts to drag. Maybe this could do without the sitar interludes.

7/10

Hey Jude (single), 1968

Hey Jude. There is virtually nothing left to say about this song, good or bad, that hasn’t already been said by someone else. I will just leave it at this. This is a very well done song.

It’s B-side, Revolution, is one of, if not the, hardest rocking track in the entire Beatles catalogue. This is another very, very good song. This, or Helter Skelter, is my favourite Beatles song, and one of the few Beatles songs that I’ve always loved.

9.5/10

Don't Let Me Down (from the Get Back Single), 1969

You know, everyone loves this song, but I just do not get it. Even as someone who’s never minded later Beatles, this song just draaaaaaaaaaags. There’s really just nothing to it that screams out brilliance to me. That said, the song itself is OK.

6/10

The Ballad of John and Yoko (single), 1969

I've always thought that The Ballad of John and Yoko was a fun song. It does feel a touch out of place with the rest of the later Beatles catalog, but who cares! This is a fun song. Nothing more, nothing less.

I also like the B-side, Old Brown Shoe. It's another song that's decent, but isn't anything special overall. Not really much else to say about it.

5/10

You Know My Name (Look Up the Number) (from the Let It Be single), 1970

What the hell is wrong with this song? This sounds like a lot of the crap on The White Album *cough*Revolution9WildHoneyPie*cough*. Seriously, this song has no business being 4 and a half minutes. It's just really, really terrible.

2/10

[ClaptonsWig]

You Know my Name was recorded mainly since they were goofing around in studio. They didn't take themselves seriously, and weren't even attempting to make it into something besides them literally goofing around. Its understandable to receive 2, and I'm surprised its not 0.

[OsagaRockHero]

I gave it a 2 because I feel that you have to be a special kind of bad to receive anything lower than that. An example of that special kind of bad is Lil' Wayne's Prom Queen. You Know My Name is just random studio noise, but it's not a violation of good taste.

[ClaptonsWig]

Agreed. I do like the intro to YKMY, those were some strong vocals they recorded which kind of left you thinking it had potential for actually being a song. Plus, Brian Jones sax solo, even if it wasn't all that great.

The Ballad of John and Yoko probably stands out as a non-Beatles track because its really a John Lennon solo song released under the Beatles name. Harrison and Starr weren't a part of the performance, so it really was just Lennon/McCartney doing Lennon's song.

[OsagaRockHero]

I THOUGHT it felt like a Lennon solo track, but I always thought the solo careers were later than that.

[ClaptonsWig]

I THOUGHT it felt like a Lennon solo track, but I always thought the solo careers were later than that.

Towards the end of the Beatles, there was a bunch of songs that they released as the Beatles that really were solo material, and some songs as solo that were Beatles. Let It Be (the film) is a prime example showing what exactly each member was tinkering with for music, and showcases what each of them was capable of. Although most of them appeared on Beatles recordings, a couple tracks did pass over to solo recordings, All Things Must Pass in particular.