You really shouldn't bother writing about The Beatles without a certain amount of self-awareness—and even then, what can you say that hasn't already been said? But regardless, I've decided to ignore my own advice. I like to write about stuff that I like to talk about—and lately I've felt like talking about The Beatles.
In The Beatles fandom and history, there's generally a set of rules as to what the "good stuff" is. They've got dozens of #1 hits that will always go down as all-time greats, and there's certain songs fanboys will always say got snubbed by history and are underrated. You have to like them (or at least heavily respect them) if you're a real fan and/or a Beatles historian. But I recently went on a huge Beatles kick and I thought I'd just ignore all these rules and opinions in favor of my own. In this article that probably didn't really need to be written, I've got some hot takes about The Beatles that I'd like to share. It actually started out as a list of what I thought their most "underrated" songs were, but I really struggled with deciding how their songs are actually rated these days. Can a song that was a #1 hit be underrated if it's been forgotten about by modern society? What if it was never popular way back when, but long-time fans still won't shut up about it? So rather than pick apart modern consensus, I thought I'd just go my own route. Here's some things I think about the most talked about, reviewed, and celebrated band that hasn't put anything out in over 50 years. And here's a playlist to follow along if you'd like.
1. "I'll Follow the Sun" is better than "Here Comes the Sun"
For reasons I'll never understand, "Here Comes the Sun" is The Beatles' biggest hit on Spotify. It's been streamed nearly twice as much as any other Beatles song by our generation with nearly a billion plays. I'll admit it's a pretty song and has nice motifs that I'd probably normally enjoy in a Beatles song, but I have a personal grudge against it. One morning, we were camping out in Morgan right next to the route of a half marathon and there happened to be speakers set up nearby for the runners as they came by. They blasted "Here Comes the Sun" at us starting before sunrise at 6 AM and played it for hours on repeat until we packed up and left. I've never been able to listen to it the same since. I no longer have the ability to listen to it for what it is—it's just an annoying song to me, which is a shame. Sometimes I wonder what it'd be like to hear The Beatles for the first time as an adult. I don't think you can say that it's a shame to grow up listening to and becoming familiar with their music, but it certainly can warp your perspective.
"I'll Follow the Sun" is completely beautiful. It's simple, but it also doesn't try to be anything it isn't. Paul said he wrote it when he was 16, which I don't think is surprising. I really like the unorthodox percussion that adds a nice, amateur-yet-playful feel to the track. Personally, I like it a whole lot more than their most popular song.
2. The "Hey Bulldog" intro is one of the best riffs The Beatles ever wrote
I don't know if I'm ready to declare what the greatest Beatles riff of all time is, but it might be the first five seconds (and reoccurring musical theme) on "Hey Bulldog." But it could also be the intro to "Day Tripper" if we're being honest. Anyways, I think the rest of the song didn't get much attention because it isn't very catchy and the lyrics aren't particularly interesting or meaningful. In fact, I think it was John that said the song is mostly about nothing in particular. But the riff itself is excellent and the song as a whole is underrated.
3. "Penny Lane"? More like Penny Lame
"Penny Lane" is boring and average, especially for a #1 song. It's mid at best. If I were ranking all The Beatles songs, I probably wouldn't have it in my top 100.
4. "Till There Was You" (The Music Man cover) is an absolute bop
One day, I was reading a list ranking of all 227 songs by The Beatles and I was shocked to see this song ranked in the bottom 15. The only justification was that it was a "show tune cover." Okay, sure, so maybe it's not an actual Beatles song. And don't get me wrong, I don't really like The Music Man. But this is a well-written song—nobody had done it justice until The Beatles recorded it. It's no secret that The Beatles have some bad songs, but this isn't one of them.
On the subject of covers, I would also controversially say that "Baby It's You" is probably my favorite Beatles cover (except maybe "Twist and Shout"). They really don't have a shortness of good covers though. But "Baby It's You" just a great, silly little love song.
5. "In My Life" is a better listen than "Strawberry Fields Forever"
Beatles fans are gonna crucify you if you ever speak ill of "Strawberry Fields." But something about it always seemed off to me, even though the lyrics, the theme, and the strings are incredible. I love hearing about John Lennon's youth—the personal subject matter is what makes this song special. I'm not sure if my sense of pitch is good enough to say this is why it feels odd to me (and it could just be the psychedelic feel), but I wasn't surprised when I heard the entire song was recorded—through tape speed changes, essentially—to be awkwardly somewhere between a key of A and B flat. But when I found an old demo of "Strawberry Fields" recorded in C, I couldn't help but wish they had cleaned up and released this version instead.
To me, it's much more pleasant—and it's the key it was originally written in. I guess recording in a normal key was too boring at this point in their careers? I don't know. John himself always said he was dissatisfied with the final recording and I share his sentiment.
"In My Life" has all the same vulnerability and personality that "Strawberry Fields" has and, to me, it's more complete and pleasant to listen to. It's very personal and reminiscent, although it's simple musically. Maybe I just like when The Beatles keep it simple—they're just so good at writing small melodies, even as their experimentation took them to some really great and interesting places later in their careers. And funny enough, I've always thought the piano solo in "In My Life" also sounded a little whack despite being great instrumentally, only to find out it was recorded an octave low and sped up to change the pitch. But again, I don't know if my sense of pitch is anywhere near good enough to say this is why—and I'm not a musicologist anyhow.
6. "Yellow Submarine" is a fantastic kid's song
If you expect The Beatles to always be serious and always write serious songs, that's on you. If you compare "Yellow Submarine" to their well-crafted, experimental, creative songs, it makes plenty of sense to be annoyed that "Yellow Submarine" even exists. You don't have to like the track, or even ever listen to it—but "Yellow Submarine" should be appreciated as a children's song at its core. In fact, I like that it exists even though I don't listen to it often. Not everything has to be serious all the time. I guess it's weird to me that this song gets so much hate for just having fun and being what it is. Even if it's overrated and overplayed, I think the world is better off in this timeline than the one where The Beatles never wrote a children's song.
7. "Eleanor Rigby" is just okay
The strings are cool. The song stands out with how unique it is. And what the hell is this actually about? I guess it's pretty good. But I don't know why the consensus is it's an all-time great.
8. "You Never Give Me Your Money" is the best track on Abbey Road
Like many of my favorite artists, I've never really loved the darker-sounding stuff The Beatles put out. I can see the value of "Come Together" and "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" but I've never loved either for their overall sound. "Something" is really good and is probably the runner-up, and "Octopus's Garden" is simultaneously overrated by fans and underrated by the general public. And of course, we've already talked about my feelings on "Here Comes the Sun." But "You Never Give Me Your Money" is an incredible listen. It's not deep and profound and mysterious—it's a story of disconnect in a relationship. A lot of what you hear you can take at face value, or at least not to be confusing or cryptic. But from the amazing piano intro on through the up-tempo changes and harmonies, this song is just gorgeous to me. In my opinion, it's at least a top 10 Beatles track all-time. I loved that they continued the idea musically on "Carry That Weight" because I honestly just can't get enough of it.
9. "Hello Goodbye" is straight up a bad song
It's decently catchy. The lyrics are no good. I don't want to hear it. Or talk about it, really.
10. "Revolution" rocks and there's nothing wrong with it
This song goes hard—it may very well be in contention with "Helter Skelter" as the best rock song The Beatles ever wrote.
A common criticism I've heard of "Revolution" is that even though it's skeptical of communism, it doesn't go far enough. Maybe that's an old criticism from when it was released. But regardless, according to critics, you're not allowed to say "I'm against communism, but..." Which is nonsense. The world is nuanced. The lyrics are skeptical of tyranny, but they're not following and accepting blindly what they're told the solution should be. At its core, it's purely anti-violent—which I respect a lot. "Revolution" says "we need change, but we need to be careful how we approach it." And that idea sits just right with me. For years, it was my favorite Beatles song because of how much it rocked. The guitar is aggressive and melodic, despite its thoughtful and peaceful nature. The elements piece together in a nuanced way just like its message.
11. You can skip the first 90 seconds of "Happiness is a Warm Gun"
A lot of people see this revered track as split up into at least two if not three distinct parts. Personally, I think the ending is phenomenal and the rest of the song is just fine. One of the best moments on the entire white album is when the "happiness is a warm gun" line hits for the first time in the last act of this song. It's the best part of the track that The Beatles themselves have called the crown jewel of the album.
12. "She Loves You" is not a top 50 Beatles song
"She Loves You" is often cited as hugely significant for the musical culture of the 1960s and I could never argue it isn't. I wasn't there. What ill can you speak about The Beatles' biggest hit of all time in England? Rolling Stone magazine ranked it as one of the best 100 songs of all time. It was a big deal. But it's often referred to as one of the all-time best Beatles songs when really it's slightly above average when you look at their entire body of work.
A lot of people don't realize just how many #1 hits and great songs The Beatles have. If "She Loves You" was by almost any other band, it would be the highlight of their careers. But even Paul called the "yeah, yeah, yeah" call and response in this song a "crummy idea."
13. "Don't Let Me Down" and "I've Got a Feeling" are top tier, all-time great Beatles songs
The reason the legendary 1969 rooftop concert would have been absolutely incredible to witness isn't just because it was their last public performance as a group. Nor is it simply because for a few brief hours it looked like there was a group of hobos on top of the Apples Corps building blasting live music. The fact that the cops showed up to shut them down adds to the legend, sure, but a hugely underrated reason the show was so great is because the setlist was absolutely fire. It included songs they had never performed live and would never play again. After a few takes of "Get Back," The Beatles followed up with these two magnificent, rocking, screaming jams back to back. These two songs might not have the most to say, but they're straightforward, authentic, and they go hard. Originally, my take was that these songs are both top 5 all-time Beatles songs but after going back and combing through their entire discography, I don't know if I'd rank them quite that high. But regardless, I can't imagine how awesome it must have been to hear them in the open air in London after a years-long concert hiatus.
I think I speak for all of us when I say thank God the police showed up threatening to arrest everyone and were finally able to shut down the performance. The people of London clearly needed to be protected from some lunchtime noise. It was all according to plan, though—Paul was known to have proposed how much fun it would be to "play somewhere we're not allowed to." Not for internet clout or for money, of course. Isn't it cool that rock artists used to just do things like this because they wanted to? Songs and artists alike, ladies and gentlemen—they just don't make 'em like that anymore.
14. Thirteen more Beatles songs that are untouchable
Well, that's all the takes I've got. I did put together a small list of songs that I really love and wouldn't ever speak ill of—even for a hot take. In my opinion, these are the songs that are well-regarded for good reason; they're the untouchable, all-time greats that are above criticism. Of course, that means anything that isn't on this list might be subject to future scrutiny around here... But here you go:
- I Wanna Hold Your Hand
- Yesterday
- Let it Be
- Hey Jude
- Blackbird
- Twist and Shout
- Can't Buy Me Love
- All You Need is Love
- Across the Universe
- A Day in the Life
- I Saw Her Standing There
- All My Loving
- I've Just Seen a Face