Sean Paul Murphy, Writer

Sean Paul Murphy, Writer
Sean Paul Murphy, Storyteller

Friday, February 23, 2018

My 5 Least Favorite Beatles Songs


In my last blog, I listed my 20 favorite Beatles songs.  Obviously, not all of their songs reached that same high level. Where there are mountains, there are also valleys. While I enjoy almost their entire catalog, there are a few songs I can live without.

I have only considered songs in the official Beatles canon for this list. I did not consider anything from the Star Club, or the Decca Auditions, or the BBC or the Anthology series. I only chose from the songs they themselves deemed worthy of official release when they were still an operational band.

Here they are (in no particular order):


A TASTE OF HONEY, 1963, Please Please Me.  The Beatles, particularly Paul McCartney, certainly had a taste for pre-rock pop, music hall and Broadway show tunes. This song, written by Bobby Scott and Ric Marlow, originally served as the instrumental theme of a Broadway play of the same name. Billy Dee Williams recorded the first vocal version (works every time). Don't get me wrong, the Beatles can certainly make numbers like this one work. I really enjoy their version of Till There Was You, from the show The Music Man on their second album. They made that song their own, mainly because George Harrison supplied a nifty guitar solo. This song, however, doesn't float my boat. It sounds old and out-of-date to me. Always did.


MR. MOONLIGHT, 1964,  Beatles For Sale.  This obscure R&B song, written by Roy Lee Johnson and originally performed by Dr. Feelgood and the Interns, is often cited as a least favorite Beatles track on many such lists. According to Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn, the song was a quite a show stopper during their club days. The place would grow quiet as John Lennon belted out the acappela opening, and there was considerable tension as to whether he would be in the right key when the band starting playing. Oh well. Whatever drama their live performances of this song generated did not translate to the recording. The backing vocals sound flat and bored and the cheesy organ ruins the instrumentation.


RUN FOR YOUR LIFE, 1965, Rubber Soul.  Don't get me wrong. This isn't a terrible song. I've been known to play it myself. (The attitude of this song certainly fit my band The Atomic Enema, which was formed by three out of four guys who had just left significant relationships. Here's what kind of songs we played: When You're Dead.) That said, the misogynistic lyrics of this song seem totally out of place on the album Rubber Soul. It would have felt more at home on earlier Please Please Me or With The Beatles albums. The song also gets an additional demerit for cribbing a line from the Elvis Presley song Baby, Let's Play House.


GOOD NIGHT, 1968, The Beatles.  I know what you're thinking: The obvious choice from The White Album would be Revolution 9. However, the older I get the more I appreciate that experimental sound collage. Additionally, this song, written by John Lennon but sung by Ringo Starr, does indeed work in the context of a closer to the sprawling, somewhat chaotic, double album. That said, I have little patience for the song outside of the album. It is too maudlin for my taste. Lennon apparently requested a "cheesy" orchestration from producer George Martin, who faithfully followed his instructions.  I do not necessarily skip this track when I listen to The White Album, but I have never hit that little button on my phone and said, "Siri, play Good Night by The Beatles."

Now, that said, an earlier take of this song was included on remastered The White Album. This take was guitar driven and featured harmony vocals by the entire band.  I wish they would have pursued that approach! It sounded great and it would have been a perfect way to end that wildly disparate album on a united note!


WHEN I GET HOME, 1964, A Hard Day's Night.  I once made a set of CDs that played through the Beatles' catalog with all of the singles in proper context. I used to love playing them on long road trips.  But I noticed something over time. I always hit skip after this song started and that is a rarity for me and The Beatles.  In his last major interview, John Lennon was dismissive of many of his songs as either filler or work songs. That's the category where this one belongs. Aside from the drumming, the overall performance is lackluster. Lennon tries to inject some excitement into the vocals, but the song merely plays on some of their familiar musical tropes. There is a certain been there done that feeling. If you really want to hear a real song about a guy who is anxious to get to his girl, check out the title song of the album.

Read about my favorite Beatles songs here:  My 20 Favorite Beatles Songs.

Check out some videos I edited here:
FD Automatic: Red Shoes
Crack The Sky: Mr. President
Greg Kihn: Horror Show
Nils Lofgren: Alone

Other Lists:



My novel Chapel Street is now available! You can currently buy the Kindle and paperback at Amazon and the Nook, paperback and hardcover at Barnes & Noble.


Learn more about the book, click Here.

Watch the book trailer:

  

Listen to me read some chapters here:


Let's stay in touch:

Follow me on Twitter: SeanPaulMurphy
Follow me on Facebook: Sean Paul Murphy
Follow me on Instagram: Sean Paul Murphy
Subscribe on YouTube: Sean Paul Murphy
Posted by at
Labels: ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)