Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I know this has been hashed out many a time before, but it's still fun.

What do you think is the WORST Beatle song? (and lets not even bother with Revolution #9 since its not really a song).
AND..... What do you think is the most UNDERRATED Beatles song?

as for the underrated catagory, I suggest that "No Reply" never got the cretit it deserves... wonderful song. And from the same period, "I'll Be Back" is another non-big-hit that is one of my favorites.

I'll nominate Yellow Submarine as the worst. I am sure there are others just as bad but that song just did not do anything for me at all.

Worst:
- You Know My Name, Look Up the Number
- Wild Honey Pie
- Mr. Moonlight

Underrated:
- I Should Have Known Better
- If I Fell
- I'll Get You
- She Said She Said
- I'm Looking Through You

"You Know My Name, Look Up the Number" is sure a candidate for the worst... but to me its a piece that doesn't even attempt to take it seriously as a song.... and in that way is actually a successful piece of audio entertainment much in the same way Rev #9 works on some weird level.

As for "I Should Have Known Better" and "If I Fell" being underrated, I couldn't agree more.

Worst (IMHO) - "Octopus's garden" (or perhaps it's a sort of personal "bad" associations). As far as underrated is concerned... i dunno

I completely agree with If I Fell as being underrated. IMO, it has the best harmony vocals John and Paul ever did. Very intricate and well thought out harmonies.

If we're counting only songs they wrote, "What Goes On." If we're counting covers, "Mr. Moonlight."

I can't imagine anything from Abbey Road being a bad song Sheena! That's my favorite album.

I agree with "If I Fell" being among the best, although the harmonies are nowhere near intricate.

They are lovely, simple, and as innocent as the song.

That is their poignant appeal.

I disagree on "You know my name". Where else (and who else could get away with) a song like that? To take two lyrics and stretch it out over multiple styles of music and run at over 6 minutes? It makes me laugh every time I hear it and of all the Beatles songs that were recorded when they weren't getting along, you know that they must have had an absolute blast making that song.

Timothy: i think the reasons for me disliking the song are kind of personal, as i have mentioned, an unpleasant association, so perhaps i am just being subjective... Apart from that association, i cannot say why i dislike the song... well, the only other reason is perhaps Ringo's vocals, i've never been a fan of his singing, to be sincere...
As far as "underrated" go... i'd name "Cry baby cry" (the song that has a great potential, IMHO) and "I've just seen a face" (i'd suggest not the first song title which springs to mind when one hears the name "Beatles"... to me, it definitely has a hook, an interesting tune and of course one of my favorite)

Sheena:
I always get a kick out of how they got the bubble sounds on that song (Octopus's Garden). I think they just put straws into classes of water. I can just see them doing that! They undoubtedly had fun making records!

I like Cry Baby Cry too! The White Album is also one of my favorites. #2 after Abbey Road. I tend to like the Beatles albums in reverse order.

I agree about What Goes On...perhaps worst thing about it is it seems to go on and on (Macca has some nice bass moments on it, though.)

You Know My Name is awesome. For a band that had the best collective sense of humor of any group, so little of it came out in most of their work. Yet so much of it came out in that one cut. It's nearly like pre-Monty Python.

And You Bird Can Sing is the most underrated guitar song and most underrated mix of all time (not bad harmonies in it, either, even if Lennon dismissed it as rubbish for the lyrics.) Perhaps they would have called it "Your Byrd Can Sing," but that would have been too obvious?

yea, "What Goes On" is certainly up there among the worst. George tries his best at some rockabilly licks (ala his buddy Carl Perkins) but falls far short of being good.

Agreed.... And You Bird Can Sing is vastly underrated... one of those songs that showed how the group was breaking out of the pop lovesong mode.... an indication of things to come.