What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

Welcome to Our Forums. Once you've registered and logged in, you're primed to talk football, among other topics, with the sharpest and most experienced fantasy players on the internet.

In this thread I rank my favorite post-Beatles Beatles songs: 291-1. (1 Viewer)

heckmanm said:
I'll have you know I re-scoured the first 6 pages yesterday trying to figure out the "bolded ampersand", which I now assume must have come from a different thread, since the first mention of it in THIS thread was someone asking where it was.

(Apologies if I skimmed over it in the original Beatles thread :bag:  )
Click to expand...
It was from an Eephus draft.  I forget what it was called but it was a recent one where we drafted by year.

 
31.  Another Day (single, 1971)  Spotify  YouTube

(Paul #12)

Paul wrote this song during the Beatles Let It Be sessions but didn't record it until 1970 during the Ram sessions, when it was the first song recorded and later became the first released single of Paul's post-Beatles career.  It reached #5 on the US charts and went Platinum, but was generally reviled by critics as well as the other Beatles as vapid in comparison to the works of the others at the time, as they addressed larger political and world issues.  John spewed vitriol to this song in particular in some of the "How Do You Sleep?":  "The only thing you done was yesterday, and since you've gone you're just another day."  The song was also controversial in that Linda was given a credit for co-writing it, which led to the lawsuit and eventual settlement with Lew Grade that I've described in prior posts.

Retrospective evaluation of the song has been much more favorable, as people have recognized the intricate musicality and warm intimacy of the song instead of focusing on its lack of huge political statement.  I think this is Paul doing what he loves to do and does best:  creating a fictitious character to address a universal experience.  Paul has called it "Eleanor Rigby in New York," which seems fitting given its themes of loneliness and drudgery.  To me Paul does an excellent job of describing the boredom of a monotonous job and life, the sadness of the daily grind, the exhaustion of an existence that doesn't change from day to day, and unfortunately the inability of many people to change their unhappiness themselves, instead hoping for outside forces ("the man of her dreams comes to break the spell").  Haven't we all felt at one time like we're just going through the motions, not feeling particularly connected to our own life, like we're watching the most boring movie in the world?

The song contains another element that is essential Paul:  telling this tale of sorrow over a deceptively cheery musical sound, at least until you get to the bridge.  It features a soaring Paul vocal and excellent cascading harmonies between him and Linda, plus a weaving bassline that I'd put up there with Paul's best.  (By the way, the bass was not intended to be so high in the mix; it was a engineering mistake that was never corrected.)  Just listen to that damn bass line!  The percussion on the song is also fantastic and includes Denny Seiwell playing a phone book, and the transitions from 3/4 to 4/4 and back are handled beautifully by Seiwell.  The highlights of the song for me by far are the two bridges, where the song slips into a Latin beat with phone-book percussion, incredible bass line, and especially memorable harmonies.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
krista4 said:
31.  Another Day (single, 1971)  Spotify  YouTube

(Paul #12)

Paul wrote this song during the Beatles Let It Be sessions but didn't record it until 1970 during the Ram sessions, when it was the first song recorded and later became the first released single of Paul's post-Beatles career.  It reached #5 on the US charts and went Platinum, but was generally reviled by critics as well as the other Beatles as vapid in comparison to the works of the others at the time, as they addressed larger political and world issues.  John spewed vitriol to this song in particular in some of the "How Do You Sleep?":  "The only thing you done was yesterday, and since you've gone you're just another day."  The song was also controversial in that Linda was given a credit for co-writing it, which led to the lawsuit and eventual settlement with Lew Grade that I've described in prior posts.

Retrospective evaluation of the song has been much more favorable, as people have recognized the intricate musicality and warm intimacy of the song instead of focusing on its lack of huge political statement.  I think this is Paul doing what he loves to do and does best:  creating a fictitious character to address a universal experience.  Paul has called it "Eleanor Rigby in New York," which seems fitting given its themes of loneliness and drudgery.  To me Paul does an excellent job of describing the boredom of a monotonous job and life, the sadness of the daily grind, the exhaustion of an existence that doesn't change from day to day, and unfortunately the inability of many people to change their unhappiness themselves, instead hoping for outside forces ("the man of her dreams comes to break the spell").  Haven't we all felt at one time like we're just going through the motions, not feeling particularly connected to our own life, like we're watching the most boring movie in the world?

The song contains another element that is essential Paul:  telling this tale of sorrow over a deceptively cheery musical sound, at least until you get to the bridge.  It features a soaring Paul vocal and excellent cascading harmonies between him and Linda, plus a weaving bassline that I'd put up there with Paul's best.  (By the way, the bass was not intended to be so high in the mix; it was a engineering mistake that was never corrected.)  Just listen to that damn bass line!  The percussion on the song is also fantastic and includes Denny Seiwell playing a phone book, and the transitions from 3/4 to 4/4 and back are handled beautifully by Seiwell.  The highlights of the song for me by far are the two bridges, where the song slips into a Latin beat with phone-book percussion, incredible bass line, and especially memorable harmonies.
Click to expand...
Putting Paul’s bass high in the mix is never a mistake.

 
krista4 said:
34.  The Traveling Wilburys – Handle With Care (The Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1, 1988)  Spotify  YouTube

(George #14)

33.  Any Road (Brainwashed, 2002)  Spotify  YouTube

(George #13)

I wrote at length about “Handle With Care” and its genesis in my ---INTERLUDE--- on The Traveling Wilburys.  And you don’t need me to talk about why it’s great, anyway.  I’m combining it with yet another song from Brainwashed because this song, “Any Road,” could not sound more like a Traveling Wilburys song, no doubt in part due to Jeff Lynne’s production.  It’s like a redo of “Heading For the Light” with more wisdom and sparkling guitars.  I give “Any Road” the slight nod over the Wilburys song because it has more George.  Both are freaking delightful.  That’s my review.  Yep, that’s it.  They are delightful.  Freaking delightful, even.  Next.
Click to expand...
After listening to Any Road again today, Mrs APK and I agreed that it actually sounds a lot like this Wilbury’s song:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AdMXNbjHYh8

 
Good morning!  Let's scream!

30.  John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band - Mother (John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, 1970)  Spotify  YouTube

(John #7)

I think this is John's best song, and maybe the best song in the entire countdown.  But it's so brutal that I sometimes can't even listen to it.  The raw emotion of the increasingly desperate vocal, ending in screams, is a powerful gut punch.  I don't think there's much to say about this song; everyone knows the background of John's abandonment by both his mother and father, and I've discussed it here.  John has said the song wasn't only about his parents, but about 99% of parents everywhere.  Some early versions of the song used guitar in place of the piano, and I'm happy he switched to piano for the final version as I think that stark piano riff is perfect in the context of the stripped down simplicity of the sound and sentiment of the song.  Excruciating and brilliant, it's a song I almost wish I'd never heard.

John songs on the countdown that begin with a Tibetan prayer bell or church bell (running total):  3

 
29.  Awaiting On You All (All Things Must Pass, 1970)  Spotify  YouTube

(George #12)

Yes, it’s soooooo Wall of Sound-y, but I love the all-out, full-tilt nature of this gospel piece.  Layers and layers of slide guitar, electric guitar and bass from multiple guitarists and bassists, Jim Gordon wailing on the drums, Bobby Whitlock on organ, trumpet, trombone, saxophones, and other horns, prominent tambourine, multi-layered vocals, and Spector’s heavy echo and reverb effects somehow work better for me on such an exuberant song that advocates “chanting the names of the Lord” to bring oneself closer to God.  As a child, George had been encouraged to be part of the Catholic church, and this song reflects his decision to eschew organized religion and seek a more direct and personal relationship with God; this is no more clearly indicated than in those controversial (at the time) lyrics that I find the best part of the song:  “And while the Pope owns fifty one percent of General Motors.  And the stock exchange is the only thing he's qualified to quote us.”  Of course, it wasn’t just organized religion that drew George’s ire here, as the opening lines were a clear rebuke to John:  “You don't need no love in.  You don't need no bed pan.  You don't need a horoscope or a microscope, to see the mess that you’re in.”  Despite these lines of criticism, I find the song to be a joyous piece, and all the Spector-ized cacophony fits with the ebullient praise.  I might even say it sounds heavenly.

 
28.  Pisces Fish (Brainwashed, 2002)  Spotify  YouTube

(George #11)

I’d hoped to get a song from Brainwashed into the George top 10, given how much I’ve pushed the album in this thread, but I can’t quite get there.  In a record full of beautifully introspective lyrics and gorgeous melodies, this is my favorite as George paints impressionistic scenes of the world around him and ties them to his spiritual journey as he nears the end of his life.  Sure, the lyric about geese crapping might slightly detract from the bucolic scene, but I think George, as he describes himself as a “pisces fish” with two sides to his personality, is also portraying a realistic view of the world as also having both good and bad to it.

The sole line of the chorus, “I’m a Pisces fish and the river runs through my soul,” roots the song not only the notion of the dual aspects of George’s personality but in the feel of water flowing as George travels along the river of life and spiritual awakening.  This sense of water running down is enhanced by the tumbling of the notes of this line down a full octave from beginning to end.  Throughout this song, I feel the water flowing down the mountain into the river, down the river into the sea.  Altogether it’s a serene, intimate portrayal of George’s life journey.

Rowers gliding on the river
Canadian geese crap along the bank
Back wheel of my bike begins to quiver
The chain is wrapped around the crank
Old ladies, who must be doggie training
Walking, throwing balls, chasing all the sheep
While the farmer stands around and he's complaining
His mad cows are being put to sleep

I'm a Pisces fish and the river runs through my soul

Smoke signals from the brewery
Like someone in there found the latest Pope
In a vat of beer that keeps pumping out with fury
While the church bell ringer's tangled in his rope
But there's a temple on an island
I think of all the Gods and what they feel
You can only find them in the deepest silence
I've got to get off of this big wheel

I'm a Pisces fish and the river runs through my soul

And I'll be swimming until I can find those waters
That's the one unbounded ocean of bliss
That's flowing through your parents, sons and daughters
But still an easy thing for us to miss

Blades go skimming through the water
I hear the coxswain shouting his instructions about
With this crew oh, it could be a tall order
Have we time to sort all these things out?
Sometimes my life it feels like fiction
Some of the days it's really quite serene
I'm a living proof of all life's contradictions
One half's going where the other half's just been

I'm a Pisces fish and the river runs through my soul

&

 
27.  Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey (Ram, 1971)  Spotify  YouTube

(Paul #11)

As I mentioned to Morton (who hates this song), I used to dislike this one but have grown to love it over the years.  I’m a fan of Paul’s little “suites” such as this, where he’s pressed a few separate ideas into a single song, and in this case I think that the wildly differing parts were somehow stitched together into an amazingly cohesive whole.  As with all the suites, though, there are parts of it I love more than others:  while it seems like the “hands across the water” portion is popular even with someone like Morton, who deemed it the only redeeming part, the lines are my least favorite portion, as I really don’t like the Linda echo on “water” in particular.  Instead, I love all the weirdest bits of the song the most – the sound of a telephone dialing followed by Paul’s with a telephone effect (cheesily inserted after Paul says they’ll “give a ring”), the ethereal feel to the harmonies in the “Uncle Albert” part, the flugelhorn intro to the “hands across the water” portion that sounds more like Jermaine Jackson doing mouth noises, the seagull sounds, Paul doing the “snooty” voice, the “butter pie” interaction between Paul and Linda.  I’m embarrassed to admit I even like the thunderstorm sound effects (recorded on a cliff during an actual thunderstorm) after Paul sings “rain,” which is just the dumbest thing.  And xylophone, there’s xylophone! 

It all sounds circus-y and self-effacing and damn great fun in a very “Yellow Submarine”-y way, and if you didn’t like that one you probably don’t like this either.  Even setting aside the weird touches I love, though, the music is generally top-shelf, with an excellent melodic drum beat by Denny Seiwell, a guitar part by Hugh McCracken that even John later complimented him on, and a bass part that sounds like a tuba.  A tuba!  Paul vocal is fantastic as it bounces among falsetto, regular range, lower register, and the weird affected bits.  The song also features an outstanding orchestral arrangement by George Martin, which was performed the New York Philharmonic under the direction of…Paul!  Add the constant time signature changes to all of these musical ideas going on, and you have a complex, classic musical achievement.

The “Uncle Albert” portion of this song was conceived by Paul as an apology to an older generation of people, including his own real-life Uncle Albert, who was very drunk and spouting Bible verses at family gatherings where Paul saw him but in day-to-day life was a regular respectable guy.  It made Paul consider the ways in which the older generation was unsettled by the world and needed an escape, and how difficult the younger generations might make that by not understanding them.  Paul has indicated that “Admiral Halsey” was a reference to US Admiral William Halsey, who’d been portrayed in Tora! Tora! Tora! just before the Ram sessions began.  The rest were bits and pieces thrown together into what I consider a monumentally successful fashion. 

This song shot to #1 and became Paul’s first post-Beatles #1 hit, but it continues to inspire a love/hate reaction in many Beatles fans.  To me it feels very Beatle-y, from the whimsy and unusual effects of “Yellow Submarine” or portions of Sgt. Pepper’s, to the musical collage of side two of Abbey Road.  Regardless of your view of it, I think you have to admire the ambition (especially after the criticism leveled at “Another Day” for lacking in gravitas).  Despite the song’s popularity with many fans, Paul’s never performed this one live even in the face of constant requests for it.  I don’t blame the ol’ chap; I can only imagine the massive undertaking it would be to recreate this on stage.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
WE DID IT!!!

With that, we've hit the top 10 for both George and Paul.  Six remain from John as well.

An update on the contest shows that simey, neal cassady, Dr. Octopus, and facook are all still hanging tough with three songs eligible, but others still could make a comeback.  We had a massacre of Paul guesses getting from the top 20 to the top 10, which isn't terribly surprising given how many choices there are for Paul.  

John 

5 votes - Watching the Wheels (simey, shuke, neal, Dr. Oct, falguy)

3 votes - Instant Karma (jwb, facook, prosopis)

2 votes - #9 Dream (Morton, Pip)

Paul 

5 votes - Maybe I’m Amazed (neal, Shaft, Dr. Oct, facook, Binky)

1 vote - Band on the Run (simey)

George 

6 votes - What is Life (simey, shuke, Morton, jwb, falguy, Binky)

2 votes each - Beware of Darkness (neal, Dr. Oct); All Things Must Pass (facook, Uruk)

1 vote - Give Me Love (weasel)

 
krista4 said:
27.  Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey (Ram, 1971)  Spotify  YouTube

(Paul #11)

As I mentioned to Morton (who hates this song), I used to dislike this one but have grown to love it over the years.  I’m a fan of Paul’s little “suites” such as this, where he’s pressed a few separate ideas into a single song, and in this case I think that the wildly differing parts were somehow stitched together into an amazingly cohesive whole.  As with all the suites, though, there are parts of it I love more than others:  while it seems like the “hands across the water” portion is popular even with someone like Morton, who deemed it the only redeeming part, the lines are my least favorite portion, as I really don’t like the Linda echo on “water” in particular.  Instead, I love all the weirdest bits of the song the most – the sound of a telephone dialing followed by Paul’s with a telephone effect (cheesily inserted after Paul says they’ll “give a ring”), the ethereal feel to the harmonies in the “Uncle Albert” part, the flugelhorn intro to the “hands across the water” portion that sounds more like Jermaine Jackson doing mouth noises, the seagull sounds, Paul doing the “snooty” voice, the “butter pie” interaction between Paul and Linda.  I’m embarrassed to admit I even like the thunderstorm sound effects (recorded on a cliff during an actual thunderstorm) after Paul sings “rain,” which is just the dumbest thing.  And xylophone, there’s xylophone! 

It all sounds circus-y and self-effacing and damn great fun in a very “Yellow Submarine”-y way, and if you didn’t like that one you probably don’t like this either.  Even setting aside the weird touches I love, though, the music is generally top-shelf, with an excellent melodic drum beat by Denny Seiwell, a guitar part by Hugh McCracken that even John later complimented him on, and a bass part that sounds like a tuba.  A tuba!  Paul vocal is outstanding as it bounces among falsetto, regular range, lower register, and the weird affected bits.  The song also features an outstanding orchestral arrangement by George Martin, which was performed the New York Philharmonic under the direction of…Paul!  Add the constant time signature changes to all of these musical ideas going on, and you have a complex, classic musical achievement.

The “Uncle Albert” portion of this song was conceived by Paul as an apology to an older generation of people, including his own real-life Uncle Albert, who was very drunk and spouting Bible verses at family gatherings where Paul saw him but in day-to-day life was a regular respectable guy.  It made Paul consider the ways in which the older generation was unsettled by the world and needed an escape, and how difficult the younger generations might make that by not understanding them.  Paul has indicated that “Admiral Halsey” was a reference to US Admiral William Halsey, who’d been portrayed in Tora! Tora! Tora! just before the Ram sessions began.  The rest were bits and pieces thrown together into what I consider a monumentally successful fashion. 

This song shot to #1 and became Paul’s first post-Beatles #1 hit, but it continues to inspire a love/hate reaction in many Beatles fans.  To me it feels very Beatle-y, from the whimsy and unusual effects of “Yellow Submarine” or portions of Sgt. Pepper’s, to the musical collage of side two of Abbey Road.  Regardless of your view of it, I think you have to admire the ambition (especially after the criticism leveled at “Another Day” for lacking in gravitas).  Despite the song’s popularity with many fans, Paul’s never performed this one live even in the face of constant requests for it.  I don’t blame the ol’ chap; I can only imagine the massive undertaking it would be to recreate this on stage.
Click to expand...
Write-up: big thumbs up

Song: blech

Footnote: yeah, I hate yellow submarine too

 
26.  Be Here Now (Living In The Material World, 1973)  Spotify  YouTube

(George #10)

If you don’t like haunting, dreamlike pieces from George, this isn’t for you.  This song is positively hypnotic with its droning sitar and languorous vocal.  George wrote this piece as a meditation on time and living in the present rather than the past, in part based on the Ram Dass book, Be Here Now, which was an introduction to Hinduism.  In addition, like many of George’s other songs during this period, the bridge seems to address “maya,” or the concept of the physical world being an illusion.

Fun fact:  Klaus Voormann’s stand-up bass part for this song was recorded in the bathroom at George’s Friar Park estate to give the band the acoustic sound they wanted.

Remember now, be here now
As it's not like it was before
The past was, be here now
As it's not what it was before it was

Why try to live a life
That isn't real
No how
A mind that wants to wander
'Round a corner
Is an unwise mind

Now is, be here now
And it's not what it was before
Remember now, be here now
As it's not like it was before it was

&

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Work has become a disaster and apparently is going to stay that way through the end of the year.  Combined with all the moving/house selling, it's overwhelming.  As a result, I'm going to scoot through these last 25 more quickly and with less extensive write-ups.  Sorry!  There hasn't been much discussion lately anyway, so we might all be a bit exhausted by it.  :)   I'm going to try to post five each of Mon-Thurs this week with more limited write-ups, and then we'll have the big reveal of the top four on Friday.  Don't want to finish over a weekend since no one is ever around then.

 
25. Wings - Live And Let Die (single, 1973)  Spotify  YouTube

(Paul #10)

You all know this song and don't need a write-up from me.  It was the first rock song ever to open a James Bond movie, was nominated for an Oscar (losing to "The Way We Were"), and hit #2 on the US charts.  George Martin produced it and provided the orchestral arrangement, the first time that he and Paul had worked together since the breakup of the Beatles.  Paul wrote this one quickly, in a day after finishing the book on which the movie was based, which he deemed "pretty good."  And despite working with a 63-piece orchestra(!), the band was able to lay down the track in only a few hours, including only 2-3 takes on Paul's vocals.

I love the changes on this song, from the sweet majesty of the opening section to the bombast and pathos of the choruses to the reggae middle eight that Paul has claimed Linda wrote.  This is my favorite post-Beatles rock vocal performance by Paul, bouncing all around various registers and styles.  Paul still plays this on tour and manages to sound fantastic on it; it was a highlight of the show I saw last year.  There were a lot of 'splosions.

 
krista4 said:
Work has become a disaster and apparently is going to stay that way through the end of the year.  Combined with all the moving/house selling, it's overwhelming.  As a result, I'm going to scoot through these last 25 more quickly and with less extensive write-ups.  Sorry!  There hasn't been much discussion lately anyway, so we might all be a bit exhausted by it.  :)   I'm going to try to post five each of Mon-Thurs this week with more limited write-ups, and then we'll have the big reveal of the top four on Friday.  Don't want to finish over a weekend since no one is ever around then.
Click to expand...
What do you mean there hasn't been much discussion lately?  You wrote 1000 words dissecting the half-dozen elements of Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey that you appreciate.  

And I responded with "blech"

Don't blame me for my incisive brevity in the face of your meandering verbosity!

We all have a part to play here Krista.  Yours is to fire off seemingly effortless prose that demonstrates great musical insight, synthesizes hours of exhaustive research and occasionally encapsulates it all in your own personal experience.  Mine is to say: "yeah, me too!" or "nah, pfft!"  And so, I remain 100% committed to MY role...unwavering in MY ability to drop into this thread every third day, listen to a few songs and contribute in the way that only I can (usually through emojis, but occasionally by naming the weiners of my fellow posters).  All that's gotta be worth SOMETHING!

Ok, just having fun.  You do whatever you feel you need to do to maintain your own sanity.  I've enjoyed the heck out of this thread, learned a lot along the way, re-ignited some long-dormant passions, and found a new appreciation for George Harrison (some of that stuff from Brainwashed is incredibly good).  So regardless of how it ends, it's been a hell of a ride and something I will remember whenever someone asks me what I did during Covid (I worked WAY too many hours from my home office, I wiped down groceries for 2 months, I built my own election forecast model, I spent countless hours ranking my favorite 100 Paul McCartney songs, and I participated in some crazy* internet lady's thread of HER top 291 post-Beatles Beatles songs. Oh, and I tried WAY too hard to get this other internet guy to watch a video of Spies Like Us so he could feel MY pain...the way John Lennon made me feel HIS pain when I first heard him sing Mother while I tried to clean my bedroom as a 14 year-old Beatles fanatic.)

So, with all sincerity: thank you Krista et al.  I haven't always been able to participate due to either/both competing priorities and lack of musical insight, but have ALWAYS looked forward to checking in to see what you and the gang are up to in here.  It's been a very welcome respite and I regret that my respite is your chore.  Regardless, you've accomplished everything you need to accomplish and so, again: Thank you!

*"Crazy" in only the BEST way!

 
krista4 said:
25. Wings - Live And Let Die (single, 1973)  Spotify  YouTube

(Paul #10)

You all know this song and don't need a write-up from me.  It was the first rock song ever to open a James Bond movie, was nominated for an Oscar (losing to "The Way We Were"), and hit #2 on the US charts.  George Martin produced it and provided the orchestral arrangement, the first time that he and Paul had worked together since the breakup of the Beatles.  Paul wrote this one quickly, in a day after finishing the book on which the movie was based, which he deemed "pretty good."  And despite working with a 63-piece orchestra(!), the band was able to lay down the track in only a few hours, including only 2-3 takes on Paul's vocals.

I love the changes on this song, from the sweet majesty of the opening section to the bombast and pathos of the choruses to the reggae middle eight that Paul has claimed Linda wrote.  This is my favorite post-Beatles rock vocal performance by Paul, bouncing all around various registers and styles.  Paul still plays this on tour and manages to sound fantastic on it; it was a highlight of the show I saw last year.  There were a lot of 'splosions.
Click to expand...
they blowed up real good

 
More rock music...

24.  Art Of Dying (All Things Must Pass, 1970)  Spotify  YouTube

(George #9)

Huge.  Gigantic.  Pounding.  Spector-y.  George wrote this one beginning in 1966, inspired by The Tibetan Book Of The Dead, as a composition on the subject of reincarnation.  Listen to all that #### going on right there.  I could do without some of the Clapton-ing (other than the intro), but the rest of the music is stellar, especially Carl Radle on bass and Jim Gordon on drums.  Billy Preston takes organ duties, while Gary Wright adds the electric piano, but the coolest part to me is the tubular bells played by Bobby Whitlock.  Add in an abundance of horns playing an appropriately counter-puntal melody, and you have a great big rock orchestra in an overpowering squall.  In a good way.  Reminder, by the way, that this is the song Phil Collins played congas on until his hands bled, and then he was cut out of the final product:  story previously relayed here.  

 
Morton Muffley said:
What do you mean there hasn't been much discussion lately?  You wrote 1000 words dissecting the half-dozen elements of Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey that you appreciate.  

And I responded with "blech"

Don't blame me for my incisive brevity in the face of your meandering verbosity!

We all have a part to play here Krista.  Yours is to fire off seemingly effortless prose that demonstrates great musical insight, synthesizes hours of exhaustive research and occasionally encapsulates it all in your own personal experience.  Mine is to say: "yeah, me too!" or "nah, pfft!"  And so, I remain 100% committed to MY role...unwavering in MY ability to drop into this thread every third day, listen to a few songs and contribute in the way that only I can (usually through emojis, but occasionally by naming the weiners of my fellow posters).  All that's gotta be worth SOMETHING!

Ok, just having fun.  You do whatever you feel you need to do to maintain your own sanity.  I've enjoyed the heck out of this thread, learned a lot along the way, re-ignited some long-dormant passions, and found a new appreciation for George Harrison (some of that stuff from Brainwashed is incredibly good).  So regardless of how it ends, it's been a hell of a ride and something I will remember whenever someone asks me what I did during Covid (I worked WAY too many hours from my home office, I wiped down groceries for 2 months, I built my own election forecast model, I spent countless hours ranking my favorite 100 Paul McCartney songs, and I participated in some crazy* internet lady's thread of HER top 291 post-Beatles Beatles songs. Oh, and I tried WAY too hard to get this other internet guy to watch a video of Spies Like Us so he could feel MY pain...the way John Lennon made me feel HIS pain when I first heard him sing Mother while I tried to clean my bedroom as a 14 year-old Beatles fanatic.)

So, with all sincerity: thank you Krista et al.  I haven't always been able to participate due to either/both competing priorities and lack of musical insight, but have ALWAYS looked forward to checking in to see what you and the gang are up to in here.  It's been a very welcome respite and I regret that my respite is your chore.  Regardless, you've accomplished everything you need to accomplish and so, again: Thank you!

*"Crazy" in only the BEST way!
Click to expand...
:lmao:   :lmao:  at so much of this.  I'm not complaining, by the way.  Just stressed and exhausted on this end.  I apologize that this will go out with more of a whimper than a bang, but at least I will finish it, and I didn't even quit once!

 
Dr. Octopus said:
That’s one of my favorites from Brainwashed also - which I only listened to because of this thread. It’s a great album.
Click to expand...
I never paid attention to this album until Krista posted Rocking Chair in Hawaii. I really like it a lot. One of those albums where nothing jumps right out, but it's a great listen from start to finish. Lot of different sounds here, and it's just fun. 

 
krista4 said:
25. Wings - Live And Let Die (single, 1973)  Spotify  YouTube

(Paul #10)

You all know this song and don't need a write-up from me.  It was the first rock song ever to open a James Bond movie, was nominated for an Oscar (losing to "The Way We Were"), and hit #2 on the US charts.  George Martin produced it and provided the orchestral arrangement, the first time that he and Paul had worked together since the breakup of the Beatles.  Paul wrote this one quickly, in a day after finishing the book on which the movie was based, which he deemed "pretty good."  And despite working with a 63-piece orchestra(!), the band was able to lay down the track in only a few hours, including only 2-3 takes on Paul's vocals.

I love the changes on this song, from the sweet majesty of the opening section to the bombast and pathos of the choruses to the reggae middle eight that Paul has claimed Linda wrote.  This is my favorite post-Beatles rock vocal performance by Paul, bouncing all around various registers and styles.  Paul still plays this on tour and manages to sound fantastic on it; it was a highlight of the show I saw last year.  There were a lot of 'splosions.
Click to expand...
Top shelf for me. And I love that he still rocks it more at 70+ than that godawful Guns'n'Roses POS version.

 
krista4 said:
More rock music...

24.  Art Of Dying (All Things Must Pass, 1970)  Spotify  YouTube

(George #9)

Huge.  Gigantic.  Pounding.  Spector-y.  George wrote this one beginning in 1966, inspired by The Tibetan Book Of The Dead, as a composition on the subject of reincarnation.  Listen to all that #### going on right there.  I could do without some of the Clapton-ing (other than the intro), but the rest of the music is stellar, especially Carl Radle on bass and Jim Gordon on drums.  Billy Preston takes organ duties, while Gary Wright adds the electric piano, but the coolest part to me is the tubular bells played by Bobby Whitlock.  Add in an abundance of horns playing an appropriately counter-puntal melody, and you have a great big rock orchestra in an overpowering squall.  In a good way.  Reminder, by the way, that this is the song Phil Collins played congas on until his hands bled, and then he was cut out of the final product:  story previously relayed here.  
Click to expand...
I love this song so much.  I had kind of forgotten about it, and probably just assumed it was posted earlier, so I'm thrilled to see if up in the Top 25.  Excellent selection, my dear chap.  And I say that with absolutely no knowledge whatsoever about whether "chap" can be used unisexually.  

 
krista4 said:
25. Wings - Live And Let Die (single, 1973)  Spotify  YouTube

(Paul #10)

You all know this song and don't need a write-up from me.  It was the first rock song ever to open a James Bond movie, was nominated for an Oscar (losing to "The Way We Were"), and hit #2 on the US charts.  George Martin produced it and provided the orchestral arrangement, the first time that he and Paul had worked together since the breakup of the Beatles.  Paul wrote this one quickly, in a day after finishing the book on which the movie was based, which he deemed "pretty good."  And despite working with a 63-piece orchestra(!), the band was able to lay down the track in only a few hours, including only 2-3 takes on Paul's vocals.

I love the changes on this song, from the sweet majesty of the opening section to the bombast and pathos of the choruses to the reggae middle eight that Paul has claimed Linda wrote.  This is my favorite post-Beatles rock vocal performance by Paul, bouncing all around various registers and styles.  Paul still plays this on tour and manages to sound fantastic on it; it was a highlight of the show I saw last year.  There were a lot of 'splosions.
Click to expand...
My Pop was a big Bond fan. This song accompanies some of my best and earliest memories of Pop. ❤️

 
Last edited by a moderator:
More rock music...

23.  John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band - Isolation (John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, 1970)  Spotify  YouTube

(John #6)

I guess I should call this blues as much as it is rock.  John wasn't coy with the titles of the songs on this album - what you see in the title is what you get in the song, this one being about John's feelings of fear and vulnerability despite "having it all," feeling disillusioned with fame and believing in a way that it was he and Yoko against the world.  In an especially powerful middle eight (which was adapted from the Barrett Strong song, "Oh, I Apologize"), he laments being misunderstood by the world at large, while also understanding that other people are victims of an insane world as well.  While most of this album is musically stark, I find it especially compelling in this song, with the cold landscape of the song fitting the theme of isolation.  Voormann's bass softly loops while Ringo plays gently; it is only in that more aggressive middle eight that all of the instrumentation becomes more forceful, with John's vocals also being double-tracked and panned back and forth to give a fuller effect.  I find this one of John's most emotional and affecting vocals, rueful during the quiet verses and yelping with pain during the bridge.  

 
krista4 said:
Work has become a disaster and apparently is going to stay that way through the end of the year.  Combined with all the moving/house selling, it's overwhelming.  As a result, I'm going to scoot through these last 25 more quickly and with less extensive write-ups.  Sorry!  There hasn't been much discussion lately anyway, so we might all be a bit exhausted by it.  :)   I'm going to try to post five each of Mon-Thurs this week with more limited write-ups, and then we'll have the big reveal of the top four on Friday.  Don't want to finish over a weekend since no one is ever around then.
Click to expand...
Math.  :lmao:   I realized I was at 26, not 24, so the above doesn't work.  I'm just going to keep posting songs until I'm tired of it.  I can't guarantee a particular number a day, and again sorry for hitting so many at a time here at the end.  I figure most of these are well-known so there's less listening involved, though.

Well, except the Paul songs.  I counted up and see that six of my top 10 Paul songs are not what I'd consider well-known.

 
More rock music...

22.  Jenny Wren (Chaos And Creation In The Backyard, 2005)  Spotify  YouTube

(Paul #9)

Perhaps I shouldn't consider this one not "well-known" - after all, it was nominated for a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance - but I never hear anyone discussing it, on the Beatles channel or otherwise.  Paul wrote this in the midst of a canyon outside of Los Angeles, where he'd hoped to be inspired by the vastness of nature.  The title came from the Dickens novel Our Mutual Friend, in which Paul says "Jenny Wren is a really cool little girl who's sort of magical, who sees good in things. ... A wren is one of my favourite birds, little English bird..."  The song uses the wren as a metaphor for the tale of a girl rising out of her underprivileged background.  Could it be about She Who Shall Not Be Named?  Paul has never said it was, and I'm going to say no, because I love this song.

There are three things that launch this song so high on my list, along with the obviously gorgeous melody and the complex key changes.  First is Paul's finger-picking acoustic guitar part, which sounds a lot like "Blackbird" - I even love the sound of his hands moving along the fret board.  Second is Paul's vocal, which if you don't love the "old man" version of Paul like I do, might not be for you.  But I think he uses what he has particularly beautifully on this song, and I even adore the parts where he strains and maybe doesn't quite get there, such as on the words "you saw who we are" starting at 3:00.  The third and most important, of course, is the use of the duduk, which is an Armenian woodwind instrument Paul had heard played at the Concert for George and decided to incorporate into this song.  The trailing melody and the solo are stunningly beautiful and melancholy pieces played by Venezuelan musician Pedro Eustache, who expected that the song would then go through a lot of overdubs to add to the feel.  Instead, Paul left the song unadorned, with only the guitar and a light tom accompanying the duduk.  Paul explained that he wanted the song to sound as if it were just two friends playing together in a pub.  Two friends who happened to have a duduk along, I guess.

Hey, OH liked this one!  "That song was beautiful.  One of Paul McCartney's strengths is knowing what he can’t do.  He doesn’t shred big noodly guitar solos or do drum solos.  It’s the same with this, with singing, he doesn’t do more than he’s capable of.  He makes what another performer would seem like a liability into an asset.  It’s a fragile -sounding song about fragility, and he lets that new aspect of his voice come through."

 
krista4 said:
More rock music...

22.  Jenny Wren (Chaos And Creation In The Backyard, 2005)  Spotify  YouTube

(Paul #9)

Perhaps I shouldn't consider this one not "well-known" - after all, it was nominated for a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance - but I never hear anyone discussing it, on the Beatles channel or otherwise.  Paul wrote this in the midst of a canyon outside of Los Angeles, where he'd hoped to be inspired by the vastness of nature.  The title came from the Dickens novel Our Mutual Friend, in which Paul says "Jenny Wren is a really cool little girl who's sort of magical, who sees good in things. ... A wren is one of my favourite birds, little English bird..."  The song uses the wren as a metaphor for the tale of a girl rising out of her underprivileged background.  Could it be about She Who Shall Not Be Named?  Paul has never said it was, and I'm going to say no, because I love this song.

There are three things that launch this song so high on my list, along with the obviously gorgeous melody and the complex key changes.  First is Paul's finger-picking acoustic guitar part, which sounds a lot like "Blackbird" - I even love the sound of his hands moving along the fret board.  Second is Paul's vocal, which if you don't love the "old man" version of Paul like I do, might not be for you.  But I think he uses what he has particularly beautifully on this song, and I even adore the parts where he strains and maybe doesn't quite get there, such as on the words "you saw who we are" starting at 3:00.  The third and most important, of course, is the use of the duduk, which is an Armenian woodwind instrument Paul had heard played at the Concert for George and decided to incorporate into this song.  The trailing melody and the solo are stunningly beautiful and melancholy pieces played by Venezuelan musician Pedro Eustache, who expected that the song would then go through a lot of overdubs to add to the feel.  Instead, Paul left the song unadorned, with only the guitar and a light tom accompanying the duduk.  Paul explained that he wanted the song to sound as if it were just two friends playing together in a pub.  Two friends who happened to have a duduk along, I guess.

Hey, OH liked this one!  "That song was beautiful.  One of Paul McCartney's strengths is knowing what he can’t do.  He doesn’t shred big noodly guitar solos or do drum solos.  It’s the same with this, with singing, he doesn’t do more than he’s capable of.  He makes what another performer would seem like a liability into an asset.  It’s a fragile -sounding song about fragility, and he lets that new aspect of his voice come through."
Click to expand...
Beautiful melody and fwiw, I feel similarly to you about his playing/picking.  Have you seen his special, Chaos and Creation at Abbey Road?  In this clip he discusses and then plays Jenny Wren for a small audience assembled at Abbey Road studio.  Wonder how much THOSE seats cost?  Anyway, it's a lovely tune and I have it ranked at #33 on my list.  I think I'd have had it higher if he hadn't already have written Blackbird.  Perhaps that's unfair, but it's SO reminiscent of that earlier piece, in both style and lyrical content, that I can't help but mark him down.  Is that fair?  Who knows, but am sure he'll get over it ;)

 
21.  John Lennon and Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band - Jealous Guy (Imagine, 1971)  Spotify  YouTube

(John #5)

I should have kept a running count of the songs that were initiated during the Beatles's visit to the Maharishi in 1968.  It's incredible to think not only of the Beatles songs that arose from that visit, but those that Paul, John, and George later re-visited in their post-Beatles careers.  This one began as a song called "Child Of Nature" and was recorded during the White Album sessions, but was omitted from that album in favor of Paul's "Mother Nature's Son."  John brought it back out during the Let It Be sessions as "On The Road To Marrakesh," but again it failed to be included in the final product.  When it was re-attempted in 1971 for Imagine, the lyrics had undergone a full transformation but the melody remained.  The lyrics are not exactly a mystery, as John wasn't one to make up a fantastical world to mask his own emotions.  The lyrics are, quite clearly, about his issues with being possessive and insecure, but that he understands his equating "love" to "100% possession" is stifling and damaging.

The dreamlike melody of this song, along with John's delicate vocal, is devastatingly beautiful.  It's complemented perfectly by Nicky Hopkins's gentle, gospel-y piano.  Yoko agrees:  "Nicky Hopkins’ playing on ‘Jealous Guy’ is so melodic and beautiful that it still makes everyone cry, even now."  This song also features the most poignant whistling I've ever heard.  I'm serious; I don't understand how he managed to do that.

 
Morton Muffley said:
Beautiful melody and fwiw, I feel similarly to you about his playing/picking.  Have you seen his special, Chaos and Creation at Abbey Road?  In this clip he discusses and then plays Jenny Wren for a small audience assembled at Abbey Road studio.  Wonder how much THOSE seats cost?  Anyway, it's a lovely tune and I have it ranked at #33 on my list.  I think I'd have had it higher if he hadn't already have written Blackbird.  Perhaps that's unfair, but it's SO reminiscent of that earlier piece, in both style and lyrical content, that I can't help but mark him down.  Is that fair?  Who knows, but am sure he'll get over it ;)
Click to expand...
But "Blackbird" doesn't have duduk!  OK, I get what you're saying, but I see this as a material improvement over "Blackbird," even though I love that one.  And luckily, I think due to the duduk, every guy on the plane Earth hasn't decided they can play this one.

 
We finish Monday of our last week of the countdown with 20 songs left, and Paul and George still tied with eight selections each remaining.  Tomorrow, some separation will occur.  :)  

 
krista4 said:
21.  John Lennon and Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band - Jealous Guy (Imagine, 1971)  Spotify  YouTube

(John #5)

I should have kept a running count of the songs that were initiated during the Beatles's visit to the Maharishi in 1968.  It's incredible to think not only of the Beatles songs that arose from that visit, but those that Paul, John, and George later re-visited in their post-Beatles careers.  This one began as a song called "Child Of Nature" and was recorded during the White Album sessions, but was omitted from that album in favor of Paul's "Mother Nature's Son."  John brought it back out during the Let It Be sessions as "On The Road To Marrakesh," but again it failed to be included in the final product.  When it was re-attempted in 1971 for Imagine, the lyrics had undergone a full transformation but the melody remained.  The lyrics are not exactly a mystery, as John wasn't one to make up a fantastical world to mask his own emotions.  The lyrics are, quite clearly, about his issues with being possessive and insecure, but that he understands his equating "love" to "100% possession" is stifling and damaging.

The dreamlike melody of this song, along with John's delicate vocal, is devastatingly beautiful.  It's complemented perfectly by Nicky Hopkins's gentle, gospel-y piano.  Yoko agrees:  "Nicky Hopkins’ playing on ‘Jealous Guy’ is so melodic and beautiful that it still makes everyone cry, even now."  This song also features the most poignant whistling I've ever heard.  I'm serious; I don't understand how he managed to do that.
Click to expand...
great song ...really hate the whistling though ...

 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Don Quixote
Summer Grooves - Collaborative Playlists - 6/8: Instrumental/classical and Rain/anti-summer
3 4 5
Replies
220
Views
5K
Eephus
Eephus
Anarchy99
Top 250 Best Selling Rock Albums (1967 - 1981)
12 13 14
Replies
675
Views
18K
zamboni
zamboni
Hot Sauce Guy
Popular Songs With Terrible Lyrics
2 3
Replies
103
Views
3K
Bankerguy
Bankerguy

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Top