| I lean a lot toward the older recordings, with heavy emphasis on the
guitars. Here's my current list, in no particular order:
1. "Please Please Me" I am still amazed at how this song evolved from a Roy
Orbison ballad-type song into a high-powered rocker. Love that G-A-B riff
after the first line, the back-and-forth vocals, and ESPECIALLY that E-G-C-
B-E chord ending! ("Boys, you've got your first #1!" - George Martin)
2. "She Loves You" THE definitive Beatlemania tune. Ringo shines here with
the explosive intro build-up; when he slams into that ride cymbal - and the
voices come in with the "Yeah!!!!!" - it's a musical knockout punch!
Hooks aplenty from the synchopated punch after "She loves you" to George's
"yeah, yeah, yeah" guitar lick to the "wooooooooo!" to the wicked sixth
chord vocal ending. It's impossible for me to watch the encore in "Hard
Day's Night" without my pulse racing. Wow!
3. "Paperback Writer" The layered vocals, the nasty guitar - yeah! I always
think of George hunched over that Gibson SG....
4. "Help!" This song hits me on several levels at once: John's lyrics were all-
too-on-target. Paul and George with their background vocals and that
chorus harmony. Ringo building into the choruses on the toms. And best for
me was that throwaway riff from George's Gretsch!
5. "Revolution" (45) Great melody, SUPERB lyrics, that super distorted Epiphone
Casino - go get 'em John!!!
6. "All My Loving" - Tom Wheeler ("American Guitars") called their Ed Sullivan
appearance "apocalyptic" for good reason; the boys changed history forever
with this one song. John's Rickenbacker rhythm is a wrist-killer!
7. "Nowhere Man" I fell in love with the vocals from day one - outstanding!
8. "I Want To Hold Your Hand" A "more-than-3-chords" song that sounds so
natural; great melody. The synchopation on the intro and bridge was a hell
of a hook; the synchopation on the ending is breathtaking!
9. "This Boy" - I was playing John's electric rhythm right away, so I know it
grabbed me; but the highlight of this song is the choir-like vocal. On
their second Ed Sullivan appearance, John & Paul & George shared ONE
microphone and sounded totally AWESOME.
10. "Till There Was You" The Beatles "unplugged" (almost!) In an era of three-
chord songs, this tune was an order of magnitude more complex. John's
steel-string rhythm is laced with minors, diminished and augmented chords.
George, on the nylon string, plays very cleanly between the vocal and does
a tasty bossa-nova-type solo. Paul plays a bass line that is very natural
and melodic without being cluttered. And of course, the minimalist drumming
by Bongo...("That's 'Ringo'!" "Yeah, him as well!")
HONORABLE MENTION:
"I Saw Her Standing There" The cut on Anthology 1 (from the fall 1963 tour
of Sweden) is a PERFECT example of the sheer ENERGY of the Beatles'
straight rock playing. Paul's bass is cranked to a unheard-of level.
Ringo's drumming is splashy, with a LOT of solid backbeats on the kick
drum - he's having a great time! Paul and John deliver a tight blend
of vocals (and scream with authority for the solo!). And I have to
admire George's guitar work; his rhythm playing is so solid that things
seem to drop out a bit when he does his legendary "thin" solo--which
is far more robust than the studio cut. Now there was a BAND!!!
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