"Hey Bulldog" - Recorded during the same session as "Lady Madonna" just before the band embarked on its retreat to learn transcendental meditation with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, it's often cited as the last time the band was truly a cohesive unit in the studio; from here on out, they would, more or less, become studio musicians on each others recordings. It's a great straightforward rock number. I was a Beatles fan for years before finally hearing it; it is only available on the soundtrack to Yellow Submarine. From Yellow Submarine
"If I Needed Someone"
The first great George Harrison song. While George didn't manage an A-side to a single until "Something", this track proves he could have done it much sooner. From Rubber Soul
"I'm Happy Just To Dance With You" - Speaking of George songs, this Lennon/McCartney composition was his vocal contribution to A Had Day's Night. It's hardly unknown, but in the era of "She Loves You", "I Want to Hold Your Hand", "A Hard Day's Night", "Twist and Shout", "Should Have Known Better" and "Can't Buy Me Love" it often gets lost in the shuffle. It's a lovely little tune with a sweet melody and beautiful minor chord progressions. An absolute classic. From A Hard Day's Night
"While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (Acoustic Version) - While the electric version from The White Album featuring Eric Clapton on lead guitar is known by most, this simple acoustic version blows it away in its delicate beauty. It is available in two versions: the first is from Anthology 3 and features acoustic guitar and organ, the second is from Love, the soundtrack to the band's Cirque De Soleil Vegas show, and replaces the organ part with overdubbed strings. Either is lovely. From Anthology 3 or Love
"I'm Down"- The B-side to "Help!", "I'm Down" would become the band's closer for most of 1965; it was their answer to "Long Tall Sally" which, until that point, had been their encore to end all encores. The Shea Stadium performance is one of my favorite Rock and Roll moments. From Past Masters
"I've Just Seen a Face"- Originally available on Help! and, in the US, on Rubber Soul, "I've Just Seen a Face" was a brilliant acoustic romp that opens with a showcase of the bands 'guitar picking' abilities in a display that is both a little bit bluegrass and a little bit flamenco. The bouncy folk-country is a prime example of 'The Beatles Unplugged'; in fact, when Paul McCartney performed on Unplugged in the early 90's, it was a highlight of the show. From Help!
"Things We Said Today"- I've always loved this one. It always felt ahead of its time to me--- it felt just as fresh in the early 90's to me as anything else I was listening to at the time. From A Hard Day's Night
"One After 909"- Originally, this song didn't see release until the Let It Be album; however, I have always preferred the version released on Anthology 1 that was recorded during the band's early years. They were actually a much tighter unit at that point than they would be by 1969. From Anthology 1
"I've Got a Feeling"- One of the songs other than "Let it Be" that I really love from the Let It Be album, this probably the last true Lennon/McCartney collaboration in that they, ultimately, fused two of their songs together to make this one. Even then, it just seems likely that Lennon's "Everybody had a hard year" bit was tacked on to a mostly finished McCartney song. From Let It Be
"Some Other Guy" - Not an original tune but one that the band certainly made their own. Oddly enough, it didn't see any kind of official release until Live at the BBC in 1994. It was a key part of the band's early live act and a clip of the band performing the song circa 1962 was the first real video of the band. From Live at the BBC
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