"She Loves You"- I go back and forth about whether I like this or "I Want to Hold Your Hand" more; I love the way it starts with a drum fill--- almost like joining the song en medias res.
"I Want to Hold Your Hand"- It might be the first great Beatles tune; in any case, it was the one that broke them in the states.
"Helter Skelter"- It was the progenitor of everything from heavy metal to punk rock to Nirvana (It was a wasted opportunity that Paul McCartney never played this tune with the surviving members of Nirvana in any of their live appearances together)
"We Can Work It Out" - I love this one because it is so clearly a Lennon/McCartney collaboration (Paul the Verse, John the Bridge), each one's contribution serving to counterbalances the other.
"Paperback Writer" - People think I like this one because I fancy myself a writer from time to time, but my reasons are completely musical; not only are the harmonies amazing, but this song ROCKS! The proto-metal guitars are coupled with one of McCartney's most mercurial bass lines to create what is probably their hardest rocking tune next to "Helter Skelter".
"A Hard Day's Night" - Another great John/Paul collaboration; John on the verses, Paul on the middle-eight. I love that great crashing chord at the beginning. It's just a quintessential early Beatles track.
"Back In the USSR" - I can't really intellectualize my love for this one; it's just a great rock song (remember, what I love most about the Beatles is that, at the end of the day, they were a ROCK band).
"Help!"- I've always loved the melody on this one. Then, how all the parts work together: the verse with the backing vocals and the use of the minor chords in the chorus... classic Lennon/McCartney.
"A Day In The Life" - This is really their masterpiece; the finale to Sgt. Pepper's, it is one of the final true Lennon/McCartney collaborations (by the mid-sixties, most songs were either written by one or the other with a sort of stamp of approval from the other). Lyrically, musically, it is probably their finest achievement as a unit.
"Tomorrow Never Knows"- Probably their most innovative and experimental song that is still palatable ("Revolution No. 9" is NOT palatable... unless you are a masochist of some sort). Love the drums on this song. Anyone who thinks Ringo has no value as a drummer should listen to this song. It's not that he does something that no one else can do, it's the character that he brings to what he does.
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