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Are there any Beatles albums without a bad song?
6 January 2014
1.07pm
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Joe
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I was chatting to Ellie about whether there’s a Beatles album which doesn’t contain any bad songs. You know, the ones you always skip or at best tolerate. Yellow Submarine , What Goes On , Love Me Do , Bungalow Bill…

Is there an album that, for you, is straight down-the-line brilliant? The nearest I can get to is AHDN , but even that has I’ll Cry Instead (not terrible but hardly classic 1964). Sgt Pepper is quite consistent but I could probably do without hearing WALHFMF and WI64 again. I generally dislike the novelty songs, some of the early covers and anything sung by Ringo. Which doesn’t leave much – possibly Magical Mystery Tour and Let It Be (and I would never put that in my top five Beatles albums). Maybe even Love if we’re including non-canon releases.

How about you? I don’t want this to be another best/worst on the albums list, but I’d be interested to hear people’s views.

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6 January 2014
2.18pm
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robert
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I think A HARD DAYS NIGHT qualifies – I understand how tight you are drawing the noose of what is a bad song – soI’m assuming on Lit It Be it’s Long and Winding Road (in your opinion) or Dig A Pony   – so AHDN has no clinker as best as I can tell. I’ll Cry Instead is a great song.

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6 January 2014
2.32pm
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Starr Shine?
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for me my favorite album is Beatles For Sale and to me none of the songs are bad though some are better than others.

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6 January 2014
3.01pm
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LikeASir
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I think I am sometimes more inclined to like a song if it is ground breaking rather than if it is catchy. Revolver is probably the one that fits the bill as although some of the songs aren’t “catchy” they are still good for being innovative.  

"White Album - My joint-fave Beatles album along with Revolver. They show the two sides of Beatles. Revolver's very controlled - even though it's also very innovative. The White Album's playful and almost ramshackle. It's like a scrapbook kept by a genius. Fantastic stuff."

6 January 2014
4.19pm
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Funny Paper
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The answer is “Hell, yeah!”

Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band

Revolver

White Album

Abbey Road .

These four.  (When wonderful songs like “Yer Blues ” or “I Want You” are the weakest songs, you know you have a uniquely phenomenal album on your hands…)

P.S.:  I just studied the bass drum head on the cover of the first album listed above to get the precise orthography down:  a period after “Sgt” and no apostrophe in “Peppers”.

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6 January 2014
4.32pm
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Starr Shine?
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Funny Paper said
The answer is “Hell, yeah!”

Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band

Revolver

White Album

Abbey Road .

These four.  (When wonderful songs like “Yer Blues ” or “I Want You” are the weakest songs, you know you have a uniquely phenomenal album on your hands…)

P.S.:  I just studied the bass drum head on the cover of the first album listed above to get the precise orthography down:  a period after “Sgt” and no apostrophe in “Peppers”.

Revolution 9 ?

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6 January 2014
4.42pm
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Funny Paper
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I like Revolution 9 .  It’s the best example of that kind of avant-garde experimentation I’ve ever heard.  Such experimentation should be done at least once.  And anyway, I find it aurally interesting. 

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6 January 2014
5.37pm
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Joe
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I’ve always thought Revolver would have been a far better album without Yellow Submarine on it. I understand what it meant at the time, but honestly I could do without ever hearing it again. Unfortunately it’s currently among Ted’s favourite Beatles songs (and he got the film for Christmas, so we watch it several times a week…).

The White Album doesn’t have a bad song? Wild Honey Pie normally gets slagged off but I really don’t mind it. But I can’t stand Bungalow Bill, and Piggies and Ob-La-Di are pretty duff. As for Abbey Road , it’s definitely in my top three albums but Maxwell’s Silver Hammer and Mean Mister Mustard are pretty awful.

Maybe it’s just that there was never a perfect Beatles album, merely a bunch of incredibly brilliant ones.

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6 January 2014
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Joe said
I’ve always thought Revolver would have been a far better album without Yellow Submarine on it. 

Maybe it’s just that there was never a perfect Beatles album, merely a bunch of incredibly brilliant ones.

But what makes these albums so incredibly brilliant is the astonishing broad range of the music. And I would think that broad range has to include the “child-like sing-song-ish-ness” of “Yellow Submarine .” Just as it includes the unique qualities of “Love To You,” even though those “unique” qualities don’t necessarily make that song particularly brilliant. I can listen to an album like Revolver in its entirety, and thoroughly enjoy the experience, all the while absorbing lyrics like “Love me while you can before I’m a dead old man.” 

 

6 January 2014
6.45pm
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I’d probably say Abbey Road comes closest – I have no problem whatsoever with Maxwell, and the weaker tunes in the medley are short enough that it doesn’t matter. For me, the weak link on Revolver is not Yellow Submarine , but Doctor Robert .

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6 January 2014
6.58pm
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ScrambledEggs
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Abbey Road . I like Maxwell’s Silver Hammer and Mean Mister Mustard. Perhaps A Hard Day’s Night , Revolver also, but Abbey Road is on the top of the list.

I’d also say Let it be, but The Long And Winding Road is such a drag.

6 January 2014
7.19pm
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Linde
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I don’t think there is such thing as a perfect album, like Joe says. 

However, there are two albums on which I hardly ever skip songs when I listen to them:

Abbey Road

Revolver

6 January 2014
7.23pm
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meanmistermustard
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Probably Abbey Road only, i love the medley tracks as they are even by themselves (yeah even Mean Mister Mustard (check out Take 35 if you can find it, its a blast). 

Possibly Rubber Soul , debatable not because of What Goes On (which i love) but Think For Yourself which i go in and out of liking frequently.

I agree about Yellow Submarine and Doctor Robert on Revolver , “meh” (shrugging shoulders).

Pepper, its really the first two i tend to skip (Pepper and With A Little Help ), When I’m 64 is another “meh” moment – I don’t have to ever hear it again but its ok and don’t bug me as much as the two previously mentioned.

With A Hard Days Night the skipper is I’m Happy Just To Dance With You , have never got the liking of it.

The rest:

PPM : A Taste Of Honey , Boys , Chains (all better live, heck the whole album is better Live At The BBC )

WTB: no surprises with Hold Me Tight

BFS: Mister Moonlight

Oh wait, Help ! Man that’s a fine album and nothing on that bugs me in the slightest, love Help ! and everything on it.

MMT: the title song (boring!), Flying , never look forward to Blue Jay Way but then Ringo saves the day.a-hard-days-night-ringo-10

TB (aka TWA): Goodnight, Bungalow Bill, Ob-La-Di, Glass Onion . I hate adding Revolution 9 as its not a song.

YS: song-wise everything but Hey Bulldog (AYNIL is the same as TFY on Rubber Soul ).

LIB : Across The Universe , TLAWR. Dig It and Maggie aren’t great but pass so quickly that by the time it takes to get to pressing skip they are both almost over so why bother.

I doubt we are allowed Past Masters but i can’t think of anything aside from the German recordings that are below fabulous – hang on, Thank You Girl and I’ll Get You a-hard-days-night-paul-3.

So Abbey Road , Help ! and possibly Rubber Soul are my shouts for albums with no bad songs.

[Please don’t shout at me for including MMT in this. I know its a Capitol creation that the Beatles and George Martin didn’t have any say in and therefore ranks alongside Meet The Beatles, Reel Music and The Beatles Beat, but it’s in the stereo and mono boxes of Beatles albums so its here.]

 

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6 January 2014
8.08pm
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TheOneBeatle
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Well, It is hard for me, as I have heard all Beatles albums actually and I rarely skip a song when I am hearing them in order, and I have this belief that there is no bad Beatles song, but rather least good Beatles song. So:

Please Please Me : This album is one I can hear completely without a doubt; I can’t find a weak point here actually. Yeah, Love Me Do might be repetitive for some a-hard-days-night-john-2, but I like it, and it was a considerable hit at the time.

With The Beatles : This is other album that I can hear all tracks though here there are a few least good Beatles songs: Little Child , Hold Me Tight (though it is one of my favorites of the album, though the lyrics are weird ”making love to ONLY you”? a-hard-days-night-paul-3), I Wanna Be Your Man (though it is catchy).

A Hard Day’s Night : Just like Please Please Me , though there are also some little unpolished things: I’ll Cry Instead (I prefer the uncut version), When I Get Home (one of my favorites, but the lyrics are dull – though they were in a hurry – ”I’ll love you till the cows come home” a-hard-days-night-ringo-7).

Beatles For Sale : Just like PPM and AHDN , though there it is Mr. Moonlight a-hard-days-night-john-7 but it was one of the earliest songs I heard of them, and I loved it and still do.

Help !: This one only has It’s Only Love as a weak song, but it was also one of the first songs I heard of them, and it has a special place in my heart. heart

Rubber Soul : Run For Your Life , but it is too catchy and was George’s favorite of the album a-hard-days-night-george-9.

Revolver : The only song that I rarely hear it’s I Want To Tell You . The backing vocals (specially McCartney ahdn_paul_02) sound very unpolished and the overall song sounds that it was made in a rushed way a-hard-days-night-ringo-14, but it is still catchy.

Sgt. Pepper : It’s tied with Abbey Road as their best album with A Day In The Life as their best song and the best song of all time. Good Morning Good Morning is the least good of this album a-hard-days-night-ringo-12, but it is one of my favorites too and also one of the first I heard of them.

Magical Mystery Tour : Blue Jay Way is the least one I hear, but even that one it’s amazingly psychedelic. a-hard-days-night-george-10

The Beatles: This is probably one of the few albums where I can skip tracks ahdn_paul_01, though it is my third favorite album of them, behind Pepper and Abbey. Wild Honey Pie a-hard-days-night-paul-11 (it’s catchy, but forgettable), Why Don’t We Do It In The Road (more catchy, though weak), Long, Long, Long (sometimes I like it, sometimes it is too slow for me and it is the one I least hear of this double album).

Yellow Submarine : I can hear it completely as I admire George Martin’s orchestral pieces george-martin, but I can see that others might not like the album as it only has 6 Beatles tracks.

Let It Be : This is another album that I can skip tracks as the additions that Phil Spector made are unfitting a-hard-days-night-ringo-13, like The Long And Winding Road (which I prefer in its original version released on Anthology), and the addition of short tracks like Dig It and Maggie Mae though I like the former in its longer version that was on the Get Back albums.

Abbey Road : Even when I consider this slightly better than Pepper, I tie them as my favorite albums, though this one has more least good songs as they were half-finished blue-meanie: Mean Mr. Mustard, Polythene Pam & She Came In Through The Bathroom Window .

Past Masters : I Call Your Name is the least good one here, but it is one of my favorites too and it could have fitted A Hard Day’s Night , and have 14 tracks there. a-hard-days-night-ringo-15

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6 January 2014
10.04pm
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Help and A Hard Day’s Night .

Please Please Me  has Chains and Ask Me Why , which both just bore me.

With the Beatles Oh, Hold Me Tight of course, you think, but no! It’s catchy and I don’t need to skip it. Devil In Her Heart is one. The one that ranks among the worst Beatles songs though is Little Child . I skip it every time.

A Hard Day’s Night  I can listen all the way through. The only one I might dislike is If I Fell , but I like it well enough. It’s very close

Beatles For Sale  I skip everything after the :05 mark of Mr. Moonlight. Other than that, I don’t like Baby’s In Black

Help is pretty much perfect. Really catchy, easy listens all around.

Rubber Soul  has Michelle , which bores me, and Girl, which is stupid.

Revolver  hmmm… Good Day Sunshine and For No One interrupt the flow in my opinion. Not in a discernible way, I just don’t like them in with the rest.

Sgt. Peppers Within You Without You and actually, Good Morning Good Morning . I’m OK with When I’m 64 as a bit of fluff, I don’t hate it.

The White Album  has clunks all over the place. Wild Honey Pie , Bungalow Bill, Piggies , Rocky Racoon, I Will , Revolution 1 , Honey Pie , Revolution 9 .

Both Magical Mystery Tour  and Yellow Submarine  have at least one. (Flying , Only A Northern Song )

Let It Be ‘s only might be The Long And Winding Road . (And it’s my favorite version)

Abbey Road  has Oh! Darling , and that might be it. Maxwell’s Silver Hammer is fluff, but I can listen to it. 

That’s about it then.

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6 January 2014
11.01pm
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I personally don’t think there are any Beatles albums WITH a bad song.  There are some I like more or less at any given time, but those tend to change across the years anyway.

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7 January 2014
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Hey Jude
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I think White Album  doesn’t have very strong songs. If it were a single album, it could be better. There are songs like Piggies that are just bad. There are also songs like Helter Skelter , which have strong lyrics and maybe the guitar, but not anything else. Magical Mystery Tour  is not bad, although the song I really don’t like. There are too many things that are just stupid. Abbey Road  is good. Though Maxwell’s Silver Hammer kind of brings it down. I just don’t like Baby’s In Black . I don’t quite know why. I just don’t. For some reason I always skip All You Need Is Love , I just don’t like it.

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7 January 2014
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Other bands that have no bad songs on an album:

Paul McCartney , Ram

Santana, third album

Chicago, 6th album (paper money cover)

War, Why Can’t We Be Friends?

Dave Brubeck, Countdown: Time in Outer Space

Ramsey Lewis, Tequila Mockingbird

Ramsey Lewis, Routes

Stevie Wonder, Fulfillingness’ First Finale

Stevie Wonder, Songs in the Key of Life

James Taylor, In the Pocket

James Taylor, Flag

Gordon Lightfoot, Endless Wire

Gordon Lightfoot, Cold on the Shoulder

Paul Simon, There Goes Rhymin’ Simon

Tom Waits, Small Change

 

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7 January 2014
1.34pm
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Joe
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Coincidentally, someone posted this thread on Reddit yesterday:

What is an album that you enjoy every song on?
byu/CertDenied inAskReddit

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17 January 2014
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Every album qualifies for me. There is just no way I would dislike a song that much, and although I do have a few songs that I skip from time to time, all their albums are very easy going. What can I say, for some reason they are my favourite band.

a-hard-days-night-george-4

Perfect album? “Sgt. Pepper ‘s Lonely Hearts Club Band” and “Abbey Road “, always this two.

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