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Ranking the medley songs from Abbey Road (+ "Her Majesty")
4 April 2014
12.44am
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Mr. Kite
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As @fabfouremily said, it’s hard to rank ’em, but I’ve been watching this topic forever and thought I’d try!

For some reason I always thought of Because as the beginning of the medley, but there is space between it and YNGMYM.

9) Her Majesty (I actually like it where it is, but definitely the weakest song here.

8) Sun King

7) Carry That Weight

6) Polythene Pam

5) Mean Mister Mustard

4) Golden Slumbers

3) You Never Give Me Your Money

2) She Came In Through The Bathroom Window

1) The End (Amazing song, all four of the boys get solos, just amazing!)

 

It was hard to rank… so these are probably pretty interchangeable but defiantly with The End at #1!

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4 April 2014
6.48am
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plastic
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Ok I’ll give it a whirl :)

 

9. Mean Mister Mustard 

8. Her Majesty

7. Sun King

6. Carry That Weight

5. Polythene Pam

4.She Came In Through The Bathroom Window

3. Golden Slumbers

2. The End

1. You Never Give Me Your Money (this is just an all time favourite, the piano intro, the vocal, the harmonies, the bass line – sonic heaven)

 

Hmm. If I had to do it again tomorrow it would probably come out different!

4 April 2014
2.51pm
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Dr Winston o Boogie
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Hey guys! I’ve been enjoying this forum for a while and I finally got an account and I am really excited! So without further ado, here’s my list ranking the Abbey Road medley songs.

9. Her Majesty

8. Carry That Weight

7. Golden Slumbers

6. The End

5. Polythene Pam

4. She Came In Through The Bathroom Window

3. Sun King

2. Mean Mr. Mustard

1. You Never Give Me Your Money

a-hard-days-night-john-6

 

I don't expect you... to understand after you've caused so much pain. But then again, you're just a human... a victim of the insane.

4 April 2014
3.05pm
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Hello and welcome Dr Winston o Boogie. Glad to have you here!

if you wanna introduce your self head over to the introduction thread https://www.beatlesbible.com/f…..4/#p110419. Happy posting!

 

Here is my ranking

 

9. Polythene Pam

8. Sun King

7. She Came In Threw The Bathroom Window

6. The End

5. Golden Slumbers

4. Her Majesty

3. Carry That Weight

2. Mean Mr. Mustard

1. You Never Give Me Your Money

https://youtu.be/52nwiTs7bk8

Brainwashed by RadiantCowbells.

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4 April 2014
7.24pm
xskelterhelterx
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Nice to see YNGMYM ranked so high by everyone.

5 April 2014
2.40am
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12StringKing
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The Medley is my favorite Beatles song. I don’t care if that’s cheating. I love it immensely, and there’s not a single part of it that I want to skip. It’s the clincher on Abbey Road that turns it from a bunch of great songs to a masterwork. It’s pop, it’s progressive, it’s raunchy, and it’s incredibly sentimental. If I’m even the slightest bit open of mind when I hear the song, I get sucked in and get shivers down my spine every single time.

9. Sun King Something had to be at the bottom. I dunno, even though I think this track is interesting and fun to play, it comes out of nowhere and really doesn’t do the harmonies all that well. I think it was attempting to sound sweet, but instead it just sounds trebley. I think Harrison’s voice is the lead here, and it does not show off his best qualities. It’s still pretty damn good for a Beatles song though, especially with that ethereal bassline.

8. Carry That Weight – One of my favorite parts about this track is in fact that all The Beatles sing on it, particularly with Ringo’s prominent vocal, it makes an impression. However, it is very much derived from two previous songs, and it doesn’t lead into The End that well. I do appreciate the horn section reprise though, and Harrison’s lead, while not the most creative, are fun to follow.

7. Mean Mr Mustard – A bit drudgey, but I think John should have given this song a bit more credit. It’s somehow jaunty regardless of it’s down tempo feel, and the looseness is perfect for a track of this length. It mesmerizes me, in a way, even when I play it, and it perfectly paints a picture in very few words.

6. Her Majesty – *BANGGGGG* It’s really a song I wish were longer, and the underlying sardonic wit carries the track. It’s good to be a Souser, ey? British quality in full force, and I don’t consider the Medley complete without it.

5. Golden Slumbers – I put this down a bit probably because I think Paul’s vocal is not exactly the best, and while I love the lullaby quality, it sort of breaks off with the “Golden Slumbers fill your eyes” chorus. There’s a bit of imbalance, but the swells of the orchestra coupled with the lack of instrumentation, save the piano and brilliant bass really make you continually wonder about the majestic sound you are listening to.

4. She Came In Through The Bathroom Window – Arpeggios are fun, aren’t they? Harrison certainly thought so, and it really brings out the ringing quality of the track, which shifts through a great many moods. I love how it’s almost like a love song, and I like to imagine that it’s Polythene Pam whom the song refers to, yet it has one of the most melancholy moods of any Beatles song. I just love following it through the ebbs and flows.

3. Polythene Pam – This track is very clever just in the way it unfolds. I love how it ties into Mr. Mustard, almost like giving you a different perspective on that prior song. The story of the medley is something I’ve worked out in my head over the years, and a hard driving piece like this just makes it so fulfilling. Ringo’s drums particularly on this song are absolutely ace.

2. You Never Give Me Your Money – Immediate shivers from the first three chords. It’s tantamount to the amazing talent of the group that even when it becomes all jaunty and literally falls out of time, it’s still one of the best ascensions of tempo, even with The Beatles. The sections exemplify the entire medley perfectly, and the “Oh that magic feeling” verse stirs my very soul. Harrison gets his show here, with a tight guitar sound that never strays it away from the rock and roll it contains.

1. The End – Even before I really understood the significance of this track, I knew that it was one of the most monumental songs in rock music. It represents everything that is creative about The Beatles, creates a wonderful vamping drive to a well earned release, and the most amazing lyric ever conceived closes the song. How could you be more perfect than that?

5 April 2014
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@12StringKing  Sun King has John on lead vocal with John, Paul and George providing backing and harmonies.

"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)

5 April 2014
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MrMoonlight
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5 April 2014
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12StringKing
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meanmistermustard said
Sun King has John on lead vocal with John, Paul and George providing backing and harmonies.

Sounds a bit Harrison-ish regardless, and that sort of nasally quality which is really prevalent in something like “Don’t Bother Me ” emerges in an unattractive way in the Sun King .

5 April 2014
11.13pm
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TheOneBeatle
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I love the Abbey Road Medley, though I always put Her Majesty in between Mean Mr. Mustard & Polythene Pam so The End is, well, The End !

So:

9. Her Majesty . It’s their shortest song ever (though in some Get Back sessions it was played for two minutes, but with the same verse repeating over and over again), and I have never liked the final placement for this song in the album. But on the bright side, it became the first hidden track ever.

8. Polythene Pam . & 7 Mean Mr. Mustard. I love both of the tracks, but even Lennon knew these were filler, still both are great filler tracks with their unique charm.

6. She Came In Through The Bathroom Window . It is pretty catchy and a great track, but it feels like another filler though more complete than Lennon’s two previous songs.

5. Golden Slumbers . Paul didn’t write this one, though it has a marvelous melody and a great intro from the final three-song-part act.

4. Carry That Weight . It repeats a bit of You Never Give Me Your Money , but this is their last where all four are singing, knowing that they were going to carry the weight for a long time.

3. Sun King . Terribly underrated song. It has breath-taking harmonies like Because , though they’re surely inferior and the ad-lib mash-up of five languages at the end is pointless but hilarious.

2. You Never Give Me Your Money . Great track to start the medley, really powerful vocal performance by Paul and catchy tune. Great lyrics too, about the business web-traps The Beatles had.

1. The End . Even when there are only two verses and a ”Love You” chorus repeated fifteen times, this song features a solo from all four, and these are their goodbyes as a band and the start of their legend as the best band of all time forever.

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Wigwam

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29 June 2014
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edicius
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9. Her Majesty
8 Sun King
7 Polythene Pam
6 Mean Mr. Mustard
5 Golden Slumbers
4 The End
3 Carry That Weight
2 You Never Give Me Your Money
1 She Came In Through The Bathroom

1. SCITTBW has been my favourite song on the whole album since I first listened to “Abbey Road “, and remains so.
2. YNGMYM would be a great song on it’s own, and by virtue of it’s length, merits second place.
3. “Carry That Weight “, a continuation of YNGMYM, finds itself in third place. Most likely of all these songs to garner an emotional response.
4. “The End ” is a song in two parts: one last true collaboration as each member gets to display his musical talents, and a sentimental farewell foreshadowing.
5. “Golden Slumbers ” can have the same effect as “Carry That Weight “, but is sometimes lost coming right after SCITTBW.
6. Mr. Lennon gets a beating on this list, but considering he was against the medly perhaps it’s fitting. “Mean Mr. Mustard is his best contribution to the medly, and a fun, quirky little tune from someone who often took himself too seriously.
7. The best part of “Polythene Pam ” is the lead into SCITTBW, though it’s still a good song in it’s own right.
8. “Sun King ” is just a song you have to get through to get to the heart of the medly.
9. I’ll put “Her Majesty ” last since I don’t count it as part of the medly. I would include “Because ” before “Her Majesty ” in the medly.

29 June 2014
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Not much can be added….. I agree with most people….. I’ve enjoyed the interesting discussion above regarding the ‘stitching together of songs’ and songs within songs because that’s really all the medley is. There’s no attempt apart from ‘MMM’ and ‘PP’ to link the parts lyrically. The Beatles weren’t pretentious about this creation. It works because it’s their songs, their harmonies……. their golden vocal leads…their stunning arrangements.

 

Paul impressed with HIAWG from The White Album ran with this idea here on Abbey Road , and later on many of his own albums. Stitching melodies together from Uncle Albert and Backseat of my Car… onwards…  

But what if anything did John use as inspiration for ‘Happiness Is A Warm Gun ?’ I thought maybe …..’A quick one While he’s away’ by The Who. John had appeared on The Rock and Roll Circus when The Who performed this mini Opera……And,  I believe,  it was released before the White Album ………..Or, I thought, ‘Autumn Almanac’ by ‘The Kinks’……… ton’s of ‘songs’ in that song…… But then I remembered “I’ll be Back” John was stitching songs together almost from the start.

29 June 2014
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@Wigwam, along with MMM and PP, Carry That Weight returns to You Never Give Me Your Money with its “you never give me your pillow. . .” section. 

 

Going back to ’67 ‘Baby, You’re A Rich Man’ was another stitched together.

"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)

27 July 2014
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There's more here than meets the eye.

27 July 2014
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Atlas said
Not much can be added….. I agree with most people….. I’ve enjoyed the interesting discussion above regarding the ‘stitching together of songs’ and songs within songs because that’s really all the medley is. There’s no attempt apart from ‘MMM’ and ‘PP’ to link the parts lyrically. The Beatles weren’t pretentious about this creation. It works because it’s their songs, their harmonies……. their golden vocal leads…their stunning arrangements.

 

Paul impressed with HIAWG from The White Album ran with this idea here on Abbey Road , and later on many of his own albums. Stitching melodies together from Uncle Albert and Backseat of my Car… onwards…  

But what if anything did John use as inspiration for ‘Happiness Is A Warm Gun ?’ I thought maybe …..’A quick one While he’s away’ by The Who. John had appeared on The Rock and Roll Circus when The Who performed this mini Opera……And,  I believe,  it was released before the White Album ………..Or, I thought, ‘Autumn Almanac’ by ‘The Kinks’……… ton’s of ‘songs’ in that song…… But then I remembered “I’ll be Back” John was stitching songs together almost from the start.

No doubt, “A Day In The Life ” was an earlier “stitching together” that may have inspired “Happiness…” I think my favorite McCartney stuff is the stitched together stuff- “Back Seat,” “Uncle Albert ,” “Band On The Run ,” “Live And Let Die …” and so on. I wish he’d write like that again- magical.

There's more here than meets the eye.

28 July 2014
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28 July 2014
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1. The End

2. SCITTBW

3. YNGMYM

4. PP

5. MMM

6. Golden Slumbers

7. Carry That Weight

8. Sun King

9. Her Majesty

By hook or by crook, I'll be last in this book.

30 July 2014
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9) Her Majesty – not a lot to it..

8) Sun King – for me, the weakest song in the medley. still good!

7) Mean Mr. Mustard – great but not completely necessary

6) Golden Slumbers – shock!! great but just weaker than everything else

5) Polythene Pam – I can really dig this, it’s good!

4) Carry That Weight – I love the YNGMYM reprise, overall a brilliant little tune

3) The End – those solos are magnificent, perfect way to (sort of) end the album

2) She Came In Through The Bathroom Window – could easily be a song on it’s own, best song in the medley

1) You Never Give Me Your Money – I don’t count this in the medley because it’s just too good on it’s own. but I guess it still technically is part of it. the best Beatles song ever recorded… could easily be on a Yes album.

30 July 2014
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9. Her Majesty (works well in it’s context, but still weaker than the rest)

8. Sun King (not enough going on for me)

7. Mean Mr Mustard (good, but too simple to be one of the best)

6. Polythene Pam (ditto)

5. She Came In Through The Bathroom Window

4. Carry That Weight

3. You Never Give Me Your Money

2. Golden Slumbers

1. The End (possibly the best ending to an album ever)

10 August 2014
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PeterWeatherby said
Genuinely curious: how do you (y’all) “rank” a song? Is there a kind of subjective scale, from “I hate it” through “it’s just ‘ok'” to “I love it”? Is it like a 1-to-10 system?

I’m only asking because it fascinates me – I’m utterly incapable of ranking Beatles songs. It’s binary for me – I like it, or I don’t.

 

Well, personally, I rank it based on a few separate things: 

1. How much do I personally like the song (Most important)

2. How much do I like playing the song

3. How important is the song

4. How highly is the song regarded (Least important)

That still might be a bit unclear. Usually I like to include reasons why I enjoy the song, as you will see while I rank the medley brian-epstein Interestingly enough, I think it is curious we all rank very similar songs in the top five. I feel that this is because of the above mentioned importance of the song. She Came In Through The Bathroom Window is a great tune, and musically more interesting than The End , but we all understand the importance of The End , so the End gets placed higher. Ain’t it a funny world? Anyway, onto my review:

1. Golden Slumbers – I love this song simply because it is so stunningly beautiful. Paul’s strong and powerful voice during the chorus, the remarkably good bass line from George, and the orchestration all add up to one of the most beautiful songs ever written by McCartney. This song is one of the few that actually brings a tear to my eye.

2. The End – Well, it’s gotta be here, doesn’t it? The only song to feature a drum solo as well as combating guitar solos by the other three. Musically, it’s a rocker, and not all that complex, save for the orchestration that ends the song beautifully. Of course, the real love for this song comes from its closing lines, which to me serves as the last piece of great advice given by The Beatles: “And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.” To quote John, “A very cosmic, philosophical line.”

3. You Never Give Me Your Money – This song is very pretty, but moreover I feel like it showcases what tulane said about little mini songs being put together into one big song. This is a method that would be used by Paul in later works like Uncle Albert /Admiral Halsey and Band On The Run . It’s a great song in and of itself, and is one of the few songs written by Paul which actively showcases his distain for sitting around the Apple offices and dealing with all the BS. The nursery rhyme at the end is a nice touch: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7, All good children go to heaven.

4. Carry That Weight – Included here mostly for it’s reprise of You Never Give Me Your Money . This song is great, and one of the few to feature all 4 Beatles singing at the same time. It bridges Golden Slumbers and The End quite nicely.

5. She Came In Through The Bathroom Window – This song is just good fun. A story about Apple Scruffs told in a fun way.

6. Polythene Pam – This one gets points for being fun musically. It recalls She Loves You , as well as other 60s pop in an almost parodic way. Lots of fun. The descent into She Came In Through The Bathroom Window is brilliant.

7. Her Majesty – I like this tune. Most people find it to be out of place, but I like it. When it comes right down to it, it’s a great example of Paul being cute.

8. Sun King – I only put this one before Mean Mr. Mustard because I loved it as a kid. Cuando para mucho mi amore pefaliche carathom.

9. Mean Mr. Mustard – Here only because I can’t put it anywhere else. It’s still a great song, but like many of John’s songs from this period, it’s a bit of a throw away. I still love it because It’s So Hard edged and weird.

 

Well, that does it for the Medley! i’ll have to post a track by track favorite review somewhere else. 

Favorite Beatle of the moment: Paul McCartney

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