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Please Please Me - song ranking
23 June 2017
5.48pm
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Shamrock Womlbs
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Flyingbrians said
I love Please Please Me .

4. There’s a Place – Brilliantly written song. I heard a bossa nova cover of the song recently which made me realize how well written it is. The harmonica intro is awesome. 

I agree. Love the harmonica at the intro, John’s singing, the harmony, and Ringo’s fills at the outro. A cutie Beatley song.

"I Need You by George Harrison"

25 March 2018
5.09pm
Joey Self
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I have done this exercise on other boards, and then tabulated the results from the players to get a consensus.  Too hard to do when the songs are listed in order of preference instead of in order of appearance, so I won’t try to do it here.  Here is what it looked like the last time I did it: 

1 I Saw Her Standing There
10 Misery
13 Anna (Go To Him)
12 Chains
11 Boys
5 Ask Me Why
3 Please Please Me
8 Love Me Do
6 P.S. I Love You
9 Baby It’s You
7 Do You Want To Know A Secret
14 A Taste Of Honey
4 There’s A Place
2 Twist And Shout

 

So, in order as others have done it: 

 

1 I Saw Her Standing There

2 Twist And Shout

3 Please Please Me

4 There’s A Place

5 Ask Me Why

6 P.S. I Love You

7 Do You Want To Know A Secret

8 Love Me Do

9 Baby It’s You

10 Misery

11 Boys

12 Chains

13 Anna (Go To Him)

14 A Taste Of Honey

I see I tended to like the originals better than the covers except for “Twist And Shout ” and “Baby It’s You ” did beat “Misery .” By my ranking, the album unbalanced with the weaker tracks coming early in the program. 

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QuarryMan, AvecPaix
9 April 2018
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hjnintendofan
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14. Baby It’s You (Not bad but not great either)

13. There’s A Place (Nice Harmonica riff)

12. Misery (Meh)

11. A Taste Of Honey (Very good soft singing by Paul)

10. Chains (George did a great job on this cover)

9. P.S. I Love You (Pretty decent for a B-Side)

8. Ask Me Why (Great vocals by John and rim shots by Ringo)

7. Do You Want To Know a Secert (George at his great on this album)

6. Love Me Do (Ringo did a much better job than Andy White on this track)

5. Please Please Me (Great Harmonica intro, great vocals by John, Paul and George and great drums by Ringo)

4. Boys (Ringo’s first vocal track and what a track to start with. One of his best in the early days)

3. Anna (Go To Him) (John does a great job on the vocals in this Arthur Alexenader cover)

2. I Saw Her Standing There (From the count in to the vocals to the solo to just about everything makes this one of the best openers to any album)

1. Twist And Shout (Do I even have to say anything about this that hasn’t already been said about this track. Its one of the greatist covers of all time and is one of Lennon’s best vocal performances he’s ever done)

19 August 2018
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stever
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1.  P.S. I Love You – No explanation really.  I’ve just always loved this song, and I don’t get burned out on it very often.

2.  I Saw Her Standing There  – No explanation necessary.  This song as the opener on the first album is a mission statement.  One of the greatest early rock songs by anyone.  I got into the Beatles at 7 years old, in 1963, as my family owned a record store.  I first heard this one on American single, I’m pretty sure.  Imagine being a musically astute 7 year old growing up with Buck Owens and Loretta Lynn from my mom, and Stan Getz and Lionel Hampton from my dad, and hearing the typical Elvis, Gene Pitney, Dean Martin etc. on radio.  This song wasn’t my kick off song for my life long love of the Beatles.  I think that song was I Want To Hold Your Hand .  But this song really through me off balance.  It was so different than anything I’d heard so far at my young age.  It was disorienting in a good way, and it changed what music was for me.  It was a pretty rapid fire succession back then. Simply iconic. 

3.  Anna – During the first couple albums, we have a lot of covers.  The cool thing is that, A.  The Beatles found obscure songs and B sides to cover, (for the most part), and B.  The Beatles were better than anybody else.  They could take somebody else’s songs and make them magic.  This ballad, (even though it has a person’s name, a pet peeve) has a haunting melody which I’ve never been able to forget.

4.  Misery – I don’t think this song gets nearly as much love as it deserves.  Probably because John dismisses it.  But heck, John dismisses everything at some time or another.  I don’t think he was a Beatles fan at all, and it was HIS band. 😉  I think he liked “This Boy “, Hey Jude , and parts of “In My Life “, judging by his interviews.

5.  Twist And Shout – Wow.  Welcome to Rock and Roll

6. Please Please Me – Perfect early pop song.  A template for many things to come

7. There’s A Place – I only had this as a B side to something.  (Can’t even remember what)  It wasn’t Capitol.  It may have been Swan, or even Decca.  It grabbed me.  I’ve always liked it.  The recording is awful.  Not sure why things like Anna have such clean and beautiful sound, and things like There’s a Place sound muddy.  But the song itself is so good, it still comes through.  Like a light cutting through fog.  

8. Love Me Do  – A Beatle song.  Middle of the pack for this album of songs.

9. Ask Me Why – A good ballad by John.  Not so sure about the wooo wooo wooo wooo wooo woo wooo’s, but still great.

10. Baby It’s You – Great early rock ballad, performed very well

11. Boys – Does it get more fun than this?  Maybe “I’m Telling You Now”.

12. Chains – These last three are pretty weak imho.  They were weak in 1963, and they’re still weak to my ears even now, but man.  This is a debut album, and I still don’t think they’re bad enough to skip if I’m listening to the CD.

13. Do You Want To Know A Secret – See 12

14.  A Taste Of Honey – See 12.  um….actually, I am tempted to get up and skip this one, but it’s so short, and I’m so lazy that I let it go.  

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vonbontee
23 August 2018
6.37am
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QuarryMan
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I’ve come to appreciate There’s A Place more and more recently, particularly since Tom Hanks shared the story behind his love of it.

“While I will admit to a certain cynicism, the fact is that I’m a naysayer and hatchet man in the fight against violence. I pride myself in taking a punch and I’ll gladly take another - because I choose to live my life in the company of Ghandi and King. My concerns are global. I reject absolutely revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love. I love you, Sheriff Truman.”

 

23 August 2018
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TheWalrusWasBrian
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1. Twist And Shout (Love the energy!)

2. Misery

3. I Saw Her Standing There

4. Boys (Ringo :3 )

5. Love Me Do

6. There’s a Place

7. Do You Want To Know A Secret

8. Chains

9. Baby It’s You

10. A Taste Of Honey

11. Anna (Go To Him) 

12. P.S I Love You (Great melody)

13. Please Please Me (Just never stuck with me) 

14. Ask Me Why (Just never interested me that much) 

 

This album is gear, I pretty much LOVE all the songs so it was hard to rank. john-lennon-salute_gif

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25 August 2018
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Timothy
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QuarryMan said
I’ve come to appreciate There’s A Place more and more recently, particularly since Tom Hanks shared the story behind his love of it.  

I’m always in love with the ‘in my mind there’s no sorrow’ section. 

1.The Beatles 2.Sgt. Pepper 3.Abbey Road 4.Magical Mystery Tour 5.Rubber Soul 6.Revolver 7.Help! 8.Let It Be
9.A Hard Day’s Night 10.Please Please Me 11.Beatles For Sale 12.With The Beatles 13.Yellow Submarine

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18 September 2018
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Mr.Bellamy84
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Did she understand it when they said
That a man must break his back
To earn his day of leisure?
Will she still believe it when he's dead

21 September 2018
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Tony Japanese
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Boys

Like Chains , this is nothing special and I’m sure the Beatles could’ve thought of something better if they’d had more time. Ringo’s sole vocal contribution to the record and rather dull. 5/10

A Taste Of Honey

This is the only song on the album which feels out of place. Was it added in favour of Hold Me Tight ? I’m sure I could find out. 6/10

Chains

George forgets to pluralise the title during this song. Is pluralise a word? It’s an effective number, but nothing particularly special. 6/10

Do You Want To Know A Secret

Apparently John realised this song was more suited to George as soon as he’d written it. I find it charming and innocent. 7/10

Love Me Do

Let’s be honest. The only interesting thing on this song is John’s harmonica playing. The lyrics are terrible; Paul sounds incredibly nervous when he sings the solo lines. And George is pretty much non-existent. It gets a bonus point for being the start of something. 7/10

Misery

Written for Helen Shaprio, but covered by somebody who didn’t look like her. I’ve always wondered how this song would sound if John didn’t have such a heavy cold. Nice simple piano work from George Martin which manages to improve the song. 7/10

Ask Me Why

Inspired by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles and written (mainly) by John. I like this song, it’s musically inventive. 8/10

Baby It’s You

This is one of the best three covers on the album. And all of them are sung by John. It’s better than the orginal because it doesn’t have that cheap organ sound. Sometimes it’s little things which make a song, and for me it’s the ‘sha-la-la-la’ backing vocals on this. 8/10

P.S. I Love You

This is a better song than Love Me Do , but perhaps not as commerical. I’ve always liked the bit where Paul crams in those extra few words towards the end of the song. 8/10

There’s a Place

I think this may have been the first song (apart from the singles/b-sides) recorded for the album. I’ve always wondered if you could track the progression of John’s deteriorating vocals from this to Twist And Shout . 8/10

Anna (Go To Him)

I love John’s vocals on this, especially the aching passion during the bridge. Not sure if Cyn ever found out who Anna was but it was fairly brazen of John to sing about her so openly. Years later (on Norweigen Wood) he’d try and be more discreet. 9/10

Twist And Shout

Great, but not perfect. It’s a shame they didn’t have a chance to re-record this when John’s voice wasn’t so ragged because it would no doubt be a 10/10 if they had. 9/10

I Saw Her Standing There

Arguably the best opening song on a Beatle album. A fine example of Lennon & McCartney’s early songwriting talents. Also George manages to play a solo which sounds as though he hasn’t made it up on the spot. 10/10

Please Please Me

I don’t this would ever have worked as an Orbisonesque ballad. Instead it sounds fresh and exciting and, like a lot of Beatle songs from the period, it manages to pack so many hooks into two minutes. 10/10

Overall rating: 7.71

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vonbontee
14 October 2018
8.44pm
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Mr Mustard
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1. Please Please Me – Exhilarating

2. There’s A Place – Jaunty

3. Ask Me Why – Tender

4. Twist And Shout – Ferocious

5. I Saw Her Standing There – Fresh

6. Boys – Wild

7. A Taste Of Honey – Wistful

8. P.S. I Love You – Romantic

9. Love Me Do – Simple

10. Misery – Catchy

11. Anna (Go To Him) – Dreary

12. Do You Want To Know A Secret – Gawky

13. Chains – Wearisome

14. Baby It’s You – Miserable

16 October 2018
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TheWalrusWasBrian
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Mr Mustard said
14. Baby It’s You – Miserable  

May I ask what makes Baby It’s You miserable? I’ve always thought it’s one of the best tracks on this record but I could be wrong. 

Edit- it’s 9 on my list, I guess I agreed more than I thought? Still interested in your opinion however!

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The Concert for Bageldesh

~~~

Walrian here! Not Fiddy, or anyone else, actually.

16 October 2018
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Mr Mustard
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There isn’t a right or wrong TheWalrusWasBrian, it’s all just subjective opinions and yours is as valid as everyone else’s.

With hindsight perhaps “Miserable” was a bit unfair. Tongue slightly in cheek I tried to boil my ranking for each song down into a single word by way of explanation. I could perhaps have used “Doleful”, which means more or less the same thing but doesn’t sound so bad. Or maybe “Plodding”.

John’s vocal is sublime, as usual. The instrumentation is OK. I don’t care much for the song itself though, as a song. It’s just a bit…meh.

The song narrative is rather woebegone. He sits alone crying many a night. People talk about the object of his affections behind her back, they call her a cheat. He feels helpless. It’s not just the lyrics though. The tune is rather slow and gloomy. Don’t get me wrong, a nice bit of shadow to contrast with their usual upbeat, catchy joy can make for a fine song. I love some of those sardonic early numbers like “Not A Second Time ” or “Don’t Bother Me “, but “Baby It’s You ” sounds a bit pathetic; by the fade out he’s begging not to be left alone.

Yeah, come to think of it, I’ll stick with “Miserable”.

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vonbontee
16 October 2018
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TheWalrusWasBrian
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Mr Mustard said
There isn’t a right or wrong TheWalrusWasBrian, it’s all just subjective opinions and yours is as valid as everyone else’s.

With hindsight perhaps “Miserable” was a bit unfair. Tongue slightly in cheek I tried to boil my ranking for each song down into a single word by way of explanation. I could perhaps have used “Doleful”, which means more or less the same thing but doesn’t sound so bad. Or maybe “Plodding”.

John’s vocal is sublime, as usual. The instrumentation is OK. I don’t care much for the song itself though, as a song. It’s just a bit…meh.

The song narrative is rather woebegone. He sits alone crying many a night. People talk about the object of his affections behind her back, they call her a cheat. He feels helpless. It’s not just the lyrics though. The tune is rather slow and gloomy. Don’t get me wrong, a nice bit of shadow to contrast with their usual upbeat, catchy joy can make for a fine song. I love some of those sardonic early numbers like “Not A Second Time ” or “Don’t Bother Me “, but “Baby It’s You ” sounds a bit pathetic; by the fade out he’s begging not to be left alone.

Yeah, come to think of it, I’ll stick with “Miserable”.  

Agh, I didn’t mean there was a right or wrong, I should’ve worded that differently! 

And I definitely agree on some of these points; I’m not too impressed with the lyrics, I think it’s mainly the tune/melody/harmony (yeh, vocals pretty much) I like. 

IMG_3978.PNG|badge1.png | I don’t know how to put it here. hello for the love of god hello 

~~~

The Concert for Bageldesh

~~~

Walrian here! Not Fiddy, or anyone else, actually.

10 November 2018
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PACO
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1 Do you want yo know a secret?

2 Please Please Me

3 Misery

4 PS I Love You

5 I saw standing there

6 Ask me wahy

7 There is a place

8 Love Me Do

 

Covers:

Anna

Boys

Baby Its You

A Taste Of Honey

Twis and shout

Chains

15 November 2018
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Timothy
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PPM represents the purest their voices ever sounded. Young guys with fresh vocal chords not knowing they had such an iconic career in front of them. Just four guys, as John said. Going to the recording studio and making an album.

What’s cool about PPM is how the DNA of the singers is all present. John sings about heartbreak (Misery , Anna (Go With Him). Paul has the upbeat I Saw Her Standing There , and P.S I Love You. George has Chains , which does touch upon spiritual side of things in my opinion with “they ain’t the kind that you can see”. Ringo does his Ringo routine with Boys . A rock solid groundwork there for what followed.

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Ahhh Girl

1.The Beatles 2.Sgt. Pepper 3.Abbey Road 4.Magical Mystery Tour 5.Rubber Soul 6.Revolver 7.Help! 8.Let It Be
9.A Hard Day’s Night 10.Please Please Me 11.Beatles For Sale 12.With The Beatles 13.Yellow Submarine

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16 November 2018
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TheWalrusWasBrian
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Ringo’s Ringo Routine improves every album. Made a wonderful addition here, his voice, in my opinion, is perfect for it.

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IMG_3978.PNG|badge1.png | I don’t know how to put it here. hello for the love of god hello 

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The Concert for Bageldesh

~~~

Walrian here! Not Fiddy, or anyone else, actually.

20 November 2018
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I love this album, but there’s one thing I don’t understand; why does everyone always hate on A Taste Of Honey ? There’s definitely better material on the album, but I think it’s a really nice song, and a great Paul vocal.

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Love one another.

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(I'm Fiddy, not Walrian)

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14 May 2019
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I love them all but if I really had to choose (top 3)

1. Anna

2. Please Please Me

3. Do You Want To Know A Secret

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21 May 2019
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