9.54pm
3 May 2024
Hello Beatlemaniacs. I’m trying to work on a Beatles spotify playlist that includes all of the songs that are considered popular or culturally significant. But it’s always been hard to quantify how many or which songs are considered either of those things because of all the multiple resources with different results on this (and trust me, I have used many of them) So I want to ask some hardcore fans to help me settle this.
To give an example of what I am looking for, I want the signature songs of each album and each of their solo careers, with any non-album singles going into the same category as the recording sessions they coincide with songs from the album.
For example, I actually have one era pretty much set in stone, Rubber Soul . Here are the songs I picked for the playlist from that time:
- Day Tripper
- We Can Work It Out
- Drive My Car
- Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)
- Nowhere Man
- Michelle
- Girl
- In My Life
Something like this for the other albums is what I am aiming for. I also have already picked out one song (due to of how little memorability of the other songs from that era) from their Quarrymen years, Yellow Submarine , and posthumous post break up works: In Spite Of All The Danger , Hey Bulldog , and Now And Then . All the other eras are ones I need help on.
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Beatlebug, Rube2.04am
Moderators
15 February 2015
Ooooh, I like this playlist idea. I’ve been making “crash course” playlists for some other artists lately so I think I understand the assignment here. Based on the example you give, it looks like you’ll largely be sticking to hit singles/better-known album tracks, but we may find a few deeper cuts that are just as important.
For the early Beatles (pre-Rubber Soul ), I would look for songs that helped propel the Beatles into popular consciousness: “She Loves You ” and “I Want To Hold Your Hand ” are major examples, but really any of the early single releases would count. Songs that marked some important progression in the Beatles’ progression as artists, such as the more personal nature of “I’m A Loser ” and/or increasingly complex arrangements like “Yesterday “, might also be considered. And for middle-career Beatles songs, I would go with tunes that were so revolutionary, either in songwriting or arrangement or recording, that they’ve cast long shadows over popular culture: the psychedelic sound of “Tomorrow Never Knows ” or “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds “, the same combined with an introspective/nostalgic feel of “Strawberry Fields Forever “, the Indian influences on “Love You To ” or “Within You Without You “, the… just everything about “A Day In The Life “. Then you get into the later years as the Beatles start to show their individuality more, leading up to the solo careers they would go on to have, and you might want to highlight things like George’s emotive writing style + the searing guitar part Eric Clapton contributed on “While My Guitar Gently Weeps “, the experimental and rawer sides of John’s work in things like “Happiness Is A Warm Gun ” and “Don’t Let Me Down “, and Paul’s love of genre pastiche in songs like “When I’m Sixty-Four ” and “Oh! Darling “. If you want to represent Ringo’s songwriting (and of course you do) I’d recommend “Octopus’s Garden “. And of course you’re essentially required to include the Beatles song that arguably lives largest in popular imagination: “Here Comes The Sun “. (It’s the top song result when I search The Beatles on both YouTube Music and Spotify.)
Others may chime in on this as I’m sure there’s some I haven’t thought of.
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Sea Belt, Rube([{BRACKETS!}])
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6.47am
7 November 2022
A good list — I agree with many of your choices. It brings up to me the related question: What exactly were the different phases of The Beatles? Of course, the answer my be subject according to different people’s judgements. My sense is there were six phases:
1. The early “reelin’ and rockin'” phase.
2. The Help /Hard Day’s Night phase.
3. Rubber Soul /Revolver
4. Sergeant Pepper’s / Magical Mystery Tour [later edit for the record]
5. White Album
6. Let It Be /Abbey Road
Now today I find, you have changed your mind
1.44am
30 August 2021
You’ve left out Sgt Pepper . I assume that belongs with 4. Magical Mystery Tour as the “psychedelic phase.”
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Sea Belt, Rube"Nothing is Beatle-proof."
3.41am
7 November 2022
Yes definitely — my #4 would include Sgt Pepper ‘s. Thanks.
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RubeNow today I find, you have changed your mind
5.39pm
Reviewers
Moderators
1 May 2011
I’d opt for taking the original ‘Red’ and ‘Blue’ albums and fixing some issues, e.g. ‘No Reply ‘ and ‘I’m A Loser ‘ being added but some tracks being scrapped to bring it back to a more sensible number of songs. Kind of similar to the expanded sets of last year but better done and more focused for the project. Those two compilations are fantastic overviews.
As for the eras I’d probably go for
2. ‘Rubber Soul ‘ to ‘Pepper’.
3. ‘MMT’, ‘YS’, ’68 singles and ‘White Album ‘.
4. ‘Abbey Road ‘ and ‘Let It Be ‘.
(non-album singles included)
‘Rubber Soul ‘ thru to ‘Pepper’ is the height of their creativity when they got over their exhaustion and stormed ahead so should be separated from what came before and after. I may also alter some recordings or add outtakes such as ‘Not Guilty ‘ may be included simply as it is a comment on the disharmony within the group after India during the recording sessions but would be depending on run time etc.
I wouldn’t be including any of the reunion tracks and something like below but open to many changes. I’d need to come up with titles.
Phase 1 – in which Doris gets her oats
1. Love Me Do
2. Please Please Me
3. I Saw Her Standing There
4. Twist And Shout
5. From Me To You
6. She Loves You
7. I Want To Hold Your Hand
8. This Boy
9. All My Loving
10. Don’t Bother Me
11. Can’t Buy Me Love
12. You Can’t Do That
13. A Hard Day’s Night
14. And I Love Her
15. I Feel Fine
16. No Reply
17. I’m A Loser
18. Eight Days A Week
19. Ticket To Ride
20. Help !
21. You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away
22. Yesterday
note: An alternative option would be replacing ‘You Can’t Do That ‘ with ‘Long Tall Sally ‘ (Paul’s best Beatles cover and the last track they ever performed live) and move the track-listing to accommodate (actually, you wouldn’t need to do that due to the release dates).
Phase 2
1. Day Tripper
2. We Can Work It Out
3. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)
4. Nowhere Man
5. Michelle
6. In My Life
7. Girl
8. Paperback Writer
9. Rain
10. Eleanor Rigby
11. Yellow Submarine
12. Taxman
13. I’m Only Sleeping
14. Love You To
15. Here, There And Everywhere
16. Got To Get You Into My Life
17. Tomorrow Never Knows
18. Strawberry Fields Forever
19. Penny Lane
20. Sgt. Pepper ’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
21. With A Little Help From My Friends
22. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
23. Within You Without You
24. A Day In The Life
note: You could include most or all of ‘Revolver ‘ and not raise a complaint. Five ‘Pepper’ tracks may seem low but inclusion for sake isn’t the point, I quite like the idea of the ‘Pepper (Reprise)’ being merged with ‘Pepper’ to create a whole as it was on a ‘Beat’ label bootleg but it probably wouldn’t work.
Phase 3.
1. All You Need Is Love
2. Hello, Goodbye
3. I Am The Walrus
4. The Fool On The Hill
5. Magical Mystery Tour
6. Lady Madonna
7. Hey Bulldog
8. Across The Universe (note: some kind of stripped back remix)
9. Hey Jude
10. Revolution
11. Back In The U.S.S.R.
12. Dear Prudence
13. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
14. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
15. Happiness Is A Warm Gun
16. Blackbird
17. Don’t Pass Me By
18. Julia
19. Not Guilty
20. Revolution 9 (the complaints would be many but it has to be included)
Phase 4
1. Get Back
2. Don’t Let Me Down
3. The Ballad Of John And Yoko
4. Come Together
5. Something
6. Octopus’s Garden
7. Oh! Darling
8. I Want You (She’s So Heavy)
9. Because
10. Two Of Us
11. Let It Be
12. The Long And Winding Road
13. I Me Mine
14. Golden Slumbers /Carry That Weight /The End
note: no idea how to compile this as it has to end on ‘The End ‘ but how you get there is a mystery if not jumping around, cutting up the medley section and omitting the first two or altering the mixes of the ‘Let It Be ‘ material. One option is remove ‘Oh! Darling ‘, replace it with ‘You Know My Name (Look Up The Number’) (it’s such a mad song and a real favourite of Paul’s) and end with that.
I’m probably missing the obvious, it could be bulked up, I’m probably missing the point of this and somehow it ends with 80 songs which is nice. Oh, and many of the tracks would be remixed but not the crap done by Giles, there are far better re-mixers out there who have and are doing it properly. If this is far too off theme I’m happy to butcher these and cut it down as it’s really reworked ‘Red’ and ‘Blue’ albums. Hmmm.
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Rube"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)
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