Post by jeremyd99 on Dec 17, 2016 4:06:00 GMT 10
Being a massive fan of The Beatles, I am inclined to listen to all their music and enjoy a majority of their large and diverse output, however, it has always been later Beatles (1965-1970) that have appealed to me the most due to their innovative, experimental, and psychedelic sounds. The purpose of this thread is to gauge people's opinions on The Beatles' later albums and how they rank amongst each other. Below, I will be doing a ranking their later albums from least favorite to most favorite. So, here we go...
(1965-1970)
*Also, let it be noted, I'm going to exclude the album 'Help!' from this list, because, despite coming out in 1965, it really has the sound and feel of an early Beatles's album even though their songwriting was greatly maturing and improving. So, for this timeline, we will be going from 'Rubber Soul' to 'Let It Be'.
#8) 'Yellow Submarine' (1969) - The reason this "album" ranks last is because it really isn't much of a Beatles' album at all. It only includes 4 original songs by The Beatles, all of which were old scrapped material from previous recording sessions, and the rest of the album is compositions for the 'Yellow Submarine' film my George Martin. That being said, the four original songs are fantastic and really underrated and the two songs from previous albums that were included ('Yellow Submarine' and 'All You Need is Love') are classics! The compositions by Martin are also rather enjoyable to listen to. This album does have its pros but its just not a complete Beatles' album and that's why it ranks last on this list. Still, very much worth listening to for any Beatles fan! My favorite track on the album is 'Hey Bulldog'.
#7) 'Magical Mystery Tour' (1967) - Make no mistake, 'Magical Mystery Tour' is phenomenal album! It has a plethora of classic Beatles' tracks and despite having a few weak spots, it still is endlessly re-listenable. 'All You Need Is Love' is one of my all-time favorite Beatles' songs, maybe my VERY favorite of theirs and 'I Am The Walrus' is a brilliant psychedelic trip with it's hallucinogenic lyrics and its creative sounds. For some reason, this album is always very under-appreciated when people rank The Beatles' albums, and I think this is a mistake. While it did follow up the hugely successful 'Sgt. Pepper's' (and maybe it didn't quite live up to that) it still is unique and creative in its own right as it features several classic Beatles' tracks and mantras.
#6) 'Let It Be' (1970) - Another album that gets a lot of unnecessary hate, much of it coming from The Beatles themselves, that actually has a ton of great music and is a really enjoyable listen. 'Let It Be', the last album released by The Beatles, is unfinished, however, so many of the songs are memorable and now Beatles's classics. The title track, 'Let It Be', is a beautiful melody and 'Across The Universe' may be the most lyrically complex and mature song The Beatles ever wrote! There are also A TON of underrated tracks on this album such as 'Dig a Pony', 'One After 909', and my favorite, 'I've Got A Feeling' ("Everybody had a hard year, everybody had a good time, everybody had a wet dream, everybody saw the sunshine")! While this isn't exactly going out on a high-note ('Abbey Road' accomplished that), this is still a wonderful album and a solid sendoff to a magnificent musical career!
#5) 'Rubber Soul' (1965) - This is the album, in my opinion, where The Beatles really changed, grew, and matured as songwriters and musicians. It could be argued that 'Help!' was that album due to 'Ticket To Ride', but that album still featured a lot of their more traditional pop music and some of their more simplistic and fun lyrics. That isn't to say this album isn't fun, in fact, it's an absolute blast from start to finish, but it also feels like an album that changed everything. Its pop, its rock, its melodic, its deep, its goofy/silly, and its beautiful. It embodies and gives birth to all the qualities that would later make The Beatles the greatest band in the world. 'In My Life', 'Nowhere Man', and 'Norwegian Wood' stick out as the most memorable tracks on the album, with 'Nowhere Man' being a particularly relatable song. The whole album works perfectly as a whole, but each song can be taken off and listened to and enjoyed individually! What fun piece of music!
#4) 'Revolver' (1966) - Despite my previous claims about 'Rubber Soul' some people say that this is the album that changed it all, the album that transformed The Beatles from pop-stars to the most important musicians of the 20th century, the album that changed them from a boy band to a group of psychedelic rockstars. This album certainly innovated and improved their already unique style. Each track on this album fits perfectly and the whole album flows so smoothly. The trippy and more out-there music evolved into something else entirely, something that took on a life of its own. 'Got To Get You Into My Life' and 'I'm Only Sleeping' are among my favorite tracks on the album, and are among my all-time favorite tracks by The Beatles. This is a great record and it recently has gotten reevaluated and is getting a lot of praise, with many people calling it the very best of The Beatles album. While it's not my personal favorite, it's certainly a good choice for the #! spot.
#3) 'Abbey Road' (1969) - The final 3 albums are almost impossible for me to break down and put in order, but if I had to pick the least of them, it would be 'Abbey Road'. However, the least of these 3 albums would still end up in my "Top 10 Albums of All-Time" list due its groundbreaking soundscapes, the ending medley, the harmonized vocals, the amazing flow each track has, the good humor, the great lyrics, and for it being the perfect sendoff to the greatest musical career of all-time. Each song bleed into the next so smoothly and all the tracks are endlessly re-lisitnable. The 'Abbey Road Medley' may be Paul McCartney's greatest contribution to music, and George Harrison also unleashes his talent here with his two best songs: 'Something' and 'Here Comes The Sun'. What a miraculous way to finish a career! The trio of 'Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End' is one of the best pieces of music ever recorded. I even enjoy 'Her Majesty'!
#2) 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' (1967) - Generally regarded as the greatest Beatles' album and the first-ever concept album, 'Sgt Pepper's' makes a very compelling case to be my #1 favorite Beatle's album, in fact, it used to be my favorite album ever. The album is essentially perfect, with each of its tracks being incredible and memorable. From John Lennon's psychedelic 'Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds' to Ringo belting out 'With A Little Help From My Friends' to 'A Day In The Life', possibly the best composed Beatles' track, everything about this album screams perfection! The songs, the tone, the lyrics, and the sound are all amazing. it also may very well have the best album cover of all-time with its colorful and historical artwork.
#1) 'The White Album' (1968) - My very favorite Beatles' albums ever! Each track, each moment, is so much fun to listen to, so enjoyable, and so heartfelt. Once I heard the opening track, 'Back In The USSR', I fell in love! And it just gets better from there! This album is basically of the members of The Beatles just doing their own thing and it works perfectly as a conglomeration of all their talent. My favorite tracks on the album are 'Dear Prudence', 'Mother Nature's Son', and 'Sexy Sadie', though, I can't really decide between them as they all resonate with me so deeply. This is the most fun I have EVER had listening to an album, and it may very well be my favorite album of all time. Perfection doesn't even begin to describe this work of art!
What are your favorites? I'd love to hear them!
(1965-1970)
*Also, let it be noted, I'm going to exclude the album 'Help!' from this list, because, despite coming out in 1965, it really has the sound and feel of an early Beatles's album even though their songwriting was greatly maturing and improving. So, for this timeline, we will be going from 'Rubber Soul' to 'Let It Be'.
#8) 'Yellow Submarine' (1969) - The reason this "album" ranks last is because it really isn't much of a Beatles' album at all. It only includes 4 original songs by The Beatles, all of which were old scrapped material from previous recording sessions, and the rest of the album is compositions for the 'Yellow Submarine' film my George Martin. That being said, the four original songs are fantastic and really underrated and the two songs from previous albums that were included ('Yellow Submarine' and 'All You Need is Love') are classics! The compositions by Martin are also rather enjoyable to listen to. This album does have its pros but its just not a complete Beatles' album and that's why it ranks last on this list. Still, very much worth listening to for any Beatles fan! My favorite track on the album is 'Hey Bulldog'.
#7) 'Magical Mystery Tour' (1967) - Make no mistake, 'Magical Mystery Tour' is phenomenal album! It has a plethora of classic Beatles' tracks and despite having a few weak spots, it still is endlessly re-listenable. 'All You Need Is Love' is one of my all-time favorite Beatles' songs, maybe my VERY favorite of theirs and 'I Am The Walrus' is a brilliant psychedelic trip with it's hallucinogenic lyrics and its creative sounds. For some reason, this album is always very under-appreciated when people rank The Beatles' albums, and I think this is a mistake. While it did follow up the hugely successful 'Sgt. Pepper's' (and maybe it didn't quite live up to that) it still is unique and creative in its own right as it features several classic Beatles' tracks and mantras.
#6) 'Let It Be' (1970) - Another album that gets a lot of unnecessary hate, much of it coming from The Beatles themselves, that actually has a ton of great music and is a really enjoyable listen. 'Let It Be', the last album released by The Beatles, is unfinished, however, so many of the songs are memorable and now Beatles's classics. The title track, 'Let It Be', is a beautiful melody and 'Across The Universe' may be the most lyrically complex and mature song The Beatles ever wrote! There are also A TON of underrated tracks on this album such as 'Dig a Pony', 'One After 909', and my favorite, 'I've Got A Feeling' ("Everybody had a hard year, everybody had a good time, everybody had a wet dream, everybody saw the sunshine")! While this isn't exactly going out on a high-note ('Abbey Road' accomplished that), this is still a wonderful album and a solid sendoff to a magnificent musical career!
#5) 'Rubber Soul' (1965) - This is the album, in my opinion, where The Beatles really changed, grew, and matured as songwriters and musicians. It could be argued that 'Help!' was that album due to 'Ticket To Ride', but that album still featured a lot of their more traditional pop music and some of their more simplistic and fun lyrics. That isn't to say this album isn't fun, in fact, it's an absolute blast from start to finish, but it also feels like an album that changed everything. Its pop, its rock, its melodic, its deep, its goofy/silly, and its beautiful. It embodies and gives birth to all the qualities that would later make The Beatles the greatest band in the world. 'In My Life', 'Nowhere Man', and 'Norwegian Wood' stick out as the most memorable tracks on the album, with 'Nowhere Man' being a particularly relatable song. The whole album works perfectly as a whole, but each song can be taken off and listened to and enjoyed individually! What fun piece of music!
#4) 'Revolver' (1966) - Despite my previous claims about 'Rubber Soul' some people say that this is the album that changed it all, the album that transformed The Beatles from pop-stars to the most important musicians of the 20th century, the album that changed them from a boy band to a group of psychedelic rockstars. This album certainly innovated and improved their already unique style. Each track on this album fits perfectly and the whole album flows so smoothly. The trippy and more out-there music evolved into something else entirely, something that took on a life of its own. 'Got To Get You Into My Life' and 'I'm Only Sleeping' are among my favorite tracks on the album, and are among my all-time favorite tracks by The Beatles. This is a great record and it recently has gotten reevaluated and is getting a lot of praise, with many people calling it the very best of The Beatles album. While it's not my personal favorite, it's certainly a good choice for the #! spot.
#3) 'Abbey Road' (1969) - The final 3 albums are almost impossible for me to break down and put in order, but if I had to pick the least of them, it would be 'Abbey Road'. However, the least of these 3 albums would still end up in my "Top 10 Albums of All-Time" list due its groundbreaking soundscapes, the ending medley, the harmonized vocals, the amazing flow each track has, the good humor, the great lyrics, and for it being the perfect sendoff to the greatest musical career of all-time. Each song bleed into the next so smoothly and all the tracks are endlessly re-lisitnable. The 'Abbey Road Medley' may be Paul McCartney's greatest contribution to music, and George Harrison also unleashes his talent here with his two best songs: 'Something' and 'Here Comes The Sun'. What a miraculous way to finish a career! The trio of 'Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End' is one of the best pieces of music ever recorded. I even enjoy 'Her Majesty'!
#2) 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' (1967) - Generally regarded as the greatest Beatles' album and the first-ever concept album, 'Sgt Pepper's' makes a very compelling case to be my #1 favorite Beatle's album, in fact, it used to be my favorite album ever. The album is essentially perfect, with each of its tracks being incredible and memorable. From John Lennon's psychedelic 'Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds' to Ringo belting out 'With A Little Help From My Friends' to 'A Day In The Life', possibly the best composed Beatles' track, everything about this album screams perfection! The songs, the tone, the lyrics, and the sound are all amazing. it also may very well have the best album cover of all-time with its colorful and historical artwork.
#1) 'The White Album' (1968) - My very favorite Beatles' albums ever! Each track, each moment, is so much fun to listen to, so enjoyable, and so heartfelt. Once I heard the opening track, 'Back In The USSR', I fell in love! And it just gets better from there! This album is basically of the members of The Beatles just doing their own thing and it works perfectly as a conglomeration of all their talent. My favorite tracks on the album are 'Dear Prudence', 'Mother Nature's Son', and 'Sexy Sadie', though, I can't really decide between them as they all resonate with me so deeply. This is the most fun I have EVER had listening to an album, and it may very well be my favorite album of all time. Perfection doesn't even begin to describe this work of art!
What are your favorites? I'd love to hear them!