My brother called today for my birthday, and while talking about one of our shared interests, he casually laid down a simple challenge that belies its complexity - "what are your favorite three Beatles songs?"
If someone took you outside to look at a clear night sky, and asked you to pick your three favorite stars from the whole vista, how could you do it? You could at least get a start by identifying the things that aren't stars - the moon, planets, other galaxies. But you'd still have a LOT of stars to choose from.
Ok, so what could I eliminate? When is a Beatles song ~not~ a Beatles song? The only answer I could come up with is when the song is obviously mostly written and reflecting only one of the mop tops. The Beatles were a band, so I tried to focus on my favorite songs that show how great a band they were together.
I can't put these three in a least-to-most favorite order- my head would probably explode trying to come up with that. I will put them, at least, in chronological order, and try to offer some insights into my thinking:
First up, "She Loves You" (yeah, yeah, yeah). Recorded July 1st, 1963 (when I was a wee lad of 3 months old), "She Loves You" was a huge hit in the UK (one of the best selling singles ever). Although it was mostly ignored when initially released in the US, it got its second wind after "I Want To Hold Your Hand" was released, went on to hold the top spot on the US charts, and was one of the songs that set the US record when the Beatles held all five of the top singles spots in April 1964.
I love the way "She Loves You" bucks convention - opening with the chorus, the unorthodox "third party" viewpoint for a love song, and of course, the "yeahs" and "wooo"! Everyone's great on the record, with awesome harmonies and driving rhythm. What puts it over the top for me is the reflected greatness of "the fifth Beatle", George Martin, who helped shape the song to be the hit it was, and helped shape The Beatles to become the legends they are.
Next stop - "Nowhere Man" from the Rubber Soul album. The fabulous three-part harmonies from John, Paul and George, Paul's ever-moving bass guitar, George's tasty guitar accents and solo, and Ringo's more sophisticated rhythms are nothing short of fabulous. The song was also a departure from the love and romance songs written by the group to that point, and set the stage for the more philosophical songs to come. It was a #3 hit in the US in early 1966 (I was almost 3 at that point), and reached #1 in other parts of the globe. "Nowhere Man" is joined on Rubber Soul by many other songs that showed the strength of the band along with their evolving musicality, all of which could fill this spot, but "Nowhere Man" is unique among them.
Since I could only pick 3, and I limited myself to "band" songs, I have to jump right over all the amazing, breathtaking, and revolutionary songs from Revolver, Sgt. Pepper's, Magical Mystery Tour, the White Album, and (although recorded last but released next to last) Abbey Road. That...is a leap equal to the best Superman would have to offer. On the other hand, it becomes more and more obvious in the music that the band was producing mostly "John songs", "Paul songs", and "George songs" in those years, and biographies, interviews, and the film "Let It Be" backs that up. And so, my final pick is....
"Get Back" from the Let It Be album. One of the 1969 "roof top session" songs, it stands out as one of the last complete original Beatles songs perfected by the entire band working together. Working over two days with Billy Preston on keyboards, the group tightened their ensemble to deliver the driving punchy rocker. "Get Back" was one of only two Beatles singles mixed in what today is considered "true stereo", with Ringo's drum kit spread between both left and right channels. Although the tracks for the Let It Be album (originally titled "Get Back" as well) were recorded prior to the recording of the Abbey Road album, they were abandoned until after Abbey Road had been released, and then pieced together and released around the time the band announced their break up. Regardless of the order of its recording, "Get Back" once again shows the ensemble strength of The Beatles and serves as a fitting end to their final released album.
As honorable mentions, I have to give a shout out to a few "non-band" songs that can't go ignored: "Blackbird" is my favorite Beatles song played for me by my brother Scott, and one of the few I've attempted to play myself. Of the "solo" songs, I also have to give a nod to "Yesterday", "Revolution", "Something", "Octopus's Garden", "A Day in the Life", and of course "Golden Slumbers"/"Carry That Weight"/"The End", delivering the fitting epitaph, "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make."
I should also mention "Twist and Shout" - a throat-wrenching performance by John that was recorded in the one and only take that was possible at the end of a long day of recording. Also, "Long Tall Sally" an awesome performance by Paul. It was a staple of their live performances (including with Little Richard) and they were able to lay this down in one take.
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