Beatles Deep Cuts
I got the idea for this post when I was writing the last one, which involved the Beatles. After watching some of the new Beatles documentary, I realized that I had never really familiarized myself with much of their work. Obviously, the Beatles are one of the most important rock bands ever, if not, the most, but in my experience, people either grew up listening to the Beatles or they didn’t, and most people don’t discover them later in life. Of course, I’d heard all the hits on the radio, but the radio never does a band’s full repertoire justice. So I decided to give the later albums a listen. This was a welcome reversion to the way I used to listen to music (one album at a time), rather than the way I typically listen to it these days (random, algorithm-generated selections). Because really, shouldn’t we listen to music the way the artists intended it to be listened to? If a song is like a chapter, and the album is like a novel, then shouldn’t we read the whole thing?
So if it makes sense to say that the Beatles have deep cuts, I’m discovering those deep cuts in my 41st year – better late than never! What follows are my top eleven underrated Beatles tracks (it was supposed to be ten, but I accidentally chose eleven and then couldn’t decide which one to eliminate). This doesn’t include all the albums – I start with Rubber Soul, because I think that’s when the Fab Four start to get really interesting musically. Not that the Beatles don’t have some great songs prior to that, but they tend to be pretty slick and saccharine, with more standard structure, lyrics, and production.
Again, I’m not saying these are the best Beatles songs, but that they’re the best ones you probably won’t hear unless you listen to the whole albums. It was a bit tricky deciding which ones are well-known or not. For some reason, I feel like I had heard most of Sgt. Pepper and “The White Album” before, but not Rubber Soul or Revolver. So I didn’t include any from Sgt. Pepper, and I only included one from “The White Album,” even though both are full of great songs. Similarly, I didn’t end up including any from Magical Mystery Tour or Yellow Submarine, because I already knew the best songs.
And I opted not to do a Spotify playlist, because I’m not a fan of their ditching Neil Young for an anti-vaxxer ☹. I created a YouTube playlist, but it doesn’t seem to be supported here, so here’s the link to it, if you want to just copy it and paste it into your browser:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvY_hMsoBt3A_MhmFkHQPqS8XDjYHHHoa
I’ve embedded the YouTube vid for each song, below.
“Think for Yourself” – This one’s got a kiss-off attitude, a cool, fuzzy bass, and great harmonies. Written by George.
“If I Needed Someone” – Also written by George, interestingly. Melancholy vibe, sly lyrics, and more soaring harmonies, this time with jangly guitar and a droning bass line. George wrote it for Pattie Boyd, his wife at the time. Ms. Boyd must have had some charm, because she inspired several other songs from George, as well as from Eric Clapton (see, e.g. “Layla”). Clapton eventually married Boyd after she divorced George.
“I’m Only Sleeping” – John rhapsodizes about his favorite activity apart from making music. The song features a trippy reverse guitar effect from George.
“She Said She Said” – Catchy guitar riff and gorgeous melodies, inspired by a conversation that George, John, and Ringo had with Peter Fonda while on LSD. In the course of the conversation, Fonda said “I know what it’s like to be dead”, since as a child he had technically died during an operation.
“And Your Bird Can Sing” – Up-tempo banger with a wicked ascending/descending dualing guitar riff by George and Paul, and accompanying solo. Apparently, John had Frank Sinatra in mind while writing. According to a recent Esquire article, Sinatra was "the fully emancipated male ... the man who can have anything he wants".
“Tomorrow Never Knows” – This one is maybe the most “modern-sounding” track up to that point for the Beatles, with big drums and crashing cymbals, a droning bass line, and reversed guitar effects. It also features the tambura, a stringed instrument from Central Asia, and of course, the sitar.
“The White Album”
“Sexy Sadie” – John’s flip takedown of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who John believed made a move on Mia Farrow while they were all at the Maharishi’s ashram in India. The cavernous reverb of the piano anticipates some of John’s later solo stuff.
“Long, Long, Long” – George’s exhausted love letter to God, the chord progression is based on Bob Dylan’s “Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands”, but with its deliberate tempo, haunting melodies, and warm, swelling organ, it reminds me more of Billy Bragg & Wilco’s “One by One”.
Or rather, “One by One” reminds me of this. Oh, and Elliott Smith used to cover “Long, Long, Long” live.
Abbey Road
“Because” – Speaking of Elliott Smith, this one is a bit of a cheat for me - I first heard it as a Smith cover, which I didn’t realize was a cover at the time, probably because a lot of Smith’s music is Beatles-esque.
Smith is my favorite singer-songwriter ever and, as you can see, he was a huge Beatles fan. “Because” is a mysterious, slow-paced meditation, featuring ethereal nine-part harmonies, a harpsichord, a Moog synthesizer, and playful puns. John wrote it after being inspired by Yoko playing Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” on piano.
Let It Be
“Two of Us” – A warm, acoustic number with a contagious melody and a simple, driving rhythm. The perfect tune for a Sunday drive home, as John and Paul indicate. The tone is earnest, but it’s thought by some to be Paul addressing John and contractual troubles.
“Dig A Pony” – A slow, heavy jam, with some tasty riffs and bluesy melodies. The lyrics are pretty nonsensical, but this is John Lennon, after all.