I know, I know, I haven't been very creative with my top 5 topics of late. The inspiration just hasn't been there for whatever reason. But just because this topic is a little on the bland side doesn't mean it's a easy one. People throw around the "greatest band ever" title when talking about the Beatles so much that most just take it for granted, but there is a reason they are considered the best. The Beatles recording history lasted only seven years, but in those seven years they released more brilliant music then most bands do over 50 (yes, that is a shot at the Stones). Over those seven years they released 12 studio albums considered there core catalog, and there isn't a album that can be considered anything but great. It blows my mind to think everything I've heard from the Beatles came from a period of less then 10 years. Pearl Jam has been recording for 20, Red Hot Chili Peppers, 30, Van Halen, 40 and the Rolling Stones, 50, yet none of those great bands catalog even comes close to the Beatles output. So, I sat down with the catalog and tried to pull out only 5 songs that I love more then any others and this is what I came up with, my Top 5 Favorite Beatles Songs...
5) And You Bird Can Sing (Revolver) (Lennon)
I love Harrison's intro. He may not be the greatest guitarist of all time or even on the list, but there's something to be said about the simplicity of his licks that make them so memorable. This is just a great up beat song that's fun to sing at the top of your lungs. It kind of encompasses everything Beatle music is to me.
4) Oh! Darling (Abbey Road) (McCartney)
The Beatles stab at blues. It doesn't sound as authentic as anything the Stones did, but I don't think it was supposed to. It is very much in the style of early rock's version of the blues. McCartney, probably my least favorite Beatle, does a great job of conveying the pain of breakup. When he practically screams the bridge the emotion comes pouring out of the speakers.
3) Here Comes The Sun (Abbey Road) (Harrison)
Growing up in New England, this song holds a special part in my heart. One of my greatest childhood memories is of that incredible freeing feeling of transition from winter to spring. This song causes those emotions and memories to come rushing back by totalling encapsulating the experience. Once I got my license, when the snow would start to melt and you could finally drive with the windows down, I would pop this song into my tape deck and sing along at the top of my lungs as I sped down the road. Nothing can feel exhilarating.
2) Penny Lane (Magical Mystery Tour) (McCartney)
I credit this song as the beginning of my love of songs with horns. I have an abnormal love of any song that contains some type of prominent horn line. Dave Mason's piccolo trumpet is what gives this song it's distinct sound. That's not to down play other aspects of the song that draw me to it. Although the lyrics are nonsensical and surreal, there is a literary feel to them. It's feels like you are being told a story, an absurd story, but a story none the less.
1) I Should Have Known Better (Hard Day's Night) (Lennon)
There's no great story behind my love of this song and it certainly isn't the best or most complex music on the list forget about in their catalog, but none the less it is my all time favorite Beatles song. I love listening to it at full volume, singing along, it makes me happy. I couldn't tell you why, it just strikes a cord with me. People say that Lennon wrote it after being inspired by Bob Dylan. I'm not a crazed Dylan fan and don't even really see the inspiration, other then maybe the use of the harmonica, but it's a fun fact about the song.
Honorable Mentions : Every other song the Beatles recorded other then Yellow Submarine and Act Naturally (Sorry Ringo!)
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