A little while ago, I indulged in something for which the internet is perfectly suited: namely, being a hateful jackass. I tore apart five of the songs from the musical group who, more than anyone else, has shaped my tastes in music since I discovered them about twenty years ago. John, Paul, George and Ringo could produce some stinkers, to be sure, but they also had amazing, amazing songs. You probably know the big hits, even if you don't (they're just in our collective subconscious). But what about the album filler that doesn't get the same love? Surely even the less-successful stuff has merit. Well, here are my five picks for the most underrated Beatles songs:
5.) And Your Bird Can Sing (Revolver)
This is a song that John Lennon referred to as a "throwaway," but that's unfair. On an album that saw the group experimenting, laying the groundwork for the much-hyped (and lesser) Sgt. Pepper, this was almost a throwback to early-period pop tunes, back when Lennon and McCartney really did write together (lyrically it's all Lennon, putting down someone who thinks that fancy belongings could bring them happiness, but musically it's sweet and rocking like an optimistic Macca rocker). It's a standout track on an album that is so much more satisfying than just about any of the albums that came after (and yes, I'm slandering the late-period masterpieces, but honestly who listens to The White Album all the way through, beginning to end?).
4.) Blackbird (The White Album)
I could be wrong about this song being "underrated," because I'm sure I'm not its only fan. McCartney in the late period of the group could be awfully syrupy in his lyrics (and indeed in much of his solo work), but this is a beautiful acoustic tune that, much like its side-mate "Mother Nature's Son," makes the first half of the second album in the double-album set (and on the same CD) a nice mix of relaxing and weird (if I'm not mistaken, "Helter Skelter" is also on the second disc). I tend to look down my nose at McCartney for his sentimentalism and cloying lyrics, but for once he gets it right.
3.) I've Just Seen a Face (Help!)
Remember the last time you saw someone, just a pretty face in a crowd, and immediately you started wondering what your lives together would be like? No, it's just me? Well, I don't know if I believe that, but this is the perfect song for that moment when you either see someone you want to get to know better for the first time, or when you finally realize that you want to with someone you've known for a little while. What sells the song is Paul's breathless vocals (I dare even the physically fit among you, with refined breathing control, to sing along and not get winded trying to keep up) and the slight country feel to the song. It's a beauty.
2.) I've Got a Feeling (Let It Be/Beatles Anthology 3)
I first encountered this on the Anthology 3 CD, and then there it was again on Let It Be. As contentious as the latter-day history of the group was (from the death of Brian Epstein in 1967 on, it was not a matter of "if" the Beatles break up but "when"), when they came together on a song that deserved it, the Fab Four could still blow the roof off the competition. This has the added bonus of being among the last times Paul and John alternated lyrics, with Paul taking on the gusto of the first set and John crooning about "everybody had a wet dream" in the second set. Either version is amazing (the Let It Be version is complete, while the Anthology 3 take descends into chaos and a premature halt but is still a beauty to listen to).
1.) The Ballad of John and Yoko (Past Masters, Volume 2)
"Christ you know it ain't easy...the way things are going, they're gonna crucify me." The balls of John to sing that some years removed from his "bigger than Jesus" controversy. It's a great look at John and Yoko's stormy wedding-and-honeymoon-period, during which they had "bed-ins" for peace, love, and to take the piss of the international press. Yoko Ono famously got blamed for breaking up the band, but any historian of the group could tell you that factors beyond her were the driving force for the group splintering when they did. I used to casually refer to her as a "witch," but then this little thing called "maturity" kicked in and I realized that she brought some much-needed happiness to John's turbulent personal life. This song, almost a solo project (the only other Beatle on the track, surprisingly, is Paul), is an absolutely great song from beginning to end.
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