The Beatles: Worst to First?
If you consider yourself a Beatles fan, you’re sure to find this a fascinating article listing all the Beatles songs from worst to first! Of course, bear in mind it’s all subjective, and based on one man’s opinion.
His name is Bill Wyman. (No, not that Bill Wyman.) He’s a longtime music writer and former editor at NPR. I don’t know if that’s his real name or just a ploy to get your attention into thinking you’re reading something by a Rolling Stone. Either way, it worked on me, until I Googled him.
Even with his lengthy journalistic background, there’s no way one point of view could possibly be the definitive Beatles ranking. There would surely be spirited debate regardless of who compiles the list. So read on, and surely you’ll find some placements you’ll disagree with.
Take for instance, his putting the cacophony that is “Revolution #9” very close to the very center of the list at #114! That means he thinks this meaningless, melody-less, tempo-less piece of agonizing experimental noise is actually better than nearly one hundred other Beatles songs! Really? Better than “Don’t Let Me Down”? “I’ve Got a Feeling”? “Because”? “Long Tall Sally”? “Good Day Sunshine”? (The song he actually listed as worst!) I’d put just about any, no not just about, absolutely ANY song the Beatles recorded before this one. It’s not even really a song. Clearly Wyman is smoking something.
In fact, as I read the reviews, the author has very little good to say about most of these songs. It’s not until he gets down to about #100 that the tide starts to turn and he leans toward more overall positive synopses.
Doesn’t sound much like a fan to me.
Still, Wyman obviously has done his homework, and he knows his subject matter well. He doesn’t make apologies for his views and actually makes many excellent points in his sometimes brutally honest assessments.
A worthwhile read for Fab Freaks. Just don’t take it as personally as I did!
http://www.vulture.com/2017/06/all-213-beatles-songs-ranked-from-worst-to-best.html