Deano’s Musical Masterworks – The Beatles

NOTE: I originally wrote this for my kids back in 2015.

Ask anyone who the greatest songwriter of all time is and I guarantee that John Lennon and Paul McCartney wind up in the discussion.  Most important musical act of all time?  Same thing I guarantee The Beatles are in that discussion.  When I look at my favorite artist and songs of all time The Beatles top my list. 

Thirteen albums over the span of 7 years (1963 – 1970) created during Rock and Roll’s European Invasion.  Lennon/McCartney wrote 180 songs together and almost all of those wound up being Beatles songs.  They didn’t just write the lyrics they also wrote most of the music.  I think the reason I love The Beatles so much is how they were able to reinvent themselves so much as time passed.  Most bands either remain the same or change unsuccessfully over time.  They are rarely able to reinvent themselves from what made them famous.  There is no band that I’m aware of whose musical style changes so much and who did it so successfully.  They also seemed to get better and better each time they reinvented themselves.  To think all this happened in only seven years is even more phenomenal.  If you listen to the first album in this band’s career and then the last album it is like listening to completely different bands.  I’ve put the songs in the playlist in album order (so hopefully you’ll see).  It didn’t take decades for the transition to occur only 7 short years.  Absolutely mind-bogglingly phenomenal!

I can sing almost every word of almost all these songs. Just incredible songwriting.  The music of each of these songs is almost instantly recognizable as well.  The lyrics are often campy but are constantly being dissected by Beatles fans to find out what ‘they really meant’. 

I first remember listening to The Beatles in college.  I think maybe I borrowed Brent’s CDs and listened to them.  No clue why my Mom never made me listen to them?!?!  Heck, she was a freakin’ teenager when these guys were releasing this music in real life.  But she never told me about them.

They started as four guys in an early rock and roll band and wound up exploring some pretty diverse musical territory.  Symphony orchestras, all kinds of different musical instruments, music from all over the globe, even completely different genres from where they started.  Anchored by that brilliant songwriting all along the way.  I couldn’t pick which of them I liked better as a songwriter and don’t really want to.  I think that together they were the best that have ever existed and likely ever will.

My favorite Beatles album is probably The Beatles “The White Album”.  It is a double album so that explains why there are so many songs on the list.  Regardless, it is diverse and pretty awesome end to end.  The cover is not much to look at so the Abbey Road album cover was always my favorite.  I had a giant poster of it in my dorm room throughout most of college.  Much like the lyrics in their songs everyone tried to figure out what the cover represented.  Why was Paul smoking and barefoot, why was John in all white, why is Ringo dressed like a minister, and why is George dressed up like a worker…or…gasp…even a gravedigger?  Of course, the cover wasn’t the only thing good about Abbey Road.  If I had to listen to just one full album over and over it would probably be Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart Club Band.  That one might even be my favorite album.  A Hard’s Day Night only has like 2 songs on it that aren’t great.  Although I don’t think it compares to the later albums.  Hmmm.  Hard to say!?!

Favorite Beatles song of all time…almost impossible to pick something like that…but I’d say “Free As A Bird” and “Real Love” (from the Anthology discs) would be on the very short list.  Released 15 years after John Lennon’s death and 25 years after the band broke up.  The reunion that was to never occur was pretty spectacular…and produced two great songs.  “Golden Slumbers” from Abbey Road is great.  “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away” from Help!  “Across The Universe” and “Let It Be” from Let It Be.  “Yes It Is” and “The Ballad of John and Yoko” from Past Masters.  “Girl” from Rubber Soul.  “With A Little Help From My Friends” and “She’s Leaving Home” from Sgt. Peppers. “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” and “Happiness Is A Warm Gun” and “Blackbird” and “I Will” and “Julia” and “Mother Nature’s Son” and “Sexy Sadie” and “Good Night” from The White Album.  I guess The White Album is my favorite after all!

So, I encourage you to listen to The Beatles.  I bet you’ll find some songs you’ll like in this group.  If you get into these songs I encourage you to listen to the full 13 albums.  There are incredible songs on the albums that just don’t make it onto a daily listening list like this (but they are incredible nonetheless). The songs on Deano’s Musical Masterworks list are just songs I can listen to over and over happy or sad.  There are also great versions of many of these songs on the Anthology 6 disc set.

Additionally, if you like their music you should watch some of the documentaries on their life.  Equally as interesting.  One of my favorites is Good Ol’ Freda (which follows the life of the band’s secretary during their rise to fame).

By the way, I only broke into tears once or twice while pulling these 115 songs from the 493 in my collection.  Learn these songs, play them for your girlfriend or boyfriend, your husband or wife, your kids, yourself!  Play them when you’re up, play them when you’re down!  And I hope you enjoy my favorite group of all time.  Let me know what you think.

NOTE: In 2015 I made a set of discs for my kids to listen to which is why these are broken out by discs (very old school).  Now you can just listen to them on my Spotify Playlist that I made here:

• Disc 1
  • Please Please Me (1963)
    • I Saw Her Standing There
    • Love Me Do
    • Do You Want To Know A Secret
    • Twist And Shout
  • With the Beatles (1963)
    • All My Loving
  • A Hard Day’s Night (1964)
    • A Hard Day’s Night
    • I Should Have Known Better
    • If I Fell
    • I’m Happy Just To Dance With You
    • And I Love Her
    • Can’t Buy Me Love
    • Any Time At All
    • I’ll Cry Instead
    • Things We Said Today
    • You Can’t Do That
    • I’ll Be Back
  • Beatles for Sale (1964)
    • Eight Days A Week
  • Help! (1965)
    • Help!
    • You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away
    • Ticket To Ride
    • It’s Only Love
    • Yesterday
  • Rubber Soul (1965)
    • Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)
    • Nowhere Man
    • Michelle
    • Girl
    • I’m Looking Through You
    • In My Life
• Disc 2
  • Revolver (1966)
    • Eleanor Rigby
    • I’m Only Sleeping
    • Here, There and Everywhere
    • And Your Bird Can Sing
    • For No One
    • Doctor Robert
    • Got To Get You Into My Life
  • Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
    • Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
    • With A Little Help From My Friends
    • Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
    • Getting Better
    • Fixing A Hole
    • She’s Leaving Home
    • Being For The Benefit For Mr. Kite!
    • When I’m Sixty Four
    • Good Morning Good Morning
    • Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)
    • A Day In The Life
  • Magical Mystery Tour (1967)
    • The Fool On The Hill
    • Your Mother Should Know
    • I Am The Walrus
    • Hello, Goodbye
    • Strawberry Fields Forever
    • Penny Lane
    • All You Need Is Love
• Disc 3
  • The Beatles (“The White Album”) (1968)
    • Back In The U.S.S.R.
    • Dear Prudence
    • Glass Onion
    • Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
    • While My Guitar Gently Weeps
    • Happiness Is A Warm Gun
    • I’m So Tired
    • Blackbird
    • Piggies
    • Rocky Racoon
    • Don’t Pass Me By
    • Why Don’t We Do It In The Road?
    • I Will
    • Julia
    • Mother Nature’s Son
    • Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey
    • Sexy Sadie
    • Helter Skelter
    • Long, Long, Long
    • Revolution 1
    • Honey Pie
    • Cry Baby Cry
    • Good Night
  • Yellow Submarine (1969)
    • NA
• Disc 4
  • Abbey Road (1969)
    • Come Together
    • Something
    • Maxwell’s Silver Hammer
    • Oh! Darling
    • Octopus’s Garden
    • I Want You (She’s So Heavy)
    • Here Comes The Sun
    • Because
    • Mean Mr. Mustard
    • She Came In Through The Bathroom Window
    • Golden Slumbers
    • Carry That Weight
    • The End
  • Let It Be (1970)
    • Two Of Us
    • Dig A Pony
    • Across The Universe
    • I Me Mine
    • Let It Be
    • I’ve Got A Feeling
    • The Long And Winding Road
    • For You Blue
    • Get Back
• Disc 5
  • Past Masters (Volume 1 and 2) (1988)
    • From Me To You
    • She Loves You
    • I Want To Hold Your Hand
    • I Feel Fine
    • Yes It Is
    • I’m Down
    • Day Tripper
    • We Can Work It Out
    • Paperback Writer
    • Lady Madonna
    • Hey Jude
    • Don’t Let Me Down
    • The Ballad Of John and Yoko
    • You Know My Name (Look Up My Number)
  • Anthology (1995)
    • Free As A Bird
    • Real Love
    • If You’ve Got Trouble

12/24/2015

Read about my favorite artists and favorite concerts @ https://deanorolls.com/music/