Rank the Beatles UK albums!

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by 77jordan, Sep 4, 2014.

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  1. readr

    readr Forum Resident

    Revolver
    Rubber Soul
    Sgt. Pepper's
    Abbey Road
    The Beatles
    A Hard Day's Night
    Help!
    Magical Mystery Tour
    Let It Be
    With The Beatles
    Please Please Me
    Beatles For Sale
    Yellow Submarine

    I bet my list is close to how the albums sell, which is really the best indicator of what is their true rank. I've always felt like I'm at the pulse of the average Joe.
     
  2. Raf

    Raf Senior Member

    Location:
    Toronto, Ontario
    OK, this is what my ranking is at the moment:

    1. Revolver
    2. Abbey Road
    3. The Beatles
    4. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
    5. Rubber Soul
    6. A Hard Day's Night
    7. Help!
    8. Beatles for Sale
    9. Yellow Submarine
    10. Let It Be
    11. Please Please Me
    12. With the Beatles

    If Magical Mystery Tour counts an an "honorary" UK album, it would come in fourth.
     
  3. With The Beatles and A Hard Day's Night (tie)
    Revolver
    Please Please Me
    Rubber Soul
    Help!
    Beatles For Sale
    Magical Mystery Tour
    The Beatles
    Abbey Road
    Yellow Submarine
    Let It Be and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (tie)
     
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  4. moonshiner

    moonshiner Forum Resident

    Location:
    Italy
    1. Revolver
    2. White Album
    3. Abbey Road
    4. Magical Mystery Tour
    5. Sgt Pepper's Lonely Club Band
    6. Rubber Soul
    7. Let it Be
    8. With the Beatles
    9. Help!
    10. Beatles for Sale
    11. Please Please Me
    12. A Hard Day's Night
    13. Yellow Submarine
     
  5. GreenFuz

    GreenFuz Senior Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    Something like this:

    1. Revolver

    2. Help!
    2. White Album
    2. Magical Mystery Tour (US)

    3. A Hard Day's Night
    3. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
    3. Rubber Soul
    3. With the Beatles

    4. Let it Be
    4. Please Please Me
    4. Beatles for Sale

    5. Abbey Road
     
  6. zipzorp

    zipzorp Senior Member

    Location:
    hollywood
    1. White Album
    2. Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
    3. Rubber Soul
    4. A Hard Day's Night
    5. Revolver
    6. Abbey Road
    7. Magical Mystery Tour
    8. Help!
    9. Beatles For Sale
    10. Please Please Me
    11. Let It Be
    12. With The Beatles
    13. Yellow Submarine
     
  7. vudicus

    vudicus Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    01. The Beatles (White Album)
    02. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
    03. Abbey Road
    04. With The Beatles
    05. Magical Mystery Tour
    06. Rubber Soul
    07. Beatles For Sale
    08. Revolver
    09. Please Please Me
    10. A Hard Day's Night
    11. Help!
    12. Let It Be
    13. Yellow Submarine
     
  8. muffmasterh

    muffmasterh Forum Resident

    Location:
    East London U.K
    1. Revolver - ground breaking, awesome, up there with the best album of all time

    2. Abbey Road - its slickness is its salvation

    3. Rubber Soul - consistant high quality almost every track, like WTB this served notice that albums were now moving in a new artistic direction which would culminate with Pepper, even the messed aboutUSA version spawned Pet Sounds - no 45's taken from this album

    4. Sgt Pepper - too associated with its year which has clouded it's brilliance - again not a 45 in sight, changed the world game, probably the most IMPORTANT album in the history of pop/rock music.

    5. With The Beatles - oft overlooked but equally ground breaking it served notice that the Beatles were something a bit different from any previous act and were moving the game forward in a new & serious direction- no 45's either, All my Loving would have been a number one smash & even probable stand alone million seller. Its USA version would be the inspiration for nearly all the acts that would explode in wake of the Beatles arrival, as well as Brian Wilson.

    6. The Beatles - a mess but the side one stands up to best they ever did and again no 45's to be seen

    7. A Hard Days Night - side two songs a bit too " samey " and unusually a track short

    8. Let It Be - been discussed before, some brilliant songs, both salvaged then ruined by spector

    9. Beatles For Sale - treading water but the first " modern sounding Beatle album, several tracks would not be out of place on Rubber Soul - no 45's and Eight Days a week would also have been a number one smash probably also a million seller

    10. Please Please Me - great debut but shows that they were short on material, two singles and a lot of their stage act plus one ot two good original new compositions

    11. Help - noncoherent side two, the two b sides should have replaced the covers and the sequencing re-worked. The film songs are brilliant though

    Yellow Submarine - as i have said before should not be included on a list such as thin, only four original songs and a whole side that is not actually them, it is part soundtrack and compilation, as about as worthy of inclusion as oldies - which was all the Beatles and also contained one NEW track ( for the UK )
     
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  9. slane

    slane Forum Resident

    Location:
    Merrie England
    The UK album (according to reports at the time) was actually going to be like the US 'soundtrack' album originally (just the movie songs and the incidental music). The next plan was an album of the Beatles songs in the film (including the oldies like 'She Loves You' and the WTB tracks). In the end, the reports stated that it would now contain 12 tracks (the new movie songs plus some 'bonus' tracks recorded in June). When it was finally released, we got 13 tracks. So we did ok.
     
    Last edited: Aug 29, 2015
  10. nikosvault

    nikosvault Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denmark
    1. Revolver
    2. Rubber Soul

    3. Abbey Road
    4. The Beatles
    5. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
    6. Help!
    7. A Hard Day's Night
    8. Please Please Me
    9. Let It Be
    10. Beatles for Sale
    11. With the Beatles
    12. Yellow Submarine
     
  11. muffmasterh

    muffmasterh Forum Resident

    Location:
    East London U.K
    YES PART OF THE film deal with UA was that they got to release a " Beatles " album for which they wanted the revenue, that didn't happen or apply luckily for the UK but the reason i say it is a track short is becasue in the UK the Beatles filled up their albums, 7 tracks each side when it was the pre pepper 3 minute norm, since all the tracks are around the three min mark we are a track short. I personally would have added the brilliant - and contemporaneous - I call your name and justified that by it being that tracks first UK stereo release. I would have filled out side 2 and with a bit of resequencing split up those couple of samey Lennon tracks, which are all great I might add but just need splitting up, a bit like Fixing a Hole & Getting better, they need breaking up a bit. it could be :-

    Anytime at All
    Things we Said Today
    I'll cry instead
    I call your Name
    I'll be Back
    You Can't do that
    When I get Home
     
  12. slane

    slane Forum Resident

    Location:
    Merrie England
    But that was the way Parlophone were planning to issue the album in the UK originally. It went through several changes before we got the "one side movie songs/the other side 'bonus' songs" version.

    4/24/64: "Last Thursday, the Beatles recorded the title song for the film. John and Paul wrote the song soon after deciding on the picture's title. There will now be an LP from the film. It will include the eight songs and soundtrack music, and will be issued about the end of June." - New Musical Express

    6/12/64: "In view of the release next Friday of the Beatles' Long Tall Sally EP - reported in last week's NME - recording manager George Martin has decided to issue the film song 'A Hard Day's Night' as their next single on July 10. In addition to seven so far unreleased songs, the film album is likely to include five of the Beatles' former hits, including 'She Loves You', 'I Wanna Be Your Man', 'Don't Bother Me', 'All My Loving', and their most recent 'Can't Buy Me Love'. The new songs on the LP are 'Hard Day's Night', 'I Should Have Known Better', 'And I Love Her', 'If I Fell', 'Tell Me Why', 'I'll Cry Instead', and 'I'm Happy Just To Dance With You'." - New Musical Express

    6/13/64 - "EMI executives met secretly to set their plans for the new Beatles album, A Hard Day's Night. Originally, it was planned to have an assortment of incidental tracks; now, they intended to have either six or eight songs from the movie along with four or six new tunes."- Record Mirror

    6/19/64: "The Beatles' soundtrack LP will not, after all, include several old numbers. Instead, they have recorded four new titles specially for the album. The LP now includes the seven new film songs listed in last week's NME ("I'll Cry Instead" has been cut from the film, but is still on the album) and one solitary oldie "Can't Buy Me Love" - in addition to the four bonus tracks." - New Musical Express
     
    Last edited: Aug 29, 2015
  13. veloso2

    veloso2 Forum Resident

    1. Revolver
    2. White Album
    3. Rubber Soul
    4. A Hard Day's Night
    5. Abbey Road
    6. Magical Mystery Tour
    7. Help
    8. With the Beatles
    9. beatles for sale
    10.let it be
    11. Sgt peppers
    12. Please please me
    13. Yellow Submarine
     
  14. KinkySmallFace1991

    KinkySmallFace1991 Will you come back to me, Sweet Lady Genevieve?

    Revolver
    Rubber Soul
    A Hard Day's Night
    Help!
    Abbey Road
    Long Tall Sally
    Sgt. Pepper
    White Album
    With The Beatles
    Beatles For Sale
    Please Please Me
    Magical Mystery Tour
    Let It Be
    Yellow Submarine
     
  15. Yeah, so clearly I can't choose a favorite later era Beatles album (they are all tied & if I had to choose one, it'd have to be "The Beatles (The White Album)" just for it's breadth alone)... but the earlier ones are somewhat ranked- whenever there's two together I tend to prefer the later one (by a tad & it's even closer between "Beatles For Sale" & "A Hard Day's Night" than it is between "With The Beatles" & "Please Please Me")...

    Level I:
    Let It Be
    Abbey Road
    The Beatles (The White Album)
    Magical Mystery Tour
    Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band
    Revolver
    Rubber Soul
    *Yellow Submarine (1/2 an album/really an EP...but it's got brilliant later era material on it)
    *Past Masters Vol. 2

    Level Ia:
    Help
    *Past Masters Vol. 1

    Level II:
    Beatles For Sale
    A Hard Day's Night

    Level III:
    With The Beatles
    Please Please Me
     
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  16. SKATTERBRANE

    SKATTERBRANE Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tucson, AZ
    1. Abbey Road
    2. The Beatles
    3. Let It Be
    4. Revolver
    5. Rubber Soul
    6. Sgt Pepper
    7. Beatles For Sale
    8. A Hard Days Night
    9. Help
    10. With The Beatles
    11. Please Please Me
    12. Yellow Submarine
     
  17. C6H12O6

    C6H12O6 Senior Member

    Location:
    My lab
    1. Revolver
    2. Rubber Soul
    3. A Hard Day's Night
    4. Sgt. Pepper
    5. The White Album
    6. Abbey Road
    7. Please Please Me
    8. Help!
    9. With the Beatles
    10. Beatles for Sale
    11. Let It Be
    12. Magical Mystery Tour double EP
    13. Yellow Submarine soundtrack
     
  18. mgoad30

    mgoad30 Forum Resident

    Sgt. Pepper
    Rubber Soul
    Revolver
    Abbey Road
    Beatles For Sale
    A Hard Day's Night
    White Album
    Please Please Me
    Help!
    Magical Mystery Tour
    With The Beatles
    Let It Be
    Yellow Submarine
     
  19. Shaker Steve

    Shaker Steve Beatles & Elvis Fan

    1 Revolver
    2 A Collection Of Beatles Oldies
    3 Sgt Pepper
    4 Please Please Me
    5 Rubber Soul
    6 A Hard Day's Night
    7 Help!
    8 With The Beatles
    9 Beatles For Sale
    10 Magical Mystery Tour
    11 Rock And Roll
    12 Yellow Submarine Soundtrack
    13 Pastmasters

    The last four albums, The White Album, Abbey Road, Yellow Submarine & Let It Be do not feature for me, don't like them & have no interest in them.
     
  20. Schoolmaster Bones

    Schoolmaster Bones Poe's Lawyer

    Location:
    ‎The Midwest
    The UK sequences are pretty hit or miss with me. These are the ones I like:

    With The Beatles
    Sgt. Pepper
    Magical Mystery Tour (US mono)
    The Beatles
    Yellow Submarine
     
  21. skisdlimit

    skisdlimit Forum Resident

    Location:
    Bellevue, WA
    1. Revolver
    This album was something of a revelation for me, and I think a lot of American listeners, when the '87 CDs were released, because having those three additional Lennon songs ("I'm Only Sleeping", "Dr. Robert", "And Your Bird Can Sing") really makes it a more complete musical statement, and elevates it to greatest album of all time status. While I enjoy the stereo mix, particularly for tracks like "Tomorrow Never Knows" (the psychedelic-ness of this seems more pronounced that way), if I had to choose, I'd probably take the mono mix.

    2. Sgt. Pepper
    As another post observed, this seems like their most cohesive group effort overall, even if it (and its Magical Mystery Tour follow-up) was largely Paul McCartney's baby, whereas Abbey Road suffers a bit from overly polished professionalism. Despite some obvious flaws, here I would also choose the mono mix.

    3. The White Album
    This is the set I would point to for anyone who wrongly dismisses the Beatles as "mainstream pop" drivel. There is actually quite a lot of what could be called "alternative rock" here, and the album as a whole never ceases to fascinate in its disjointed, but expert, layering of sound (speaking of which, that would indicate a preference for the mono mix, but both that and the stereo version are essential!).

    4. Rubber Soul
    I became familiar with this album mostly through The Beatles 1962-1966, which represented it well. As with Revolver, I deem the mono mix to be definitive, and regard this as the last album where John Lennon was the primary creative driving force (I'd say this was true for the four album run from A Hard Day's Night to here).

    5. Magical Mystery Tour
    Considering that this was an EP to begin with, and that the LP was a U.S. Capitol creation (abomination?), I think the four "new" Yellow Submarine songs could be added to an expanded edition of this, thereby rendering that soundtrack album essentially obsolete.

    6. Abbey Road
    By the time of this album, and possibly even "The White Album" before it, I would say that George Harrison had actually surpassed both John Lennon and Paul McCartney in the song-writing sweepstakes, and it is his compositions which stand out here (for the record, his All Things Must Pass, which was mostly written around this time, is not only my favorite Beatles solo album, but may well be my absolute "desert island disc" favorite of all time), so on the strength of his two songs alone, this album ranks high in my list of favorites, even if McCartney's Side 2 suite remains the album's highlight; I've been content enough with the '87 disc, though apparently the '83 "black triangle" is even better, but that is hideously overpriced

    7. Help!
    Hearing this album in mono was a revelation to me despite its "muddiness" as some posters have observed; I never knew the title track was mixed so differently, and frankly better in mono, though I still enjoy the stereo American "James Bond" version of it, and I would welcome a deluxe edition of this which includes all those vintage mixes, along with those cool instrumentals from the film.

    8. Please Please Me
    A clever, if a bit salacious, double entendre in the title track, and that's not even my favorite here; the "1-2-3-FAH!" countdown of the lead song ("I Saw Her Standing There") is the stuff of legend, bookended by the band's definitive cover of "Twist and Shout" (this really should have been on The Red Album), and the rest of the album is not too shabby either (I've grown more appreciative of "There's A Place" as I've grown older, and would recommend the mono mix of this as being the best way to listen to it; if someone has indeed centered the vocals for a new "true" stereo mix, that might supersede this).

    9. A Hard Day's Night
    This album is virtually synonymous with Beatlemania. Either the mono or stereo mix communicates the excitement; here, I'd like to see a deluxe edition that collects the unique American mixes of some of the songs, as well as the instrumentals from the film, but I'm not holding my breath.

    10. Beatles For Sale
    I rate this about on par with A Hard Day's Night, if only because here is where we see the Beatles moving beyond their teeny-bopper image into more serious topical music; that opening Lennon trilogy ranks as one of their finest, and even though this is littered with covers, the overall mood it creates is unique in the Beatles canon. Here, it's a essentially a toss for me between the stereo and mono mixes; both have their merits, but I think the stereo gets a slight edge for its "live" feel, while the mono suffered by comparison for many years due to the original '87 CD being one of the absolute lousiest sounding discs I've ever heard (the 2009 mono box version was a vast improvement!).

    11. Let It Be
    Yeah, the Beatles were running out of steam by this time, but as the cliche goes, even at their worst, they were better than most bands at their best. At this point, I would probably like to see a release of the original Get Back album with the full versions of the songs in question, or at least a better mastered edition of Let It Be...Naked, which was horribly brick-walled.

    12. With the Beatles
    This may seem like sacrilege, but I actually prefer the American "Dexter-ized" versions of these songs, as they appeared on "Meet the Beatles" and "The Beatles Second Album"; the original UK mono, by contrast, seems rather limp in comparison (I will add, though, that on these first two albums, Ringo appears to be the steadying, if not driving force, and his "I Wanna Be Your Man" seriously rocks!).

    13. Yellow Submarine
    While I was glad to see purportedly dedicated mono mixes finally appear in the 2009 box set, I actually do like both the vintage stereo versions and the '99 "song track" remixes, so perhaps a deluxe edition of this containing all of those, in addition to George Martin's instrumentals, might not be beyond the realm of possibility.
     
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  22. SF Georgie

    SF Georgie Forum Resident

    1. Abbey Road
    2. The Beatles (White Album)
    3. Revolver
    4. Sgt. Pepper
    5. Magical Mystery Tour
    6. Rubber Soul
    7. A Hard Day's Night
    8. Please Please Me
    9. Help!
    10. Let It Be
    11. With The Beatles
    12. Yellow Submarine
    13. Beatles For Sale

    It seems that Magical Mystery Tour is seen as a bonus to Sgt. Pepper, but what if it was released first and with the
    better cover. I feel that the Sgt. Pepper collection would be seen as the leftovers.
     
  23. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Official UK LPs
    White Album>Mono
    Abbey Road
    Sgt.Pepper>Mono
    Revolver>Mono
    A Hard Day's Night
    Rubber Soul
    Beatles For Sale
    Help!
    PPM
    With the Beatles
    Let It Be
     
  24. muffmasterh

    muffmasterh Forum Resident

    Location:
    East London U.K
    so i presume the stereo versions you would rate lower....maybe the songs are different ?
     
  25. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    No!
    Sure'with the listening variables /mix I'll listen to st ' version of the White album'but much prefer the mono ' Abbey Road is Stereo ( no option) still rate it as my number two choice.
     
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