Two George tracks for Beatles Red Album

To be honest, neither are great efforts in songwriting. Taxman is a witty and crunchy rock tune, and it sounds great, but it won't go down in history as an example of the Beatles' mastery of songwriting craft. On the other hand, "Yellow Submarine' has entered the realm of classic children's songs and pemeates society through its association with the film. Yellow submarine replicas can be found worldwide. So combined with factors outside of the song's simple tune/lyrics, the song merits inclusion.

 

I disagree wrt Revolver.

WRT songs, I could quibble about "Octopus's Garden", but I really think that one is due to wanting to get a Starr writing credit on there.

 

Perhaps by 1973 he looked at his early songs and might have felt they weren't as good as his later writing. Remember, people are often their own harshest critics. While we think songs like "I Need You" and "If I Needed Someone" and "Taxman" are great songs, George might have been down on them at the time.

 

Personally, I the Beatles should have done 3 double albums---covering early, middle and late periods. The Red and Blue albums just leave too much out. Also, they should have used the mono mixes for almost everything up until White Album era material. I mean, who thought can listen to the mono version of All My Loving and think the stereo version should be used, with the vocals hard panned on the right and the instruments on the left?

 

Not enough Krishna references, maybe

 

What I find interesting in the voting is that even though Taxman is the runaway favorite, still, less than two-thirds of those participating voted for it. Perhaps if the question was which of George's songs should have been on the Red Album (personal favorites notwithstanding), Taxman would have garnered even more votes.

My second choice after If I Needed Someone, was Think For Yourself. Taxman would have been my third, but I acknowledge that Taxman is more popular than TFY, and thus more deserving a space on a "greatest hits/best of" comp.

Thanks to all who have participated thus far. It's been an interesting discussion.

 

With some minor tweaks:

"If I Needed Someone" ---> "If I Needed Krishna"
"I Need You" ---> "I Need Vishnu"
"Taxman" ---> "Karma-man"

 

George certainly deserved at least two of his songs on the too short 'Red' album - doesn't surprise me that Klein compiled it !

they got the wrong version of 'Love Me Do' - the 'Ringo' version saw them hit the UK album chart in 1962 (making no.17) which was their first hit anywhere in the world and the key chart breakthrough for them which led to everything that followed - the 'Andy White' album version was not a UK single when the 'Red' album came out but was better known in the USA later on making no.1 there

- however historically it was NOT The Beatles all important first breakthrough UK hit as the original 'Ringo' version was...

stereo 'Please Please Me' has a vocal error and out of tune harmonica at the end too...!

re George - his 'If I Needed Someone' actually made no.20 in the UK singles chart (covered by The Hollies) in 1965 and only stopped climbing up the chart when George made a in retrospect tactical error saying he didn't like the cover (given a misleading question by a interviewer that upset him) - shooting himself in the foot royalty wise, but perhaps far more importantly (chart wise) re his own songwriting claims to John, Paul and George Martin - who nevertheless must have noticed that a 'George song' had made the UK top twenty...maybe one reason why they let George kick off the following album ?

'Taxman' was superb - and note where The Jam got their guitar riff on 'Start' from...!

 

Love You To
Roll Over Bethoven

 

Me - I think it's awesome.

 

If I had to go with 4 George songs (and to me more George is always a better thing)...
I'd go one of two ways...
4 best would go- "Taxman", "If I Needed Someone", "Think For Yourself", "Love You To"...
Going more chronological- "Don't Bother Me" & "I Need You", then... "Taxman"/"Love You To", "If I Needed Someone"/"Think For Yourself"...

 

I voted for "Do You Want to Know a Secret" and "Taxman," the most well-known songs he sang lead vocals on from that period. They aren't my favourite (my personal top 2 would be "I Need You" and "Think for Yourself"), but would be most fitting of the criteria for the Red Album.

However, I think there are other songs from that era that were more snubbed than any George-sung pieces ("Twist and Shout," "I Saw Her Standing There," "If I Fell," "Here, There and Everywhere," "Got to Get You into My Life," "Tomorrow Never Knows").

 

While I agree that the Red album is at least five songs short, i dont think George was up to scratch as a writer between '62 and '66 apart from maybe Taxman and I Need You.
Here, There and Everywhere, Dr Robert and Tomorrow Never Knows should have been on it.

 

I'm not sure only 2 tracks is enough ? Why not 3 or 4 ?

I voted first for Do You Want To Know A Secret. Because it was a monster top 3 hit in the USA. Released by either Capitol or I think VeeJay, that had early rights to some songs, without EMI or Beatles consultation. Hit is a hit is a hit. And it was.

2nd I voted Taxman, because literally between Dozens, possibly hundreds of artists have covered the song. It's clearly a Beatles well known, non single classic. Not unlike Norwegian Wood or Lucy In The Sky w/d. A big number that just didin't happen to be a single.

 

Don't Bother Me
Love You To

 

1. I Need You
2. Do You Want To Know A Secret

Taxman is great but sounds like it should be on the blue album.

 

Don't Bother Me is another great choice ! Not a hit per se but especially on the altered USA version Meet The Beatles, one of the 4-5 key songs.

Love You Too while less well known, is certainly worthy, their first foray into pop-Indian hybrid

 

Not only did he drop the ball, it rolled off a cliff. Revolver is miserably underrepresented; for that reason alone, I'd include Taxman..and for an earlier track I'd go with his first original on a Parlophone album, Don't Bother Me. At first I was going to opt for either Think For Yourself or If I Needed Someone...but there's enough Rubber Soul on there already.

 

Do You Want To Know A Secret: a USA hit, and a original from Lennon-McCartney
Taxman: i need to say why? TAXMANNNNNNNNNN

 

None.

 

Thanks for voicing your opinions twice.

 

Don’t Bother Me
Taxman

 

Yeah, honestly I can't imagine either being chosen for the red album ; ) but they're personal favorites and really strong songs. (Even with Don't Bother Me being George's first stab at songwriting.)

 

I certainly think DYWTKAS and Taxman would be the likeliest choices from a purely commercial standpoint [US hit single and well-known album track], I would much prefer to see some lesser-known Harrisongs get the spotlight.
I voted for Think For Yourself and Love You To because those are a pair of my favorites.
Don't Bother Me always struck me as a bit too "dreary George". And not that great from a songwriting perspective.

I would also heartily back I Want To Tell You. Love the modal ambiguity and the Indian influenced backing vocals.
Taxman strikes me as a bit overexposed these days, and I'm just not that big a fan of the Help/RS era George songs, except Think For Yourself.

As always, YMMV.

 

Love Taxman- the guitar and bass lines are fab- what was the Jam song that borrowed that bass line?