I don't believe in the words 'underrated' and 'overrated', and given how insanely praised The Beatles are universally, it's probably silly to call anything released by them in the time they were a band 'underrated'. Each and every album, besides one or two, has praise heaped on it so high it's a wonder whether people will ever stop writing about it. So, underappreciated is the word I picked. Which songs do you think deserve more credit than what you read or hear, or aren't mentioned nearly enough as they should be as note-worthy songs? As a fellow Beatles fanatic who knows each and every song way too well, here's my list in release order: 1. There's a Place (Please Please Me) - Surprisingly deep lyrics for a song from 1963, even if it's just a surface entry into the subject matter. As a song, though, I think it's the best on the album and I never see it mentioned anywhere. 2. Don't Bother Me (With the Beatles) - One of my favourite Harrison songs and a stand-out on the album without question. Unusually pessimistic for an early Beatles song makes it unique. 3. Not a Second Time (With the Beatles) - Infamous for its 'aeolian cadence' that got some critic all jolly in circa '63, it's not a song that's otherwise mentioned all that often at all and yet, it's one of my very favourite Beatles songs and songs ever. It's got a sort-of dark feel to it and a superb melody. Can't be praised enough as far as I'm concerned. 4. I Don't Want To Spoil the Party (Beatles For Sale) - I imagine Every Little Thing and What You're Doing will be getting the most mentions on the album, but as much as I absolutely love both of those songs, for me I Don't Want To Spoil the Party is the best on the album and, again, one of my favourite Beatles songs. I'm not really sure why, I just love the melody. 5. The Word (Rubber Soul) - One of the few 'perfect' songs in my book. Where everything that makes the song stands-out. The bass line is addictive, Ringo's fills are great to air-drum along with and are some of his best, the melody is fantastic, the lyrics are a bit ahead of their time before the whole peace and love hippie era, the production is superb which is great for hearing everything Ringo's doing clear as day, it's just an insanely good song that doesn't get nearly enough recognition as far as I'm concerned. 6. Wait (Rubber Soul) - I often hear this dismissed as filler, and while that's not a term I care for because I don't see how you can dictate what is and isn't, this one definitely is. It was left-over from Help! only added I believe because they needed more tracks for Rubber Soul. I love the bridge in this song with Paul's really noticeable accent, and again like The Word but to a much lesser extent, everything plays together really well. Great bass line, drums, everything. It's not a classic like The Word, but it still is great. 7. I'm Only Sleeping (Revolver) - I'm probably cheating with this one. It is always praised highly and is discussed fairly regularly, but it's my second all-time favourite song (behind A Day In the Life) so I'm adding it anyway. It recreates a feeling unlike any other and it's just stunning. 8. Love You To (Revolver) - The band's first full embrace of Indian music and the first venture into raga rock. This must've blown minds back in '66. 9. Fixing a Hole (Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band) - It's an absolute classic. That's it. 10. Within You Without You (Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band) - I get why people don't like it, but for me, it's a masterpiece. Not a word I use often at all. The instrumental section is some of the most touching piece of music I've heard. 11. Lovely Rita (Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band) - Three from one of the most highly praised albums ever released and one of the best selling? Seriously? Yes. Lovely Rita's probably the most dismissed song I see on the album with some writing it off as pure garbage. I love it. It's psychedelic pop gold. Narrative driven lyrics, killer psych intros and outros... what's not to love? Honourable mention to Good Morning Good Morning which has become sort-of like Hey Bulldog where it gets mentioned about how it's so underrated that it's become as highly rated as it should be. 12. Blue Jay Way (Magical Mystery Tour) - One of the trippiest things they ever released and as a psychedelic fan that certainly appeals to me. A hell of a song. 13. The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill (The Beatles) - Catchy, goofy as hell, funny, incredibly enjoyable. 14. Yer Blues (The Beatles) - This rocks hard. Very hard. Overtly suicidal lyrics make it unique in subject matter and whenever I feel like ****, this certainly does well to let some of those feelings out. 15. Long, Long, Long (The Beatles) - Beautiful spiritual lyrics and just gorgeous beyond belief, honestly. It is so stunning. And it has the coolest outro to a song... ever. This song is legendary. 16. Dig a Pony (Let It Be) - I feel as though I often see this one hated on and I honestly have no idea why. It's my favourite song on the album and always has been. What's not to like?
Good Day Sunshine as well. Another one you hardly hear about, but it's easily one of the best songs from Revolver.
Yes!!! I love how incredibly optimistic it is, but lately it’s been the one song on the album I enjoy less than the others.
I also feel Girl and Don’t Let Me Down don’t get enough discussion but they still do get a lot when mentioned (I mean DLMD is the most viewed Beatles video on YouTube after all) both are exceptional. Your Mother Should Know is gold too even if I think of it as being one of the weakest on the album. But then I listen to it and I love, love it.
Tell Me What You See and I’ve Just Seen a Face I always think of as being somewhat average for the band but then I listen to em and love em both, especially the latter.
From the bottom of my head I add some of my favourites: Don't Bother Me Any Time At All I Call Your Name I'll Follow The Sun What You're Doing I Need You Think For Yourself Wait Run For Your Life She Said She Said Baby You're A Rich Man Blue Jay Way The Inner Light Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey Long Long Long You Know My Name (Look Up The Number) And a few others from the Anthology project like: Free As A Bird You Know What to Do That Means a Lot
The single "Act Naturally" got all the attention, but in my opinion the flip side is a lovely and obscure gem.
Totally agree with you. To me it's the best early Beatles track and blows away most of their early singles, imo. Also, it sounds extremely well on the 2009 remaster. Thank you, girl - another gem!
'Inner Light' — my favourite of GH's more twangsome songs was too good to be tucked away as a B-side, but nowhere else it could have gone really (though a double a-side with 'Across The Universe' would've been nice).
Good picks in both lists! Funny, I just started appreciating That Means a Lot only a few days ago. Not familiar with You Know What To Do yet. Free As a Bird and Real Love are equally both classics as far as I'm concerned. Surprised they don't get more recognition. Love this. Likewise Dear Prudence underappreciated? It's one of the ones I see more most mentioned from the album I reckon, and Hey Bulldog seems to have come out in the light a lot more in recent times, but that's just in my experience anyway. DYWTKAS and YCDT are both great. YCDT being a highlight on the album and keeps the second side from only being 'good' instead of 'great'. I love George's vocals on DYWTKAS. It's a really unique song that I feel like I never see mentioned ever ever ever. I like Honey Don't more for its production than as a song but A Taste of Honey is fantastic. I love all of the PPM covers a ton. Me too! I'm So Tired, Fixing a Hole, Mean Mr. Mustard, even Getting Better, Back In the U.S.S.R. and Rain all went from being good to great for me with the remixes.
I’m a troll because I cannot fathom why Beatles obsessed fans need so many dedicated threads to discuss said band every day, week, month over and over again ad infinitum That does not make me a troll, flooding a non dedicated message board with the same subject matter every day is more in line with the definition of troll than what I did
Feeling the need to complain about what other people discuss is trolling. It's also petty. How does this affect you in any possible way? Let me answer that for you: it doesn't. Are you jealous that you don't have an artist you're passionate about and can talk about with fellow fans or something, or do you just like complaining for the sake of complaining? Also, we're not discussing the same subjects over and over, just the band, and no one is flooding the forum by themselves, so... what... are we all trolling? Generalising anything to do with The Beatles as being the same subject is silly, just like complaining and generalising the repetition of discussing the same subject of music over and over would be silly. Don't like Beatles threads? Here's a tip: don't click on them.
That's an excellent list. I absolutely adore all of these songs, except for Dig A Pony, which for me, sadly, is only average at best. If I had to add another favourite of mine that isn't widely appreciated, then I'd probably go for Tell Me What You See, which I enjoy for it's guitar and bass parts, its drum fills and the slightly resigned vocal harmonies.
