We Can't Work It Out: The Fab War -- Round 10

"Old Brown Shoe" v. "Dear Prudence" v. "Rocky Raccoon" v. "The End"

"Dear Prudence" is among the most gorgeous songs ever written. It begins nearly funereal before working up too a fever about the sky being blue. Truly an amazing song. This was written for Mia Farrow's sister, if memory serves, as an attempt to get her to quit being a prude and have a good time with everyone else. I can't imagine it not working.

"Rocky Raccoon" is an amazing track as well, though. Paul decided to write this for the album after having heard Bob Dylan's John Wesley Harding, along with other country-tinged tracks like "Mother Nature's Son." The characters from Wind In the Willows walk into a Dodge City saloon. Beautiful. The nonsensical scatting over the ragtime piano is even a revelation.

Overall, "The End" is a better song than "Old Brown Shoe," but if I have to limit it to Ringo's contributions, even if it is one of his best the prize goes to "Old Brown Shoe."

This round:

John: 4
Paul: 3
George: 2
Ringo: 1

Totals thus far:

John: 30
Paul: 28
George: 24
Ringo: 18

We Can't Work It Out: The Fab War -- Round 9

"Here Comes the Sun" v. "Sexy Sadie" v. "Fool On the Hill" v. "Octopus's Garden"

When I first heard "Fool On the Hill," I thought it was pretty foolish. I couldn't figure out what all the hype was. It just didn't move me. It still doesn't. While I have grown to appreciate it, and I think I get what Paul was after, I still think its overrated.

If "Here Comes the Sun" were the only song George Harrison ever wrote, he'd arguably still be heralded in the annals of rock. It's completely rip-offable (see Ween's "What Deaner Was Talkin' About"), but George is too saintly to sue as there's is obviously in tribute. George's vibe is just laidback here, and his guitar work is gorgeous. It's all perfectly poppy, and while it's not my favorite George song, its one of my favorite Beatles songs and my favorite song of his with the Beatles.

"Octopus's Garden" is pretty good too. When I was little I used to think it was the prototype for the theme songs from Muppet Babies. How I thought that I'll never know, but its an amazing song nonetheless. Ringo's second outing as a composer showed that he really does know how to write. The inventive arrangement might be the best part, but song is solid in and of itself from the start.

"Sexy Sadie" is a great kiss off. Sadie here represents the Maharishi. For the round, I chose the version from the Beatles' Anthology 3. This early version has a very organicfeel which comes off as more effective. While I like it better than "Fool On the Hill," it's stuck down at third.

This round:

John – 2
Paul – 1
George – 4
Ringo – 3

Totals thus far:

John – 26
Paul – 25
George – 22
Ringo – 17

We Can't Work It Out: The Fab War -- Round 8

"I Am the Walrus" v. "Hello Goodbye" v. "Something" v. "Good Night"

In recent years, "Hello Goodbye" has become one of my very favorite Beatles' songs, but in the context of these bad boys I am having to once again reconsider it.

"Good Night" is nice and all, but its no real contender. Sure Ringo does a good job singing it, but its not that tough to sing, and his drumming is literally nonexistent. This definitely gets fourth this round.

Meanwhile, the dark horse is finally starting to pull his weight. "Something" is simply gorgeous. The songwriting is impeccable, and George's guitar lays down a guitar line tender enough for Al Green to sing over. Each sting simmers with emotion and nuance. Mark it a win for George.

So who's really left to battle it out is John and Paul, fittingly with a pairing of songs that originally appeared as opposite sides of a 45. "I Am the Walrus" is the quirkier and more experimental number. Lyrically, it is more or less nonsensical, but that's not entirely true. The title comes from Lewis Carroll's "The Walrus and the Carpenter" and the song is a pastiche of several portions of ancient, obscure nursery rhymes. The sound effects are great, expecially the laughter of the joker at the expert textpert choking smoker, which brings up the amazing wordplay. There is a ton of great alliteration that is included for the sake of enjoying language. Some words are more fun to say than others, and "I Am the Walrus" picks up on that. Then there's that weird guy in the background rambling on about what sounds to be an "Edgar Allen duck." Great song.

"Hello Goodbye" is poppy and the chord structure works very well for it, but other than sounding good I'll have to admit that it is fairly lightweight. Granted, I prefer relying on the practical things like melody, and this song has those aspects in spades, but overall it lacks the fun and doesn't elicit the awed wonder that "I Am the Walrus" does. The lyrics, especially, drag on a bit after awhile.

This round:

John - 3
Paul - 2
George - 4
Ringo - 1

Totals thus far:

Paul - 24
John - 24
George - 18
Ringo - 14

We Can't Work It Out: The Fab War -- Round 7

"Strawberry Fields Forever" v. "When I'm Sixty-Four" v. "It's All Too Much" v. "Don't Pass me By"


It's really sad that "Strawberry Fields Forever wasn't stuck in a different round, as it is clearly one of John's best pieces, though there is some stiff competition afoot.

"It's All Too Much has a relentless groove that makes it endearing, but that's also part of its flaw. The groove is so jammin', that it stays with it for six and a half minutes without really expanding much on what it starts with. There is some mediocre Harrison soloing, a few horn charts, but it doesn't really go anywhere groundbreaking. "Strawberry Fields," however, goes all over the place, and that is its real strenths. That song has more shifts than an all-night diner.

"When I'm 64" is one of my favorite songs of Paul's, mostly for its undeniable poppiness, but also somewhat for its contemporaneous irony; I mean, the dude's at least 64 now. Thankfully he didn't bring a Vera McCartney into the world. It's a name best suited to an older generation, not the one that followed him. The song, though, is filled with killer hooks and witty lyrics. Its refreshing and fun.

"Strawberry Fields Forever" is like a surreal dream. It is like waking up inside of a pink Monet painting with a wicked drum beat. There are tons of surprising instrumental bits taken from thousands of chance sounds. The story of the mix-down of this song could fill two books. As it is, on the Anthology series it fills three tracks, the third mixing together a multitude of takes, without ever getting close to the grandeur of the finished product. It is a George Martin masterpiece. And then there's the mind-bending end to the song with the bit about either burying Paul or raspberry applesauce, depending on what you believe. Still, part of me feels that without all the slick production, this wouldn't be quite the amazing number that it is. Still, its clearly in the top two.

For number one this round, I have to tip my had to Ringo. "Don't Pass Me By" is an amazing first composition. It is ten times better than all of Keith Moon's failed songwriting attempts put together ("Tommy's Holiday Camp"?). The arrangement is also phenomenal. The clangy piano is nice, but what puts it over the top is that windy, woody violin. This gives this utterly modern pop tune echoes of the old-timey. Ringo's first post-Beatles album, Beaucoups of Blues, was a country album, and I feel this song, much more than the Buck Owens cover "Act Naturally" (Ringo tackles it on Help!), points the way to Ringo's infatuation with that genre.

This Round:

John - 3
Paul - 2
George - 1
Ringo - 4

Totals thus far:

Paul - 22
John - 21
George - 14
Ringo - 13

We Can't Work It Out: The Fab War -- Round 6

"She Said, She Said" v. "Penny Lane" v. "Not Guilty" v.
"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)"

I almost wish the track listing would have worked out so that A-side faced B-side; but I think the winner would be the same -- "Penny Lane" would bulldoze a path through "Strawberry Fields." When I was younger, I adored Lennon's experimentation. Now that I'm older, I still admire it, but it doesn't seem to have enough room in one song to truly breathe. "Penny Lane" is still innovative, but in subtle ways that don't overshadow the melody's own beauty. "Penny Lane" is a perfect pop symphony.

"Not Guilty," a White Album outtake, is a gorgeously prototypical George composition that deserved to be released on the album. Beautiful as it is, however, the tune is too soft-spoken to outshine "She Said, She Said" which hangs on a happy riff that betrayws the lyric's loathing. One of the tracks that made Revolver a blast, "She Said" places John in second this round.

The reprise of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" opens with a barrage of drumming that may stand as Ringo's best recorded work. Sadly underrated, this song deserves to do better than last, and it would in any other competition.

This round:

John - 3
Paul - 4
George - 2
Ringo - 1

Totals thus far:

Paul - 20
John - 18
George - 13
Ringo - 9

We Can't Work It Out: The Fab War -- Round 5

Time for Harrison to start really pulling it out. “Savoy Truffle” rocks. It opens with that wicked organ hook, lays over the most kick-ass horn charts this side of a James Brown record and features some wicked guitar soloing too. Not to mention that, but the song is about chocolates of all things; there can be no pretension with chocolate. Hands down, this is one of my favorite Beatles songs and one of their most underrated.

“Wait” is another favorite. The rhythm guitar is impeccable and the whole thing hangs on excellent chord changes. The percussion is also driving, probably due more to Ringo’s maraca-shaking than anything else, but it really moves this ditty along.

“Got To Get You Into My Life” is an excellent track and is really killer from start to finish. Unfortunately, I think the horns are more inventive on “Savoy Truffle,” which really seems a diamond in the rough while “Got To Get You Into My Life,” though great, always seems a little too much like what you expect it to be like. It’s poppy, well-crafted, sing-alongable, and fun, but it rarely ever surprises. Also, the tension it builds leading up to the chorus is like a powder-keg just waiting to be punctured by a Keith-Moonesque drum fill that we never get. C’mon, Paul. Give Ringo a chance.

“With A Little Help From My Friends” did its best work in the hands of Joe Cocker as the theme song to The Wonder Years. It did its worst work as a Peter Frampton cover on the soundtrack to the ill-fated Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band film of the late 1970s. Ringo does a good job of singing the song, but it doesn’t really take much. I think I can sing it, and that’s saying something.

This round:

John - 3
Paul - 2
George - 4
Ringo - 1

Totals thus far:

John – 15
Paul – 16
George – 11
Ringo – 8

We Can't Work It Out: The Fab War -- Round 4

"While My Guitar Gently Weeps" v. "In My Life" v. "Here, There & Everywhere" v. "Yellow Submarine"

I have always loved the crazy-sounding drunk guy who echoes Ringo near the end of "Yellow Submarine," ending his contribution with that particularly soused laugh that comes after the word submarine. Unfortunately, against the heavyweight occupations of the competition, that shall bit of sheer job can't hope to compete, and the whimsical song wasn't even a Ringo composition to begin with and he doesn't seem to add much to it. It's his song, but then again, it isn't.

"Here, There & Everywhere" is utterly shimmering. Its prodigal gorgeousity places it among my favorite Paul McCartney songs and among my favorite love songs ever. It is so hard to write a good love song. This one indulges in cliche more so than some other good examples, but it mixes the cliches up just enough to make them sound at least semi-fresh. Still, even a great love song is not as interesting as a more realistic song, one that is less unconditional.

So the two main contenders in this round are "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and "In My Life." "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" features Eric Clapton's best work and one of Harrison's prototypical introspective lyrics. "In My Life," contrarily, sounds like a Hallmark card. The sentiment is overbearing, but at the same time it feels honest and, coming from the contrite Lennon, its hard it could be anything but. That and it features a wicked harpsichord solo.

Totals thus far:

John - 12
Paul - 14
George - 7
Ringo - 7

We Can't Work It Out: The Fab War -- Round 3

"I Want To Tell You" v. "Nowhere Man" v. "Eleanor Rigby" v. "What Goes On"

Things haven't been looking too good for George Harrison lately, even though I do consider him my favorite Beatle pre-competition. I still have faith in him though; he's a dark horse, the kind that will charge from behind. He's not ready to do it here, though. "I Want To Tell You" is a great song, but the competition is heady. John and Paul wrote excellent songs this round and both "What Goes On" and "Nowhere Man" feature better lead guitar playing.

"Eleanor Rigby" doesn't have guitar playing, but its so expertly put together that it is hard to imagine George wouldn't have played better on it under Paul's arrangement. "Yesterday" is usually lauded as par excellence, and I've often seen it cited as the first mix of pop and chamber music. Both claims are less than true. "Eleanor Rigby" is a thousand times more poignant, mysterious and beautiful than "Yesterday;" it is the true achievement. (In terms of being first, Buddy Holly used strings for his recording of the eerily transcendent, and perhaps superior to both Beatles songs, "True Love Ways.") What is with those crazy lyrics like "keeping her face in a jar by the door"? Who is that for? Decidedly, however, these lyrical peculiarities only deepen the listener's curiosity.

"Nowhere Man" features a great band performance and introspective lyric. It is one of the finest songs ever, dealing with the turmoil of one man's desire to shut himself off from the world. This song was a major move forward for Lennon and remains a standout track. While, "Nowhere Man" recreates one man's alienation, however, "Eleanor Rigby" is able to create a whole community's alienation.

Ringo's first composer credit, co-credited in this case with Lennon/McCartney, is a driving pop tune that nearly foreshadows "Don't Pass Me By." "What Goes On" features great playing by all four Beatles and a really upbeat tempo and melody that underscore the lyric, a Beatled-up (or Beatled-down, depending on how you want to look at it) version of one of Bob Dylan's famous put-down songs. Not the greatest piece of work ever, but an overlooked gem that Ringo should get more credit for.

Scores thus far:

John - 8
Paul - 12
George - 4
Ringo - 6

We Can't Work It Out: The Fab War -- Round 2

"Taxman" v. "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" v. "If You've Got Troubles" v. "Paperback Writer"

"Taxman" is a great satire on the power of The Man to regulate the man's dollar. It features punching guitar and some witty lyrics, including a reference to saving money by putting pennies on your eyes when you are dead. This is a modern twist on an old tradition, which I believe was used so that one would be able to pay for the poling of the ferry across the river Styx and into the underworld. Unfortunately, its still far from Harrison's best work. The aforementioned wit was included in a line which went "be careful, pennies on your eyes." This seems rather lazy writing as its grammatical structure, or lack thereof, forces the listener to work overly hard at figuring the line out. A great track, but not Harrison's best.

"You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" is one of Lennon's early Dylan rip-offs, and perhaps his best. "I can't go on feeling two foot small" is a neat grammatical construction reminiscent of Dylan. Lennon is at his most derivatively Dylanesque with the line "gather round all you clowns," and the use of acoustic guitars shows a move toward the folk genre. While parts of this song are great, overall it does sound somewhat rehashed, though well-executed and with excellent use of percussion with the tambourine and maracas combo.

"If You've Got Trouble" features a rip-roaring Ringo vocal and a driving bass riff over a steady beat. This sounds like a Lennon lyrics, and one of his most biting. He seems to be in Dylanesque mode here, emulating "Like A Rolling Stone"'s thematics, but making them completely his own. The Harrison solo that starts about 1:45 into the song bounces and cuts in equal measures. This song may not be the best song ever, but it features excellent performances by all involved, especially Ringo those driving drums and striving vocal make this one of the best tracks he sang.

"Paperback Writer" comes on like a power-chord avalanche. The dirty overdrive that characterizes this song is appealing and catchy. The lyrics are sort of silly, but they nail the kind of pleading that only a pulp writer can do. The echo effects and layered background vocals only add to the affect. Overall, this is one of The Beatles' strongest tracks, and certainly winner of this round, followed by "If You've Got Trouble," "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away," and "Taxman."

Scores thus far:

Paul -- 8
John -- 5
George -- 3
Ringo -- 4

We Can't Work It Out: The Fab War -- Round 1

"Don't Bother Me" v. "If I Fell" v. "That Means A Lot" v. "I Wanna Be Your Man"

"Don't Bother Me," from With the Beatles, is the first Harrison composition to make it onto a Beatles album, and is a standout track on what is likely their second strongest early album (behing A Hard Day's Night). This guitar part is insanely wicked, especially the solo. The brushed percussion adds a nice tinge. Also, its a break-up song, which is always nice. Depression seems to make for better art, and this is a song of heartbreak where the lamenting male seeks isolation from family and friends; a lot more complex stuff than "Love Me Do."

Meanwhile, "If I Fell" is somewhat of a sappy love ballad, but a damn, damn good one. This excellent track from A Hard Day's Night is supposedly from the point of view of a man afraid to fall in love, though he sounds pretty head over heels already. The melody is super, though. The song caresses a gorgeous melody line through a mid-tempo swing that is perfectly punctuated by occaisional guitar jabs. Musically, this is among the Beatles best songs.

"That Means A Lot" was recorded, I believe, for Help!, though it didn't appear until Anthology 2. This song features some excellent drum rolls by Ringo along with some added maracas-shaking action. Musicially, the song is mostly percussive, and so it is up to Paul's vocal to make the song, and it does so gloriously. He snarls, howls and sneers his way through the song. Lyrically, the song seems to be about a suffocating relationship, where you know that "your love is all you've got." That sounds sweet, but the bitter angst of the bridge's "love can be suicide" shows the song's darkness.

"I Wanna Be Your Man" was Ringo's first Beatle-penned vocal lead on record (his first was the King-Coffin song "Boys"), but was intended to be written for fledgling Rolling Stones. The Beatles push through it like a barn-storm, but its all pushing. The song doesn't really have any nuance or soft edges to balance it out. The repetitive vocal just kills it.

"That Means A Lot" is the best of this bunch. Although rare, it is good enough to hold its own with any Beatles track, and is better than many of the tracks that did make it onto Help! After that, I have to go with "If I Fell" for its gorgeous melody and impeccable sense of timing. I love Harrison, but he has to take third in this round; "Don't Bother Me" is good, but its facing pretty stiff competition. "I Wanna Be Your Man," while driving, is definitely last place this time around.

For those of you watching at home, the scores thus far are:

Paul - 4
John - 3
George - 2
Ringo - 1

We Can't Work It Out: The Fab War -- The Prologue

Here's the premise: everyone fights over their favorite Beatle, but no one gets too particular. Paul is cute, John is political, George is spiritual and Ringo is fun(ny-looking). Most people are happy to pick the Beatle whose identity they most identify with and go from there. I decided that wasn't enough. Thus, here's what I am doing:

I have compiled a 22-song track list for each Beatle, respresenting both their contributions to the Beatles and their work as a solo artist. The track lists are arranged chronologically, and are my personal favorite tracks from that artist. This means that some artists have more Beatles work than others and so the chronology doesn't always match up, but nothing's perfect. Also, my taste is pretty idiosyncratic. Each track number on each list will go up against its own track number on the other discs in a four-song battle royale. The song that comes out on top will recieve four points. The runner up will get three points. Third place gets two points. The loser gets one point. (No, I don't foresee Ringo ending up with 22 points.) Following 22 rounds, scores will be docked points based on each Beatles' worst work (i.e., "Ebony and Ivory" and "Revolution No. 9"). Whichever Beatles emerges on top will become my new favorite.

A little background going in:

Paul McCartney -- bass, keyboards, drums, etc.

Paul was probably the poppiest composer of the group as well as the most stereotypically cute. He was an ace of bass as well as a menagerie of other instruments. This meant that he'd sometimes become control freakish and insist on playing everything himself, which probably played at least as big a role in the breakup of the Beatles as Yoko did. He led Wings in the seventies and has toured extensively. Despite horrid duets with Michael Jackson, he had the longest marriage and was probably the most commercially successful solo artist among the Beatles, if that counts for anything.

1. That Means A Lot
2. Paperback Writer
3. Eleanor Rigby
4. Here, There and Everywhere
5. Got To Get You Into My Life
6. Penny Lane
7. When I'm 64
8. Hello Goodbye
9. The Fool On the Hill
10. Rocky Raccoon
11. Back In the U.S.S.R.
12. You Never Give Me Your Money
13. She Came In Through the Bathroom Window
14. You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)
15. Come and Get It
16. Junk
17. Uncle Albert/Admirable Halsey
18. Maybe I'm Amazed
19. Live and Let Die
20. Band On the Run
21. Ever Present Past
22. Mr. Bellamy

John Lennon -- rhythm guitar, piano:

John was the most political and likely the most stereotypically "artsy" Beatles. He divorced his first wife Cynthia in favor of an avant garde Japanese artist. He was rawly emotional in his songs, presaging the emo movement by decades and accomplishing more than it could hope to. He also discovered several artists and had great names for the bands he was associated with, such as Plastic Ono Band, Elephant's Memory and The Elastic Oz Band.

1. If I Fell
2. You've Got To Hide Your Love Away
3. Nowhere Man
4. In My Life
5. Wait
6. She Said, She Said
7. Strawberry Fields Forever
8. I Am the Walrus
9. Sexy Sadie
10. Dear Prudence
11. Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except For Me and My Monkey
12. Revolution
13. Hey Bulldog
14. Come Together
15. Don't Let Me Down
16. Across the Universe
17. Working Class Hero
18. Instant Karma!
19. Imagine
20. Jealous Guy
21. #9 Dream
22. Woman

George Harrison -- lead guitar:

George was the spiritual Beatles, and also a crack guitar player. His influence can be heard in the work of everyone from Prince ("I Could Never Take the Place Of Your Man") to Dean Ween ("What Deaner Was Talkin' About"). Despite having his hot, hot wife stolen by Eric Clapton, he still nice enough to organize the Rainbow Concert that helped bring Clapton out of a downward spiral caused by his heroin addiction. When not helping to save overblown rock stars, Harrison helped out the starving children of Bangladesh and hung out with Hari Krishnas. He later became de facto leader of the Traveling Wilburys, the superest supergroup ever to walk the planet.

1. Don't Bother Me
2. Taxman
3. I Want to Tell You
4. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
5. Savoy Truffle
6. Not Guilty
7. It's All Too Much
8. Something
9. Here Comes the Sun
10. Old Brown Shoe
11. For You Blue
12. I Me Mine
13. I'd Have You Anytime
14. My Sweet Lord
15. What Is Life?
16. Crackerbox Palace
17. When We Was Fab
18.Handle With Care
19. Heading For the Light
20. Cheer Down
21. Any Road
22. Pisces Fish

Ringo Starr -- drums:

Ringo was everyone's buddy. He wasn't a great drummer, but he wasn't a slouch either. He replaced the showier Pete Best, which most people lament but it was better that way for the band. Ringo's steady-but-not-too-showy drumming provided a perfect backdrop for the Beatles. Also, when uberdrummer Keith Moon recorded his solo album, Two Sides of the Moon, he hired Ringo to play drums, so he can't be all that bad. Ringo had a great sense of humor. He was friendly, humble, and a much better songwriter than anyone ever gives him credit for.

1. I Wanna Be Your Man
2. If You've Got Trouble
3. What Goes On
4. Yellow Submarine
5. With A Little Help From My Friends
6. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)
7. Don't Pass Me By
8. Good Night
9. Octopus's Garden
10. The End
11. Beaucoups of Blues
12. It Don't Come Easy
13. Early 1970
14. Back Off Boogaloo
15. Photograph
16. I'm the Greatest
17. Oh, My My
18. Snookeroo
19. Only You
20. (It's All Down To) Goodnight Vienna
21. Wrack My Brain
22. Fading In and Fading Out