Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2019 18:09:37 GMT -5
[I made this thread on PSF, but sadly my original no longer survives.]
I thought it could be fun to do an elimination poll but I'm not completely sure how to do multiple rounds of one, or if I'd need to make separate threads to do so. I'd appreciate some help on this front please.
Maybe this will defeat the purpose of an elimination poll, but in the original I just gave my ranking upfront. I broke the discography into 3, the first being my favorites that I consider (near) perfect and listen to often. The next tier are the ones with great moments but some significant flaws. The final tier are the ones I just don't particularly care for.
1. Rubber Soul One of my favorite albums, and one of the first three albums I bought with my own money as a teenager (along with Pet Sounds and MJ's Off the Wall.) I think it's perfect because every song is a standout and they all have the same aesthetics so they sound as though they belong together. For me this is the main criteria of what makes a great album. I can't pick a favorite track because they're all more or less on the same level for me.
2. Revolver I think it has higher peaks but lower valleys than RS. The songs push production boundaries and lyrics delve into the surreal, so it's a more interesting album than anything which came before. However, the tradeoff is that the tracks don't "gel" as well as RS and some of their other albums. It contains what might be my two favorite Beatles tracks ("She Said She Said," "Here There and Everywhere") but also one of my least favorite ("Yellow Submarine.")
3. Abbey Road When I was growing up, the two Beatles CDs my family started out with were the Red album and this. Since I was 9~10 at the time, "Octopus' Garden" never bothered me. (I don't know why some people have such a hangup with that song, as though no other Beatles track ever had a childish whimsical flair.) My favorite though was always "Oh! Darling." The passion with which Paul sings that song was like nothing little-me had ever heard before and it left a big impact. I remember listening with my parents in the car and feeling overcome with emotion, sometimes even singing aloud along with it. (Yeah...)
4. A Hard Days Night This was the first "new" Beatles album we bought, after my mom got me invested and begging for more. We bought it just before taking a cross-country trip to visit some faraway relatives, so the album always reminds me of that. It's a surprisingly timeless and consistent album considering how early in their career it was made. Picking a favorite track is tough, but I would have to go with "I'm Happy Just to Dance with You."
-----------Second Tier-------------
5. Sgt. Pepper It was the first album I ever really loved. As a kid, if I was listening to anything in my CD player (remember those?) it was almost certainly this or the Shrek 1 soundtrack. I would listen to it most nights before going to bed. In high school, I was a firm believer in the hype that it was the best album ever made. Since discovering SMiLE, however, it's like the spell has been broken. I still like it, but I can admit its significant flaws. Since expanding my musical horizons I find it kind of insulting this gets so much ridiculous praise heaped upon it when albums just as great if not better go unnoticed outside niche audiences. Anyway, my favorite track is "Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite" largely for the brilliant production of George Martin; sorry but I don't think copying phrases word for word off a circus poster is that creative or enlightened. Speaking of which, still waiting for someone to tell me what's so deep about "A Day in the Life."
6. White Album In my opinion, this has the best and worst songs of their entire career. The problem is there was no one around to tell them "sorry, that song doesn't make the cut" and egos got in the way. There's little rhyme or reason between track sequence either, everything just drudges on and I find myself getting bored until another George track (or occasional highlight from John/Paul) comes on. If they got rid of the obvious filler (Me and My Monkey, Revolution 9, Ob-La-Di) and narrowed it down to a single LP I think this might have been my favorite. My favorites are "Back in the USSR," "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and even "Goodnight" (which, surprisingly to some, is my favorite closer on a Beatles album.)
7. Magical Mystery Tour It's not really an album, just a beefed up EP. I actually really enjoy the original EP tracks; they're the most psychedelic tracks the group ever made, and have a slightly down-beat, scary overtone to them which is really interesting. Unfortunately, the tacked on singles kill that fascinating aesthetic and then we descend to random, feel-good tracks like "All You Need is Love." My favorite tracks are "Bluejay Way" and "Flying." A whole album done in that style, as a darker counterpart to Sgt Pepper could have been really interesting.
8. Let It Be As discussed in my earlier thread about LIB, this is a very flawed album both in terms of production and track sequences. Why they didn't just use George Martin I will never understand. If they had, this would almost certainly be a few slots further up my list. The actual tracks are mostly good, they just suffer from obnoxious overproduction in the official release and underproduction on the Naked rerelease. My favorite is "Don't Let Me Down."
--------------Third Tier--------------
9. Help!
10. Please Please Me
11. Yellow Submarine
12. With the Beatles
13. Beatles for Sale
^I don't really have much to say about any of these. I heard them, they're okay, but a few highlights aside I don't really like them that much.
I thought it could be fun to do an elimination poll but I'm not completely sure how to do multiple rounds of one, or if I'd need to make separate threads to do so. I'd appreciate some help on this front please.
Maybe this will defeat the purpose of an elimination poll, but in the original I just gave my ranking upfront. I broke the discography into 3, the first being my favorites that I consider (near) perfect and listen to often. The next tier are the ones with great moments but some significant flaws. The final tier are the ones I just don't particularly care for.
1. Rubber Soul One of my favorite albums, and one of the first three albums I bought with my own money as a teenager (along with Pet Sounds and MJ's Off the Wall.) I think it's perfect because every song is a standout and they all have the same aesthetics so they sound as though they belong together. For me this is the main criteria of what makes a great album. I can't pick a favorite track because they're all more or less on the same level for me.
2. Revolver I think it has higher peaks but lower valleys than RS. The songs push production boundaries and lyrics delve into the surreal, so it's a more interesting album than anything which came before. However, the tradeoff is that the tracks don't "gel" as well as RS and some of their other albums. It contains what might be my two favorite Beatles tracks ("She Said She Said," "Here There and Everywhere") but also one of my least favorite ("Yellow Submarine.")
3. Abbey Road When I was growing up, the two Beatles CDs my family started out with were the Red album and this. Since I was 9~10 at the time, "Octopus' Garden" never bothered me. (I don't know why some people have such a hangup with that song, as though no other Beatles track ever had a childish whimsical flair.) My favorite though was always "Oh! Darling." The passion with which Paul sings that song was like nothing little-me had ever heard before and it left a big impact. I remember listening with my parents in the car and feeling overcome with emotion, sometimes even singing aloud along with it. (Yeah...)
4. A Hard Days Night This was the first "new" Beatles album we bought, after my mom got me invested and begging for more. We bought it just before taking a cross-country trip to visit some faraway relatives, so the album always reminds me of that. It's a surprisingly timeless and consistent album considering how early in their career it was made. Picking a favorite track is tough, but I would have to go with "I'm Happy Just to Dance with You."
-----------Second Tier-------------
5. Sgt. Pepper It was the first album I ever really loved. As a kid, if I was listening to anything in my CD player (remember those?) it was almost certainly this or the Shrek 1 soundtrack. I would listen to it most nights before going to bed. In high school, I was a firm believer in the hype that it was the best album ever made. Since discovering SMiLE, however, it's like the spell has been broken. I still like it, but I can admit its significant flaws. Since expanding my musical horizons I find it kind of insulting this gets so much ridiculous praise heaped upon it when albums just as great if not better go unnoticed outside niche audiences. Anyway, my favorite track is "Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite" largely for the brilliant production of George Martin; sorry but I don't think copying phrases word for word off a circus poster is that creative or enlightened. Speaking of which, still waiting for someone to tell me what's so deep about "A Day in the Life."
6. White Album In my opinion, this has the best and worst songs of their entire career. The problem is there was no one around to tell them "sorry, that song doesn't make the cut" and egos got in the way. There's little rhyme or reason between track sequence either, everything just drudges on and I find myself getting bored until another George track (or occasional highlight from John/Paul) comes on. If they got rid of the obvious filler (Me and My Monkey, Revolution 9, Ob-La-Di) and narrowed it down to a single LP I think this might have been my favorite. My favorites are "Back in the USSR," "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and even "Goodnight" (which, surprisingly to some, is my favorite closer on a Beatles album.)
7. Magical Mystery Tour It's not really an album, just a beefed up EP. I actually really enjoy the original EP tracks; they're the most psychedelic tracks the group ever made, and have a slightly down-beat, scary overtone to them which is really interesting. Unfortunately, the tacked on singles kill that fascinating aesthetic and then we descend to random, feel-good tracks like "All You Need is Love." My favorite tracks are "Bluejay Way" and "Flying." A whole album done in that style, as a darker counterpart to Sgt Pepper could have been really interesting.
8. Let It Be As discussed in my earlier thread about LIB, this is a very flawed album both in terms of production and track sequences. Why they didn't just use George Martin I will never understand. If they had, this would almost certainly be a few slots further up my list. The actual tracks are mostly good, they just suffer from obnoxious overproduction in the official release and underproduction on the Naked rerelease. My favorite is "Don't Let Me Down."
--------------Third Tier--------------
9. Help!
10. Please Please Me
11. Yellow Submarine
12. With the Beatles
13. Beatles for Sale
^I don't really have much to say about any of these. I heard them, they're okay, but a few highlights aside I don't really like them that much.
You're a great person BBF.'' - iluvleniloud about me and I.
