On the syndicated radio show Little Steven’s Underground Garage, Steven Van Zandt played a Beatles song and then said it was “one of the four or five songs that typify the Beatles’ sound”. I thought that was an interesting characterization; and though I could see where he was coming from, I wondered what the other three or four were, and how one would define their “typical” sound given that they changed so much over time (and even varied a fair bit within the same album).
So before I name the song he played (and please, no spoilers if you heard it!), I would be curious to hear some “top fives” in this category from others–as I know from a past thread that there are a lot of Beatles fans here. It will be interesting to see if Little Steven’s song pops up frequently.
Remember: this is different from your five favorites. (I’m not sure personally if there would be any crossover at all between a list of my top five and the five I’d say best “typify” their sound.)
Let’s see…
1)I Saw Her Standing There
2)Norwegian Wood
3)Yesterday
4)Here Comes The Sun
5)Something from Sgt Pepper…Good Morning Good Morning Or Sgt Pepper probably.
This is just off the top of my head, I tried to pick 5 very different songs and haven’t put a whole lot of thought into it.
Ah, that’s interesting–you interpreted it differently than I did, but you might be right as to the intention (since Steven only named one of the “four or five”). I thought he was intending each song, on its own, to “typify their sound”, whereas you are approaching it as “these five songs, as a set, will convey an idea of the range of sounds the Beatles produced”.
Forced to pick one, without giving it too much thought, I think I’d go with Here Comes The Sun. you can here their roots and see where they’re going in the future. Plus, George’s solo career sort of spins off on that tangent.
I think the confusion is because you mentioned ‘top five’ a few times. You might want to change it to ‘what single song typifies the entire Beatles catalog’ or something like that.
I’m just going with Little Steven’s formulation. He said “that song is one of the four or five that typify the Beatles’ sound”. I will say that the song in question was not an outlier: it has more sonic similarities to a number of other Beatles songs than something like “Yesterday” does.
Yeah, I was interpreting it as you did, SlackerInc. By that standard, off the top of my head here’s a list of five that sound pretty “typical Beatles” to me:
She Loves You
I Want To Hold Your Hand
Hard Day’s Night
Paperback Writer
Ticket to Ride (or maybe I Feel Fine; I can’t decide)
When I saw the thread title, I wondered if you were talking about 5 songs by someone other than the Beatles that sound most like the typical Beatles sound, which would make an interesting topic in itself, although I’d be tempted to cheat and go with all songs off The Rutles or Utopia’s Deface the Music.
That’s a great list. It illustrates though how it’s hard to do this while including their later catalogue under the umbrella. Maybe that was just too eclectic.
ETA: In your non-Beatles musings, surprised you didn’t name Badfinger.
Yeah, I have to say Thudlow did a great job. I can’t argue with any of them.
…But I’ll offer possible swaps anyway.
I might sub either “I Should’ve Known Better” or “Please Please Me” for “She Loves You,” if only because Lennon’s harmonica is so Beatles and it’s a shame not to have that represented.
And if I do sub out “She Loves You,” we need an example of their falsetto “Whoooo!” So I’m tempted to swap “I Want to Hold Your Hand” with “I Saw Her Standing There.” The only trouble with that is losing the doubled John/Paul lead vocals.
As much of a Paul fan as I am, I think I’d want to switch “Paperback Writer” with its opposite side companion single, “Rain.” Both are phenomenal for Paul (I’ve gone into ecstasies over his bass on “Rain” before), but “Rain” offers a better look at John as well (naturally since it’s his song)–his poetic vision, ethereal vocals, and a touch of morbid humor. It also offers other important factors that will play big parts in the Beatles’ later sound: a proto-Eastern flavor especially in the middle section (the descending flourishes and dissonance on “Ra-a-a-ain, I don’t mind”), and the backward vocals toward the end of the song, a taste of the experimentation they were increasingly drawn to.
Admittedly “I Feel Fine” would work for this too considering the feedback in the intro, but I think “Rain” offers more bang for the buck, and since we have such a short list I like that we’ve got four major Beatles qualities (Paul’s creative musicianship/expertise on bass, John’s odd combo of cynicism with poetry, the Eastern influence and technical experimentation) in a single song. Oh, and Ringo is well represented in the drums, as is George’s lead guitar. Honestly, if I could only play one song for someone that would represent the Beatles, I might be tempted to shock everyone with this.
Finally, instead of “Ticket to Ride” (which is best for its rock flavor and amazing drums, but we’ve got those covered with “I Saw Her Standing There” and “Rain,” respectively) or “I Feel Fine” (again, its experimentational feedback is handled by “Rain”), I want to add one of their more ambitious/thoughtful songs in here, with a sound that no one else would’ve attempted at the time. Getting rid of “Paperback Writer” frees up a Paul-as-storyteller slot, too. I can’t think of a song that accomplishes all this better than “Eleanor Rigby.” Great vocal harmonies, poignant lyrics, a freakin’ string quartet accompaniment beautifully orchestrated by George Martin, and just generally a beautiful song. The only sour note, so to speak, is that Ringo isn’t on here at all. But I’m willing to give Ringo up to get this song to the ears of my hypothetical listener.
The teeth aching harmonies of I Feel Fine are as pure Beatles as anything. i see the early songs as the archetypes just because they were the foundation.
Four more:
I Want to Hold Your Hand
In My Life
Paperback Writer
She Loves You
I’ve always divided the Beatles sound into 3 sub groups: early, middle, and late. And with late Beatles, after Sgt Pepper, it was mostly whichever member wrote the song and the other three as his backup band, i.e. Paul and the Beatles, John and the Beatles, etc…
For early Beatles, I’d certainly submit A Hard Day’s Night. It’s got THE CHORD, it’s upbeat and cheerful, and lyrically, it’s sorta autobiographical.
And probably She Loves You also. Hell, the “Yeah, yeah, yeah” part sort of was the slogan of Beatlemania. It’s upbeat, got the 2 part harmonies, and brief guitar lead/fills. Something for the whole band to do. And the "Oooooh"s with the shaking hair.
Middle Beatles: They got a bit more introspective. I’d have to go with Help!. And there’s that interesting tempo change in it.
Late Beatles: By then, they were experimenting with what could be done in a studio. I’m not sure whether Rubber Soul is late or middle, but Revolver certainly is. And some of what they did then was the best that could be made and some was pretty indulgent with what could be done in a studio. I’d say I Am The Walrus was the most indulgent thing they put out and is the standard for studio effect psychedelic rock of the time. And as for something that sounded great, there’s what I think of as a double song, Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band/With A Little Help From My Friends.
I think each song cries out “This is a Beatles song.”.
Some great comments here–thanks, everyone! Keep 'em coming.
Believe it or not, no one has yet named the song Little Steven played that started the whole thing. Any guesses as to what it could be, before I reveal it?
I think one of the few things that characterize the Beatles across all their various periods is their harmonies and the interplay/counterpoint of their vocals. (The only part of “Free as a Bird” that sounded like the Beatles were those few seconds of harmonies over George’s guitar solo.) I kinda doubt that’s what Little Steven was after, but taking that as a springboard, I might nominate:
Twist and Shout
If I Fell
Help!
Getting Better
Hey Jude
They’re not all landmark hits, but I think you can hear those five tracks and hear the evolution from one to the next, without ever doubting they were the same band.
I’d guess A DAY IN THE LIFE, since it gives you classic John Lennon, and then a bouncy change-of-pace Paul McCartney section before going back to more Lennon?
