Ranking The Beatles

John came into the Get Back project only one fully formed new song, "All I Want Is You," later re-named as "Dig A Pony." After a possibly initial ambivalent reaction, the band tightened it up as the first song recorded in their own Apple Studios. It eventually found it's true home on the rooftop of Apple on a cold January day, where the band nailed it in one rock solid take. The song lumbers and moves in weird ways, almost like a giant kind of stomping slowly, while John delivers a fantastic vocal of some kind of wordplay I've never really understood. Musically, it's just so good though. The riff is classic rock guitar at it's core, held down by the most perfect subdued drumming from Ringo, and a jagged and refined yet unexpected solo from George. It's such an odd song, but it feels so good, you can't not love it.

Joining us this week is New Orleans-based songwriter and producer Nicholas Dayton! Nick writes songs for Sesame Street, which is maybe the coolest job you could ever have. He's also done some acting, and been seen on 30 Rock and Nickoldeon. Add to that he plays bass in a 60s cover band AND an Elton John tribute? It's like a found a long lost sibling! Join us as we chat about hearing Big Bird sing a song you wrote, Lin-Manuel Miranda, 60s music, and so much more!

What do you think about Dig A Pony at 82? Too high? Too low? Let us know in the comments on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ find us now on Bluesky! Be sure to check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.rankingthebeatles.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and grab a Rank Your Own Beatles poster, some of our new Revolver-themed merch, a shirt, a jumper, whatever you like! And if you're digging what we do, don't forget to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Buy Us A Coffee⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠!

On the A Hard Day's Night album, John is absolutely on fire creatively, and at his most prolific. Tossed off on vacation, possibly as a tribute to Del Shannon's "Runaway," "I'll Be Back" is an oft-overlooked song deserving of way more attention than it usually gets. It's unique in that on a really upbeat album, it serves as a darker closer than one would expect. It features really smart 3 part harmonies that only serve to add to a real maturity found on this track. With the song's journey tracked as it moves from an electric waltz, to a straight electric pop tune, to an acoustic and nylon string driven song show the Beatles really working hard at refining what they're doing to get the best track possible. The end result is an early clue to the new direction, as you get introduced to the Beatles for Sale era right there at the end of A Hard Day's Night.

Joining us to chat this week is the wonderful Kit O'Toole, a writer, music journalist and video podcaster. She's the author or of Songs We Were Singing: Guided Tours Through the Beatles’ Lesser-Known Tracks and Michael Jackson FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the King of Pop, a writer and associate editor for Beatlefan Magazine, among other writing jobs. She also co-hosts Talk More Talk : A Solo Beatles Videocast, which is a wonderful dive in to the solo career of the Fabs. We chat about all manner of things, like never clapping on the 1 and 3, challenging the idea of a pop song, and the multitude of ways the Beatles seem to impact people. On Feb 15, through Monmouth University, Kit is co-hosting (with our pal Ken Womack) a Tuesday Night Record Club event discussing Prince's Sign O' The Times, album, its a free event, you can sign up here! Follow along for future courses and events, as well as her upcoming books and more at kitotoole.com, and check out Talk More Talk as well!

What do you think? Too high? Too low? Just right? Let us know in the comments on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/rankingthebeatles, Instagram @rankingthebeatles, or Twitter @rankingbeatles! Be sure to check out RTB's official website, www.rankingthebeatles.com! Enjoying the show, and wanna show your support? Buy Us A Coffee!

While the exact time and place of this song seems to have been lost to the fog of 80+ years of memories, Paul does remember that he wrote this song with the thought it might end up as the Beatles next single in 1964. It seemed to lack that certain Beatle magic singles required, but it found a home on the back half of Beatles For Sale, albeit a home that maybe doesn't do it the justice it deserves. It's sneaky in a few different ways. It's got melodies and hooks for days, from the verse melody to the soaring chorus, to that chorus' emphatic tympani hits. And that's before we even get to John's 12 string electric guitar part, which comes across as a totally different take on the 12 string electric from what George would have played. Speaking of John, he turns in a fantastic vocal, and it's one of the rare times in the catalogue a song is sung by a Beatle who wasn't also the composer of the song.

Joining us this week is Joe Adragna, the brains behind power-pop force The Junior League. He's been putting out critically acclaimed music under this moniker since the early aughts, as well as playing in a variety of other groups. We chat with Joe about DIY recording and Jonathan's lazy musical output, power pop blueprints, childhood Beatles obsessions, and the Beatles' impact on kids today. Be sure to check out Joe's music at The Junior League's bandcamp page, or wherever you buy or stream music! And give em a follow on Facebook!

What do you think about "Every Little Thing" at #101? Too high? Too low? Or just right? Let us know in the comments on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Be sure to check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.rankingthebeatles.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and grab a Rank Your Own Beatles poster, a shirt, a jumper, whatever you like! And if you're digging what we do, don't forget to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Buy Us A Coffee⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠!

When you're cranking out 2 albums a year, plus singles, plus a movie, plus BBC sessions, plus tv appearance, AND touring, it can be a little difficult to crank out nothing but brilliance. While most of us hardcore Beatle fans are not quick to deride many songs in their catalog, the Beatles themselves certainly could be, and both John and Paul minced no words in describing this Help! album track. "Abominable," "Abysmal," "Lousy," and "Not literature" are just a few of the descriptors they gave to this song. That said though, I tend to think it's actually got some real merit, despite the slight lyrics and weak rhymes. Melodically, it's actually quite lovely, and John's vocal is beautifully understated throughout, with just enough ache in the chorus to sell it, followed by a wonderful falsetto Roy Orbison-esque sendoff. It's always been a bit of a sleeper for me, as a great melody can cover up all manner of sins.

For the next three episodes, we'll be welcoming on my bandmates from The Walrus - A New Orleans Beatles Tribute to chat songs and Fabs. After playing more shows than our band ever has in the last couple of years, I thought it'd be interesting to see how our immersion into the catalog has influenced the work we do outside of it. And I just like hanging with these folks.

Joining us this week (for the 3rd time!) is David Pomerleau, bassist and singer in The Walrus (as well as New Orleans institution Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes, and the country trio Desert Nudes). We chat with Dave about his songwriting process, being allowed to hate your own work, chaos brains, Phish and Rush, embarrassment and so much more!

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