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PODCAST

Ranking The Beatles

Jonathan and Julia Pretus

Musician and self-described Beatles fanatic Jonathan Pretus ranked the entire recorded catalog of the Beatles, because he"s a big, big nerd. Then he decided to make a podcast to talk with other people and learn about their connection with The Beatles" music. Tune in as Jonathan and his guests, joined by his co-host/wife Julia (a more level-headed, casual fan) discuss the rankings, what they think makes each song so great (or not-so-great), and see if it really is a fool"s errand to try and rank

music music history

All Episodes

01:02:57

#129 - Things We Said Today with guest Laurie...

Ranking The Beatles ·

2022/11/29

Paul McCartney seems to always have a fondness for looking through time. He looks to older age in songs like "When I'm 64," too his own passing in "The End of The End" from Memory Almost Full. He presents quasi case studies in the music of yesteryear with songs like "Honey Pie" or "Your Gave Me The Answer." With "Things We Said Today," he's looking to the future to look at the present, thinking that one day, what he's experiencing NOW will be but a memory. Or something like that. That's how he

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01:38:50

#130 - Revolution 9 with guest James Campion (author,...

Ranking The Beatles ·

2022/11/22

Hindsight being what it is, one can only imagine the reaction listeners had when they first reached the back half of side 4 of the White Album in November 68, and the sounds of "Revolution 9" came out of their stereos for the first time. While adjectives such as "bewilderment" or "confusion" probably are safe bets, The Beatles had been sowing seeds of avant-garde & outside influence in their music since they introduced the sitar on Norwegian Wood in 1965, moving to tape loops and backwards

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00:56:38

#131 - I Me Mine with guest Micah McKee (singer,...

Ranking The Beatles ·

2022/11/15

It only took a few days of the Get Back project for George to lose any real optimism he may have entered it with. Malaise, indecision, and ego had been building for a while, and as they took root in the project, George took to pen to put down his feelings towards his song-writing bandmates’ (and humanity in general’s) egos and selfishness, the minor key “I Me Mine.” In the end, the track only features the lineup that would go on in the 90s to be coined The Threetles, as John was on holiday and

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01:06:39

#132 - Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey with musician Kyle...

Ranking The Beatles ·

2022/11/08

By the time of Beatles for Sale at the end of '64, the band were exhausted, overworked, and for good reason. They'd been working nonstop for YEARS with a schedule that most artists would shudder at. While their previous album had been their first of all originals, this time, the tank was a bit lower than before, and the band had to revert back to covers they'd been doing since the Cavern and Hamburg days. Even though they may have been tired, they pulled out a fiery cover of Little Richard's version

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01:52:14

#133 - Got To Get You Into My Life with guest Sean...

Ranking The Beatles ·

2022/10/25

Note: This episode was originally taped several days before the release of "Got To Get You Into My Life (Second Version/Unnumbered Mix)" from the upcoming Revolver Super Deluxe reissue. We reconvened several days after that track's release to discuss the alternate version, and how it not only compares to the original, but how it changes our perceptions of the track. That conversation has been added to the end of our ranking discussion. One of the defining traits of Revolver is the vast differences

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01:12:34

#134 - Revolution 1 with guest James Campion (author,...

Ranking The Beatles ·

2022/10/18

Following the flower power vibes of 1967, 1968 found the Beatles diving into transcendental meditation, looking inward, and grounding themselves back to the real world around them, which was getting pretty tumultuous. A back-to-basics vibe that was moving through the music scene, combined with John's growing want to speak his mind on current events (aided by the artistic awakening he was experiencing with his new girlfriend, Yoko Ono), lead to the creation of "Revolution 1," a slow bluesy shuffle

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01:14:20

#135 - Getting Better with guest Debbie Davis...

Ranking The Beatles ·

2022/10/11

The yin and yang of Lennon and McCartney are rarely so perfectly on display as they are in the chorus of "Getting Better." Paul's eternal optimist, "I've got to admit it's getting better, a little better all the time" runs right up against the sardonic side of John: "It can't get no worse." On this Sgt. Pepper tune, they find meld an upbeat, bouncy melody with darker, quite self-aware lyrics about the worst parts of one's personality, and the human want to better one's self when love is involved

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01:06:34

#136 - Michelle with guest Janice Mitchell (author,...

Ranking The Beatles ·

2022/10/04

Perhaps the ultimate song written for the purpose of playing it on a beat up old acoustic at a party so you can meet girls (apologies for that run on sentence), "Michelle" was written by Paul back in 1959 for just that purpose. You can easily imagine him brooding in a smokey corner, wearing a turtle neck, and singing an early version of this tune. It get shined up and completed for inclusion on 1965's Rubber Soul, and has become a much-loved, though often maligned Macca classic. I think it's got a

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01:03:46

#137 - Dr. Robert with guest Bruce Ferber (writer,...

Ranking The Beatles ·

2022/09/21

If there was any inclination the Fab Four were down to “expand their minds,” by the time Revolver came around, there was very little second guessing.The sounds are out there, backwards, mystical. And on "Dr. Robert," what might have been a nudge and wink previously is now just a punch in the face: THESE GUYS TAKE DRUGS. Whether it’s autobiographical or a character piece though, it’s a fantastic mind movie, where the band paint a great picture sonically of the good Doctor, while John’s vocal moves to

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01:22:22

#138 - Good Day Sunshine with guest Wayne Federman...

Ranking The Beatles ·

2022/09/13

If ever a Paul song fit the oft-used descriptor of “jaunty,” it’s “Good Day Sunshine.” A tune written during the Revolver sessions, it’s one of the sunnier moments on an album that sees a bit of a darker side of the Beatles than we’d seen before. It’s maybe not the weightiest thing he’s ever done, but it’s amazing how Paul has the ability to soundtrack human emotions so easily; the song really has the bounce and light and fun of new love and a beautiful day. It’s the part of the ying and yang, the

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01:24:13

#139 - Eight Days A Week with guest Dr. Duncan Driver

Ranking The Beatles ·

2022/09/06

The break's over friends! We've missed you all, but we're tanned, rested, and ready to rank! Well, actually we're still quite pasty (Jonathan especially), we're still always tired, but we're definitely ready to get back to the business of ranking! To say the Beatles were working hard in 1964 is more than an understatement. Tours, bbc sessions, t.v. appearances, movies, recording sessions, sometimes multiple of these things in the same day...yeah, it was a lot. So in this situation, one would maybe

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02:38:45

BONUS EPISODE! Paul's 80th Birthday - A Paul...

Ranking The Beatles ·

2022/06/18

We've been on a break between seasons, but being Paul McCartney's 80th birthday, we felt we wanted to contribute our little part to the conversation and global love fest. When our friend and previous guest, musician Sean Nelson reached out and asked if we wanted to chat about our favorite Paul songs, it seemed the perfect way to do so. There's certainly no shortage of words being written to sing his praise, but to us, the best way to show our appreciation is with his music. What can be said that

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01:21:48

#140 - Roll Over Beethoven with guest Tim Hatfield...

Ranking The Beatles ·

2022/04/20

“If you tried to give rock and roll a different name, you might call it ‘Chuck Berry." - John Lennon To say Chuck Berry was influential on the Beatles would be an understatement. They covered more of his songs during their career than any other artist, and "Roll Over Beethoven" was in their live set all the way back in 1957. So when recording their 2nd album, With The Beatles, in 1963, and having a bit more say on what songs they would record, it's not surprising they went with paying tribute to one

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01:33:41

#141 - Any Time At All with producer/author Jerry...

Ranking The Beatles ·

2022/04/12

It’s interesting to think that in 12 months the Beatles had gone from recording almost an entire album in one day, to showing up at EMI’s Abbey Road studio with songs half complete. But by the spring of 1964, needing to finish their 3rd album (which would accompany their first film), that’s just what they did with John’s “Any Time At All.” Coming up with an inventive instrumental bridge in the studio, and a cracking arrangement, the band, George Martin, and the EMI production staff turn in an

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01:15:49

142 - Magical Mystery Tour with Sean Gaillard (author...

Ranking The Beatles ·

2022/03/29

Riding a serious creative hot streak in 1967, Paul was inspired by the "mystery tour" trips of his younger years, a bus trip to an unknown destination, and developed an idea for a film version of that, starring the Beatles. Of course, being the psychedelic year of 1967, it'd be magical, a Magical Mystery Tour. In needing a theme song or fanfare for the project, not dissimilar to what the band needed for the Sgt. Pepper album a few months prior, the band put together a bombastic track, with rocking

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01:04:32

#143 - Sexy Sadie with musician Elroy Finn (ELROY,...

Ranking The Beatles ·

2022/03/22

It's no secret that John Lennon was often trying to fill the hole left his parents' absence. His need of a father figure had definite impacts on his relationships with men his senior and of perceived power, like Brian Epstein and George Martin. The same could be said about Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Once turned on to his teaching, John immediately dove into his teachings of transcendental meditation and was eager to study at his ashram. Stories (along with video and pictures) show John jockeying for

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01:50:45

#144 - Wild Honey Pie w/ Phoebe Lorde, host of...

Ranking The Beatles ·

2022/03/15

OK WE'RE FINALLY HERE!! Let's get down to it. During the creation of the White Album as tensions built among the ranks of the Beatles, the members often found themselves working on their own tracks in different studios, sometimes bringing in other members as needed, or working by themselves. While John and Ringo tended to a mix session for Revolution 9, which Paul hadn't been a part of, Paul was in another studio overseeing overdubs on his own "Mother Nature's Son." Following work on that tune, and

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01:51:03

#146 - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band & #145 -...

Ranking The Beatles ·

2022/03/08

After enjoying the anonymity of traveling incognito during the Beatles 1966 post-touring break, Paul came up with the idea of creating alter ego for The Beatles as a band, allowing them the freedom to do whatever they wanted, without the weight of the Beatles name attached. Once the project began with that idea in mind, he (along with Beatles' tour manager and assistant Mal Evans) wrote what would essentially be the intro, fanfare, and title track of the album of same name for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely

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01:08:28

#147 - I'm A Loser w/ musician & songwriter Hilarie...

Ranking The Beatles ·

2022/02/23

Even after conquering the world and experiencing the highest highs celebrity had maybe ever known, by summer 1964 John found himself at odds with the public persona he'd been living with. After a journalist told him he felt John was more revealing in his offbeat poetry and prose than in his music, and with a little help from their new friend Bob Dylan and the party supplies he turned them on to, John began looking inward more than he had previously on the band's 4th lp, Beatles for Sale. The album's

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01:05:06

#148 - Do You Want To Know A Secret? with Jim...

Ranking The Beatles ·

2022/02/16

Written in Hamburg at the end of 1962, and inspired by a very early memory of his mother, "Do You Want To Know A Secret?" is a John tune given to George (or maybe a John & Paul tune written specifically for George, depending on who's telling the story) to sing on their debut album. It's genetic make up is a bit all over there place...a dash of Disney, a pinch of Spanish soap opera dramatics, a hint of a band called The Stereos, and just a kiss of the doo-wah-doos. It makes for a perfectly

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