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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

01:08:28

#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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01:08:39

#149 - I'll Be Back with Kit O'Toole (Queen of...

Ranking The Beatles ·

2022/02/08

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

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01:02:32

#150 - Dizzy Miss Lizzy with guest Sanjay Karnik

Ranking The Beatles ·

2022/02/01

Guess who's back? It's your old pals at Ranking The Beatles! It's 2022, and we're back for Season 4, with new episodes and ready to rank more Beatles songs. We're starting this season off by looking at a track the boys recorded because Capitol Records wanted a couple of new songs to tack onto yet another cobbled together American release. So the boys reached back into their Cavern/Hamburg bag of tricks, and dusted off a few belters by (fellow New Orleanian) Larry Williams. They liked the end results

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01:08:23

Bonus: A Tribute to Michael Nesmith

Ranking The Beatles ·

2021/12/17

In honor of the late Michael Nesmith, we wanted to take the opportunity to talk about the man, his art, his amazing life journey, and the impact it's had on us. His career will always be somewhat intertwined in the Beatles story as a member of the Monkees, a tv show about a band, created in the image of the Beatles, so we think it's not too far a stretch to do this in the confines of a Beatles podcast. To say his music plays a big role in our lives would be saying the bare minimum. Our lives have

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01:11:11

#151 - Real Love with guest Jack Lawless (@BeatlesEarth)

Ranking The Beatles ·

2021/12/14

Written during his house-husband years in the late 1970s, John wrote "Real Love" as part of a planned musical about his and Yoko's life. Despite demoing it a number of times, he didn't record it for his Double Fantasy album in 1980. The song was given a new life though when it was chosen by the remaining Beatles as a song to work on for the Anthology project, eventually making it's home as the second "new" Beatles song associated with the landmark project. It's the more uptempo of the two, and some

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00:57:38

#152 - We Can Work It Out with Matt and Samer of...

Ranking The Beatles ·

2021/12/07

Imagine a world where your favorite band could release a new album, and a double-A side single with two songs not from that album on the same day. That's exactly what happened when The Beatles released Rubber Soul along side the double-A sided "We Can Work It Out/Day Tripper" single. Paul's side featured a relatively autobiographical tale of ongoing relationship woes with his long time girlfriend Jane Asher. Paul's verses are pleading with her to just understand and see things the way he sees them,

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01:09:49

#153 - Yellow Submarine with Scott Durbin and Kyle...

Ranking The Beatles ·

2021/11/30

It's hard to imagine any other band in history who could pull off recording an album that contains both a genre-defying acid journey like "Tomorrow Never Knows," and full-on children's song like "Yellow Submarine," but that's exactly what the Beatles pulled off on their 1966 album Revolver. In needing a customary Ringo track, Paul, with help from John (as well as Donovan), managed to come up with the perfect vehicle for Ringo's "jovial uncle" persona, while also creating a song that embodied the

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02:00:59

BONUS EPISODE - Get Backchat! A roundtable discussion...

Ranking The Beatles ·

2021/11/30

Y'ALL. HOW GOOD IS GET BACK? We're absolutely reeling over this masterpiece docuseries. There's so much to absorb, so much to learn, so much to love. It's going to take many, many, many more viewings to take it all in. We were delighted when our pod pals Tommy, Scotty and Becker from Blotto Beatles invited us to join them online for a conversation with more pod pals, Sam from Paul or Nothing, Allison and Erika of BC The Beatles, and Ethan of Fans on the Run at the end of release weekend to talk

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01:08:46

#154 - When I'm 64 with Debbie Davis (singer, Debbie...

Ranking The Beatles ·

2021/11/23

Not many bands in history could, within the space of a few days, go from recording the genre-bending "Strawberry Fields Forever" to the genre-specific "When I'm 64." Then again, not many bands are...The Beatles. Written by Paul at the ripe old age of FOURTEEN, and frequently utilized as a way to kill time when stage power blew at the Casbah or Cavern Club, this jazzy, music hall number may seem worlds apart from the preceding "Within You Without You," but on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band,

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01:28:01

#155 - I Want To Tell You CROSSOVER - El Vinilo Returns!

Ranking The Beatles ·

2021/11/16

By 1966, The Beatles, particular George Harrison, are growing in all sorts of ways. George is living out the most incredible life experiences, immersing himself in eastern religion and culture, and truly blossoming as a songwriter. For the first time, he gets three songs on the band's new album Revolver, and on "I Want To Tell You", he's letting the listener know that there's so much he's seen and learned that he wants to relay, only, he can't find the right way to do it. The frustration turns into

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01:32:17

#156 - Tell Me Why with Jude Southerland Kessler...

Ranking The Beatles ·

2021/11/09

By the time The Beatles were writing songs for their first film A Hard Day's Night, John was absolutely on fire. "Tell Me Why," a song he went on to consider as nothing more than a throwaway, was a song he seemed to be able to just toss off with no problem at this point in time, absolutely on top of his game. But what comes off as a perfect slice of early Beatle songcraft may actually have way more meaning than what it seems on the surface, and this meaning may be one that appears way more regularly

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01:35:40

#157 - For You Blue with Garry and Paul Abbott (hosts...

Ranking The Beatles ·

2021/10/26

After George's infamous walk-out during the Get Back/Let It Be session, his return was one of several conditions. He insisted the band move from Twickenham to their own Apple Studio, the idea of the big live show/tv program had to go, and he pulled almost all of his songs from consideration. After spending the winter holidays in the US with Bob Dylan and the Band and other musician pals, he was keenly aware that his songwriting had reached the same level of John and Paul. Songs like "Hear Me Lord"

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01:27:44

#158 - Only A Northern Song with Dr. Bob Hieronimus...

Ranking The Beatles ·

2021/10/19

*NOTE - Audio has been corrected! Apologies!* There's no shortage of songs in the Beatles' catalog in which the listener can project their own lives and stories into the lyrics. A song complaining about being on the short end of bad publishing deal may not be one of those songs, but that's just what "Only A Northern Song" is. George's first attempt at a track for Sgt. Pepper is a droney, somewhat monotone diatribe about the needlessness of writing lyrics with meaning, or singing a song in tune,

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01:51:44

#159 - Good Night with Jason Kruppa (author and host...

Ranking The Beatles ·

2021/10/12

After an unintended, Hurricane-induced hiatus, we're back in action! And what better way to get the party started back up than by talking about..."Good Night"? The Ringo-sung, John-penned closer to the White Album has always been somewhat of a polarizing song in the Beatles' cannon. Some love it, some loathe it. Yet, like so many moments in the band's catalog, there's so much more at play here. Where else could a song this saccharine fit than after the audio soundtrack of a revolution? Who else but

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01:25:51

#160 - I'm Happy Just To Dance With You with Chloe &...

Ranking The Beatles ·

2021/08/17

The Beatles needed a song for George Harrison to sing in their first film, A Hard Day’s Night. After producing his first self-composed song on the band’s previous album, the still-emerging writer didn’t have one of his own yet to offer up, so John and Paul wrote the uptempo “I’m Happy Just To Dance With You.” A many-chorded, clanging rocker with an incredibly propulsive rhythm guitar part, the song presents an interesting side of the band that’s even less threatening to parents and teenage

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01:21:41

#161 - I Don't Want To Spoil The Party with Dr....

Ranking The Beatles ·

2021/08/10

After 3 albums where he comes off as the alpha male/leader of the gang, John Lennon seems to be dealing with a crisis of confidence on the band’s fourth album, Beatles For Sale. For the first time, his self-penned songs seem to fully embrace his emotions in a way they hadn’t previously. The self-consciousness on display in “I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party” shows a guy who, while we may have seen him as the life of the party, maybe has been hiding his own fears behind the loud, confident, cocky

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01:27:47

#162 - Another Girl with Ken Womack (author, podcast...

Ranking The Beatles ·

2021/08/03

It's easy to overlook a song like "Another Girl," as it sits on an album (Help!) with multiple major Beatles classics, and is featured in a film (also Help!)that's usually given the short straw when discussing the Fabs celluloid catalog. However, for something tossed off on a holiday, then captured basically in one take, it's a really fun, breezy pop rock tune. Musically (and visually in the film), it's essentially the blueprint for what The Monkees would come out with: an easy-bop-along pop tune

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01:23:50

#163 - Chains with Susan Cowsill (singer, songwriter;...

Ranking The Beatles ·

2021/07/27

This 1963 album Please Please Me album track is a great example of the Beatles understanding the value in digging through record store racks for songs other bands weren't playing. "Chains," a Goffin/King song gave George Harrison a vocal spotlight on the Beatles' debut album, and a place for their impeccable three part harmonies to have a home. There's a great innocence to this track, as the band's love of R&B and girl groups shines through on this song. Maybe it's a lightweight track, but good

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01:30:33

#164 - Not A Second Time with Andrew Sandoval...

Ranking The Beatles ·

2021/07/20

This 1963 John song often gets overlooked these days as album filler. However, this With The Beatles track can be seen as one of the songs responsible for writers and critics viewing The Beatles as actual artists. In a 1963 article, critic William Mann called John and Paul the greatest British songwriters of the year, but also heaped praise upon the band's "lugubrious" music and "pandiatonic clusters, and "the Aeolian cadence of 'Not A Second Time.'" John viewed this as nonsense, but the result was

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152 results

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