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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

01:42:43

#90* Now and Then Recorded Live at the Fest for...

Ranking The Beatles ·

2025/10/17

If you thought "One After 909" took a long time to gestate, it's nowhere NEAR the journey for "Now and Then." As we all know, it was one of the songs given to the Threetles by Yoko to complete, but it's sonic shortcomings couldn't be solved by the technology of the 90s. But then, seemingly out of nowhere during our ongoing tumultous time period, The Beatles did what The Beatles always do. They show up with something to make us all smile a little more and put a little

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01:15:11

#178 - Octopus' Garden with The Beths

Ranking The Beatles ·

2025/10/10

Originally released March 16, 2021Sometimes, all it takes to write a signature song is...quitting your band. During a sabbatical from the tense White Album sessions of 1968, a trip on Peter Sellers' boat gave Ringo the inspiration for "Octopus's Garden." With a little help from his friends, George in particular, he was able to put together something that's incredibly charming and fun, and the last example of the band all pulling together to support their beloved drummer;

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01:07:29

#72 - I've Just Seen A Face with guest Jack Petruzelli

Ranking The Beatles ·

2025/05/23

It's weird how many songs the Beatles have that aren't "hits" but are still universally loved. It seems everyone knows and loves "I've Just Seen A Face," despite never being a single and never appearing on the big compilations. Maybe it's just one that's found a way to sink its' teeth into anyone who's ever known the rush of new love. Maybe it's just one of those classic Paul melodies. Maybe it's the kind of country, kind of rock, kind of

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01:15:27

#73 - Blackbird with Allan Kozinn (author, The...

Ranking The Beatles ·

2025/05/09

McCartney's ability to craft the most capitvating, simple, and gorgeous melodies never fails to amaze. Conceived (we think/he tells us) as a song of encouragement and support for the civil rights movement, in full swing by 1968, "Blackbird" has become one of Paul's signature songs. It was the title of his poetry collection. It's one of the most tattoo'd Beatle lyrics and imagery. It's one of his best, and he knows it, and we know it. Joining us this week is Allan

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01:12:56

#74 - Julia with Jude Southerland Kessler

Ranking The Beatles ·

2025/04/23

One of the best things about the White Album is seeing so many different sides of each Beatle. To close out the first disc, we get a rare glimpse of the really vulnerable and sensitive John, a side we really haven't seen laid bare prior to this. It's a gorgeous track, lead by an almost hypnotic finger picking pattern, with a single note, bare lead vocal practically forcing you to listen to what he's singing about. Of course Julia was his mother, but is this just a song to/about her? I'd always

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01:33:50

#75 - Get Back with Robert Rodriguez & Jerry Hammack

Ranking The Beatles ·

2025/03/27

Ever seen an artist create a global smash hit from the moment of inception through each and every moment of rehearsal and refinement to recording, live premier, and continued real time performances 60 years later? With "Get Back," now you have. Pulling this out of the ether during the 1969 Twickenham sessions, this seedling turns into a fantastic performance by the lads, brought to its' full potential with assistance from Billy Preston. As it says in the ad for the single, it's

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01:31:07

#76 - Slow Down with guests Blotto Beatles

Ranking The Beatles ·

2025/02/20

Maybe it's just me, but I've got a real sweet spot for when, in the midst of all the chaos of exploding into the world's biggest band and becoming the greatest songwriters alive, the Beatles blow off steam by pulling out a song from their garage band days. "Slow Down," written by New Orleanian Larry Williams (protege to Little Richard and Lloyd Price) was recorded during the sessions for the A Hard Day's Night album, when John's early rock and roll voice is arguably at

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01:17:33

#77 - Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds with Jason Kruppa

Ranking The Beatles ·

2025/02/06

Did you guys know the Beatles did drugs? IT'S RIGHT THERE IN THE TITLE, MAN, LSDDDDDDDD! Inspired by a drawing done by his son Julian, John's "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is arguably the most psychedelic of Beatles psychedelic songs. But that trippiness overshadows brilliantly musical performances and inventive production. It's one of the high points of The Beatles and George Martin (and his team) being on the same wavelength, all pulling in the same direction. Lucy (and her

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01:00:27

#78 - Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) with...

Ranking The Beatles ·

2025/01/09

**Disclaimer: First show of the new year, and yeah, I know, I blew it, but I own up to it! The integrity of the list remains!**The fabs sure loved writing songs about their relationships on vacation. As we discussed one of Paul's recently ("For No One"), now it's John's turn. John's ode to infidelity and arson turned into one of the most sublime sonic moments in their catalogue, as well as one of the most influential. George's now iconic sitar part influenced so many other bands of the time to

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01:14:52

#79 - Taxman with Vinyl Benjy

Ranking The Beatles ·

2024/12/27

What do George Harrison and Big Worm from the movie Friday have in common? Messing with their money is like messing with their emotions. But Big Perm, I mean Big Worm, doesn't write banging rock tunes about it. George's "Taxman," the lead off track on Revolver, finds the guitarist squaring off against the greedy hand of the man for taking 98% (NINETY EIGHT) percent of the Beatles income, income they'd actually (unlike so many millionaires and billionaires) worked INCREDIBLY hard to achieve. It's a

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01:20:07

#80 - For No One with Duncan Driver

Ranking The Beatles ·

2024/12/12

Everyone knows that couple...everytime you go on holiday, they seem to get into a fight about SOMETHING. Then everyone's walking on eggshells, trying not to be awkward, not picking sides, just wanting to enjoy their nice vacation, but instead having to deal with someone else's drama. That seems to be a continuing theme with Paul McCartney and Jane Asher on vacation, only when those fights happen, Paul tends to wander off and pen classic songs, like "For No One." It's a strikingly mature and bold

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01:27:11

#81 Hey Jude with James Campion (author, "Sing A Sad...

Ranking The Beatles ·

2024/11/29

Note: PLS LISTEN BEFORE LIGHTING YOUR TORCHES AND GATHERING YOUR PITCHFORKS!Written as a way to show sympathy and encouragement to young Julian Lennon in the face of his parents' divorce, "Hey Jude" is obviously one of the high water marks of modern popular music. It's a brilliantly composed song with a powerhouse vocal from Paul, showcasing his ability to go from the sweetest, most emotive and sensitive places to an absolute beast, shredding his voice and screaming from the pits of his you know

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01:40:41

#82 - Dig A Pony with guest Nicholas Dayton...

Ranking The Beatles ·

2024/11/14

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

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01:18:11

#83 - You've Got To Hide Your Love Away with Steven Page

Ranking The Beatles ·

2024/10/31

Thousands of words have been written about Bob Dylan's influence on the Beatles. Despite all those words, one need look no further than "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" from the Help! album. Taking the folk trademark of heavily strummed 6 and 12 string acoustic and nylon string guitars, minimal instrumentation, the song finds John delivering (up to this point) one of his most introspective lyrics with a brilliantly intimate and weary vocal performance. The arrangement is mature and subtle, never

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01:48:11

#84 - Old Brown Shoe with guest Sean Nelson

Ranking The Beatles ·

2024/10/17

Upon rejoining the band following his departure in the Get Back sessions, George pulled his more serious material, most of which would end up on All Things Must Pass. Along with his blusey and lightweight "For You Blue," he also brought in a stomping little piano song he wrote during the sessions, "Old Brown Shoe." It wouldn't find a home for a few months until the band needed a b-side to "The Ballad of John & Yoko," and even then, it remains one of the more obscure songs in the Beatles

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01:17:21

#85 - One After 909 with BC The Beatles

Ranking The Beatles ·

2024/07/25

As a songwriter, I could never imagine at this point in my life, putting out song a wrote at 16 or 17. I don't ever want anyone to hear that. But then again, I'm not the Beatles, who were able to resurrect one of the earliest songs in their repertoire, from well before they were even The Beatles. Though the song was in their early setlists for a long time, it never found a home on a Beatles record, even after taking a shot at recording it in 1963. But when nostalgia reared it's head

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01:16:06

#86 - Baby's In Black with Andy Nicholes (co-host...

Ranking The Beatles ·

2024/07/12

Though the Lennon & McCartney songwriting team found it harder and harder to truly write songs together from scratch as they got busier and busier, with "Baby's In Black," they were able to get "nose-to-nose" and write something truly different from what was expected at the time. A 3/4 time waltz with a melancholy lyric (possibly inspired by Astrid Kirchherr's mourning for Stu Sutcliffe), the first song they recorded for the Beatles For Sale album was a far cry from

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01:29:29

#87 - You Never Give Me Your Money with Tom Hunyady...

Ranking The Beatles ·

2024/06/27

In many ways, Paul McCartney is the ultimate storyteller. He's got an unparalleled ability to craft characters and a situations that are so vivid, you can't easily tell when he's hiding his own feelings and life stories in them. So when we writes a song where he's totally upfront about a situation, no story, no characters, you can bet it's something important to him. And that's what he's doing with "You Never Give Me Your Money" from Abbey Road. Maybe the first

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01:25:58

#88 - No Reply with guest Jeff Slate (musician,...

Ranking The Beatles ·

2024/06/20

The journey of "No Reply" is a curious one. A song John seemed to not think much of, and originally offered to another Brian Epstein-managed artist, it also was possibly slated to be the final song recorded for A Hard Day's Night. If not for Ringo's tonsillitis, who knows what would've happened with it. After spending some time with it though, and working it into a bit more interesting arrangement, it turned out to be the lead off track to the band's 4th album, and a real

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01:10:41

#89 - Lady Madonna with Davis Rogan (pianist, host DJ...

Ranking The Beatles ·

2024/06/13

After spending a year and half out firmly planted in psychedelia, The Beatles returned to Earth at the beginning of 1968 with "Lady Madonna," a Paul-penned tune that pays tribute to the strength of women, a topic he mines throughout his career. The song also serves an homage to New Orleans' piano legend and rock and roll trail blazer Fats Domino, and marks maybe the first time the band created their own intentional throwback to the early rock and roll of their youth. It's a

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