Right OK just for a change I thought I would do another top 10 list and this one is on one of the biggest bands of all time, The Beatles who have had a ton of hits but they also have written some under-listened gems or songs that didn't quite get the some recognition as their most well known.
So this list will cover the top 10 most underrated songs by The Beatles (well in my opinion at least!) which will be split into two parts to avoid the posts getting too big.
Soooooo without any further ado let's get going!
10. One after 909 (from Let It Be)
Right so at No.10 is this little ditty off the Beatles last album, Let It Be (or last released anyway but Abbey Road was the last recorded album) which is a catchy gem and was actually a song that John and Paul had written years previously before the band had properly founded. The song was also even recorded back in 1963 and takes of it can be heard on The Beatles Anthology 1 CD but it was not released at the time because the band were unhappy with it so the version we know from Let It Be was in fact recorded at the Beatles rooftop gig in 1969.
The song itself has a catchy little chorus with John and Paul both singing "So move over once, move over twice. Come on, baby, don't be as cold as ice. She said she was travelling on the one after 909". And John sings the lyrics "I got my bag, run to the station, Railman says you've got the the wrong location, I got my bag, run right home. Then I find I've got the number wrong".
And it finishes nicely with John singing the opening line from "Danny Boy" just for fun to round off one of the Beatles chirpiest and most underrated tracks.
9. Flying (from Magical Mystery Tour)
At No.9 is this little instrumental track off Magical Mystery Tour which is a rarity in that its one of few instrumentals the band wrote and also one of the very few tracks written by all the band members.
The track itself is quite a mellow one which has a 12 bar blues feel to and it saw John playing the mellotron, while Ringo played percussion and maraccas and Paul played Bass and George as usual on guitar. The band all sing the harmonies together and it features some strange tape effects which were created by John and Ringo.
And its the track's mix of mellow blues and harmonies that help make this one of the Beatles most enjoyably different tracks from the norm and a rare welcome instrumental that deserves it place here at No.9.
8. She's a woman (B side to I Feel Fine single)
This is another not very well known Beatles song which featured on the B side of I Feel Fine and it really is a good one and it features a really good vocal performance from Paul as he sings in a higher register in the style of Little Richgard.
The song also even makes a discreet reference to sex or at least aspects of sexuality as in one line Paul sings regarding the woman in the song in question "Turn me on when I get lonely, people tell me she is only fooling, I know she isnt". And it has a good chorus also with Paul singing "She's a woman that understands, she's a woman who loves her man, my woman she don't give me no presents!". And the song finishes with Paul repeating the title "She's a woman, she's a woman" as it fades out at the end.
Its another good example of Paul's vocal range and also a great use of chorus harmonies that makes this worth putting on the list.
7. I want to tell you (from Revolver)
This George Harrison song comes in at No.7 and is from Revolver, which was based on experiences that George had while taking LSD and how it was difficult for him to write down thoughts and "transmit them".
The song is also quite unusual in its chord structure particularly as the song makes use of a chord known as E7b9 (E seventh flat 9th in otherwords!) when George sings the words "Its alright I'll make you maybe next time around". And George continues with his obscure sounding lyrics that suggest he was fighting with his internal conflicts at the time "But if I seem to act unkind, it only me not my mind, that is confusing things". And then he follows up more of this with the lyics "I want to tell you, I feel hung up and I don't know why. I don't mind I could wait forever, I've got time".
Paul later said in an interview that this was a song he was not very keen on from Revolver but in retrospect I think its a pretty underrated little track that says something a little different from the group and a bit about George at that time himself. That combined with the unusual chords it helps also makes this quite a unique sounding track in its own and worth a place on here.
6. The Inner Light (B side of Lady Madonna single)
At No.6 is another song of George's which is yet again a real departure from the Beatles normal sound it takes on George's influence in Indian classical music and was also based on the experiences of the band's learning transcendental meditation.
The song also features the use of traditional Indian instruments aswell as several classical Indian musicians and it was said to be the only Beatles song that was not recorded in Europe. Its has a very traditional Indian sound to its structure and George was inspired to write the song after meeting a Sansrikt scholar, Juan Mascaro at a debate on the Frost programme as they discussed the merits of transcendetal meditation.
George's lyrics are typically quite mysterious as they are in his other Indian influence tracks as he sings lines such as "Without going out of my door, I can know all the things on Earth, without looking out of my window, I could know the ways of Heaven".
Its a far from a typical sounding Beatles track as you can get it but that's also what makes it good as it really is one of George's most underrated tracks.
And that's it Part 1 and I will be back with Part 2 soon!
See you's in a bit.
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