Release Date: November 13, 2000
Track Listing:
- Love Me Do
- From Me To You
- She Loves You
- I Want To Hold Your Hand
- Can’t Buy Me Love
- A Hard Day’s Night
- I Feel Fine
- Eight Days A Week
- Ticket To Ride
- Help!
- Yesterday
- Day Tripper
- We Can Work It Out
- Paperback Writer
- Yellow Submarine
- Eleanor Rigby
- Penny Lane
- All You Need Is Love
- Hello, Goodbye
- Lady Madonna
- Hey Jude
- Get Back
- The Ballad Of John And Yoko
- Something
- Come Together
- Let It Be
- The Long And Winding Road
Awhile ago, I asked a friend what album do I start with for The Beatles. He told me go to this greatest hits compilation album. Let’s start filling some gaps in my pop-culture exposure.
Love Me Do
The harmonica is really good on this. My Beatles knowledge is limited, but it’s clear they were young and trying to figure all this music stuff out. Repetitive sure, but still catchy. Also, apparently the song is in the public domain in Europe?
From Me To You
To be young and in love.
She Loves You
I only knew this song cause of all the Yeah’s used. Still works, though.
I Want To Hold Your Hand
Absolutely nothing wrong about wanting to hold the hand of the person you like. Do you.
Can’t Buy Me Love
All I could think about is this quote on Big Brother from contestant Will Kirby:
Listen, money can’t buy you love, but money can buy you stuff and I LOVE STUFF!
A Hard Day’s Night
I dig that they are sounding a bit older at this point of the album. Also, I think I might’ve gotten into a fight once and this was playing for some reason. Not super relevant, but I wanted to share that.
I Feel Fine
It doesn’t sound as strong as the previous songs. It’s fine as a song, but it’s not as memorable.
Eight Days A Week
Just being a human on Earth, there was no way to avoid The Beatles. While I like other songs on this album more, I probably have the most false nostalgia for this song. I just have this itch that I listened to this song a bunch when I was younger, but if that’s true I have no idea how that was possible.
Ticket To Ride
First of all, the board game with the same name is really good!
Second of all, I know the song is about a lady who is choosing to leave them and not be with them in any capacity, but I like how the drums and the guitar come together. It has that sound that I would want to hear while I’m in a car. I like the tempo change at the end.
Help!
I mean, it’s Help! What more is there to say? The level of fame in the 60’s that they achieved would feel like a lot of pressure for anyone, so it’s interesting to hear them sing about it on this song in today’s era when anyone could achieve a micro-level of fame and notoriety. The nature of being a known person in the world has changed, but the effects still feel the same.
Yesterday
I wasn’t expecting a slower song. It’s a nice change of pace. It totally makes sense why this was covered so many times. Also, now I know all those songs were covering The Beatles!
Day Tripper
Drugs! I mean, when you sing lines like “Got a good reason for taking the easy way out” and “She’s a day tripper, a Sunday driver” it’s pretty clear. Although, now I understand where calling someone a Day Tripper comes from. See, filling in all these gaps!
We Can Work It Out
Hey, I am down for any and all art that explores the idea of love, but man it’s starting to tire me out hearing them sing about that over and over again. How the beat changes during the bridge is money, though. I want more of that.
Paperback Writer
Okay, that’s a bit freaky. As soon as I complain about hearing songs about love, they then change the subject to a writer. Yay for different topics!
Yellow Submarine
Oh these dudes were definitely high for this song.
Eleanor Rigby
Okay, now we talking. I’m liking the general tone and sonic change that is showing on this album. Shout-out to growth in music!
Penny Lane
Observation in music usually catches my ear. I appreciate them singing about a place. Oddly enough, I feel like I connect to this song more cause they are singing about an actual place, which makes them more relatable for me.
All You Need Is Love
That chorus is legendary. I bet if I had listened to their full discography, all this love singing probably wouldn’t bother me. Oh, well. I do agree that love is all people need.
Hello, Goodbye
Shout-out to the Lupe Fiasco song with the same title.
This song rules! I’m into the duality here and I think the instrumentation sounds more mature which pushes this song over the top.
Lady Madonna
I like Paul’s voice on this a lot. The sax is killer on this. They probably have more music like this, and I want that.
Hey Jude
I gotten so used to the short songs that when I saw how long Hey Jude was, I was surprised.
This song also rules. That outro is long as hell, though. I bet it killed during one of their shows.
Get Back
I knew that the group had a blues influence, and it’s nice to hear it in full on this song.
The Ballad of John And Yoko
I don’t have an opinion on their relationship, but I like this song! Let those lovebirds live!
Something
I’ve kinda come back around on the love thing. I like a blues-inspired love song like this.
Come Together
Dude, dude! Between Lennon singing Shoot Me, that chorus, and how quiet and eerie it gets, this might be my favorite Beatles song.
Let It Be
I’m over ballads, but having this be one of their last songs, it’s hard not to imagine they are singing about the group breaking up. It’s touching, personal, and effective.
The Long And Winding Road
Okay, having Let It Be and this song end their tenure together makes sense, but Let It Be is a much stronger and poignant way to close out their run. I get when and why this song is what it is, but Let It Be makes things sound more final for the band.
Overall Thoughts
Newsflash, The Beatles have some good songs!
I liked being able to go through the hits and hear how their sound and demeanor changed over their short run. I like being able to take a retrospective look at band or artist and see how things changed. The later songs I gravitated toward more, but it feels good to have a somewhat deeper appreciation for the band and how they impacted pop culture. This is why I started the Year of Discovery.
June – Allen’s Selection
