Ranking The Beatles

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 whats. The rest of the lads turn in a perfect accompaniment, all serving the song as it builds to a chorus that is the prototype for the lighters-aloft stadium anthem, designed to unite masses of people. I've experienced what I think may be the closest thing to nirvana singing along to this with Paul and 70,000 strangers, and it's amazing. But once you've done that, and you've heard the record a million times, that record doesn't really compare to that moment. In fact, I find myself not really connecting to the record in that way at all anymore, and more often than not, rarely choose to listen to it. It's a victim of overexposure in a way, but maybe that's just a me problem? To help me sort this out, we've called on our old friend James Campion, who literally wrote the book on the subject, Sing A Sad Song: The Emotional Currency of Hey Jude. James joins us to chat about subjective preference vs objective quality, Paul's ultimate flex, Ted Lasso parallels, and his upcoming book on Price. Follow along with all things JC at ⁠jamescampion.com⁠, and ⁠order a copy of his book⁠ while you're at it! What do you think about "Hey Jude" at 81? Too high? Too low? Have I totally lost the plot? Let us know in the comments on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠find us now on Bluesky!⁠⁠ Be sure to check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.rankingthebeatles.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and grab a Rank Your Own Beatles poster, some of our new Revolver-themed merch, a shirt, a jumper, whatever you like! And if you're digging what we do, don't forget to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Buy Us A Coffee⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rankingthebeatles/support

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 of some kind of wordplay I've never really understood. Musically, it's just so good though. The riff is classic rock guitar at it's core, held down by the most perfect subdued drumming from Ringo, and a jagged and refined yet unexpected solo from George. It's such an odd song, but it feels so good, you can't not love it. Joining us this week is New Orleans-based songwriter and producer Nicholas Dayton! Nick writes songs for Sesame Street, which is maybe the coolest job you could ever have. He's also done some acting, and been seen on 30 Rock and Nickoldeon. Add to that he plays bass in a 60s cover band AND an Elton John tribute? It's like a found a long lost sibling! Join us as we chat about hearing Big Bird sing a song you wrote, Lin-Manuel Miranda, 60s music, and so much more! What do you think about Dig A Pony at 82? Too high? Too low? Let us know in the comments on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ find us now on Bluesky! Be sure to check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.rankingthebeatles.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and grab a Rank Your Own Beatles poster, some of our new Revolver-themed merch, a shirt, a jumper, whatever you like! And if you're digging what we do, don't forget to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Buy Us A Coffee⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rankingthebeatles/support

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 taking the focus off the lyric. It's real "3 chords and the truth" stuff, and it's fantastic. Joining us this week is the legendary Steven Page! Steven made a name for himself as lead singer and co-founder of Barenaked Ladies before embarking on seriously busy solo career. His 2022 album Excelsior! is fantastic, as his the debut from his Canadian version of the Travelling Wilburys, the Trans-Canada Highwaymen. Check it all out at stevenpage.com What do you think of You've Got To Hide Your Love Away at #83? Too high? Too low? Let us know in the comments on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Be sure to check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.rankingthebeatles.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and grab a Rank Your Own Beatles poster, some of our new Revolver-themed merch, a shirt, a jumper, whatever you like! And if you're digging what we do, don't forget to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Buy Us A Coffee⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rankingthebeatles/support

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 catalogue. But that said, I've always loved it. George sings like he's really having fun with it, and whoever the hell is playing whatever on this song (it's all very murky and mysterious) is really killing it. But what's he singing about? George's shoe game was pretty solid after all. Maybe it's about stepping out with a new love? Maybe it's about leaving someone...or someone(s)? It's always a pleasure to welcome our old pal Sean Nelson back to RTB! Sean is best known as the singer of the band Harvey Danger, who's song "Flagpole Sitta" is one of the 90s defining songs, and the tip of the iceburg of a ton of great music in their catalogue that you'd do yourselves a favor to dig into (along with is own solo work). He's also now the host of his own podcast, The Wonder of It All, a deep dive in to the pros and cons of success. He's a great conversationalist so it only makes sense his podcast would be fantastic. Be sure to subscribe to it and tune in! What do you think of Old Brown Shoe at #84? Too high? Too low? Let us know in the comments on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Be sure to check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.rankingthebeatles.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and grab a Rank Your Own Beatles poster, some of our new Revolver-themed merch, a shirt, a jumper, whatever you like! And if you're digging what we do, don't forget to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Buy Us A Coffee⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rankingthebeatles/support