Keno's Classic Rock n Roll Web Site

guitars.gif (1643 bytes)

Fans Album Reviews For:
THE BEATLES
(27 reviews sent in so far)

Abby Road (8) The White Album (4) Let It Be (2)
Sgt. Pepper's (3) Help! (1) With The Beatles (1)
A Hard Days Night (1) Revolver (4) Please Please Me (2)
  Rubber Soul (1)  

ABBEY ROAD
By Darius Henry
August 31, 2007
Rating: 10.0

I bought this album last year and I’ve been hooked on it ever since. Like I said, I got 5 Beatles albums and they’re all great. Everytime I listen to this album, I just can’t believe that this album was what was going to be their final album. Abbey Road may have been the Beatles’s final album, but it was a great way to end the whole thing before they broke up.

This album start off with a bang with “Come Together.” What a great song by John. I like it when John was actually saying, “Shoot Me,” though you can barely hear it through Paul’s bass. The funny thing is that I first heard of the Michael Jackson’s cover of the song. The next song turns out to be one of my favorite Beatles songs of all times. That song is “Something” by George Harrison. This is such a beautiful song for his then-wife, Patti Harrison. The next song, “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” is a song by Paul. I like the synthesizer on this song the most. I like the clip for this song in their movie, Let It Be. “Oh! Darling,” is another song by Paul, a soulful piece on this one. John said he should have sung this song. I wonder what would have happened if that was the case. Anyway, the next song, which is “Octopus’s Garden”, it’s is one of my favorite song on this album, written for Ringo and is certainly Ringo’s style. “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” is a great song by John, though I don’t know what the hell this song is about, I’m told that it’s about Yoko. This is one of the heaviest song The Beatles have ever done. It’s also their longest song (other than “Revolution 9”). “Here Comes the Sun” is another great song by George Harrison. A beautiful guitar piece that is similar to the Cream’s “Badge,” another song that feature George. I mean, like Keno says, it was a perfect song to play during a cold winter day. In fact, you can say this is George’s best album. “Because” is one of John’s song where the three members of the Beatles sang in harmony. I like this tune, though this tune always seems like it has a scary theme in it. I mean, the harmony itself sounds so haunted that it could be use in scary type of movies.

The next 8 songs, a.k.a. the Medley, would turns out to be the pinnacle of this album. 16 minutes of great music is all I have to say. Let me explain. The Medley begins with “You Never Give Me Your Money,” which is sung by Paul. The song begins slowly, than starting to pick up the pace. At the end you hear the guitar piece you had heard from “Here Comes the Sun.” The song ends with the cricket chirping into the next song, “Sun King.” This is another John’s song that the 3 Beatles sang in harmony, I love this beautiful piece. At the end, all of the sudden, they starting to sang in different languages. It sounded like they were giving you a message in another language. Then it ends going to the next, “Mean Mr. Mustard,” which it’s like the shortest song during the Medley. Great story telling by John. Than it went to the next song about Mr. Mustard's sister, “Polytheme Pam.”, the song rocks, thanks John! But it turns out to be his last song, as Paul will sing on the next 4 songs. The song goes into “She Came into the Bathroom’s Window.” Great song by Paul. Then “Golden Slumber.” This song is my least favorite song during the Medley, though a nice little poem. Then it went into the next song, “Carry That Weight,” one of those few songs that are sung by all four members of the Beatles. This song has the same rhythm as "You Never Give Me Your Money.” It’s end with a guitar piece that is similar to “Give Me Your Money”. “The End.” is possibly the best song in the Medley. A great drum solo by Ringo along with three different guitar solos by John, Paul, & George. The song and the Medley ended with a perfect message; "And, in the end, the love you take/ is equal to the love you make." But wait, there is one more song on this album; Paul’s “Her Majesty.” A 23-seconds song with just Paul on the acoustic guitar.

This album is a great “goodbye” record. Especially the Medley. I bet that was like, “If we going to break up, lets ended with a bang.” And they did just that. Bottom line, buy this record as soon as fast as you can.

To listen to some sound clips from ABBEY ROAD or to buy it click on either: Abbey Road (Remastered) or Abbey Road(Remastered)


ABBEY ROAD

By Bill Carson
April 1, 2005            
Rating: 10.0

Of The Beatles three masterpieces (Abbey Road, Revolver, and The White Album), this may very well be the best. The last 15 minutes or so of the album all flow together and are almost perfect, but before we get there there are quite a few gems. There are two of Harrison's best songs (Something and Here Comes The Sun), a light-hearted story about a murderer from Paul (Maxwell's Silver Hammer), and one of The Beatle's heaviest and longest songs "I Want You (She's So Heavy)". This album is without a doubt one of the very best albums of all time, and easily a 10/10.

ABBEY ROAD
By Will
December 30, 2004
Rating: 4.5

This is the most overrated Beatles album of all time.  No, it is not one of the greatest albums of all time, and it is definitely no masterpiece.  It's just a mess. Now don't get me wrong!  I don't have a problem with the Beatles. I think that Sgt. Pepper truly is one of the greatest rock albums of all time, and the White Album is a masterpiece too, but I have a hatred for this album and how much fans hype about it.   The album gets off to a good start with "Come Together" and "Something," the two #1 hit singles from the album.  However, songs like "Maxwell's Silver Hammer," "Octopus's Garden," and especially "Because" (yuck!), just bring this album way down!  I do like "Oh! Darling" and of course "Here Comes the Sun," but they aren't enough to help this piece of junk.  Well I mean, sure, the album isn't terrible, but after we're all very disappointed by "Because" the album becomes a quick-changing, disoriented series of songs, all under 2 minutes, all connected.  I was really not impressed with this. If the Beatles want to be like Pink Floyd and connect all their tracks together, they should have started doing that at track 1!  Do people fail to see this? This album is two different approaches to making an album on one DISC!  I do love "Mean Mr. Mustard," "Golden Slumbers" and especially "The End" with it's great drums! But the unfortunate thing is they're all apart of the same song on the album's flip side!  ABBEY ROAD is not a good effort.
Now I'm pretty sure that this review won't get posted since I'm blaspheming against Abbey Road.  But I think that Revolver and Sgt. Pepper are better than this!  If you want to start yourself out with a true Beatles classic, don't let anyone fool you.  They're are plenty of greats by this talented band.  This isn't one of them.


ABBEY ROAD
By Jeremy
September 13, 2004
Rating: 10.0

Many people think that Revolver or Sgt. Pepper are the best Beatles' album, even the best album, period, but many people overlook the pure wonder of Abbey Road. It was the last album the Beatles ever recorded together as a band, and ironically, the best. Never before had they achieved such harmony, such magic, and such musical artistry and maturity than on this album. In other words, the Beatles had achieved the Zen of rock and roll and put it on this album. No band had before or since or ever will be able to do that again. How could an album which contains a 15-minute sequence of songs that all fit together perfectly and end an album - and a bands musical career, as magnificent as the sequene on side B, not be the greatest album of all time? Of course side A is just as wonderful. Starting out with a kick is John Lennon's immortal classic "Come Together", followed by George Harrison's beautiful poetic ode "Something", and then Paul McCartney's humorous murder story "Maxwell's Silver Hammer". But the fun doesn't stop there. Later in the album we find McCartney's heartbroken beg for forgiveness "Oh! Darling" and Lennon's heartsick cry for love in "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" which is one of their longest songs. My favorite thing about this song is the instrumental at the end, where it builds up and becomes more and more intense until it abruptly ends and cuts to Harrison's optimistic poem in which he wrote in Clapton's garden, "Here Comes the Sun", which is one of the greatest Beatles songs ever. The two lesser songs of the album are not to be held in any low regard as well, "Octopus's Garden" and "Because". The first being a fun Ringo song, and the latter being their best harmony sung. So in conclusion, Abbey Road was everything that rock and roll could be, it was its highest peak, and, as fate would happen, resulted in the end of the Beatles. Therefore, after Abbey Road, rock and roll could only get worse...and it did.


ABBEY ROAD
By Chris
August 11, 2004
Rating: 9.5

The best Beatles album in my opinion, and also one of the best rock albums ever made. It was released in 1969 and was the last album that the Beatles worked on before they broke up. Let it Be and Hey Jude were released after the band broke up.
The album starts out with "Come Together", which has a really cool drum beat to it, its one of my favorite songs to play on the drums. Then comes "Something" one of the only songs on the album to be written by George Harrison. Next comes "Maxwell Silver Hammer" and comical song about a killer named Maxwell. "Oh Darling" is after that. The vocals by Paul on this track are outstanding. Then comes one of the only songs ever to be written by Ringo Starr, "Octopus's Garden", its not a bad song, but its not the best on the album either. "I Want You" is follows and is a great song which closes the first side of the album.

The B-Side of Abbey Road is said to be the B-side ever to be recorded, and I agree. Its starts with Harrison's "Here Comes the Sun", truly a classic. Then comes the slow moving "Because" with great harmony throughout the whole song. "You Never give Me Your Money" is one of my favorite songs to play on the piano. This song leads into "Sun King" which some of the lyrics are spoken in Italian, this leads into "Mean Mr. Musturd", about a minute song, then the next song about his sister Pam, "Polythene Pam". That leads into "She came in through the Bathroom Window", this has a pause when it ends. "Golden Slumbers" a beautiful lullaby, leads into "Carry that Weight" which has some melody from "You Never Give Me Your Money" in it. Then the classic "The End" starts and has Ringo's one and only drum solo, and not a bad one at that. Then "Her Majesty" comes in, a 20 second song. Most of the songs on the B-side are said to be all pieced together from bits of songs that The Beatles never finished. Most of the arranging was said to be done by Paul.

Abbey Road is a masterpiece and is one of the best albums ever recorded in Rock history.


ABBEY ROAD
By JT
March 10, 2004
Rating: 10.0

This was the last time The Beatles went into the studio together. Billy Preston plays some great organ with them. The first side of the album is hit after hit starting with the quintessential John Lennon bluesy song, "Come Together" using some Chuck Berry lyrics and great guitar solos by John in the end. "Something" is George Harrison's signature tune with one of his best ever solos and a fantastic melody line. I just love the bridge where the strings go off a bit, and Preston's organ is a nice touch. One of the greatest ballads ever in history. "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" includes some humorous lyrics by Paul, and "Oh Darling!" is Paul's best singing ever with great piano playing! He just belts it out on this one. Ringo even wrote a country flavored song for this album, "Octopus's Garden". A kind of sing along song, he pulls it off well and George takes an effective solo. "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" is one of my favorites here with a great melody line and incendiary guitar work during the chorus. Fantastic blues-like song! "Here Comes the Sun" is a wonderful acoustic ballad by George. He sings so purely and the organ really fills in the song. "Because" includes such beautiful harmonies sung by John, Paul, and George.
The next part of the album includes nine interconnected songs starting with a great Paul song, "You Never Give Me You Money". Starting off slow with a beautiful melody line and then getting more rocking minute by minute until it dies down into "Sun King" with some great harmonies. Then we start climbing up with John's "Mean Mr. Mustard" with some funny humorous lyrics, and the rocking "Polythene Pam". George interconnects the latter into a great Paul song, "She Came In Through the Bathroom Window". Paul sings great in this one while George plays some great in-between work. Then the album dies down for a beautiful "Golden Slumbers" and "Carry That Weight" which refers back to "You Never Give Me Your Money". Then There is the classic "The End" which includes a great drum solo by Ringo, and great guitar interplay between Paul, George, and John in that order three times. Then we have Billy Preston playing soft piano while the three guitarists then sing some wonderful harmonies for a shattering climax. The Beatles best album and one of the greatest albums in rock 'n roll history.


ABBEY ROAD
By Net Pimp
January 28. 2001
Rating: 9.0

People seem to love this album and it's popular with fans and critics alike. I love it as well, but it's not a five-star record in my opinion. Let me explain. "Come Together" is a smoky, dark and dingy track with the high notes of George's slide guitar style and menacing electric piano by Paul. John's lyrics are cutting edge and hip. This would've fit nicely on the White Album "Something" is a great love song, yet I actually think it should've been more simple (like on George's demo from Anthology 3), but it gets grandiose treatment. Overproduced, it's given a schmaltz touch with the strings. Talk about the closest they came to MOR (middle of the road pop).  "Maxwell's Silver Hammer"? Pretty damn fruity I must say. Considering Paul had the others work three days, three versions of this insulting throwaway is weird. Has some good parts, but the synth part makes it sound even dumber. "Oh! Darling" is a slow 50s rocker song. Yet, it's not tough or gritty. The sugary performance helped by production doesn't do much to hurt it however. A fine song, but Paul seemed to lack that screamer's touch ever since the last rip roarer "I'm Down" in 1965. "Octopus's Garden" is a minor, yet enjoyable song by Ringo. Pretty happy-go-lucky but still, a poor man's "Yellow Submarine." Fine country guitar too. "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" is heavy indeed. It goes into jazzy and bluesy areas, making it a misunderstood landmark. The guitar riff goes on forever, and the drums and bass just freak out. Plus, there's that wild organ by Billy Preston. "Here Comes the Sun" is another one of George's finest, yet the sound is lushly decked with synths and flutes. Pretty good, but a bit overproduced again. "You Never Give Me Your Money" gets fine production, and deserves it. A superb track with three parts: a slow piano intro, a boogie section and the arpeggio fadeout. The arpeggio is gorgeous and the song would've been great if we got to hear more fine playing and harmonies during the fadeout. "Sun King" begins the 1st of 2 medleys, but seems nice at first, until the silly lyrics and harmonies. It ties into "Mean Mr. Mustard" a fine, nasty song, that leads into the rollicking "Polythene Pam" with awesome guitar soloing, a good riff and catchy lyrics. Then, we get "She Came in Through the Bathroom Window" a complex song with cool harmonies and twangy guitar. After that, the final medley, begins with another schmaltzy, overproduced song, "Golden Slumbers." Ahhh, but this time it works for such a majestic ballad. The song is a weeping lullaby-like thing that segues into the sing-along "Carry That Weight" that incorporates the riff from "You Never" then the arpeggio closes it out. This leads to "The End". It has a rocking beginning, then launches into Ringo's only drum solo (one he was reluctant to do). Soon, the guitar riff comes in with a chorus of "Love you!" With some awesome guitar work that trades solos between Paul, George and John. After all that, you'll notice the piano comes in off-key but is sped up to mask the mistake. Not getting past me obviously. Then comes their prophetic line, you know, and it ends in another crescendo of orchestra. After 20 seconds of silence comes a 23 second acoustic ditty by Paul, "Her Majesty" thrown in as an afterthought and cut off at the end. The opening chord was the final one in "Mean Mr. Mustard" since "Her Majesty" was going to be placed after it and then was taken off the playback laquer onto the end with the final chord intact. The final chord of "Her Majesty" was left cut out at the beginning of "Polythene Pam." A swan song indeed, even if Let it Be let it close out on bitter terms as an epitaph from the leftover Get Back sessions.

ABBEY ROAD
By FujiSaki
August 6, 2000
Rating: 9.0

Great album by the Beatles. However, I would only rate it their 3rd best behind Sergeant Pepper and the White Album. Still, 3rd best by the Beatles ain't bad. "Come Together", the opener, is by far the best song on the album and one of the best in the entire Beatles catalog amazing lyrics and a very interesting beat. This album is George Harrison's best performance with the Beatles. "Here Comes the Sun" and "Something" are both truly great songs and the next best on the album. "Octopus's Garden" aka "Yellow Submarine" part II is actually pretty good, considering it was written by Ringo. "Oh Darling" and "Because", are more great tunes from Lennon and McCartney really shines with the arrangement on the second half of the album, best arrangement and production since Sgt. Pepper and excellent flow between the songs. The bad songs here are "I Want You (She's So Heavy)", which is just too long, although it does lead in perfectly to "Here Comes the Sun", and "Her Majesty", which should have been omitted. All and all, great album.

To listen to some sound clips from ABBEY ROAD or to buy it click on either: Abbey Road (Remastered) Buy.com or Abbey Road(Remastered - CC Music)

HELP!

By Alex Short
May14, 2003
Rating: 7.5

Released on 6th August 1965, Help! Was the Beatles fifth UK studio album. Like their third album A Hard Days Night, it was also a successful film. Help! was really the bands first drugs album. Apparently, scenes from the movie had to be scrapped due to the Beatles getting themselves into fits of uncontrollable laughter.

The first seven of the fourteen songs on this record are taken from the movie. The album kicks off with the films title track “Help!” It’s a fast paced number written and sung by John. Supposedly about how unhappy he was at the time. He would later refer to this time as his “Fat Elvis Period” It’s an excellent song and the backing from Paul and George works well. This is followed by a song written by Paul, called “The Night Before” It’s a keyboard driven pop song and is fairly enjoyable, yet McCartney’s voice sounds ragged and harsh. Next up is a John Lennon atmospheric acoustic ballad titled “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away” The song is rumoured to be about their manager Brian Epstein’s sexuality. It’s an enjoyable song and the recorder at the end adds a nice touch. The fourth song on the album is the first of two numbers to be written and sung by George Harrison. “I Need You” is a real gem of a song features a prominent guitar passage with one of the first examples of a guitar pedal being used on a record. Next up is Paul McCartney’s “Another Girl”. The song bounces along and Paul himself plays lead guitar. The last two songs to be taken from the film are “Your Going To Loose That Girl” and “Ticket To Ride”. The first is a personal favourite of mine. It has a great chord sequence and John’s falsetto vocal really makes the song. “Ticket To Ride” according to John, was the first heavy metal song. This you could dispute, but it has a crashing drums and a heavy droning guitar riff. The song drags you along with it. When released as a single, it became the group’s seventh UK number one. Side two of the vinyl release opens with a Ringo sung cover version called “Act Naturally”. Although George Harrison adds some plucky country flavoured guitar, Ringos off key singing renders the song to filler material. Side two continues on a downward spiral with a number written and sung by John, called “It’s Only Love” Weak lyrically and poorly performed, it is an uneventful, dull love song. Next up comes Harrison’s second and last offering. “You Like Me Too Much” is bland song about a girl who will never leave her boyfriend. Track number eleven is a child like sing along written by Paul called “Tell Me What You See”. It’s filler at best. This is followed by another Paul song called “I’ve Just Seen A Face”. It is a catchy acoustic song, sung well by Paul. This is followed up by the most covered song of all time, “Yesterday”. The beautiful orchestral arrangement, coupled with Paul’s delicate guitar and vocals makes this song one of the finest ballads of its time. The album, fittingly, then closes with a rock’n’roll cover version, belted out by John called “Dizzy Miss Lizzy” It’s not great, but John Lennon’s enthusiastic gasps of “Ohhhs” and “Ahhhs” keeps you entertained.

So how good is this album? Well, in places it’s fantastic. It has some of John and Paul’s finest songs, but too many weak songs ruin the overall affect.

To listen to some sound clips from HELP! or to buy it, click on: Help!

Rubber Soul
By Darius Henry
March 31, 2006 (resubmitted on August 16, 2009 with changes)
Rating: 10.0

Wow, I mean, what can I say about this album. I have tons of albums collection and this album is my second favorite album of all time (closely behind Michael Jackson’s Thriller). To me, all the songs on Rubber Soul are great. I'm from the beginning to the end, it's so great that I can play this 24/7 nonstop and I won't even get bored off of it.

This album comes off strong with “Drive My Car”. Plus excellent vocal from John and Paul (with a little help from George). I love the guitar work by Paul. It’s very catchy that I can actually dance to this song. Plus I love the double meaning to this song, which is about sex. But the next song is personally one of my favorite The Beatles songs of all time, “Norwegian Wood”. George on sitar is great. But that’s just one of many things that make this song great. I thought it is one of the best songs John Lennon have ever written and sang in. Plus excellent harmony with Paul. Paul's “You Won't See Me” is great but it didn’t really move me. Still a great song about his lover. But 'Nowhere Man' is a great song. With John, Paul, and George on vocal harmony, that what make this song great. What a great mellow song. George’s songwriting is excellent with his song, “Think for Yourself”. It’s a great upbeat song. That fuzz Bass by Paul got me moving. “The Word” is the song that not everybody likes, but other than “Norwegian Wood”, this is my favorite song on the album. Another three part harmony by you knows who. Man, do I love the organ by George Martin. 'Michelle' is a great song by Paul. It’s a great song when he is singing partially in French. Nice mellow song.

“What's Goes On” is another great song. This time sang by Ringo. Ringo is not a bad musician at all and he proves it in this song. What people don’t know is that Ringo wrote part of this song, which makes it better. “Girl” is another great song. But they claim that is a drug song about marijuana. I don't believe it. Still great vocal performance, especially the background vocals. “I'm Looking Through You” is the best song by Paul in this album It’s another song about his then-girlfreind. Paul's vocal on this one is great. And let's not forget about Ringo on Organ. He did a great job. “In My Life” is an excellent song, but I don’t feel it’s one of the Beatles’ best. But I still believe that it's a great song. Great intro plus a Keyboard solo from George Martin. I always thought it was Harpsichord but I guess wrong. This is one of the best lyrical song Lennon has ever done. “Wait” is a great song. Sang by John. Paul did have a great solo vocal work in this song. “If I Needed Someone” is another great song by George. It was influenced by the Byrds. I love the guitar work on here. I. I wonder why back then, they did not showing George some love on his writing. But another one of my favorite is the last song, “Run for your Life”. Way to go John. Better keep your girl in check before she loves you for another man. Plus great guitar riff too.

Anyway like I say, one of the best albums I ever listen. As a matter of fact I am going to listen to it now.

To listen to some soundclips from Rubber Soul or to purchase it, click on: Rubber Soul (Remastered Buy.com) or Rubber Soul (Remastered)


PLEASE PLEASE ME

By T.H.
December 12, 2003
Rating: 8.5

The Beatles were under heavy pressure to deliver music, they needed a single every 3 months, and an album every 6 months. That is proabally the reason that 10 of the 14 songs on the album were recorded in 1 day, 12 hours to be exact.

"I Saw Her Standing There" was the first of the songs recorded, and the first indication that Paul could rock after all. "Misery" was the first Beatle song to be covered, it was covered by a unknown 1963 female singer. "Boys", Ringo had a shaky range so its no surprise that this song has less than 5 notes in it.

"Ask Me Why", the B-Side Of "Please Please Me", their first #1. "Love Me Do" was there first single, and there first top 20 hit in Britain (to be fair, it was an American #1). "P.S. I Love You", is one of Paul's most stirring ballads, and should be noted.

"Do You Know A Secret", was (yes its true), inspired by Snow White And The Seven Dwarf's "I'm Whishing", one of Julia Lennon's favorite songs. "Twist And Shout" was the last song of the night and by the time they were finished John's vocals were strained!

A great album and certainly sets the tone for what was to come from the worlds greatest rock band.


Please Please Me
By Alex Short
May14, 2003
Rating: 8.0

Released on March 22nd 1963, The Beatles debut album runs at a frantic pace. The 14 songs ranging from fast rock ‘n’ roll to slow slushy ballads.

The album starts off with a song written and sung by Paul called “I Saw Her Standing There”. The playing isn’t perfect, but it just flows so smoothly and the “1, 2, 3, 4” belted introduction by Paul makes for a perfect start. It’s fast and very catchy. This is followed by a John Lennon penned ballad called “Misery” It’s played at a moderate tempo and is very simple, like many of The Beatles early B – Sides were. Lyrically it's weak, but at the same time, it’s the feel of the record and the sense of naively you pick up in the lyrics which makes it. “Anna (Go To Him)” and “Chains” are to slow cover versions, the first is sung by John and George sings the second. They gave George Harrison particular songs, which didn’t require him to sing to many high notes. He didn’t have a great vocal range and he doesn’t do this song much credit. The harmonica by John is nice though. Next up is another cover version called “Boys” This time Ringo sings it. Ringo has a terrible voice, but this song is fantastic. It’s joyous song about the thrill of kissing boys. Its sung from a girls perspective, which makes it seem odd being sung by a male. The Rolling Stones reportedly used to cover it, changing the song title to “Girls” The next four songs are McCartney/Lennon originals. I don’t know why they are not Lennon/McCartney. “Ask Me Why” is a slow ballad sung by John. It has well thought out lyrics but it’s not a favorite of mine. This is followed by “Please Please Me”,  their first top ten hit, written by Lennon about his passion for oral sex. The main lyric goes “Please Please Me, Oh Yeah. Like I Please You” This meant nothing to me at first, until I read about the songs subject matter in a music magazine. The tune itself is very distinct and it’s instantly recognizable as a Beatles classic. “Love Me Do” is up next and it became the first Beatles single when released in October 1962. The songs structure was peculiar in 1962 and it adds to the songs charm. Written and sung by Paul, the bass is very prominent and most of the song makes do with just two chords. Very uncommon in the early 1960’s. “Baby It’s You” is another of the six cover versions on this record. It is a slow soul style ballad sung by John. “Do You Want To Know A Secret” is the second and last song on the record to feature youngest Beatle George on lead vocals. The song stutters along and sounds very amateurish. “A Taste Of Honey” follows and it’s awful. Paul takes up the lead vocals and leads the others through a turgid mess of a song. This slow paced number has weak lyrics and I fail to see how the other three Beatles managed to keep straight faces during the recording of it. “There's A Place” is considered to be the strongest self-written song on the album. This John Lennon original with its personal lyrics, really takes you to the place he’s talking about. It is a song about escapism. Something he wanted to do more of when Beatle Mania really kicked in. The closing number on the album, is a real rave up of a cover. “Twist And Shout” was originally recorded by the Isley Brothers and John just belts it out.

It was a perfect ending to a promising debut album by the group of Liverpool lads who would soon go on to concur America and the rest of the World.

To listen to some sound clips from PLEASE PLEASE ME or to buy it, click on: Please Please Me


SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND

By Darius Henry
November 30, 2006
Rating: 10.0

So far I got five classic Beatles albums, Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper’s, White Album, & Abbey Road. Many people think Sgt. Pepper is the greatest album ever, but to me it as good as the other albums I listed. Compare to the other four; I’m not as crazy about it as some people are. I don’t know why, maybe because I wasn’t around at the time it was release. Whatever the reason, I still can’t deny on how great this album is.

This album starts of with the title cut. Great guitar playing, and great trumpet playing. Makes you think that a marching band was playing this. Then it goes into ‘With a Little Help from my Friends’, a great song Paul and John wrote. I like the fact that Ringo sings this. “Lucy in the Sky with Diamond” is a great song by John. This is one of the perfect examples of a psychedelic music. Crazy lyrics and guitar that make you goes on a trip. It is not about LSD, though. I like Paul's “Getting Better.” I like how Paul sings this song with John saying ‘It can’t get no worse.’ Unfortunately for the Beatles, it did. “Fixing A Hole” is another song by Paul. I don’t like this song this much. “She’s Leaving Home” is another great song by Paul with John singing backup. I like the piano at the beginning and the string playing throughout the song. “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite” is a good song by John who was influenced by a circus poster. But it sound like a marching band playing this one. I can even imagine Spongebob Squarepant singing this song. 'Within You Without You' is an Indian like song by George. This is the most underrated song on this album. I actually like this song better then the next song by Paul, 'When I’m Sixty-Four'. I do like this song, but it seem it had like 1920’s music, music I know nothing about. The next song, “Lovely Rita,” another song by Paul, is one of my favorite songs on here. Great music on this one. I like how Paul sang this one.   “Good Morning Good Morning,” is a song by John. I like this song very much especially the guitar solo by Paul. Then it went to a reprise of the title cut, sang by John, Paul, and George. Man, what a great guitar playing. The very last song is “A Day in the Life.” The best song on here by John and Paul. I love the lyric and I love the music.

Damn what a great album. But like I said, I’m not all crazy about it. I noticed that most of the song on here is by Paul and he is my least favorite member of The Beatles. But man, it is on my top 5 best Beatles album ever. What a great psychedelic adventure with this album.


SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND
By Duce Morgan
March 24, 2005
Rating:10.0

Sgt. Peppers Lonley Hearts Club Band changed what a rock n' roll album could be. Its release is a classic moment in the history of rock. It brought a new creative essence to already thriving industry.

The Beach Boys had just released Brian Wilsons LSD masterpiece, Pet Sounds. The Beatles needed a response. Tired of the image in which the media percieved them, they brillintly decide to develope alter egos, the four look alikes gracing the cover.   With these new egos, the fab four concocted a humorous, brilliant and musicaly rich album. From Ringo's humble imperfection, "With a Little Help from my Friends", to the drug riddled "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", to the delicate, "Day in a Life", Sgt Peppers is musicanship and personaltiy at its very best. The Beatles always added more life to a dull world. 


SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND
By walrus
August 1, 2002
Rating: 10.0

This album can be considered as the best rock album of the 60's, far much better than any other albums ever produced. They poured in this album all the studio recording techniques that they have learned throughout their careers, thus, making then precedent for other artists. I just love how they open the act with their rocking title track. They made sound like a live performance, complete with laughters and applauses. I also love the transition of songs, making them almost seamless more dramatic, like the closing tracks "Sgt. Pepper's...(reprise)/A Day In A Life." I also like George's "Within You, Without You." It's so mystical sounding and the lyrics, though hard to comprehend for others, is very meaningful. I also loved "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds"& "Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite." The electronic sounds and overall ambience just thrill me. I just love it and no other words can describe this album, by The Beatles, for the rock world.

To listen to some sound clips from SGT. PEPPERS' LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND or to buy it click on: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (CC Music) or Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Remastered - Buy.com)


WITH THE BEATLES

By Alex Short
January 19, 2001
Rating: 8.5

When this album came out in December 1963, The Beatles were the biggest group around, and this record only went and proved that point. It kicks off with "It Wont Be Long", a real pop classic this one. Just listen to the "Yeah Yeah" backing by Paul and George. Then though, comes John Lennons Smokey Robinson impersonation with "All I've Got To Do". It has a nice feel, but just isn't enjoyable enough. That cannot be said for Pauls "All My Loving". With its swinging beat and country and western guitar by George, this is perhaps my favorite. This album also has George's first writing effort. "Don't Bother Me was written by an un well George in his hotel room. It has an odd beat which keeps it interesting, but it wears thin after a while. As does "Little Child", a short and not to sweet song, but it has some nice harp from John. "I Wanna Be Your Man", a weakly performed song (unlike The Rolling Stones cover) is Ringo's vocal effort, and he does the song little justice. The self penned highlight on this album is "Not A Second Time". With its near perfect lyrics, (John obviously thought about this one) and its nice feel, this certainly is a grand song. There are a few weak cover tunes on this album. Notably "Till There Was You". Taken from the play The Music Man, this was obviously Pauls project. His singings not bad though. "Devil In Her Heart" is Georges second helping on this album, and its not too good. "You Really Got A Hold On Me", on the other hand isn't too bad. This time its a genuine Smokey Robinson song, sung well by John, and the overall performance is good. Now, like on Please Please Me, the cover highlight is the final song. "Money" is a rip roaring rocker performs with real conviction from John. Just listen to his singing. The guitars are also fab. So as you can see from my review. There are more not so good songs on this one, then there are on their first album. But saying that, With The Beatles is still great and worth getting.

To listen to some soundclips from WITH THE BEATLES or to purchase it click on: With the Beatles (Remastered)

A HARD DAY'S NIGHT
By Alex Short
January 7, 2001
Rating: 9.5

Surely this has to be the finest pop record done by the Beatles? It is! From the crash of the first chord on the album title track to the playfulness of the closing track, this is the Beatles at their best. What this album has over other pre Sgt. Pepper albums is that it doesn't contain one bad song. Please Please Me has 'A Taste of Honey', With the Beatles has 'I Wanna Be Your Man', and so on. No, this is just a great album. Pop brilliance can't be captured better than in songs like 'I should of known better', 'If I Fell '(Johns best ballad) 'Cant Buy Me Love' and 'You Can't Do That'. All of these are found on this stunning album. Also this album was the first and only album to have all Lennon/McCartney song credits. Their next offering, although a fine album, Beatles For Sale wasn't a patch on this. It's a must album.

To listen to some soundclips from A Hard Day's Night, or to purchase it, click on: A Hard Day's Night [US]  or A Hard Day's Night [UK]

 

THE BEATLES (aka THE WHITE ALBUM)
by Devilsadvocate
October 9, 2013
Rating 9.0

Here is my song-by-song assessment of the White Album.

"Back in the USSR": Excellent song, strong beginning to the album; "Dear Prudence": I like it a lot; "Glass Onion": I ended up voting for this one in the poll for favorite song off the album; "Obladi Oblada": Filler; "Wild Honey Pie": Filler; "Bungalow Bill": I really like this one! "While My Guitar Gently Weeps": One of the bright highlights of this album! "Happiness Is A Warm Gun": Excellent song! "Martha My Dear": Meh! "I'm so Tired": Not one of the stronger songs, but I like it; "Blackbird": Meh! "Piggies": Excellent! "Rocky Raccoon": Excellent! "Don't Pass Me By": I used to hate it, now I don't mind it; "Why Don't We Do It In The Road: Filler; "I Will": Not bad; "Julia": Lovely, heart-felt song: "Birthday": I like it; "Mother Nature's Son": Meh! "Everybody's Got Something Io Hide... Monkey": I like it; "Sexy Sadie": Excellent; "Helter Skelter": Excellent; "Long Long Long": I like it; "Revolution 1": Excellent; "Honey Pie": Meh! "Savoy Truffle": I like it; "Cry Baby Cry": One of the highlights of the album for me; "Revolution 9": Self-indulgent Yoko mish-mash; ultimate filler; "Good Night": Filler. 

THE WHITE ALBUM
By Darius Henry

July 15, 2007
Rating: 9.5

The White Album is runs about 93 minutes, that right, an hours and a half of great Rock music. There are 30 songs on this double album, with 17 songs on CD 1 and 13 songs on CD 2. Most of them are great song. Unfortunately, there are only few songs that I didn’t feel at all. Since this album has 30 songs on it, let me rate them one by one.

“Back in the USSR” 9.5, I’d never felt the song as ten, though it’s a great song by Paul; “Dear Prudence” deserve a 10 because the music sound perfect, thanks to John; “Glass Onion” 8, A good song at best by John; “Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da” 6.5, a song that I don’t like that much by Paul; “Wild Honey Pie” 8.5, I like this weird sound by Paul; “Bungalow Bill” deserve a 9 at best, cool song by John, I like how Yoko sang backup; “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” is a great song by George, love the guitar solo by Eric Clapton, an excellent 10; “Happiness is a Warm Gun” deserve a 9.5, I love this song by John; “Martha My Dear” I really love this song by Paul, one of my favorite from this album. This song has that piano pop in it. It’s a perfect 10; “I’m So Tired” is a great song by John, I can feel the pain, not able to sleep in night, I’ll give it a 9.5; “Blackbird” is one of those boring song by Paul, just him on the acoustic I believe, but it about my fellow African-Americans in the south having trouble in life, I’ll give it an 8.5; “Piggies” is one of the weakest song by George, the song seem pointless, I’ll give it a 6 at its best; “Rocky Raccoon” is a cool song to sing along by Paul, I’ll give it 9; “Don’t Pass Me By” is a first song written by Ringo. A good song too, in fact I’ll give it a 9 too; “Why Don’t We Do It In The Road” is one of the stupidest song on this album, I hate it when Paul sing this, 5.5; “I Will” is one of the most overrated song on this album, a good song by Paul that a lot of people like, but I’m not feeling it so I’ll give a 7.5; “Julia” is a great song by John when he sings about his mother, I feel the same way about my grandmother, a 10 because it’s a song that I can relate to. 

“Birthday” is a great party song, written majority by Paul, I’ll give a perfect 10; “Yer Blues” by John is a OK, I like the Blues but I’m not a fan of this song, I’ll give it a 8.5; “Mother Nature’s Son” is another one of my favorite song by Paul. It’s just a beautiful song, I have to give it a 10; “Everybody Got Something To Hide” has useless lyrics but I love the music and the guitar in this song so much, it’s also one of my favorite song on this album I’ll give it a 10; “Sexy Sadie” is another song by John that I like very much, a 9.5 in my book; “Helter Skelter” is a perfect 10 metal song by Paul; “Long Long Long” is another great song by George. I’ll rate it 9.5; “Revolution 1” is a excellent softer version of “Revolution.” I seriously love this song much, it’s one of those song I have to rate more than 10; “Honey Pie” is a song that surprisingly I actually like. Great little pop tune, I’ll give it a 9; “Savoy Truffle” is another great piece by George. I’ll also rate this a 9; “Cry Baby Cry” is another great piece by Lennon. I like the lyrics of this song. A 10 in my book; To be honest, I like weird sound in music. I guess that’s why I appreciate “Revolution 9.” I don’t understand it, but still a great sound. Like Keno, I would not rate this song; “Good Night” is a great finisher of this great album. Very underrated, this song really deserve a Ten. I like how Ringo sings this Lennon’s tune.

Well as you can see, I’d say CD 2 is way better than CD 1. CD 1 has too many pointless tunes. But still good though. If you delete songs like, “Why don’t we do it in the Road,” “Wild Honey Pie,” “Revolution 9,” “Piggies,” and either “I Will,” or “Ob La Di,” it would be a great CD. But it’s still great though.

THE WHITE ALBUM
By Teiz
October 26, 2006
Rating: 8.5

After the Stones’ Exile On Main St, this is probably the second best double-disc ever made. We find the Beatles peaking on most of the tracks on this gem. From hard rock (“Helter Skelter”) to nods to Bach (Blackbird) and Hollywood (Honey Pie), the Fab Four could do it all on one big album. The album has a perfect kick-off with “Back In The USSR”. It’s surf rock with a very funny twist. Humorous lines are all over this album. I heard the introduction of Nancy in “Rocky Raccoon” hundreds of times and it still makes me laugh. “Why Don’t We Do It In The Road”, apparently written by Paul McCartney after witnessing apes having sex on a road in India, also brings on a smile. And George Harrison found the perfect way to mention a whole range of deserts in “Savoy Truffle”.

But there’s a more serious side to the White Album too. Songs like “Blackbird”, “Sexy Sadie”, “Yer Blues”, “Cry Baby Cry” or “I’m So Tired” tell us what an extraordinary set of musicians The Beatles were: great storytellers who could call on the right emotions music-wise within a second. And John, Paul, George and Ringo could trip wickedly too, judging from the excellent “Happiness Is A Warm Gun” or “Helter Skelter”. It’s awesome music that people will still listen to a hundred years from now.

It’s not all that good though: “Obla-di Obla-da” is a pain really. For most of my generation this awfully happy song is forever linked to the equally terrible TV-show Life Goes On, which makes things worse. If I ever make a list of awful classic rock tunes, this one will be a prime candidate for topping it. “Revolution Number 9” doesn’t work for me, but I was born on the wrong side of the 60’s. I guess you should’ve been there.

The White Album contains a few fillers: “Don’t Pass Me By”, “Long, Long, Long”, and “Good Night” are decent written songs, but they pale when compared to the vast list of classics on this album. A few songs are overrated in my opinion: most Beatles fans I know think “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” and “Dear Prudence” are classics. While I recognize these as very good songs, I miss the ‘feel’ that makes “Sexy Sadie” work so well for me. But in the end, it’s all a matter of personal tastes of course.

THE WHITE ALBUM
By Net Pimp
November 28, 2000
Rating: 9.5

Net Pimp's Rating Scale :
10-Couldn't have been better, a true classic;
9-Great ; 8-Good ; 7-Average; 6-Okay;
5-Bad but not totally wretched;
4 and under-Anything weak, poor, very bad or truly horrible.

"Back in the USSR"-10.0; "Dear Prudence"-10.0; "Glass Onion"-8.5; "Ob-La-Di-Ob-La-Da"-8.0; "Wild Honey Pie"-6.0;
"Bungalow Bill"-7.5; "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"-9.5; "Happiness is a Warm Gun"-10.0; "Martha My Dear"-8.0;
"I'm So Tired"-9.0; "Blackbird"-9.5; "Piggies"-5.5; "Rocky Racoon"-9.0; "Don't Pass Me By"-7.0; "Why Don't We Do it in the Road?"-9.5; "I Will"-8.5; "Julia"-10.0; "Birthday"-9.5; "Yer Blues"-10.0; "Mother Nature's Son"-9.0; "Everybody's Got Something to Hide"-9.5; "Sexy Sadie"-9.0; "Helter Skelter"-10.0; "Long, Long, Long"-10.0; "Revolution 1"-10.0; "Honey Pie"-4.5!!! Eeeuuugh!; "Savoy Truffle"-7.0; "Cry Baby Cry"-7.5; "Revolution 9"-5.0 Just for the chutzpah value of such a weird thing! Shows the Beatles were not just pop artists. "Good Night"-4.0; Avg: rating around 8, but it deserves a 9.5 for so many 10's, despite all the crap. Maybe without "Revolution 9," "Good Night," "Piggies," "Don't Pass Me By," "Honey Pie" and "Wild Honey Pie". They should've included the single version of "Revolution" and "Hey Jude" to close it out, and included from the outtakes (from Anthology 3), "Not Guilty," the acoustic version of "Gently Weeps" and a more spirited acoustic number called "Jubille (aka Junk)" instead.

To listen to some soundclips from The White Album or to purchase it, click on: Beatles: White Album (Remastered) Buy.com or The Beatles [White Album] (Remastered)

REVOLVER
By Darius Henry
September 8, 2006
Rating: 10.0

Well, I have had Revolver ever since my Rubber Soul review and I got to say this.... I don’t know which album is better. I think both of these albums are tied as my favorite Beatles' album of all time. But you can’t deny that Revolver isn’t a great album. As a matter of fact, I actually think that Revolver is the Beatles’ best album of all time. Other than Rubber Soul, Revolver has a very different sound from all other Beatles albums before.

This album starts off with George Harrison's “Taxman”, which is a great start for this album. George sounds great in this song. Other than “Something”, this is his best song ever. Great song about the taxman taking Beatles’ money. Great guitar riffs, plus a great solo by Paul McCartney. And speaking of Paul, this next song, ‘Eleanor Rigby’, is the best song by Paul, period, and I don’t even like him that much. But man, a song about lonely people, although I thought they sang "lovely" people at first, this is a great ballad. I love the backup vocal Next song is John's ‘I’m Only Sleeping” which is not a bad song at all. I love the vocal performance in this song. I did love the backward guitar solo. George's next song, “Love You To” is a totally different song than his earlier song on this album. It was totally Indian, with his sitar playing and all that. I still think it’s a great song. “Here, There, and Everywhere” is the song that I don’t like very much, it just too soft for me. But Paul's voice is great though. And I love the backup vocals as well. “Yellow Submarine”, sung by Ringo Starr, is a pretty funny song to me. It a song that little kids will love. But besides that, this is a great song. Ringo sang good in this song and awesome sound effect as well. The next song, “She Said She Said”, is my favorite song on the album. Great song by John, who was influence by Peter Fonda. Great guitar riffs by John and great drumming by Ringo. This is one of Ringo best works yet.

“Good Day Sunshine” is another great song by Paul. I seriously love this song. Great piano playing by him. The best part about the song is the ending when he keeps on echoing the title. “And Your Bird Can Sing” is a great song by John. Great guitar playing by George and fantastic harmonies with Paul. “For No One” is another song by Paul. I like it but I’m not crazy about it. Though I do like the horns on this song.  ‘Doctor Robert’ is the most underrated song on this album. I mean what a great lyrics by John about a doctor who turn them all to drugs. I love the guitar work, the drums work, and the vocal work on this one ‘I Want To Tell You’ is another great song by George. Great guitar intro, great piano playing, great bass, and great vocal.  “Got to Get You Into My Life” is another winner by Paul. It’s a great soulful song. Plus I love the way he is really talking about marijuana in this song. “Tomorrow Never Knows” is one of the greatest finishers ever. I seriously love the music in this one, which has various sounds in this song. Plus Ringo’s drumming is excellent as well. What gets me excited everytime is the way John is singing in this track. I seriously love how he sings like a Buddist. It’s freaking excellent.

I have recently decided that Revolver is Beatles’ best work of all time, but certainly not my fave. This isn’t the best John album, but it’s the best Ringo album. Ringo decide to Rock on this album. But still this album is one of the greatest albums of time.

REVOLVER
By Chris
September 1, 2005
Rating: 9.0

A Pop masterpeice, and in my opinion, its better than Rubber Soul. The album starts off with George Harrison's "Taxman" (10.0), and I think its the only Beatles album to start off with a George Harrison song. The second song, "Elenor Rigby",(10.0) is just as good. The string arrangements are excellent, and the vocal harmonies are outstanding. "I'm Only Sleeping" (10.0) is a John Lennon song and if I'm not mistaken was left off the British version of the album but was included for the American version. "Love You To" is another George Harrison song and its probably the worst song on the album, its the only reason why i gave the rating of a 9.0. "Here, There, and Everywhere" (10.0) is another Paul ballad that has excellent lyrics. "Yellow Submarine" (7.5) is an ok song, but it get annoying after hearing it so many times. "She Said She Said" (10.0) is a great song and features one of Ringo's best drumming performances on any Beatles record.
"Good Day Sunshine" (9.0) is another great song that just makes you smile. "And Your Bird Can Sing" (9.0) is another excellent song with great vocal harmonies with John taking the lead vocals. "For No One" (8.0) is the shortest song on the album, but is still great. Paul's piano playing is very good. "Doctor Robert" (9.0) is another great song as well. "I Want to Tell You" (10.0) is the thrid and final George Harrison song on the album, and is probably one of the best on the album. "Got to get you into My Life" (10.0) features an excellent brass section and a great vocal performance by Paul.
"Tommorow Never Knows" (6.0) closes the album and is also the other reason why i gave this album a 9. I never really liked the song and it was a bad choice to close the album with. Yellow Submarine would have been a better choice to end this 1966 masterpeice album.

REVOLVER
By JT
February 6, 2004
Rating: 10.0

This may not be my favorite Beatles album, But I REALLY love this album. It was such a transition album from their pop days to the rock days. This is indeed a landmark album. This could go down as some of George's best work, he plays some great guitar and writes three new songs for this album.
My Ratings scale is:
10-Perfect! 9-Excellent 8-Great 7-Good 6-Okay, average (That's it, there's no low rated song on this album)
1. "Taxman" - 10.0. A great song with some humorous, but true lyrics and a fantastic guitar solo. Plus some great singing by George and great backups by John and Paul. Interesting that the kick-off song would be from George!
2. "Elenor Rigby" 10.0 A fantastic ballad written by Paul and the strings are very pretty. A great melody line that only Paul could sing. I especially love where Paul's part overlaps John's "Aw look at all the lonely people". A true classic.
3. "I'm Only Sleeping" 8.5 Now we got John! Another great song with a great melody line. The bass is also great in this number as is George's backwards guitar. It's a great song but only a shadow of what's to come with John's incredible songwriting.
4. "Love You To" 9.5 Truly beautiful song by George. Completely different from "Taxman" incendiary guitar playing and danceable beat, it features the beauty of George's sitar and Indian spiritual. Once again, a great melody line! The sitar really keeps the song going along with George's honest yet haunting singing.
5. "Here There and Everywhere" -9.0- I probably should give this song a higher rating, but it is a little too mellow for my tastes, but it's a beautiful song! The backing vocals are lovely and Paul's vocals are really nice!
6. "Yellow Submarine" -7.0- A hokey singalong kiddy ballad and the fact that Ringo is singing could make this the worst song on the album. But somehow, it speaks to me. Ringo pulls the vocals off well as the melody is nothing special, although the chorus is fun. Some funny sound effects and Paul's screaming after Ringo's lyrics. It does bring the mood back up from "Here there and Everywhere" and leads perfectly into the next rocker:
7. "She Said She Said" -10- God this is a great John song! Really happening guitars, crazy LSD lyrics, and above all, great songwriting. I love the bridge!
8. "Good Day Sunshine" -9.0- Next up is Paul with this wonderful song. Great piano playing add some color. The melody line is nice, but it's the great harmonies in the chorus that get to me. Especially the ending, GOD it's great! Also note the fantastic drumming by Ringo. In fact, you could say that this is one of the best Ringo drumming album.
9. "And your Bird can Sing" -10!- The great soloing by George, the driving drums by Ringo, fantastic songwriting and singing by John and harmonies by Paul make this one of the best songs on the album. It's fantastic!
10. "For No One" -8.8- A really beautiful Paul song, but it seems to do the same thing throughout the whole tune. The horn does add something different and of course the simplicity of Paul's voice makes this a great tune.
11. "Dr. Robert" -7.8- The guitars are great on this song, but the melody line could be better. The lyrics are good, but this isn't John's best on the album.
12."I Want To Tell You" -10.0- George brings us back with this great tune! A great guitar line is followed by a fantastic vocal and backing vocals by Paul and John. The songwriting is what gets me especially the piano playing half-steps during the haunting turnaround. Also a great bridge! Don't forget the great drums by Ringo. Good job George!
13. "Got to Get you In to My Life" -10- Paul has been mellowing us out all day, when is he gonna give us some hard-edge rock 'n roll. Ah! This is a smoking tune! I love the horns counterpoint between Paul's fantastic melody line! This is a great tune. Alright! George ended with a bang in the last song, Paul ended with a bang here, what about John?
14."Tommorow Never Knows" -11.0- "Turn off your mind, relax, and float downstream, it isn't dying, it isn't dying!" The best song on the whole album! George's sitar note rings throughout the whole song but really keeps it going. Ringo's drums just plain rip! And John's voice is fantastic insighting some of his best ever written lyrics! John's spiritual idea in this song is what I love. Meditation! There are two other elements that really make this song. The mellotron which makes some of the notes so haunting like the terminator music or something! But it counterpoints John's voice so well! Also don't forget the fantastic guitar solo by George! His experimental backwards guitar is so cool! GOD DAMN IT! What a great song!

Well there you have it! The classic Revolver!

REVOLVER
By Net Pimp
October 21, 2000
Rating: 10.0

Quite simply, the best rock album ever, not the most dramatic, not the most flowing, not the most powerful, just plain subdued perfection. The styles vary wildly, almost as much as the Fab's second best LP, The White Album. I really dig the way the
Beatles were sick of the same old-same old and progressed even further, starting with Help! and culminating with Sgt. Pepper. But here, their innovation and writing skills are inate and extraordinary! It starts with a song proving the Beatles were a great ROCK band and could ROCK in their own way. "Taxman" has a splendid guitar riff, plus Paul's dynamic bass work. George shows his individual prowess as a talent to be reckoned with. Then, the English political rock feeling dissapades into a dreary, harsh and sad song, the classical experiment (with strings being the only instruments) "Eleanor Rigby" which shows McCartney wasn't fluff to the bone after all, he really had intricate ideas to work with. The song, though authorship quantity has always been debated, is one of Lennon/McCartney's most poetic and visual anomalies, worthy of a Dylan rambling. John's acid-head genius was becoming evident on the superior UK version (now available as the definitive version on CD).  This song is the lazy rumination called "I'm Only Sleeping." Another studio effect was used to create unexplored proportions, the use of backwards guitar during the middle and conclusion. The bass is sharp and percussive as it rattles out of the mix . The harmonies did not need to lift the creativity on this track, nor this album. It did the singing on its own. The fourth song is the Indian-drenched raga of George's called "Love You To." It's gutsy inclusion is an extreme measure of listening for the normal Beatles fan, but the die-hard ones find this experience enlightening and heavy. Again, the album's mood shifts dramatically into the lush ballad, the romantic "Here, There and Everywhere." It's a classic Beatles ballad and one of Paul's which rather cuts to the soul, stripping the instruments down and using gentle harmonies, without shoving sappy saccharine cornball stuff down your throat. The spirit picks up with the prime kiddy sing-along "Yellow Submarine." Though lightweight, it didn't demeanor the nature of a truly radical album. The addition of sound effects was key too. On it, we hear snippets from a brass band and submarine sounds. But what really was done to achieve this was clanking of pots and pans, muffled noises and commands from a captain done in vocal chambers and through hand mikes. The sound gets heavy again with a druggy prose on the illuminous gem of John's titled "She Said, She Said" written about an acid trip in L.A. with the Byrds and actor Peter Fonda, where Fonda whispered "I know what it's like to be dead." Hence the lines from the song. The electric guitars put the listener in a trance and it brims with creativity. Again, our spirits soar with the happy-day ditty "Good Day Sunshine" not a bad ditty though. The harmonies at the end overlap each other through a recording process known as "delay effect." Vibrance is a true element on the next song, the glorious "And Your Bird Can Sing," ironically inspired by the chiming, jangling guitars of the Byrds. Here, they are detailed, but melodic, strictly pretty. They jangle indeed. Paul demonstrates his sad love affair writing "For No One" which even uses a solemn French horn solo. The classicism is evident through the piano and calm misery displayed in the sound. We see the Beatles emerge as a rock unit with the up-beat "Dr. Robert" about the doctor who introduced George and John to LSD. A joke tune, still a great cut. Then, Harrison emerges with another silent gem, the demonic beauty of "I Want to Tell You." A great guitar riff and demented piano playing make this worth the price of admission. Next, they tackle up-beat Motown soul, exclusively using soul bras on the pop masterpiece "Got to Get You into My Life" which has soul-stirring instrumentation all around. But, then it ends with the hypnotic, suddenly-realized,  start-of-rock, art-form, with no boundaries of creative lengths tune, "Tomorrow Never Knows". It sustains a pulsating beat throughout, awesome driving bass and drums while Lennon's vocal sounds like a startled cry of a monk chanting in the mountains, since his vocal was recorded through a Lesie cabinet organ speaker!

How creative was this band and how could they move so fast with their sound? I can only just appreciate the finest rock album anyone's ever made as it is: immaculate. A true five-star album!

To listen to some soundclips from REVOLVER or to purchase it, click on: Revolver (Remastered - Buy.com)


LET IT BE

By Bill Carson
March 21, 2005
Rating: 9.5

Let It Be is one of The Beatles few albums that hasn't been labeled a classic. In my somewhat worthless opinion however, it is one of their very best albums. The album starts off strong with the folk-rockish "Two of Us"(9/10), which is slightly overrated but still a great song. Another great song "Dig a Pony"(9.5/10) follows. Next we come to what may be the best and most underrated gem from this outstanding album, "Across The Universe"(10/10). With psychedelic lyrics that for some reason remind me of Pink Floyd's "Echoes" and great vocals,  this is one of my very favorite Beatles songs. "I Me Mine"(9/10") follows and is a great rocker. "Let It Be"(10/10) might just be the highlight of the album and is one of The Beatle's greatest songs. The rest of the album is nearly as good: "I've Got a Feeling"(10/10), "One After 909"(8.6/10), "The Long and Winding Road"(9.6/10), "For You Blue"(8/10), and the closing rocker "Get Back"(10/10). As you can see I left off "Dig It" and "Maggie Mae" because neither is very good and it seems rather needless to drag down an album's overall score because of a combined minute and a half of music. This album is currently my second favorite Beatles album, falling short of Revolver(10/10), even though I still have quite a few albums to go (IE:The White Album and Abbey Road).


LET IT BE
By Tommy
August 25, 2000
Rating: 9.5

Paul insists that Phil Spector ruined this disc by sugaring it up with strings. It was supposed to be the Beatles back together in the studio as a band, rocking and rolling and writing as a team. Back to basics. From terrible inter-band conflicts, painful sessions filled with animosity, and a film crew there, documenting it all (so they could not scream when they needed to) they still put together a great raw rockdisc, which is what the band wanted. The tape used/discarded ratio is startling supposedly. "Across the Universe' , one of Lennon's best tunes ever, was slowed down and Spector added strings and the choir. I love it. Paul hates it. Lennon loved it! George got "I Me Mine' and "For you Blue' in and the latter is the band as a rockband with John on slide. "I me Mine" was best in the demo of George alone playing it to J/P. "I've Got a Feeling' is marred for the ones who have seen the movie, by the one time that you actually see a fight on camera. The B. would usually argue behind closed doors, but here Paul just gets to George and George is furious. It is a superb tune, especially when the John part overlaps with the Paul part. "909" is from 1960(?) and smokes. One of the few times they sound like fun. 'Two of Us" is a a)great song and b) j/p just singing a whole song in harmony like it was nothing leaves you just mouth agape. Incredible! "Dig a Pony" right in there with "#9". John was becoming more and more anti- verse-chorus etc. "Dig It" and "Maggie Mae" same deal. But 'Dig a Pony' is a masterful demonstration of craftsmanship, with it's difficult count changes. "Get Back" of course is the 'fast' hit, with Billy Preston and Lennon both playing classic solos. "Winding Road" is really better with Paul alone on the piano. Again - craftsmanship. an absolute stunner, right up there with the all time best."Let it Be", objectively speaking is the same thing. I just happen to hate the song.

To listen to some soundclips from Let It Be or to purchase it, click on either: Let It Be - Buy.com or Let It Be (Remastered)

Back to Rock Fans Reviews