The 10 most underrated Beatles songs
When talking about some of the greatest songs by The Beatles, it becomes hard to keep count of the classics. For a little less than a decade, the Fab Four notched up some of the greatest rock music ever made, many of which are still being blasted out of stereos today. As with most great artists, though, there are a few more tracks that tend to fall through the cracks.
For every great track like ‘Here Comes the Sun’ or ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’, there are just as many prime tunes that tend to get reserved for album tracks. Although they might not have reached the ear of the public, some of The Beatles’ more obscure tracks tend to showcase a different version of the band, either dabbling in newer genres or accidentally creating new styles of music without really trying.
Some of the band members might not have been the biggest fans of their work, either. John Lennon famously didn’t like some of the greatest Beatles songs, and even Paul McCartney considered tracks like ‘All My Loving’ a cheeky piece of filler before it became the iconic tune most fans know today.
No one can see the brilliance of an artist unless it’s in hindsight, and some of The Beatles’ odds and ends provide a unique glimpse into where their minds were when making some of their masterpieces. From the experimental to the classics, all of these forgotten Beatles gems deserve to be on the same level as some of their greatest work.
The 10 most underrated Beatles songs:
10. ‘Yes It Is’ – Past Masters
Some of the greatest Beatles songs of their early years weren’t exactly known for their substance. Outside of their neverending knowledge of good rock and roll covers, The Lennon-McCartney songwriting machine always had songs related to the love they had for women in their lives. Though the sour side of love was reserved for ballads, Lennon let himself be far more vulnerable than before on ‘Yes It Is’.
Released as a B-side, this song has a slightly gothic tone, as Lennon’s echoing voice cries out for a love lost. Instead of moving on from the breakup, Lennon is still reeling, asking his next lover if she could not wear red when they go out because it reminds him too much of his old flame. Combined with George Harrison’s guitar, the song practically feels like it’s crying out in pain.
Although there isn’t exactly an X-factor that would’ve made the track a good A-side, the dour mood is miles ahead of its time, sounding like a lyric that could have been penned by Robert Smith from The Cure a few years later. Lennon may have still been keeping up the appearance of the grizzled man of the group, but underneath that tough exterior was a frightened person who knew he may have lost the love of his life.
9. ‘I Me Mine’ – Let It Be
Throughout the Beatles’ tenure, George Harrison always seemed to get the short end of the stick. He was one of the greatest songwriters of his generation, but since Lennon and McCartney dictated which songs were on the record, he had to normally stockpile tracks to get on any Beatles album. While Harrison was hoarding his A-material for his solo career, ‘I Me Mine’ is a little sprinkle of what would come after the band broke up.
Inspired by a waltz he had seen on television, Harrison’s ode to self-preservation is one of the most sophisticated chord progressions he has ever put together. Even though Harrison took credit for most of the song, the middle section got some help from McCartney, who suggested the trademark boogie-woogie section where Harrison gets to add some searing lead lines.
Although the original tune only lasted a few seconds, it took Phil Spector’s ingenuity to get it right, adding in the second verse again and leaving the track’s final mix on a bit of a musical question mark. The Beatles may have been crumbling in the waning years of the ‘60s, but even an album as ramshackle as Let It Be still had beauty in its fragments.
8. ‘Good Night’ – The White Album
There is no self-respecting Beatles fan who will claim that Ringo Starr was the group’s most important member. Even though Starr could always play what was right from the song, he was far from the greatest singer in the world, and his songs were more or less novelties whenever they were brought to the writer’s room. What he lacked in technical ability, though, he made up for in the personality he brought to every performance.
Towards the end of The White Album, things start to get incredibly weird, capping things off with John and Yoko’s mad sonic experiment ‘Revolution 9’. After the listener is left with frail nerves, the sweeping sounds of strings introduce Starr, bringing the album to a close with a melody that wouldn’t feel out of place from a Disney film around the same time. Written as a lullaby by Lennon for his son Julian, Starr is the soft, tender voice most fans need to hear as they arrive at the end of the album.
Although there were a lot of heated arguments that went into creating The White Album, the hard work was worth it by having this song as the final statement for the record. Much of The Beatles’ double record has some rough edges, but everyone can count on Starr to turn out the lights and wish everyone sweet dreams as they head off.
7. ‘All I’ve Got To Do’ – With the Beatles
Most of The Beatles’ early career tends to get put on the side compared to their drastic change in the mid-60s. Prior to becoming one of the most experimental mainstream outfits in the world, the band were originally one of the best modern groups out of England, playing the same rock and roll that they heard from overseas. They were far more eclectic than just rock and roll, and ‘All I’ve Got To Do’ gave fans a healthy dose of soul.
Starting off with a strange jazz chord, this tune is rather unconventional from a band from Liverpool, with most of the accents taking place on the offbeat to add a bit of propulsion to the song. Though Lennon’s lyrics are more or less traditional love song fodder, what stands out is his delivery, playing off of his favourite Motown acts like Smokey Robinson to get the right amount of flair in his voice.
Across the rest of the album, Lennon delves even deeper into the sounds of soul, covering classics like ‘Money (That’s What I Want)’ and delivering a perfect rendition of The Miracles’ ‘You Really Got a Hold On Me’. Lennon would later return to his soul roots during his solo career on Double Fantasy, but he never sounded hungrier for it than on ‘All I’ve Got To Do’.
6. ‘I’m Looking Through You’ – Rubber Soul
Paul McCartney wasn’t exactly having the best time when making the record Rubber Soul. Although the band were looking to make one of their first major artistic statements on record, McCartney was on the rocks with his girlfriend Jane Asher, who had since picked up an acting role far away from him. Being ‘Mr Optimistic’, McCartney managed to write one of the peppiest songs about a crumbling relationship ever created.
Indebted to the folk rock they were listening to around the same time, ‘I’m Looking Through You’ is a jaunty song about a love gone sour, as McCartney understands love’s habit of disappearing overnight. For all of the perfect melodic statements, the final product is also fairly messy, including a few times where guitar notes are haphazardly thrown into the song’s final mix.
Although McCartney probably considered this song a bit of a throwaway, it provides a great counterpoint on the record, being the peppy flipside of what Lennon was going through when writing the song ‘In My Life’. Since Rubber Soul featured some of the first experimental songs that The Beatles would ever create, this song was a reminder that they weren’t above writing a great pop song.
5. ‘For No One’ – Revolver
In the Lennon and McCartney partnership, McCartney always got the reputation of being the softer of the pair. Despite writing some of the heaviest songs in their catalogue, like ‘Helter Skelter’, Macca was always given the title of balladeer next to Lennon’s more scathing commentary on tracks like ‘Revolution’. Even with the reputation as a ballad writer, not every soft song was nice from back to front.
Although ‘Eleanor Rigby’ might be the more famous classical song from Revolver, ‘For No One’ is a much more sombre look at what McCartney was going through in his personal life. After watching his relationship with Jane Asher start to fall apart, McCartney talks in the second person in this song, as if he’s an onlooker watching himself drift further away from her as a gentle string arrangement plays in the background.
Even with all of the ‘Beatles’ charm, the really memorable part of the tune comes with the French horn interlude, sounding so delicate off of the piano and returning in the final verse to give a sense of finality to the piece. And just like other classical pieces, the final string swell leaves the song floating in the air as if fans have caught a glimpse of a short stage production that has come to a close.
4. ‘Hey Bulldog’ – Yellow Submarine
The Beatles had always thrived when working under pressure. Despite being one of the most popular bands in the world, what was even more demanding was their schedule, causing Lennon and McCartney to write most of their songs on the fly in hotel rooms while on the road. The commitments didn’t stop once they left the stage, though, so Lennon thought he’d make do with a song that was left unfinished.
Although a film crew was set up in Abbey Road Studios to record a promotional video for ‘Lady Madonna’, The Beatles decided to work on a new song, creating ‘Hey Bulldog’ out of fragments of lyrics that Lennon had. Kicking off with an amazing piano line, this is one of the hardest rockers that the band would ever create, from McCartney’s John Entwistle-esque bassline to an incredible guitar solo that feels like a progenitor to the snarling tones that would come out of AC/DC a few years later.
The best part of the track comes towards the end, as the mic continues recording and Lennon and McCartney mess around behind the scenes making dog noises as the song fades out. While Lennon mentioned feeling embarrassed by the song a few years later, ‘Hey Bulldog’ remains a brilliant snapshot of the band having fun in the studio right before they went to India to practise transcendental meditation.
3. ‘I Need You’ – Help!
In the early ‘60s, George Harrison had a long way to go as a songwriter. Since Lennon and McCartney had been writing for years, Harrison was often left alone to come up with great songs, even asking some of his bandmates for help when he couldn’t find the right words. Though years of practice would eventually result in the immaculate love song ‘Something’, Harrison was a little unsure of himself when contributing a tune to the album Help!.
After recently starting a relationship with Pattie Boyd, ‘I Need You’ is a sad break-up song as Harrison laments about an argument that they had and assures her how much she means to him. Although there’s a certain catchiness to this song, what makes it stand out are the tiny additions, like Harrison using a wah-wah pedal for the first time and using unconventional chords to tie his melody together.
Beatles aficionados might not put this song in the upper echelon of classics, but it was good enough to include in the Concert For George, with fellow Traveling Wilbury Tom Petty turning in a brilliant version of the tune. Everyone has to start songwriting somewhere, and after ‘Don’t Bother Me’ taken from With The Beatles, ‘I Need You’ was the first song where Harrison broke through the Lennon-McCartney songwriting barrier.
2. ‘Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite’ – Sgt Peppers
The whole ethos behind Sgt Pepper was for The Beatles to get outside their normal wheelhouse. Although not every band member was on board with the concept, Paul McCartney’s vision for an imaginary band was about taking the group to different realms, being free to write songs that their fictional selves may have written. Although most of the songs could have fit on any great Beatles album, Lennon seemed to grasp the imaginary feeling on ‘Mr Kite’.
Inspired by a poster for a carnival that Lennon found around England, he wanted to create a song that would reflect that mindset, as if the listener could smell the sawdust from the tent. Once he got the idea, Lennon was off on an Alice in Wonderland fairytale about dancing horses and an amazing show that will take place on trampolines. Despite Lennon’s arrangement, producer George Martin proves why he’s the ‘fifth Beatle’ in this song, making a musical kaleidoscope of sounds on an organ that adds to the madness of the setting.
Closing out side one of the vinyl record, this was a reminder that The Beatles hadn’t begun to dry up and were just now beginning to impress their audience. Little did their fans know that even more grandiose anthems were to come.
1. ‘Because’ – Abbey Road
By the time The Beatles made Abbey Road, the goal was to create something they could be proud of for the fans. Since Let It Be left things off on a sour note, Abbey Road was a labour of love from start to finish, showing every band member at the peak of their powers during their drawn-out medley of tunes. Before the main event starts, Lennon offers one of the most sophisticated progressions that The Beatles would ever create.
When woodshedding ideas, Lennon happened to hear Yoko Ono performing Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata on the piano and thought it would be a good idea to play the progression backwards for his song ‘Because’. With no drums on the final track, the faint piano and guitar are a bed for the band’s harmonies, gliding above the track as they muse about the wonders of the world that make all things wonderful.
For all of the naysayers of the time that claimed rock and roll to be a fad, this is the kind of track that belongs next to proper classical pieces, with every layer of harmony playing a different role in creating a vast sonic landscape on the vinyl. Even though The Beatles were doing their own things at this point and were prepared to move on to their solo careers, almost everyone agreed that ‘Because’ was something special on the final mix of the record.
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