Assembling a list of deep cuts from the Beatles is one of the grandest exercises in futility that we’ve ever attempted. Is there anyone who doesn’t know all of these songs? Consider the following:
• The Beatles had 47 Top 40 hits in a six-and-a-half year period. The Stones, by comparison, racked up 41 Top 40 singles, but needed 25 years to do it.
• Those 47 Top 40 hits do not include any of the following songs: “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown),” “In My Life,” “If I Fell,” “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away,” “Drive My Car,” “Taxman,” “Here, There and Everywhere,” “I Should Have Known Better,” “Michelle,” “You’re Going to Lose That Girl,” “Here Comes the Sun,” “I Am the Walrus,” or a single track from either Sgt. Pepper or the White Album (except “Revolution,” which was re-recorded and issued as the B-side to “Hey Jude”).
Add all of those tracks up, and that means there are just over 100 Beatles songs that are instantly stricken from the record. One hundred songs. Ye gods. Is there even anything left to assemble a decent list of deep cuts?
Yes. We’re going to cheat here and there, using lesser known Sgt. Pepper and White Album tracks, different versions of well known songs, and perhaps a B-side or two that charted back in the day. The key for us is that for a song to count as a Deep Cut, it could not have been on either the “Red” (1962-1966) or “Blue” (1967-1970) compilations, and even then, we ruled out certain songs – and even suites of songs, like “Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End” – because of their ubiquitous presence on the rock radio of our youths.
Beatles scholars will likely yawn at my suggestions – after all, for the really curious, there are scores of Beatles bootlegs out there that plumb far greater depths than this – but in the interest of saving the time and money of our dear readers, we’ll stick to the official Parlophone and Capitol-endorsed releases to assemble our list. Trust us; there are still scores of songs from which to choose.
Full disclosure: there will be a noticeable bias to this list, in that we have not included anything prior to A Hard Day’s Night. As wildly successful as the Beatles were in those early years, they were still a far cry from the band that they would become a mere two to three years later. A Hard Day’s Night is the first Beatles album with all original compositions, so it seemed like a good place to start.
“Tell Me Why” – A Hard Day’s Night
Simply put, it’s the Beatles paying tribute to Martha and the Vandellas. There’s a strong “Heat Wave” vibe to the intro, and you get the first sense of the complex harmonies the band would come up with time after time in the years to come. It’s very telling that this and “If I Fell” were started and completed on the same day.
“Baby’s in Black” – Beatles for Sale
As my colleague Will Harris observed, “Baby’s in Black” might be the first mope rock song ever written. When John sings, “She thinks of him, and so she dresses in black / And though he’ll never come back, she’s dressed in black,” suddenly songs like the Smiths’ “Unlovable” (“I wear black on the outside, ‘cause black is how I feel on the inside”) and Depeche Mode’s “Dressed in Black” make a lot more sense.
“I’ve Just Seen a Face” – Help!
Pearl Jam fans will know this one, as it’s been a set list staple of theirs for years now. This folk and bluegrass-based track may be Paul’s answer to John’s “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away,” a Dylan-esque track with a rapid fire vocal and a lie-lie-lie-lie-la-lie singalong that Simon & Garfunkel would steal a few years later for “The Boxer.” Interesting note: Paul recorded this song, the rockin’ B-side “I’m Down,” and “Yesterday,” the mother of all ballads, on the same day. Laugh at him all you want for “Ebony and Ivory,” but back in the day, Macca had mad, mad skills. And speaking of that rockin’ B-side…
See the rest of the list here.
Great job, Chauffeur. As a long-time Beatles fan, there are some great lesser-known songs on this list, as well as a few tunes that I’ll have to go back and listen to again.
One comment and one question: “You Know My Name” should have made the cut - it’s just a fantastic song. And why was “Dear Prudence” off-limits? I don’t think it is nearly as well-known as the rest of the off-limits list from the White Album. (And it’s probably my favorite song of all time.)
Thanks, DC, but I heard “Dear Prudence” a million times growing up, which is why I left it off.
Yeah, “You Know My Name” dammit! I made that into my ringtone, even! And I gotta say “The Word” always made me wanna puke. Hands down it’s always been my least fave oof of Rubber Soul (”If I Needed Someone” is my fave from it), and I like “What You’re Doing” a shitload more than “Baby’s In Blank” which always sounded as haggard and slopped up as that godawful “Mr. Moonlight” from Beatles For Sale. And to say “Revolution I” and “Long, Long, Long” are dull is daft, sir! Love those horns on the former. I like the rest of the list, though.
Although I would have included “Suicide,” which is a funny little bit that sounds like it was recorded during the Let It Be shit, but even my most extensive bootleg of that (the multi-disc 30 Days) shows no signs of it, so it may not be so. Anyway, it’s an off the cuff number by Paul which is actually the snippet that cuts in at the end of “Glasses” on McCartney, but much more enjoyable to hear in the Beatles’ take, with Lennon reading the daily news and talking about Englebert Humperdink being number one on the charts and then discussing with George Harrison about how a group with a name such as “The Motherfuckers” could never be #1.
OK, obviously that should have been an “off” instead of “oof”, and “Baby’s In BLACK”, not “blank”. Ah well. Har!
You’ve been spending too much time with Scott Stampp, Kid.
I loooooove The Word. So simple, so pure. I just love George’s little guitar bits. “Long Long Long” is pretty, but I lost interest halfway through. Sorry. It’s weird, because I like George’s stuff, normally.
I flirted with “What You’re Doing,” too.
Great list but I’d have to add the “Dig It” track (expanded version) from “Let It Be” (if you want it).
>>I heard “Dear Prudence” a million times growing up, which is why I left it off.
It’s a blessing and a curse, I guess.
You know another one I love is “Sexy Sadie” from Anthology 3. I think it absolutely kills the White Album version (and I’m one of those fans who loves that album more than Revolver). So much more laid back and less weird, with that groovy organ just pumping along in the background, making it a much more soulful tune. Great shit.
Personally, I’ve always been partial to “Your Mother Should Know,” but that’s me. A fine job, sir. And not just because I was namechecked…:-)
author please change :
“I’m Down” – Aerosmith
“Rain” – The Stone Roses
“Tomorrow Never Knows” – The Chemical Brothers
“Not Guilty” – Jellyfish
“Because” – Elliott Smith
Tomorrow Never Knows should be “Setting Sun”
Chris, what I was saying was that “Tomorrow Never Knows” inspired “Setting Sun,” not that the Chemical Brothers covered it.
A list, any list, like this could spawn HOURS of discussion, of course, so I’ll keep it to a quick shot to the nose. I kind of wonder where “For You Blue” is…I would categorize it as a fairly lesser-known song. Also, you mentioned that no one had a version of “Tomorrow Never Knows” that stood up too well. I saw a Beatles tribute once on PBS and Los Lobos did a live version of it…I was blown away. It still may be my favorite of them all. Fun list and fun article, though!
Bob Spitz’ The Beatles is also an incredible resource.
Hello!
Good article!!!
Maybe you could mention “Got to get you into my life” and “Magical mistery tour” as the inspiration for such bands as Chicago, Blood, Sweat, and Tears and Earth Wind and Fire.
Oh! why do we have to add the numbers for the replies to appear?!
Add the numbers? Not sure what you mean, Juan.
He means the anti spam bot things…you know “Add 10+10.” Juan, it’s an anti-spam protection thingy so preprogrammed bots can’t come in and clutter our boards with shit like “Get Free \/!A6RA NOW!”
I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for this article. I now have written proof that the Beatles are the best Rock band ,EVER.
What a bloody fantastic article.
I’m love this great website. Many thanks guy
Hello.
You wrote that Rain is all about Ringo’s drumming .
What do you think about his drumming on Ticket to Ride?
I loved Ringo’s drumming on Ticket to Ride (which Paul came up with, go figure). But Rain was another ball park/sport/planet/solar system altogether.
I couldn’t agree more on The White Album. Moments of brilliance, sure, dulled by mounds and mounds of bile and bad vibes.
“Come and Get It” off of Anthology is a brilliant version of McCartney’s original tune that Badfinger first made famous.
You nailed it perfectly… The White Album IS the most overrated album of all time by the best band of all time. Great article and great insights.
Since when Is Norwegian Wood about pyromania?
Nice call… dick.
Um, how about the “so I lit a fire” bit at the end?
Great list. As you said it truly is hard to come up with Beatles Deep Cuts because everybody knows these songs. Can’t agree with cutting off the first couple albums though, especially With The Beatles: “Not A Second Time,” “It Won’t Be Long,” “Money” — even “I Wanna Be Your Man” — this album kicks ass and deserves more attention.
Quick correction: “Hey Bulldog” was recorded before India and the “White Album” during the same sessions as “Lady Madonna.” That’s why they were still having fun with that one.