I couldn’t let all the Beatles reviews pass without adding my own. Like many of my generation, the Beatles was the first group I swooned over. The nuns warned us of the music of those foreign boys with their scandalous haircuts and our parents shook their heads as we impatiently waited as Ed Sullivan teased us that fateful night of the Beatles first TV appearance. (the highest billed act of the evening was always last so you waited through the whole show) and we fell in love. As we matured in the turbulent times of the late 60’s and early 70’s, so did the music of the Beatles. From the innocence of She Loves You to the Long and Winding Road. Composers Lennon and McCartney kept stretching and creating.
The Beatles 1 compilation includes the songs that rose to number 1 on the most popular charts. It doesn’t necessarily reflect their actual best, but with a catalogue as prolific as theirs, what could? The album is arranged chronologically. Here are the songs.
1. Love Me Do
2. From Me to You
3. She Loves You
4. I Want to Hold Your Hand
5. Can’t Buy Me Love
6. A Hard Day’s Night
7. I Feel Fine
8. Eight Days a Week
9. Ticket to Ride
10. Help!
11. Yesterday
12. Day Tripper
13. We Can Work It Out
14. Paperback Writer
15. Yellow Submarine
16. Eleanor Rigby
17. Penny Lane
18. All You Need Is Love
19. Hello Goodbye
20. Lady Madonna
21. Hey Jude
22. Get Back
23. The Ballad of John & Yoko
24. Something
25. Come Together
26. Let It Be
27. The Long and Winding Road
On these summer days, in my car between appointments I can roll down the windows and turn the CD player up a little too loud and relive those days.
Oh, by the way, for me-it was Ringo.