7 of the Best Beatles Songs the Band Left Off Albums
The Beatles achieved their first taste of fame at a time when singles were more important than albums. The short players didn’t require a huge investment from music fans in terms of money and time. Listeners were more likely to buy singles, which made them more lucrative. The Fab Four helped make albums complete artistic statements, and some of their most famous album songs weren’t singles. On the flip side, some of The Beatles’ best songs got left off studio records. Let’s look at seven of them (in chronological order).
1. ‘I’m Down’
Year: 1965
Paul McCartney copied John Lennon’s “Twist and Shout” vocal cord-shredding singing on the Abbey Road song “Oh! Darling.” He did it first on “I’m Down.” The rave-up with surprisingly dark lyrics about the main character having their sadness mocked channeled Little Richard and Chuck Berry, two of The Beatles’ early influences. The Fab Four threw the kitchen sink at the straight-ahead rocker as John laid down a blistering organ riff, and Ringo bashed bongos later in the song.
2. ‘Paperback Writer’
Year: 1966
The Fab Four recorded this May 1966 A-side during a brief break in the Revolver recording sessions. The sweet vocal harmonization was a false front. Once the music started, it was all biting, distorted guitar, thumping bass, and fantastic Ringo Starr drum fills. Paul had a large hand in writing the song, and it showcased the storytelling he had up his sleeve on later songs such as “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” and “Lovely Rita.” The Beatles, at the height of their popularity and near the peak of their powers, put it all to the test with the “Paperback Writer” single.
3. ‘Rain’
Year: 1966
Was “Paperback Writer” the Beatles’ best single? We wouldn’t argue with you if you said yes. “Rain” was the B-side to “Paperback Writer.” It retained the thumbing, resonant bass of the A-side, but it was must-hear music for other reasons. “Rain” was worth it to hear Ringo’s spectacular drumming alone. He called it a weird Beatles track because his beat never settled into a groove. We’d call it fantastic. The tune also features a backmasked vocal track in the final verse. John bragged The Beatles used the trick first. Whether or not they did, “Rain” was the first time they employed it on a song.
4. ‘Lady Madonna’
Year: 1968
Paul once said he wrote “Lady Madonna” when he set out to pen a bluesy tune. He hit the bullseye with the song, which the Fab Four recorded in early 1968 before they traveled to India. The hooky, bouncy piano presaged the direction The Beatles went with The White Album later in the year. His singing in the style of Fats Domino led Domino to cover the tune. Ringo’s snare beats hit where the piano doesn’t and later shifted to high hat taps, it has one of the most forceful Beatles guitar riffs, and the saxophones give it an R&B feel.
5. ‘Hey Jude’
Year: 1968
Paul wrote the song. His delicate piano playing dominated the early portion of the song, but he needed the rest of The Beatles to take it over the finish line. John convinced Macca not to change a placeholder line in the song, and he received a co-writing credit for his contribution. Paul, John, Ringo, and George Harrison harmonized on the “Na, na, na, na-na-na-na / Hey Jude” lines, and strings, brass, and woodwinds enter the mix as the song builds and builds until the whole thing fades out at a glacial pace. “Hey Jude,” was definitely one of the best Beatles songs left off albums and probably one of their best altogether.
6. ‘Revolution’
Year: 1968
The “Paperback Writer”/”Rain” short player has competition for The Beatles’ best single. “Revolution” landed on the flip side of “Hey Jude.” It was the stylistic antithesis of the A-side. “Revolution” the single turned out far differently than the “Revolution 1” version on The White Album. It had what was probably their most distorted guitar riff, Ringo’s forceful beat is all toms and snare with sparingly few cymbals, and the dueling guitar and piano (courtesy of sometimes Rolling Stones member) Nicky Hopkins) solos threatened to push the song to its limits.
7. ‘The Ballad of John and Yoko’
Year: 1969
John and Paul could barely stand to be around each other outside of a recording studio in early 1969. They still made exciting music inside. John felt inspired to record the song when he and Yoko Ono returned from their honeymoon. He tapped his friend to record “The Ballad of John and Yoko” when George and Ringo weren’t available. The country-tinged tune featured an excellent John vocal melody, and Paul’s pleasantly perky bass line and solid piano work.
Despite his “bigger than Jesus” comments in the mid-1960s and lyrics such as “Christ, you know it ain’t easy” in “The Ballad of John and Yoko,” the single rose to No. 8 on the Billboard charts and reached No. 1 for three weeks in England, per the Official Charts Company.
Like the rest of the tunes on our list, “The Ballad of John and Yoko” never appeared on a Fab Four studio release, which makes it one of the best Beatles songs the band left off their albums.
- Honorable mentions: “Slow Down,” “Day Tripper,” “The Inner Light.”
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