Beatles Survivor Poll - Please Please Me Side B / Round 3

[Heston]

Maybe sacrilege but I think Rock and Roll Music is better than Chuck's.

Me too, because Lennon had a better rock n roll voice.

Yeah, they pushed the key of the song higher and Lennon fucking nails it.

[Flex]

To me, it's because it's comparing the cover to not just the other songs that are in the poll, but also to all other versions of the song (presumably, if there is any even better cover out there, that would somehow reflect poorly on the Beatles version). So it serves to penalize (or maybe reward, if it's considered the best cover out there) a song in ways that originals don't have to be evaluated. It fundamentally raises the standard expected of the cover rather than just judging it against the other songs.

Subtle distinction, but I don't really think we're comparing the songs, we're comparing our reactions to the songs against each other. In that sense, I think it's fair (and more authentic) to simply accept the full range of our reactions to each song.

So if you think Earth, Wind & Fire's cover of "Got To Get You Into My Life" is better than the original—note: it is—then that penalizes the original? Or a lousy cover—say, one of those songs George Burns sang in the Pepper movie—elevates the original? I'd respect the effort to add complexity to evaluation, but I'd still be thinking it's going off the rails.

Well, it's not a math equation but I've generally treated the "not the best version of a song" thing as sort of a tiebreaker when I have two songs I otherwise like pretty similarly. When I listen to a song and it just nags in the back of my brain that's there's a better version of this out there while the competing song elicits no similar reaction, it makes sense to ding the song a bit at that point.

Fair enough if it's just about justification. I always assume that there's an element of persuasion that goes on in these things, even if it's not explicit. It doesn't mean being competitive or cut-throat, only that discourse has a tacit element of introducing a line of thought that others hadn't considered. And with that comes the possibility of altering a person's opinion. It doesn't have to be some kind of end game, but I think that's always embedded in there.

Well, I think my evaluation criteria is very sensible so I hope it convinces more people to adopt it!

[Dr. Medulla]

Subtle distinction, but I don't really think we're comparing the songs, we're comparing our reactions to the songs against each other. In that sense, I think it's fair (and more authentic) to simply accept the full range of our reactions to each song.

I see what you mean about reaction, and I think it's a proper distinction—we're not musicologists here; we're fans—but I'm still inclined to seek to judge each song by as close to the same criteria as all the others, which is to only judge Beatles against Beatles.

Well, I think my evaluation criteria is very sensible so I hope it convinces more people to adopt it!

And I will happily accuse you of being a Cuban Communist member of the Taliban in rebuttal.

[Dr. Medulla]

Maybe sacrilege but I think Rock and Roll Music is better than Chuck's.

Me too, because Lennon had a better rock n roll voice.

Yeah, they pushed the key of the song higher and Lennon fucking nails it.

Lennon so often gets noted for that kind of dreamy voice—think "Imagine" or "In My Life"—but he had a savage rock n roller's voice starting out. McCartney probably had greater range of emotion, but Lennon had that, I dunno, growl?

[Heston]

Maybe sacrilege but I think Rock and Roll Music is better than Chuck's.

Me too, because Lennon had a better rock n roll voice.

Yeah, they pushed the key of the song higher and Lennon fucking nails it.

Lennon so often gets noted for that kind of dreamy voice—think "Imagine" or "In My Life"—but he had a savage rock n roller's voice starting out. McCartney probably had greater range of emotion, but Lennon had that, I dunno, growl?

Yeah, that kind of voice at the point of shredding when it's operating at its maximum range. Check that cover they did called Twist and Shout.

[Dr. Medulla]

Maybe sacrilege but I think Rock and Roll Music is better than Chuck's.

Me too, because Lennon had a better rock n roll voice.

Yeah, they pushed the key of the song higher and Lennon fucking nails it.

Lennon so often gets noted for that kind of dreamy voice—think "Imagine" or "In My Life"—but he had a savage rock n roller's voice starting out. McCartney probably had greater range of emotion, but Lennon had that, I dunno, growl?

Yeah, that kind of voice at the point of shredding when it's operating at its maximum range. Check that cover they did called Twist and Shout.

We should talk about that song!

[Wolter]

Me too, because Lennon had a better rock n roll voice.

Yeah, they pushed the key of the song higher and Lennon fucking nails it.

Lennon so often gets noted for that kind of dreamy voice—think "Imagine" or "In My Life"—but he had a savage rock n roller's voice starting out. McCartney probably had greater range of emotion, but Lennon had that, I dunno, growl?

Yeah, that kind of voice at the point of shredding when it's operating at its maximum range. Check that cover they did called Twist and Shout.

We should talk about that song!

its all right. I’ve heard better versions.

[Dr. Medulla]

Yeah, they pushed the key of the song higher and Lennon fucking nails it.

Lennon so often gets noted for that kind of dreamy voice—think "Imagine" or "In My Life"—but he had a savage rock n roller's voice starting out. McCartney probably had greater range of emotion, but Lennon had that, I dunno, growl?

Yeah, that kind of voice at the point of shredding when it's operating at its maximum range. Check that cover they did called Twist and Shout.

We should talk about that song!

its all right. I’ve heard better versions.

Name one.

[Wolter]

Lennon so often gets noted for that kind of dreamy voice—think "Imagine" or "In My Life"—but he had a savage rock n roller's voice starting out. McCartney probably had greater range of emotion, but Lennon had that, I dunno, growl?

Yeah, that kind of voice at the point of shredding when it's operating at its maximum range. Check that cover they did called Twist and Shout.

We should talk about that song!

its all right. I’ve heard better versions.

Name one.

You're not my real father!

[Marky Dread]

I’m gonna split the difference: Twist and Shout is both good and overrated.

Bah. That's the agreeableness of a base Canadian.

I just massively prefer the Isley Bothers.

Come to think of it, I almost always prefer the original to any Beatles cover, even when it’s a good cover.

The only cover that really is as good as the original for me is "Bad Boy". That really rocks.

[Marky Dread]

Voting off "Baby It's You" makes me sad.

[WestwayKid]

Maybe sacrilege but I think Rock and Roll Music is better than Chuck's.

beach boys better than both tho

"Rock, rock, rock and roll music...rock, rock, rock and roll music..."

[WestwayKid]

I’m gonna split the difference: Twist and Shout is both good and overrated.

Bah. That's the agreeableness of a base Canadian.

I just massively prefer the Isley Bothers.

Come to think of it, I almost always prefer the original to any Beatles cover, even when it’s a good cover.

The only cover that really is as good as the original for me is "Bad Boy". That really rocks.

I would argue that Money is better than the original.

[WestwayKid]

Maybe sacrilege but I think Rock and Roll Music is better than Chuck's.

Me too, because Lennon had a better rock n roll voice.

Yeah, they pushed the key of the song higher and Lennon fucking nails it.

Lennon so often gets noted for that kind of dreamy voice—think "Imagine" or "In My Life"—but he had a savage rock n roller's voice starting out. McCartney probably had greater range of emotion, but Lennon had that, I dunno, growl?

Yeah, that kind of voice at the point of shredding when it's operating at its maximum range. Check that cover they did called Twist and Shout.

The last song recorded for Please Please Me. They needed one more and pulled this cover from their live set. Lennon, his voice ravaged by a really bad cold, figured he could give it 2 takes at most. They decamped to the canteen at Abbey Road for coffee (Lennon chose warm milk for his throat). They then went back into the studio and put this done in 1 take. They tried a 2nd, but his voice was gone. It's a very powerful performance that maybe (or so I've read) comes the closest to capturing their Cavern Club sound.

[WestwayKid]

It should be pointed out that technically the Isley Brothers' version is also a cover. It was first recorded by a Detroit based group called The Top Notes (and produced by an up-and-coming Phil Spector).

The song was written by Phil Medley and Bert Berns (Piece of My Heart, Here Comes the Night, Hang on Sloopy). They did not like the production work that Spector had done, so they enlisted the Isley Brothers to re-record the track (this time with Berns at the helm).