Episodes
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#112 – Two of Us with guests Sodajerker (Brian O’Conner & Simon Barber, songwriters and hosts of Sodajerker on Songwriting)
One of the first songs The Beatles worked on for the Get Back sessions of 1969, Paul's "Two of Us" was inspired by his road trips to nowhere with his new love, Linda; piling in the car, picking a direction and getting lost, just for fun. When he brought it to the band...
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#113 – Piggies with guest Andre Bohren (musician, The Walrus, 1000s of others)
By the time of the White Album, George Harrison had mellowed considerably, thanks in part to his immersion in meditation. His newfound enlightenment replacing the dour, bitter side that came out in earlier songs like "Don't Bother Me," or "Taxman." So it's interesting that this chilled out version of George would decide to pickup the abandoned-in-1966 song "Piggies"...
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#114 – Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby with guest Felix Wohlleben (guitarist, The Walrus)
Though George was still a budding songwriter in 1964, deadlines and heavy workloads meant he didn't have anything ready for the band's 4th album. John and Paul didn't seem to have the time...
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#115 – It’s Only Love with guest David Pomerleau (bassist, The Walrus, Johnny Sketch & The Dirty Notes)
When you're cranking out 2 albums a year, plus singles, plus a movie, plus BBC sessions, plus tv appearance, AND touring, it can be a little difficult to crank out nothing but brilliance. While most of us hardcore Beatle fans are not quick to deride many songs in their catalog...
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#116 – Lovely Rita with guest Matt Hobbs (songwriter, creator of “Puppy Songs”)
It takes a certain higher level of creativity to write a song based around the more mundane and every-day-type affairs. Obviously, that's something Paul McCartney has in spades, as he was able to turn an encounter with a meter maid into the Sgt. Pepper track "Lovely Rita."
Reviews
Ranking the songs of the Beatles? What could possibly go wrong? But somehow this podcast gets it just right thanks to the wit and charm of the co-hosts and their guests. The listener quickly discovers the rankings are used not to incite heated arguments but rather as a starting point to spark a positive deep dive into every Beatle song. Put simply, Ranking The Beatles is a welcome addition to the Beatle podcast universe.
Required listening if you like The Beatles at all. Great guests every week and Jonathan and Julia are fun and genuinely funny (even the tired Mike Love jokes). I listen every Tuesday morning as soon as I wake up. One week around Christmas they took the week off so I just slept the whole week until there was a new episode. It was worth the wait.
Nice to see a truly excellent new Beatles podcast. This one is hosted by a very appealing young couple, who along with their well selected guests, have a winning combination of professional musical knowledge and the enthusiasm of fans. It’s an interesting format that by definition promises to only get better as it goes along. If they can make the “Only a Northern Song” episode good then they’re unstoppable