Episodes

#139 – Eight Days A Week w/ Dr. Duncan Driver

The break’s over friends! We’ve missed you all, but we’re tanned, rested, and ready to rank! Well, actually we’re still quite pasty (Jonathan especially), we’re still always tired, but we’re definitely ready to get back to the business of ranking!

To say the Beatles were working hard in 1964 is more than an understatement. Tours, bbc sessions, t.v. appearances, movies, recording sessions, sometimes multiple of these things in the same day…yeah, it was a lot. So in this situation, one would maybe be excused to not turn out their BEST work. Of course, even the Beatles’ not-best-work is still classic, and that’s what Eight Days A Week is. It’s the first time the band ever took a song to the studio that was incomplete, such was the pace at which they needed to churn out material. It’s got all the catchiness and melody of a classic Beatles tune, but it maybe KIIIIINDA feels a bit tossed off as well, in that “too big to fail” way. It’s the intersection of the band’s need to maintain chart dominance while also starting to experiment in studio and stretch their legs as artists. It’s a great tune, for sure, but is it also an early sign to a new direction? A new direction apart?

Joining us this week is Dr. Duncan Driver, who, if you listen to other Beatle podcasts, you’ve no doubt heard (he’s frequently featured on One Sweet Dream, among others) wax eloquently about the Fabs. We’re delighted to finally have him on our show, and we touch on all kinds of points, everything from the pop song firsts, Beatles by numbers, Big Mac and Crossroads songs, and Duncan flips the script on our rapid fire questions! Be sure to follow Duncan on social media at https://twitter.com/drduncd, and catch him on episodes of One Sweet Dream!

What do you think? Too high? Too low? Just right? Let us know in the comments on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/rankingthebeatles, Instagram @rankingthebeatles, or Twitter @rankingbeatles! Be sure to check out RTB’s official website, www.rankingthebeatles.com and our brand new webstore!! RANK YOUR OWN BEATLES with our new RTB poster!  Pick up a tshirt, coffee cup, tote bag, and more! Enjoying the show, and wanna show your support? Buy Us A Coffee!

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Reviews

Judge Timbers

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.

spazaru

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.

finfan64

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

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