Choosing a list of the 5 best albums from arguably the greatest rock band of all time can be a nearly impossible task. I mean, it would be nearly criminal to pick only five albums out of a dazzling, eclectic variety of a dozen works that boasted of stellar, extraordinary musical output that has redefined the very meaning of modern pop and rock music. So, even as I had to keep out comparatively inconsistent, though still exciting, albums like 'Beatles For Sale' and 'Magical Mystery Tour', I was tortured at the thought of a chock of iconic material being excised from my list. Imagine then a list without any mention of 'All You Need Is Love' or 'I Feel Fine' (with that revolutionary moment of guitar feedback), 'Penny Lane' or even the quintessential Lennon classics 'Strawberry Fields Forever' and 'I Am The Walrus'. Yes, even that goofy pop hit from Paul McCartney, 'Hello, Goodbye'.
But some truths cannot be ignored. For the record, each of the five albums in this list represent the group at their most artistically brilliant and musically superlative, creating music that can be called as pure art, pitch-perfect melodic ingenuity and songwriting brilliance all at the same time. So, here we go and let's see how these Fab Five albums get ranked in my opinion.
5: A Hard Day's Night (1964)
Richard Lester's rip-roaring mockumentary on the Fab Four struggling with the nearly insane mobs of fans, their own cheeky antics and Paul's crusty grandfather in tow, was filmmaking of a deliriously hilarious order, boasting of Alun Owen's wisecracking Liverpudlian humour, Lennon's infectiously wild-eyed mischief, Harrison's laconic charisma and, above all, great music to go along with it. As a moment of the Beatlemania of the early 1960s reaching a sensational peak, the album is studded with some of the best specimens of those 'yeah, yeah, yeah' days which were bolstered with irresistible rhythms, refreshingly unconventional songwriting and the collective energy of four Liverpool lads having a ball of a time.
There is enough meat here for the Beatles virgins to dig; the opening guitar thrum of the breakneck title track is like an announcement of the well-accepted fact that the boys were to last for long. To be honest, McCartney was already proving his mettle in songwriting and lyrics, despite that most Lennon lovers (including me) would like to believe that he was the real creative force of those days. The ridiculous nursery-rhyme simplicity of McCartney's 'And I Love Her' is made effective by Ringo Starr's plucky bongo drumming and Harrison's moody guitar but do give a try to the fast and furious 'Can't Buy Me Love' and the almost haunting 'Things We Said Today' to discover what Paul was capable of. And George lent one of his early moments of pure thrill in 'I Am Happy Just To Dance With You'.
Of course, Lennon himself is no less in his spectacular moments. His wistful singing on 'If I Fell' is starkly honest in its willing vulnerability to romance and he lets it rip in the more charged music hall numbers 'I Should Have Known Better' and 'Tell Me Why'. Of course, the man cannot stay away from a bit of controversial audacity, and 'You Can't Do That', while every bit a slice of classic concert-era Beatles, has the kind of jealously possessive lyrics that kind of mirror his own flaws as a less-than-ideal husband and lover at that time. That and a few predictable moments can be the only niggles in an otherwise extraordinary ensemble of sizzling, swinging melodies.
4: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
There are two types of people. One are those who love 'Sgt. Pepper' as a watershed moment of pop and rock and roll and hail it as not only the best work that the Beatles did but also the greatest album ever made in the history of music. Then, there are those who love it for all its incredible qualities but don't quite hold it up as the best record that they produced. I am one of the second type and I will give you my reasons.
To begin with, it is an album dominated more or less by only one Beatle and that is Paul McCartney.That's not a bad thing really. Sure, the title track is a tad too theatrical to be really impressive but then the whole concept of this meticulously produced work was this fictional Edwardian military band that he had thought of as a new way to package the band with vaudeville innovation. And songs like the upbeat 'Getting Better', (with invaluable inputs from Lennon), the sweet love ballad 'When I'm Sixty Four' and the exquisitely sad 'She's Leaving Home' prove that how much care he took to churn out only perceptive songwriting instead of just bouncy, sugar-coated melody.
But moments that come from Lennon and Harrison (by now already a parallel force to the other two domineering members) define Sgt. Peppers in a particularly special way. There was the show-stopping 'Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds'. Then, borrowing his words from a Victorian-era advertisement for a splendid public show, Lennon brought to life the era of festive crowds, trampoline artists, stuntmen and circus tricks and his biting satire of the routine of urban life in 'Good Morning, Good Morning' is supremely cynical, bolstered with McCartney's splendid guitar playing and Starr's relentless drumming. And Harrison himself did himself enough credit by warbling with Indian raga on the exquisite, if a tad too exotic, 'Within You Without You' which lends the real throbbing soul to the album.
Still, the album goes on for a tad too long and this is less about the length than about a slightly glaring lack of fresh experimentation all around. Essentially, it can be called as a canvas for McCartney to try out everything in his book and to that extent, it works splendidly. Let's also not forget those painstaking but extraordinary sessions at the Abbey Road studios that resulted in all the Beatles overcoming all their inherent lack of musical knowledge to go at it all in creating perfection that was truly impressive. And yes, it also ends with 'A Day In The Life' which was them at their truly best.
3: Revolver (1966)
With a name that would belong to a rollicking crime caper and endowed with the kind of rapport that would even put to shame most bands putting together a grand act, 'Revolver' remains even today the most resounding indication that the Beatles had finally arrived in terms of craftsmanship. There was no doubt of that before, actually; even their most populist output had the kind of bristling energy and fresh inspiration that was truly path-breaking. But even as 'Help!' and 'Rubber Soul' had evidence of stunning maturity on the front of composition and songwriting, 'Revolver' changed the way we thought about the Beatles for once and for all.
George Harrison revealed his hitherto hidden talent for writing and melody with the thrilling 'Taxman', a song that also took the group from being just musical idols to important political beatniks of the social and cultural revolution. McCartney contributed a couple of mesmerising and beautiful songs too; 'Here There And Everywhere' is a lovely, lovely ballad infused with the kind of warmth and gushing romance that will probably never age with time and 'For No One' unleashed a darker spirit inside this normally chocolate boy hero of the gang.
The solo Starr number on the album, 'Yellow Submarine', and that somewhat passable 'And Your Bird Can Sing' (which is better in its reckless, laughing studio version) are surpassed by Harrison's standout piece 'Love You To', a swirling, thumping mix of rippling, raw sitar with a droning sexual flavour that is just irresistible. And Lennon stands out again on his own, bringing a heady dose of lazy cynicism in 'I'm Only Sleeping', bitter mutterings in 'She Said, She Said' and even brash, wicked wit in 'Doctor Robert'.
It all sounds fresh, frivolous, fiery and even fiercely passionate even today; each number sounds like all the four members working in perfect harmony (Starr's drumming, in particular, is outstanding in each song). And the fact that they capped this moment with the outrageously inventive 'Tomorrow Never Knows' (in which Lennon sounds like many Tibetan monks and Harrison plays backwards slide guitar) indicates that they were ready for the bigger game ahead.
2: Abbey Road (1969)
Many bands and rock icons have the misfortune of concluding their careers with swan songs that have little of the original charm that defines their personality. So, we are lucky that the Beatles chose to sign off with such tremendous grace and terrific collaboration that it was hardly a sign of things breaking up for once and for all. For the record, 'Abbey Road', named so because of the cover imagery of the four walking down the zebra-crossing leading to the EMI Studios for one last group effort, was actually the last officially recorded album instead of 'Let It Be' which was merely released a bit later. So, you can imagine all the chaos of the world's greatest band being broken apart by reasons too many to name and the collective disappointment of the world at seeing their most beloved boys leaving the stage forever.
It was up to them, eventually, to put on a grand show and what a grand show it turned out to be. For once, Lennon, Starr, McCartney and Harrison put away all their differences and bonded together like former bandmates and created an album that was like a last, final hurrah for all those great times and all the unforgettable music that came out of it. Poignant indeed but far from elegiac and endlessly entertaining.
Each of the four Beatles got enough room to flex his musical muscles to the fullest resulting in more than enough standout moments. Lennon demonstrates now the kind of dirty, gritty and bluesy edge to his music with such incredible hard-slamming rockers like 'Come Together' and 'I Want You (She's So Heavy)' but also proves his newfound mettle in stripped-down yet ingenious composition with the stunning 'Because' which features piano and guitar strings played backwards. Also, 'I Want You' has his quintessential primal scream along with possibly the most killer bass ever played by McCartney.
Harrison, by now a seasoned rock artist himself, came up with his own love ballad to match the ones by McCartney and Lennon and delivered the miracle known as 'Something', a slow, sexy and sizzling song that still makes the heart pound in the throes of besotted admiration. And McCartney proved his versatility with such worthy tracks as 'Maxwell's Silver Hammer', a gruesome tale of murder told as a children's fable, and the growling, roaring sexual howl in 'Oh! Darling'.
But even with the fun and frolic all around, especially with Lennon's quirky and funky bits in that epic Medley which covers the whole of the second half, the overall mood of 'Abbey Road' is still wistful and melancholic to an extent. Two fabulous McCartney pieces, the terse 'You Never Give Me Your Money' and the rousingly sentimental 'Carry That Weight' sum up the overwhelming feeling of loss and regret that was plaguing each of the Beatles at that final hour of reconciliation. Interestingly enough, Starr's 'Octopus' Garden' (clearly his finest hour at colourful compositions) and Harrison's gentle and delightful 'Here Comes The Sun' serve as welcome respite to the themes explored from time to time. And one has to admire the way the four sign off the album in grand style. 'The End' features three mind-numbing guitar solos by the three guitarists of the group and also a drum solo that will rock your ears fully.
1: The White Album (1968)
When hard-core Beatles fans are asked about their favourite Beatles albums, they will all refer to the ones that had the most memorable songs. It is easy to assume that the greatest work of the Beatles was when they were all together as a team. By the time 'The Beatles', also known as 'The White Album', was released, they were not even half a team. Tensions had erupted among all the four member over issues both minor and significant; John Lennon's romance with Yoko Ono created cracks in his friendship with the others, Paul McCartney started acting like a boss and demanded unreasonable levels of commitment and Ringo Starr and George Harrison wanted to go out on their own. The mood was mostly sour, relationships were mostly rocky and, as Lennon pointed out, only 16 songs from the whole sprawling ensemble featured all the four playing together.
Yet, if conflict and agony can create true masterworks of art, then 'The White Album' is right at the top as the simplest, strangest and most extraordinary work that the Beatles ever created. It might have been a moment of pathos, of the battle of personal egos and demons but it is also a crucial point of time at which we see the Beatles not just as a band but as a team of supremely talented musicians who would redefine the way we think about music.
The Beatles were shuttling from simple, stripped-down guitar melodies to sophisticated and edgy creations within the expansive space of the album without any common concept to tie them down. You can sample some of the heaviest and most influential hard rockers from the Fab Four- there is the brazen and angry 'Helter Skelter' by McCartney that changed the way forever we were to think of blues rock. There is also Lennon's 'Yer Blues' which features his snarling tribute to the emerging British blues and doom rock genres and also paves the way forward for the more gritty stuff that would follow in his solo career. At the same time, the album is studded with exotic experimentation even when blended with simplistic, even mundane songwriting. Lennon's 'Dear Prudence', a message to Prudence Farrow to get a breath of fresh air from her meditation, boasts of excellent guitar work from all around while even that much-maligned attempt at Jamaican ska 'Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da' is infused with the kind of sugar-sweet, gushing melody that is incredibly infectious to listen to.
In case you are wondering, some of McCartney's most brilliant moments are also to be found on 'The White Album'. From the gently acoustic 'I Will', which harkens back to his lilting love ballads of the early years to the rough-edged 'Rocky Raccoon', a jam session with lyrics that could have belonged to a Sergio Leone spaghetti western, this was the album that showcases his newfound talents to push himself in new directions. There is also a bruising, even crushing intimacy to a lot of the songs on the album. Harrison's finest hour, 'Long, Long, Long', is an impassioned, haunting paean to his discovery of God while Lennon's 'I'm So Tired' is his brutal confession of his increasing obsession with Yoko Ono. As is his solo stunner 'Julia', which also hints at his love for his eponymous mother.
A lot of the material was written in India where the Beatles were serving as attendees of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's Transcendental Meditation sessions at Rishikesh. The sour mood which concluded their stay and the subsequent battles of wits inside the studios are apparent throughout the album; McCartney and Lennon recorded songs without involving each other, Starr left his duties for a while and Harrison even invited Eric Clapton for his show-stopping breakup rocker 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps'. Yet, for all the dissonance and disputes, 'The White Album' ranks as their greatest work yet for displaying what made them truly unique, both individually and collectively. You can just listen to the bristling, sweaty and raunchy flavour of Lennon's 'Happiness Is A Warm Gun', the subtle allusions of African-American upliftment in McCartney's warm 'Blackbird', the cheeky English humour of Harrison's 'Savoy Truffle' or even the controversial politics of 'Revolution' to discover that you are listening to the Beatles at their absolute best.
