Some of the albums released by The Beatles “weren’t any good” according to band member George Harrison.
The so-called “quiet one” of the Fab Four spoke candidly about which of the albums released by the band were worth listening to. Eight years on from their break-up and Harrison began reflecting on the highs and lows of recording with Paul McCartney, John Lennon, and Ringo Starr. Though many fan favourites also featured on the list of albums McCartney remained proud of, one album, which the band saw more as a contractual obligation at the time, has not fared well. Harrison wrote off the album in an interview given eight years after The Beatles split. He, along with the rest of his bandmates, was asked frequently in interviews for his thoughts on the Fab Four’s discography.
One interview saw Harrison comment: “The four of us are so tied up with our own lives, and it’s been eight years since we split. And time goes so fast. It’s not beyond the bounds of possibility, but we’d have to want to do it for the music’s sake first.
“We wouldn’t stick together because somebody had put an ad in the paper putting us on the spot.” Harrison at the time did not rule out reuniting with the rest of the group if it were for “music’s sake”, but he did suggest there were better periods of recording for the group.
A double bill of albums was admired by Harrison, who suggested it showed the group had “progressed” from record to record. He said: “I liked when we got into Rubber Soul, Revolver. Each album had something good about it and progressed.”
But there was one album which offered the opposite, Harrison says. He said: “There were albums which weren’t any good as far as I was concerned, like Yellow Submarine.” Harrison’s distaste for Yellow Submarine was made clear in the interview, but in a separate, earlier interview, Harrison had picked apart several songs on Abbey Road, arguably the band’s very best album.
He said of Paul McCartney’s work on Abbey Road: “Oh, Darling! is another of Paul’s songs which is typical 1950-1960 sort of period in its chord structure. It’s a typical 1955 song which thousands of groups used to make – The Moonglows, The Paragons, The Shells and so on. We do a few ooh-oohs in the background, very quietly, but mainly, it’s Paul shouting.”
He also dismissed Maxwell’s Silver Hammer, and dubbed Oh, Darling! as “mainly Paul shouting.” He had higher praise for Lennon, however, crediting the Imagine songwriter with recording one of the “nicest” songs the band had ever made.
Harrison said: “Come Together, the first track on side one, was one of the last tracks to be recorded. John wrote it a month ago, just after his car accident. It’s a twelve-bar type of tune – and one of the nicest things we’ve done musically. Ringo’s drumming is great. It’s an upbeat, rock-a-beat-boogie, with very Lennon lyrics.”
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Am sorry George, don’t agree.
Yellow Submarine is a special album, as with each Beatles long player, different again.
Standout tracks (two of which are GH compositions) feat Harrison on vocal duties.
Namely, Only A Northern Song and probably the most psychedelic thing the Beatles ever released (it WAS 1968 and the tail end of the flower power era after all) All Too Much.
Another great song on the LP release with its infectious riff first on piano, then guitar, then bass, is the instant classic Hey Bulldog.
Oh Darling and Maxwell are fantastic songs! Maybe not in George’s musical tast but amazing. Also let’s here it for Paul on his bass playing and suggestion that the song be played more like a swampy tune. Much better that the straight up CB R&R version. That change and the bass playing made the song.
I agree about Maxwell – bizarre, feels like an in-joke that only Paul is in on. But his voice is awesome on Oh Darling, I’d argue much better than the 50s/60s equivalents. And Abbey Road, with perhaps just the exception of Maxwell, for me, is just pure class. But also Rubber Soul and Revolver are brilliant break-out albums
George was rightfully dissatisfied with the lack of cohesive collaborative musical quality at the end of the 60″s, and The Beatles. So much talent, the final result left one expecting, and wanting more.
Yellow Submarine (Songtrack) contains ‘Hey Bull Dog’ – great psychedelic rockers to be sure. Surreal, pacey and totally cooled out! One of their greatest songs for sure. So, best not to dismiss whole Beatles albums without properly listening .