Fleetwood Mac - 1974-12-15 - Record Plant, Sausalito, CA

Fleetwood Mac

December 15, 1974
Record Plant, Sausalito, CA
FM Broadcast (KSAN-FM) recording, very good quality
Available in both Lossless (FLAC) and Mp3 (320 kbps) versions

Continuing on with more from 'The Bob Welch Years' of Fleetwood Mac (1971-1974). After dismissing guitarist-songwriter-vocalist Danny Kirwan (for out of control alcohol problems) after the Bare Trees tour, in September 1972, the band added guitarist Bob Weston and vocalist Danny Walker (Savoy Brown), as they apparently wanted to maintain a similar dynamic of having 2 lead guitarists and 3 vocalists. This new lineup recorded Penguin (1973), which was well-received, but Walker was let go shortly after that for not being the 'right fit' for the band. The remaining members carried on, releasing their next album, Mystery To Me (1973) just 6 months later. Mystery to Me is a strong album, and featured 4 Christine McVie songs (for the first time), as well as several good Welch songs, including 'Hypnotized' which received substantial radio play in the US and became a band standard. The band seemed poised for greater success, but additional problems intervened. Early on in their subsequent tour, guitarist Weston had an affair with Fleetwood's wife, which caused Weston's immediate dismissal, and the emotionally devastated Fleetwood was unable to continue the tour, resulting in its cancellation with 26 dates left to play, causing the band to 'temporarily disband'.  Well, the band's manager was not about to let that happen, and told the band that he owned the rights to the name 'Fleetwood Mac' and would hire a new set of musicians to tour in early 1974. He hired members of the band Legs, who were told that Mick Fleetwood would rejoin the band with them later on the tour (even though Fleetwood had nothing to do with them). They were billed as the 'New Fleetwood Mac', and performed at rescheduled dates on the US Tour. Although the tour started out OK, as word spread that this was a 'bogus' Fleetwood Mac, they faced increasing hostility and cancelled shows, forcing the cancellation of the rest of the tour. Meanwhile, the resulting lawsuit regarding the Fleetwood Mac naming rights sidelined the 'actual' Fleetwood Mac for most of 1974. Although the battle was not legally resolved until 4 years later, the 'real' Fleetwood Mac, which was now a foursome consisting of Welch, Fleetwood, and John and Christy McVie, was able to continue recording and tour again beginning in September 1974. Another change brought about by the lawsuit was a move of the band's base of operation to the US, which afforded greater cooperation with their record company and access to the US market. This stripped down version of the band (this was the first time Fleetwood Mac did not have 2 or more guitarists) released a dynamite new album, Heroes Are Hard to Find (1974) and played several dates in the fall of 1974. Heroes consisted completely of Welch (7 songs) and C. McVie (4 songs) compositions, and was arguably their best album to date, with McVie's title track and 'Come a Little Bit Closer', and Welch's 'Angel', 'Bermuda Triangle', and 'Silver Heels' among the highlights, and the album charted higher in the US than any previous album (reaching #34 Billboard). Personally, I really liked the sound and style of this period and album. Welch's unique combination of rock, jazz, funk, and pop, and his moody, atmospheric groove and vocals brought a different sound and style to the band, and this period also saw the development of Christine McVie into a world-class songwriter and performer. But, Welch left the band in December 1974, going on to a solo career. And then, of course, shortly after that Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks (of the struggling duo Buckingham-Nicks) joined the band, and Fleetwood Mac soared to unprecedented heights with their subsequent releases Fleetwood Mac (1975),  Rumours (1977), and beyond. But these Bob Welch years were an important and crucial phase of the band, providing many memorable songs and shows, and I really don't think that the subsequent megastardom phase would have been possible without the development of the band during Welch's time and leadership. However, when Fleetwood Mac was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998, Welch was not included, even though all other past members of significance, such as Peter Green, Jeremy Spencer, and Danny Kirwan were all included. And most of the Fleetwood Mac compilations completely ignore this period (only the 3-disc box set 50 years-Don't Stop includes any Welch or McVie songs from this period). Bob Welch died in 2012 at age 66. A few months before his death, he underwent spinal surgery which did not go well, leaving him in pain and unable to walk. On June 7, he took his own life. 

The show posted here returns to Welch's final days with Fleetwood Mac, possibly his last show with them. it is an excellent radio broadcast from the Record Plant, December 15, 1974. The show is live, but without an actual audience, being in front of only a couple dozen Record Plant-affiliated people, which makes for a somewhat strange silence after and between songs. But it is a great show nonetheless and Welch's final fling with Fleetwood Mac. Unfortunately, they did not play 'Silver Heels' or 'Heroes', 2 of my favorite songs from Heroes Are Hard to Find.

Tracklist:
01. Green Manalishi
02. Angel
03. Spare Me A Little
04. Sentimental Lady (false start)
05. Sentimental Lady > Future Games
06. Bermuda Triangle
07. Why
08. Believe Me
09. Black Magic Woman
10. Oh Well
11. Band Intros
12. Rattlesnake Shake
13. Hypnotized
14. Mystery To Me


Bob Welch - guitar, vocals
Christine McVie - piano, vocals
Bobby Hunt - Hammond organ, clavinet, ARP synthesizer
John McVie - bass
Mick Fleetwood - drums

FLAC - Fleetwood Mac_1974-12-15_Sausalito_FLAC.rar
New Links! Updated 06/25/23
mp3 - Fleetwood Mac_1974-12-15_Sausalito_mp3.rar

 
Note: the FLAC and mp3 versions here come from slightly different source recordings (but both excellent). The mp3 version has the false start to Sentimental Lady removed thus the track numbering is a bit different.

 

Fleetwood Mac - 1972-03-10 - Paramount Theater, Seattle, WA

Fleetwood Mac

March 10, 1972
Paramount Theater, Seattle WA
FM Broadcast Recording (KISW-FM), Very Good Quality
Avaialble in both Lossless (FLAC) and Mp3 (320kbps) versions

Continuing now with another popular radio-friendly band from the '70's, Fleetwood Mac, but with a twist. Most know and love Fleetwood Mac from their superstardom success from 1975 and beyond (The Buckingham-Nicks years), and then there are those that tout and prefer the early guitar blues-rock of the band (1967-1970) when lead by legendary guitarist Peter Green. But my favorite period of the band was the much less heralded transition years (1971-1974) between those two distinctly different periods, the Bob Welch years. It was a time that carried over some of the more rockin' and bluesy aspects of the earlier band, while also developing the pop sensibilities needed for radio and hit singles success. This was also the period when Christine McVie became a prominent member of the band, both with her vocals and songwriting, leading the way for more commercial success. They released 5 albums during this period, including some of their best, though not as successful as later entries. However, it was also a very turbulent period, with much turmoil, dissension, and turnover within the band, as well as legal issues and even the emergence of an imitation version of Fleetwood Mac. Despite everything going on, they put out a series of fine albums that set the stage for their greater success to come. Ok, so, by 1971, Original members and dual guitarists Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer had left the band, leaving guitarist Danny Kirwan, drummer Mick Fleetwood, and bassist John McVie. The former keyboardist-vocalist Christine Perfect, now married to McVie, had contributed (uncredited) to their 1970 album Kiln House, and was now made a full-time member of the band. And they also brought in guitarist-vocalist Bob Welch. The first album with this new lineup was Future Games (1971), which was, not surprisingly, a major departure from their previous albums. The songwriting and vocals were split among Kirwan, Welch, and C. McVie, with each having somewhat different styles. But the new format seemed to gain more attention in the US, eventually resulting in the earliest of their albums to receive a gold record there. But the next album, Bare Trees (1972) would be a major breakthrough, particularly in the US. Again featuring songs split among Kirwan, Welch, and McVie, this album featured the radio breakout songs Welch's 'Sentimental Lady' and Christine's signature 'Spare Me a Little', both of which received much radio airplay on FM AOR stations, and became band staples (with 'Spare Me A Little' laying the foundation for many future successful Christine-fronted singles). However, during the subsequent tour, Kirwan's alcohol and drug problems became insurmountable, and he was fired from the band.  This led to several additional lineup changes over the next couple years (which I will get to in the next post). For now, let's enjoy the final era of the band with Danny Kirwan still a part. Here is a show from early in 1972, just prior to the release of Bare Trees. Thus the show features the threesome of songwriter-vocals of Bob Welch, Danny Kirwan, and Christine McVie, and songs primarily from Future Games and Bare Trees, as well as some of their older catalog, rendered fresh by the guitar work of Welch and Kirwan. This was the first major tour that featured Welch and McVie, as well as the last to include Kirwan. This is a very good radio broadcast recording from the Seattle show. Since this radio show was a bit short, I have added a few bonus tracks from an August show in NY, which was one of the very last shows that included Kirwan (also of note is that the final track here, 'Trinity', is quite a rarity in that it was a Kirwan song that was recorded for the Bare Trees album sessions, but was not included on the album, and was not heard or released at all until many years later).   

Tracklist:
1. Tell Me All The Things You Do
2. Future Games
3. Get Like You Used To Be
4. Little Child Of Mine
5. Spare Me A Little
6. Homeward Bound
7. Black Magic Woman
8. Oh! Well
Bonus Tracks (1972-08-30 - Gaelic Park, The Bronx, NY):
9. Green Manalishi
10. Morning Rain
11. Trinity

Personnel:
Bob Welch: Guitar and Vocals
Danny Kirwan: Vocals And Guitar
Christine McVie: Keyboards and Vocals
John McVie: Bass
Mick Fleetwood: Drums

FLAC - Fleetwood Mac_1972-03-10_SeattleWA_FLAC.rar

Mp3 - Fleetwood Mac_1972-03-10_SeattleWA_Mp3.rar

The Doobie Brothers - 1979-02-22 - Budokn Hall, Tokyo, Japan

The Doobie Brothers

February 22nd, 1979
Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan
Soundboard recording, very good quality
Available in both Lossless (FLAC) and Mp3 (320 kbps) versions
 
Here's one more from The Doobie Brothers, this time from the peak of the Michael McDonald years. As mentioned in the last post, Michael McDonald was brought in as a last-minute replacement for the ailing and hospitalized Tom Johnston in order to finish their 1975 tour. But Johnston was still sidelined and needing rest in 1976 when the band was preparing for their next album. And since Johnston was also one of their primary songwriters, they were in need of substantial additional material to record. So, McDonald, who had a bunch of demos of songs he was working on for himself, brought his songs to the band, became a full-time member and the band moved on from there. However, McDonald's songs, style, and groove, with his more laid-back, blue-eyed soul, jazzy style and soft- spoken vocals were very much different from the previous signature sound (Johnston's hard-rockin' guitar songs) of the band, but they made it work. The album, Takin' It To The Streets (1976), debuted this new form of the band, and was quite successful, with two of McDonald's songs, 'Takin It To the Streets' and 'It Keeps You Runnin' becoming radio hits. BTW, Tom Johnston did write, play, and sing lead on one song, as well as share vocals with Simmons on one other song, but that was the extent of his involvement on the album. Whereas McDonald's songs and style dominated, bringing a different sound to the band, in general, their success continued undaunted. By the next album, Johnston was back, and participated in the recording sessions early on, but the band dynamics had changed and Johnston left during the sessions and the band carried on without him. Although Johnston wrote and recorded 5 songs with the band, none of them were put on the new album, Livin on the Fault Line (1977), which further cemented McDonald's lead role in the band. The next album, Minute By Minute (1978) became their most successful album, reaching No.1 in the Us and Canada, and hit singles 'What a Fool Believes' and 'Minute By Minute' (both McDonald songs). However, the huge success of the album was marred by internal turmoil within the band, as guitarist Jeff Baxter, drummer John Hartman, and percussionist Bobby LaKind left the band in early 1979. The band would make only one more album, One Step Closer (1980), before disbanding following further departures of Porter and Simmons. There would be various reunions in the late '80's, 90's, and beyond, but the glory days were over by the '80's. The show posted here is a great soundboard recording from early 1979, among the last shows to include Baxter and Hartman, and featuring a greatest hits of McDonald's songs, as well as songs from earlier in the band's career. A fine example of the band at the peak of the McDonald years.  

Tracklist:
1. Jesus Is Just Alright
2. Long Train Runnin'
3. Sweet Maxine
4. It Keeps You Runnin'
5. Take Me In Your Arms
6. Open Your Eyes
7. What A Fool Believes
8. Neal's Fandango
9. Echoes Of Love
10. You Made That Way
11. Black Water
12. Steamer Lane Breakdown
13. Road Angel
14. China Grove
15. Takin' It To The Streets
16. Listen To The Music

Runtime - 1 Hour 17 Minutes 6 Seconds

Patrick Simmons - Guitar, Vocals
Michael McDonald - Keyboards, Synthesizers, Vocals
Jeffrey Baxter - Guitar
Tiran Porter - Bass, Vocals
John Hartman - Drums
Keith Knudsen - Drums, Vocals

FLAC part1 - Doobie Brothers_1979-02-22_Tokyo_FLAC1.rar
FLAC part2 - Doobie Brothers_1979-02-22_Tokyo_FLAC2.rar

  mp3 - Doobie Brothers_1979-02-22_Tokyo_mp3.rar

The Doobie Brothers - 1975-10-26 - Von Braun Center, Huntsville, AL (plus bonus tracks)

The Doobie Brothers

1975-10-26
Von Braun Center, Huntsville, AL
FM Broadcast recording, very good quality
Available in both Lossless (FLAC) and Mp3 (320 kbps) versions

Here's another classic show from The Doobie Brothers, a couple years after the last one posted, which was still when they were a guitar-driven rockin' band, but also at a time when major changes were coming. The band followed up the success of Captain and Me (1973)  with another blockbuster album, What Were Once Vices are Now Habits (1974). Shortly after finishing recording their next album, Stampede (1975), in late 1974, it was obvious that Tom Johnston's health  was in bad shape. He needed to take time off, but the band started a promotional tour in early 1975, which Johnston started, but couldn't finish, as he required emergency hospitalization for severe bleeding ulcers and an extended recovery time. In order to finish the tour, the band brought in vocalist-keyboard player Michael McDonald (who Jeff Baxter knew from his Steely Dan days), divided up the vocal responsibilities, and split-up the dual guitar parts between Baxter and Simmons, and continued the tour quite successfully.  After the tour, the band was at a crossroads: Johnston, who was their primary songwriter and singer, would be unavailable for the foreseeable future, but the band were contractually required to release a new album in 1976. Fortunately, new addition McDonald was a seasoned songwriter as well, and bassist Tiran Porter also contributed some new songs, which along with Simmons' solid songwriting was just what they needed. So, McDonald's addition became permanent. However, McDonald's more laid-back, jazzy keyboard style and soft- spoken vocals took the band in a very different direction and style than the hard-rockin' Johnston, and thus their next album started a whole new phase of the Doobie Brothers music. But that's a story for next time. Right now, we are still focused on the more rockin' version of the band. Here is a combination of a couple of radio shows from 1975, an almost complete recording from Huntsville AL in October, as well as some tracks from an earlier show (with Tom still performing) in March, and topped off finally with a complete performance of 'Without You' (which has been cut in both of the previous recordings featured here. The shows feature new songs from Vices and Stampede, in addition to favorites from the earlier albums.
 

Tracklist:
01 Jesus Is Just Alright
02 Rockin' Down the Highway - Road Angel
03 South City Midnight Lady
04 Eyes of Silver
05 Black Water
06 Long Train Runnin'
07 China Grove
08 Without You (cut)

Bonus Tracks:
1975-03-23 - San Francisco CA
09. Neil's Fandango
10. Take Me In Your Arms
11. Workin' On You
1975-10-08 - Memphis, TN
12. Without You

Patrick Simmons - guitar & vocals
Jeff "Skunk" Baxter - guitar
Michael McDonald - keyboards, vocals (except 03-23 tracks)
Tiran Porter - bass, vocals
John Hartman - drums
Keith Knudsen - drums, vocals
Tom Johnston - guitar & vocals (1975-03-23 tracks only)

FLAC - Doobie Bros_1975-10-26_Huntsville+_FLAC.rar

mp3 - Doobie Bros_1975-10-26_Huntsville+_Mp3.rar

 

The Doobie Brothers - 1973-05-31 - Ultrasonic Studios, West Hempstead, NY

The Doobie Brothers

1973-05-31
Ultrasonic Studios, West Hempstead, NY
FM Broadcast (WLIR-FM) recording, very good quality
Available in both Lossless (FLAC) and Mp3 (320 kbps) versions

Let's continue with a theme of radio-friendly '70's bands. Here's The Doobie Brothers! The band was originally formed in 1970 when singer-guitarist-songwriter Tom Johnston and drummer John Hartman teamed up with singer-guitarist-songwriter Patrick Simmons and bassist Dave Shogren. They never actually wanted or intended for the name of the band to be The Doobie Brothers, but they were having trouble deciding on a name for their new band and were jokingly dubbed The Doobie Brothers by a musician friend, and thus used that for few early gigs. Although they always planned to come up with a better name, they never did, and the Doobie Brothers stuck. The band featured hard-driving dual electric lead guitars, three-part harmony vocals, and strong drumming, and soon established themselves as an up and coming band in Northern California, and a record contract with Warner Brothers followed. Their first album (The Doobie Brothers-1971) didn't quite capture the drive and energy of the band, being more acoustic, but it was a strong start. Later in 1971, singer-songwriter-bassist Tiran Porter replaced Dave Shogren, and they added a second drummer, Michael Hossack, which cemented the classic early lineup. The band's next album, Toulouse Street (1972) was their breakthrough, with the radio hits 'Listen to the Music', 'Rockin Down the Highway', and 'Jesus is Just Alright' and a solid album of songs. But their third album, The Captain and Me (1973) is what I consider to be their masterpiece, a near-perfect pop-rock album, just great from start to finish. With both Johnston and Simmons being top-notch singer-guitarist-songwriters with different but complementary styles, Johnston being more of a rocker, with a gritty R&B sound, and Simmons with a more laidback fingerpicking, they mesh and interplay perfectly with Johnston's hard-driving guitar rockers like 'Long Train Runnin', 'China Grove', and 'Without You', perfectly balanced with Simmons' acoustic beauties like 'South City Midnight Lady' and 'Clear as the Driven Snow'. Add in some funk, great harmonies and melodies, and it is just a classic '70's album. Their next album, What Were Once Vices are Now Habits (1974), continued their winning streak, with more big hits ('Black Water', 'Eyes of Silver', 'Another Park Another Sunday') and another strong album. There were however some changes in the band, as Michael Hossack left and was replaced with Keith Knudsen, and Jeff 'Skunk' Baxter (Steely Dan), who appeared as a session player on previous albums, joined the band full-time (due to the transition of Steely Dan from a real band to Becker-Fagen and session musicians). Also, by the end of 1974, after completing recording for their next album, Stampede (1975), Johnston's health  rapidly declined, needing to be hospitalized for bleeding ulcers and needing to take an extended break from the band. This would result in some major changes in sound and direction for the band in the coming years. But that is another story for another time. Today we focus on the those early glory days with Johnston and Simmons et al, and this great rockin' set from the Captain and Me tour.   

Tracklist:
01.South City Midnight Lady
02.Tuning
03.Clear as the Driven Snow
04.Long Train Running
05.Listen to the Music
06.China Grove
07.Rockin' Down the Highway
08.Tuning
09.Disciple>
10.Jesus is Just Alright>Disciple
11.Tuning
12.Without You (cut-fadeout)
Bonus Track: Midnight Special TV performance - date unknown)
13.Natural Thing

Tom Johnston - guitar & vocals
Patrick Simmons - guitar & vocals
Jeff "Skunk" Baxter - guitar
Tiran Porter - bass
John Hartman - drums
Michael Hossack - drums, percussion

FLAC - DoobieBros_1973-5-31_Ultrasonic_FLAC.rar

mp3 - DoobieBros_1973-5-31_Ultrasonic_mp3.rar
New Links! Updated 06/25/23

Ambrosia - 1976-Pittsburgh and 1978-Boston Radio broadcast shows

 Ambrosia

1976-10-31
Syria Mosque, Pittsburgh, PA
1978-10-29
Paradise Theater, Boston, MA
FM Broadcast recordings, good (1976) to very good (1978) sound quality
Available in both lossless (FLAC) and mp3 (320 kbps) versions

A couple weeks ago I heard some reference to the '70's band Ambrosia and it reminded my that, hey, that's a band that I have not thought about (or listened to) in ages, but back in the early days of the band (mid-70's) I really liked them. Ambrosia formed in the early '70's and consisted of guitarist/vocalist David Pack, bassist/vocalist Joe Puerta, keyboardist Christopher North and drummer Burleigh Drummond. The band was impressed by progressive rock of that time, but also had a strong affinity for vocal harmonies and melodic rock and pop. They created a great blend of progressive and mainstream rock and pop, showcasing their vocals and arrangements, at least for their first couple albums (Ambrosia - 1975 and Somewhere I've Never Traveled - 1976). However, by their third and fourth albums (Life Beyond L.A. - 1978 and One Eighty - 1980), they mostly abandoned the progressive aspects and turned to a softer, slicker commercial pop approach. This resulted in some sappy hit singles ('How Much I Feel', 'Bigger Part of Me', and 'You're the Only Woman'), but destroyed their credibility as a rock band. They did return to a harder rock edge for their last album, Road Island - 1982), but it sank commercially and the band broke up shortly thereafter. The band reunited in 1989, and has remained a touring band in various forms throughout the subsequent years. So, a spotty history, but I still really like those first 2 albums. So, here is Ambrosia from back in those days, first opening for Kansas in 1976, and then a longer show in Boston in 1978. The 1978 show was in support of their 3rd album (represented in the first 4 songs of the set), but after that  they play only songs from the first 2 albums (and a few additional ones from the earlier show). These were both radio broadcast shows, but the recording quality of the 1978 show is much better than the 1976 show. 

Tracklist:
1976 - Syria Mosque, Pittsburgh
01. Make Us All Aware (6:30)
02. Can't Let A Women (6:38)
03. Holdin' On To Yesterday (6:12)
04. I Wanna Know (7:45)
05. World Leave Me Alone (4:33)

FLAC - Ambrosia_1976-10-31_Pittsburgh_FLAC.rar
mp3 - Ambrosia_1976-10-31_Pittsburgh_mp3.rar

1978 - Paradise Theater, Boston
01. Life Beyond L.A. (6:19)
02. If Heaven Could Find Me (4:46)
03. Not As You Were (4:15)
04. How Much I Feel (5:47)
05. And... Somewhere I've Never Traveled (5:12)
06. Nice, Nice, Very Nice (6:07)
07. The Brunt (5:39)
08. Band intros > Holding On To Yesterday (5:55)
10. Can't Let A Woman (Get Into My Head) (6:23)  
11. I Wanna Know (7:17)

FLAC - Ambrosia_1978-10-29_Boston_FLAC.rar
mp3 - Ambrosia_1978-10-29_Boston_mp3.rar
New Links! Updated 06/25/23

Ambrosia:
David Pack - vocals, guitar
Chris North - keyboards
Joe Puerta - lead vocals, bass
Burleigh Drummond - drums, percussion, background vocals
David Cutler Lewis (1978 show only) - keyboards

Favorite Beatles Songs - Addendum to Beatles Album Ranking List

 Addendum to BB's Beatles Album Rankings - Favorite songs

As part of my previous Beatles Album rankings post, I included what I considered the best (meaning my favorite) songs from each album. Here, as a follow-up to that post, I'm listing a tentative ranking of my overall favorite Beatles songs. This was, however, much more difficult than ranking the albums, as there are just so many great songs to consider and come up with an absolute favorites list. The Beatles are probably one of the only artists to have literally hundreds of great songs, and they produced all of them within a short seven year period. In addition, favorite songs tend to change more readily with time and circumstances, thus this list represents what I am thinking today, and would probably change if reconsidered next week, month, or year. Anyway, here is a list of my current top 25 favorite Beatles songs, as well as my bottom 5 least favorite songs.

Top 25 Favorite Beatles songs:
25. She's a Woman
24. Don't Let Me Down
23. In My Life
22. Two of Us
21. Help!
20. Cry Baby Cry
19. Eleanor Rigby
18. And I Love Her
17. A Hard Day's Night
16. I've Just Seen a Face
15. You've Got to Hide Your Love Away
14. A Day in the Life
13. Ticket to Ride
12. Strawberry Fields Forever
11. Hey Bulldog
10. And Your Bird Can Sing
9.  Paperback Writer
8. For No One
7. Penny Lane
6. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
5. Let It Be
4. Here Comes the Sun
3. Blackbird
2. Dear Prudence
1. Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End

And still, so many great songs that I love didn't make the list, like Hey Jude, Come Together, Revolution, Something, Yesterday, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, With a Little Help From My Friends, I am the Walrus, Daytripper, I Feel Fine, Rain, Here There and Everywhere, You Can't Do That, Drive My Car, Norwegian Wood, Things We Said Today, Got to Get You Into My Life, and so many others, but the list indicates songs that I like just a bit more, for whatever reason.

The bottom 5 (for me at least):
5. Helter Skelter
4. All Together Now
3. Why Don't We Do It in the Road?
2. What's the New MaryJane?
1. Blue Jay Way
(As mentioned in previous post, since Revolution 9 is not really a song and can't really be judged by same criteria as other songs, not fair to include it here - for the record, it is interesting as a sound collage, but is not something that should be included on a Beatles album, and yes, I almost always skip over it).

OK, that's my list (at least currently). What's your favorite (or least favorite) Beatles songs?