The Beatles, Part I

The studio albums. The proper ones. Not the weird ones released in America. Apart from "Magical Mystery Tour", obviously.

Please Please Me (1963)

Before The Beatles, there was no music. Just noise. This was where music began. Elvis was rubbish.

Best Song: Please Please Me

Rating: 4/5

With The Beatles (1963)

The Beatles invented the good album with their debut. Then invented the second album slump (aka "the difficult second album") with their follow up. Ruined by the sappy ballads.

Best Song: All My Loving

Rating: 2/5

A Hard Day's Night (1964)

Back on the upturn, this semi-soundtrack album is once again set back by the ballads.

Best Song: A Hard Day's Night

Rating: 3/5

Beatles For Sale (1964)

A bunch of crappy ballads with the odd good song. Notice a pattern here?

Best Song: Eight Days A Week

Rating: 2/5

Help! (1965)

It's easy to forget how many saccharine ballads The Beatles actually made in the early years. Unless you listen to the albums. Or read this. Enlivened by some guitar pop classics (Help!, Ticket To Ride).

Best Song: Help!

Rating: 3/5

Rubber Soul (1965)

The Beatles start to progress their sound. Then add some rubbish ballads to fill up the album. When will they learn? Led Zeppelin would never do that.

Best Song: Norwegian Wood

Rating: 3/5

Revolver (1966)

The first great album. Ever.

Best Song: Tomorrow Never Knows

Rating: 5/5

Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)

What can you say about Sgt Pepper that hasn't been said before? Well, that it wasn't even the best Beatles album released in 1967. And that it sags in the middle (Within You, Without You is the worst ever Beatles song.) The rest is genius of course, but it could have been even better...

Best Song: A Day In The Life

Rating: 5/5

Magical Mystery Tour (1967)

Featuring songs from the film and a bunch of singles and b-sides, this is probably the most consistently good (and weird, in a good way) Beatles album. Yeah, you read that right! I wrote it! What are you gonna do about it?It's got their best ever song (Strawberry Fields Forever) and many other inventive bits of melodic nonsense (I Am The Walrus). If only some of these songs had been included on Sgt Pepper...

Best Song: Strawberry Fields Forever

Rating: 5/5

The Beatles aka "The White Album" (1968)

Ringo Starr said that this would have been better as a single album without some of the rubbish. He was right. If only people listened to him more often.

Best Song: Happiness Is A Warm Gun

Rating: 4/5

Yellow Submarine (1969)

Another soundtrack. And a rubbish one at that.

Best Song: Only A Northern Song

Rating: 2/5

Abbey Road (1969)

Almost brilliant, let down by some very weak efforts (Oh! Darling, Maxwell's Silver Hammer, Because). Does feature Ringo Starr's only ever good Beatles song, Octopus's Garden.

Best Song: Here Comes The Sun

Rating: 4.5/5

Let It Be (1970)

Or: How To Go Out On A Whimper. Blame Phil Spector.

Best Song: Across the Universe

Rating: 3/5