The Beatles Stuffology Podcast

If I Needed Someone

We're almost at the end of Rubber Soul now but before the album bows out we have two final tracks to cover. One is rather notorious and the other is this, If I Needed Someone. How is George's songwriting coming along? Has he managed to pull up alongside Lennon and McCartney in the writing stakes? And how much jangle can one song meaningfully contain?

 

Rankings: Track-by-track Ranking

eMail: beatlesstuffology@gmail.com

Twitter: @beatles_ology

Instagram: beatlesstuffology

JG's Blog: Judgementally Reviews…

Andrew’s Blog: Stuffology

 

Produced By: lateral disarmament in favour of JG McQuarrie

Wait.

There's probably some really clever way of saying that we made you, um, wait for this episode but here it it now but I can't think of one so anyway, it's Wait!

Is there much to get worked up about here? Does it continue to give Side 2 of Rubber Soul a boost? And who is the stand-out performer on the track? (Hint: rhymes with Bingo Car)

Rankings: Track-by-track Ranking

eMail: beatlesstuffology@gmail.com

Twitter: @beatles_ology

Instagram: beatlesstuffology

JG's Blog: Judgementally Reviews…

Andrew’s Blog: Stuffology

 

Produced By: some minor kind of miracle and JG McQuarrie

In My Life

It's another all-time classic to fall under the Stuffology microscope this episode with Lennon's mighty In My Life.

Does the song deserve its reputation as one of his very best pieces of work? Do the rest of the band contribute equally? And just how many cover versions are there to be discussed?

Rankings: Track-by-track Ranking

eMail: beatlesstuffology@gmail.com

Twitter: @beatles_ology

Instagram: beatlesstuffology

JG's Blog: Judgementally Reviews…

Andrew’s Blog: Stuffology

I'm Looking Through You

It's another Bitchy McCartney Number (tm), of which we have had a few lately but how does "I'm Looking Through You" comare to the others? Is there a Wilburys-esque twist (pun very much intended) in the mix? And who's playing what, exactly?

 

Rankings: Track-by-track Ranking

eMail: beatlesstuffology@gmail.com

Twitter: @beatles_ology

Instagram: beatlesstuffology

JG's Blog: Judgementally Reviews…

Andrew’s Blog: Stuffology

 

Produced By: Dint of hard work, let's claim, and the fickle, fast fingers of JG McQuarrie

Girl.

Time for a little Euro-jaunt? Why, I think it might be, as it's time for Girl to take the centre stage!

Is it a metaphor around Catholic values? Can Lennon manage to land the genre style? And how funny can one set of backing vocals be?

 

Rankings: Track-by-track Ranking

eMail: beatlesstuffology@gmail.com

Twitter: @beatles_ology

Instagram: beatlesstuffology

JG's Blog: Judgementally Reviews…

Andrew’s Blog: Stuffology

 

Produced By: Waiting for several million years of evolution to pass so the technology can be invented and used by JG McQuarrie

What Goes On

It's Ringo's chance to take centre stage on Rubber Soul as What Goes On dolefully shuffles into view.

Is this song as doleful as all the other doleful songs Ringo has sung? Is it worthy of inclusion in a list of doleful Ringo songs at all? And is there any other world to describe this song as other than doleful?

Doleful.

Rankings: Track-by-track Ranking

eMail: beatlesstuffology@gmail.com

Twitter: @beatles_ology

Instagram: beatlesstuffology

JG's Blog: Judgementally Reviews…

Andrew’s Blog: Stuffology

 

Produced By: State of the art hardware rendered only somewhat useful by JG McQuarrie

Michelle

It's time for a little Gallic flair in podcastland as "Michelle" sashay's into view. How unusual is the song in the Beatles back catalogue? Do cover versions add anything at all? And how did our beloved podcast hosts (it says here) come to the song in the first place?

Rankings: Track-by-track Ranking

eMail: beatlesstuffology@gmail.com

Twitter: @beatles_ology

Instagram: beatlesstuffology

JG's Blog: Judgementally Reviews…

Andrew’s Blog: Stuffology

 

Produced By: Pressing some buttons in a DAW. But also by JG McQuarrie

The Word

It's time for Andrew and JG to discuss The Word this episode, but what is The Word anyway?

Does this song work as a precursor to All You Need Is Love? How convincing does the whole thing sound? As is this where the mythologisation of Lennon as "the love one" really begins? Plus there's a discussion around JG's overall rankings of literally every single Beatles song (with the relevant playlist now available on Spotify!)

 

Rankings: Track-by-track Ranking

eMail: beatlesstuffology@gmail.com

Twitter: @beatles_ology

Instagram: beatlesstuffology

JG's Blog: Judgementally Reviews…

Andrew’s Blog: Stuffology

 

Produced By: And large by JG McQuarrie

Think For Yourself

Time for George's first entry into Rubber Soul as JG and Andrew tackle Think For Yourself. Is the song as bitter as it sometimes appears? How does the political angle work? And who's the impost important player on the track? Plus we dive into the postbag for a little correspondence. (Also, apologies for JG's slightly odd sound - thanks to some technical constrains, the sound quality isn't it's usual high standard. Apologies, folks!)

 

Rankings: Track-by-track Ranking

eMail: beatlesstuffology@gmail.com

Twitter: @beatles_ology

Instagram: beatlesstuffology

JG's Blog: Judgementally Reviews…

Andrew’s Blog: Stuffology

 

Produced By: Blind Luck and JG McQuarrie

Nowhere Man

It's time for a minor-league Lennon "classic" this week as we stray into Nowhere, Man (cough). Does the song deserve its high reputation? Is it fair to call it entry-level Beatles? And does it have the weight that's often attributed to it?

 

Rankings: Track-by-track Ranking

eMail: beatlesstuffology@gmail.com

Twitter: @beatles_ology

Instagram: beatlesstuffology

JG's Blog: Judgementally Reviews…

Andrew’s Blog: Stuffology

 

Produced By: The bye, by JG McQuarrie