100 Best Beatles Songs: A Passionate Fan's Guide

by Stephen J. Spignesi, Michael Lewis

Which Song is the Best and Why? Read it and see!
Organized by rank, from 1 to 100, this illustrated celebration of the best songs by the boys who revolutionized rock-and-roll includes expert commentary, historical context, interview material, and lots of great sidebars (including "best" lists from some of today's pop music powerhouses.) Like all "best of" lists, the book's opinionated stance generates animated discussion.
Here, There, and Everywhere is profusely illustrated with photos of the band at work and play, and all of the unforgettable album-cover art. Appendices include a complete song list, discography, videography, and bibliography, making it a one-stop source of Beatles facts and figures.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

320 pages, Hardcover

First published October 10, 2009

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Beatles always seemed to know just the right sound for each song, just the right instrument to fit in and capture the mood . . . [the songs often have] exuberant vocal[s], which sound to me as if [they] are excitedly singing the song for the first time." -- co-author Michael Lewis, page 276

Here is another sturdy and readable, although not necessarily essential or extremely informative, tome on the legendary Fab Four discography. Authors Spignesi and Lewis are a couple of American average joe-type non-fic writers who have compiled a list / ranking per the book's title. As such, it is simply their collective opinions on the 100 greatest songs by the group. Also, they specifically include only original compositions from 'the boys' but no covers, meaning 'Roll Over Beethoven' (well, okay), 'Til There Was You' (umm . . . ), or 'Twist & Shout' (#@$%, c'mon!) are not eligible.

Anyway, for a book that is basically a long (but fairly well-written) list it takes the highly unusual step of starting at their #1 song, instead of the Top 40 radio 'countdown' style, so they sacrifice a little of the intended but manufactured drama. However, in a sparse two or three pages they provide some background on the genesis or composition of a particular song, the details from the studio recording logs (when available), and what they individually like about it. There probably isn't much that will be a surprise to an informed Beatles fan or avid listener, but it's a pleasant overview of SOME of their output. (Tracks from Sgt. Pepper and The White Album seem to get a lion's share of attention here - which is fine if you happen to like the increasingly more experimental or offbeat work - but I just personally and highly prefer the transitory trifecta of the Help! / Rubber Soul / Revolver-era songs.)

I was more than a little disappointed, though, that one of my favorite tunes - 'The Night Before,' from 1965's Help!, did not make the final cut. I'll make the argument that for a lesser-known gem it still perfectly represents a nice slice of the group's work -- melancholy-sounding lyrics paired with upbeat music, tightly wrapped in two and a half minutes of pure, raw, and danceable pop-rock joy.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got this book ages ago for a school project. Decided to finally read through it all while listening to each of the songs listed. Very fun reading experience. I especially appreciated the "why it made the top 100" and "behind the lyrics" sections. I learned so much about what made The Beatles special other than their great music.

[Phoebe Scarborough · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book is completely subjective it’s just two superfans talking about which songs they liked and why. but if you can be okay with that, it was a super fun read.

i listened to each song as i read the “what is it about” sections and had a blast (now i know an obscene about of Beatles trivia). i definitely gained much more love and respect for them as a band and their influence on music after reading.

fun, different and enjoyable read

[Joey K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once they followed their true calling, a puny little band from Liverpool turned into the Gods of Rock! John, Paul, George and Ringo’s adventures through the songwriting and production of their music takes them to many places such as London, Germany, India, and America. This book is an extravagant and fun guide behind the history of their top 100 songs. Each page is full of facts about each song, like its inspiration, time and places where they wrote the song and how it affected their lives. And the lives of millions of people.

This guide to the top 100 songs by The Beatles is a fantastic book for all you Beatles fans out there. I would recommend this book to everyone that populates the Universe. I like the Beatles and learned a lot about their songs that I didn’t know. For example, in the song “I Am The Walrus,” they made new sounds and broke musical boundaries by mixing instruments not normally paired. I also enjoyed this book because I knew that The Beatles “make the whole sandwich,” which means they create their own music and don’t copy someone else’s songwriting. Overall, this book captures everything that one would want to know about The Beatles.

[Warreni · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is what it says it is: a ranking of roughly half of the songs in the Beatles catalog from 1-100 on the basis of historical significance, musical complexity, and (to a lesser extent) popularity. Personally, after reviewing the complete list of songs in the back of the book, I was shocked and amazed at some of the songs that were chosen for the list and ones that were left off. "I'll Follow The Sun", "The Fool on the Hill", and "Things We Said Today" are absent from the list but "Michelle", "Doctor Robert", and "Savoy Truffle" are present. In the end, no one's going to agree with any such list in its entirety so it doesn't bother me too much. The book also has some interesting trivia and (sometimes) interesting production notes about individual songs.

[Mihály Szabó · Rating 4 out of 5]

Könnyed, szórakoztató, tartalmas. Nem olvastam el az első betűtől az utolsóig, "csak" azon számok leírását, amiket szeretek - de ez is bőven a többsége a 100-nak. A sorrenddel nem mindig értettem egyet, de hát ez nyilván szubjektív, nem róható fel a könyv hibájaként. Viszont tényleg érdekes kulisszatitkokat tudtam meg, és mélyebben megértettem több számot is. Hasznos kézikönyv minden Beatles-rajongónak.

[Corey · Rating 5 out of 5]

The authors occasionally get a little cutesy with their Fab Four beatification but, really, how could I not love a book-length discussion of great Beatle songs? Plus, you know, I love a good ranking list. I immediately wanted to make my own.

[Alma Montesinos · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Kimbono23 · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars but not for the book itself but for the experience. I read about & listened to 4-5 songs every weekend (backwards from 100) and had THE BEST time.

[Faith Younce · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't necessarily agree with some of these rankings but I did like the reasoning behind why the author ranked the songs that way.

[Paulash · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved it. Learning about their process and all the little nitty gritty details of some of my most beloved songs was absolutely wonderful to read. I admit that it got a little monotonous towards the end because I wasn't as in love with some of the later songs on the list, but that was more than balanced out by the details of some of the music that literally changed my life.

[Kamalia Kamalia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rasa gembira, teruja, terharu, terinspirasi selepas membaca buku ini.

[Craig R Bolas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always fun look at their songs. Actually since there was 200 songs, he should have rated all songs instead of just 1/2 of them.

[Dancomfort · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting look at, and history of, the authors' 100 favorite Beatles songs.

[Melody · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting book ranking the authors favorite Beatles songs including the history behind each one.

[Stefanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Im quite the music nerd and I loved reading the "behind the scenes" workings of their songs.

[Alex Rivas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Authors list of their favorite Beatles songs, why and go into the production of each one.