110: Wait

Album: Rubber Soul
Writer: McCartney
Singer: Lennon/McCartney

Verdict: We’re definitely in the middle of a bunch of songs where I love parts of them and are meh about the rest. For Wait, I love the monotone verses by John. I’m less impressed with the middle eights sung by Paul. George’s tone pedal guitar is probably the biggest highlight. All in all, a song I like in the middle of Rubber Soul but not one I seek out. 

109: Till There Was You

Album: With the Beatles
Writer: Meredith Wilson
Singer: McCartney

Verdict: Written for The Music Man, the first version I heard was by Shirley Jones in the movie. I was never that big on it. I quite enjoy Paul’s rendition; it really shows off his vocal range.

108: Help!

Album: Help!
Writer: Lennon
Singer: Lennon

Verdict: A brutally honest, gut-wrenching song by John, unfortunately paired with a light-hearted, up-tempo pop melody. I’ve always liked it well enough, but the disconnect between the lyric and the music hasn’t sit very well as I’ve aged. I do like that the album opens with John screaming “Help!” Appropriate given the band’s collective psyche at the time.

107: A Hard Day’s Night

Album: A Hard Day’s Night
Writer: Lennon
Singer: Lennon/McCartney

Verdict: Unlike “Wait” this time I’m not a big fan of John’s verses but I totally dig Paul’s middle eights (“holding me tight, tight, yeah!”). Funny that. I just have a hard time totally loving a song that relies on the rhymes of “Dog” and “Log.” The Grammys and Rolling Stone strongly disagree with me once again.

106: Every Little Thing

Album: Beatles for Sale
Writer: McCartney
Singer: Lennon

Verdict: I think this is the first song so far on the countdown that was written by Paul and sung by John (or vice versa). And I think Paul should have sung it. John’s alright, but the melody just feels like Paul and I think it would have felt more earnest coming from him. That said, I love how John ends the song, repeating the title in a fade away.