With songwriters like John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison (and even Ringo Starr now and then), The Beatles didn’t need to reach out for the material of others very often. When they did, their musical chemistry and gleaming vocal harmonies tended to transform those songs, even those done by iconic artists.
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The Beatles pretty much stopped with the cover songs after 1965. What they left behind on their official releases gives us a pretty wide range of covers from which to rank the five very best. (Spoiler alert: “Twist and Shout,” perhaps the best-known Beatles cover, doesn’t quite make it.)
5. “Leave My Kitten Alone” (from Anthology I)
The 1964 album Beatles for Sale featured the band scrounging a bit for material because of their hectic schedule. After they delivered nothing but originals on previous album A Hard Day’s Night, the Fab Four included a few cover songs to fill out the running time. “Leave My Kitten Alone” was one of the tracks they recorded for the album, but they chose not to include it. Who knows why, considering that the somewhat goofy “Mr. Moonlight” made the cut? Nonetheless, once this one saw the light of day on Anthology 1, it reminded us all how they could generate energetic rock and roll without much effort.
4. “I Just Don’t Understand” (from Live at the BBC)
The Live at the BBC compilation was a treasure trove of lost Beatles classics, and many of them were cover songs that didn’t appear on the original studio albums. It showed just how wide-ranging the group’s tastes were, and nothing exemplifies that any better than “I Just Don’t Understand.” The original was a minor hit for the actress Ann-Margret. That unlikely source didn’t scare off the group, though, as they just heard a song they could turn into something special. They did that thanks to Lennon’s soulful lead vocal and Harrison’s hard-charging lead guitar.
3. “Words of Love” (from Beatles for Sale)
The Beatles owed a great debt to Buddy Holly, as many of their slower to mid-tempo songs woke echoes of the Texas rock legend. While their harmonies were generally based on what they heard from The Everly Brothers, on “Words of Love” they paid homage to Holly, who was an early proponent of multitracking and did all the vocal layers himself on his version. The Beatles, of course, could count on Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison to deliver those harmonies, which they do here in a somewhat uncanny reproduction of what Holly originally did.
2. “Anna (Go to Him)” (from Please Please Me)
The Fab Four showed their affinity for R&B legend Larry Williams by recording several of his songs in their early years. His ballad “Anna (Go to Him)” features a lightfooted rhythm, thanks to a somewhat unusual drum beat, and a melody that goes from low and dejected in the verses to high and anguished in the middle eights. That was just the kind of thing that was tailor-made for Lennon’s voice, and even though he allegedly had a cold on the day of recording the track, he absolutely nailed it, with help of the lush backing vocals of his buddies.
1. “Money (That’s What I Want)” (from With the Beatles)
First off, the original is a masterpiece in its own right, as Barrett Strong tapped into monetary frustrations via one of the catchiest rhythms you’ll ever hear. The Beatles manage to match the original while giving it some of their own personality. That’s none other than the British gentleman George Martin laying down those dirty piano licks, while McCartney matches him in grit with his bass. Harrison provides the high counterpoints in his guitar solo, while Starr plays up the tension with his peppery beat. Lennon ties it all together with his frenzied vocal.
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