Nine Songs We Want as 'The Beatles: Rock Band' DLC and Four We Don't
Kyle Orland, Crispy Gamer
The Beatles: Rock Band Video Game Review
Every so often you'll see some site pop up with a "Most Wanted" list of tracks it'd like to see playable in "
It's different with "The Beatles:
With such a small remaining set list, MTV Games could easily code every single one for the game, letting players purchase and play through the complete Beatles catalog. If it falls short of that ideal, though, which songs make the cut is going to be a matter of some debate. Here are our humble suggestions for nine songs that we really, really want to see as "The Beatles:
NINE SONGS WE WANT TO SEE AS DLC
1. "Revolution 1" -- "The White Album"
Sure, the high-octane, high-impact version of "Revolution" already appears on "The Beatles:
2. "Glass Onion" -- "The White Album"
"The Beatles:
3. "Ballad of John and Yoko" -- single
Again, a game that claims to be about showcasing the history of the Beatles really should include the songs where the Beatles themselves referenced their place in history. Chronicling the period of intense press scrutiny following
4. "She Said She Said" -- "Revolver"
From those first eight lonely guitar notes, this song never lets up over two minutes and thirty-seven seconds of pure pop perfection. The vocal harmonies let three singers come together into one heavenly voice, aided by a call-and-response guitar part that counterpoints the singing beautifully. It's all tied together by some heavy drums that are a bit more complex and satisfying than the standard Beatles beat-keeping. By the time the song finally breaks down into a wonderful fading disorder in the final seconds, you feel like you've put everything you have into the music. A perfect "Rock Band" track.
5. "Why Don't We Do It In the Road" -- "The White Album"
Most Beatles fans pass this one over as just a silly interlude between weightier, more important songs on "The White Album." And they're right. But if you can look past the ridiculous concept and repetitive lyrics, you'll find a song with some interesting drum variations and one of the Beatles' most difficult vocal ranges. That vocal part is made much tougher, of course, by the urge to double over with laughter while singing the title over and over. The only real problem from a "Rock Band" perspective is that the game doesn't have a piano controller for the backing melody -- but the "Beatles Anthology" version provides a great basis for a conversion to a guitar part. In conclusion: If your party doesn't pick up after pulling up this song, you need to find some less-mature friends.
6. "Help!" -- "Help!"
Another absolutely iconic Beatles song, "Help!" was the title for not just the song but also an album and a movie, a feat that apparently was not enough to get it included in the game. Nor was the fact that it's one of the most enduring of the early Beatles songs, with a nonstop drumbeat that backs a driving bass, some nice power chords and great call-and-response three-part harmonies that most any American should know by heart at this point.
7. "All
I'll be honest -- a lot of the early Beatles songs are a bit indistinguishable to me. They either fall into comfortable, overly familiar blues-style riffs or a repetitive rockabilly style that quickly wears out its welcome. That said, "All My Loving" stands out among the crowd with its exquisite harmonies (complete with gentle "Ooooooo"s in the background), and a persistent guitar part that leads to a nice solo breakdown during the bridge. Yes, the drum part is repetitive enough to put people to sleep, but that's pretty common with the Beatles catalog.
8. "Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey" -- "The White Album"
I'll be the first to admit that I have a large soft spot for "The White Album," especially the album's sillier songs, such as this one. And yes, the repetitive lyrics and ceaselessly clanging cymbals are likely to honk off singers and drummers at the same time. But I challenge anyone to listen to this song's fearlessly belted title refrain, followed by that careful 14-note response from the guitars, and not get a ridiculous grin across their face. And then there's the joyous breakdown into freeform jam-band chaos in the last 30 seconds that makes the past two minutes of repetition totally worth it. An easy recommendation.
9. "Here, There and Everywhere" -- "Revolver"
I know the game is called "
FOUR SONGS WE DON'T PARTICULARLY WANT TO SEE AS DLC
1. "Revolution 9" -- "The White Album"
The Beatles at their most experimental, it's hard to even call this one a song. "Random mix of sounds" might be a more appropriate description. Part of me is morbidly curious about how the "Rock Band" developers would map this cacophony to the game's guitars, drums and microphone controllers, none of which seems particularly suited for the title. A much larger part of me, however, hopes that I never have to suffer through actually trying to play along with this aural mess.
2. "You Know My Name" -- single
Do you enjoy repeating a single line of lyrics over and over while making funny voices? Do you enjoy using "Rock Band's" guitar controller to simulate a piano part toward which it's ill-suited? Do you enjoy making mumbling and retching sounds for a full minute at the end of a song? If so, then this track is for you! If not, you might still enjoy the surprisingly decent drum part, but even that's not enough to save this one.
3. "Julia" -- "The White Album"
If any Beatles song can end a party faster, I have yet to hear it. For one, the drummer had better be ready for a break, because there's absolutely no percussion part in the entire song. For another, the bass player will probably want to slit his wrists after repeating the same two notes for roughly two and a half minutes. Finally, the dirge-like, monotone vocal part features repetitive, whiny lyrics that are some of the weakest in the entire Beatles catalog. This is a great song to pull up if you want everyone to just leave so you can go to sleep. Otherwise, feel free to skip it!
4. "Dig It" -- "Let It Be"
A disorganized jam session masquerading as a real song, this synthesizer-heavy track smacks of too much effort by a Beatles group that was quickly falling apart. What starts promisingly enough with a strong, steady drumbeat quickly breaks down into an incoherent, atonal, repetitive cacophony of noise and random lyrics that seems practically impossible to follow along with in a "Rock Band" setting. The version on the "Let It Be" album is a mercifully short lead-in to the title track, but other versions of the song go on for eight or nine minutes, wearing out their welcome more quickly than an insistent Phish fan with a rare, two-hour bootleg recording of "Split Open and Melt."
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Video Games: Nine Songs We Want as 'The Beatles: Rock Band' DLC and Four We Don't
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