Things We Love Today: The Beatles’ I Songs (Part 1)

Welcome back, Ranger Cadets. After a brief respite in which we wandered the park aimlessly in lieu of productive activity, we are back with our latest installment of Things We Love Today: The Beatles, in which we showcase one thing – and only ONE thing! – that we love about each Beatles tune.

As always, the ethos behind this madness is that even in the worst Beatle tunes (and they exist), there’s still something to love and admire. Sometimes, there are so many distinct elements that make the song wonderful, with the result being entirely more gargantuan than the sum of its parts.

Still: one thing and only one thing.

Today we are up to the Is, and quite frankly I’m breaking this up into two sections. There are something like 30 Beatles tunes that start with the letter I, and we don’t want to overload our gentle readers with walls of text.

So this is me being nice. Anyway, let’s get crackin:

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I Call Your Name – This EP track from 1964 is a deep cut, but one with undeniable swing. George’s solo is rather quizzical, changing the tenor of the song entirely, but that’s neither here nor there. What I love most is John’s delivery of “I never weep at night / I call your name”. It carries such emotional weight that it elevates the rest of the song.

I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party – OK, full stop here. I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party is one of the great unsung Beatle classics (and not for nothing but anyone who slags the “Beatles for Sale” album can go pound sand). This tune is folksy, melodic, emotionally honest, lyrically moving, and a highlight of the band’s early period (1962-1964). John and Paul’s vocal harmonies steal the prize for this tune, especially during the middle 8 sections.

I Feel Fine – As I’ve mentioned many times before, I don’t have a favorite Beatles song. I don’t even have a Top 10 list, but if I did, this classic would probably occupy that space. I Feel Fine is about as masterful an early/mid 60s pop song as could possibly be imagined. The nigh-adolescent joy of burgeoning love is exquisitely distilled into 2 minutes and 25 seconds of pitch-perfect melody and lyrics. And I’m going with those three-way harmonies during the choruses. “I’m so glad / that she’s my little girl / She’s so glad / she’s telling all the world”. If your spine isn’t tingling thinking about it, fix your posture.

I Me Mine – One of Harrison’s lesser songs, almost a throwaway really, I suppose it filled out the Let It Be album well. It retains the distinction of the last Beatles song recorded before their breakup, and that’s probably an apt closer given where their egos were at the time. And I can’t believe I’m saying this, but the one thing I love most here is Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound orchestrations. They make the song more compelling.

I Need You – Now this is a George song I can get behind. A lesser-heralded tune from the “Help!” album (but still prominently featured in the eponymous movie), I Need You is a beautiful tune. Lots to love here, but I’ll go with George’s use of a volume pedal along with his 12-string Ric to produce those beautiful guitar tones.

I Saw Her Standing There – Hah, like shooting fish in a barrel. Is it the raucous count-in? The Peter Gunn style bassline? Paul’s bluesy vocal delivery? The Woooooohs in the chorus? Nope, it’s Paul’s “Ohhhhhhh we danced through the night” during the final verse. Macca was in complete control of this little rocker, and that delivery cemented it.

I Should Have Known Better – I don’t like to throw around the word “classic” too much, so I won’t here. Except it applies. This one from “A Hard Day’s Night” (album and movie) is listed in the dictionary when you look up “toe-tapping” or even “yeah, this rules”. For this one, I’m just gonna go with that bridge, where the song shifts to an E-minor chord and John lays down his earnest heart with “That when I tell you that I love you, oh / You’re gonna say you love me, too, oh / And when I ask you to be mine / You’re gonna say you love me, too”. So simple, melodic, and heartfelt, it burns!

I Wanna Be Your Man – This is an OK tune that Ringo sang much more effectively than Mick ever did. John thought it was little more than a throwaway, but it has its charms. I do enjoy the harmonies on the chorus though, those descending high notes from John and Paul are perfect counterpoint to Ringo’s deeper tenor.

I Want to Hold Your Hand – Bruh. Really. This impeccable pop classic announced The Beatles to North America like the thermonuclear detonation of upbeat melodic joy it always has been. I love it for just existing. OK, one thing to love? Today let’s just go with the repeated chants of “I can’t hide!” during the bridges, pushing the song into an even higher plane of joyous Beatle energy

I Want to Tell You – This one is the lesser of George’s three contributions to “Revolver”. That wonky piano line during the second half of each verse always throws me off a bit. But as much as I do enjoy that signature opening guitar riff, it’s the vocal melisma on the outro that wins here today.

I Want You (She’s So Heavy) – I actively dislike this song. There I said it. All the nifty wham-socko production effects in the world can’t change my antipathy toward I Want You (She’s So Heavy). Easily the most skippable track on “Abbey Road”, with a bullet. However, I do enjoy the tone of John’s Casino during the solo, even if he is just repeating the melody of the verses verbatim.

I Will – A lovely, lovely tune from “The Beatles” which I’ll never tire of, but then why would I want to? Today I’ll go with Paul’s effective “vocal bass” parts, something he’d reuse often, especially in his solo career. Ram On, anyone?

If I Fell – I’m a sucker for songs that open with an intro that is never repeated throughout the rest of the tune. And If I Fell is no exception; what a beautiful song. I’d be remiss not to showcase John and Paul’s vocal harmonies here. They just melt dreamily like soft butter over hot flapjacks.

If I Needed Someone – George nailed it on this track, one of the highlights from the “Help!” album. Refracted through George’s affection for both Indian music and that inimitable Laurel Canyon sound, If I Needed Someone soars beautifully with its rich harmonies, steady tempo, and melodic confidence. But yeah. That Ric 12 string and the song’s signature riff clearly crush the competition here.

I’ll Be Back – There was always this dreadful sense of menace to an otherwise outstanding acoustic tune, and I think that’s why I’ll Be Back is so memorable. As such, I’d hate to highlight two signature riffs in a row, but that four-note nylon-string acoustic riff is paramount. Almost like a cheerful sounding but ultimately dark (and even menacing) calling card.

I’ll Cry Instead – Ya know, this one should have been featured in the “A Hard Day’s Night” movie. That little promo before the 1982 re-release doesn’t count. Phooey. Anyway, this is a winning John song, featuring a bit of folk and country flair and a strong vocal performance. And this is typified by the way John delivers the line “I’ll show you what your lovin’ man can do”. Got that right, hoss.

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And with that we’ll pull the final cliffhanger scene of our matinee serial in which the car goes off the cliff with our hero in it and we wonder if he’ll survive the ordeal. Or in layman’s terms, tune in soon for Part 2 of Things We Love Today: The Beatles I Songs.