All You Need is The Beatles

The Beatles’ “Yellow Submarine” is more well-known as a sound track of the widely popular animated film than as another addition to their already broad catalogue. With that said, “Yellow Submarine” might be labeled as unnecessary, but any fan would know that there is no such thing as an unnecessary Beatles album.

In addition to “Yellow Submarine” and “All You Need is Love,” which are both prominently featured in the film, the album contains four songs recorded in 1967 and originally released for the movie.

John Lennon and Paul McCartney composed “All Together Now,” a joyous sing-along track that blends perfectly at the end of the movie, and “Hey Bulldog,” the rock piano and raucous dog howls of which make it a staple in The Beatles’ catalogue.

Likewise, Harrison wrote “Only a Northern Song” and “It’s All Too Much.” While “Only a Northern Song” is significantly more obscure, both songs are reminiscent of the sound present in “Magical Mystery Tour.”

The remainder of the album is what turns off skeptics. The rest is not so much Beatles songs as filler – background music used for the film as written by Beatles producer George Martin. Conceivably, the album would have been better had it been released in a B-side or EP format.

Clearly, “Yellow Submarine” is not nearly as good as the “Yellow Submarine Songtrack” pulled directly from the movie. Notables from that album include “Eleanor Rigby,” “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” “When I’m Sixty-Four,” “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” and “Nowhere Man.”

With a song list like that, the “Yellow Submarine Songtrack” seems like a greatest hits album, and the concurrent imagery of the film makes it a must-have for any Beatles fan.