Documentary Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years may not offer much new information for seasoned Beatles fans but it hammers home how - despite their seemingly never-ending touring schedule - they somehow kept up such a high standard when it came to songwriting.
Of course, this hectic period eventually took its toll on the quartet with John, Paul, George and Ringo later deciding to stay in the studio with producer George Martin. This meant the albums that followed - Revolver, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Abbey Road - all featured tracks that were never performed live.
We run through the seven songs from these classic records that would have worked extremely well live (NB: We haven't included those songs performed live by Lennon, McCartney, Harrison or Starr at any stage of their solo careers).
Tomorrow Never Knows
Album: Revolver (1966)
It's difficult to know whether this experimental song from the brain of John Lennon would have correlated well performed live. Notable for its pioneering use of mixed tape loops and a vocal placed through an amplifier, this was one of those songs that The Beatles were freed up to write after they'd retired from touring. Regardless, a live version would have been electric.
Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite
Baby, You’re a Rich Man
Album: Magical Mystery Tour (1967)
With its high-pitched vocals, erratic use of the clavioline and euphoric chorus, it seems unfair that this humble track never got treated to a live performance. Just close your eyes and imagine a stadium's worth of people singing that chorus aloud in unison...
Savoy Truffle
Album: The Beatles (The White Album) (1968)
Hear me out: George Harrison takes centre stage and brings out Eric Clapton to perform "Savoy Truffle," a song inspired by the former's sweet tooth - it may not be your favourite album track, but it'd have been a sight to behold. The lyrics may also leave you with a sickly sweet taste (personally 'montelimart' into a song) but musically, there's a lot going on here that would have justified its placement on any Beatles setlist.
Oh! Darling
Album: Abbey Road (1969)
It's a wonder McCartney has never inducted this belter into set lists. The piano and the wham of Harrison's guitar would make this an addition to any show, but the anguish McCartney was quite evidently feeling at the time ("believe me, darling!") would have made for the kind of raw live performance music lovers pray for.
I Want You (She’s So Heavy)
Album: Abbey Road (1969)
At just under eight minutes, the multi-faceted "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" may polarise casual Beatles fans but there's no denying its heft. Starting with one of the moodiest riffs the 60s had to offer, the song switches to Lennon's jazz bar yearning ("I want you so baaaaaad") before unleashing one of the most spine-tingling drops of their entire discography. If it's this spine-tingling in the car, imagine it being unleashed in a stadium.
Across the Universe
Album: Let It Be (1970)
This song remains one of Lennon's best to this very day. Existing as a symbol of the direction he would take once the quartet disbanded, the audience would have hung on to every word of the lyrics he deemed the closest he ever came to writing poetry.
The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years is out today
