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I can't quite place my finger on it, but one of the things that makes me feel "good" when listening to the Beatles is that whatever chord structure and progression that they chose to use, even if it didn't "fit," it sounds exactly right to me. Like it belongs. "Sun King" has some really messed-up chords in it. But they make it work.
The other thing that makes me feel good about the Beatles stems from the fact that by 1965 or 1966, they put less emphasis on the "single" to be released to the public and on the album as a whole, coherent piece. It's no secret that Brian Wilson heard "Rubber Soul" and created "Pet Sounds" as a response to that - it was a challenge to himself to see if he could also create a complete oveure in pop - and then the Beatles responded to THAT with "Sgt. Pepper."
The other thing that makes me feel good about the Beatles is that they weren't afraid of letting outsiders influence their music. George Martin, who was their main producer, was amazing at getting the right sounds out of the Beatles. I'm convinced that it's because of George that the entirety of Side 2 of "Abbey Road" came together. The Beatles had little snippets of songs - Mean Mr. Mustard, Polythene Pam, etc - and I'm sure it was because of George that they all seamlessly blended together.
One of the best "feel-good" moments in Beatles tunes for me is during "Carry That Weight" when they reprise the "You Never Give Me Your Money" section. It just makes the whole album feel like it was meant to be put together in that order, from the get go. (I'm sure it wasn't, but it sure feels that way).
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You have to laugh at yourself...because you'd cry your eyes out if you didn't. - Emily Saliers
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