The Beatles

[Zulu Romeo]

...."Abbey Road" - a true miracle of a record given the state of the band around that time.

Absolutely. After the messy and uncomfortable "Get Back" sessions that ground to a halt in early '69 the band was to all intents and purposes a lost cause - yet they got together one last time in the studio and created Abbey Road. A true achievement.

I know which record of theirs I'd rather consider as their final statement to the world. ["Free As A Bird"? - someone]

...."I Want To Hold Your Hand" - its simplicity, innocence, optimism and sheer energy always wins me over.

Not a song I've ever really liked that much (mainly because of the twee lyrics), but after hearing Al Green's soulful, funky cover version I realized just how great the chord sequences are.

I managed to get hold of their German version of that song a few years ago. In the early days, for their German fans they recorded "Komm Gib Mir Deine Hand" and "Sie Liebt Dich" - quite fascinating listens, those.

"Komm Gib Mir Deine Hand": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEKPg-mnEfg

"Sie Liebt Dich": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vGv_d0mk6Q

 

[ITL]

^ My sister used to know the German lyrics so well she would sing along....

BTW - I love this website - it's an examination of every Beatles song from a music theory perspective. My own understanding of music theory is limited at best, but I love reading this sort of stuff nonetheless. Plus, the guy's a true fan of the band.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

Neat website - I'll have to check it out in depth some time.

 

[Electric Coleslaw]

I’ve been a fan my whole life. What strikes me is the musical progression from 1962 to 1969. Those 8 years seem like 18. Bands today are lucky to get 3 albums in 8 years and they had what 16? The songwriting skills were just amazing. People may not like the style of the music but you have a hard time arguing against the songwriting success. Not to mention that the songs are in our cultural jargon. People mention taking the “long and winding road” to such and such.

The 60’s was also a crucial time for the evolution of rock music. It’s debatable how much the Beatles drove that change but it is certain that they were just a popular and powerful band that their incorporation of different sounds, techniques and even fashion allowed the fringe to become mainstream. It easy to look back on that time now and say the songs were too bubblegum but you have to remember that the envelope was just beginning to be pushed back then. The Beatles weren’t the only band to start pushing but their popularity allowed them more freedom to do so making it easier for others to do the same.

 

[QuasarVM]

Just as with Star Trek, I can't recall a time in life when I was not a Beatles fan.

 

[Star Treks]

The Beatles rise above any other popular musical artist of the last hundred years. They are in many ways like the family of quite a few people. I completely understand where the OP is coming from... they are a part of our lives.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

One of the great Beatles moments: their performance on the Morecambe and Wise show:

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCyG85beIGU
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csMRq9n97kk

 

[CorporalClegg]

You know, I read this article once with contributions from both music and political historians that basically suggested, had Please Please Me come out a year earlier or a year later, The Beatles would have dissolved into obscurity.

 

[CaptJimboJones]

Hendrix took a lot from the London guitar scene that he was a part of before making it big-and that scene came out of inspiration provided by the Beatles.

Hendrix was a huge Beatles fan, IIRC he famously kicked off a concert with a cover of "St. Pepper" the day the album came out. So he was certainly inspired by them. Several of his songs, like like "Wait Until Tomorrow" are quite Beatlesque in their construction.

But to be entirely accurate, Hendrix didn't really take a lot from the London guitar scene - he was more of a source of inspiration for British guitarists. He had already developed his signature psychedelic/blues sound playing in dingy clubs in Greenwich Village in New York City when he was discovered by Chas Chandler and brought to London to record "Are You Experienced."

One story that's widely told (though it may be apocryphal, for all I know) is that Pete Townsend was walking into a London club where Hendrix was performing and ran into Eric Clapton on the way out. Clapton had an absolutely ashen, shattered look on his face, and Townsend asked him, "Oh, is this new guy that bad?" Clapton replied, "No, mate, he's that good."

 

[CorporalClegg]

^
Apocryphal in a posthumous kind of way. It's one of those those stories that "evolves" after someone's death that in spite of (or because of) has no regard for authenticity.

And frankly, had he not had died when he did, I doubt he would have been revered as much is he is. But I digress...

 

[Kryton]

When the HELL is "Let It Be" getting a release? Last time it was on home video was in the very early '80s when VHS was new-ish...and it's NEVER been on DVD.

 

[Level 2 Diagnostic]

But there are those who can't separate the music since the Beatles from the contribution and evolution of mainstream rock that the Beatles were when they were first popular. Like saying silent films are crap because they're in black and white, the acting is over-exaggerated and there's no sound.

And when was the last time you actually sat down to watch a silent movie? I would guess very rarely, and you're far more likely to watch a movie that was made after you were born that you can relate to more.

History lessons are great, if I'm in the mood for a history lesson. But when I want to listen to interesting and challenging rock music made by and for adults, the Beatles are about the last thing I'll put on.

I can't help but notice ITL's Robert Fripp avatar, and think about how Fripp's album Exposure blows away anything the Beatles ever did, IMHO.

 

[Star Treks]

But there are those who can't separate the music since the Beatles from the contribution and evolution of mainstream rock that the Beatles were when they were first popular. Like saying silent films are crap because they're in black and white, the acting is over-exaggerated and there's no sound.

And when was the last time you actually sat down to watch a silent movie? I would guess very rarely, and you're far more likely to watch a movie that was made after you were born that you can relate to more.

History lessons are great, if I'm in the mood for a history lesson. But when I want to listen to interesting and challenging rock music made by and for adults, the Beatles are about the last thing I'll put on.

I can't help but notice ITL's Robert Fripp avatar, and think about how Fripp's album Exposure blows away anything the Beatles ever did, IMHO.

I love Robert Fripp, I love Exposure, but you still couldn't be more wrong.

Anyone with a rudimentary sense of music theory knows that the Beatles were some of the most innovative and important songwriters of the 20th century (a glance through the above-posted web site gives plenty of good examples of this). You may not like it, but for someone who cares to investigate, it is plenty interesting and challenging.

Oh, and I watch lots of silent movies.

 

[stoneroses]

How did such geniuses manage to lose control of their song copyrights?

Because creative genius and business acumen are two different skill sets?

As for the band itself - no interest really, I understand their cultural importance but I'm not interested as a listener.

That was because of Yoko

 

[TGTheodore]

But there are those who can't separate the music since the Beatles from the contribution and evolution of mainstream rock that the Beatles were when they were first popular. Like saying silent films are crap because they're in black and white, the acting is over-exaggerated and there's no sound.

And when was the last time you actually sat down to watch a silent movie? I would guess very rarely, and you're far more likely to watch a movie that was made after you were born that you can relate to more.

History lessons are great, if I'm in the mood for a history lesson. But when I want to listen to interesting and challenging rock music made by and for adults, the Beatles are about the last thing I'll put on. .

You've proven my point expertly. And I frequently watch silent films ... and to prove that I'm also a part of what I'm discussing, I can appreciate so much about the silent films, but I can't know what the experience of seeing them when they first came out was like. Doesn't mean I can't appreciate them, just means I can't appreciate them in the original way.

--Ted

 

[Level 2 Diagnostic]

So, Beatles fans are all avid watchers of silent movies? I think that about says it all. I can now gracefully bow out of this thread. If anyone needs me, I'll be in 2009.

 

[ITL]

And if you ever start making any sense whatsoever we'll be sure to let you know.

 

[Level 2 Diagnostic]

/

 

[CorporalClegg]

The root directory?

 

[TheMurph]

The Beatles are my favorite band of all time and yes I do almost consider them to be family because of how familiar I've become with them through their music.