The Beatles

Bubs101

I think people say they're the best band ever in the same way that people say that Pele is the best footballer ever even if they've barely seen him. Their early stuff is nice pop stuff but there's so much better pop music than that and then they had a really hot run of awesome albums from Rubber Soul to let it be which was great. But so many other bands have had a hot run of albums that I like far more.

I'm willing to accept that they are one of the best ever but I hate this idea that the statement is incontrevertable. I'd have Elvis ahead if by best you mean great songs coupled with great success and longevity, maybe Abba as well. In terms of who I think are the best they're not close

Favourite album would be Abbey Road which I think is nearly flawless. My favourite song is probably while my guitar gently weeps which is one of the classic songs on an album that has too much ****e

OwaynOTT

Live4Ever wrote: »

I love it!

Live4Ever

Bubs101 wrote: »

I think people say they're the best band ever in the same way that people say that Pele is the best footballer ever even if they've barely seen him. Their early stuff is nice pop stuff but there's so much better pop music than that and then they had a really hot run of awesome albums from Rubber Soul to let it be which was great. But so many other bands have had a hot run of albums that I like far more.

I'm willing to accept that they are one of the best ever but I hate this idea that the statement is incontrevertable. I'd have Elvis ahead if by best you mean great songs coupled with great success and longevity, maybe Abba as well. In terms of who I think are the best they're not close

Favourite album would be Abbey Road which I think is nearly flawless. My favourite song is probably while my guitar gently weeps which is one of the classic songs on an album that has too much ****e

Fair points. I think the difference between Abba & Elvis and The Beatles is, The Beatles will stand the test of time much better than these two acts. Yes Elvis is a legend and inspired The Beatles considerably. As far as "the best act" goes The Beatles and Elvis are the main contenders in my opinion because, were both innovators, charismatic, created mass hysteria, inspired generations of people after them and both were defining parts of their generations.

Abba are better than The Beatles? :eek:

Bubs101

Abba and the Beatles competed on one front, pop, and Abba demolished the Beatles

Live4Ever

Bubs101 wrote: »

Abba and the Beatles competed on one front, pop, and Abba demolished the Beatles

Are you taking in terms of record sales, number 1 hits or just general popularity?

Bubs101

Live4Ever wrote: »

Are you taking in terms of record sales, number 1 hits or just general popularity?

The quality. Popularity means nothing in terms of the best or else you could clame Glee are the best band ever. I think that the Beatles pop music is the equivalent of Busted. Jingle jangle tunes. There are obviously a couple of exceptions but Abba's pop songs are darker, more complex, rewarding, better written and far more varied.

I essentially see the Beatles as the equivalent of Take that if all of the sudden Take that released all of Radiohead's albums in a row and because of their insane popularity with teenyboppers and young girls they were exposed to these great albums and Take that advanced musical evolution for a whole generation. The Beatles before RUbber Soul are not good. Their pop songs don't hold up to modern ones at all. Take That for example have much better pop songs when you take the hits as a whole.

The Beatles just had a gigantic audience who loved them before Rubber Soul, Abbey Road, The White Album and Let it Be and they exposed this music to the kind of people who'd never listen to it. They probably didn't even know they were listening to it until it was too late. So then these people associate the Beatles with given introducing them to good music and glorify them beyond what they deserve

Irish Guitarist

Most of todays music that involves bass, drums and guitar wouldn't exist without The Beatles. Even bands that that say they weren't important were in some way influenced by them, even if it was indirectly. For instance any band that have been influenced by punk wouldn't be around if not for The Beatles. Punk evolved out of American garage rock which mainly drew from The Beatles (and The Rolling Stones).

My favourite Beatles album is Revolver. Tomorrow Never Knows sounds amazing.

Having said all that they're not my favourite band, but they're one of my favourites.

Bubs101

But you couldn't help but fail to be inluenced by the Beatles because they were so big. They were absolutely everywhere. Garage rock is far closer to the Stones than the Beatles but because you couldn't help but listen to them then they influenced you. They were everywhere and they were good so of course they influenced people but it was a matter of their popularity as opposed to being better than any band at the time

Live4Ever

Bubs101 wrote: »

The quality. Popularity means nothing in terms of the best or else you could clame Glee are the best band ever. I think that the Beatles pop music is the equivalent of Busted. Jingle jangle tunes. There are obviously a couple of exceptions but Abba's pop songs are darker, more complex, rewarding, better written and far more varied.

I essentially see the Beatles as the equivalent of Take that if all of the sudden Take that released all of Radiohead's albums in a row and because of their insane popularity with teenyboppers and young girls they were exposed to these great albums and Take that advanced musical evolution for a whole generation. The Beatles before RUbber Soul are not good. Their pop songs don't hold up to modern ones at all. Take That for example have much better pop songs when you take the hits as a whole.

The Beatles just had a gigantic audience who loved them before Rubber Soul, Abbey Road, The White Album and Let it Be and they exposed this music to the kind of people who'd never listen to it. They probably didn't even know they were listening to it until it was too late. So then these people associate the Beatles with given introducing them to good music and glorify them beyond what they deserve.

First off I don't want to get into another debate about "who the best band is". This is sort on a Beatles Appreciation thread (fair enough the title says differently but I've already been scolded about that ).
We had that debate with the Oasis thread and it was a nightmare. Obviously everyone has their own ears and their own tastes which is cool. Just out of interest are Abba your fav or are you just using them as an example?

I see where you're coming from with the Glee point - yeah that's true, but to be fair Glee do covers, they're hardly musicians only glorified disney kids .

I don't know about the "jingle-jangle" tunes part. That was the style in the early 60's, singing about chicks and crushes etc. The melodies, whatever about the lyrics, are WAY better than that of Busted!

Hmm although I can sort of see your logic behind in your points, I think realistically they are quite far-fetched. Take That for example have a predominantly female following both young and old (6-40). The Beatles also had this following (they couldnt hear themselves play over girls screaming) but they have / had an equal ammount of male followers. Take That aren't going to diverse. Why? Because if they do they will sell fcuk all albums and lose half their fans and wouldn't be able to sell out Croke Park. They don't even play instruments (live at least)!

I don't think it is fair comparing pop songs from the 60's with pop songs from the 80's, 90's and 00's. Different decades, different generations, different influences and different styles and even better technologies!

"Take That for example have much better pop songs when you take the hits as a whole."
Who has more number one hits? Take That, generally, only have No.1 hits in the UK and Ireland. The Beatles were top of the charts worldwide.

"So then these people associate the Beatles with given introducing them to good music and glorify them beyond what they deserve."
Yes the majority of people were 'exposed' to this new type of music The Beatles started recording. I think the majority said "wow this is great" and went with it and loved it.

The fact of the matter is The Beatles, as you stated, had a massive audience. They then changed their style. The kept all their fans from the 'pop' years and probably won even more over in the process. If The Beatles were never around then who would have introduced the world to this "new type of music" you are talking about? If they never happened who would people glorify for this 'new music'? I can hear you say The Stones already (yes they are amazing) but the reality is they were never as popular as The Beatles and did not have the following the did.

Therefore I feel, although The Beatles may not be the best (depending on your opinion) they were certainly the most known, most loved and most inspirational band of their time and they changed the musical landscape. They deserve all the glory they have got to date and has yet to come.

And yes, they were bigger than Jesus .

antomorro-sei

Love The Beatles.

My favourite album would be Revolver, although my favourite song isn't from that album. It's Helter Skelter

Irish Guitarist

To be honest I love The Beatles because they're great, not because they're so popular. I actually tried my best to not like them for most of my childhood because my brother loved them and I didn't want to have the same taste as him.

I always loved songs like Ticket To Ride and Strawberry Fields Forever though. When I was nineteen (almost sixteen years ago now) I heard Tomorrow Never Knows for the first time. I gave in and bought Revolver the next day. After that I bought all their albums over the course of the next few weeks.

They're not my favourite band but they're one of them. I enjoy Pink Floyd, The Byrds and Love more. Speaking of which, if you like the Beatles later albums you'd probably like Forever Changes by Love.

If you want some information about The Beatles you should read Revolution In The Head by Ian McDonald. It's a great book. It's a few years since I've read it now but I recall reading that John Lennon once called a meeting to tell the other Beatles some important news. The news was that he was Jesus.

Irish Guitarist

Bubs101 wrote: »

Abba and the Beatles competed on one front, pop, and Abba demolished the Beatles

I think it's safe to say that The Beatles didn't compete with a band who formed two years after they split up.

Live4Ever

Irish Guitarist wrote: »

If you want some information about The Beatles you should read Revolution In The Head by Ian McDonald. It's a great book. It's a few years since I've read it now but I recall reading that John Lennon once called a meeting to tell the other Beatles some important news. The news was that he was Jesus.

Typical Lennon! Love that story, I think I will invest in that book!

antomorro-sei

Irish Guitarist wrote: »

If you want some information about The Beatles you should read Revolution In The Head by Ian McDonald. It's a great book. It's a few years since I've read it now but I recall reading that John Lennon once called a meeting to tell the other Beatles some important news. The news was that he was Jesus.

Agreed. Read it a few months back. Great read imo.

Glassheart

Bubs101 wrote: »

The quality. Popularity means nothing in terms of the best or else you could clame Glee are the best band ever. I think that the Beatles pop music is the equivalent of Busted. Jingle jangle tunes. There are obviously a couple of exceptions but Abba's pop songs are darker, more complex, rewarding, better written and far more varied.

I essentially see the Beatles as the equivalent of Take that if all of the sudden Take that released all of Radiohead's albums in a row and because of their insane popularity with teenyboppers and young girls they were exposed to these great albums and Take that advanced musical evolution for a whole generation. The Beatles before RUbber Soul are not good. Their pop songs don't hold up to modern ones at all. Take That for example have much better pop songs when you take the hits as a whole.

The Beatles just had a gigantic audience who loved them before Rubber Soul, Abbey Road, The White Album and Let it Be and they exposed this music to the kind of people who'd never listen to it. They probably didn't even know they were listening to it until it was too late. So then these people associate the Beatles with given introducing them to good music and glorify them beyond what they deserve

I've never read such ill informed rubbish regarding the Beatles in all my life.:rolleyes:

mathepac

Live4Ever wrote: »

Are the best ...

People may voice opinions, but that pretty much says it all.

Sgt.Peppers wrote: »

beatles ...gods

+1

Bubs101 wrote: »

... I'd have Elvis ahead if by best you mean great songs coupled with great success and longevity, ...

But Elvis, while I acknowledge his huge contribution to popular music, was 'merely' a performer.

The Beatles :

• wrote and performed their own music
• produced, arranged and recorded their own music
• opened their own recording studio
• founded their own music publishing companies (Northern Songs and later Apple)
• financed and founded their own multimedia company and record label (Apple Corps)
• wrote, arranged and produced material for other artists
• gave a avalanche of new artists their first recording contracts (James Taylor, Mary Hopkin, Badfinger, etc)
• innovated in the use of electronics in modern popular music (instrumentation, recording and performance techniques)
• opened the very first Apple Store (1967 )
• pioneered the benefit pop-concert idea (The Concert for Bangladesh 1971) OK so it was really George and Ravi Shankar and only three of the former Beatles played, but they also recorded the event, put out the records, DVDs, etc and had most of their stable of artists perform either in their own right or as members of the super-group
• they took American music back to America and spawned a plethora of 'me toos' (including The Monkees ) some of whom produced excellent music

The Beatles, collectively, are the single greatest phenomenon in modern popular music, bar none and their achievements and innovations will never be matched let alone surpassed (that's fact, not just IMHO)

I can write more but this contribution is already too long.

My favourite tracks are "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (it also marked an early unfortunate milestone in Eric Clapton's life ), "Taxman" (a Lennon-ish move away from love songs and into broader social commentary), "Yesterday", (apologies for the Wiki link, but I couldn't resist it )

My favourite albums are Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt Pepper, and The Beatles.

Phew! (I Am A Beatles Fan and Proud Of It)

Glassheart wrote: »

I've never read such ill informed rubbish regarding the Beatles in all my life.

+1

Live4Ever

mathepac wrote: »

The Beatles, collectively, are the single greatest phenomenon in modern popular music, bar none and their achievements and innovations will never be matched let alone surpassed (that's fact, not just IMHO)

I can write more but this contribution is already too long.

Phew! (I Am A Beatles Fan and Proud Of It)

+1

+1 to everything you said.

zimovain

'I'm Only Sleeping' is a song I could listen to forever! Amazing band.

Kold

mathepac wrote: »

The Beatles, collectively, are the single greatest phenomenon in modern popular music, bar none and their achievements and innovations will never be matched let alone surpassed (that's fact, not just IMHO)

*vomits on self* No please, do go on.

mathepac

Kold wrote: »

*vomits on self* ...

There's no need. I'll help.

Asphyxia

I grew up with them always playing at home my brother was a huge fan. My father was living in England years ago and saw them play that famous gig on the roof of the Apple building in Saville Row London he said it was crazy

Oasis_Dublin

The Beatles are a decent old band. Abbey Road or Revolver would probably be my favourite album. The early albums had some great tunes on them also, namely "I Saw Her Standing There"

Live4Ever

Pocketfizz wrote: »

I grew up with them always playing at home my brother was a huge fan. My father was living in England years ago and saw them play that famous gig on the roof of the Apple building in Saville Row London he said it was crazy

That is fcuking class, he is a lucky man. I've watched the videos of that concert about 100 times, seriously class. Even though they knew then that the dream was over and they were fighting etc, you wouldn't know it looking at that would you? They look so happy and in their element tbh.

Also, the quality of the music, considering it's live and on a rooftop is incredible. It's so tight. The version they do of "Don't Let Me Down" is simply awesome, for me, it is the greatest song ever, nothing makes me happier than watching or hearing that tune.

I visited the apple building on Saville Row back in September, not much to see (its abandoned) but I did get a thrill looking up at the rooftop from the steet below. The magic is still there....

qwertplaywert

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILdBDOPoEDQ

Favourite Beatles song by a mile.