The Beatles

[Joe Barron]

I owe everyone a less contentious topic.

The Fab Four's 1964 appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show is one of my earliest memories, and I rediscover them every couple of years. Right now, I'm reading Philip Norman's biography of the John Lennon. Not very far yet, but the early chapter on his family background are evocative and compulsively readable. Plus, I finally found a CD of the White Album online for cheap, and I've been listening to that for the past couple of days. I know all the Beatles experts think it's just a big overindulgent mess, but I like it as much if not more than Abbey Road, probably because it actually rocks. (Even Revolution 9 reminds me of Cage, and there's nothing wrong with that.) It also affords a preview of their later solo work, since, as I understand, the group was hardly ever in the same room together during the recording.

I keep redoing Yer Blues in my mind a la Weird Al:

Well, I'm hungry -
Want some pie.
Yes I'm hungry -
Want some pie.
If I'm not fat already,
Girl, just gimme ham on rye.

Thoughts? Memories? Favorites? John v. Paul?

[Joe Barron]

Gee, wrong crowd ...

[MN Dave]

We're probably just talked-out on this topic. I've loved the Beatles ever since I heard the "Help" single. "I'm Down" was the b-side.

[vandermolen]

The White Album is my favourite with Abbey Road, Sergeant Pepper and Magical Mystery Tour.

[Joe Barron]

We're probably just talked-out on this topic. I've loved the Beatles ever since I heard the "Help" single. "I'm Down" was the b-side.

Talked out? When did that happen? I completely missed it.

I was surprised to learn that I'm Down was a Lennon-McCartney original (actually McCartney). I always thought of it as a blues cover. But I should have suspected something was up when I never heard the "original" ...

[MN Dave]

Talked out? When did that happen? I completely missed it.

I was surprised to learn that I'm Down was a Lennon-McCartney original (actually McCartney). I always thought of it as a blues cover. But I should have suspected something was up when I never heard the "original" ...

Yes, Paul doing his Little Richard imitation. Excellent.

[Joe Barron]

Yes, Paul doing his Little Richard imitation. Excellent.

Little too hetero for Little Richard.

[karlhenning]

If I hadn't heard "Hey Bulldog" this past Sunday (on the weekly "Breakfast with the Beatles" show here in Boston), I might not have done so . . . but I went ahead and fetched in the remaster of Yellow Submarine.

[MN Dave]

The Beatles will definitely be represented in the 500 ultimate CDs.  0:)

[XB-70 Valkyrie]

I've always hated the Beatles, and rock in general. Personally I think this guy (like Horace Tapscott, the subject of his poem) has more talent in his big toe than all four Beatles combined.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8uUeTSXBpQ

[The new erato]

How anyone can be a music maniac and not love the Beatles is totally beyond me.

[snyprrr]

Has anyone checked out the "Paul Is really dead" stuff? They microscan the two heads, and all. Anyone? Is there any evidence they weren't an MI5 op?

Less contentious?

[karlhenning]

I've always hated the Beatles, and rock in general. Personally I think this guy (like Horace Tapscott, the subject of his poem) has more talent in his big toe than all four Beatles combined.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8uUeTSXBpQ

How anyone can be a music maniac and not love the Beatles is totally beyond me.

I think the Beatles are practically entirely likeable, but I can also understand revulsion as a reaction to Beatlemania (in its various guises). I respect anyone's right to feel that he is under no obligation to like the Beatles ; )

My great surprise this week has been how much I am enjoying the Geo Martin orchestral music on the Yellow Submarine album. Not that I am arguing that he is the great orchestral composition talent of his generation, but it's all charming work and professionally done. (I mean, you sort of expect that, arguably, from his contributions to the rest of the Fab Four discography).

[XB-70 Valkyrie]

Over many years, off and on, I have tried to listen to rock, and tried to understand  this music  that practically everyone adores, worships, bases their lives on, etc.,  but to me nearly all of it sounds like noise. I can tolerate some of the really early stuff (and I do really dig Little Richard, to the extent that he qualifies as rock), but otherwise (speaking outside the realm of classical music) I wouldn't trade a single piece by Coltrane, Albert Ayler, or Anthony Braxton for all the rock in the world.

And quite honestly, from everything I've read, John Lennon sounds like a bit of an insecure, obnoxious prick.

[karlhenning]

Could say much the same of Wagner, of course. And at least Lennon had the virtue of brevity ; )

[Sergeant Rock]

Could say much the same of Wagner, of course. And at least Lennon had the virtue of brevity ; )

Wagner didn't have an insecure bone in is body...but he was an obnoxious prick 

Sarge

[jowcol]

The Beatles were my entry point into Rock, and I'm still fond of most stuff from Revolver on.  (Tomorrow Never Knows is a great single.)  My kids are just discovering them, so I've been listening to them a lot recently.  Ringo's drumming is impressing me less and less, but I like the George Martin Touch, and Paul laid down some pretty nice base lines.

Favorite Album-- the White Album, which I fell in love with one side at a time back in the days of vinyl.
Favorite Song: I am the Walrus.    In my teens I went from listening to Classical to top 40, and hearing this really revived my interest in "classical" music.

[karlhenning]

Listened again to the stereo remaster of The Beatles. Continually surprised (in an entirely good way) at how well it has aged.

Back when I owned it on vinyl, I remember what seemed like an artifact from transference . . . near the end of the song, Lennon sings, "Happiness is a warm, yes, it is" . . . and pauses briefly. Then he suddenly sings "Gun!" high and forte. Whenever I listened to it on vinyl, a split second early there was a quiet "fore-ghost" of that entrance, which marred the silence.

It's so nice to have that silence purified on the CD remasters. Life's small pleasures . . . .

[Scarpia]

The Beatles were my entry point into Rock, and I'm still fond of most stuff from Revolver on.  (Tomorrow Never Knows is a great single.)  My kids are just discovering them, so I've been listening to them a lot recently.  Ringo's drumming is impressing me less and less, but I like the George Martin Touch, and Paul laid down some pretty nice base lines.

I find Ringo quite effective in the early stuff, I wanna hold your hand, etc.  In the later albums it was mostly McCartney playing drums, or so I've gathered.   McCartney was definitely a poor drummer, I'd say.

In any case, I'd say they hit their high point in "Saw Her Standin' There."

[karlhenning]

Offhand, the only song for which I know McCartney was at the trap set is "The Ballad of John and Yoko."

It was not any matter of yielding the drums to McCartney, that the Sgt Pepper sessions were when Ringo learnt how to play chess . . . .