The Beatles Backyard

Started by George, May 01, 2007, 06:20:08 PM

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What are your 3 favorite Beatles Albums?

Please Please Me
With the Beatles
A Hard Day's Night
Beatles For Sale
Help!
Rubber Soul
Revolver
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Magical Mystery Tour
Yellow Submarine
The Beatles (White Album)
Let It Be
Abbey Road
Past Masters, Vol 1
Past Masters, Vol 2

Marc

Quote from: jwinter on August 29, 2019, 11:45:49 AM
Today I've been revisiting the White Album 50th Remixes... while I really enjoyed the Sgt. Pepper remixes from a couple years ago, I'm still undecided on the White Album.  There are some tracks where the improvement is clear and obvious, such as "Long, Long, Long," which sounds absolutely amazing on this, so much clearer and more focused.  And yet in other places the new mix seems to bring out details just for the sake bringing them out.  Drums and bass are more prominent pretty much throughout, which greatly benefits the rockers.

George Martin once famously said that the existing double album was too unfocused, and would have been much improved if they'd pared it down to a single album.  In theory I kind of agree with him; but like many other Beatle-nerds I keep trying to come up with a 14 track, 7 tracks per side version that truly satisfies.  I've had a playlist on my phone for years, and every time I put it on I end up moving things around, and adding or removing a song or two.

My current list (which may change by supper time):

Side 1:

Back in the USSR
Dear Prudence (the opening 1-2 punch is so good, I can't mess with it)
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Mother Nature's Son
Cry Baby Cry
Blackbird
I'm So Tired

Side 2

Birthday
Don't Pass Me By (gotta have a Ringo song)
Revolution 1
Long, Long, Long
Happiness is a Warm Gun
Helter Skelter
Julia

I'm still not happy with it, though, not least because there are a couple of key songs missing (looking at you, Glass Onion).  Maybe I need to cheat and do 8 songs per side for a total of 16 -- which would have still fit comfortably on an LP, I think....  or I could pull in the Revolution/Hey Jude single.... sigh.

Lol. I never even considered this, even though I acknowledge it's a fun thing to do.
I would not place Mother's Nature Son and Blackbird so close together though, on one and the same side. To me, they're too much in the same league (in different meanings).
And if I wanted to hear Ringo, I'd pick Good Night, John's lullaby for Julian.

But... to be honest, I like this 'messy' double album just as it is, despite George Martin's remarks. Musically, it's got everything that the 'studio' Beatles had got to give in those years. It's an awesome record.

jwinter

Quote from: Marc on September 03, 2019, 11:47:35 AM
Lol. I never even considered this, even though I acknowledge it's a fun thing to do.
I would not place Mother's Nature Son and Blackbird so close together though, on one and the same side. To me, they're too much in the same league (in different meanings).
And if I wanted to hear Ringo, I'd pick Good Night, John's lullaby for Julian.

But... to be honest, I like this 'messy' double album just as it is, despite George Martin's remarks. Musically, it's got everything that the 'studio' Beatles had got to give in those years. It's an awesome record.

Yeah, agreed on the proximity of Blackbird and Mother Nature's Son, I definitely need to move one of them to side 2... but then I might end up with too many John songs in a row.  Decisions.

I do love the original album, of course.  This whole exercise is a complete waste of time, but as you say it's amusing and gives me an excuse to revisit the music now and then.  Part of the challenge is to make it like a album they would have released -- so you need to balance Paul vs John, have an opener and a closer for each side, etc., and thus you need a Ringo song -- Don't Pass Me By has never been one of my favorites, but it's slim pickin's here....
The man that hath no music in himself,
Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds,
Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils.
The motions of his spirit are dull as night,
And his affections dark as Erebus.
Let no such man be trusted.

-- William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice

SimonNZ

#122
I'd take Good Night over Don't Pass Me By as the Ringo track (and as the album closer) . And would replace Happiness is a Warm Gun and Helter Skelter with Yer Blues and Glass Onion.

Marc

Quote from: SimonNZ on September 03, 2019, 08:14:08 PM
I'd take Good Night over Don't Pass Me By as the Ringo track (and as the album closer) . And would replace Happiness is a Warm Gun and Helter Skelter with Yer Blues and Glass Onion.

I would never ever replace Happiness Is A Warm Gun for anything.
It's definitely a Top 10 Beatles song for me.

Again, IMHO there's just too many good stuff to make one vinyl album out of it.
Imagine a Beatles legacy without Piggies! No way! ;)

vandermolen

Just picked up the 50th Anniversary release in the local supermarket. The 2019 producer is Giles Martin, the son of George, who produced the original album. Great sound and introductory articles in the booklet:
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Marc

Quote from: vandermolen on September 30, 2019, 07:17:30 AM
Just picked up the 50th Anniversary release in the local supermarket. The 2019 producer is Giles Martin, the son of George, who produced the original album. Great sound and introductory articles in the booklet:


Could not resist, eh? :P

(For the moment I will stick to the 2009 (iirc) release.)

j winter

[pokes head above foxhole]

Ya know, as an album Abbey Road has never really done if for me.  George's and John's contributions are  strong, but Paul's songs leave me cold here -- the whole montage on side 2 is just not my cuppa tea.

Other than Come Together and Here Comes the Sun, I probably play this album the least of any Beatles album, by a large margin.

[ducks back into foxhole]
The man that hath no music in himself,
Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds,
Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils.
The motions of his spirit are dull as night,
And his affections dark as Erebus.
Let no such man be trusted.

-- William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice

vandermolen

#127
Quote from: Marc on September 30, 2019, 09:35:29 AM
Could not resist, eh? :P

(For the moment I will stick to the 2009 (iirc) release.)

Indeed! I thought that it might be rather pricey but it was £7.00 in Tesco, which I didn't think too bad. I managed to smuggle it into the house concealed between packets cornflakes, cat food, tins of rice pudding etc (not really).
:)
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Szykneij

Snagged some good seats to see this on Saturday.
Men profess to be lovers of music, but for the most part they give no evidence in their opinions and lives that they have heard it.  ~ Henry David Thoreau

Don't pray when it rains if you don't pray when the sun shines. ~ Satchel Paige

vandermolen

Quote from: Szykneij on October 02, 2019, 01:46:20 AM
Snagged some good seats to see this on Saturday.
Looks great! Let us know what you think.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

vandermolen

Quote from: j winter on September 30, 2019, 10:43:44 AM
[pokes head above foxhole]

Ya know, as an album Abbey Road has never really done if for me.  George's and John's contributions are  strong, but Paul's songs leave me cold here -- the whole montage on side 2 is just not my cuppa tea.

Other than Come Together and Here Comes the Sun, I probably play this album the least of any Beatles album, by a large margin.

[ducks back into foxhole]
Even the Beatles themselves were divided on the merits of Abbey Road. The new booklet is interesting in this respect. I much prefer the long sequence on side 2 of the LP than the earlier songs.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

j winter

Quote from: vandermolen on October 02, 2019, 10:59:26 AM
Even the Beatles themselves were divided on the merits of Abbey Road. The new booklet is interesting in this respect. I much prefer the long sequence on side 2 of the LP than the earlier songs.

Interesting.  I will probably get the remix at some point soon -- I'm a lifelong Beatles fan, so even if I think Abbey Road one of their weaker albums, that still makes it better than a whole lot of other stuff... :)

I'm kinda split on the remixes so far.  I really like what Giles did with Sgt. Pepper, I thought it sounded wonderful.  But then, I think that was largely due to the way that album was made, with all the sampling down necessary to get such complex music onto crude multi-track tape.  Being able to get down to the basic elements, give everything a good digital scrub, and put it back together again, made for an awesome sonic improvement IMO.  The White Album did not impress me as much -- some things I liked, many things I prefer in the original mix -- but then, I never thought the original mix was that bad.  And that's my fear with Abbey Road -- there's nothing wrong with the sound on the latest remaster of the original mix, IMO -- so I'm not sure why they're messing with it.

But I will almost certainly give it a listen soon -- if nothing else, I suspect that a remixed Come Together, with a focus on the drums, might have some merit.  Whether I end up sending Apple yet more of my hard earned cash for yet another physical copy of the album is another question...
The man that hath no music in himself,
Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds,
Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils.
The motions of his spirit are dull as night,
And his affections dark as Erebus.
Let no such man be trusted.

-- William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice

vandermolen

Quote from: j winter on October 02, 2019, 11:11:23 AM
Interesting.  I will probably get the remix at some point soon -- I'm a lifelong Beatles fan, so even if I think Abbey Road one of their weaker albums, that still makes it better than a whole lot of other stuff... :)

I'm kinda split on the remixes so far.  I really like what Giles did with Sgt. Pepper, I thought it sounded wonderful.  But then, I think that was largely due to the way that album was made, with all the sampling down necessary to get such complex music onto crude multi-track tape.  Being able to get down to the basic elements, give everything a good digital scrub, and put it back together again, made for an awesome sonic improvement IMO.  The White Album did not impress me as much -- some things I liked, many things I prefer in the original mix -- but then, I never thought the original mix was that bad.  And that's my fear with Abbey Road -- there's nothing wrong with the sound on the latest remaster of the original mix, IMO -- so I'm not sure why they're messing with it.

But I will almost certainly give it a listen soon -- if nothing else, I suspect that a remixed Come Together, with a focus on the drums, might have some merit.  Whether I end up sending Apple yet more of my hard earned cash for yet another physical copy of the album is another question...

Thanks for that. Maybe I'll get the remixed Sgt. Pepper at some stage. Sgt Pepper, the White Album and Abbey Road are my favourites but I like all their albums, which were so much a part of my childhood. I saw them twice in concert. I won't say 'heard' as all I heard was screaming.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

j winter

Quote from: vandermolen on October 02, 2019, 10:11:11 PM
Thanks for that. Maybe I'll get the remixed Sgt. Pepper at some stage. Sgt Pepper, the White Album and Abbey Road are my favourites but I like all their albums, which were so much a part of my childhood. I saw them twice in concert. I won't say 'heard' as all I heard was screaming.


OK, I am officially jealous... where'd you see them?  Any specific memories of the concerts?
The man that hath no music in himself,
Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds,
Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils.
The motions of his spirit are dull as night,
And his affections dark as Erebus.
Let no such man be trusted.

-- William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice

San Antone

Except for some individual songs, my favorites are Rubber Soul, Revolver and Sgt. Pepper's.  While the new remasters are interesting, I am fine with the originals.  Abbey Road never was a fave of mine, it's a good record, just a little episodic for my tastes.

These songs are my favorites from the other albums:

"Across the Universe"
"All You Need Is Love"
"Blackbird"
"Day Tripper"
"Dear Prudence"
"Doctor Robert"
"Drive My Car"
"Hello Goodbye"
"I Am the Walrus"
"I'll Follow the Sun"
"Sexy Sadie"
"Strawberry Fields Forever"
"Things We Said Today"
"Ticket to Ride"

vandermolen

#135
Quote from: j winter on October 03, 2019, 05:38:29 AM

OK, I am officially jealous... where'd you see them?  Any specific memories of the concerts?

Well, yes. One was at the London Palladium and the other was either at Wembley or Hammersmith - I was about 11 or 12. Through a contact of my parents we got tickets for the Premiere of 'Yellow Submarine' where Ringo refused to sign an autograph for me (that was before he's 'officially' stopped signing them).

PS I've just looked up the Hammersmith concert which was in 1964. I was nine years old. I'm sure that was the other one.

PPS the Palladium concert was also 1964. I was younger that I thought!
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Marc

Quote from: j winter on September 30, 2019, 10:43:44 AM
[pokes head above foxhole]

Ya know, as an album Abbey Road has never really done if for me.  George's and John's contributions are  strong, but Paul's songs leave me cold here -- the whole montage on side 2 is just not my cuppa tea.

Other than Come Together and Here Comes the Sun, I probably play this album the least of any Beatles album, by a large margin.

[ducks back into foxhole]

I consider the entire side 2 a masterpiece (including 'The Long One'). Just brilliant.
But maybe my fav 3 individual songs of the album are from side 1: Come Together, Something and I Want You (She's So Heavy).
(Maxwell, Darling and Octopus though: well... all right.)

Marc

Quote from: San Antone on October 03, 2019, 05:55:44 AM
Except for some individual songs, my favorites are Rubber Soul, Revolver and Sgt. Pepper's.  While the new remasters are interesting, I am fine with the originals.  Abbey Road never was a fave of mine, it's a good record, just a little episodic for my tastes.

These songs are my favorites from the other albums:

"Across the Universe"
"All You Need Is Love"
"Blackbird"
"Day Tripper"
"Dear Prudence"
"Doctor Robert"
"Drive My Car"
"Hello Goodbye"
"I Am the Walrus"
"I'll Follow the Sun"
"Sexy Sadie"
"Strawberry Fields Forever"
"Things We Said Today"
"Ticket to Ride"

I fear that I could never come to such a list. Just too much good stuff. ;)
I like the pick of I'll Follow The Sun. Lovely tune. It's a teenage song by Paul, probably influenced by the musical music his father loved.

vandermolen

Abbey Road is back on top of the album charts here. The first time since 1970!
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

San Antone

Quote from: Marc on October 04, 2019, 07:25:31 AM
I fear that I could never come to such a list. Just too much good stuff. ;)
I like the pick of I'll Follow The Sun. Lovely tune. It's a teenage song by Paul, probably influenced by the musical music his father loved.

Yeah, there is a lot of good stuff, which makes me look for songs that go beyond good, IMO.  My list includes only those songs which I consider truly more than good, and in fact, pristine pop gems (I'll Follow the Sun, Things We Said Today, Blackbird) , or wildly imaginative genre-busting miniatures (Strawberry Fields, I Am the Walrus, Sexy Sadie), that no other band came close to equaling.

I can listen to any of their albums and enjoy the music, whereas for most groups (with some exceptions, Kinks, Beach Boys) of that period I cannot.