The Beatles through "new" eyes/ears

[billoetjen]

Lots of bands/musicians have gotten so much hype over the years that I've come to dismiss any new thing that gets a lot of play. Although I grew up in awe of the Beatles (born in '59) there came a point where I banned their music from my life - for like 20 years.
Last night I rented and watched a 2 disc set of the 4 best episodes from the Ed Sullivan Show. They were all from '64 and '65 I think. Of course, it included the North American premier of The Beatles, and several other of their appearances.
Uummmmmm - I'm stuck, trying to articulate my reaction. The Beatles were all brilliant in their own, unique, tasteful, understated way. Even when they leapt into one of their numbers too fast and had to pull back the tempo, they were tight as a machine.
Then there's Paul. Making the moves, stealing the camera, doing the eye-magic, the head wiggle, singing his heart out, .... And playing the grooviest rip-off of Professor Jameson's lines picked on a short-scale.... All at the same time, and making it look sooooo easy and smooth. Not to mention shot live, with no retakes, no punching-in, and NO LIP SYNCHING! I glanced at one of my basses in its wall hanger and felt like chucking it. Some of the best song writing in all of pop music history, too. AND they projected such a cool, up-beat persona.
Even John seemed happy (oh right, that was all before Yoko).
It was all so, all so ..... innocent. They wanted to hold your hand. I grieve for what's become of pop culture.
If someone tried to do that today, you'd have smugness and irony instead of magic and vibe.
Maybe it's true that nothing worth our attention happened after 1967. I'm sure that I'll get over it.

[adbass]

Nice to have your mind and ears opened like that, huh?

Don't let yourself be closed off again. There is great music to be enjoyed from well before and after 1967 up to this present day.

The fact that four kids in some poor town in England evolved to such a high level of musical unity and were able to 'make it' in the truest sense is amazing, IMHO.

[sqdc16]

Great post man.

One of the things I love most about the Beatles is the sheer unbridled joy and enthusiasm in their music, especially the early stuff.

[Rocker949]

Originally Posted by sqdc16

Great post man.

One of the things I love most about the Beatles is the sheer unbridled joy and enthusiasm in their music, especially the early stuff.

+1

[dmrogers]

Great post. I look back on those days when I was young and discovering the great artists and the fresh music that was made.

PLUS, it was simple! Creative, complex, imaginary, but simple. What do I mean? Consider the equipment that the Beatles used to record much of their music on! No Pro Tools, and endless overdubs. Raw, honest, sincere, tight and a joy to listen to.

In some of my recent readings, I am remembering when groups would go into a studio (or use a mobile studio) and record an album in a matter of days. And the album became a hit.

Yes, we have lost a lot of that, but I am encouraging the people I am around a involved with to keep the raw, simplicity, and spontaneous element in their music. It excites me.

Thanks for sharing!

[billoetjen]

It is wisely written:

The vibe dies at the hands of production.

[MysticMichael]

I can totally relate. A few days ago, I got the urge to go back and have a listen to The Beatles' two "transitional" albums - Rubber Soul and Revolver - for the first time in several years.

To me, this stuff still sounds fresh, nearly 45 years after it was first composed & recorded - almost as if it had always existed, just waiting for some songwriter to come along and "discover it". The individual parts are so tasteful - even when there are flaws in the performance (which there are a minor few).

MM

[Thor]

Revolver really sticks out for me as a revolutionary album.

Also, I have spent some time in the last few years relearning
some of their classic tunes. I really have come to appreciate
some of their song writing tricks. The bridges especially.

The bridge in You Can't Do That is a great example.

The key chord in the song is G7. The bridge busts out to a third and runs up the circle of fifths back to G
B7 - Em - Am - D - G

Pure genius.

I'll Cry Instead, almost the same bridge, changeups on
the majors and minors. G
Bm A D E A

Again, pure genius. Looking at their older stuff, I am spotting
a lot of this type of song construction.

[Chowderboots]

I fell out with the Beatles for a little while. I used to listen to them all the time when I was little. And slowly but surely, they're inevitably creeping back into my life. Gotta dig them. They're just magic.

[JimK]

Originally Posted by billoetjen

It is wisely written:
The vibe dies at the hands of production.

First off, I a bit like you: I lived in Philly in the mid-'60s...since my older, cooler cousins were into The Beatles...I was into The Beatles. In the early '70s, Hard Rock/Acid Rock dominanted my turntable...The Beatles were history until the initial release of the cds (late '80s or so?). I got into the hype of those releases & then fell in love with them all over again. Revolver is "it".

Back to production sucking the life outta the vibe-
In the '80s, I loved David Foster's production. Over the years, I have come to really dislike it.
Listen to Chicago pre-Foster
Listen to AWB pre-Foster
Listen to The Tubes pre-Foster
Listen to EW&F pre-Foster
...and compare.

Admittedly, the Al Jarreau-Foster albums still sound good...best served for Pop?

That said, production can be great-
George Martin
Arif Mardin
Gary Katz
...their records have always sounded great to me...they still do.

[Hoover]

Originally Posted by billoetjen

It was all so, all so ..... innocent. They wanted to hold your hand. I grieve for what's become of pop culture.

The irony is, much of "what's become of pop culture" can be directly traced back to The Beatles and their impact on the music industry.

Which is not to say that it had to go that way, or that they intentionally steered it that way, or that what we have now is the logical evolution of the phenomena that they started... but it's almost axiomatic that if The Beatles had never existed, pop culture would be very different today.

[Barkless Dog]

I was a big Beatles fan when I was a kid (10), when Sgt. Pepper came out. I fell away from them in high school, then went to Las Vegas and saw the show "Love" and it blew my mind on not only how great the bass sounded, but how it was the main focus of many of their songs. Most incredible sound system that focused every note of the bass.

[godofthunder59]

I to was born in '59 and I remember the buzz The Beatles had building to the Sullivan show. I still remember watching that show sitting on the stairs as my folks had sent us to bed. I was mesmerized I didn't know what they were doing, just I had to do it ! I thought Paul had the coolist "guitar" so that is why I ended up playing bass not that I knew what one was at the time. When I heard Rain I went, thats it ! Thats the sounds I want to make ! Of course over the years there have been many other influences, but Paul is at the core of my bass being. I have those Ed Sullivan shows on DVD and they are a gift from the past. A live performance ! Music has become so sterile and processed those performances make me long for a 50w amp and Hofner ( I still have my '65). We did a gig recentley with a band that uses a lot of programed vocal tracks, both lead and back up. We do it without any of that nonsense and I am proud of it. The Beatles At The BBC is one of my all time favorite discs. They were a fantastic live band before the crowds drowned them out.