THE BEATLES

[MirrorProfiles]

It appears the FAB FOUR are in need of a thread here. Sure I’m not the only one here, will be cool to hear what songs you guys dig from them as everyone has their favourites.

For those that are fed up of Hey Jude/Yellow Submarine/Twist and Shout and think they’re overrated, you’re actually in the most enviable position. Digging deep into the Beatles and discovering their full discography is one of the best things you can do, it’s genuinely one of my fondest memories involving music.

For me personally, I found the early stuff a bit corny at first and found it easier to click with the later more psychedelic and experimental sounding stuff.

Over time I worked backwards to the earlier albums and gained appreciation for the raw energy in the performances (just a punchy AF rock band), amazing harmonies, incredible melodies and perfectly crafted songs. There was a point when I was younger where my guitar playing was so engrained in playing metal and chugging even though I was largely listening to other genres. I bought the book of sheet music of every beatles song (includes all the instruments). Opening the book on a random page and learning a new song was such a cool way to learn different genres, cool songwriting techniques, key changes, chord voicings, bass inversions, harmonies etc.

As well as the music, the cultural and historical importance of that period in music generally just boggles the mind. The transition of music from the 50’s to the 60’s was just the coolest thing - everything clicked at the right time in a way that can never happen again.

I think a lot of people are resistant to listening with an open mind because they’re sick to death of being told how great they are. It’s really worth investing the time to discover for yourself though, even if it just means slowly trying to find some songs you connect with. The thing with the Beatles is their catalog is so diverse that I guarantee everyone will find at least a few songs (to begin with) that they like.

The Anthology Series is really cool for summing it all up and I think any casual music fan would enjoy it.

The more recent Get Back film Peter Jackson did is also well worth a watch - anyone who’s been in a band will relate to so much of what they go through when they’re in a room together. Seeing the magic just come out of them and being a fly on the wall when (the greatest band ever to exist are) writing and playing songs together is the most awesome thing.

A few favourites:

I Want You (She's So Heavy) (Remastered 2009)

Provided to YouTube by Universal Music GroupI Want You (She's So Heavy) (Remastered 2009) · The BeatlesAbbey Roadâ 2009 Calderstone Productions Limited (a di...

youtu.be

The Beatles - For No One

The Beatles performing “For No One.” Watch more videos from The Beatles: https://thebeatles.lnk.to/YTPlaylistsSubscribe to The Beatles’ YouTube channel & rin...

youtu.be

The Beatles - Here, There and Everywhere

Watch the new official video for The Beatles’ “Here, There and Everywhere” by Trunk Animation.“Follow the band on tour, as they face an ever-changing backdro...

youtu.be

The Beatles - A Day In The Life

The Beatles performing “A Day In The Life.” Watch more videos from The Beatles: https://thebeatles.lnk.to/YTPlaylistsSubscribe to The Beatles’ YouTube channe...

youtu.be

She's Leaving Home (Remastered 2009)

Provided to YouTube by Universal Music GroupShe's Leaving Home (Remastered 2009) · The BeatlesSgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Bandâ 2009 Calderstone Product...

youtu.be

The Beatles - Something

Official site: http://www.thebeatles.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebeatles/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebeatlesTwitter: https://twitter...

youtu.be

 

[MirrorProfiles]

Billy Preston just slotting straight in but can’t contain his excitement at jamming with the Beatles.

 

[Frodebro]

When I was eleven my parents got me a “real” stereo system, with a turntable, receiver, and a pair of bookshelf speakers. And Sgt Pepper. Since it was my only album for a while, it was played multiple times a day. I’ve been a fan ever since.

 

[TSJMajesty]

My old man was entrenched in 50's RnR, and then later, C&W, and it was all we ever got to listen to in the car. I tried to get him interested in some of the rock from the 60's and 70's, but it was like he just stopped moving forward about 1965 or so.

Even though I was only a kid, I was very much into music, and used to take my little battery-powered, transistor radio outside with me in the dirt pile while playing with my Tonka trucks.

One day in the early 70's, I remember him coming home with the 8-track of Let It Be. I couldn't believe it! I don't know what they did with my father, or who this new cool guy was!


I thought George came into his own as a songwriter later than L & M, and truly wrote the best songs. I didn't like how the dynamic seemed strained while that was going on though, as it seemed clear that they didn't want to allow him to contribute. At least that's the way I saw it.

 

[MirrorProfiles]

When I was eleven my parents got me a “real” stereo system, with a turntable, receiver, and a pair of bookshelf speakers. And Sgt Pepper. Since it was my only album for a while, it was played multiple times a day. I’ve been a fan ever since.

If ever there was an album that you’d remember the first time you heard it vividly.

It’s one of those albums that I forget how much I enjoy until I put it on again. Some songs I don’t listen to that often have these amazing little moments (like the middle of When I’m 64, or the end of With a Little Help From My Friends). I always feel like if it had Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields on it it would have been an even better album overall (imagine leaving those off!).

 

[TSJMajesty]

I'm not a Clapton fan, but once I learned his solo on While My Guitar Gently Weeps was pretty much off-the-cuff, I was amazed. It's worth listening to isolated.

 

[MirrorProfiles]

I thought George came into his own as a songwriter later than L & M, and truly wrote the best songs. I didn't like how the dynamic seemed strained while that was going on though, as it seemed clear that they didn't want to allow him to contribute. At least that's the way I saw it.

TOTALLY agree with this. Was chatting about this with a guy I record a lot - on Abbey Road George is writing way ahead of Lennon and McCartney’s contributions, and Something and Here Comes The Sun stand up against anything from those 2.

We were chatting about Here Comes The Sun and how, even though it’s such a well known and obvious song, we quite hadn’t appreciated how perfect it is.

IMO, it encapsulates EVERYTHING about the beatles in one song without sounding like it’s trying to. Gorgeous harmonies, creative and unique production and arrangement, experimental synths and theremin, the Indian influence, perfect melody and songwriting, great performances from the whole band, immaculate recording that still sounds great now. Its a simple song that has some depth beneath it that keeps it interesting. It’s sheer bliss every time I hear it, somehow I just don’t see myself ever getting sick of it.

 

[Moondog Wily]

This is my #1 Fab Four jam! I never grow tired of this song and it is as much fun to play and sing as it is to listen to IMO!! And the album it is on is my fav album from those cats (I have a German - I believe - pressing of it on white vinyl)!!!

 

[Alex Kenivel]

Ups and downs for me. More like downs and ups!

Before I learned that my mother was a huge Beatles fan, I became disgusted by Here Comes The Sun in the first grade (early 90s). Our teacher at the time, who only let us call her by first name ("were all equals on this planet"), would have us sit in a big Kumbaya-style circle and listen to an old warped copy of the record on her garbage school-issued player

EVERY

SINGLE

MORNING

It really soured me on anything Beatles for a long time until I grew up a little, started reading excerpts from their books and learned about their history and story, and eventually their music for cover bands. So, I'm very late to the game by both missing the boat by several generations and then having it shoved down my throat.

 

[TSJMajesty]

I've played with musicians who have a large well, but it's shallow. And other's that are deep, but not as wide. A buddy of mine has many original songs, but they're mostly kinda meh.

And then there are people that simply need to progress further as a player, absorbing many influences and styles, before they start to write good songs, and that's sort of what I think describes George Harrison. I like his solo music more than the others', but even Paul McCartney came up with some fantastic songs post-Beatles. Heck, Band On The Run is 2 killer songs, before it even gets to the main part!

I guess when I think about it, I prefer all their solo music to what they did in the Beatles.

 

[TSJMajesty]

And I have to add Badfinger to the discussion. (For those who don't know, they were the first band signed to the Beatles Apple record label, and had some production and even music contributions from them.) Pete Hamm wrote great songs! Which was probably a big reason the Beatles sort of took them in, so to speak.

For me, their music just hit me in a great way. Idk, but I'd have to say they were probably my first "favorite" band, as a young kid in the 70's. And that was even before I learned about their tragedies.

 

[FuzzyAce]

I revisit them periodically. What else can be said that hasn't been said? Tons of great songs and something for everybody.
I guess George is my favorite, I really like his solo material too.

 

[James Freeman]

For me, The Beatles songs had to grow on me as I've listened to them more over the years.
At first I thought the sound itself was very outdated with hard panned stereo or heavily distorted mono, I had to consciously ignore that at first so it took some getting used to but I slowly started to enjoy the music more and more.

Now I can list to their entire discography enjoy all of it, particularly starting from Rubber Soul when they left rockability behind and the music got a whole lot more interesting.
So yes, for me the Beatles were a slow acquired taste which I enjoy very much today and truly understand why they changed everything.

I'm also a fan of The Wings, just like with the Beatles the music is very weird and unstructured at first but it grows on you and stays forever.

It's all McCartney's fault.

 

[MirrorProfiles]

always been hard for me to pick a favourite - I loved John’s rougher edge, swagger and tendency to a bit weird over McCartney (who isn't afraid of writing that old "Granny Shit"). George's stuff tended to sound a bit cooler too (besides Piggies) and I generally liked his solo material above the others.

Hard to discount Paul's ability to craft melodies though, they're really on a level that'll be studied for the rest of time. Im finding more and more of my favourite Beatles songs are from him these days.

Ringo deserves tons of credit (not so much as a songwriter as what he brought to the band) - joined as a known rock and roll drummer with the perfect groove and ability to contribute to the songs in a creative way. It’s so hard to imagine their songs with anyone else behind the kit and absolutely no one is able to replicate his sound/feel.

Went down a rabbit hole of Chris Cornell doing Beatles covers - I love how you can tell he’s been totally obsessed with them his entire life. So many Beatles covers are kind of redundant or pointless but I really enjoyed hearing his voice do these (seems like he’s #TeamLennon):

 

[metropolis_4]

I’ve always loved The Beatles. I started listening to them when I was about 4 and their music has been a part of my life ever since.

When I first started playing guitar my parents bought me a Beatles songbook (piano with the guitar chord diagrams above the staff) and that’s where I first started learning to play chords.

When I went to shop for the first electric guitar I ever bought I looked for the ones I had seen George playing in pictures.

I go through different phases of favorite eras of their music, but I think my favorite is probably the middle section. After the teen-bop stuff but before the psychedelic era - when they were starting to become better writers and the studio production started getting better. Help!, Rubber Soul, Revolver era

 

[Byrdman]

I listen to them a lot when I was young, probably starting around 5-6. Mom's old 45's & LP's were in a closet and I got a record player for either Christmas or birthday. She had every Beatles album and I would just listen for hours.

I started playing guitar when I was 16 and took lessons for about 6-9 months. My guitar teacher asked me what songs I wanted to learn and when I told him Rock n Roll, he pulled out 3 song books that had every Beatles song in them. Once I learned the basic cowboy chords, we started playing the Beatles. Very fond memories over the years.

 

[la szum]

I have heard people accuse The Beatles of being the "1st Boy band!"

Liking anything music-wise post-Beatles (by any band) but not liking the Beatles is like liking freedom and
democracy and thinking the Magna Carte and Declaration of Independence are rubbish.

Don't have to love them (which I do). Don't have to celebrate them (which I do). Don't have even listen to them
much on a regular basis (which I do). But to cast aspersions their way, or limit and deny their impact, says more
about the person doing so than about The Beatles and the quality, legacy, and impact of their music as a group,
and as individuals.

Their harmonies alone are worth the price of admission----and that is only an inkling of what they offered the
world. I am glad they existed. To have a beef with such impactful artists is almost a crime against art itself.

 

[TubeStack]

Big Beatles fan here, too. Fond early memories of listening to my dad's records and looking at the album covers, particularly the blue greatest hits with them looking down from the porch. Loved Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields, as a kid. Really went nuts over Revolver in university (can't find the bong smoking emoji… ) and it's still my favourite.

Have always come back to them through the years. My kids love them now, too.

My band covers I've Got A Feeling, and man, Paul's parts are hard to sing/ shout , but such a fun song with a great groove. We also do Why Don't We Do It In The Road, super fun and nasty, along with Don't Let Me Down.

 

[fretworn]

So grateful our world/lives has stuff like this to offer …

 

[MirrorProfiles]

what did everyone make of the new one?

I sort of think the original demo was better, the best parts in the new version are Lennon’s half baked contributions. The rest of the stuff sounds a bit forced and jarring to me, and almost more like a McCartney solo song.

Free as a Bird turned out great - I can imagine with 3 Beatles and Jeff Lynne working on it, there’d just about be some kind of band dynamic in place as far as where the song is headed. It’s been such a long time now since they were a band, and even since Harrison died (let alone Lennon) that it probably wasn’t necessary to do.

also, I love Spike Stent, but HOLY COMPRESSION, especially that first hit.