50 years ago ...

[Robert B.]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qD6FDkUXSZQ

[Pariah]

The Who, The Kinks, Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, Pink Floyd, Santana, Manfred Mann, Sly and the Family Stone. All bands that drove music further in the late 60's and beyond. The Beatles were important and popular and did many innovative things but did so during an innovative and important era in rock music.
They were far from alone in experimenting with technology and arraignments. The main reason, imho, that they achieved greater popularity than other very worthy bands of the time was that they always had one or two or three top 40 friendly, safe songs on every record thanks to Mcartney's talent for pop shlock.
The Beatles were deep in the pack as far as innovation goes basically doing in 1968 what the Kinks were doing in 1964.
The Beatles certainly made some great music but during a time of great music. The anecdote I would offer about The Beatles is this: In 1970, my 12tt birthday my parents felt comfortable gifting me The Beatles "Let It Be" album. They would have never bought me a Hendrix album.
The Beatles were "safe".

[Séamas]

There is nothing safe about Tomorrow Never Knows or I am the Walrus.

[Metacell]

The Beatles weren't trying to be an underground alternative band, they were very much writing music for the mainstream market...but they were big enough to define that as whatever they wanted. Nevertheless, they were still the vanguard of the counterculture movement. Also, they were getting started from 1957-1960, still the Elvis era. They augmented the canvas to allow all those other acts to gain the appreciation they deserved.

[Pariah]

There is nothing safe about Tomorrow Never Knows or I am the Walrus.

I Want To Hold Your Hand , She Loves You, Love Me Do, Yesterday, Can't Buy Me Love, Twist And Shout, Something, Hey Jude, Let It Be.....Safe songs off the top of my head. I am not saying any of these are bad, but they are very mainstream friendly radio pop.
I never said they always did safe radio friendly, what I said was their albums always included a few nice radio friendly songs. Had McCartney gotten his way there would have been more.
All I can say, as someone who lived and breathed music from that era, is that IMHO, the Beatles get way more credit than they deserve and have attained their current regard largely on the back of a marketing juggernaut rarely seen in pop music.
None of which is to say I think the Beatles suck, not at all, they did some great work but they did so in an era of an abundance of great, innovative work.

[ukimalefu]

why don't we do it in the road?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AdtR-d2HJQ

No one will be watching us
Why don't we do it in the road?

[Séamas]

There is nothing safe about Tomorrow Never Knows or I am the Walrus.

I Want To Hold Your Hand , She Loves You, Love Me Do, Yesterday, Can't Buy Me Love, Twist And Shout, Something, Hey Jude, Let It Be.....Safe songs off the top of my head.

Perhaps lyrically, but musically they were walking a tightrope and were miles beyond what their London peers could dream up when it comes to harmonic content, chord changes, etc.

Nothing safe about magnificent songwriting.

I'll I can say, as someone who lived and breathed music from that era, is that IMHO, the Beatles get way more credit than they deserve and have attained their current regard largely on the back of a marketing juggernaut rarely seen in pop music.

Most of your peers who experienced the same things will disagree.
Plus their marketing SUCKED. Literally. Their manager gave away the store (gave away licencing deals for almost nothing). Their phenomenon caught fire before their marketing even started to ramp up--they spent most of "Beatlemania" trying to catch up.

[DukeofNuke]

Let It Be's "Mother Mary" was marijuana ... as explained to me by a Catholic School girl who found much amusement in the fact that her teacher/Nun didn't know this, and made her students learn to sing the song.

[dv]

Let It Be's "Mother Mary" was marijuana ... as explained to me by a Catholic School girl who found much amusement in the fact that her teacher/Nun didn't know this, and made her students learn to sing the song.

Nope, it was literally Paul's mom, Mary.

Don't feel bad, my generation did that too. "Hit me baby, one more time" was supposed to mean "call me back" and we incorrectly assumed it was about having sex even while we laughed at the people who thought it was endorsing domestic violence.

The internet has changed so much.

[juice]

Next you'll try to tell me that Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds isn't about LSD.

[dv]

Next you'll try to tell me that Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds isn't about LSD.

:shrug:

Whatchagonnado?

[juice]

I had heard that story. I still don't buy it.

[DukeofNuke]

Me neither


Facts be damned. My mind 's made up ...

[Pariah]

There is nothing safe about Tomorrow Never Knows or I am the Walrus.

I Want To Hold Your Hand , She Loves You, Love Me Do, Yesterday, Can't Buy Me Love, Twist And Shout, Something, Hey Jude, Let It Be.....Safe songs off the top of my head.

Perhaps lyrically, but musically they were walking a tightrope and were miles beyond what their London peers could dream up when it comes to harmonic content, chord changes, etc.

Nothing safe about magnificent songwriting.

I'll I can say, as someone who lived and breathed music from that era, is that IMHO, the Beatles get way more credit than they deserve and have attained their current regard largely on the back of a marketing juggernaut rarely seen in pop music.

Most of your peers who experienced the same things will disagree.
Plus their marketing SUCKED. Literally. Their manager gave away the store (gave away licencing deals for almost nothing). Their phenomenon caught fire before their marketing even started to ramp up--they spent most of "Beatlemania" trying to catch up.

LOL, I am well aware of what my peers were listening to back in the day. In my HS the only kids into the Beatles and McCartney were the one's wearing clogs, those plaid, cuffed slacks. Their music collections also included the Bay City Rollers.

[Ribtor]

Let it be.

[Séamas]

There is nothing safe about Tomorrow Never Knows or I am the Walrus.

I Want To Hold Your Hand , She Loves You, Love Me Do, Yesterday, Can't Buy Me Love, Twist And Shout, Something, Hey Jude, Let It Be.....Safe songs off the top of my head.

Perhaps lyrically, but musically they were walking a tightrope and were miles beyond what their London peers could dream up when it comes to harmonic content, chord changes, etc.

Nothing safe about magnificent songwriting.

I'll I can say, as someone who lived and breathed music from that era, is that IMHO, the Beatles get way more credit than they deserve and have attained their current regard largely on the back of a marketing juggernaut rarely seen in pop music.

Most of your peers who experienced the same things will disagree.
Plus their marketing SUCKED. Literally. Their manager gave away the store (gave away licencing deals for almost nothing). Their phenomenon caught fire before their marketing even started to ramp up--they spent most of "Beatlemania" trying to catch up.

LOL, I am well aware of what my peers were listening to back in the day. In my HS the only kids into the Beatles and McCartney were the one's wearing clogs, those plaid, cuffed slacks. Their music collections also included the Bay City Rollers.

The number of people who had Beatle Records outnumbered people who had Bay City Roller records by a wide margin, and most of the people who had Beatle records also has Frank Zappa, Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, Bob Dylan and Who records.

You experience might fit well with your region, but the musicians I know who worked in that era never dismiss the Beatles as anything other than masters.

[juice]

I don't think it can be overstated the impact that their studio work had on other artists. One example: Sgt. Peppers leading to Pet Sounds.

Additionally, Gene Simmons specifically has said he knew he wanted to be in a band when he saw the girls screaming and throwing their underwear at the Beatles. Kiss and The Beatles have very little in common, but they do have that.

[Robert B.]

This debate again? Jesus Christ, people...

[DukeofNuke]

[Metacell]

Very few, if any, other pop or rock groups put out as many as 10 good albums in a row as The Beatles did.

Sorry, but the White Album is still spellbinding to this day and I don't think it's really been beat by any musician. Pink Floyd is great and way heavier but it's different, not as prolific. Kate Bush comes close. human waste like Frank Zappa I thought wasn't even trying for mass appeal. I just don't think any other body of work outside Jazz really compares.

I'm a great lover of punk and metal and any variety of indie psycho weird cult stuff but I'm never under any confusion that it's better...it just suits my mood better at times.

[juice]

Very few, if any, other pop or rock groups put out as many as 10 good albums in a row as The Beatles did.

Sorry, but the White Album is still spellbinding to this day and I don't think it's really been beat by any musician. Pink Floyd is great and way heavier but it's different, not as prolific. Kate Bush comes close. human waste like Frank Zappa I thought wasn't even trying for mass appeal. I just don't think any other body of work outside Jazz really compares.

Agreed. Zeppelin was close but Plant was in a car accident and then Bonham died.