Topic: The Beatles are fucking good.

[madhair60]

I'm listening to Sgt, Pepper's for the first time in aaaages, and the double whammy of She's Leaving Home and Being For the Benefit of Mr Kite! just sent me into floods.  Why do cunts say they're over-rated?

Generic Beatles love thread.  Favourite songs?  Favourite things?

[Neomod]

Uh Oh. Like a red a rag to a Pig.

A Blodwyn Pig.

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Sgt. Pepper isn't my favourite.  But I'll step out on that limb in my support for that The Beatles, yes.

[biggytitbo]

I Listened t the entirety of Hard Days Night on Friday night.


Fucking amazing - like a shot of pure pop adrenalin.

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A Hard Day's Night is the best of their pre-1965 albums, I think.  It remains unique as the only one populated entirely with Lennon/McCartney songs, too.

[BlodwynPig]

Uh Oh. Like a red a rag to a Pig.

A Blodwyn Pig.

No Comment.

[BlodwynPig]

When I re-start up my Hip-House thread, I hope you all join in.

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Somebody needs to know THE TIME
Glad THAT I'M here
 
You are jealous of these lyrics.


What do you bunch think of the Let it Be album, with or without Phil Spector?

[Dead kate moss]

Somebody needs to know THE TIME
Glad THAT I'M here
 
You are jealous of these lyrics.


What do you bunch think of the Let it Be album, with or without Phil Spector?

Patchy, the clear bestest are Revolver & Abbey Road.

[grassbath]

Somebody needs to know THE TIME
Glad THAT I'M here
 
You are jealous of these lyrics.

I'm also jealous of the bass playing on that song (and the entire album). Ever listened to the bass line in the coda bit of Lovely Rita with the weird gasps? So unusual, so perfect for the section.

As for Let It Be, I don't mind the title track getting Spectorised so much but Across the Universe is totally ruined. The Long and Winding Road is also butchered but it was never that great anyway- maybe the only Beatles-era Macca ballad I can think of with no real succinct, enticing brilliance in the melody; it just kind of dodders around.

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the clear bestest are Revolver & Abbey Road.

Certainly are.  First two Beatles albums I got on CD, and the only two of the 2009 Beatles remastered albums I have.  So there!

[biggytitbo]

Without Spector please. The two of us gets my vote for underrated Beatles classic, Across the universe, let it be, don't let me down...a lot of greats on that one.

Help is sometime overlooked too - its got I've just seen a face on it, so its therefore brilliant.

Its also got Tell Me What You See on it, which is probably my number 1 underrated Beatles song.

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As for Let It Be, I don't mind the title track getting Spectorised so much but Across the Universe is totally ruined. The Long and Winding Road is also butchered but it was never that great anyway- maybe the only Beatles-era Macca ballad I can think of with no real succinct, enticing brilliance in the melody; it just kind of dodders around.

Ironically, given how much he took against Spector's work, I'd say it's McCartney's fault that Phil Spector was brought onboard.  Without 'Let it Be' and 'Long and Winding Road' the album would have followed the "Get Back" intentions quite easily, but he came in with tracks that sounded incomplete without orchestra so it's him to blame.  He even uses the same orchestral arrangement for 'Long and Winding Road' when he does it live, the old arse.  Because of him, 'Across the Universe' had to be dug out of the vaults from 1968 and smothered in orchestra/choir, and 'I Me Mine' needed to be especially recorded after "Abbey Road" was completed.

The definitive version of 'Across the Universe' is the version on Anthology 2, I reckon.  A genuinely beautiful and simple production.

[grassbath]

Patchy, the clear bestest are Revolver & Abbey Road.

Loved the poo out of Abbey Road when I first got it but it has gone down in my estimation a bit, I probably just listened to it too much. The medley gets tons of praise but A Day in the Life is better as an album closer.

Funnily enough only a few nights ago I was walking home from a friend's house on my own a bit drunk at 1.30 in the morning listening to Past Masters vol 2 on my iPod, and I sang along at the top of my lungs to all the songs and danced chronically to Lady Madonna. No witnesses but a few cars, stunned faces above incriminating headlights. Felt great.

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No witnesses

I could hear you in SW17.

[non capisco]

Loved the poo out of Abbey Road when I first got it but it has gone down in my estimation a bit, I probably just listened to it too much. The medley gets tons of praise but A Day in the Life is better as an album closer.

The thing about Abbey Road and the medley especially is that its remarkably joyous sounding and bursting with ideas for a band that knew they were at an end and whose creative centre were at bitter loggerheads. I equate it with someone who's been given redundancy from a job they weren't enjoying and decided to pull out all the stops in their final week to show people what they'll be missing.

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Without Spector please.

Are you fond of the "Let it Be... Naked" album from 2003?  I so wanted to love that version but it felt sterile to me.  Should have adhered to the intentions of the Glyn Johns acetates from 1969, with all the outtakes, fluffs and so on.

[grassbath]

The thing about Abbey Road and the medley especially is that its remarkably joyous sounding and bursting with ideas for a band that knew they were at an end and whose creative centre were at bitter loggerheads. I equate it with someone who's been given redundancy from a job they weren't enjoying and decided to pull out all the stops in their final week to show people what they'll be missing.

Certainly, it's pretty miraculous that they pulled something that lovely out of such bitterness. But ADitL is just bloody transcendent- I've always loved the way it begins once the "Sgt Peppers" gig concept thing has finished, because it's just too bonkers and brilliant to be banded in with the rest of the songs.

I could hear you in SW17.

I said witnesses, not eavesdroppers. You wish you could butcher the climax of Hey Jude that carelessly.

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I equate it with someone who's been given redundancy from a job they weren't enjoying and decided to pull out all the stops in their final week to show people what they'll be missing.

I agree, but would emphasise the "someone" as singular.  It sounds like Paul pulling the strings, which I'll admit was what needed to be done, but despite the sunny gloss it never feels to me like a band coming back together for one last push.  It's gorgeous though, and with the volume properly up it always gives me a rush.

[grassbath]

I agree, but would emphasise the "someone" as singular.  It sounds like Paul pulling the strings, which I'll admit was what needed to be done, but despite the sunny gloss it never feels to me like a band coming back together for one last push.

Agreed. John barely seems to show up at all in the finale apart from his sections in the guitar solo tradeoff- even the last surge of harmonies sounds like Paul overdubbing himself. It does make me think though; if Macca had decided not to drag them back into the studio for a last hurrah, his first solo album would (presumably) have sounded far more accomplished, and contained all that great material he was saving through '68 and '69, plus Maybe I'm Amazed. The alternate reality that I'm pointlessly speculating about is mouthwatering.

[non capisco]

I agree, but would emphasise the "someone" as singular.  It sounds like Paul pulling the strings, which I'll admit was what needed to be done, but despite the sunny gloss it never feels to me like a band coming back together for one last push.  It's gorgeous though, and with the volume properly up it always gives me a rush.

Oh yeah, it's definitely McCartney's gig but the whole album seems to capture an excitement that must have come from the shared acknowledgement of a sense of pressure being lifted, compared to 'Let It Be' where they were still trying to hold it together and which sounds absolutely knackered in comparison. The transition between Lennon's 'Polythene Pam' and McCartney's  'She Came In Through The Bathroom Window' alone (Oh, LOOK OUT!) makes you think 'how can this possibly be recorded by people who at the time allegedly loathed each other?'.

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Agreed. John barely seems to show up at all in the finale apart from his sections in the guitar solo tradeoff- even the last surge of harmonies sounds like Paul overdubbing himself. It does make me think though; if Macca had decided not to drag them back into the studio for a last hurrah, his first solo album would (presumably) have sounded far more accomplished, and contained all that great material he was saving through '68 and '69, plus Maybe I'm Amazed. The alternate reality that I'm pointlessly speculating about is mouthwatering.

I would not lose "Abbey Road" for a more accomplished first solo album from Paul, definitely not.  His best work would still have been with the other Beatles, even just as session musicians and harmony voices, with George Martin producing.  There are plenty of "alternate reality" versions of some of his solo songs amongst the "Get Back" sessions (available on bootlegs) and they are far superior as outlines there than they ultimately ended up.

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Oh yeah, it's definitely McCartney's gig but the whole album seems to capture an excitement that must have come from the shared acknowledgement of a sense of pressure being lifted, compared to 'Let It Be' where they were still trying to hold it together and which sounds absolutely knackered in comparison. The transition between Lennon's 'Polythene Pam' and McCartney's  'She Came In Through The Bathroom Window' alone (Oh, LOOK OUT!) makes you think 'how can this possibly be recorded by people who at the time allegedly loathed each other?'.

I have to say I think my appreciation of "Abbey Road" is tainted by its use in the Anthology series, where it exists as a soundtrack to them talking about splitting up.  For this reason it has never felt like a happy album to me.  The medley is incredibly exciting, but if I'm not carried away by it it feels manipulative in a way I never get with the earlier albums.

[grassbath]

I would not lose "Abbey Road" for a more accomplished first solo album from Paul, definitely not.  His best work would still have been with the other Beatles, even just as session musicians and harmony voices, with George Martin producing.  There are plenty of "alternate reality" versions of some of his solo songs amongst the "Get Back" sessions (available on bootlegs) and they are far superior as outlines there than they ultimately ended up.

What kind of stuff? Haven't heard those demos.

You're right though: I reconsidered what I wrote as soon as I posted. Without Abbey Road the Beatles' career would end with a whimper, and there would be something terribly wrong with that universe. I just think it's a shame that Paul being slow off the blocks with his solo career meant he's never really received the praise he should have for his hard work in the Beatles' final days. Can't imagine getting a disillusioned and unfriendly John to contribute was at all easy.

[rudi]

Yar, Abbey Road is a blinding album. All three proper writers have at least one standout track on it.

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What kind of stuff? Haven't heard those demos.

There's a try out of 'Back Seat of My Car' that I quite like.  I wouldn't say it's sublime, but it's not an overproduced dirge, which is the trap he, Lennon and Harrison all fell into in their solo careers, I'd say.  It's more of a doodle or jam than a demo.  It probably doesn't even stand out amongst the hours of recordings really, if I'm honest.  All sorts of bits and bobs were tried out, but I'd still say they were superior than the final solo album versions.

Have you heard the "Get Back" version of Harrison's 'All Things Must Pass' (available on the third The Beatles Anthology CD set)?  That's the kind of difference I mean.

[grassbath]

There's a try out of 'Back Seat of My Car' that I quite like.  I wouldn't say it's sublime, but it's not an overproduced mess, which is the trap he, Lennon and Harrison all fell into in their solo careers, I'd say.  It's more of a doodle or jam than a demo.

Have you heard the "Get Back" version of Harrison's 'All Things Must Pass' (available on the third The Beatles Anthology CD set)?  That's the kind of difference I mean.

I'm fairly fond of Back Seat of My Car but the problem with it is that it's trying to be another Abbey Road medley: "well I've got this perfectly decent song, but if I add huge orchestral flourishes, a million different unrelated sections and an incredibly bombastic ending then it can be a great album closer like in days of yore!" Just listened to the bootleg tryout version and I can see how it would be nicer as a more understated piano kind of thing.

That version of All Things Must Pass could have ended up a prettier piece in the hands of George Martin too- Spector grossly overproduced all the beautiful songs on that record.

[hedgehog90]

When I saw Neil Young at Hyde Park a few years ago, Macca went on stage and they performed A Day in the Life together.
It struck me earlier today while watching the Neil Young 'Journey' film that since its mostly Lennon's song, it was likely a rare chance for him to perform it. Was that the first time he'd perormed it since they split maybe? Seems very unlikely but anyway... It was an amazing surprise to see a Beatle suddenly appear on stage and play one of their best songs with another of my favourite musicians. It was a great performance.

[biggytitbo]

There's a try out of 'Back Seat of My Car' that I quite like.  I wouldn't say it's sublime, but it's not an overproduced dirge, which is the trap he, Lennon and Harrison all fell into in their solo careers, I'd say.  It's more of a doodle or jam than a demo.  It probably doesn't even stand out amongst the hours of recordings really, if I'm honest.  All sorts of bits and bobs were tried out, but I'd still say they were superior than the final solo album versions.

Have you heard the "Get Back" version of Harrison's 'All Things Must Pass' (available on the third The Beatles Anthology CD set)?  That's the kind of difference I mean.

McCartney 1 is barely produced at all, he plays all the instruments on it himself. Rams a bit more produced but its still decidedly low fi compared to anything Lennon or Harrison was doing. Wild life is also very underproduced. His entire 70s output is pretty tastefully produced on the hole I'd say. Then he does McCartney 2 , which none of the other Beatles would have possibly dared to do.

The anthology version of all things must pass is vastly preferable to the album version though.

[biggytitbo]

I'm fairly fond of Back Seat of My Car but the problem with it is that it's trying to be another Abbey Road medley: "well I've got this perfectly decent song, but if I add huge orchestral flourishes, a million different unrelated sections and an incredibly bombastic ending then it can be a great album closer like in days of yore!" Just listened to the bootleg tryout version and I can see how it would be nicer as a more understated piano kind of thing.

That version of All Things Must Pass could have ended up a prettier piece in the hands of George Martin too- Spector grossly overproduced all the beautiful songs on that record.

Yes he has an obsession with the cut and shut songs right up to a couple of tracks on nasck to the egg. I think laziness was partly to blame in later years - he had too many ideas and not enough discipline to finish them properly, but at the time of ram I think he just thought it was a good idea.