Piggy
Unlicensed street skeptic
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2006
- Messages
- 15,905
I'd like to know what Beatles fans around here consider their best record.
I'll tell you mine, but first, some perspective -- or should I say "my perspective"....
After listening to the recently released complete works (UK) for quite some time, I was really taken by the arc of their recording career. It's actually quite wonderful -- very compact, and surprisingly complete and satisfying.
Please Please Me and With the Beatles
Both released in 1963, each with 8 original songs and 6 covers -- the only significant difference being the introduction of Harrison as a songwriter on WtB -- these records are pretty much a reflection of their stage show on vinyl. Mostly up-tempo songs with some ballads, largely inspired by skiffle and American R&B (most notably the "girl bands") but already with that distinctly Beatles sound: finger-popping rhythms, sugary harmonies, and dominated by melodies that stick in your head like superglue.
A Hard Day's Night
Their first all-original record, here we get a taste of what's to come, right from the opening chord, a multi-layered, multi-instrumental shot of perfection that demonstrates the band's, and George Martin's, absolute dedication to nailing the sound. And while most of the tracks, like I'm Happy Just to Dance with You, carry on the club-on-vinyl tradition of the '63 discs, the autobiographical "A Hard Day's Night" starts cracking the mold with its verbal playfulness, and the haunting "If I Fell" and "And I Love Her" begin exploring new influences and arrangements.
Beatles for Sale
To me, this is the first record where we really get to see where the Beatles are going. This is an album intended to be listened to as an album, not as a representation of their stage performance, although the big show numbers like "Rock and Roll Music" are certainly here. John's "I'm a Loser" manages to blend keen pop sensibilities with ambivalent introspection, and McCartney's open yet intimate "I'll Follow the Sun" is not quite like anything else, but immediately inviting.
Help!
For me, this record solidifies the Beatles sound. "Ticket to Ride" is perhaps the best example. With Ringo's distinct percussive riffs front and center, it sounds like no one but The Beatles. By this point, they've totally absorbed their influences and are full peers with anybody on the contemporary music scene, and their confidence shows. Jonn's "It's Only Love" is achingly honest, Paul's "Yesterday" is an instant classic for the ages, and "I've Just Seen a Face" tumbles out in a delightful and infectious breathless rush.
Rubber Soul
And then everything changes. Perhaps the first overtly marijuana-influenced record in mainstream white pop music, it's full of experimentation without ever taking its eye off the ball. George's "If I Needed Someone" finally brings his unique stamp to their sound. "Drive My Car" features a distinctly offbeat piano riff that works like a charm. And of course "Norwegian Wood" introduces George on sitar. "Nowhere Man" is straightforward social commentary by John. And "The Word" treats love not as a boy-girl thing, but as a spiritual and social imperative.
Revolver
The acid record. It opens audaciously with George's raucous and biting "Taxman" and ends with John's tour de force "Tomorrow Never Knows". Fans had never heard anything like this. This record has it all: Ringo's boppy "Yellow Submarine", John's self-reflective "I'm Only Sleeping", George's wonderfully off-kilter "I Want to Tell You", Paul's lovely "Here, There, and Everywhere". For the first time, you get the sense that these guys are not just going to dominate pop music, they're going to change it forever.
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Magical Mystery Tour
Their wonderful excess. In these two records, they took everything they had been working on right over the top. Unbelievably elaborate arrangements and studio effects, eye-popping cover art, even original backstories for the album concepts themselves. But somehow, they manage to hold on to their core commitment to composing and performing mainstream pop, forcing listeners to accept the outlandishness because, by God, it worked!
The Beatles
And then it all fell apart. A fragmented, rambling mish-mash, the "white album" is their hangover from Pepper/Mystery -- and what a beautiful mess it is! Not so much a Beatles album as a kind of solo/collaboration effort, this record finds each Beatle coming into his own, defining his own sound, hinting at solo careers to come. For the first time, they seem to have forgotten their audience, but what we get from that is something truer, in a way, than we've ever seen from them. Unlike any of their other records, this one requires some work on the part of the listener, but it's work very well rewarded.
Yellow Submarine
The lads having fun. How can you not love the unbridled playfulness of "Hey Bulldog", "All Together Now", and "All You Need Is Love"? A musical romp that recaptures the energy and playfulness of their earliest recordings.
Abbey Road
In my opinion, their finest work. After the weary, tense, and humid Twickenham sessions, the band reunites with George Martin with "the gloves off" and focuses on doing what they do best. Using George's new Moog, and their old Abbey Road studio magic, the band is obviously grateful and energized to be back in their old haunt. The result is a heady blend of all of their old influences and innovations: the grungy madness of "Come Together", the sweet beauty of "Something", the pure unabashed pop of "Octupus's Garden", the dirty groove of "I Want You", the ethereal harmonies of "Because", and the rollicking mashup of side-two's medley. It simply doesn't get any better than this.
Let It Be
I wish they had kept the working title "Get Back" for this record, because here we see them getting back to their live roots, which shows even through Phil Spector's overdubs. If anything is missing from Abbey Road, it's the unbridled rock and roll of LIB. But this is no nostalgia record. The lyrics and sensibilities are 100% mature Beatles, a band that now dominates popular music, and not just in the US and UK. "Get Back", "One After 909", and "I've Got a Feeling" are unabashed rockers. "Let It Be" and "The Long and Winding Road" are two of Paul's best ballads. "I Me Mine" and "For You Blue" show two very different sides of George's sensibilities. "Across the Universe" is John at his trippy best. And "Maggie May" and "Dig It" reveal the band's irrepressible playfulness. The band has come full circle, a fitting end to a truly amazing career which, it's hard to believe, spanned a mere 7 years, but irrevocably changed the sound and direction of Western popular music.
I'll tell you mine, but first, some perspective -- or should I say "my perspective"....
After listening to the recently released complete works (UK) for quite some time, I was really taken by the arc of their recording career. It's actually quite wonderful -- very compact, and surprisingly complete and satisfying.
Please Please Me and With the Beatles
Both released in 1963, each with 8 original songs and 6 covers -- the only significant difference being the introduction of Harrison as a songwriter on WtB -- these records are pretty much a reflection of their stage show on vinyl. Mostly up-tempo songs with some ballads, largely inspired by skiffle and American R&B (most notably the "girl bands") but already with that distinctly Beatles sound: finger-popping rhythms, sugary harmonies, and dominated by melodies that stick in your head like superglue.
A Hard Day's Night
Their first all-original record, here we get a taste of what's to come, right from the opening chord, a multi-layered, multi-instrumental shot of perfection that demonstrates the band's, and George Martin's, absolute dedication to nailing the sound. And while most of the tracks, like I'm Happy Just to Dance with You, carry on the club-on-vinyl tradition of the '63 discs, the autobiographical "A Hard Day's Night" starts cracking the mold with its verbal playfulness, and the haunting "If I Fell" and "And I Love Her" begin exploring new influences and arrangements.
Beatles for Sale
To me, this is the first record where we really get to see where the Beatles are going. This is an album intended to be listened to as an album, not as a representation of their stage performance, although the big show numbers like "Rock and Roll Music" are certainly here. John's "I'm a Loser" manages to blend keen pop sensibilities with ambivalent introspection, and McCartney's open yet intimate "I'll Follow the Sun" is not quite like anything else, but immediately inviting.
Help!
For me, this record solidifies the Beatles sound. "Ticket to Ride" is perhaps the best example. With Ringo's distinct percussive riffs front and center, it sounds like no one but The Beatles. By this point, they've totally absorbed their influences and are full peers with anybody on the contemporary music scene, and their confidence shows. Jonn's "It's Only Love" is achingly honest, Paul's "Yesterday" is an instant classic for the ages, and "I've Just Seen a Face" tumbles out in a delightful and infectious breathless rush.
Rubber Soul
And then everything changes. Perhaps the first overtly marijuana-influenced record in mainstream white pop music, it's full of experimentation without ever taking its eye off the ball. George's "If I Needed Someone" finally brings his unique stamp to their sound. "Drive My Car" features a distinctly offbeat piano riff that works like a charm. And of course "Norwegian Wood" introduces George on sitar. "Nowhere Man" is straightforward social commentary by John. And "The Word" treats love not as a boy-girl thing, but as a spiritual and social imperative.
Revolver
The acid record. It opens audaciously with George's raucous and biting "Taxman" and ends with John's tour de force "Tomorrow Never Knows". Fans had never heard anything like this. This record has it all: Ringo's boppy "Yellow Submarine", John's self-reflective "I'm Only Sleeping", George's wonderfully off-kilter "I Want to Tell You", Paul's lovely "Here, There, and Everywhere". For the first time, you get the sense that these guys are not just going to dominate pop music, they're going to change it forever.
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Magical Mystery Tour
Their wonderful excess. In these two records, they took everything they had been working on right over the top. Unbelievably elaborate arrangements and studio effects, eye-popping cover art, even original backstories for the album concepts themselves. But somehow, they manage to hold on to their core commitment to composing and performing mainstream pop, forcing listeners to accept the outlandishness because, by God, it worked!
The Beatles
And then it all fell apart. A fragmented, rambling mish-mash, the "white album" is their hangover from Pepper/Mystery -- and what a beautiful mess it is! Not so much a Beatles album as a kind of solo/collaboration effort, this record finds each Beatle coming into his own, defining his own sound, hinting at solo careers to come. For the first time, they seem to have forgotten their audience, but what we get from that is something truer, in a way, than we've ever seen from them. Unlike any of their other records, this one requires some work on the part of the listener, but it's work very well rewarded.
Yellow Submarine
The lads having fun. How can you not love the unbridled playfulness of "Hey Bulldog", "All Together Now", and "All You Need Is Love"? A musical romp that recaptures the energy and playfulness of their earliest recordings.
Abbey Road
In my opinion, their finest work. After the weary, tense, and humid Twickenham sessions, the band reunites with George Martin with "the gloves off" and focuses on doing what they do best. Using George's new Moog, and their old Abbey Road studio magic, the band is obviously grateful and energized to be back in their old haunt. The result is a heady blend of all of their old influences and innovations: the grungy madness of "Come Together", the sweet beauty of "Something", the pure unabashed pop of "Octupus's Garden", the dirty groove of "I Want You", the ethereal harmonies of "Because", and the rollicking mashup of side-two's medley. It simply doesn't get any better than this.
Let It Be
I wish they had kept the working title "Get Back" for this record, because here we see them getting back to their live roots, which shows even through Phil Spector's overdubs. If anything is missing from Abbey Road, it's the unbridled rock and roll of LIB. But this is no nostalgia record. The lyrics and sensibilities are 100% mature Beatles, a band that now dominates popular music, and not just in the US and UK. "Get Back", "One After 909", and "I've Got a Feeling" are unabashed rockers. "Let It Be" and "The Long and Winding Road" are two of Paul's best ballads. "I Me Mine" and "For You Blue" show two very different sides of George's sensibilities. "Across the Universe" is John at his trippy best. And "Maggie May" and "Dig It" reveal the band's irrepressible playfulness. The band has come full circle, a fitting end to a truly amazing career which, it's hard to believe, spanned a mere 7 years, but irrevocably changed the sound and direction of Western popular music.
