Now that I've heard them for myself,what was the big deal with The Beetles?Presley?.?


kingdavid
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kingdavid
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05/30/2002 12:40 pm
You old heads tell me.
I've heard some of the songs by these guys.I've seen some video clips.I wasn't floored.Actually I've never been,but I just used to think maybe the stuff that I got to hear wasn't their kick-ass stuff.
But I heard more,and none of it does it for me.
So what was all the fuss about?
And don't tell me about the period.Coz I've heard some old classical stuff,and it kicks butt musically.Even some old from local communities(I'm Kenyan),and it sounds good,old notwithstanding.But these two "phenoms"!(The quotes are mine).
Maybe you guys know.Let me know.
Coz if it was possible to become as big as these people became,I might even stop practicing :cool:
# 1
pstring
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pstring
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05/30/2002 2:01 pm
Well first off I will say that you do have to understand the period, Rock&Roll used to be a young folks only type of thing, I'm a late Baby Boomer so Elvis was more of a movie star by the time I knew who he was, but the Beatles were a long haired and socially unacceptable rock&roll band that everybody's parents hated when I was a kid, so like today that probaly made them even more appealing, musically I'd have to say they were a really good Chuck Berry influenced R&R band, but they had a knack for writing songs that everyone related too then, later on I would say that they were very innovative for the time in their writing and and album concepts, it's a hard thing to look back on a era of music that you didn't personally experience and judge thru the eyes of someone who has already heard what the last 40 years of music lead too, I've heard people putting down Eddie Van Halen, but if you go back to 1978 and listen to the music of that year, he had no equals in the rock guitar field, but in 2002 it's a different story, if you don't like the Beatles or Elvis that's OK, because reguardless of their talent, they were as much a cultural/youth phenomenom as musical talents and probaly some combination of the two has made them the icons they are today
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lalimacefolle
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lalimacefolle
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05/30/2002 7:56 pm
Dude, sometimes, if you change a note, or a word or anything for that matter from a masterpiece, you just ruin it. Most Mozart's pieces are like that, and I think that it's totally true for anything by Bach. Now it's also true for the beatles...
Create something that cannot be improved or perfected, and you'll see what I mean (By the way, they only had four tracks back then, so try to create what they did, it sounded like a ufo back then)
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Led Zeppelin
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05/30/2002 10:09 pm
Elvis brought rock n roll out from the ghetto's to the mainstream. Without Elvis there would be no Led Zeppelin, Beatles, Rolling Stones etc., it never wouldve happened.

The Beatles wrote the textbook for songs to be written by for the last 40 years. The Beatles wrote very complex songs as well as simple ones, using obscure rules they learned from listening to songs, not by reading theory books. Thats what made them great.
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kingdavid
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kingdavid
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05/31/2002 9:26 am
Lal,by four tracks,you mean four recording tracks?
# 5
pstring
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pstring
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05/31/2002 2:25 pm
4 tracks are all you need if George Martin is your engineer, or Eddie Kramer
# 6
lalimacefolle
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lalimacefolle
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05/31/2002 3:12 pm
Originally posted by kingdavid
Lal,by four tracks,you mean four recording tracks?


Yeah the stuff that we now pay a 100 dollars, was top of the line back then.
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FretSlug
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FretSlug
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05/31/2002 3:36 pm
Ofcourse some Elvis guy, or some funny looking guys from great Britain don't surprise us anymore, we have heard all that already. But in their time they did some remarkable and they made the whole base of Rock'n roll, and wether you are a rock'n roll fan or not you must addmitt that their music has had a great influence on modern music.

I myself am not a big Beatles or Elvis fan, but I must respect them for doing what they did back then.
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Lordathestrings
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05/31/2002 3:43 pm
I've never been a big Elvis fan, so I'll let 'The Colonel' (his manager) say it for me: "If I can find a white boy who can sing black music, I'll make him a big star!"

Until Elvis, white suburban America had no idea what kind of music was happening in the black community. It couldn't be heard until it was recorded by someone who could get airplay on 'white' radio. That early 'rockabilly' stuff does not appeal to me personally, but I readily acknowlege the key role Elvis played in making it possible for later generations of rock musicians to thrive.

The Beatles were not unique when they started out. The first recordings to be released in Canada and the US sounded a whole lot like stuff we had been hearing from groups like the Everley Brothers. What made them break big stateside was their appealing freshness. They were from England, so they were just different enough to get attention, without being so different that they risked rejection. It took a couple of years for people to notice just how inovative and deeply talented they were. These guys could write intelligent, catchy material in just about any genre. That ability was magical then, and it is sadly missing now.
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yukonc5
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05/31/2002 8:59 pm
I agree with the magic. It might just be the timing and that I grew up with the Beatles, the kinks, Bowie, etc. but it seems like bands now try to sound like everyone else and back then everyone strived for their own individual sound. Tell me who Bowie was copying, who was Black Sabbath or Blue Oyster Cult trying to sound like? Therein lies my theory as to where the magic went. :rolleyes:
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Incidents Happen
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Incidents Happen
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06/02/2002 1:43 am
ah, you woulnt really want that, then kids would be all lookin like you and have no individuality.
# 11
Blaksmith
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06/02/2002 5:04 am
You're kidding, right?

Before I set a bad tone, I will ask you to listen to the simplistic magic from both.

There will NEVER, EVER be another song writing team like Lennon/McCartney. Listen to the solo stuff and you will understand. They both did fantastic solo work BUT it pales when you hear what was done as a team. Yes, Martin was a great person to do the mix but let's face it, garbage in is garbage out. He was only half of the equation. Sometimes, less is more.

The Beatles cannot be compared to what was on the radio back then. Radio was a HUGE part of life for everyone. You could buy a 45 r.p.m. but people almost never bought full albums. The Beatles sold all those singles. Remember that when I get to Elvis. The Beatles had the look, the sound and the hype. They were new and the music they made wasn't always a Pat Boone version of a Little Richard tune. It was fresh. It was/is cool.

Elvis? He simply drove the women nuts and the guys hated him for it. That created talk and people listened because of that talk. He didn't write most of his songs. May Axton wrote Heartbreak Hotel. Kentucky Rain was written by Eddie Rabbitt. It was simply that Elvis had a very unique sound for the time and to this day is not a cookie cutter voice. Elvis was considered a 'Fat HillBilly' by the Memphis community before he died. I wonder how many Hotels are reaping the rewards of the tourist business his legacy generated. Tom Parker found talent and presented it. It was a good voice and a fresh look. He was fresh. He was/is cool.

The U.S. was a VERY different place back then. There were some very harsh realities being dealt with at the time. It was tough to be white and harder still to be black. Elvis blended both. The Beatles were from another place so they were accepted. It was a fluke of timing perhaps but in the end those events helped shape what we listen to today.

What I am trying to say is: ' Listen. Closely. ' There is more there than what you hear on the surface.

Koo-Koo-Ca-Choo.

:D


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THE_HACK_PACK
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THE_HACK_PACK
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06/02/2002 11:11 am
I think people forget that it was common in the 60's for bands to release 2 to 3 albums a year,actually it was expected!! And The Beatles just kept churning them out.I read somewhere in October of '64 the billboard charts were dominated by the Beatles they had the Number 1,2,3,4 and 5 spot on the single chart.YOU WILL NEVER see this happen again.Take the Revolver album,it doesnt get that much hype as compared to Seargent Peppers and The White Album,but Revolver "ONLY" contains some "MINOR songs like "Got to Get you Into My Life","Taxman" "Eleanor Rigby" "Good Day Sunshine" "Yellow Submarine"and "Life Goes On" O-ba-dee-ahh-ba-do-life goes on-Naa ,,na na na na Life Goes On.I don't think that was even a single.
Another Point of their talent is,because Lennon,McCartney had most of the creative control,George Harrison was "ONLY" able to write 3 all-time classics,"Here Comes The Sun" "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and "Something" which was the biggest hit off of Abbey Road.Imagine if Harrison had been allowed to pen more tunes in those days,ABC would still be airing part 26 of the Beatles Anthology,lol.
I read that critics were shocked and appalled when it took The Beatles a WHOLE YEAR to record "Seargent Peeppers". Now it's commonplace for a band to wait 2 or 3 years before their next offering,thanks to the record companies.
Another Testament to their influence is the Fact that McCartney practically invented grunge with the song "Helter Skelter".If You haven't heard it,This Song is filled with abrasive,sharp,sonic distorted notes.Shrieking Vocals from McCartney.This Song signifies the grunge birth,more then any Neil Young song,which he gets most of the grunge/birth of credit.


I think I can see what the big deal was.

[Edited by THE_HACK_PACK on 06-02-2002 at 06:20 AM]
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James8831
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06/02/2002 12:45 pm
Those guys played from their balls,their minds and their hearts..not nesc. in that order.

Harrison was always underated when he was alive and McCarney 'n'Lennon were both just screwed up enough to write some interesting music...together...whatever their relative merits after the Beatles, plus they nicked a lot of Chuck ("Rock'n'Roll who'syerdaddy") Berry riffs as pstring says - introducing Chuck(isms) to more people,worldwide,and notably - Europe.

Elvis had some great guitar players such as James Burton and Scotty Moore I defy you to think of Heartbreak Hotel and not remember that catchy solo..

Yes, Elvis was "Manufactured" as L says, but he did have the talent to go with it. I happen to like the 68 Comeback special..try and watch that to see some real ,soulful, music.
Accuracy,you say? hmm interesting concept..
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THE_HACK_PACK
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THE_HACK_PACK
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06/02/2002 3:32 pm
That Elvis '68 special was great,Jesus how many times did NBC re-run that in the '70's,it became like "It's A Wonderful Life".And I was only between 4 and 6 years of age when those were being aired,but I remember my polish grandmother and grandfather being glued to the screen,and they were in their late 50's at that point.It didn't matter if you were a fan,which my grand-parents were'nt,the guy was an ICON,bigger then life,just like Muhahhmed Ali,it didn't matter if you liked what he did,but try to NOT pay attention,it was impossible.

Not to mention that special basically paved the way for all these acoustic,unplugged specials we now see so often.Quite an achievement.
CAKE or DEATH????

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James8831
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James8831
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06/02/2002 5:53 pm
I can remember seeing a few Elvis shows when i was small-- we probably didn't get as many in the UK as TV was fairly bland in the 70's here- didn't really take much notice of the comeback special till i was 20 odd.



My parents watched Elvis and Muhammed (seperately of course) and they weren't really into PoP things..Icons..as you say.

My sister was a big fan of The Monkees and (it must be) one of my earliest memories was watching them ..i can't have been more than 3..so that explains a lot about me...60's pop addled my brain...still 200% better than todays pop "music" though.

Cheers.
Accuracy,you say? hmm interesting concept..
# 16
THE_HACK_PACK
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THE_HACK_PACK
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06/02/2002 8:52 pm
How true on The Monkees/PoP category point.The Pop genre used to be Beatles.Stones,Beach Boys and The Who.NowThe Pop genre consists of n'sync,Britney Spears,Pink and Macy Gray.what a sad decay for that genre.
I haven't heard a single track from any of those artists that even come close to "Daydream Believer".
CAKE or DEATH????

Ummmmmmm,Cake Please,,Oh,It's Very Nice.
-Eddie Izzard-
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Led Zeppelin
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06/02/2002 11:05 pm
I think the Monkees were the start of the whole manufactured thing we see know, like n'sync etc.

Theyw ere put together just to capitalise on the Beatles. They even had a missplelled animal's name as their name (although it blatently misses the point and wit of the Beatles).
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# 18
pstring
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pstring
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06/03/2002 5:26 am
[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by James8831 .60's pop addled my brain..
I think one of the stongest testimonies I can give about the Beatles is that even though I was just a little kid, songs like "All My Lovin'", Michelle, Baby's in Black, really touched me in an emotional way that music hadn't done before the Beatles, they're songs really could communicate feelings and thoughts, and they still do today even to people who weren't they're original audience, I remember singing Yellow Submarine with my kids when they were small and they loved it, my wife used to watch a TV show and when she found out that the theme song was a Beatles tune, I later found one of my Beatle tapes in her car. We have mentioned some of the music that influenced the Beatles, and I think it say's alot for they're talent to note that they weren't just a carbon copy of those infuences, but really came up with a unique style and shortly after they hit the big time alot of contemporary artists were covering they're music and trying to copy they're style.........
# 19
James8831
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James8831
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06/03/2002 2:45 pm
"I think it say's alot for they're talent to note that they weren't just a carbon copy of those infuences, but really came up with a unique style and shortly after they hit the big time alot of contemporary artists were covering they're music and trying to copy they're style."

Yes,- although i like their earlier Rock'n'Roll stuff,slightly more than their later stuff.

No-one's really had that breadth /level of creativity and originality before or since...I mean,Oasis, the NEW Beatles???????.........kiss my shiny white buttocks...a good Rock band , most surely..but that's it.
Accuracy,you say? hmm interesting concept..
# 20

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