So there I was, just the other night, listening to some extraordinary remastered digital CD 's of music made forty years ago or so. Which is why I am now finally making time to write about my favorite band of all time!
Well yeah, it's pretty cliché and some would say way overrated, but that would be The Beatles. Simply put, they are modern music's greatest achievement for many many already stated reasons. They were the first music group to write and perform all their material. The songwriting of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison to this day remains unchallenged as the best ever in modern pop/rock music due to its incredible diversity, variety, and innovation. They introduced recording techniques and album release methods never before tried and now often imitated. Because of them, bands now tour the world. It is due to them that many bands were formed and came after when other young people decided that they too would pick up a guitar or learn to play the drums and form their own groups. And last but not least, the world's greatest Liverpudlians ever, are responsible for not only selling the most albums in history (one billion worldwide!), but for creating lasting music that to this day resonates with every age group alive and yet to come.
What is remarkable to me is that as much unquestionable support as The Beatles still have to this day, there are many who dismiss them as too light and not hardcore enough, which is totally missing the point. Sure, great bands like The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, and Nirvana have outrocked the Beatles without question. But the Beatles wrote music that appeals to all, including those hardcore rock songs (Helter Skelter, Paperback Writer, and Revolution come to mind) that detractors often mention as lacking in The Beatles' repertoire. They were not a band that was going to be content with writing only headbanger songs. They needed to display and show the world what was truly going on in their brilliant diverse little minds.
I am astounded at the diversity and variety of their catalogue: ballads, instrumentals, bubble-gum pop, rock, cabaret, acoustic, psychedelic, classical, country, hippie, blues, existential, heavy, catchy, folk, etc. One need just purchase and listen to their 1968 release The White Album to acknowledge that these guys were true geniuses in every sense of the word. A complete music group that could play in and out of every genre possible. Something other bands then and even now don't dare do for fear of alienating their fans. This is the essence of the Fab Four, and why I like and admire them so much. The diversity, variety, and spectacular sound of their music sounds just as good today, as if these songs were recorded just yesterday! Beautiful melodies and gorgeous vocal harmonies that are second to none.
John Lennon is my favorite Beatle due to his cynical witty personality. Paul McCartney is to be admired for his amazing diversity and instrumental skills. George Harrison is underrated and to be admired more for some truly f**king great songs that he wrote for the group. And last but not least, Ringo Starr, for some decent drumming skills and the intelligence to admit that although he knew was the least talented; he was the one with the best heart and soul of them all.
Two Beatles are now sadly gone way before their time, and two remain. In my eyes however, and in millions of others the world over, The Beatles are all alive and well in their recordings and will continue to be forevermore.
Further reading:
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:hifrxqw5ldse~T1
http://www.rockonthenet.com/artists-b/beatles_main.htm
http://www.rollingstone.com/artist/bio/_/id/61025/thebeatles?pageid=rs.Artistcage&pageregion=artistHeader
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beatles
No comments:
Post a Comment