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I'll start by trying to answer my own question:
All ground-breaking acts are, in the final analysis, mutations and morphs of those who influenced them.
The Beatles did the best job of coalescing MORE influences, and taking them in MORE different directions, than any band before or since.
Surely there are other opinions?
The Beatles are... something that just had to happen... for mankind and music.. like other examples:
Jimi Hendrix, Elvis Prestley, Bob Marley... and many many more!
There are many great artists, but only some outlive us all...
Or are they just the tiny creatures that sit on the sealing in the summer? :unsure:
Ya mean like spiders?
I realized a while ago that although I've got a comprehensive Beatles archive, I don't listen to them often, and I wondered why not.
The answer came back: Everything they ever did is tattooed on my brain; listening to other music, I hear the little voice saying, "there's the Beatles influence, yup, yup, there it is again.......I seem to have a mental Beatles "filter" I hear everything through.
My wife thinks "Ringo" is an endearment.
It's almost eerie... When i listen to them my hair rises all over my body!
What is that? What did they do? They just broached a new hole... and it still feels weird... I think they even don't know themselves what it is.. it just is!!
What was your question again? Hhahaha! :o
Yeah, Rocktron-
You know what I mean-it all had a "from the mouths of babes" quality to it. Otherwise why would Lennon have made that telling but stupid comment about "We're more popular then Jesus...".
Only serves to reinforce your point.
I think it was a bit of a miracle they were together as long as they were, short time though it was, and that they were so prolific.
Every time I'm reminded they once had 5 out of the top 10 albums including the top 3, I think-These days, that would be considered an extremely poor marketing tactic-but there it is, you know? Truly amazing.
Perhaps the really wierd thing is just what happened in the years 1963 to 1966!!! Listen to music made in 1963 (not just by the Beatles!) and then listen tothe same band in 1967/8.
Something strange happened to the world (and yes I was there and no I don't just mean the drugs)
I know this is a bit off topic but... I just thought it might be interesting B)
Hey Sojoko.. i'm from the 60's myself!! But to young to listen to them consciously then.. 1965.... :unsure:Quote:
Originally posted by sojoko@1 April 2003 - 22:35
Perhaps the really wierd thing is just what happened in the years 1963 to 1966!!! Listen to music made in 1963 (not just by the Beatles!) and then listen tothe same band in 1967/8.
Something strange happened to the world (and yes I was there and no I don't just mean the drugs)
I know this is a bit off topic but... I just thought it might be interesting B)
But i'm here now.. :D
I think that the recording process itself was one of the biggest changes that the Beatles brought to pass. Prior to Sgt. Pepper's every attempt was made to record music the way it was played by a live band, but the Beatles made music that basically couldn't be played live, it was very dependent on studio tricks and multilayed overdubs. And to think it was produced on equipment far inferior to what most of us have on our PC's today! Sheer genius.
You bet-they presided over the sea-change from mono to four-track and beyond-probably ten years before it would've happened otherwise.
Rocktron-I go back a bit further-'58-I remember sitting in front of the tube watching them on the Ed Sullivan Show. Blown away at the age of 6.
Sojoko-That's exactly what I meant-whether due to chemical mind-expansion or what, they progressed and expanded their repertoire exponentially, all the while gaining popularity. They never left any fans behind.
j2k4- I go back even further (1950) and yes, they were a phenomonon on Ed Sullivan, but really more for the look and enthusiasm than the music ( hell, you could hardly hear the music!). At first they played well crafted, well played pop songs that really weren't that much different than everybody else.
But then...WTF? They started pulling songs out of thin air unlike anything I'd ever heard. Everybody always cites Sgt. Pepper's as the seminal album, but looking back , the song "Eleanor Rigby" really was totally unlike anything else on the radio at the time. And it still sounds good.