Entertainment For Lively Minds
No-one so zealous as the convert....
Confession: I have, for most of my life (I'm 32) been wilfully immune to the charms of The Beatles. I've said any number of times on this blog and others that I heard them as background noise that doesn't translate into actual MUSIC for me. I used to say they were too much part of my childhood, of the cultural landscape, and I couldn't hear their music properly, and so it didn't affect me.
Then, a few weeks ago I dug out a copy of Revolver for my kids, and put it on in the car. It sort of burrowed into my head, and then about two weeks ago I made two purchases entirely on a whim.
1) "Revolution In The Head: The Beatles' Records And The Sixties" by Ian MacDonald
2) A stereo Beatles boxset from HMV.
Now I'm a believer.
Christ, you lot weren't kidding, were you? That band! They were absolutely, absolutely astonishing. I've been listening to the albums while using "Revolution In The Head" as a sort of companion, and I'm just awestruck.
I mean, god knows there are enough HJH threads on here to sustain a small country of fans, and this isn't really adding anything, except to say thanks to the Massive, really. I wouldn't have got here without you.
At the moment, the albums that are making me happiest are probably "Please Please Me", "Hard Day's Night", "Revolver" and "Sgt Pepper", although there's so much to cherish on all of them. It's really interesting seeing how McCartney's fingerprints seem to encroach on the music as the band's career progressed. I've never been a particular fan of his, but god! The word "genius" is not inappropriate here. I am in awe of their achievements, and particularly Paul's. That said, many of my favourite individual songs are Lennon performances or compositions: "Twist And Shout", "Rain", "A Day In The Life", "I'm Only Sleeping", "Tomorrow Never Knows"...
I recently said on another thread that I didn't care for "A Day In The Life" too much, by the way. Sorry. I must have been fucking MAD.
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Blimey
Someone on the internet admitting they were wrong. Hat's off, Mr Idiotbear.
Yes, but just wait
until you discover The Monkees...
.........and after that..............
ELO..
....................and after that......................
The Rutles.
Fantastic!
That's a great post. They were quite good. Imagine how successful they could have been if they had kept at it.
Interesting
You could be me saying that - I came back round to them in almost the same way and came to almost the same conclusions re Lennon and McCartney and the songs that are my favourites. It just shows you shouldn't just avoid stuff because you're put off by what other people say and all the fuss they make.
A copy of
Revolution in the Head should be kept within four feet of every toilet in the universe. It's simply the best book for dipping when dumping ever written.
It's funny that the debate about which is their best album always revolves around Revolver, Sgt Pepper and Abbey Road, when clearly the answer is A Hard Day's Night
That said, I've resisted buying some of the middle period albums simply becasue if I own them all, the day will come when there are no new Beatles songs to discover. I realise how sad this makes me sound
Wait 'til you hear Wings
They're only the band The Beatles could've been.
"Big Yellow Taxi" there...
... by Joni Mitchell, a song in which she complains that they 'paved paradise to put up a parking lot' - a measure which actually would have alleviated traffic congestion on the outskirts of paradise. Something which Joni singularly fails to point out, perhaps because it doesn't quite fit in with her blinkered view of the world. Nevertheless, nice song.
On a more serious note
and at the risk of Partridging myself...
BYT, with its line 'hey farmer farmer, put away that DDT now' gave further momentum to the campaign to ban said pesticide which began with Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring in 1962. Who could object, as after all 'give me spots on my apples, but leave me the birds and the bees'. A teeny tiny problem might be the millions of deaths from malaria that resulted directly from said ban...
Ah, that old favourite 'good intentions, bad outcomes' again. A bummer, that one.
Anyway, good to see you've come over to fab-world. Have you realised that And Your Bird Can Sing is the greatest pop tune of all time* yet? If not, it'll come ;-)
*this week
And Your Bird Can Sing -
John Lennon singing to Mick Jagger about 'his bird' Marianne Faithfull. Or possibly not.
AYBCS
Seconded. Motion carried, etc...
Revolver
As an ardent, lifelong fan of the fabs, I have what may almost seem a heretical statement to make.
revolver isnt in my top 3 (correct that, top 5) fabs albums. FWIIW,
1) - Abbey Road
2) - Sergeant pepper
3) - White album
So far, so predictable.
4) - Rubber Soul
5) - Hard days night.
The White Album
Funny old record, that one. To my so-far fairly untutored ear it contains both some of the best and worst of The Beatles' output. The master tapes of Rocky Racoon and Piggies should have been pounded up Paul and George's arse with a lump hammer, for example. And yet: Julia, Back In The USSR, Glass Onion, Dear Prudence and about another ten on top of that. All completely jaw-dropping.
Julia, in particular, I almost wish Lennon hadn't recorded, it's so moving. I was reading the bit in "Revolution in the Head" about it, in which MacDonald describes the six-year-old John running down the road after Julia screaming "Mummy, don't leave me!" and I distinctly felt some grit enter my eye. The song didn't help.
I am you and you are me
I too picked up Revolution In The Head recently. An excellent critical appraisal of how they did it and how intuitive they really were.
*adopts sing-song voice*
I told you so, I told you so, I told you so, I tooooold yooooooooou soooooooo
:-)
Bah.
Shurrup, you. ;-)
Couldn't resist
:-)
No, I'm sorry
you can't take it back. You made your position HJHwise perfectly clear and you're not allowed to go back on it.
A confession
I have never owned a Beatles or Wings album but when I was taken to see Mr Thumb a few years back I sang along word-perfect to just about every song he played - I guess some tunes just seep into your consciousness and stay there for all time.
I've no problem with the band, am certainly not immune to their charms and happily admit to their talent and cultural influence on the world. It's just in the 38 years of purchasing music I've never got around to buying any of their albums.
Massive - will you forgive me?
If there's another bout of re-issues/compilations coming around
you know it will be your fault, don't you?
No
Never. Sorry.
Join the Sabbath idiotbear
I still meet people who haven't really 'discovered' The Beatles. You honestly just think how culturally bereft they must be, never to have got it. How they must beat their children, and secretly vote BNP. Sigh.
More seriously - first Beatles Album I even got my hands on was Sgt. Pepper when I was about 24, that a friend had kindly pirated for me. And one of the fondest musical memories I have is being reduced to tears by it. And realising how much I had missed. A life changing experience.
'Bloody hell!'
They are the best band for making you go, 'Bloody hell!' (Short for 'Bloody hell! That's a great song and I'd forgotten all about it.' Over and over again.)
Like when David H bigged up 'Beatles for Sale' on one of the podcasts. I instinctively reach for 'Revolver' and 'A Hard Day's Night', but that time I decided to listen to 'BFS' and see what he was getting at. Spent the whole half-hour thinking 'Bloody hell!'
When I listen to "Beatles for sale", I tend to go "Bloody Hell"
too - especially when the record comes to "Mr Moonlight", and I suddenly exclaim "Bloody hell - this must be the worst thing they ever did".
Touche
Point taken.
But it happens to me with 'Act Naturally'.
"Act Naturally" came on my Ipod last week...
...and I had to listen to the whole thing, all the way through, because I still can't believe how poor it is.
I've always had a soft-spot for it and
think that Ringo's vocal is really unaffected and charming. Quite a nice guitar solo from George, too. The mighty Ian MacDonald says that the track "compliment's Starr's cinematic persona as the deadpan Joe Ordinary of the group." I couldn't have put it anywhere near as well as that, so I didn't.
Can I empathise a little bit..
I too had been especially resistant to the charms of the HJH for the longest time (I'm 40 years old now), picking up two (count 'em) Throbbing Gristle Box Sets before even considering the Fab Four, but for some reason I just felt that I HAD to have the Mono box set -I don't know why, just something stirred within me and I spent big to get hold of one.
A very wise move.
Have fallen in love with their entire oeuvre, some bits are better than others, but I am glad that I have their musical output in my life.
Can't see it happening with the Stones, though.
The Stones
'63 - '72
If you 'get' The Beatles... you'll get the Stones.
The Stones '65 - '67 totally give the Fabs a run for their money. Totally. And I love the Scouse mop-tops.
Good to hear idiotbear. Sure
Good to hear idiotbear. Sure we can all relate to that curious feeling when you suddenly start to hear a band whom you'd perhaps previously written off in a completely different light. Nice leap of faith though, picking up the quite expensive box set more or less on a hunch you might like it.
I'm more of a cheapskate. I've managed to 'acquire' most of the remastered albums through my local libraries' CD sections, filling in the gaps in my Fabs' collection, but I relate to what Captain Underpants says - hate the feeling of exhausting every Beatles song, nice to have a few that are still undiscovered!
Once you get a bit overfamiliar with the HJHs hits
you find yourself getting into stuff like this. Check out the bonkers drum sound. What are you doing up there Ringo?
Book sale at HMV
Just a quick aside, and as I'm sure idiotbear can confirm, 'Revolution In The Head' is currently at my local HMV for £3.
For that price it has to be the bargain of the year.
A lovely heartfelt post
idiotbear.
Thank you!
.
.
Ah, Twang...
...you didn't need to delete that.
Yeah well...
I thought it ungracious to spoil the love in. I'm having a crap morning and feeling grumpy, no need to inflict it on the rest of you!