Entertainment For Lively Minds
"The whole of Abbey Road side two is dogshit"
Posted by Pat Carty on 25 October 2011 - 3:12pm.
Gallagher you loon, that's their best record!
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I once threw a pub table at somebody for dissing the 'Road.
Now I'm, like, [very long, very slow exhalation]
PS) Polythene Pam pisses all over everything NG has ever and will ever record/write/produce/say/be.
And it's the worst thing on side two of Abbey Road.
I like Noel
he seems to be good sport, it's a pity his new record is a bit boring.
NG's record
Not bad at all, nor boring. OOAA.
fair enough, each to his own
what does OOAA mean?
It's something that farmers say.
.... who let that tumbleweed in?
"Other opinions
are available", IIRC :-)
Dogshit...
as opposed to Maxwell's Silver Hammer and I Want You (She's So Heavy) which are pure gold.
maxwell's silver hammer
is not gold doesn't even qualify for silver
music hallish tripe
the raw vocals on golden slumbers on the other hand are sublime IMO of çourse
It's not their best
Revolver is their best album by far.
But side two of Abbey Road has Here Comes the Sun as well as You Never Give Me Your Money and the Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight medley......dog shit? No Mr Gallagher, that will be everything Oasis recorded after Morning Glory.
I'd rather listen to
'Dig Out Your Soul' or 'Don't Believe The Truth' than 'Let It Be'. I'd rather listen to the Beady Eye record come to think of it.
But no, Abbey Road side two is not dogshit. It's sublime. As far as the first side goes, I can do without 'Come Together' and 'Maxwell' though. I love She's So Heavy.
She's So Heavy
is the only song where the Beatles sound like a band about to fall to pieces. I think it was practically the last thing they recorded together (I haven't got my McDonald in front of me to check).
Maxwell is just horribly wrong - a comedy song about a serial killer? Maybe somebody could get away with it, but not Paul McCartney.
Take those away (and Oh Darling) and what's left is my joint favourite HJH album (my other favourite is half of The White Album).
I defend Maxwell, M'lud
I first heard this when I was a child - not long after Abbey Road came out. It lodged in my brain along with Four Wheels On My Wagon and The Mouse In the Windmill and all that Uncle Mac stuff.
I still love these kids songs today and I still love Maxwell's Silver Hammer.
It's catchy but...
it's Macca at his most cynical - trying to write another "When I'm 64" or "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da". Lennon's quip about "all that granny shit" was never more accurate. Watch the Beatles play it on Let It Be - Paul's self-satisfied little chuckles contrasting with the grim faces of the others, who clearly couldn't stand it.
(A side issue - it came up on shuffle a few days ago and all I could think about was the Joanna Yeates murder trial. Like I say, not fucking funny.)
I remember seeing it
presented in cartoon form on what I think was 'Do Not Adjust Your Set', with an intro from Denise Coffey and David Jacson IIRC. Even then I thought it was a trifle odd, if oddly charming. Strangely strange but oddly normal for the Beatles, as it were.
Me too,
always loved it.
And I defend Oh Darling, m'lud
Pitch perfect doowop pastiche with a searing McCartney vocal and a great piano sound.
Yup,
always loved that too.
A third vote fir Oh Darling.
Unrepentant doo-wop
Not really Doo Wop
It's a spin on South Louisiana Swamp Pop.
Most of us think Swamp Pop as being Johnnnie Allen's Promised Land. In fact 90% of it was 6/8 ballads with slurping saxes, Hammond's etc.
Here is an actual Swamp Popper doing Oh Darling. It's not a great version.
I have honestly
never heard of swamp pop. Am I missing something?
It sunk
without a trace.
Seeing as how you asked
I'm a bit of a swamp pop buff.
Basically, it was the sound of young Cajuns from SW Louisiana (and a few from SE Texas) playing a mixture of New Orleans R&B filtered through Cajun/Zydeco and a bit of Nashville. 1960 to 1970 seems to have been the heyday.
The best compilations are on Ace(UK)and feature stuff from the Jin label. But there are some great Division Two comps on Spotify. I'd say that these ones give a truer picture of Swamp Pop. Beware - a lot of it is cheesy max. Search 'swamp pop'.
For the sound of Swamp Pop today, check out Lil' Band O' Gold, also on Spotify. These guys are great and I would recommend them to anyone who likes a good (small 'r') rockin' tune.
I'll defend She's So Heavy then
I was singing along to it on the way home tonight. I think all the playing on it sounds great and it builds dramatically and is varied nicely, never get bored with it and it's cliché free. What other band has the kind of range that encompasses this and the remaining tracks?
Plus
the rhythm section is on mega top form on that song.
Does "She's so Heavy" go on a bit?
Well, maybe just a little, but compared with the vesion of "Cryptical Envelopment" on the Grateful Dead's "Hundred Year Hall" it's positively concise.
Snorts...
That made me laugh. Have an up.
I've often thought
that Macca's main competition on Abbey Road in terms of yer actual composition was George. John clearly couldn't be arsed and his songs reflected this whereas George presented the band with two of their finest moments. Even Ringo's little number bested some of John's efforts on this one. I sit through 'Polythene Pam' only because I know that 'Golden Slumbers' is on the way.
Er, Come Together?
One of Lennon's best, I'd say
Mmmm,
disagree. Always found it rather plodding and he was capable of better. Rescued massively by the keyboard break ( played by Macca I believe ). And of course he was sued for plagiarism and had to record an entire album ( 'Rock and Roll' ) to pay back Chuck Berry....
I really think his mind was with the Plastic Ono Band at the time and this song wouldn't have sounded out of place on a POB album.
chacun a son gout
I like this, you like the other...
What with this and My Sweet Lord, the Beatles seem to have been channelling a lot of other people's tunes.
Rock And Roll was recorded to recompense Morris Levy
a much nastier piece of work than Chuck Berry.
I stand
corrected.
( Again ).
My apologies. Especially to Chuck if he's reading. I don't really fancy having to do an album of 50s covers as recompense.
I think Chuck Berry's method
I think Chuck Berry's method of redress would be more likely to involve firearms and shovels than lawsuits.
He's old now.
I reckon I could take him. One boot to the ole Ding a Ling and he'd be singing like Clarence 'Frogman' Henry for 45 minutes ( strict ) in all the clubs of northern England.
... with a crap local pick-up band
who look like Murph and the Magictones.
Feist
I heard Feist and her band doing a cover of She's So Heavy recently, and I thought 'bloody hell, that sounds great'. So I went home and listened to the Fabs version - a song I had skipped over suddenly sounded terrific. I think it was hearing their harmonies on the chorus and guitar bits live - funny how it comes round like that. Now I love it.
Pah!
The man wouldn't know a decent tune if he was p***ing on it.
Of all the guff he spouted in that interview,
that remark was the one thing that made me laugh with astonishment at his appalling lack of understanding. He's beyond hope. At least he isn't Liam.
For a group who claim to like the HJH's.....
....Oasis actually seem to slag them off more than others who hate them!
Remember the 'the fooker shud eat more pies' comment made by the other one when George was attacked?
Mercifully, I've not knowingly heard a song of theirs for at least ten years.
They're two bob.
Have to take you up on one point
The Pies comment was made in 1997, several years before George was attacked and was made as a response to him criticising Oasis
I'm not surprised
I'm not surprised he doesn't appreciate the Abbey Road medley. It's not like he would be capable, musically, of ever creating anything like it. Which probably sounds snobby but it's not like Oasis was known for their sophisticated arrangements.
Presumably
it is 'dogshit' because it isn't 'proper songs,' it doesn't 'rock,' it's all 'arty-farty and messed about with.' I don't mind Noel, but he appears to have a totally fixed idea about what 'The Beatles' means to him, and Abbey Road doesn't conform to it.
Or perhaps not, ask him about it next year and he might give a totally different response. Changed his mind about Damon Albarn, didn't he? And was generous enough to say so too.
The Beatles are, well... The Beatles aren't they? They will survive a little bit of (perhaps cheeky) disapproval of this sort.
Indeed... To paraphrase Macca,
"Shurrup, it's the bloody Beatles"
I'm going to defend Noel here
What is Abbey road side 2 other than the stitched together pieces of odds and ends they had lying around at the point they all wanted out? That some of them sound good is almost incidental. I don't see it as "it's all 'arty-farty and messed about with", I just see it as tying up loose ends and finishing the job so that they could all go and do what they all thought they wanted to do instead at that stage.
Don't get me wrong, there are bits of Abbey Road I like, but lets keep a sense of perspective.
Plus, Noel says something mildly, but not overly, out there, which he knows will get up the noses of the more conservative end of the music listening public ("how very dare he criticise the HJHs! The very thought!") to guarantee a few more column inches and a bit more attention. Job done, I'd say.
True.
It's not as if his music gives us much to talk about.
Apart from "Er, isn't this a bit like what he's done before?"
I don't
see it as all 'arty-farty and messed about with' either, I was suggesting that Noel might - that he might see it that way, on the day he was interviewed. I also suggested that he was being deliberately cheeky. I wasn't attacking him, not at all. As I said, it doesn't really matter - The Beatles can take it.
No
I agree entirely. I just didn't really state it clearly enough - I nicked the quote as I thought it stated a point of view (not necessarily yours) fairly succinctly.
Fair do's Mr. Illuminatus.
Thanks for clarifying.
The time will come...
...when he discovers the Mahavishnu Orchestra. And shortly afterwards releases a dire copycat album with a sneery vibe called 'What's The Issue (Mahavishnu)?'
With his new found openness to musical exploration
and experimentation he might even do a Slade/Mahavishnu mash up album called,
"The Inner Manc In Flames".
And continuing the rich seam of terrace chant mysticism...
'Gudbye To Jain'
'Maha-Mama we're All Crazee Now'
'My Friend Sri'
'Merry Divali Everybody'
'McLaughlin For A Penny'
'Jan Hammer (The Bangin' Man)'
'Between Nothingness & Wolverhampton'
Settle down, now,
Colin.
Word Magazine readers up in arms...
...over 'Noel Gallagher talks total bollocks' shock.
Know what you mean.
It's a bit like going, "Oh, splendid, fancy that!", when the sun comes up again each morning.
Although, of course, in his new guise as...
...Mahavishnu Noddy Gallagher, that'd be 'Sapphire Bollocks Of Pure Luv' he's talking, with a foot-stomping beat and a cheesecloth top hat, just to be clear about it...
Anyone who utters
an obviously 'look at me - I'm saying something controversial about The Beatles' statement should be ignored ideally, but failing that, roundly ridiculed.
At least Noel didn't stoop to the level of Paul Heaton's 'the Beatles were wank, weren't they?' idiocy.
Heaton has never claimed to
Heaton has never claimed to be a fan, though. Neither has he nicked half of his musical ideas from them.
You never give me your money
Been listening to this near-obsessively over the past months. IMHO, it's a near-perfect encapsulation of all the elements that made the Fabs so wonderful.
Quite possibly the finest
bass part of any pop record ever made; the arrangement doesn't put it in your face, but you can immediately hear how integral it is to the whole song.
Abbey Road track by track
Come Together - a work of some brilliance - gives hope that this may be a fine album.
Something - no wonder Harisson was fed up with his song count, perhaps the finest of the grown-up Beatles' love songs
Maxwell's Silver Hammer - oh this is just shit from start to end. What the CD skip buton was invented for.
Oh! Darling - I don't beleive you when you tell me. So. Just. Shut. Up.
Octopus's Garden - no worse than yellow submarine. hardly praise that though.
I Want You (She's So Heavy) - a track that I never want to end,
hypnotic and experimental
Here Comes the Sun - why, pure pop from The Beatles, there's a thought.
Because - dreary
You Never Give Me Your Money - emotionally effective
Sun King - what were these guys on ? Nothing good, obviously.
Mean Mr. Mustard - drivel, but listenable
Polythene Pam - crude and raucous - a return to form
She Came in Through the Bathroom Window - catchy, but meaningless
Golden Slumbers - what can I say ? Really.
Carry That Weight - saved by the chorus
The End - has to have the last word, don't he ?
Her Majesty - one shot joke
So, I guess Noel is wrong, but he has a point.
I think this largely proves that-
despite the weaker links ( 'She's So Heavy', Polythene Pam' )- this album is far from dog poo. As opposed to Noel's rather odorous debut.
The remaster
really does She's So Heavy a huge favour - I always liked the fact that it went on and on and on anyway, but the last remaster reveals the layers and subtlety of the recording. Probably the most revelatory piece of that whole excercise for me!
Helter Skelter
Anyone out there know if the 18 minute version exists for download? Thanks.