Posted on 06/22/2015 7:15:19 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Yes, I laughed when I read "not a poor track on the record." George Harrison later said about M's Hammer "my God, what a fruity song."
There were a few other stinkers. Lennon's paean to Yoko was another one. Few "great" albums are overall perfect. I'm a big Beatles fan, but they had their share of awful songs.
So you think Maxwell’s Hammer is just a real good song?!!!?
Agreed.
My least favorite Beatles songs are Maxwell and Run for you Life (I honestly don’t know what John was thinking with that one). Absolutely anything he did with Yoko stunk and it is very easy to see why see was the beginning of the end for the group.
The rest of the guys were livid that she was allowed to sit in on their sessions and you can see the tension in the video for Let It Be.
Rubber Soul is my favorite, but the top 5 are all good. Back in 1974 I attended the George Harrison and Friends concert in Seattle. It was excellent, they did 4 or 5 Beatles songs - Ravi Shankar could have stayed home, but George loved him. The Byrds opened the show IIRC.
Amen.
Enjoyed your reference to ‘Are You Being Served?’ I met John Inman at a book signing only a few years before he passed away. He still looked like he did on the old TV show and was quite sweet and pleasant with the crowd.
I really liked the Beatles and their music when I was in high school.
The glamor faded fast when I went to college and had to knuckle down.
I liked “The Rutles” and thought Eric Idle made a great Paul, but then,
Monty Python was just about my favorite TV show.
“Confuse a Cat!”
Homer: Why do you need new bands? Everyone knows rock attained perfection in 1974. It’s a scientific fact.
Grand Funk Railroad paved the way for Jefferson airplane, which cleared the way for Jefferson starship. The stage was now set for the Alan Parsons project, which I believe was some sort of hovercraft.
[the teenagers Homer and Barney are doing an acapella version of “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing” in front of a mirror]
Middle-aged Grampa: What the Hell are you two doin’?
Young Barney: It’s called rockin’ out!
Young Homer: You wouldn’t understan’, dad. You’re not *with it*.
Middle-aged Grampa: I used to be with it, but then they changed what *it* was. Now what I’m with isn’t *it*, and what’s *it* seems weird and scary to me. It’ll happen to you...
Homer: That’s all well and good for you, but I used to rock and roll all night and party every day. Then it was every other day... now I’m lucky to find half an hour a week in which to get funky. I’ve got to get out of this rut and back into the groove.
It’s all a matter of subjective opinion and taste, with perhaps a bit of personal history of good things being associated with an album, and perhaps bad things, too.
My list would be for top five:
White Album
Revolver
Rubber Soul
Sgt. Pepper’s
Magical Mystery Tour
But everyone has their own taste.
The conventional wisdom is ‘The Beatles stopped playing concerts because they couldn’t hear themselves onstage and they wanted to experiment in the studio.’
The first half of this quote is accurate but had they been a bit more patient they would have been able to use the monitor systems that quickly became standard (e.g. Woodstock).
Having to write stage-compatible songs kept them from disappearing up their own backsides, which is why 1965-66 was their real peak.
Sgt Pepper is always overrated in their catalogue as well as that of rock album rankings in general.
From a musician’s perspective, when the Rickenbackers, Epiphones and Voxes went out in favor of the Fenders it lost something.
The album is Meet the Beatles not With the Beatles
George had some front considering he frequently squandered his 'two tracks per LP' with his annoying derivative Indian/raga noise.
I’m kinda partial to My Bonnie, remember what was on the flip side?
“The Beatles were great composers and arrangers ...but, a rock band?”
Agree for the most part, but they had a few moments of hard driving music.
RE: Back in 1974 I attended the George Harrison and Friends concert in Seattle.
Was this the unforgettable CONCERT FOR BANGLADESH?
Ahh no... they are both Albums by the Beatles
No, the original Parlophone UK release was ‘With The Beatles.’
‘Meet The Beatles’ was a mishmash by Capitol of the first two UK releases....it also included ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’ which was always a standalone single in the UK.
The US albums were usually done in this cynical fashion but in most discussions of the Beatles’ albums as standalone artistic statements the UK versions are used.
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