Starbuck wrote on Jun 10^th, 2008 at 11:25am:

Thats because some of them are filler!

I'm not missing it at all, but, speaking as someone who was a Beatles fan before I'd ever heard the Stones and for whom they're still my second favourite band,  I cant wait to hear how "Why dont we do it in the road" can be deemed to be a work of "genius"....

Honky Tonk Man wrote on Jun 9^th, 2008 at 6:28am:


Yes indeed it would. Some of those filler songs are a bit short which can help their case but others are a bit long. I think "Why Don't We Do it..." is good throwaway but "I Will" is not filler to me. What about "Good Night"? Bad choice for album closer and though I understand John wrote it as a lullaby for Julian, why couldn't he just have made it a B-side or put it on a fan-club Christmas record? It's a pretty treacly song. The rest are certainly among the weaker cuts of the album. Those classic songs are indeed classic but I also enjoy "Long Long Long," a really underrated, serene George song and "Revolution 1" ain't bad either. "Savoy Truffle" is a tongue-in-cheek R&B number also.

It would have made a tremendous single LP for sure. White Album would be their best, if not for the songs I have agreed with you on/added. Revolver does have "Yellow Submarine" and while I find "For No One" a bit maudlin and "Got to Get You Into My Life" a bit poppy, they're still good. But "Taxman," "Doctor Robert," "I Want to Tell You," "She Said She Said," "And Your Bird Can Sing" and "Tomorrow Never Knows" are light years ahead of the other rock music going on in 1966. "Here, There and Everywhere" is a tender, tremendous ballad while "Good Day Sunshine" provides some light-hearted pop and "Love You To" and "I'm Only Sleeping" are wonderfully acidic works. Revolver would not have been a perfect 30-track album either though.

actually, for those that have never seen this site, it's pretty good. it's a track by track breakdown of who wrote what song in the words of the beatles themselves.

good shite!

http://www.geocities.com/~beatleboy1/dbsongs.html

Starbuck wrote on Jun 11^th, 2008 at 10:35pm:


Excellent lookin' site. Thanks. That said, I'm sure you own Iain McDonald's 'Revolution in the Head'.

Unquestionably the greatest book ever written on rock music.

actually nasty...i didn't say those songs were filler...i love em!

don't pass me by: best ringo yet! (except rhyming "myself" with "myself"...always hated that line.)

the beatle band does a rawkin' stompin' version of why don't we do it in the road, too....one of my favorite tunes to play, actually.

Starbuck wrote on Jun 12^th, 2008 at 9:13am:



I got that, Bucky - but I posted my second-tier commentary before I got into the second page of this thread, so I didn't see that others had been dropping filler charges on these tracks before you stepped up in defense. 

You realize that this is a very rare proposition, me stepping up to defend Beatles tracks . . . but I lucked into a mono White Album a few years ago and it was a revelation for me - their most rock and roll post Pepper platter.

Dear Prudence in MONO  = HEAVEN!

Starbuck wrote on Jun 12^th, 2008 at 9:59am:


I don't know if it's because I ate breathed and slept Beatles in my early teens to the point of OD, or if it's because of the throw-them-in-my-face every three years marketing machine phenomenon, or my contrarian nature, or if because of my profession and in our culture in general they are just so ubiquitous that I can no longer stand them, or if I genuinely think the music is seriously slicked up to the point of fakeness, but listening to most of Sgt. Pepper or side two of Abbey Road or a lot of those late-period singles makes me feel queasy and gross.   

But I do have it all.  In pretty nice vinyl editions.  Including clean copies of most of the good US 45s, which are vastly sonically superior to the available CD analogs.  So there is that.  Do I ever listen to their music voluntarily?  Rarely.  But I'm not likely gonna get rid of my I Feel Fine, Day Tripper or Ticket to Ride 45s any sooner than I'll get rid of my 19th Nervous Breakdown. 
 

that the beatles are ubiquitous is not a reason to dislike them. however, if you've been beatled out, that is a reason not to listen to them. just remember, the music is just as fresh and real now as it was when you were a teenager.

i got zeppelined out. and doorsed out too. and a ton of other bands. i can't listen to a zeppelin song now without breaking out in hives, despite the fact that i think they were one of the greatest and most influential bands ever. do they suck? no. but i still can't listen to them. maybe in 5 years or so.

except black dog. i've always hated that goddamn song.

I'm pining for the fjords...

Starbuck wrote on Jun 12^th, 2008 at 11:26am:



Disagree - having something repeatedly shoved down your throat is a very valid reason for developing a distaste for it.  And over-exposure actually does lead to spoilage.  While I would never deny anyone the joys of discovering the structural and melodic pleasures of the Beatles catalog, for me the perfectionist tendencies of their "great works" are actually opposed to "real music".

And Black Dog fucking rocks.

Bucky?

PartyDoll MEG wrote on Jun 12^th, 2008 at 12:01pm:


Hail Hail to Michigan, and long live the Beatles/Led Zeppelin/the Doors!!  Music doesn't get better then those three. Now go knit Jim Tre$$el another gay sweater vest