Why the Beatles? (3 Viewers)

[mjp]

The Double Fantasy album told us exactly where Lennon was going...

It told us where he was at that moment. The difference between the two is that you had no idea what "the next record" from Lennon would be. Bossa nova Himalayan chants? Wouldn't have surprised anyone. But you could always be pretty sure what the next McCartney record was going to sound like.

Everything I say about those guys seems to disparage McCartney, but that's not what I'm trying to do (sleeping toddlers dig aside). The point that I meant to make, successfully or not, is that you really shouldn't compare them because they didn't do the same thing. It's like comparing Bob Dylan to Bob Seeger. Or something. Okay, maybe not Bob Seeger, but you get the point. A crowd pleaser versus someone who doesn't really give a shit what the crowd wants.

All comparisons and nitpicking aside, the point should probably be that no one has ever surfaced that could challenge what they did together, the four of them, though people have been trying for 50 years. That's the story. And unfortunately for them, that was a shadow they each had to live in after 1970. As a creative person, naturally you carry on, but you're kind of fucked by a constant comparison to your own previous greatness or fame. Every successful pop/rock musician goes through that, which goes back to what I was saying about rock and roll being a weapon of the young.

 

[Purple Stickpin]

...McCartney isn't really comparable to Lennon. They are two different beasts.

This must be (a big reason) why their best stuff was in collaboration with one another. Two halves of a whole; yin/yang; accessible/unpredictable, etc. I'm sure this point has already been made, but it bears repeating, I guess.

 

[skiroomalum]

This is a great thread, and one I've refrained from entering. The thing about the Beatles for me is like Buk is for me: an intensely personal and visceral feeling that's hard to articulate. It's so mixed in with childhood memories of time and place. That being said, John's music and persona and history are so strongly linked it's hard to not mythologize his work. But fuck, his work is breathtakingly beautiful and difficult and thought provoking in a way that Paul's is not. I find George's All Things Must Pass to be better than any of Paul's post-Beatles catalogue. John was the shit. In the same category of influence as Ali, Miles, Dylan, Picasso. Two passing I still think about regularly that defined my youth: Thurman Munson in 79 and Lennon in 80. I'm never really far from that kid.

 

[Skygazer]

Sorry if you've seen it before, but it's a nice piece:

 

[Purple Stickpin]

So, best job in the world or worst? Despite loving the Beatles, this would kill me.

 

[mjp]

I take it she is QCing random samples from a pressing?

 

[hoochmonkey9]

Are they hiring?

 

[d gray]

So, best job in the world or worst?

depends on which song you're listening to.

 

[Purple Stickpin]

I take it she is QCing random samples from a pressing?

That would be my guess. That's the original UK release, but is she checking pulls from different pressing plants (or was there only a single plant)? Was she instructed to listen to the same excerpts from each disc?

 

[mjp]

I wouldn't think there were multiple pressing plants in the UK at that time, though who knows, at that point they sold enough records to justify it. I know they pressed in a few different locations in the U.S., but that's just the logistics of geography.

One of the wonderful things about the warm, perfect music medium that is a vinyl LP is it was an analog process using parts (stampers) that wore out pretty quickly. So an LP pressed from a new stamper does not sound the same as the 10,oooth LP pressed from the same stamper. I would think there would be quality control at various points in a stamper's life, but that's a lot of LPs she's got there...

You'd only have to listen to 15 seconds or so to hear any differences or defects. Not taking into account the hundred different defects each individual disk could have. Your mono CDs sound better than any platter in any one of those stacks.

 

[Purple Stickpin]

As well you know, there are a few thousand (million?) audiophiles who would scream blue in the face about how wrong you are. I can't say I've ever had much opportunity to listen to a top-notch turntable and system to A/B LPs vs CDs, so who knows? I do know that it's not worth the effort and expense to me. I will say, however, that the one time I had the privilege and opportunity to record in a really good recording studio (Sound Techniques in Boston), the playback in the control room was ridiculously realistic; actually stunning. Since that was in 1996, it was likely digital, but my point is, there are ways of getting music to sound better than what one may currently have at home.

 

[mjp]

there are a few thousand (million?) audiophiles who would scream blue in the face about how wrong you are.

Yes. But that doesn't make them right. ;)

I spent a lot of time in studios too, and that sound that I heard in there is my standard. I've never heard a vinyl LP that even begins to approach that standard, not by a long shot (and I do have a top-notch turntable, as well as, oh, 50 years of vinyl listening experience). But I've heard plenty of well-mastered CDs that come very close to recapturing that studio sound.

So who's right? Who cares, as long as you like what you hear. Most people these days listen to music reproduced through electronics on par with a 60s transistor radio, so this argument is only interesting to a small group of propeller-heads.

 

[Purple Stickpin]

this argument is only interesting to a small group of propeller-heads.

Such as ourselves.

I have a cheap Sony turntable that gets the job done, especially since the bulk of my record collection went with me to college. I don't listen to LPs much, but I've found that the single greatest improvement to the fidelity of my set-up(s) is a set of Bose QuietComfort 15 headphones. I know some folks think Bose is overrated or even terrible, etc., but these headphones destroy my Sony MDR-V600s, which were a $100 set of headphones 20 years ago.

 

[mjp]

I know some folks think Bose is [...] terrible...

The only place I've ever heard or read that is in audiophile forums. ;)

Not a Bose fan myself based on some expensive Bose speakers I once bought that sounded pretty bad. I bought them to replace some old JBLs about 20 years ago. I got rid of the Bose speakers very quickly. I still use the JBLs. Sometimes you have to try something new in order to appreciate what you've already got.

 

[Skygazer]

I've found that the single greatest improvement to the fidelity of my set-up(s) is a set of Bose QuietComfort 15 headphones. I know some folks think Bose is overrated or even terrible, etc., but these headphones destroy my Sony MDR-V600s, which were a $100 set of headphones 20 years ago.

I have a pair of Bose headphones for running, they cost £150 ( not my best ones which I keep in the house) they take a bit of abuse with being dropped, or being plunged into a ditch, when I was trying to avoid a demented chihuahua! still working and sound fine to me - but I am no expert.

Just a demo so a bit rough! and given to The Iveys (Badfinger). Apparently it's Paul on everything with John keeping out ( but looking on:-)) a comment on the mess they were in with Apple:

 

[Danny Mac]

A long time ago, about 1987, I wanted to buy some super fancy speakers for my listening pleasure. I wanted them to last a long time. So I bought an issue of Consumer's report magazine. They said Boston Acoustics were a fine set of speakers. I had never heard of them. I found a local store that carried them and even though they were expensive I had a credit card to put them on.

Man o Man what a great decision that was. I bought the pair that are approximately 1 1/2 feet wide by 3 1/2 tall. A few years later I bought a second set that were smaller. I still have them and they still look brand new. I blew out 3 or 4 woofers since then but if you are looking to buy some speakers that are truly outstanding you can't do much better than Boston Acoustics. I love those damn speakers.

I used to be a drummer and I used to have to play to records in order to play. I could never quite hear the music over the sound of the drums. When the CD was invented my drumming skills improved dramatically because I could finally really let loose on the drums and hear myself. With my 4 Boston Acoustic speakers I could drum really loud and still hear the music crystal clear. I'm sure many drummers across the land experienced the same epiphany that I did when the CD was invented.

 

[mjp]

I blew out 3 or 4 woofers since then...

A subwoofer (if your amp can accommodate it) should fix that. That and, you know, not running them with an amp that can overpower them enough to blow them. If that's what you're doing.

In any event, I don't know if I'd call speakers that "blew out 3 or 4 woofers" outstanding. Maybe I'm a stickler.

But yes, that first pair of good speakers (or first good anything in your stereo set up) is an ear opening experience.

 

[Danny Mac]

I had them a very long time. 2014 minus 1987 is, wait I have to think, that 27 years. You know how wear and tear enters into the time of it. Those speakers dealt with so much mechanical vibration that they just wore out. The tweeters are very small and tight and I never lost one of those. The woofers are about 4 inches across.

I was also playing them at very loud volumes. When I was just listening to them 4 or 5 was really loud. When I drummed with the stereo on I had them up to 7 which was ear splitting loud. I had to turn up the stereo gradually when I was going to drum so as to warm my ears up. So I think if I treated them like a normal none drumming maniac maybe only 1 woofer would have worn out over that period of time.

Trust me... these Boston Acoustics are really something special. On a different note my two older brothers always had JBL speakers. They swore by them.

 

[d gray]

 

[mjp]

That's a great example of their skill in blending vocals. The way McCartney's voice is dominant throughout until they get to "it took me so long to find out, but I found out," when Lennon's voice becomes dominant. That kind of blending only comes with singing together for a long time. And listening.

 

[David]

One of their very catchiest...Though the opening of "I Feel Fine" is quite fine also...

 

[Purple Stickpin]

That riff isn't notated correctly. Yes, it captures the rhythm and feel of the line properly, but a bar of 4/4 should be notated with 2 beats in one half of the measure and 2 beats in the latter half of the measure. The F# in bar 2 should be notated as two tied eighth notes to adhere to this proper convention.

 

[David]

Harrison got dinged in the '70s for apparently using the melody from He's So Fine for My Sweet Lord. I believe the judgment was that he didn't do it consciously.

"He's So Fine"


"My Sweet Lord"


Just reading about the fracas over this song this morning.

 

[d gray]

didn't get through this start to finish but...

[This video is unavailable.]

 

[mjp]

Is that "massive ego" title supposed to be ironic? I don't see any ego in the first 5 minutes, which is about all I could watch without dozing off.

I've certainly heard him say some stupid and egotistical things about the Beatles music, but it's worth noting that Paul McCartney is a rock star, and you can't get into that club without an ego. It's the main requirement.

That and, you know, he actually was a Beatle. One of the more important ones. Some kind of bragging rights have to go along with that.

 

[d gray]

not ironic - whoever posted that had/has a big hate-on for "sir paul". there's a long and idiotic tirade about him by the bitter/jealous etc poster.

i couldn't watch the whole thing either - just skipped through it in about 5 minutes.

 

[mjp]

not ironic

That's pretty funny. I just skipped through the rest of it and I don't see any display of monster ego in there. The guy who put it up seems a little unhinged.

Maybe Paul fucked his girlfriend and he's still angry about it. Or more likely his mother, back in the day.

 

[Hosh]

Or DIDN'T fuck this guy, as the case may be... <ZING!>

 

[PhillyDave]

Here Comes the Sun with "lost" guitar solo. http://www.openculture.com/2015/02/here-comes-the-sun-with-a-re-discovered-george-harrison-solo.html

 

[Bruno Dante]

Nice article to accompany that as well.

Can't remember if I've posted this before but I love this cover of The Fool on the Hill by Aretha:

 

[PhillyDave]

Huffington Post 5 underrated Beatles songs, part II http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jaime...tml?utm_hp_ref=entertainment&ir=Entertainment

 

[Purple Stickpin]

Hmmm, I think it could have been one part with five tracks:

If I Needed Someone
I've Just Seen a Face
Rain
Dr. Robert
Hey Bulldog

But hey, to each their own.

 

[mjp]

Because, big guitars.

 

[PhillyDave]

@Purple Stickpin I agree wholeheartedly with yr list. The idea of 5 songs is so subjective.

 

[Purple Stickpin]

OK, here's a ridiculously obscure Beatle-related tidbit. Between 7:04 and 7:08 is the BBC archive tape that the Beatles used for the transition from Good Morning, Good Morning to Sgt. Pepper's Reprise. No mono blurping chicken here:

[This video is unavailable.]

Credit goes to MikeP5877 on the Steve Hoffman forums for unearthing this nugget.

 

[PhillyDave]

that's insanly crazy that someone found that!

 

[Purple Stickpin]

Among the pointless things I've done in my life, today I finally created a single-LP version of The White Album. Working on the premise that 24 minutes per side is about the maximum you can fit without compromising sound quality too much, I managed to whittle this down to just a few ticks over 48 minutes, so it would have been feasible. Since I'm not actually making records here, I suppose it doesn't matter all that much:

Side 1
Back in the U.S.S.R.
Dear Prudence
Glass Onion (alternate from Anthology with the broken glass and BBC tape archive to mimic the approach to Revolution 9, which I do actually like, but ultimately dropped)
Not Guilty (Anthology)
Blackbird
Julia
Happiness is a Warm Gun
Long, Long, Long

Side 2
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da (alternate ska version from Anthology)
Yer Blues
Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey
Helter Skelter
Sexy Sadie
Cry Baby Cry
Can You Take Me Back?
While My Guitar Gently Weeps

 

[PhillyDave]

I don't know what I'd take away but I would add "Revolution". Which version tho, the rockin' single or the acoustic lp version?

 

[mjp]

Both.

Just make it a double LP and you don't have to choose. ;)

 

[Purple Stickpin]

It was great, it sold, it's the bloody Beatles' White Album, shut up!

To be honest, I'd put Revolution 9 on there; I think it's an important statement about how Lennon's approach to art had changed so drastically. But I purposefully tried to stick to the ~48 minute mark to force some tough choices. Of the other two versions, I actually prefer the acoustic one. I think.