The idea for this poll was partly inspired by a recent event. A few weeks ago at my sister's birthday celebration, I was talking to her daughter (who recently turned 23). I asked her if she knew much about The Beatles. Since she didn't, I told her I was going to educate her on the sounds of John, Paul, George, and Ringo. I knew she'd be receptive to checking The Beatles out because she does have an appreciation of music, regardless of when it was made. The next time I see her, I'll be loaning her one of my Beatles CDs (along with the latest albums by Maroon 5 and John Legend & The Roots).
I was going to let voters select more than one Beatles album, but that would be too easy. Most people would select every album and be done with it. Narrowing it down to one makes it harder, but more fun too.
After you vote in the poll, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section (which Beatles album did you choose, why you chose it, etc.).
9 comments:
Hi Malcolm,
I am actually kind of surprise that she does not know the Beatles music, she is usually pretty savvy. I choose 62-66 and I would also suggest that she watch "You Tube" footage (or any footage) of the Beatles" first arrival to the United States, especially the footage of the Ed Sullivan Show on Sunday night, February 9, 1964. A person who is not familiar with the group needs to understand the impact they made world wide.
That was VERY hard but I chose based on the one I listened to the most.
I was floored the other day when a former co-worker (late 20's) had never heard of Janis or Jim Morrison or Jimi. I almost passed out.
I chose the '62-'66 because it covers the "Fab Four" era and the start of the psychedelic years. I prefer the former, but their evolution as a group is important for a new listener to understand.
Posted by Rich via my Facebook page:
Revolver, hands down. I think it's the best representative of both the pre- and post-Sgt. Pepper era, and the record where they finally hit their true stride in terms of both music and lyrics.
Rubber Soul... gets away from the "mop top pop" sound and gets a little more sophisticated... The vocals are tremedous. Some of the best they recorded. The songs are all pretty intricate; more than just a couple chord changes. I think it's the best representation of everyone's talents, collaboratively as well as individually. It's the album that really propelled them forward into a more defined sound and set them apart from other pop groups of the day.
Though it's not my favorite I chose the White Album because I think is the most iconic of all their albums. It's too hard to really pick one album - The Beatles music spanned so much of the era in so many ways.
I have a funny story about The Beatles music and my niece as well. When I went back to visit my sister and her daughters about 25 years ago my oldest niece came home driving an old VW van complete with tie dye window curtains and patchouli incense burning. She then proceeded to tell me all about this great band she's "discovered" . . . you guessed it, The Beatles.
My sixties youth came back to haunt me big time that visit, lol.
'67-'70
1) It is a greatest hits album and a lot of the "filler" songs have been eliminated
2) The writing of the songs is much more mature. It seems as if most of the early songs were formulaic, bubblegum-ish, and topped out at about 2 minutes.
Braxton
www.hiphopcritical.com
I agree with Braxton. With that in mind, The White Album or Abbey Road would also be good places to start. They're not only two of their best albums, they sound closest to contemporary rock (they're actually the template of contemporary rock but recorded 40+ years ago. Go Beatles!).
Pjazzy: I was surprised that Jet didn't know more about The Beatles. I was telling her that she probably knew some of their songs, but didn't realize it was them. I sang lines from a few of their songs and she did recognize them.
By the way, that's a great point about having Jet check out the footage of when the Beatles came to America.
Barbara: I hope you set that 20-something person straight! :-)
Speaking of Jim Morrison, I watched the documentary "When You're Strange" last week. It was pretty good. I learned some things about the Doors that I didn't know.
Ivan: Excellent choice! It's amazing the musical maturity that the Beatles went through in such a short period of time.
Teresa: Good call! "Rubber Soul" contains Ttwo of my favorite Beatle tracks (Wait and You Won't See Me).
Pop Art Diva: That's an awesome story about your niece's "discovery" of The Beatles. One of the aspects about music that I love is that for the most part it's "there" waiting to be discovered and enjoyed.
Braxton: Although I love the early stuff because it has a fresh/innocent quality, I prefer The Beatles music from their latter-day period. Because they had quit touring, they were able to really focus on recording and take advantage of the technology available at the time.
Bada Bing: Thanks for stopping by. "Abbey Road" is my favorite Beatles album. Although some critics and fans feel that the production is "slick", I don't think the slickness is a bad thing.
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