Beatles Albums

Please forgive me/ban me for my indulgence but I thought I'd like a Beatles Albums thread as a companion to the songs one and I'm slightly laid up by ankle injury. Add anything, nice or nasty about their albums or ignore it as you wish. Beatles haters welcome, please say why you think they're crap.

IMO their best - Rubber Soul
Worst - Let It Be
Most over rated - Abbey Road with Revolver in the wings
Under rated - Help and EP Magical Mystery Tour
Best cover - Revolver

Last really good one Sgt Pepper's, the last three were a relative mess due to L&M's burgeoning dislike of each other, Lennon's innate moodiness, growing commercial cynicism and terrible taste in women.

Best period - Hard Day's Night to Sgt Pepper's when John was still happy being a Beatle and at his most inspired.

Worst faults - over production, total reliance on George Martin, pretentiousness, inspiration from the head rather than heart, L&M's huge egos and rivalry.

Best traits - Melodies and harmonies, composing ability, creativeness.

My favourite album is Rubber Soul as well, it has the most consistent set of songs and is not overproduced (The Beatles would go to extremes in later years).

I don't like the first phase until Rubber Soul that much (with the exception of A Hard Days Night); despite that I'd say the first one was groundbreaking, but the ones that followed were boring copies of it.

Sgt. Pepper's has a special place in my heart, because it was my first Beatles album and I learned it by heart. Now I'm not that keen on some of production techniques (talk about excess). Magical Mystery Tour has some great songs but doesn't work as a cohesive entity. The White Album doesn't do it for me and Let it Be was ruined in postproduction.

So, I'd say the top three are:

1.Rubber Soul
2.Abbey Road
3.Revolver/Sgt. Peppers
.
.
4. A Hard Days Night

Sorry to hear about your injury and hope you recover soon.

Very keen indeed on all things Beatles. Dare I say as a music fan - and occasional controversialist - that I am not too keen on the Stones. It's the money thing. When Eavis tried to get them to Glastonbury early in the 2000s, I was told that they asked for 25% of the budget in payment. He rightly said no. And while "Taxman" was always a sour little song, Mick and Co might appear to have lived tax phobia rather more.

Favourite Beatles album - "Abbey Road" - especially Side 2.

Then probably "Rubber Soul".

I knew a woman who was a Beatles obsessive. When I asked her the question you asked, she would only say that she liked the first and last albums best and was nicely mysterious about how she defined those.

It is worth bearing in mind that most of the Beatles output was produced in just 8 years. That really is phenomenal. U2 - 33 Years, Radiohead - 20 years etc - and there's absolutely no comparison re quality.

Quote: Horseradish @ August 28 2013, 1:41 PM BST

It is worth bearing in mind that most of the Beatles output was produced in just 8 years. That really is phenomenal. U2 - 33 Years, Radiohead - 20 years etc - and there's no comparison.

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If Bob Dylan had died in 68 his body of work would have been even more astonishing imo. But generally you're right.

Quote: Gordon Bennett @ August 28 2013, 1:45 PM BST

If Bob Dylan had died in 68 his body of work would have been even more astonishing imo. But generally you're right.

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Perhaps - but "Blood On The Tracks" (1975) adds a lot of weight.

We had "Revolver" on Mono early on so that is my sentimental one.

Quote: Horseradish @ August 28 2013, 1:51 PM BST

Perhaps - but "Blood On The Tracks" (1975) adds a lot of weight.

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That is true.

But if he had died he would have left a legacy that includes Highway 61, Blonde On Blonde, Bringing it All, Freewheelin', The Times, Another Side...all that within 5 or six years. Amazing.

Quote: Gordon Bennett @ August 28 2013, 2:03 PM BST

That is true.

But if he had died he would have left a legacy that includes Highway 61, Blonde On Blonde, Bringing it All, Freewheelin', The Times, Another Side...all that within 5 or six years. Amazing.

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Sure.

And Desire and two or three since. The sad news is I'm considering starting a Dylan thread now, but I think I'll show some mercy on people.

He inspired The Beatles for a while, and evidently went electric to keep up with them.

Ha thanks but it's only a flare up of an old one, my fault.

Brainstorm:

Have become increasingly aware of McCartney's emphasis on the Beatles' admiration for Motown and how the competition was more with Motown artists than anyone else. Everyone benefited.

George Martin was, and is, that too often used word a genius. I do believe that he deserves the title "Fifth Beatle" and more. "Theme One" has huge resonance too - at the axis of the pirates and Radio 1.

The wives deserve more credit. Linda and Olivia were rocks to Paul and George respectively. Seeing the Wogan interview again recently, I was reminded how the former was easier to admire than really like but that's not such a terrible thing. She certainly had principles - and any distance maintained sanity.

Yoko is Yoko. That's the best way to think of her. An interesting artist in the 1960s. Not a convincing music artist even as late as 1980 when John died but she has now done enough musically for a fair reappraisal.

I feel sorry for Julian. Feel that he has had life tough although the remaining Beatles help him. I would say that his talent is greater than Sean's and also that of the rather awkward McCartney son.

My favourite is The Best Of The Beatles oh and Rubber Soul.

Favorite Beatles records aren't carved in stone. Preferences and tastes vary with mood, time and familiarity. I have fond memories of playing side two of A Hard Day's Night on a Danish girl's record player, when I was 20, mainly to listen to Things We Said Today. Interesting that McCartney wrote it when only 21 years old, and had written When I'm 64 when he was 16. Young adherent of reverse nostalgia. All of their albums were favourites at one time or another. Couldn't name a favourite now, as have listened to them too much. More fond of bootlegs of Beatles demos, takes and out-takes. And listening to auto-tuned pop, dance and trance tunes. A few years ago was fond of the Beatles' unreleased song Because I Know You Love Me So. Currently compiling demos/takes of Lennon and McCartney's solo stuff.

Quote: Kenneth @ August 28 2013, 5:53 PM BST

Favorite Beatles records aren't carved in stone. Preferences and tastes vary with mood, time and familiarity. I have fond memories of playing side two of A Hard Day's Night on a Danish girl's record player, when I was 20, mainly to listen to Things We Said Today. Interesting that McCartney wrote it when only 21 years old, and had written When I'm 64 when he was 16. Young adherent of reverse nostalgia. All of their albums were favourites at one time or another. Couldn't name a favourite now, as have listened to them too much. More fond of bootlegs of Beatles demos, takes and out-takes. And listening to auto-tuned pop, dance and trance tunes. A few years ago was fond of the Beatles' unreleased song Because I Know You Love Me So. Currently compiling demos/takes of Lennon and McCartney's solo stuff.

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Nice comments.....except auto-tune.

Good luck to Cher in becoming the oldest woman to have a No 1 single all those years ago but what then seemed like a novelty has virtually wiped out normal voices. I find it horrendous. What is the appeal?

Quote: Horseradish @ August 28 2013, 6:07 PM BST

Nice comments.....except auto-tune.

Good luck to Cher in becoming the oldest woman to have a No 1 single all those years ago but what then seemed like a novelty has virtually wiped out normal voices. I find it horrendous. What is the appeal?

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Result. Favourite Beatles Album thread successfully (albeit briefly) hijacked onto autotune discussion. Autotune bugged the hell out of me for a while. Then I went to a few pub quizzes where I bombed in the music rounds because I didn't know a damn song of the past 10 years, so I have sought to remedy that by playing over a hundred popular club tunes on heavy rotation. Some remain shite, but some are growers. I am also immersing myself in Chinese music.

1. Revolver
2. The White Album
3. Abbey Road
4. Rubber Soul
5. Sgt Pepper
6. A Hard Day's Night
7. Let It Be
8. Help!
9. Please Please Me
10. With The Beatles
11. Beatles For Sale
12. Magical Mystery Tour

Sgt Peppers is my favourite as it was my first Beatles album. I got it at a rather perfect time in my life, so it always brings back happy memories.