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Beatles vs Beach Boys
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Hello Jacki, I admit that overall I prefer the Beatles but I have a huge respect for the Beach Boys particularly Brian Wilson. When you consider that he was chief songwriter, musician, arranger, producer and amazing vocalist as well as having to deal with an overbearing Father, an ego driven cousin and a hell-raising brother! Think the song writing skills of John and Paul are legendary.
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Yes, Graham, I agree with you but I still feel more resonating towards the Beatles creative minds over Brian, both bands had their creativity conjured up differently and are indeed a class of their own leagues respectfully … yes, they fed off each other I suppose,  I just find overall for me, Beatles have more appeal to me, I write poetry, so the Beatles lyrical creations, I can appreciate moreso than BBs… I guess it boils down to personal preferences and what each have to offer that resonates truly with the fans of their music…no exact right or wrong, just personal preferences…. To me Beach Boys represent a Pick Me Up Party mood ambience , at least in my eyes they do. Beatles offer a more in depth context to their stuff, more artistically visually … Again, its all a matter of personal pteferences.
Though I am more familiar with the BB’s hits as opposed to their lesser known stuff, but that still would not change my preferences.
I do also like the Jan and Dean stuff, well, Hot Rod songs for that matter…lol
California Sound, a league of its own as was the UK / British Invasion…
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Graham, I certainly didn’t mean to imply that the Beatles’ covers weren’t awesome in their own right. I just meant (and correct me if I’m wrong) they didn’t extensively modify the vocal arrangements of the originals.
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I think what makes the Beatles the greatest band/artists in the world ever is their diversity and mass appeal. Beach Boys appeal to a certain niche, Rolling Stones appeal to a certain niche, Bob Dylan appeal to a certain niche, Elvis, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Kinks, Queen, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Britney Spears etc all appeal to their own specific niche fan base. If you add up all of them, it would still fall short of the Beatles mass appeal. The depth and breadth of their music reach is incomparable. No one can match that, and that is why they are the greatest. They tower above anyone else. The difference between the Beatles and the nearest best #2 group/artist is a no contest.
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But I think the Beach Boys are an awesome #2, others can freely disagree about #2. 🙂 🙂 🙂
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Graham, wow that must have been memorable to shake hands with Mike, and I would love to see Brian Wilson live too. He was doing live performances right up until the lock downs. Prior to that show in 2000, I’ve been to two of their concerts in the 70s with brothers Brian, Carl, and Dennis along with Mike Love, Al Jardine, and Bruce Johnson as well as once in the 80s. They put on a rocking fun show.
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As much as I love the Beach Boys, I’ve never felt much of a need to see them live. I did catch them once, in 1991 (without Brian), at an amusement park near Cincinnati where we used to go every year when I was a kid. The concert was included with the price of admission that day, so how could I say no to riding roller coasters all day and then relaxing in the evening to a different kind of good vibrations?
Trivia note:Â it was the same amusement park where episodes of both the Brady Bunch and the Partridge Family were filmed in the early 70’s.
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David, that sounds like an absolute dream day at the amusement park, after riding all those rides, to top it off with a Beach Boys live show. In Vancouver we have our annual Pacific National Exhibition for 2.5 weeks in August that finishes on Labour Day, and Beach Boys often play for this event free, but unfortunately I seem to be out of lock step with when they come around as the years I’ve gone were the years the Beach Boys did not come.
Now here is some Beatles vocal magic. Listen to those incredible harmonies and how they masterfully weave their vocals in and out between them. In one of the BBC Billy Butler Saturdays shows posted at the Club, you can hear Mona and Lisa doing this song, and they capture those magic harmonies just perfectly with only their two voices.
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I simply had to see Brian perform when he came over here back then, he is an idol in my mind. I’d seen a couple of DVDs of him live touring so I knew what to expect! To be fair, his voice was still ok but his band were incredible, almost note perfect with the original recordings. I think lately his voice has gone and he is being exploited, sadly. The Beach Boys concert was just a good, fun experience. I can’t here that music live anywhere so I had to go.
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My favourite Beatles cover would be Mr Postman. John’s vocals are superb on this!
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I have to agree with you Jung! Most people will admit to liking at least one Beatles song, the same can’t be said for other artists. What I find really interesting is how their music divides opinions regarding the main eras of their careers. For instance I prefer the first few albums up to Help, whereas there are those who opt for Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt Pepper. Then there are lots who prefer the White Album, Let it Be and Abbey Rd. Fascinating I think!
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Right! see what you mean
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Graham, it is interesting how the Beatles repertoire is divided into early, middle, and late periods. Interestingly Beethoven’s repertoire among classical music experts are divided into early, middle, and late periods as well. Just an interesting fun fact. In the 10 years or so the Beatles were together, their music evolved. Their motto always being to never repeat themselves. Where many groups kept making albums that were effectively a repeat of the style of music they did previously, or their musical progression was limited, the Beatles kept progressing, experimenting, doing new and groundbreaking things. I think this made their music so diverse, and is why it attracts such a huge fan base across nationalities, cultures, and generations. I bet if you went to any remote mountain village anywhere in the world, there is a high likelihood a Beatles tune will be recognized. And it’s not just that their music was diverse and prolific, but whatever style they focused on, it was damn good! “I Wanna Hold Your Hand”, “Norwegian Wood”, ” Let It Be”. Whatever period you look at the music they created was the best of the best during that period.
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Jung, I totally agree. Like I said, I prefer their older stuff but I love Nowhere Man, Eleanor Rigby, Hey Jude and especially Penny Lane! Although they are universally loved it was when they went to the USA that they were REALLY taken seriously globally. Funny really because Pet Sounds was appreciated over here more than in their homeland. I think the imagination of the audience had a lot to do with their paralleled success. In England we have nothing even remotely like California, surfing, sunny beaches etc! Likewise, I don’t think the Americans were tuned in to British humour and fashions etc. Before the Beatles, English bands were just rehashing old American rock and roll hits, we had nothing else to go on. Then the Beatles took off which gave America a lust for more, hence the Stones, Kinks, Who etc. I believe this meant the end for a lot of stars over there such as Neil Sedaka. I think Elvis was in the army at the time and he got left behind also!
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Exactly Graham, I believe you have nailed it spot on, so to speak, Canadians, Americans, British kind of all interwine with each other on what appeals to them , yet can find ways to connect and be in harmony though may interpret differently, it’s mutual all around…. all bounce ideas off each other to come up with their own interpretations….at least, I like to think of it as such…. like a perfect recipe, best to follow accordingly as laid out but can can still tweak to one’s liking, you can give 10 people same recipe, but the outco es won’t be exactly the same…?
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