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There is no real perfection, a much-loved artist once sang. But in Beatle world, where excellence is the common consensus, the act of assessing how well they executed their art as distinguished by individual releases is – at the very least – ripe for a thoughtful discussion. Returning to the show is TV writer Jeff Martin (4th time around!), and new to SATB is sports reporter Andy Martino. It was his stray observation on the Shea Anything podcast that prompted this conversation.
The answer is Revolver. 😛
Gotta agree there.
Oh yeah!
The answer is Revolver. 😛
Gotta agree there.
Oh yeah!
Hello Robert!
My name is Clemente Alves and I’ve been a fan of Something About The Beatles from the moment I discovered the podcast on iTunes. I’m a dedicated listener. Just wanted to let you know that SATB is by far the best Beatles podcast anywhere on the planet. Smart, super knowledgable, and surprisingly surprising. I thought I knew pretty much all there was to know about The Beatles until I started listening to SATB. Listening to the podcast often feels like listening or discovering The Beatles for the first time. You do a bloody excellent job. Chapeau!
I also happen to be a song writer and I’ve written an ode to rock’n roll, the lyrics of which I’d like to share here, because listening to the show kind of helped inspire the song. So here it goes…
“WHEN THE GODZ OF ROCK COME CALLING”
Will you lay your soul down for rock’n roll?
Will you live your life to the spinning of the lights?
When the Godz of Rock come calling
Will you take it like a man?
I saw him play last night in that shit hole dive
He had licks like Hendrix, rage like Page
He had the meanest Jagger swagger
That ever hit the stage
He had Ray Charles soul, fat Bono ego
Sang pain like Cobain, he had Lennon venom
Made the chicks all cry, no man can deny
He’s the baddest mother fucker on a Saturday night
He found a high class muse, took him to the top
Then right back down with all that cocaine pop
Singed his name in blood then came the flood
Blew a hole through his guitar the night he took it too far
Music & Lyrics by: Clemente Alves, © C. Alves, 2018.
Thank you, Robert, for all your hard work.
Cheers!
Clemente from Toronto.
Hello Robert!
My name is Clemente Alves and I’ve been a fan of Something About The Beatles from the moment I discovered the podcast on iTunes. I’m a dedicated listener. Just wanted to let you know that SATB is by far the best Beatles podcast anywhere on the planet. Smart, super knowledgable, and surprisingly surprising. I thought I knew pretty much all there was to know about The Beatles until I started listening to SATB. Listening to the podcast often feels like listening or discovering The Beatles for the first time. You do a bloody excellent job. Chapeau!
I also happen to be a song writer and I’ve written an ode to rock’n roll, the lyrics of which I’d like to share here, because listening to the show kind of helped inspire the song. So here it goes…
“WHEN THE GODZ OF ROCK COME CALLING”
Will you lay your soul down for rock’n roll?
Will you live your life to the spinning of the lights?
When the Godz of Rock come calling
Will you take it like a man?
I saw him play last night in that shit hole dive
He had licks like Hendrix, rage like Page
He had the meanest Jagger swagger
That ever hit the stage
He had Ray Charles soul, fat Bono ego
Sang pain like Cobain, he had Lennon venom
Made the chicks all cry, no man can deny
He’s the baddest mother fucker on a Saturday night
He found a high class muse, took him to the top
Then right back down with all that cocaine pop
Singed his name in blood then came the flood
Blew a hole through his guitar the night he took it too far
Music & Lyrics by: Clemente Alves, © C. Alves, 2018.
Thank you, Robert, for all your hard work.
Cheers!
Clemente from Toronto.
Be there at the night of y’all and I will have a good job ? is your mom car you know how to get it ya back in the office and I’ll get back ya know how to
Be there at the night of y’all and I will have a good job 👏 is your mom car you know how to get it ya back in the office and I’ll get back ya know how to
Personally, much more enjoyable than 146 – AHDN also happens to be my fave album giving each track a score out of 5, an exercise I brought to you guys a couple of years ago. Nice cast Robert!
Personally, much more enjoyable than 146 – AHDN also happens to be my fave album giving each track a score out of 5, an exercise I brought to you guys a couple of years ago. Nice cast Robert!
Another excellent discussion, and it’s interesting you brought up the whole “early Beatles” vs. “late Beatles” narrative, because it’s an attitude towards their work which sort of annoys me was unwittingly created by the Red and Blue compilations, which all too neatly bifurcated their career into two halves. A duality that was further codified by the proliferation of the Classic Rock radio format in the 80’s which to this day, and with rare exception, plays only Beatles tracks from 1967 on (their earlier hits relegated to “Oldies” radio.)
One could wonder if the compilation strategy of 1973 wasn’t so rigidly straightforward and chronological how the perception might have been different.* Let’s say they put out a 2 LP set called “The Beatles Greatest Hits” which had most of the single hits with a few album tracks, and then, a year later, put out “Volume 2” which dug deep into the album cuts. It possibly could have painted a more nuanced picture for those (like Robert) bought the Red and Blue albums as their gateway drug.
*I suppose I’m one of the few people who will never be dismissive of the US albums, at least when discussing the Beatles music in America, because I feel, regardless of what the Beatles intended or didn’t intend, _how the music was consumed matters_. And, as a listening experience, “Meet the Beatles” to me, crushes “With the Beatles” because of the one-two punch of “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “I Saw Her Standing There” leading off the record. I mean, for their first US album, why the heck wouldn’t you lead off with their No. 1 hit? (And it’s not like the US market only did this to the Beatles. For better or worse, British bands were subject to the whims of US record companies that clearly favored the more top 40 radio friendly cuts, something that wasn’t quite a consideration in England, given how BBC radio limited airplay.)
I know the CD era (1987) ushered in the standardization of the catalog, but even their they fudged, making the US MMT “official”, and creating singles compilations PM1 and PM2 which are excellent but ungainly listening experiences. Wouldn’t a better strategy have been to put the related single as bonus tracks on one of the CD’s? (i.e. put “Penny Lane” and “Strawberry Fields Forever” on the Pepper CD.)
Anyway, food for thought. Great show, keep it up!
Another excellent discussion, and it’s interesting you brought up the whole “early Beatles” vs. “late Beatles” narrative, because it’s an attitude towards their work which sort of annoys me was unwittingly created by the Red and Blue compilations, which all too neatly bifurcated their career into two halves. A duality that was further codified by the proliferation of the Classic Rock radio format in the 80’s which to this day, and with rare exception, plays only Beatles tracks from 1967 on (their earlier hits relegated to “Oldies” radio.)
One could wonder if the compilation strategy of 1973 wasn’t so rigidly straightforward and chronological how the perception might have been different.* Let’s say they put out a 2 LP set called “The Beatles Greatest Hits” which had most of the single hits with a few album tracks, and then, a year later, put out “Volume 2” which dug deep into the album cuts. It possibly could have painted a more nuanced picture for those (like Robert) bought the Red and Blue albums as their gateway drug.
*I suppose I’m one of the few people who will never be dismissive of the US albums, at least when discussing the Beatles music in America, because I feel, regardless of what the Beatles intended or didn’t intend, _how the music was consumed matters_. And, as a listening experience, “Meet the Beatles” to me, crushes “With the Beatles” because of the one-two punch of “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “I Saw Her Standing There” leading off the record. I mean, for their first US album, why the heck wouldn’t you lead off with their No. 1 hit? (And it’s not like the US market only did this to the Beatles. For better or worse, British bands were subject to the whims of US record companies that clearly favored the more top 40 radio friendly cuts, something that wasn’t quite a consideration in England, given how BBC radio limited airplay.)
I know the CD era (1987) ushered in the standardization of the catalog, but even their they fudged, making the US MMT “official”, and creating singles compilations PM1 and PM2 which are excellent but ungainly listening experiences. Wouldn’t a better strategy have been to put the related single as bonus tracks on one of the CD’s? (i.e. put “Penny Lane” and “Strawberry Fields Forever” on the Pepper CD.)
Anyway, food for thought. Great show, keep it up!
The Beatles went into “Warp Speed” from Rubber Soul onward in my opinion. I think on Rubber Soul and therafter the for the most part they stopped trying to write for a teen market and stopped thinking a lot about their 50’s idols and transcended everybody before or since!
The Beatles went into “Warp Speed” from Rubber Soul onward in my opinion. I think on Rubber Soul and therafter the for the most part they stopped trying to write for a teen market and stopped thinking a lot about their 50’s idols and transcended everybody before or since!
Thanks for this—for putting an emphasis on the greatness of Hard Day’s Night. You could add With the Beatles. Though I understand why Hard Day’s Night is nearer to perfect, I prefer With the Beatles—in mono—(a third permanent favorite, along with Revolver and The White Album). Let’s hope the early albums get the remix treatment too. Finally, it’s no surprise Pepper has more sales, downloads etc. People keep going on about it. It’s perpetually hyped. Younger fans will want to know what the fuss is about, and many will accept the conventional wisdom. Unfortunately, Robert, your Revolver book hasn’t been the corrective to the myth of Pepper’s preeminence that it should have been.
Thanks for this—for putting an emphasis on the greatness of Hard Day’s Night. You could add With the Beatles. Though I understand why Hard Day’s Night is nearer to perfect, I prefer With the Beatles—in mono—(a third permanent favorite, along with Revolver and The White Album). Let’s hope the early albums get the remix treatment too. Finally, it’s no surprise Pepper has more sales, downloads etc. People keep going on about it. It’s perpetually hyped. Younger fans will want to know what the fuss is about, and many will accept the conventional wisdom. Unfortunately, Robert, your Revolver book hasn’t been the corrective to the myth of Pepper’s preeminence that it should have been.
For me A Hard Day’s Night is as close to perfection as they came. I also rate Pepper as being about their 7th best album, also behind The Beatles, Revolver, Rubber Soul, Help! and Abbey Road.
For me A Hard Day’s Night is as close to perfection as they came. I also rate Pepper as being about their 7th best album, also behind The Beatles, Revolver, Rubber Soul, Help! and Abbey Road.
Yeah, I’m pretty much in accord with you David. Though I’d put With the Beatles (in mono)–substituting “This Boy” for “Hold Me Tight”–far ahead of Abbey Road. The Peppermania seems to me a socio-marketing thing. It’s high-points are very high but it’s no A Hard Day’s Night–never mind, Revolver.
Yeah, I’m pretty much in accord with you David. Though I’d put With the Beatles (in mono)–substituting “This Boy” for “Hold Me Tight”–far ahead of Abbey Road. The Peppermania seems to me a socio-marketing thing. It’s high-points are very high but it’s no A Hard Day’s Night–never mind, Revolver.
I’m glad to hear I’m not the only one that thinks those 3 consecutive McCartney songs on SP is just too much.
I’m glad to hear I’m not the only one that thinks those 3 consecutive McCartney songs on SP is just too much.
I understand the current agenda is to downgrade Sgt Peppers cause it has too much McCartney influence, so therefore as Macca is persona uncool let’s take shots at it. Think back to when you first heard this album, take this joy and run with it. I loved Lovely Rita, She’s Leaving Home etc and thought Fixing a Hole was a little weird. Nothing wrong with that. Others might not like She’s Leaving Home, I will always treat it as high art.
Btw, I was listening to an old SATB episode and it mentioned you were going to do a show on Harry Nilsson. I would be interested in that, as I don’t know much about him.
Hi Robert,
I am hoping by years’ end. I have the perfect guest on deck; just waiting to time it to the publication of his Harry bio.
I understand the current agenda is to downgrade Sgt Peppers cause it has too much McCartney influence, so therefore as Macca is persona uncool let’s take shots at it. Think back to when you first heard this album, take this joy and run with it. I loved Lovely Rita, She’s Leaving Home etc and thought Fixing a Hole was a little weird. Nothing wrong with that. Others might not like She’s Leaving Home, I will always treat it as high art.
Btw, I was listening to an old SATB episode and it mentioned you were going to do a show on Harry Nilsson. I would be interested in that, as I don’t know much about him.
Hi Robert,
I am hoping by years’ end. I have the perfect guest on deck; just waiting to time it to the publication of his Harry bio.
I was 15 when Sargent Peppers was released and it created an immediate cultural divide among my classmates in high school.
The heat of the hippie movement – with growing political radicalism adding to the music, clothing and hair style changes (so important at that age) – was coming to a boiling point. When the album was release in May of 1967 everyone had to decide whether they liked it (future long hairs or “freaks”) or not (straights). I remember being amazed at the time that I had to decide who among my friends I had to drop or keep based on this album, one of the many that we all listened to during that amazing era. Can you guess which side I chose? I’m sure most of the “straights” came around.
Many thanks for creating this wonderful podcast. This is the first one I’ve listened to and can’t wait to hear the rest.
I was 15 when Sargent Peppers was released and it created an immediate cultural divide among my classmates in high school.
The heat of the hippie movement – with growing political radicalism adding to the music, clothing and hair style changes (so important at that age) – was coming to a boiling point. When the album was release in May of 1967 everyone had to decide whether they liked it (future long hairs or “freaks”) or not (straights). I remember being amazed at the time that I had to decide who among my friends I had to drop or keep based on this album, one of the many that we all listened to during that amazing era. Can you guess which side I chose? I’m sure most of the “straights” came around.
Many thanks for creating this wonderful podcast. This is the first one I’ve listened to and can’t wait to hear the rest.
What a fun, thoughtful cool discussion! You three were brilliant here. I would just add that 1) if we are counting great songs, “Day in Life” could count as two or even three great songs. or we should apply a weight to each great songs.
and 2) Sgt. Pepper was also a perfection of the studio and creative road they were taking just as Hard Days Night could be seen as a perfection of their early works.
thank you guys!!
What a fun, thoughtful cool discussion! You three were brilliant here. I would just add that 1) if we are counting great songs, “Day in Life” could count as two or even three great songs. or we should apply a weight to each great songs.
and 2) Sgt. Pepper was also a perfection of the studio and creative road they were taking just as Hard Days Night could be seen as a perfection of their early works.
thank you guys!!
I think Pepper will always be there finest hour…in spite of 3 Paul songs in a row, Good Morning, 64 and the absence of Strawberry and Penny Lane. It’s not as “perfect” as Revolver or Abbey Road, but it’s the most unified vision they ever put forth, in sound, lyricism, production and cutting edge beyond cutting edge.
Rubber Soul is brilliant, but in many ways, they are mirroring Dylan and Folk…Revolver sees the Byrds as a major influence…the White Album will always be a wonderful mess of their best and worst, but Pepper is their most daring. The album in which they took the most chances, and true to life, it paid off.
The critics had it right in ’67.
Great show as always!
I think Pepper will always be there finest hour…in spite of 3 Paul songs in a row, Good Morning, 64 and the absence of Strawberry and Penny Lane. It’s not as “perfect” as Revolver or Abbey Road, but it’s the most unified vision they ever put forth, in sound, lyricism, production and cutting edge beyond cutting edge.
Rubber Soul is brilliant, but in many ways, they are mirroring Dylan and Folk…Revolver sees the Byrds as a major influence…the White Album will always be a wonderful mess of their best and worst, but Pepper is their most daring. The album in which they took the most chances, and true to life, it paid off.
The critics had it right in ’67.
Great show as always!
Thanks for the fun interview! I loved the discussion.
Rating Hard Day’s Night as the Beatles’s best album because it perfected their early direction … isn’t that a little like saying Babe Ruth’s last season in the minors was his best season of baseball ever because it was the perfection of his early years since Little League?
(Of course if you feel their earlier direction was superior to all the other directions they moved on to, then it makes senses.)
Also, in defense of Pepper: Revolver might outshine Pepper on a song per song basis, but once Day in the Life comes, its a supernova explosion … with a magnitude worth half a side of great songs. Its so good, almost beyond ranking. You got to weigh Day in the Life being worth 3 or 4 great songs.
Thanks for the fun interview! I loved the discussion.
Rating Hard Day’s Night as the Beatles’s best album because it perfected their early direction … isn’t that a little like saying Babe Ruth’s last season in the minors was his best season of baseball ever because it was the perfection of his early years since Little League?
(Of course if you feel their earlier direction was superior to all the other directions they moved on to, then it makes senses.)
Also, in defense of Pepper: Revolver might outshine Pepper on a song per song basis, but once Day in the Life comes, its a supernova explosion … with a magnitude worth half a side of great songs. Its so good, almost beyond ranking. You got to weigh Day in the Life being worth 3 or 4 great songs.
Greatest Beatles album = A Hard Days Night
Greatest Beatles ground breaking album = Revolver
Greatest Beatles recorded Song = Hey Jude
Greatest Beatles recorded Track = A Day in the Life
Hope that helps 🙂
Greatest Beatles album = A Hard Days Night
Greatest Beatles ground breaking album = Revolver
Greatest Beatles recorded Song = Hey Jude
Greatest Beatles recorded Track = A Day in the Life
Hope that helps 🙂
Live at the BBC is my favourite. I can’t wait for Live at the Star club to be cleaned up and put out.
Live at the BBC is my favourite. I can’t wait for Live at the Star club to be cleaned up and put out.