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5.39pm
10 February 2013
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Thanks to you all!
I’m glad my categorizing method made sense to someone other than me!
Of course, you are all right about Beatles For Sale fitting more into the Dylan/weed era. But for some reason I always tend to lump it into the early period. It probably does have something to do with all the covers.
10.54pm
1 December 2009
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Yeah, especially the fact that most (all?) of the covers are of ’50s tunes rather than contemporary Motown/girl group numbers. Ages it somewhat.
GEORGE: In fact, The Detroit Sound. JOHN: In fact, yes. GEORGE: In fact, yeah. Tamla-Motown artists are our favorites. The Miracles. JOHN: We like Marvin Gaye. GEORGE: The Impressions PAUL & GEORGE: Mary Wells. GEORGE: The Exciters. RINGO: Chuck Jackson. JOHN: To name but eighty.
1.26am
22 March 2013
Offline Probably Beatles For Sale .
Help ! was their changing point in music, Rubber Soul was when they finally got the full extinct of being the world’s best band, significant easy listening, pop songs. But Help ! is just a step up from the playfullness of pre-Beatles For Sale . It’s more mature and there’s no filler. A lot of memorable hits in there as well.
7.41am
14 October 2012
Offline But Help ! is just a step up from the playfullness of pre-Beatles For Sale . It’s more mature and there’s no filler. A lot of memorable hits in there as well.
I would say that Beatles For Sale is the step up. You only need to look at the cover to see that those once chirpy cheeky moptoppers are now weary. Plus, BFS was the first album where they were on weed, and the Dylan influence means the Lennon songs are more self-analytical and pessimistic. So I think the difference between BFS and the whilwind chirpiness of AHDN is bigger than the differecne between BFS and Help . Just my opinion though 🙂
"I don't think we were actually swimming, as it were, with shirts on, 'cos we always wear overcoats when we're swimming,"-
George Harrison, Australia, June 1964
8.14am
22 March 2013
Offline bikelock28 said
But Help ! is just a step up from the playfullness of pre-Beatles For Sale . It’s more mature and there’s no filler. A lot of memorable hits in there as well.
I would say that Beatles For Sale is the step up. You only need to look at the cover to see that those once chirpy cheeky moptoppers are now weary. Plus, BFS was the first album where they were on weed, and the Dylan influence means the Lennon songs are more self-analytical and pessimistic. So I think the difference between BFS and the whilwind chirpiness of AHDN is bigger than the differecne between BFS and Help . Just my opinion though 🙂
I agree with you to some extent. Beatles For Sale though is what I consider their, “messiest” album. The John Lennon penned song was like the baby step to their maturity. It’s all over the place, more or less like Abbey Road .
9.26pm
Reviewers
17 December 2012
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I tend to think of BFS as a bridge album. The originals point the way forward, the amount of covers their last link back to the past. I suppose in that way it could be called a “messy” album, the way in which it’s looking in two directions. However, I do not think you’d find many who’d agree that AR, one of their finest achievements, is “all over the place”.
"I only said we were bigger than Rod... and now there's all this!" Ron Nasty
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The Beatles Bible 2020 non-Canon Poll Part One: 1958-1963 and Part Two: 1964-August 1966
1.07pm
12 April 2012
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Imo help is neither early not late. Beatles For Sale is clearly early and Rubber Soul is clearlynot’ but help is definitelyboth imo
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4.04pm
4 September 2009
Offline IMO, the last “Early Album” was A Hard Day’s Night .
To me, BFS and Help ! were more transitional type albums. Their lyrics started getting more introspective.
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2.24am
22 March 2013
Offline mja6758 said
I tend to think of BFS as a bridge album. The originals point the way forward, the amount of covers their last link back to the past. I suppose in that way it could be called a “messy” album, the way in which it’s looking in two directions. However, I do not think you’d find many who’d agree that AR, one of their finest achievements, is “all over the place”.
Abbey Road has some of the best Beatles compositions of all time. But it isn’t headed in one direction. Each song is completely different. From the cool, smokey blues of Come Together to the dark humoured sing a long Maxwell’s Silver Hammer to the Hard Rock, lengthy instrumental I Want You (She’s So Heavy) to the calm, optimistic Here Comes The Sun .
5.05am
Reviewers
17 December 2012
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Moonie said
mja6758 said
Abbey Road has some of the best Beatles compositions of all time. But it isn’t headed in one direction. Each song is completely different. From the cool, smokey blues of Come Together to the dark humoured sing a long Maxwell’s Silver Hammer to the Hard Rock, lengthy instrumental I Want You (She’s So Heavy) to the calm, optimistic Here Comes The Sun .
But AR has a certain consistent feel to it. I would say that The White Album is a much better example of “all over the place” (not that it isn’t a great album).
"I only said we were bigger than Rod... and now there's all this!" Ron Nasty
To @ Ron Nasty it's @ mja6758
The Beatles Bible 2020 non-Canon Poll Part One: 1958-1963 and Part Two: 1964-August 1966
8.56am
Reviewers
Moderators
1 May 2011
Offline Abbey Road has a very flowing feel to it, whilst the songs are different they blend together to form a very cohesive whole. For instance I Want You (She’s So Heavy) can be very suffocating to some due to its extended guitar and ‘white noise’ ending however Here Comes The Sun immediately lightens the mood and brings fresh breaths to the listener. I certainly have never felt im going from one place to another without any link. However The White Album is very sprawling where altho there are segments that do feel natural (side 2 with the animals and a few transitions here and there; Bungalow Bill’s “hey up” leading brilliant into George’s masterpiece of While My Guitar Gently Weeps ) you are transported from one genre to another with little ease. Its sprawling-all-over-the place-going-overwhere approach is one of its great attributes.
What was the thread topic again? Oh, album you consider to be the last ‘early’ Beatles album.
"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)
2.53pm
6 December 2012
Offline mja6758 said
Moonie said
mja6758 said
Abbey Road has some of the best Beatles compositions of all time. But it isn’t headed in one direction. Each song is completely different. From the cool, smokey blues of Come Together to the dark humoured sing a long Maxwell’s Silver Hammer to the Hard Rock, lengthy instrumental I Want You (She’s So Heavy) to the calm, optimistic Here Comes The Sun .
But AR has a certain consistent feel to it. I would say that The White Album is a much better example of “all over the place” (not that it isn’t a great album).
Yes, The White Album is a good example of that.
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3.10pm
Reviewers
29 November 2012
Offline I understand the accepted wisdom that the White Album is sprawling and all over the place, but I feel like there is still a sense of unity amongst all of those songs in the the sound, the content, and the ambiance of the entire record…those songs could ONLY be on that album with each other. (I admit I’m biased, it’s my favorite Beatles album)
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3.16pm
6 December 2012
Offline I agree. It’s like the variety and randomness unifies the songs. Or something like that.
Also known as Egg-Rock, Egg-Roll, E-George, Eggy, Ravioli, Eggroll Eggrolli...
~witty quote~
4.50pm
Reviewers
29 November 2012
Offline I agree. It’s like the variety and randomness unifies the songs. Or something like that.
Exactly! A bit of a paradox, but the fact that it’s all over the place unifies it, not only because of the sound and feel of the album, but because those tracks could never exist on any other album than that one.
"I know you, you know me; one thing I can tell you is you got to be free!"
Please Visit My Website, The Rock and Roll Chemist
Twitter: @rocknrollchem
Facebook: rnrchemist
3.10pm
7 April 2013
Offline For me Beatles For Sale has to be the last early album and i see Help ! as a transition where there songwriting became more personal and interesting. Additionally Rubber Soul has a completely different feel to it than Beatles For Sale where as Help ! is similar to both.
"We can do what we want, we can live as we choose"
1.37am
18 March 2013
Offline “Help !” because like ^megopop09^ I think “Help !” is the transition between periods. And because “Help !” is the last Beatles album to have songs not written by them (other than “Maggie Mae “, obviously)
2.41am
20 May 2013
Offline Snap it in two and you get Rubber Soul and Revolver as the breaking points. Rubber Soul was the last album where everything was geared towards assemble playing. I know you had a sitar in there and some piano but Revolver is where they started to record purely studio creations, songs that they could never have performed live. Revolver was their first true piece of art! (rather than just a collection of REALLY good songs) Revolver is also the first time that you get multiple personalities popping up in a BIG way. Rubber Soul was the last of The Beatles as a traditional (Rock ‘N’ Roll ) band…and nothing they did from that point on would ever be traditional Rock ‘N’ Roll !
4.17pm
21 November 2012
Offline I always see BFS as the last early album and Help !/Rubber Soul as the ”middle period”.
10.10pm
1 November 2012
Offline That’s the “X factor” about the Beatles — they cannot be cleanly categorized, pinned down or dissected on nearly any criteria one uses.
But neither are they just some kind of indiscriminate mush of a lava lamp, either.
Faded flowers, wait in a jar, till the evening is complete... complete... complete... complete...
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