The Beatles vs. The Beach Boys

Beatles or Beach Boys?


  • Total voters
    279
The Beatles set the standard for their generation and have yet to be equaled. The Beach Boys were an incredible pop band and great innovators but they did not and could not eclipse or equal the Beatles, although they did come closer than any American band. On a scale of 1 to 10 I give the boys from Liverpool a solid 10 and the Beach Boys a big 9.
 
I was 9 when the Beatles came to America. Their music matured as I did, soundtrack of my life. I never paid attention to the bb, they had some good songs on the radio but...with all the hoop-la (couldn't think of a better word) about Pet Sounds, I gave it a listen. A few familiar, good tunes but a masterpiece? I can't see it. Satanic Magesties Request is a better album. BB might make the top 25 pop bands list, but they'd be in the 20s.
 
As I understand it the BB's were hamstrung by Brian's overbearing father and Brian's severe stage fright. But for that they probably would have progressed to more creative music sooner like the Beatles did.
 
The Beatles set the standard as innovators in pop, psychedelic, rock n roll, stadium tours, recording and just about everything else. Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys however, may be the greatest album ever pressed on vinyl.
 
The last band of any note that was influenced by The Beatles was Badfinger. Dylan (and to a lesser degree Cohen) have some lingering influence. But once you get away from pop (a hybrid of disco and rap influences) the only influence that might be attributed to The Beatles would be psychedelia. The other influences have little to do with The Beatles - everybody wants to be Nirvana, Velvet Underground, Dick Dale (or, if you please - Beach Boys), misc girls groups, and let's not forget who took over from The Beatles - The Rolling Stones. Creatively and influentially The Beatles basically imploded.

It was pretty damn obvious that Oasis was HEAVILY influenced by the Beatles... just for one example that instantly came to mind.

Regards,
Gordon.
 
It was pretty damn obvious that Oasis was HEAVILY influenced by the Beatles... just for one example that instantly came to mind.

Regards,
Gordon.
It may be a regional thing but I'm not or wasn't familiar with the band or any of its songs:dunno:
 
Interesting but pointless comparison....USA and Uk at that time couldnt have been more different.The Beatles emerged from grim post-war austerity and this gave them their work ethic.California....too laid back!
Brians compositions often have echoes of Bach and i think he is a genius.
However,The Beatles have no peers.None.:beatnik:
 
I sat down and gave pet sounds a real good listen, and I have to say, I don't get the hype. I'm a good song guy, all the innovation, perfectionism, and inner turmoil amount to nothing without good songs.
 
Reading some of this, and of course and it is all ultimately subjective. But again, IMO The Beatles were by far the better band. And it wasn't even close. The Beach Boys to me, wrote some really great songs, but there was a lot of stuff that I just don't feel is that stirring musically or that memorable. And for those who don't think The Beatles were great musicians, well compared to Paderweski, lol, maybe that is true. But they could play their axes to make their music, and they did it damn well. Quincy Jones just came out and dissed them, which I took with a grain of salt. Yeah, George wasn't going to blow on the guitar like Wes Montgomery, but thank God for the both of them, because each of them gave us great music. Music, isn't about how fast you play, or even what you do harmonically if it isn't MUSICAL. And The Beatles were MUSICAL. There are a lot of technically gifted musicians in the world too, and it doesn't always translate into music. Artur Rubinstein used to talk about the kids coming out of music school who he said were far better players technically than he was. But as for making music, to use his own words, "they might as well be soda jerks."

And I'll take it a step further, there are lot of guys on the forum who say that they only liked The Beatles' later stuff. But The Beatles were much more than a bubble gum band early on. Go out and write "I Want To Hold Your Hand", "This Boy", "It Won't Be Long", "All I've Got To Do", and "All My Loving" and then get back to me. As far as their musicianship goes, play the triplet figure that John plays throughout "All My Loving" steadily and in time, as he does throughout the song. George's solo on " Till There Was You" is TASTE. Go chase "I Feel Fine", "And I Love Her", and "If I Fell". Bubble gum band? I don't think so.

There's a record where Coleman Hawkins is interviewed, and they start talking about folk music. And, I'm paraphrasing here, Hawk says, "You think some of that folk music is easy? Play it!!" And then he just starts laughing.
 
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Reading some of this, and of course and it is all ultimately subjective. But again, IMO The Beatles were by far the better band. And it wasn't even close. The Beach Boys to me, wrote some really great songs, but there was a lot of stuff that I just don't feel is that stirring musically or that memorable. And for those who don't think The Beatles were great musicians, well compared to Paderweski, lol, maybe that is true. But they could play their axes to make their music, and they did it damn well. Quincy Jones just came out and dissed them, which I took with a grain of salt. Yeah, George wasn't going to blow on the guitar like Wes Montgomery, but thank God for the both of them, because each of them gave us great music. Music, isn't about how fast you play, or even what you do harmonically if it isn't MUSICAL. And The Beatles were MUSICAL. There are a lot of technically gifted musicians in the world too, and it doesn't always translate into music. Artur Rubinstein used to talk about the kids coming out of music school who he said were far better players technically than he was. But as for making music, to use his own words, "they might as well be soda jerks."

And I'll take it a step further, there are lot of guys on the forum who say that they only liked The Beatles' later stuff. But The Beatles were much more than a bubble gum band early on. Go out and write "I Want To Hold Your Hand", "This Boy", "It Won't Be Long", "All I've Got To Do", and "All My Loving" and then get back to me. As far as their musicianship goes, play the triplet figure that John plays throughout "All My Loving" steadily and in time, as he does throughout the song. George's solo on " Till There Was You" is TASTE. Go chase "I Feel Fine", "And I Love Her", and "If I Fell". Bubble gum band? I don't think so.

There's a record where Coleman Hawkins is interviewed, and they start talking about folk music. And, I'm paraphrasing here, Hawk says, "You think some of that folk music is easy? Play it!!" And then he just starts laughing.


QFT.

And to progress as much as they did over the short timeframe that they did is amazing to me. Each album brought something new - it's almost like evolving at hyper speed.

I like The Beach Boys too, but to me, ultimately, they're just another band. The Beatles are something greater than that.

It's not really a fair "fight" anyway. 3 vs 1. Brian Wilson was awesome and if the Beach Boys had 2 other members on that level that played off each other it would have been really interesting to see. But they didn't and Brian had his problems, so after a certain point, he wasn't really the same as he was earlier.
 
QFT.

And to progress as much as they did over the short timeframe that they did is amazing to me. Each album brought something new - it's almost like evolving at hyper speed.

I like The Beach Boys too, but to me, ultimately, they're just another band. The Beatles are something greater than that.

It's not really a fair "fight" anyway. 3 vs 1. Brian Wilson was awesome and if the Beach Boys had 2 other members on that level that played off each other it would have been really interesting to see. But they didn't and Brian had his problems, so after a certain point, he wasn't really the same as he was earlier.

And another thing to consider, is that if there had been more members of The Beach Boys on his level, would they have jelled? Would the chemistry have been there?
 
I heard someone on TV say they went from Justin bieber to Bob Dylan in 3 years.
They aged and wanted to drag everybody along with them. Fortunately new bands came along who were just as brainy but also knew how to rock.
 
It may be a regional thing but I'm not or wasn't familiar with the band or any of its songs:dunno:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oasis_(band)

Held a Guinness world record for the most successful British act, for about a decade.

Their most well known album "What's the Story, Morning Glory", has sold in excess of 22 million copies worldwide...

And, IMHO, without the Beatles, they'd have had very little to base the above album on...

Regards,
Gordon.
 
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