The Beatles vs The Beach Boys

neardeathexperience · 03-09-2013, 07:27 AM

The Beatles were cultural icons that changed the way kids wore their hair, dressed and what they did in their spare time. To my knowledge there was never a Beach Boy mania. A day in the life of a teen Beatle fan while the mania was going on......
Morning go get a Beatle hair cut stop by the corner store and pick up some Beatle fan mags. Then head over to the shoe store and pick up my Beatle boots and stop by the record store and pick up a couple of Beatle 45s from the Top 10 rack. Go home and read my Beatle book and listen to a couple of Beatle albums. Go to the afternoon movie and watch a Hard Day's Night. Go home and watch the Beatles on Ed Sullivan.
This was Beatlemania in all of it's glory. A cultural on slot of all things Beatle........They also made better music over all.

DriveYourCarDownToTheSea · 03-10-2013, 10:23 PM

1965 rolls around and the competition really becomes fierce. Both bands step up the quality of their songwriting. My verdict on their pre-1965 years is that the Beach Boys did better "slow" songs while the Beatles did better "fast" songs.

Contest #5: Battle of the 1965 Wistful Woman Songs - "Please Let Me Wonder" vs "Girl"

Given the rapid rate in which rock/pop was changing during these years, it's almost unfair to compare an early '65 song to a late '65 song, but they're somewhat similar types and are within a year of each other, so here it goes anyway.

"Please Let Me Wonder" - recorded January 1965

"Girl" - recorded November 1965

As a footnote, according to the Wiki article on "Girl":

Quote:

McCartney also stated that the song's backing vocals were influenced by the Beach Boys, he said:

Quote:

“The Beach Boys had a song out where they'd done 'la la la' and we loved the innocence of that and wanted to copy it, but not use the same phrase"

Can't figure out offhand what BB song that might have been. (EDIT 10/31/13: I have since learned the song McCartney was referring to was "You're So Good To Me" from Summer Days (and Nights!))

My verdict: Girl, my favorite song for some 25 years until recently, has the better melody and feel in the verses. Please Let Me Wonder has a somewhat better refrain, but the melody in the verses isn't as good (though it's still pretty good). The mood change in the (instrumental) bridge also works really well. But "Girl" wins here for better consistency through the course of the song, though the BB song gives it a run for its money.

Cast your own vote!

The Sane Psycho · 03-11-2013, 11:05 PM

Both are great artists, but I honestly prefer The Beach Boys.

Surell · 03-11-2013, 11:28 PM

On that last comparison I'm going "Girl." It's got a bohemian kind of sound to it (Eastern European anyway) and the Beach Boys song just didn't have the trippiness/lushness as their later stuff does. They take awhile to grow sometimes though, especially earlier stuff.

Also, "Girl" has a joint toke sound in the chorus, I don't think it relates to the theme but cool.

DriveYourCarDownToTheSea · 03-12-2013, 03:27 PM

Contest #6: Battle of the 1965 Mega-Hits Which Have Stood the Test of Time - "California Girls" vs "Help!"

This may not seem like a totally fair contest because the two songs are so different ... but on the other hand, it could be considered a fair contest because both were huge hits that year and seem representative of what each band was producing to get a maximum response from the listening audience, both then and now (hope that makes sense!).

"Help!" reached #1 on the Billboard charts while "California Girls" reached #3. Disclaimer: "Help Me Rhonda" actually reached #1 that year so California Girls wasn't the top Beach Boys song that year ... but the Beatles also had multiple #1 songs that year, so there's a bit of arbitrary-ness in my choice. I chose these two songs because they seem to have had longer-lasting impact, or stood the test of time, perhaps a bit more than the other ~top 5 songs from each of the two bands from that year.

"California Girls" - recorded April 1965

"Help!" - recorded April 1965

My verdict: I could go on forever comparing these two songs and analyzing them. I'll keep it short by stating that the musical highlight of California Girls is both the opening and the coda, while on Help! it's the counter-melody that "makes" the song. California Girls is more sophisticated musically, but Help! ... well, it makes me bounce up and down and makes me feel good in a way that CG doesn't quite match. This is a VERY tough call - on an emotional level I like Help! better, but musically CG is the better/more sophisticated song. So I'll call it a tie.

If you want to read some discussion on Brian Wilson's codas, start reading here. BW was master at writing song endings, and CG here is a prime example.

My next contest is going to be a real doozey. Big leap forward in songwriting for both bands.

neardeathexperience · 03-13-2013, 10:19 AM

[QUOTE=Necromancer;1295294]I had a friend say to me awhile back that he thought Ringo Starr was really underrated. Any thoughts on the subject ? I do believe that George Harrison might be a little underrated.[/QUOTE

Yes as a drummer no as a singer. When you have the likes of P-Mac and Johnny in the most favorite band that ever was you tend to get over shadowed. George was also fantastic, but again took a back seat to those other two guys!
Ringo was once asked if he got tired talking about the Beatles and he said well that is really the only part of my life that most people are interested in talking about so yes!

DriveYourCarDownToTheSea · 03-13-2013, 09:03 PM

OK, now we're getting into some seeeerious contests here.

I consider both these songs to be major artistic breakthroughs by both bands.

Contest #7: Battle of the 1965 Big Artistic Breakthroughs - "Let Him Run Wild" vs "We Can Work It Out"

Listening to both of these, I can't help but wonder if June-October 1965 may have been the pinnacle of human civilization.

"Let Him Run Wild" - recorded March & June 1965
(if you've never heard this song before, I recommend turning up the volume as loud as you can stand, it's got much better impact that way)

"We Can Work It Out" - recorded October 1965

Where to start? Both songs were preludes to music both bands would begin writing shortly - Pet Sounds in the case of "Let Him Run Wild," and Rubber Soul (or even Revolver) in the case of "We Can Work It Out." Both songs didn't really sound like anything either band had written beforehand, and featured arrangements more complex than either band had done before ("We Can Work It Out" took 11 hours to record, a record at that time for the Beatles). By now it should be clear the songwriting of both bands had taken a leap upward.

Though both songs are fantastic, I'm going to go with Let Him Run Wild (which has lately become my new favorite song). The arrangement is more complex than WCWIO, and the mood changes are simply ... spectacular. It opens with a couple of tense minor-7th jazz chords but quickly opens up into a sequence of major chords, which completely "breaks out" in the refrain, only to do a masterful segue back to the verses ("Guess you know I waited for you girl"). All that piled on top of a very well-done "layering" of instrumental lines. The perfect pop song, IMO. The Beatles tune is fantastic, but it doesn't lead me on the (nice) emotional roller-coaster LHRW does, it's a bit more even in that category.

rocknrolltotherescue · 03-14-2013, 01:40 PM

The Beatles were and to this day the most overrated, over-credited group in the history of show biz. They were GOOD not GREAT. And the Beach Boys were "better" on so many different levels- they made better music, they had a cooler image, they made longevity and the brilliance of Brian Wilson was head and shoulders above the McCartney/Lennon/Martin team or whatever you wanna call it. Pet Sounds for one is better than any Beatles album, Good Vibrations was better than any Beatles single. The music speaks for itself. The Beatles were quantity, the Beach Boys are QUALITY!

Urban Hat€monger ? · 03-14-2013, 02:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rocknrolltotherescue

And the Beach Boys were "better" on so many different levels- they made better music, they had a cooler image,

I think your cool-ometer is broken.

DriveYourCarDownToTheSea · 03-14-2013, 03:49 PM

^
LOL! Agreed.

I mean - NBC made an imitation band copying the Beatles, right? Now, if the BB's were cooler, they would have copied them instead, no?

03-09-2013, 07:27 AM	#621 (permalink)
neardeathexperience Music Addict Join Date: Jan 2013 Posts: 531	The Beatles were cultural icons that changed the way kids wore their hair, dressed and what they did in their spare time. To my knowledge there was never a Beach Boy mania. A day in the life of a teen Beatle fan while the mania was going on...... Morning go get a Beatle hair cut stop by the corner store and pick up some Beatle fan mags. Then head over to the shoe store and pick up my Beatle boots and stop by the record store and pick up a couple of Beatle 45s from the Top 10 rack. Go home and read my Beatle book and listen to a couple of Beatle albums. Go to the afternoon movie and watch a Hard Day's Night. Go home and watch the Beatles on Ed Sullivan. This was Beatlemania in all of it's glory. A cultural on slot of all things Beatle........They also made better music over all. Last edited by neardeathexperience; 03-09-2013 at 07:57 PM. Reason: after thought

03-12-2013, 03:27 PM	#625 (permalink)
DriveYourCarDownToTheSea AllTheWhileYouChargeAFee Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Kansas City Posts: 1,178	Contest #6: Battle of the 1965 Mega-Hits Which Have Stood the Test of Time - "California Girls" vs "Help!" This may not seem like a totally fair contest because the two songs are so different ... but on the other hand, it could be considered a fair contest because both were huge hits that year and seem representative of what each band was producing to get a maximum response from the listening audience, both then and now (hope that makes sense!). "Help!" reached #1 on the Billboard charts while "California Girls" reached #3. Disclaimer: "Help Me Rhonda" actually reached #1 that year so California Girls wasn't the top Beach Boys song that year ... but the Beatles also had multiple #1 songs that year, so there's a bit of arbitrary-ness in my choice. I chose these two songs because they seem to have had longer-lasting impact, or stood the test of time, perhaps a bit more than the other ~top 5 songs from each of the two bands from that year. "California Girls" - recorded April 1965 "Help!" - recorded April 1965 My verdict: I could go on forever comparing these two songs and analyzing them. I'll keep it short by stating that the musical highlight of California Girls is both the opening and the coda, while on Help! it's the counter-melody that "makes" the song. California Girls is more sophisticated musically, but Help! ... well, it makes me bounce up and down and makes me feel good in a way that CG doesn't quite match. This is a VERY tough call - on an emotional level I like Help! better, but musically CG is the better/more sophisticated song. So I'll call it a tie. If you want to read some discussion on Brian Wilson's codas, start reading here. BW was master at writing song endings, and CG here is a prime example. My next contest is going to be a real doozey. Big leap forward in songwriting for both bands. __________________ Stop and find a pretty shell for her Beach Boys vs Beatles comparisons begin here Last edited by DriveYourCarDownToTheSea; 09-25-2020 at 07:34 PM.

03-13-2013, 09:03 PM	#627 (permalink)
DriveYourCarDownToTheSea AllTheWhileYouChargeAFee Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Kansas City Posts: 1,178	OK, now we're getting into some seeeerious contests here. I consider both these songs to be major artistic breakthroughs by both bands. Contest #7: Battle of the 1965 Big Artistic Breakthroughs - "Let Him Run Wild" vs "We Can Work It Out" Listening to both of these, I can't help but wonder if June-October 1965 may have been the pinnacle of human civilization. "Let Him Run Wild" - recorded March & June 1965 (if you've never heard this song before, I recommend turning up the volume as loud as you can stand, it's got much better impact that way) "We Can Work It Out" - recorded October 1965 Where to start? Both songs were preludes to music both bands would begin writing shortly - Pet Sounds in the case of "Let Him Run Wild," and Rubber Soul (or even Revolver) in the case of "We Can Work It Out." Both songs didn't really sound like anything either band had written beforehand, and featured arrangements more complex than either band had done before ("We Can Work It Out" took 11 hours to record, a record at that time for the Beatles). By now it should be clear the songwriting of both bands had taken a leap upward. Though both songs are fantastic, I'm going to go with Let Him Run Wild (which has lately become my new favorite song). The arrangement is more complex than WCWIO, and the mood changes are simply ... spectacular. It opens with a couple of tense minor-7th jazz chords but quickly opens up into a sequence of major chords, which completely "breaks out" in the refrain, only to do a masterful segue back to the verses ("Guess you know I waited for you girl"). All that piled on top of a very well-done "layering" of instrumental lines. The perfect pop song, IMO. The Beatles tune is fantastic, but it doesn't lead me on the (nice) emotional roller-coaster LHRW does, it's a bit more even in that category. __________________ Stop and find a pretty shell for her Beach Boys vs Beatles comparisons begin here Last edited by DriveYourCarDownToTheSea; 09-25-2020 at 07:25 PM.

03-14-2013, 03:49 PM	#630 (permalink)
DriveYourCarDownToTheSea AllTheWhileYouChargeAFee Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Kansas City Posts: 1,178	^ LOL! Agreed. I mean - NBC made an imitation band copying the Beatles, right? Now, if the BB's were cooler, they would have copied them instead, no? __________________ Stop and find a pretty shell for her Beach Boys vs Beatles comparisons begin here

03-11-2013, 11:05 PM	#623 (permalink)
The Sane Psycho Music Addict Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 299	Both are great artists, but I honestly prefer The Beach Boys.

03-13-2013, 10:19 AM	#626 (permalink)
neardeathexperience Music Addict Join Date: Jan 2013 Posts: 531	[QUOTE=Necromancer;1295294]I had a friend say to me awhile back that he thought Ringo Starr was really underrated. Any thoughts on the subject ? I do believe that George Harrison might be a little underrated.[/QUOTE Yes as a drummer no as a singer. When you have the likes of P-Mac and Johnny in the most favorite band that ever was you tend to get over shadowed. George was also fantastic, but again took a back seat to those other two guys! Ringo was once asked if he got tired talking about the Beatles and he said well that is really the only part of my life that most people are interested in talking about so yes!

03-14-2013, 01:40 PM	#628 (permalink)
rocknrolltotherescue Groupie Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: in a house. Posts: 1	The Beatles were and to this day the most overrated, over-credited group in the history of show biz. They were GOOD not GREAT. And the Beach Boys were "better" on so many different levels- they made better music, they had a cooler image, they made longevity and the brilliance of Brian Wilson was head and shoulders above the McCartney/Lennon/Martin team or whatever you wanna call it. Pet Sounds for one is better than any Beatles album, Good Vibrations was better than any Beatles single. The music speaks for itself. The Beatles were quantity, the Beach Boys are QUALITY!