The Beatles vs The Beach Boys

DriveYourCarDownToTheSea · 03-07-2013, 07:05 PM

FWIW, I'm not here to argue that either band is "better" than the other. That is a matter of personal opinion. My point here is, even if you're not a BB fan for whatever reason, once you become familiar with and study their corpus in some amount of depth, you do discover they were just as creative as the Beatles ever were. Even their early surf-and-sun pieces, plus their ballads of the time, more than hold up to the Beatles early stuff, on a creative level. The music is quite different, but that doesn't mean it's any less artistic.

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The next 3 feature comparisons of early ballads. It's a bit arbitrary which ones to pair against which, so if you want to group the 3 Beach Boy ballads as a group against the 3 Beatle ballads as a group, then do so.

Disclaimer: I'm not sure Surfer Girl, This Boy and If I Fell technically fit the proper definition of "ballad," but they're close enough.

Basically any soft, "slow" song.

Contest #3A: Battle of the Early Ballads #1 (with heavy harmonies) - "Surfer Girl" vs "This Boy"

"Surfer Girl" - recorded May-July 1963

If you don't really "get" the appeal of Surfer Girl, there is a version of Paul Simon performing it at a Brian Wilson tribute concert in 2001, on Youtube. Sometimes you need to peel back the layers of a song to appreciate its beauty. Simon does a great job of doing that.

"This Boy" - recorded October 1963

My verdict: Surfer Girl by a mile.

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Contest #3B: Battle of the Early Ballads #2 - "Your Summer Dream" vs "If I Fell"

This might not be a fair comparison because the BB song is 100% solo while the Beatles song is very heavy on the harmonies, but as I said above, these pairings are somewhat arbitrary.

"Your Summer Dream" - recorded approx. July, 1963. If you've never heard this song before, be sure to turn the volume up, it's got more impact that way.

"If I Fell" - recorded February 1964

My verdict: Really tough one. Your Summer Dream is a very beautiful song that really grabs you and forces you to listen to it. But the harmonies on If I Fell are classic. I call it a draw.

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I've saved the best ballads for last ...

Contest #3C: Battle of the Early Ballads #3 - "Warmth of the Sun" vs "And I Love Her"

"Warmth of the Sun" - recorded January 1964

"And I Love Her" - recorded February 1964

EDIT: After considerable thought, I've decided I like the slower-lower version from the movie instead of the speeded-up version with Paul's voice double-tracked on the record. So I'm replacing that version with the movie version in the video above.

My verdict: - This is like asking which is better, Monet or Renoir? But I'm voting for Warmth of the Sun, which is a genuine masterpiece.

More later ...

03-07-2013, 07:05 PM	#11 (permalink)
DriveYourCarDownToTheSea AllTheWhileYouChargeAFee Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Kansas City Posts: 1,186	FWIW, I'm not here to argue that either band is "better" than the other. That is a matter of personal opinion. My point here is, even if you're not a BB fan for whatever reason, once you become familiar with and study their corpus in some amount of depth, you do discover they were just as creative as the Beatles ever were. Even their early surf-and-sun pieces, plus their ballads of the time, more than hold up to the Beatles early stuff, on a creative level. The music is quite different, but that doesn't mean it's any less artistic. -------------------------------------------- The next 3 feature comparisons of early ballads. It's a bit arbitrary which ones to pair against which, so if you want to group the 3 Beach Boy ballads as a group against the 3 Beatle ballads as a group, then do so. Disclaimer: I'm not sure Surfer Girl, This Boy and If I Fell technically fit the proper definition of "ballad," but they're close enough. Basically any soft, "slow" song. Contest #3A: Battle of the Early Ballads #1 (with heavy harmonies) - "Surfer Girl" vs "This Boy" "Surfer Girl" - recorded May-July 1963 If you don't really "get" the appeal of Surfer Girl, there is a version of Paul Simon performing it at a Brian Wilson tribute concert in 2001, on Youtube. Sometimes you need to peel back the layers of a song to appreciate its beauty. Simon does a great job of doing that. "This Boy" - recorded October 1963 My verdict: Surfer Girl by a mile. ------------------------------------------------- Contest #3B: Battle of the Early Ballads #2 - "Your Summer Dream" vs "If I Fell" This might not be a fair comparison because the BB song is 100% solo while the Beatles song is very heavy on the harmonies, but as I said above, these pairings are somewhat arbitrary. "Your Summer Dream" - recorded approx. July, 1963. If you've never heard this song before, be sure to turn the volume up, it's got more impact that way. "If I Fell" - recorded February 1964 My verdict: Really tough one. Your Summer Dream is a very beautiful song that really grabs you and forces you to listen to it. But the harmonies on If I Fell are classic. I call it a draw. ------------------------------------------------ I've saved the best ballads for last ... Contest #3C: Battle of the Early Ballads #3 - "Warmth of the Sun" vs "And I Love Her" "Warmth of the Sun" - recorded January 1964 "And I Love Her" - recorded February 1964 EDIT: After considerable thought, I've decided I like the slower-lower version from the movie instead of the speeded-up version with Paul's voice double-tracked on the record. So I'm replacing that version with the movie version in the video above. My verdict: - This is like asking which is better, Monet or Renoir? But I'm voting for Warmth of the Sun, which is a genuine masterpiece. More later ... __________________ Stop and find a pretty shell for her Beach Boys vs Beatles comparisons begin here Last edited by DriveYourCarDownToTheSea; 09-25-2020 at 06:29 PM.