The Beatles Influence on Progressive Rock (lyric, electronic, blues, jazz)

Minstrel · 10-26-2008, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Radiohead90

Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys said that "Strawberry Fields Forever" was partially responsible for the shelving of his group's legendary unfinished album, SMiLE. Wilson first heard the song on his car radio whilst driving, and was so affected that he had to stop and listen to it all the way through. He then remarked to his passenger that The Beatles had already reached the sound The Beach Boys had wanted to achieve.[56]

I don't believe that, considering SMiLE's songs sound nothing like "Strawberry Fields Forever" (and are considerably more innovative, IMO). I googled that blurb and it seems to come from a comment on last.fm. The commentor claims it comes from the Wikipedia entry on Brian Wilson, but I didn't find this anecdote there.

In any case, there are plenty of competing anecdotes. McCartney has said that Pet Sounds made him re-think what a pop record could be and, after sitting in on SMiLE sessions, he remarked that SMiLE may have been the most ambitious pop record ever.

The Beatles may have experimented with Indian music and looping, but the way Brian Wilson assembled songs from recording fragments of this and fragments of that, and then stitching them together into a unified whole, I consider to be far more innovative and influential.