Your Favorite Beatle

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Im surprised so far. I thought Jon would be first followed by Paul, if for no other reason than he prolific he is.

[Paulclem]

"Mt Sweet Lord" is a wonderfully uplifting song. If you haven't, Paul, you need to listen to All Things Must Pass.

Yes - very good.

[stlukesguild]

Actually I thin that during the 1960s there were many who took sides on the Beatles vs the Rolling Stones. Seriously I don't think the Stones ever wrote anything that approached something like Norwegian Wood, In my Life, Girl, Julia, or Yesterday which are just a few of the true "standards" the Beatles wrote. On the other hand, the Beatles never could compete with the Stones in terms of pure, grungy rock... and with the passage of time I've come to appreciate the Stone's darker view as opposed to "All You Need is Love".

This above all

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_g44...eature=related

Any cut will do... but check out Salt of the Earth. Can any rock band have come closer to our current experience of politics:

Raise your glass to the hard working people
Let's drink to the uncounted heads
Let's think of the wavering millions
Who need leading but get gamblers instead

Spare a thought for the stay-at-home voter
Empty eyes gaze at strange beauty shows
And a parade of the gray suited grafters
A choice of cancer or polio

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

The Beatles aren't always happy, though. Numerous songs are about politics and religion, the downfall and hypocrisy of each. I like some Stones songs, but I just don't dig their sound. Mic Jagger has never been a good vocalist (as opposed to the beautiful singing and harmonies of The Beatles); they often sounds quite sloppy, I've always found Keith Richards to be one of the most overrated guitar players ever--I mean, that first solo on the album you linked is just horrible; there's no coherence, it's choppy. And the innovation of the Beatles are just unrivaled. I've never found the Stones to be more than just another rock band who got lucky.

Still, I realize I'm in the minority. I've argued about the Stones countless times with countless people who've found something in their music that I just don't get.

I'm still waiting for your vote, StLukes. I'd assume you'd like John the best, if you're into the darker stuff. Or maybe Ringo. The dark cynicism of "Octupus's Garden" is unparalleled.

[Desolation]

someone liking the Stones but not liking the Beatles . . . I'm not sure.

Hi there.

http://youtu.be/K7vLY-kZsAI

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

That's actually one of the few Stones songs I like, Desolation. That seems like a poor performance, though.

[stlukesguild]

The Beatles aren't always happy, though. Numerous songs are about politics and religion, the downfall and hypocrisy of each. I like some Stones songs, but I just don't dig their sound. Mic Jagger has never been a good vocalist (as opposed to the beautiful singing and harmonies of The Beatles)

He's a great vocalist for the type of music the Stones were best at... rooted in grungy electric Blues and Bluegrass... but no... he's not a great singer in the manner of the Beatles or Beach Boys who were masters of harmony. But the same might be said of Howlin' Wolf, John Lee Hooker, or Bob Dylan. Yet I can't imagine the Stones or Howlin' Wolf needing harmonies... and if they did they'd just hire a slew of Black R&B/Gospel singers to fill the slot.

I've always found Keith Richards to be one of the most overrated guitar players ever--

Blasphemy! Keith Richards simply recognized that gritty, blues-based rock never need to go beyond the guitar playing of Chuck Berry... his hero. And is there a more iconic guitarist than Keith? Nearly every rock guitarist wanted to look like Keith... half-stoned, cigarette dangling, guitar slung low, and a total FU attitude.

I mean, that first solo on the album you linked is just horrible; there's no coherence, it's choppy.

Now, now MM... you do realize that the soloist on Sympathy for the Devil was not Keith, but Jimmy Page.

And the innovation of the Beatles are just unrivaled. I've never found the Stones to be more than just another rock band who got lucky.

I'll agree that the Beatles were the greatest innovators of the period (with the possible exception of Dylan). They brought elements to Pop music from across the musical spectrum: Classical, Jazz, Show Tunes, Folk, etc... and they pushed the possibilities of lyrics in Pop music. At a time when most pop albums were simply a collection of one or two singles accompanied by a lot of filler (sounds a lot like today) the Beatles turned the LP into an art form not unlike the best jazz artists... or even performers like Frank Sinatra. However listening to songs like Sympathy for the Devil, Honky Tonk Woman, or Gimme Shelter illustrates just how ahead of the curve the Stone were at times. The two groups clearly had very different goals and very different influences.

I'm still waiting for your vote, StLukes. I'd assume you'd like John the best, if you're into the darker stuff. Or maybe Ringo. The dark cynicism of "Octupus's Garden" is unparalleled.

Dark? What of Maxwell's Silver Hammer?

If I had to vote I'd probably go with John for his acerbic wit and his wordplay. I am the Walrus is one seriously surreal song... yet I do agree that George's "All Things Must Pass" may just be the best solo LP by any Beatle.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

All good points. And, even though my face is red on the Jimmy Page thing, I've always thought he was overrated, too. Guitar players who I found to be truly innovating from that period are Robert Fripp, John McLaughlin, Steve Howe, Alan Holdsworth, Steve Hackett--guitarists along that vein.

As to "Maxwell's Silver Hammer," that song is pretty dark, actually. The happy tune makes it more unsettling when one actually reads the lyrics--a guy going around bludgeoning people to death with a hammer? Sounds like a subject matter more fitting for a Cannibal Corpse song . . . sort of ironic that John referred to it as "more of Paul's granny music."

And The Bearles will always have a place in my heart for creating arguably the first heavy metal song ever, "Helter Skelter" . . . more of Paul's granny music.

[Varenne Rodin]

I like George so much for his sweet, pacifist spirit, but I am exactly like John. Exactly like John except for the fact that I am in the body of an exquisite woman. John.

[PoeticPassions]

I chose Paul for one reason, and one reason only: 'Yesterday.'

[tonywalt]

Ringo is my favorite, I seem to be the only one so far

Poor Ringo, he deserves to be propped up. Helga, what makes him your favourite Beatle?

I'll pick George as he was the most spiritual and interesting of the bunch. "All things most past" was a build up of his work that the other Beatles were apprehensive about putting on the last two Beatles LP's. In the documentary "Let it Be" you can see Paul in a tension filled "discussion" with George - and they knew they were being filmed-if cameras were off it would have been stormier.

Anyway, one of the greatest groups ever.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

I love All Things Must Pass, but John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band comes in a close second.

[Patrick_Bateman]

Ringo was great in the films, Paul and John were great in interviews, George was just great. I voted John

[Helga]

Poor Ringo, he deserves to be propped up. Helga, what makes him your favourite Beatle?

probably because he wasn't as popular as the others, and women often choose John or Paul cause they were cute. I like his silliness and the songs he sang (I'm not gonna comment on his singing) were fun and that is a nice break from all the other (amazing) songs.

Also drummers are cool!



A few years ago I bought a big Help! set with the cd, the dvd and a huge poster and smaller pics and it also had the script of the movie with notes and changed scenes, and a book with stills from the movie and some notes on it and more, it also has a documentary and other stuff. A cool set.

[mortalterror]

Any cut will do... but check out Salt of the Earth. Can any rock band have come closer to our current experience of politics:

Raise your glass to the hard working people
Let's drink to the uncounted heads
Let's think of the wavering millions
Who need leading but get gamblers instead

Spare a thought for the stay-at-home voter
Empty eyes gaze at strange beauty shows
And a parade of the gray suited grafters
A choice of cancer or polio

Bruce Springsteen could with his new song Death To My Home Town.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UASyS-jUKKI

They destroyed our families' factories and they took our homes
They left our bodies on the plains
The vultures picked our bones

So listen up, my Sonny boy
Be ready for when they come
For they'll be returning sure as the rising sun

Now get yourself a song to sing and sing it 'til you're done
Yeah, sing it hard and sing it well
Send the robber barons straight to hell
The greedy thieves who came around
And ate the flesh of everything they've found
Whose crimes have gone unpunished now
Walk the streets as free men now

or Rage Against the Machine's Bulls On Parade:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v024H...eature=related

Weapons not food, not homes, not shoes
Not need, just feed the war cannibal animal
I walk tha corner to tha rubble that used to be a library
Line up to tha mind cemetery now
What we don't know keeps tha contracts alive an movin'
They don't gotta burn tha books they just remove 'em
While arms warehouses fill as quick as tha cells
Rally round tha family, pockets full of shells

Not Rock and Roll but almost any track off of Marvin Gaye's What's Going On? probably applies. Lines like

Oil wasted on the oceans and upon our seas
Fish full of mercury
Oh, mercy mercy me
Oh, things ain't what they used to be
No, no
Radiation in the ground and in the sky
Animals and birds who live nearby are dying
Oh, mercy mercy me

seem right on the money in light of recent events.