Does anyone else on the here think that the "Greatest Act of the 20th Century" weren't all that. My parents have always been massive Beatles fans so they were the soundtrack to my childhood in many way. Listening to them then i just regarded them as a good pop band and now it's no difference. Their first two albums aren't any better than any other pop act of the early 60's and have dated badly. As for their later material even though i can admire their excellent musicianship and studio trickery. I've always felt a sense of detachment to their music unlike say The Rolling Stones, Zeppelin or Hendrix. No matter how many times i've listened or will listen to The Beatles will never be drawn into their world. Anyone else agree/disagree?

overrated, no.

overdiscussed, yes.

The Beatles rocked. I still listen to their music, watch their videos, and admire their balls.

The Rolling Stones!!! over the Beatles anyday!!!

WildheartXXX said:[quote]

WildheartXXX said:

Well, a group's greatness isn't always found in their first couple of albums. What's important is how they progress down the road if they have longevity of any kind.

I can understand if someone thinks they're overrated, because they've been ubuiquitously built up over the years by every nook and cranny of the media, and if you're unfamiliar with most of their music (not you specifically, anyone) there might be a let-down once you familiarize yourself with it. It's like being held to the standard of the hype. And nobody has been hyped more than the Beatles (except for maybe Elvis), so there is going to be a backlash.

I think they were better than "good", but I don't think they were the Alpha and Omega of music as most of the world would have you believe. I respect what they accomplished, and truly love some of their music, but I don't fawn over them the way we're all supposed to.

The comparison of them to the Stones is watermelons/bananas. It's sort of like comparing Otis Redding to Donny Hathaway. Ya see.

I'm more inclined to agree that they are over-discussed. No band could possibly live up to the Music Gods of All Eternity status that they hold in our culture.

But seriously, the Beatles were a great band. Those guys wrote great songs. I don't connect on an emotional level with many of their hits, but lots of their more obscure material (though none of it is THAT obscure, since their entire catalogue has been so dissected) is truly remarkable in its innovation, clarity, and beauty.

So, my verdict: no, they aren't overrated.

Doves,
Mel!ssa

You're not the first person I know who thinks the Beatles are over-rated.

Fact of the matter is, their importance can not be ignored, when it comes to the impact the Fab 4 had on popular music.

Not only that, but when they split up, many of the solo albums released also had profound influence.

I also prefer their "more obscure" music. Some of it says so much, and some of it is so absolutely perplexing, I will always scratch my head trying to understand it.

When I graduated in 2001, our High School yearbook did a poll on student's favorite musicians. Virtually every person in the school filled in this poll. The greatest music group, according to my school, in 2001, was the Beatles. If that doesn't say something for their timelessness, and extraordinary influence I don't know what does.

Consider that their "1" album, shattered the "fastest selling record" set by N'Sync in 2000, clearly showing their relevance today. And let's not forget the dozens of "clone" groups created to try to capitalize on the success of the Beatles in the 60s.


They probably are over-discussed though. Which is interesting too, because there are some I know who don't like the Beatles.

Of course, this is because these days it's trendy to know things more obscure, and shun good-selling records or blockbuster movies, solely on the basis of their popularity. It's a bothersome trend, to be sure.

I certainly agree! People act as if they are God's gift to music and that anyone who disagrees needs taste implants. Certainly, they influenced a lot of people, blah blah blah, but to consider them to be undeniably the greatest artists of the modern era is simply ludicrous. Opinions should NOT be uniform and should be allowed to be diverse.

On a personal level, I have disliked every single Beatles song that I have heard. Granted, that hasn't been many, but I get the feeling that they just weren't cut out for me. That's fine and dandy- there's a lot of other music out there for me to enjoy.

Eye love the Beatles, eye just got in2 the Beatles a few years ago.. and now eye own over a hundred cd's of them.. Paul.. John.. George.. eye collect them all, its good music and they are incredible artists:)

Moonbeam said:

True. I don't get that attitude either.

My Beatles Take: Pre LSD Years they were Backstreet boys,Boyz11Men,N-Synch vibe.after they Hit LSD&got George Martin to twist things up in the Studio there whole Vibe changed.66-69 a big difference.they are SongWriting Genius but everything else IMHO is Overrated.there Arrangements were ALright at best.there Playing has Moments but not the end all be all.Vocals:not anything special overall to me.

The fact that you had to listen to them as you were growing up is probably the reason why you can't get into them in a great way now.
I knew who they were when I was a kid but didn't here much of their music, so it was only when I got older when I realised that they were cool.
I knew someone whose parents loved The Beatles and that's all they listened too, so he grew up hating them and still hates them now.
The Beatles deserve all the respect they get - they were one of only a handful of bands who tried to really progress music in the 60s.

alformbyj said:

With such a massive impact made on popular music it's hard to call them "overrated", but by the same account nobody says you have to put them on pedestal personally.

WildheartXXX said:

Wow! No guts and devoid of soul...I guess it's an individual taste thing (obviously), because that's exactly how I feel about the Beach Boys.

I Dig the Beach Boys.Brian Wilson was no Joke.He got his Issues but those Songs are still Surfing Cool.

I have nothing to add except I agree. The Beatles are overrated. If it wasn't for the fact that they were the first to do certain things, they wouldn't be considered so mighty. It's my opinion, but the things they did were much improved upon in the 70s and 80s by other artists or groups.

I used to pretty much hate the Beatles until very recently, when I bought 'Sergeant Pepper' for dirt cheap.
Now I think they were a good band, one of the great bands of their time, but no greater than, say, the Beach Boys, or Hendrix (who, for me, was probably the greatest music artist from the late '60s).

I still find it hard to like some of McCartney' more sentimental songs though.Also, I wish they weren't still so damn influential today. This is not their fault, but it's annoying that a lot of newer bands still feel the need to sound like the Beatles to some extent. Why can't they be themselves? The Beatles were.

The Beatles are both over-discussed and over-rated, but they were very good, and, later in their history, music innovators of their day. So they deserve respect.

A pity none of them really did a lot that was much good afterwards, though ...

jtgillia said:

ummm, well duh. and if Edison hadn't invented so many things, he wouldn't be considered so mighty either. what's your point?




if they hadn't done it, there would be nothing to improve upon.

AaronForever said:

Bullshit. There was enough great stuff going on other than the Beatles that would have been influential. Hendrix? Doors? Janis?

Moonbeam said:

ummm... all of those came after the Beatles freed up people's minds about what popular music (rock & roll) could be.

The Beatles were before those artists though. One could argue that Little Richard and Elvis invented it all. But those in the know, know that music really started with Bowie.

The Beatles are FINE.

I spun Revolver only yesterday.

It's still a great pop album and no-one, nowhere had EVER heard anything like Tomorrow Never Knows.

The Beatles overrated ?

My ass!

Yeah, so the Beatles came before Hendrix. But how much influenced by the Beatles do ya'll really think Hendrix was? He was on an entirely different plane. The Beatles couldn't have dreamt of making the kind of music he was making. The bottom line is, the Beatles aren't the great "inventors" people claim to be. If it weren't for the r and b music that came before them, the Beatles would never be. They did not create rock and roll as some would believe...

But yes, they were good songwriters and decent musicians, I'll give them credit.

jtgillia said:

hard to say. very little, i'd imagine. the question is how much influence did the Beatles have on the audience to open them up to accept something like Hendrix.




No, but they did create rock and roll as we know it. They took rock and roll and turned it into an artform, an artistic statement, instead of something for the kids to listen to on the radio or at the sock hop.

If you don't like the Beatles, that's okay... personal preference and all that. But overrated... no. Someone mentioned that they were "devoid of soul"; I couldn't disagree more. Their music totally speaks to me in a way I could never describe.

The Beach Boys, Zep, Hendrix, and Janis... I like them all too. But to me, they'll never quite measure up.


[This message was edited Sat Oct 5 22:14:56 PDT 2002 by orangesky]

Beatles are cool. I like 'em
Stones are useless. I don't know why continue to they exist
Elvis I just flat-out hate.

PFunkjazz said:

Succinct and to the point.

TRON said:

Louis Armstrong,Duke ELlington,Miles Davis,&James Brown might Debate you on that as would Little RIchard who Bowie got all His Stuff off of.

nothing to see here...
[This message was edited Sun Oct 6 20:47:59 PDT 2002 by AaronForever]