Hello all

many tell me the Beatles were one of the greatest bands to ever live. I have heard maybe 2-3 good songs of theirs, and even then I have heard those songs be covered much better by others, in terms of vocals and muscianships.

I listen to many genres of music, but particularly like R&B/soul/funk.

Are there any songs you could recommend? The reason I ask is because I hear their catalogue is diverse and deep, people's who opinions I trust on such matters tell me they are amazing, but all I hear is bland, soulless music.

Any suggestions?

Thank you

ISF said:

people's who opinions I trust on such matters tell me they are amazing, but all I hear is bland, soulless music.

Don't waste your breath mane.

Timmy84 said:

Don't waste your breath mane.

Oh, Timmy don't dig no Beatles?

[Edited 3/25/12 15:28pm]

smoothcriminal12 said:

Timmy84 said:

Don't waste your breath mane.

Oh, Timmy don't dig no Beatles?

[Edited 3/25/12 15:28pm]

Some.

Timmy84 said:

smoothcriminal12 said:

Oh, Timmy don't dig no Beatles?

[Edited 3/25/12 15:28pm]

Some.

I feel you.

smoothcriminal12 said:

Timmy84 said:

Some.

I feel you.

They rate them too motherfucking high... they were good at what they did but there were better groups who had better material... real talk.

Timmy84 said:

smoothcriminal12 said:

I feel you.

They rate them too motherfucking high... they were good at what they did but there were better groups who had better material... real talk.

Really though. I think at some point it kind of supersedes the music. I mean they were good, but I've never seen them as the greatest ever.

ISF said:

Hello all

many tell me the Beatles were one of the greatest bands to ever live. I have heard maybe 2-3 good songs of theirs, and even then I have heard those songs be covered much better by others, in terms of vocals and muscianships.

I listen to many genres of music, but particularly like R&B/soul/funk.

Are there any songs you could recommend? The reason I ask is because I hear their catalogue is diverse and deep, people's who opinions I trust on such matters tell me they are amazing, but all I hear is bland, soulless music.

Any suggestions?

Thank you

"Mr. Moonlight"
"If You've Got Trouble"

"Wild Honey Pie"

"What's The New Mary Jane"

"You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)"

ISF said:

I have heard maybe 2-3 good songs of theirs, and even then I have heard those songs be covered much better by others, in terms of vocals and muscianships.

Two or three tracks ain't enough to measure the wealth of their material.

Examine the whole catalog and then come back in a week and share your assessment.

I am a huge fan of the Beatles.

For some people it's a cliche, but I sincerely believe that the Beatles - the best ever.

My favorite Beatles songs

Eleanor Rigby

And I Love Her

Here Comes The Sun

Across The Universe

Dear Prudence

Hey Jude
Let It Be
The Long And Winding Road

Come Together

Michelle

From Me To You
I Want To Hold Your Hand

Can't Buy Me Love

The Ballad Of John And Yoko

Yesterday

Try to listen.

Identity said:

ISF said:

I have heard maybe 2-3 good songs of theirs, and even then I have heard those songs be covered much better by others, in terms of vocals and muscianships.

Two or three tracks ain't enough to measure the wealth of their material.

Examine the whole catalog and then come back in a week and share your assessment.

No, I have heard many of their songs, I meant only 2-3 were good. Having said that, I haven't listened to their whole discography!

Pretty much every great pop song ever written has at least one Beatles song to thank for its existence.

And pretty much any innovation in music that you can think of, the Beatles did it first and did it best.

Pick up any of their greatest hits album and as you listen to the songs, keep telling yourself this: "These guys wrote all these songs and no one had ever written anything like them before. The Beatles didn't borrow ANY of this from ANYBODY. They created it all by themselves".

(Yes, I know they did a lot of rock-a-billy and blues covers early on. But you all know exactly what I mean.)

I dont think the OP was trying to downplay The Beatles at all. Correct me if Im wrong but I think he just wanted suggestions on soulful, R&b or funk non pop inspired tracks the Beatles have done and TO BE HONEST.......... I can't think of any either.

They have covered more than one genre (from the songs that Ive heard) but a funk song or soulful song just doesnt stick out to me or maybe I should listen to a little bit more of their music too.

I think their are better bands that have done funk, soul and r&b.

I think their greatest comes from the fact that there weren't many popular music genres in existance back then. They combined things no one had before. If it weren't for the Beatles, there would likely be no sitar on the song "7". They popularized the indian classical instrument in pop music. Jimi Hendrix invented rock and roll guitar as we know it. BECAUSE of what he did there are people now who can play circles around him in terms of athletic skill.

The Beatles broke new and more ground than Prince. That doesn't mean people haven't taken their innovations and expanded them in new and exciting ways.

This "argument" is like stating that a 2012 Cadillac Escalade is better than an overrated Model T Ford. No shit. HOWEVER, you wouldn't have the Corvette without Henry Ford and you wouldn't have your Little Red Corvette without the Beatles.

REAL TALK

Even though they are my avi picture they are not my favorite artist of all time .. but I do feel they were good at what they did. I didn't start really gettng into them till a year or two ago but i'm happy I finally expose myself to them.

mjscarousal said:

I dont think the OP was trying to downplay The Beatles at all. Correct me if Im wrong but I think he just wanted suggestions on soulful, R&b or funk non pop inspired tracks the Beatles have done and TO BE HONEST.......... I can't think of any either.

They have covered more than one genre (from the songs that Ive heard) but a funk song or soulful song just doesnt stick out to me or maybe I should listen to a little bit more of their music too.

I think their are better bands that have done funk, soul and r&b.

lol I don't know what he was looking for because the Beatles didn't do anything funky, soulful or even anything close to R&B.

They were like One Direction/Jonas Brothers, etc., when they started but folks forget that shit or don't wanna be reminded.

The Beats were like the antithesis of the rebellious '50s R&B/rockabilly rebels of early rock (Little Rich, the original Sir Chuck, The Killer, "The King", etc.) The European equivalent of the Everly Brothers (which is who they actually idolized)...

babybugz said:

Even though they are my avi picture they are not my favorite artist of all time .. but I do feel they were good at what they did. I didn't start really gettng into them till a year or two ago but i'm happy I finally expose myself to them.

Yep, me too.

I think the blue album era(67-70) is what really draw my attention. They and George Martin put their ALL in that studio during that period.

If George Clinton cited "The White Album" as an inspiration, you know those boys weren't the novelty joke as many folks(me included, once) thought they were.

Stevie was influenced by the Beatles too but eh... just made them better

Timmy84 said:

mjscarousal said:

I dont think the OP was trying to downplay The Beatles at all. Correct me if Im wrong but I think he just wanted suggestions on soulful, R&b or funk non pop inspired tracks the Beatles have done and TO BE HONEST.......... I can't think of any either.

They have covered more than one genre (from the songs that Ive heard) but a funk song or soulful song just doesnt stick out to me or maybe I should listen to a little bit more of their music too.

I think their are better bands that have done funk, soul and r&b.

lol I don't know what he was looking for because the Beatles didn't do anything funky, soulful or even anything close to R&B.

They were like One Direction/Jonas Brothers, etc., when they started but folks forget that shit or don't wanna be reminded.

The Beats were like the antithesis of the rebellious '50s R&B/rockabilly rebels of early rock (Little Rich, the original Sir Chuck, The Killer, "The King", etc.) The European equivalent of the Everly Brothers (which is who they actually idolized)...

Yea I think he was trying to figure out how the Beatles are regarded as being so diverse when they havent experimented with those genres. I dig some Beatle tunes and I do understand to an extent why they are ranked so high (they made a big impact ) even though alot of times I think maybe too high (like being called the greatest artists ever is a bit much when their are other bands with about the same level of impact and in my opinion more musically) but they havent been as diverse as people make them out to be but then again I havent listened to every single Beatles song but have listened to enough.

Even bands like Parliament/ Sly Family Stone experimented with Rock, Soul, R&B, Funk, Pop, etc but you dont see them ranked as high but Ill keep the rest of my comments to myself

Timmy84 said:

AlexdeParis said:

Timmy84 said:

lol I don't know what he was looking for because the Beatles didn't do anything funky, soulful or even anything close to R&B.

They were like One Direction/Jonas Brothers, etc., when they started but folks forget that shit or don't wanna be reminded.

The Beats were like the antithesis of the rebellious '50s R&B/rockabilly rebels of early rock (Little Rich, the original Sir Chuck, The Killer, "The King", etc.) The European equivalent of the Everly Brothers (which is who they actually idolized)...

I'd be wary of trying to pigeonhole the Beatles. The group had all but broken up by the time funk went mainstream, but they definitely used elements of various genres in a number of ways. For instance, I can certainly hear what made Ike & Tina want to cover "Come Together." And while I wouldn't call John Lennon a "soul singer" by any stretch, there's something in both the music and the delivery of, say, "Don't Let Me Down" that is soulful IMO. I'd also argue that songs like "Let It Be" aren't too far away from some form of R&B, as it were. All that being said, why classify at all? The Beatles wrote and performed great songs. Anyone who can't hear that... well, that's their loss.

I greatly agree with that.

They did have alot of soulful delivery on alot of their songs while they didnt sing soul music.... I would classify Let It Be as more along the lines of gospel than R&B. I dont think no one is trying to pigeonhole the Beatles but it is interesting in putting alot of their music in perspective. They had alot of great songs and lyrics but they didnt do alot of experimentation with those genres mentioned which this thread exactly made me realize even more. It doesnt take anything away from them.

Paula and John were brilliant lyricist and music composers. Yes, Leonard Bernstein compared them to the Gershwin brothers and I couldn't agree more.

I say all that to say this...

A lil of the Beatles go a long way for me. During their time, my time I wanted to dance... they weren't making my kind of music to do that to. So there it is. (MHO)

===================================

[Edited 3/26/12 6:09am]

Hmm, so I'm supposed to just not say how I feel about the Beats? Because that's what it sounds like from some of y'all. I agree they're a huge influence but that's as far as I'll go with them. Plus I'm more a fan of other artists' interpretations of their music. Sure I give them props from THAT prospect but other than that? Nah. I do like some of their songs though (Come Together, Helter Skelter, Get Back, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, Money Can't Buy Me Love, etc.). I'm not a hater, I appreciate what they brought but nothing about them were funk/soul/R&B. Which I think is what ISF was wondering in the first place. From THEM, not from the others.

TD3 said:

Paula and John were brilliant lyricist and music composures. Yes, Leonard Bernstein compared them to the Gerwhwin brothers and I couldn't agree more.

I say all that to say this...

A lil of the Beatles go a long way for me. During their time, my time I wanted to dance... they weren't making my kind of music to do that to. So there it is. (MHO)

Well damn Paula?

I agree though about them as lyricists/composers. Their strength was really in songwriting then it was the overall package. That's where I give them props. George Harrison wasn't a bad one either. Everyone and their mama covered his "Something".

ISF said:

Hello all

many tell me the Beatles were one of the greatest bands to ever live. I have heard maybe 2-3 good songs of theirs, and even then I have heard those songs be covered much better by others, in terms of vocals and muscianships.

I listen to many genres of music, but particularly like R&B/soul/funk.

Are there any songs you could recommend? The reason I ask is because I hear their catalogue is diverse and deep, people's who opinions I trust on such matters tell me they are amazing, but all I hear is bland, soulless music.

Any suggestions?

Thank you

It's not just you; I'm always trying to reconcile how people worship and praise them with what I actually hear when I listen to their music, they've always seemed totally overrated to me barring a handful of songs.