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Best Ever?


US Egg

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These are always fun conversations, but there's just so much to this subject.

 

What defines "best?" 

 

Number of hits?

Amount of influence?

Most money earned?

 

Personally, I don't think anyone comes close to the Beatles as far as ingenuity, influence and commercial success.

 

I think they're the best POP band of all time.  I personally enjoy all of their music more than any music by any other artists.

 

I also take into account that their career as a band didn't even span a decade.  And they only hit the road for a few of those years.

 

That's why I always like to inject the Police into this conversation.

 

The Police lasted five years and made an everlasting mark.  They are their own genre.  I can't think of another mainstream pop/rock style band we can say the same about.

 

 

 

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2 hours ago, Gugny said:

These are always fun conversations, but there's just so much to this subject.

 

What defines "best?" 

 

Number of hits?

Amount of influence?

Most money earned?

 

Personally, I don't think anyone comes close to the Beatles as far as ingenuity, influence and commercial success.

 

I think they're the best POP band of all time.  I personally enjoy all of their music more than any music by any other artists.

 

I also take into account that their career as a band didn't even span a decade.  And they only hit the road for a few of those years.

 

 


The amount of legendary music -- influential, classic, legitimately great music, with beautiful lyrics and incredible pop hooks -- that the Beatles put out in a roughly 8 year career is absolutely ridiculous. It will never be matched.

The evolution the band underwent in that time is also impossible to overstate. They basically went from being a full-on boy band pop act to making some of the most nuanced, layered, artistically incredible music ever recorded, in just the span of a few years (and with the help of a few important substances). It would be something like the Backstreet Boys turning into Radiohead. Just wild.

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2 hours ago, Gugny said:

These are always fun conversations, but there's just so much to this subject.

 

What defines "best?" 

 

Number of hits?

Amount of influence?

Most money earned?

 

Personally, I don't think anyone comes close to the Beatles as far as ingenuity, influence and commercial success.

 

I think they're the best POP band of all time.  I personally enjoy all of their music more than any music by any other artists.

 

I also take into account that their career as a band didn't even span a decade.  And they only hit the road for a few of those years.

 

That's why I always like to inject the Police into this conversation.

 

The Police lasted five years and made an everlasting mark.  They are their own genre.  I can't think of another mainstream pop/rock style band we can say the same about.

 

 

 

Beatles = GOAT pop band.

Stones = GOAT rock band.

 

Sting is such a tw*t that I can’t take the Police seriously. Roxanne did rock though, most of the rest of their stuff is OK background music to me.

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34 minutes ago, Logic said:


The amount of legendary music -- influential, classic, legitimately great music, with beautiful lyrics and incredible pop hooks -- that the Beatles put out in a roughly 8 year career is absolutely ridiculous. It will never be matched.

The evolution the band underwent in that time is also impossible to overstate. They basically went from being a full-on boy band pop act to making some of the most nuanced, layered, artistically incredible music ever recorded, in just the span of a few years (and with the help of a few important substances). It would be something like the Backstreet Boys turning into Radiohead. Just wild.

 

Incredibly well said and I agree with everything.  I listen to the Beatles 365 days/year.  Seriously cannot get enough of them.  My love for them began when I was 8-years-old ... and I just turned 52.  I still hear and appreciate new things, keying in on harmonies, guitar, bass and drums individually, every time I hear a song again.

 

So many people opine that the Beatles are overrated.  I am a firm believer that they are UNDERrated.  Immensely talented in so many different, and often subtle, ways.

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5 minutes ago, Rico said:

Beatles = GOAT pop band.

Stones = GOAT rock band.

 

Sting is such a tw*t that I can’t take the Police seriously. Roxanne did rock though, most of the rest of their stuff is OK background music to me.

I'm a Stones guy, but I have to admit that my favorite album of all time now may well be the expanded edition of The Who Sell Out. The Who recorded it as a double album but the label made them release as a single one, and what ended up on the cutting room floor is incredible stuff. The full edition was released in 1995. I change my mind a lot about favorite albums, but this one is always up there for me.

 

I think the Police suck, but that's just my personal taste. 

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2 minutes ago, dave mcbride said:

I'm a Stones guy, but I have to admit that my favorite album of all time now may well be the expanded edition of The Who Sell Out. The Who recorded it as a double album but the label made them release as a single one, and what ended up on the cutting room floor is incredible stuff. The full edition was released in 1995. I change my mind a lot about favorite albums, but this one is always up there for me.

 

I think the Police suck, but that's just my personal taste. 

Speaking of The Who,

I myself consider studio and live to be equally important, and the live shows and recordings elevate The Who near the top, as well as knock the Beatles down a few notches, they were broke too early and got off the road way too soon.

 

I know their songs and cover songs may not be up to snuff with my big 3, but the availability and quality of the Grateful Dead’s live shows is just staggering. If you are taking strictly live, they have to be at my top.

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11 minutes ago, Rico said:

Beatles = GOAT pop band.

Stones = GOAT rock band.

 

Sting is such a tw*t that I can’t take the Police seriously. Roxanne did rock though, most of the rest of their stuff is OK background music to me.

 

I know I won't sway you, but if I were to TRY ... I'd tell you to listen to their anthology in order.  Like many (probably most) bands, the Police's most popular songs are not their best - by a long shot.  I think Every Breath You Take is the worst song they ever recorded, but it's also their most successful single and many of the radio-friendly songs from the Synchronicity album were pretty crappy.

 

They were able to meld punk, rock, reggae, ska and pop into their own genre.  And they did it gradually.  There are intricacies with the bass, drums and guitars that - if you really take the time to listen - are nothing short of mind-blowing.

 

 

 

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21 minutes ago, Gugny said:

 

I know I won't sway you, but if I were to TRY ... I'd tell you to listen to their anthology in order.  Like many (probably most) bands, the Police's most popular songs are not their best - by a long shot.  I think Every Breath You Take is the worst song they ever recorded, but it's also their most successful single and many of the radio-friendly songs from the Synchronicity album were pretty crappy.

 

They were able to meld punk, rock, reggae, ska and pop into their own genre.  And they did it gradually.  There are intricacies with the bass, drums and guitars that - if you really take the time to listen - are nothing short of mind-blowing.

 

 

 

I’m definitely not saying you’re wrong & Im right. I’ve heard all 5 of their albums many times back in the day, and for me, each succeeding album wasn’t as good as the previous one. Ed: I will say Ghost > the annoying Zenyatta, doo doo doo doo.

 

One other thing when comparing Beatles- Stones, I have used this analogy which works for me.

 

Beatles thru 1969 > Stones thru 1969

Beatles thru 1969 < Stones thru 1988

Beatles thru 1969 > Stones to date

 

Beatles broke up too soon; Stones legacy took a big hit when they went Vegas in 1989.

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Just now, Rico said:

I’m definitely not saying you’re wrong & Im right. I’ve heard all 5 of their albums many times back in the day, and for me, each succeeding album wasn’t as good as the previous one.

 

One other thing when comparing Beatles- Stones, I have used this analogy which works for me.

 

Beatles thru 1969 > Stones thru 1969

Beatles thru 1969 < Stones thru 1988

Beatles thru 1969 > Stones to date

 

Beatles broke up too soon; Stones legacy took a big hit when they went Vegas in 1989.

 

Yeah, this is another great topic worth discussing.  I think I might have started a thread about it a while back, but I can't be sure.  Some bands just hang on too long.

 

I think the Police did it right.  They made an album that was half radio-friendly crap and half great Police tunes.  They even began building up to that as far back as Zenyatta Mondatta with De Doo Doo Doo and Don't Stand So Close to Me; then with Ghost in the Machine with Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic.  They just went all in with Synchronicity and I'm sure it was by design.  They were at the top of the music world, playing Shea Stadium and then pulled the plug.

 

And what's key is that they never recorded any new material and they didn't tour again for over 20 years.  Toured a couple years, then POOF ... gone again.

 

Not that I'm happy that Bonham died, but I am totally happy that Led Zeppelin stopped making new music.  In Through the Out Door was not great, in my opinion.  I can't even imagine what subsequent albums would have sounded like.  Especially as the 80s were right around the corner.

 

Lots of great bands .. U2, Rush, the Who, the Stones, Aerosmith ... they just didn't know when to quit.

 

I actually think the Beatles broke up at the right time.  Do I think they had a few more incredible albums in them?  Absolutely.  But I also think fans benefitted from hearing their solo efforts after the split.  I also think they would have done something special had Lennon not been assassinated.  But we'll never know, sadly.

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hendrix. the experience only put out 3 records and the songwriting and production are second to none.

 

he blew the doors off rock n roll more so than the stones and zeppelin.

 

the beatles perfected melody, the stones perfected rock n roll, and zeppelin sent rock n roll to outer space.

 

hendrix was not from this world, and out of all the greats who passed early, his is the one that hurts the most. i cant even imagine the stuff he would have put out after electric ladyland. way ahead of his time.

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