The Beatles - Yay or Nae?

[flobadob]

I really like The Beatles, I like almost every song and album they ever made and I think they were ahead of their time and likewise are as relevant today as they were in their heyday. What is your opinion of them?

[shaneystar2]

Yay for their early stuff .My era .
Saw them live but had a hard job to hear them through the screaming .
The only two talented ones are gone now though more's the pity .
I just wish Macca would bow out gracefully and retire to the Mull of Kintyre never to be seen again :).

[Anngel]

Up to their guru period....yes.

[flobadob]

I was 15 or 16 before I really heard them but all I know is that when I heard Strawberry Fields Forever, I was hooked and got all their albums. As for them breaking up too early, I find that most bands who try to keep going rarely keep their early impetus going and eventually lose a lot of credibility.

[Sir Alec]

I love the majority of the Beatles' records, but a few tracks make my fillings ache. 'There's A Place' I think, is the worst Beatle track ever!

[Duncer]

maggiebee's point is so relevant, all bands are derivative in one way or another.

I think what got me most about the Beatles was an elder brother who banged on The Beatles as they were the only youth movement ever. I grew up with Glam Rock, punk and the NWOBHM. Alright, lots of it was sh1t when I look back on it, but that was my era. Add in a "Working class hero" who lived in a mansion and lectures about superior songwriting ability (beep, beep, beep, beep, yeah). Then we had Lennon and McCartney proferring opinions on the Northern Ireland troubles when neither had ever lived there or suffered dreadfully as both sides did. The Beatles were a good band but,as Dan le Sac and Scroobius Pup said, they were "Just a band".

[LoftyLottie]

I'm afraid it's Nay from me, but I loved there very first stuff (but I was only 15)

Same as cupid, they wrote some good songs, but didn't think much of them as a group. I think their own performances now sound outdated and haven't stood the test of time.

As Shaney said, the two talented ones have gone. I had great respect for John as a songwriter and George was the most talented musician of them all.

I think there have been far better performing groups since.

And as for Macca - never could stand him - but 'Yesterday' was a wonderful song.

[thenry]

Duncer - just spotted your ridiculous comment ! The Beatles (for the decade they played in) were unique and have left a legacy of music which is played and re-recorded and covered - ! I bet there has never been a day (since 1970) when some Beatles record, or a version of it, wasn't played on a Radio station ! They were seminal !

[daffy654]

Never seen what all the fuss was about. I like a couple of their songs but that's it.

[237SJ]

I was too young to appreciate the Beatles when they were in their prime but I definitely think they were the best band ever. Nobody will surpass them.

[NOX]

Except for Eleanor Rigby I can't stand anything by the Beatles -sorry:(

[mushroom25]

in the final episode of "the prisoner", (Fall-Out), when no6 is led to the court, a series of juke boxes in the cave alcoves are playing "all you need is love".

the material of very few other artistes of the time could have been substituted, without the episode becoming incredibly dated.

[237SJ]

Nox - even if you didn`t like them, do you think any band will surpass them though?

[LoftyLottie]

I can think of far more bands who are better than the Beatles musically and performance wise. The Beatles if they came along now would not be considered amazing in any way. They were different and a significant part of our music culture, but they were not a superb band. Just my opinion.

George was exceptionally talented musically. John too was very talented as a songwriter. Paul never was that wonderful at anything and as for Ringo, well - He was great at narrative Thomas the Tank Engine.

[LoftyLottie]

Surpass them in what way 237SJ?

[237SJ]

Can anyone think of any bands that have come along who have dominated the charts for 10 years and have evolved musically with the changing times though? I can`t.

[flobadob]

One of the main elements of The Beatles is their diversity of music. There are so many different sounding songs all done by the same band. Nowadays it is almost always possible to name the band playing any given song, as once a band find what they consider a winning formula they just stick with it. Such as U2, Snow Patrol, Kasabian etc.

[emmie]

Best group Britain has produced, great music, will stand the test of time.

[flip_flop]

Before my time, but of the stuff I've heard I'd say they were, at best, average.

I can't be arsed with false modesty so here goes - I consider myself to be very knowledgeable on most musical genres (other than C&W and classical), have a pretty eclectic taste and possess in excess of 10,000 records and cds......but I've just never 'got' The Beatles.

To paraphrase Bowie, I can usually find some good in any old crap - but I really struggle with them.

In my opinion they were massively inferior to the Stones

[wardlaw]

Big YAY

[erin-x]

I was brought up on The Beatles. I would say they are one of my favourite bands actually. Being 21, I'm usually thought of as weird when I say that but I really don't care.