Record that got you off the Beatles track

I was lucky enough to be into records before The Beatles hit, so I grew up with them and followed their progress from the start. They completely lost me at one point however, and it took me a while to dig them again.
They put out a record that was so lackluster that it drove me over into the Stones/Animals/Motown camp for many months. That record was "Eight Days A Week!!!" I thought I'd never buy another Beatles record again until I heard "Nowhere Man" on the radio and decided to give them another shot. I still think EDAW is one of their lamest hits--although I can tolerate it now as an occasional oldie (you never hear the great B-side...) Anybody share this experience, or have another record that made you REALLY dislike The Beatles?

 

No such thing for me.

 

Hell, I even like "You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)"

 

Nope

No such song for me either.

"Eight Days a Week" is one of the Beatles Better songs, in my opinion. Its infectuos and it swings with a shuffle beat, something that The Beatles rarely did.

 

I agree with you that EDAW is the lamest hit single the Beatles ever had, though my reaction to it isn't as extreme as yours.

I got into the Beatles in the 70s, and started buying their albums in random order. Let it Be was the fourth one I bought (found it on sale in Hibbing for $3.50) and I admit I was kinda disappointed when I first heard it. Aside from the three singles, I found it to be kinda lifeless and much less interesting than the other stuff I'd heard. I grew to like it quite a bit later, but at the time it was a big disappointment.

 

They didn't put it out. It was not released as a single in Britain (where the Beatles had control over what was released). It was merely an album track that U.S execs Capitolized on and released as a single.

That doesn't change your point, but you probably would not have had that bad experience had you only been exposed to the singles the Beatles intended to be singles.

I was quite young in the 60's but I knew that if the name Beatles was on the cover, I would enjoy the songs. I was never disappointed.

No such thing for me either.

 

Revolution #9 was horrible....

 

One time that I felt ripped-off was after getting "The Beatles' Story." Great package but the contents are rubbish! Shoulda been a single LP in a gatefold sleeve, imho.

 

The record that got me off the Beatle track?

Paul McCartney - Pipes of Peace

 

Love Me Do!



Bob

 

With The Beatles was the record that got me ON the Beatle track. This was circa 1979/80. I was only about 11 or 12 years old at the time I first heard that LP and I loved it - the first copy I ever laid my hands on belonged to a friends' dad. It was a lovely Parlophone black/yellow original MONO from '63. Great sound. I played that LP to death!

I digress....so after getting my own copy of WTB I started to buy Beatles LP's randomly after that. The next one I bought was, for some strange reason, Beatles For Sale. I never really liked it a lot when I first heard it but now - with the passing of time - I don't think it's that bad at all (although there are a couple of howlers on there). Then again, it's still better than a lot of bands could put out on 3 albums and over the years I've grown to quite like most of what's on there.

As for my lease favourite Beatles track - Mr Moonlight off BFS. Not one of their better moments - especially when they left off the wonderful Leave My Kitten Alone.

I have to say I've never been a big fan of much of their solo stuff - some of it's good in placed though.

 

Vex and I are on a lot of the same tracks. I hung with the "boys" through their solo efforts, buying each one and learning and appreciating them. I even sort of liked "Wild Life"!! (Although Sometime in NYC did not get played that much either, now that I think of it), but anyway, about the time "Pipes of Peace" hit, I think that's when I got off. Sure, I paid attention to their stuff, hell, I still bought the new releases, but with the exceptions of "Double Fantasy" and "Cloud Nine", there was not much there. Paul had a good tune here and there (Figure of Eight, Once Upon a Long Ago), but I never got into the "whole album" thing again. Even Double Fantasy made me skip over the Yoko tunes.

But Cloud Nine, now there was a release out of nowhere that was GREAT! Followed by the Wilburys Vol 1 which was great in itself.

:-jon (sorry, I started rambling again )

:-jon

 

I agree re: "Eight Days A Week"--a sort of perfunctory "connect the dots" type song. It's interesting, though, how little criticism exists about Beatles' songs. There was an effort of sorts in this forum about just how over rated "Sgt. Pepper" ["The Greatest Rock LP OF All Time That Nobody Plays"]is, but that, too, petered out. Beatles song and LP titles are spoken in reverential tones reserved for baseball Hall of Fame players and books of the Bible. And I've never really understood why.

I live in Tokyo where bootlegs are legal. It's one thing to see the titles of the hundreds [thousands?] of Beatles boots as listed all over the net. It's quite another to actually see all those titles lined up on record store shelves. I for one question whether the songs themselves can hold up to that kind of scrutiny and adulation.

Dylan, for all the magnificent songs he wrote pre-1968, has never been given the critical "bye" that the Beatles have. [Of course his mistake was not "breaking up" before releasing thirty years' worth of uninspired music.] So maybe Mick only got it partly right: "It's the singer/not the song."

 

the fifth Beatle

BTW, i just saw the Sacramento TV news tonight, and the Pete Best Band is playing in the area, playing Beatles tunes. Wow this really freaked me out!!!!!!!!!!! i would'nt think he would want to dredge up those kind of memories. But then, some people will do anything for money!!!!!!

 

I don't necessarily think that's true, go over to rec.music.beatles where they often shred many of their tunes (Mr Moonlight and Old Brown Shoe are 2 of the most slandered)

Well, they "touched"a generation. Separated from that, I wouldn't see why anyone cares really, unless they genuinely enjoy the music. Elvis moved a generation as well, and he is also oft spoken of in reverential tones. His hardcore fans often point out how cheesy his 60's film soundtracks really are ("Eato Eat all the night and the day?" Gimmie a break). Y'know who is receiving the critical "bye" these days? Nirvana. They touched a generation as well, and I really enjoyed them 10 years ago, but sometimes there a little to whinny for me (Raaaape meeeee) and ya just wanna smack 'em. I never hear ANY criticism of THAT band.....

 

Addendum

Eight Days A Week:
Prefunctory vocals
Contrived hook
McCartney sleepwalks through a shuffle bassline
Their first (last?) bubblegum record
I grew up on American radio, so I was not aware of
what Parlophone UK did or did not release as a
single in Britain at the time (ie; 1965 when I was
11 years old). A year or two later, I saw my first
copy of Melody Maker and discovered a whole new world.
Local stations played the hell out of EDAW in my radio market,
and it charted highly and was an airwaves staple for quite a
while. That didn't stop it from sucking, at least for me.
p.s. Lennon's vocal on "Mr. Moonlight" is 100% killer...and
check out the bassline on "Old Brown Shoe"...no problem
with those songs at all. But then again, I like the string
arrangement on "As Tears Go By" better than what Paul
had on "Yesterday!" And Keith Richards' guitar intro beats Paul's
hands down...

 

Good point. And I agree with your characterization of the group as "whinny."

You also say re: the Beatles and Nirvana that they "touched a generation." In fact, I'd say that Nirvana may have been the first group since the Beatles to have had that kind of wide/mass appeal. So in that sense the songs themselves become sort of "untouchable." YOU want to be the one to criticize their music at your next party? I remember many years ago at a party talking about how over-rated I though "Sgt. Pepper" was and was all but thrown out. And was never invited there again! Cultural icons are, well . . . cultural icons. I think most people find comfort in the knowledge that the Beatles are fab, "Sgt. Pepper" is the greatest rock LP of all time and Nirvana/Kurt Cobain "spoke to my generation." These are "facts" known by "all." Any dissenting voice is the voice of someone who "doesn't get it."

As regards my point a little earlier in this thread [The Beatles have somehow been given a critical "bye"], I still believe that most Beatle fans are fairly unquestioning in their admiration of the group. Personally, I think this does a disservice to the Beatles as the great songs somehow get lost with all the weak ones. I think that people who talk about the "White Album," for example, with the same enthusiasm as "Revolver" or "Rubber Soul" don't really understand or appreciate the group.

 

........but of course the converse may be true. Who's to say?

 

Peter, using that line of reasoning ["who's to say?] how can we make a determination that any one work of art is better than any other? We do use criteria when we say "this is better than that."

 

I first "got into" them when I was about 11 or 12 years old around 1978-79 and I bought in random order. What I remember most was after playing the White Album for months I bought Yesterday...and Today. The transition from 1968 to 1965/66 really through me and it took me awhile to start playing and enjoying the Y&T tracks.