Favorite era of The Beatles?

cyndarious1
cyndarious1 Posts: 430
edited July 2011 in Other Music
I was listening to their entire catalogue and I realized how much I love the post-beatlemania era. It's just amazing to see how they little by little change their style from Help! to Rubber Soul and Revolver, my favorite album. I really think their music must have been eye-opening in the 60's.

Tell me about your favorite era of the fab four! please!
November 22nd, 2005.
Post edited by Unknown User on
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Comments

  • restlesssoul
    restlesssoul Posts: 6,952
    Ive never really thought about it, but when I look at their albums on a timeline, the 3 that jump out to me together are: Peppers into Magical into White. Thus, the psychadelic era for me. 1967 + 1968. I just love the sound that defines that era, the hippies, the acid and the unique sound of their songs at that point. I don't think anyone had heard anything like Within You Without You when that came out. So trippy!
    Van '98, Sea I+II '00, Sea '01, Sea II '02, Van '03, Gorge, Van, Cal, Edm '05, Bos I+II, Phi I+II, DC, SF II+III, Port, Gorge I+II '06, DC, NY I+II '08, Sea I+II, Van, Ridge , LA III+IV' 09, Indy '10, Cal, Van '11, Lond, Van, Sea '13, Memphis '14, RRHOF '17, Sea I+II '18, Van I+II, Vegas I+II, Sea I+II '24
  • dpmay
    dpmay Posts: 643
    yeah, i agree with you - i like revolver and rubber soul best.

    when i first got into the beatles, it was the later period stuff, like abbey road and let it be.

    since i got the remastered box, i have been kind of blown away by the early stuff, in a way i had never been before.

    but yeah, mid period, still my fave i think.
  • Newch91
    Newch91 Posts: 17,560
    Favorite album is Rubber Soul, but I don't have a favorite era. I just like listening to the evolution of them from "Please Please Me" to "Let It Be". It's amazing what they did from '62 to '70. IMO, from "Rubber Soul" to "Let It Be", those are the 7 greatest albums in a 4 year span. But the early stuff continues to blow me away, especially if you're a musician and the chords they used and the chord changes they came up with.

    My uncle told me that "Strawberry Fields Forever", at that point, changed everything on what could be on a rock/pop record. He said everyone was blown away by it. Brian Wilson had to stop making "Smile" because he said the Beatles did everything in "Strawberry Fields Forever" that he wanted to do on that album.
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    "Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
  • eddiec
    eddiec Posts: 3,974
    Love Rubber Soul.
  • Jokertt14
    Jokertt14 Posts: 2,566
    When they were heavy on drugs . :lol::mrgreen:
  • djjazzy276
    djjazzy276 Posts: 235
    Newch91 wrote:
    It's amazing what they did from '62 to '70.

    I agree. I think it is easy to forget just how short a time they were around. When you see the quantity of music they put out and how much it changed, you automatically assume they were a band with a long recording history. It's amazing to see what they did in such a short time.

    When I was really getting into music in middle school, I found myself getting into their more experimental music, thinking that the early stuff was too "simple." As I grew up though, I started revisiting that early stuff and now it's probably my favorite. Those simple pop hooks and great melodies are timeless. If I had to name my all time favorite Beatles song though, I'd have to go with Paperback Writer. That song just gets me going. I love Ringo's drumming on it.
  • Of The Aggie
    Of The Aggie The ATX Posts: 1,554
    Pretty difficult to say. I like a little of each period.
  • Newch91
    Newch91 Posts: 17,560
    djjazzy276 wrote:
    Newch91 wrote:
    It's amazing what they did from '62 to '70.

    I agree. I think it is easy to forget just how short a time they were around. When you see the quantity of music they put out and how much it changed, you automatically assume they were a band with a long recording history. It's amazing to see what they did in such a short time.

    When I was really getting into music in middle school, I found myself getting into their more experimental music, thinking that the early stuff was too "simple." As I grew up though, I started revisiting that early stuff and now it's probably my favorite. Those simple pop hooks and great melodies are timeless. If I had to name my all time favorite Beatles song though, I'd have to go with Paperback Writer. That song just gets me going. I love Ringo's drumming on it.
    I agree. From '63 to '65, they released two albums each year, along with '67 and '68 (if you count the "Yellow Submarine" soundtrack).

    That's why I hate when people say the early stuff isn't great. The early stuff is what made them.

    Paperback Writer is an awesome song with an awesome riff. I like Ringo's drumming on "Rain" and "Tomorrow Never Knows".
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    "Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
  • Ledbetterman10
    Ledbetterman10 Posts: 17,018
    Revolver through White Album
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  • musicismylife78
    musicismylife78 Posts: 6,116
    always been a massive fan of the latter era, 1967 to 1970. when they started to get "weird" and experiment.

    that said, this is after all the greatest band of all time, so you really cant go wrong with the early stuff, the covers, the middle period, and then the later stuff. all is life changing stuff.

    ive always been fascinated by the world they created. the whole imagery you can sense throughout the songs. polythelene pam, father mackenzie, rocky raccoon, Lil aka mcgill aka (nancy), strawberry fields, etc...

    i feel like ive met these people and been to these places.
  • Newch91
    Newch91 Posts: 17,560
    musicismylife78 wrote:
    always been a massive fan of the latter era, 1967 to 1970. when they started to get "weird" and experiment.

    that said, this is after all the greatest band of all time, so you really cant go wrong with the early stuff, the covers, the middle period, and then the later stuff. all is life changing stuff.

    ive always been fascinated by the world they created. the whole imagery you can sense throughout the songs. polythelene pam, father mackenzie, rocky raccoon, Lil aka mcgill aka (nancy), strawberry fields, etc...

    i feel like ive met these people and been to these places.
    Well, Stawberry Fields is a real place.
    Shows: 6.27.08 Hartford, CT/5.15.10 Hartford, CT/6.18.2011 Hartford, CT (EV Solo)/10.19.13 Brooklyn/10.25.13 Hartford
    "Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
  • Johnny Abruzzo
    Johnny Abruzzo Philly Posts: 12,552
    Like others, my favorite era is the Rubber Soul/Revolver era.

    Also like others, I have come to greatly appreciate their early stuff, especially the way it sounds in the remastered boxed set. :D

    For those of us who came along long after the Beatles were done (most fans here) the later stuff is what resonates most initially. Some of those albums now strike me as a tad overrated, esp Sgt. Pepper (still great, but not quite up to all the hype it received initially). I can see the argument for Abbey Rd as the greatest Beatles record, but I don't think Side 1 measures up to Rubber Soul & Revolver. I would probably pick Side 2 of Abbey Rd as the greatest Beatles album side, but Revolver as the greatest album overall.

    Some things on the White Album are just kind of goofy, although the body of work stands out as tremendous.

    Sorry for the ramble...
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  • BinFrog
    BinFrog MA Posts: 7,314
    Newch91 wrote:
    My uncle told me that "Strawberry Fields Forever", at that point, changed everything on what could be on a rock/pop record. He said everyone was blown away by it. Brian Wilson had to stop making "Smile" because he said the Beatles did everything in "Strawberry Fields Forever" that he wanted to do on that album.


    I think the (only partially true) story goes it was "I Am The Walrus" that Wilson was in awe of.
    Bright eyed kid: "Wow Typo Man, you're the best!"
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  • Newch91
    Newch91 Posts: 17,560
    BinFrog wrote:
    Newch91 wrote:
    My uncle told me that "Strawberry Fields Forever", at that point, changed everything on what could be on a rock/pop record. He said everyone was blown away by it. Brian Wilson had to stop making "Smile" because he said the Beatles did everything in "Strawberry Fields Forever" that he wanted to do on that album.


    I think the (only partially true) story goes it was "I Am The Walrus" that Wilson was in awe of.
    And "Strawberry Fields Forever".

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smile_(Beach_Boys_album)#Project_collapse
    Another significant event, cited in the Beautiful Dreamer documentary, was Brian's first hearing of The Beatles' new single "Strawberry Fields Forever". He heard the song while driving his car, and was so struck by it that he had to pull over and listen; he then commented to Michael Vosse, his passenger, that The Beatles had "got there first". Although he apparently later laughed about that comment, the stunning new Beatles production had affected him deeply. The final, irrevocable blow came in early March 1967 when, after gradually distancing himself from Wilson and the group, Van Dyke Parks finally quit the project.

    Capitol evidently still hoped to the last that Smile might eventually appear, but on 6 May, only a few weeks before the release of The Beatles' groundbreaking Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album, The Beach Boys' press officer Derek Taylor ruefully announced to the British press that the Smile project had been shelved, and that the album would not be released.
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  • SVRDhand13
    SVRDhand13 Posts: 27,022
    Revolver is my favorite album of all time.

    Rubber Soul was when they proved they were more than a pop band.

    Sgt. Pepper's is a classic that will never be forgotten.

    So Rubber Soul --> Sgt. Pepper's for me.
    severed hand thirteen
    2006: Gorge 7/23 2008: Hartford 6/27 Beacon 7/1 2009: Spectrum 10/30-31
    2010: Newark 5/18 MSG 5/20-21 2011: PJ20 9/3-4 2012: Made In America 9/2
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  • keeponrockin
    keeponrockin Posts: 7,446
    Rubber Soul - Revolver

    I view them almost as parts one and two, and was their best balance of experiment and songwriting until Abbey Road.
    Believe me, when I was growin up, I thought the worst thing you could turn out to be was normal, So I say freaks in the most complementary way. Here's a song by a fellow freak - E.V
  • Johnny Abruzzo
    Johnny Abruzzo Philly Posts: 12,552
    keeponrockin wrote:
    Rubber Soul - Revolver

    I view them almost as parts one and two, and was their best balance of experiment and songwriting until Abbey Road.

    I have them combined and kind of mixed up in a playlist with Day Tripper, We Can Work it Out, Paperback Writer & Rain.
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    Tres Mtns - TLA 3/23/11; EV - Tower Theatre 6/25/11; Temple of the Dog - Tower Theatre 11/5/16
  • lukin2006
    lukin2006 Posts: 9,087
    restlesssoul wrote:
    Ive never really thought about it, but when I look at their albums on a timeline, the 3 that jump out to me together are: Peppers into Magical into White. Thus, the psychadelic era for me. 1967 + 1968. I just love the sound that defines that era, the hippies, the acid and the unique sound of their songs at that point. I don't think anyone had heard anything like Within You Without You when that came out. So trippy!

    Agree..
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  • helplessdancer
    helplessdancer Posts: 5,293
    after they started smoking pot

    everything before that was painful
  • SVRDhand13
    SVRDhand13 Posts: 27,022
    helplessdancer wrote:
    after they started smoking pot

    everything before that was painful

    I still enjoy the stuff before that (for the most part), but yes drugs helped. Thanks Bob Dylan!
    severed hand thirteen
    2006: Gorge 7/23 2008: Hartford 6/27 Beacon 7/1 2009: Spectrum 10/30-31
    2010: Newark 5/18 MSG 5/20-21 2011: PJ20 9/3-4 2012: Made In America 9/2
    2013: Brooklyn 10/18-19 Philly 10/21-22 Hartford 10/25 2014: ACL10/12
    2015: NYC 9/23 2016: Tampa 4/11 Philly 4/28-29 MSG 5/1-2 Fenway 8/5+8/7
    2017: RRHoF 4/7   2018: Fenway 9/2+9/4   2021: Sea Hear Now 9/18 
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