Geatest Brirish band of all time

[Twodogs]

Re: Geatest Brirish band of all time

So - I obviously voted for (and advocated) 'The Clash' but has anyone else picked up the Stones GHS re-issue?

A couple of the 'new tracks' are pretty damn amazing and the fact that 'Scarlett' with Jimmy Page playing was someone lost and forgotten for near on 50 years is simply incredible.

How do you forget getting Jimmy Page in the studio to work on one track?
How do you get him in to do that and then leave that track off the album?

So much great material.

I can think of a way it might have happened. Eventually the drugs wore off and that bit of the binge disappeared from the collective consciousness.

[HOSE B ROMERO]

Re: Geatest Brirish band of all time

I have kept my powder dry on this for a long time.

I don't dismiss any of the other opinions for who is the greatest british rock bands, it is after all high subjective. However it's doing the Beatles a great injustice to label them a 'pop band', or a 'hippie band' as TwoDogs wrote.

They were a rock n roll band to begin with as hard rocking as any band could be in the very early 60's before they were signed. They were all working class lads, who did the hard yards playing in the 'Reaperbahn' district in Hamburg Germany, where they honed their chops.
Yes, when their management signed them up they tried to package them as a pop band with the suit and ties, and nice haircuts. Sold as the boys next door.. They were anything but.

Their management tried to dissuade them from writing their own songs, and forced upon them some real treacle sweet tripe.
However their success increasingly allowed them to force their own voice.
Bands writing their own songs, was not a common thing at that time. They really broke the mold and once management saw how lucrative this could be it really changed the game for other bands.

I think it’s because of these early albums and being pushed into being a pop band by management as well as some of the saccharine and twee crap MCcartney liked to throw in eg, When I’m 64, Maxwell’s Silver Hammer, Obladi-Oblada that can cloud judgment with regard to their rock bonafides.

The release of Rubber Soul is acknowldeged by the Stones as a big influencer behind their album Aftermath- their first of material solely written by the band. Lour Reed also stated that this album was something that forced him to acknowledge they were no flash in the pan, and were a force to be reckoned with.

The fact that they had two top shelf songwriters in John Lennon and Paul McCartney in the beginning, and from 1968 increasingly George Harrison was unheard of and I don’t think there is another band that has had the depth of songwriting talent that the Beatles had.

They paved the way for rock bands to come, where diversity in sound was previously not the done thing as management were nervous it may see fans waver.

A brief list of ways they influenced music far beyond the pop genre, and for decades to come:
* First use of recorded guitar feedback - "I Feel Fine"
* Keen adoption of technology to push the boundaries of contemporary sound, eg "Tomorrow Never Knows' - that track could very well have been released as a single in the late 90's on the dance scene.
* Influencing heavy rock "Helter Skelter" as heavy as anything the Who or Black Sabbath were doing in 1968
*They paved the way for all British acts to follow in terms of worldwide domination. They set the blueprint for the big Stadium tours the Stones, Who, and Led Zeppelin did after.
* They pushed their audience into being receptive to a diversity of sound from a band. Use of Sitar on 'Norwegian Wood', backward guitar loops 'Strawberry Fields',
* They were pioneers in the use of video as a meaningful component to the music medium. Strawberry Fields, Penny Lane

Below is a list of songs off the top of my head that demonstrate the Beatles were more than a pop band, or a hippie band. It's not exhaustive, there no doubt with further thought would be others to add to the list.
Most of them come from Revolver and beyond, as in my opinion that is when they really spread their wings and started setting the standard for rock music to come.

In chronological order

1. There's a Place

As much as punk bands in the 70's were often seen as a reaction against the established rock music scene, and to like the Beatles was akin to being seen as part of the old order, they too even must dip their lid to the Beatles.
'There's a place' is a classic piece of punk rock construction, and as much as the group was being heavily managed at the time in terms of what songs they recorded, this is a great early example of their desire and ability to break the mold of contemporary rock n roll. A precursor of things to come.

2. I Wanna Be Your Man, Not necessarily a great song, but the fact that this was written for and sold to the Rolling Stones, highlights Lennon & McCartney as a songwriting force in Rock 'n Roll.

3. Norwegian Wood. Both lyrically and with the addition of Sitar, this really breaks out of the pop music mold. It may not be heavy rock, but even rock bands today feel comfortable to slow things down. The fact that the final verse intimates es that the protagonist in this song, sets fire to the girls house after she'd left him alone after rejecting him, 'So I lit a fire...isn't it good Norwegian wood' and that no one picked this up for a long time..shows Lennon's skill with language, as well as highlighting his mean sense of humour. Probably wouldn't survive scrutiny in today's cancel culture!

4. Paperback Writer. No way to dispute this as anything but rock music. The riff which is actually Paul McCartney playing lead (a very underrated lead guitarist. That is classic 60's rock music

5. Taxman - For me the first time George Harrison really starts to stand out as a writer. Sardonic, and dripping with attitude. Again the riff performed by McCartney. Stevie Ray Vaughan's cover of this is great too.

6. Tomorrow Never Knows. This would not be out of place as an early dance music in the 90's. I think Noel Gallagher performed a song called "Setting Sun' with an electronic group in the 90's that absolutely reeks of a rip off of this.

7. She Said, She Said. This one is a clear pioneer in the start of the psychedelic sounds that came out of San Francisco soon after. Also highlights Ringo's very underrated drumming.

8. Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Jimi Hendrix immediately saw the funkiness and heaviness of it. He performed a very heavy version of it in front of an audience that included Paul McCartney after the album had only been released a week or so earlier.

9. Good Morning, Good Morning. Another great piece of blistering lead guitar from McCartney

10. Strawberry Fields Forever. For me this is one of the greatest rock songs of all time.

11. A Day in the Life. As above, this is just a brilliant and interesting piece of rock music. Definitely cannot be categorised as throwaway pop. Again Ringo's drumming on this is understated but perfect and the melding of two songs (the bridge sung by McCartney was an incomplete separate song) into one, highlights their mature skills as writers.

11. I am the Walrus. So many modern rock songs owe a lot to this. Trippy, moody and snarling lyrics set to a hard rocking melodic dirge.


12. While my Guitar Gently Weeps. Another progression in Harrison's songwriting skills. Eric Clapton's inclusion on the track is reflective of how pissed off Harrison was becoming with John and Paul not engaging with his material in the studio. As an aside, it was hearing Prince's blistering cover of this recently that forced me to reevaluate just how great a guitarist he was.

13. Back in the USSR - A great mix of using Chuck Berry style rock n roll progression, Little Richard style piano, and an obvious p1sstake lyrical response to the Beachboys California Girls. Harrison's lead break definitely adds a nice modern hard rock edge to the song that belies its early rock'n'roll origins.

14. Helter Skelter - Future heavy metal bands definitely got some inspiration from this one.

15. Revolution (the single-not accoustic album version) Again typical Beatles, mixing hard edge with a sardonic tip of the hat to old school early rock'n'roll

16. Everybody's Got Something to Hide (Except for me and my Monkey) - Really interesting rocker, that doesn't follow normal timings, which made it a beast to record, especially for Ringo who had to do this in stages, due to the changing rhythm and timing.

17. Yer Blues - The White Album produces so many different styles, that initially makes it hard to follow as a listener. There is little coherence in styles. It's got the most heavy music the Beatles ever recorded, against some of the softest and gentle compositions. Yer Blues is John Lennon at his most disconsolate and primal, but still ever-present with his sarcastic humour. Not too many pop songs would titillate teeny boppers with the lines 'I'm so lonely, wanna die' or ' The bird he picks my eyes, the worm he licks my bones' feel so suicidal even hate my rock 'n' roll'

18 Happiness is a Warm Gun - Another of those studio only songs, that would be a nightmare to play live with it's changing tempo. Definitely not a pop song.

19. Dig a Pony - lyrical nonsense, but a real innovative blues twist, with some of Harrion's bluesiest lick

20 I've Got a Feeling. One of McCartney's most soulful, funkiest tunes, channeling some great vocal range. Billy Preston's electric piano adds a nice groove.

21. I Want You -Such a contrasting song. Soulful, bluesy, jazzy, and then the final several minute repeated minor chord based dirge
represents The Beatles at their heaviest.

22. You Never Give Me Your Money - brilliant rock mosaic, and seems like an early precursor to 70's rock to come.

23. Come Together - another rock'n'roll inspired riff, owing heaps musically and lyrically to Chuck Berry, but so much more moodier and heavy in tone. This isn't rock music?

24. The End- although part of the Side 2 Medley it stands alone for the great 3 way lead guitar interplay between McCartney, Lennon and Harrison.

Touche YHF.

[HOSE B ROMERO]

Re: Geatest Brirish band of all time

Tough to argue against the Beatles or the Stones as the geatest British bands. They’re imprint on music overall is impossible to top even though I wouldn’t vote for either as the best. I’d listen to the Kinks way more than either of them for sure.

Love the Kinks. Ray Davies is one of my favourite songwriters of all times. Quintessentially British lyrics. Musically could mix it up from hard rock to music hall. And melancholy.

[jeemak]

Re: Geatest Brirish band of all time

So - I obviously voted for (and advocated) 'The Clash' but has anyone else picked up the Stones GHS re-issue?

A couple of the 'new tracks' are pretty damn amazing and the fact that 'Scarlett' with Jimmy Page playing was someone lost and forgotten for near on 50 years is simply incredible.

How do you forget getting Jimmy Page in the studio to work on one track?
How do you get him in to do that and then leave that track off the album?

So much great material.

I just couldn't get into the Stones, can't put my finger on the reason why. Possibly there's always just this element that irrespective of how generic some of their sounds were after their early stuff people raved about them, almost as if because of who they were they kind of got a free pass (possibly like the band equivalent of Paul Roos getting 25 touches playing loose man in defence and folks raving about it in his Sydney days).

[jeemak]

Re: Geatest Brirish band of all time

I have kept my powder dry on this for a long time.

I don't dismiss any of the other opinions for who is the greatest british rock bands, it is after all high subjective. However it's doing the Beatles a great injustice to label them a 'pop band', or a 'hippie band' as TwoDogs wrote.

They were a rock n roll band to begin with as hard rocking as any band could be in the very early 60's before they were signed. They were all working class lads, who did the hard yards playing in the 'Reaperbahn' district in Hamburg Germany, where they honed their chops.
Yes, when their management signed them up they tried to package them as a pop band with the suit and ties, and nice haircuts. Sold as the boys next door.. They were anything but.

Their management tried to dissuade them from writing their own songs, and forced upon them some real treacle sweet tripe.
However their success increasingly allowed them to force their own voice.
Bands writing their own songs, was not a common thing at that time. They really broke the mold and once management saw how lucrative this could be it really changed the game for other bands.

I think it’s because of these early albums and being pushed into being a pop band by management as well as some of the saccharine and twee crap MCcartney liked to throw in eg, When I’m 64, Maxwell’s Silver Hammer, Obladi-Oblada that can cloud judgment with regard to their rock bonafides.

The release of Rubber Soul is acknowldeged by the Stones as a big influencer behind their album Aftermath- their first of material solely written by the band. Lour Reed also stated that this album was something that forced him to acknowledge they were no flash in the pan, and were a force to be reckoned with.

The fact that they had two top shelf songwriters in John Lennon and Paul McCartney in the beginning, and from 1968 increasingly George Harrison was unheard of and I don’t think there is another band that has had the depth of songwriting talent that the Beatles had.

They paved the way for rock bands to come, where diversity in sound was previously not the done thing as management were nervous it may see fans waver.

A brief list of ways they influenced music far beyond the pop genre, and for decades to come:
* First use of recorded guitar feedback - "I Feel Fine"
* Keen adoption of technology to push the boundaries of contemporary sound, eg "Tomorrow Never Knows' - that track could very well have been released as a single in the late 90's on the dance scene.
* Influencing heavy rock "Helter Skelter" as heavy as anything the Who or Black Sabbath were doing in 1968
*They paved the way for all British acts to follow in terms of worldwide domination. They set the blueprint for the big Stadium tours the Stones, Who, and Led Zeppelin did after.
* They pushed their audience into being receptive to a diversity of sound from a band. Use of Sitar on 'Norwegian Wood', backward guitar loops 'Strawberry Fields',
* They were pioneers in the use of video as a meaningful component to the music medium. Strawberry Fields, Penny Lane

Below is a list of songs off the top of my head that demonstrate the Beatles were more than a pop band, or a hippie band. It's not exhaustive, there no doubt with further thought would be others to add to the list.
Most of them come from Revolver and beyond, as in my opinion that is when they really spread their wings and started setting the standard for rock music to come.

In chronological order

1. There's a Place

As much as punk bands in the 70's were often seen as a reaction against the established rock music scene, and to like the Beatles was akin to being seen as part of the old order, they too even must dip their lid to the Beatles.
'There's a place' is a classic piece of punk rock construction, and as much as the group was being heavily managed at the time in terms of what songs they recorded, this is a great early example of their desire and ability to break the mold of contemporary rock n roll. A precursor of things to come.

2. I Wanna Be Your Man, Not necessarily a great song, but the fact that this was written for and sold to the Rolling Stones, highlights Lennon & McCartney as a songwriting force in Rock 'n Roll.

3. Norwegian Wood. Both lyrically and with the addition of Sitar, this really breaks out of the pop music mold. It may not be heavy rock, but even rock bands today feel comfortable to slow things down. The fact that the final verse intimates es that the protagonist in this song, sets fire to the girls house after she'd left him alone after rejecting him, 'So I lit a fire...isn't it good Norwegian wood' and that no one picked this up for a long time..shows Lennon's skill with language, as well as highlighting his mean sense of humour. Probably wouldn't survive scrutiny in today's cancel culture!

4. Paperback Writer. No way to dispute this as anything but rock music. The riff which is actually Paul McCartney playing lead (a very underrated lead guitarist. That is classic 60's rock music

5. Taxman - For me the first time George Harrison really starts to stand out as a writer. Sardonic, and dripping with attitude. Again the riff performed by McCartney. Stevie Ray Vaughan's cover of this is great too.

6. Tomorrow Never Knows. This would not be out of place as an early dance music in the 90's. I think Noel Gallagher performed a song called "Setting Sun' with an electronic group in the 90's that absolutely reeks of a rip off of this.

7. She Said, She Said. This one is a clear pioneer in the start of the psychedelic sounds that came out of San Francisco soon after. Also highlights Ringo's very underrated drumming.

8. Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Jimi Hendrix immediately saw the funkiness and heaviness of it. He performed a very heavy version of it in front of an audience that included Paul McCartney after the album had only been released a week or so earlier.

9. Good Morning, Good Morning. Another great piece of blistering lead guitar from McCartney

10. Strawberry Fields Forever. For me this is one of the greatest rock songs of all time.

11. A Day in the Life. As above, this is just a brilliant and interesting piece of rock music. Definitely cannot be categorised as throwaway pop. Again Ringo's drumming on this is understated but perfect and the melding of two songs (the bridge sung by McCartney was an incomplete separate song) into one, highlights their mature skills as writers.

11. I am the Walrus. So many modern rock songs owe a lot to this. Trippy, moody and snarling lyrics set to a hard rocking melodic dirge.


12. While my Guitar Gently Weeps. Another progression in Harrison's songwriting skills. Eric Clapton's inclusion on the track is reflective of how pissed off Harrison was becoming with John and Paul not engaging with his material in the studio. As an aside, it was hearing Prince's blistering cover of this recently that forced me to reevaluate just how great a guitarist he was.

13. Back in the USSR - A great mix of using Chuck Berry style rock n roll progression, Little Richard style piano, and an obvious p1sstake lyrical response to the Beachboys California Girls. Harrison's lead break definitely adds a nice modern hard rock edge to the song that belies its early rock'n'roll origins.

14. Helter Skelter - Future heavy metal bands definitely got some inspiration from this one.

15. Revolution (the single-not accoustic album version) Again typical Beatles, mixing hard edge with a sardonic tip of the hat to old school early rock'n'roll

16. Everybody's Got Something to Hide (Except for me and my Monkey) - Really interesting rocker, that doesn't follow normal timings, which made it a beast to record, especially for Ringo who had to do this in stages, due to the changing rhythm and timing.

17. Yer Blues - The White Album produces so many different styles, that initially makes it hard to follow as a listener. There is little coherence in styles. It's got the most heavy music the Beatles ever recorded, against some of the softest and gentle compositions. Yer Blues is John Lennon at his most disconsolate and primal, but still ever-present with his sarcastic humour. Not too many pop songs would titillate teeny boppers with the lines 'I'm so lonely, wanna die' or ' The bird he picks my eyes, the worm he licks my bones' feel so suicidal even hate my rock 'n' roll'

18 Happiness is a Warm Gun - Another of those studio only songs, that would be a nightmare to play live with it's changing tempo. Definitely not a pop song.

19. Dig a Pony - lyrical nonsense, but a real innovative blues twist, with some of Harrion's bluesiest lick

20 I've Got a Feeling. One of McCartney's most soulful, funkiest tunes, channeling some great vocal range. Billy Preston's electric piano adds a nice groove.

21. I Want You -Such a contrasting song. Soulful, bluesy, jazzy, and then the final several minute repeated minor chord based dirge
represents The Beatles at their heaviest.

22. You Never Give Me Your Money - brilliant rock mosaic, and seems like an early precursor to 70's rock to come.

23. Come Together - another rock'n'roll inspired riff, owing heaps musically and lyrically to Chuck Berry, but so much more moodier and heavy in tone. This isn't rock music?

24. The End- although part of the Side 2 Medley it stands alone for the great 3 way lead guitar interplay between McCartney, Lennon and Harrison.

You've obviously not thought about this in any great depth, have a think about how you could articulate your point a bit more thoroughly and come back to the thread and update this post please.

[EasternWest]

Re: Geatest Brirish band of all time

You've obviously not thought about this in any great depth, have a think about how you could articulate your point a bit more thoroughly and come back to the thread and update this post please.

Pfft. All that tripe and the Beatles only had three great songwriters.

I can name a British band where all 4 members have written number 1 tracks.

Take that, mop haired hippies.

[Twodogs]

Re: Geatest Brirish band of all time

Pfft. All that tripe and the Beatles only had three great songwriters.

I can named a British bad where all 4 members have written number 1 tracks.

Take that, mop haired hippies.

And an astrophysicist.

[The Underdog]

Re: Geatest Brirish band of all time

You've obviously not thought about this in any great depth, have a think about how you could articulate your point a bit more thoroughly and come back to the thread and update this post please.

I’m just glad someone is finally paying some attention to the music of The Beatles. They’re contribution has been ignored for far too long.

I’m also impressed that the title of this thread has remained gloriously misspelled.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Re: Geatest Brirish band of all time

You've obviously not thought about this in any great depth, have a think about how you could articulate your point a bit more thoroughly and come back to the thread and update this post please.

Ahh Jeemak don't ever change, you beautiful bastard!
You've made my off-season! Thanks for acknowledging my tardy and lazy post. 😂

[Twodogs]

Re: Geatest Brirish band of all time

I’m just glad someone is finally paying some attention to the music of The Beatles. They’re contribution has been ignored for far too long.

I’m also impressed that the title of this thread has remained gloriously misspelled.

I'd be happy to put a "the" in the poll question. The Who would go pretty close to being the greatest Brirish band!