More than anything else the Beatles were original. When they hit their stride around Rubber Soul there wasn't really anything else like it. But Lennon and McCartney were not lyricists in the Tin Pan Alley sense. When they started out they were definitely a "rock band." To say the Beatles are not rock is to say that Chuck Berry did not play rock music. Their music evolved into something not quite like rock and more like pop.
Still I don't know how one could listen to Abbey Road or the White Album and say the Beatles don't rock. True, there is a some annoying crap in their catalog (When I'm 64, Obla Di Obla Da, to name two.)
To summarize, the Beatles are overrated by those who pour over their lyrics looking for hidden meanings, and who wonder what John "meant" when he wrote a certain line. Overall, I don't think they are overrated at all.
See I don’t really see that much original. They started off as a generic pop band, then they started introducing a bit of an acid rock sound (which was already being defined by The Dead, VU, and Floyd) but still kept solidly in pop, and really there’s a lot of other stuff like it all the way through. I don’t think they’re music ever really evolved near rock, actually I think they got more pop as they went on and the guitar work became mellower and de-emphasized as they added strings and such.
I think they were an above average pop band, that did some fairly interesting stuff periodically. And the certainly revolutionized the business aspect of popular music, they were the first “license to print money” band. But the way people go on and on about them constantly throwing “best” and “most” into descriptions that just don’t make sense they’re clearly overrated. There’s never been a band that’s half as good as the worshipers make the Beatles out to be. And sometimes it’s kind of sad, there’s a lot of people (like Les Paul) never getting the credit they deserve because so many people think the Beatles did everything first; what makes it even sadder is that if you read the actual members of the band talking about stuff they give credit to all these guys that the fans insist don’t even exist.
Our friend thinks anyone who defends the Beatles against his moronic comments “worships” them. As I told him I was never a huge fan (preferring the stones for one) but when I see ridiculous I speak up.
Well said.
I recall the first time I heard any Bealtes song (I Want To Hold Your Hand) and thought I was hearing something from Mars...it was so unlike anything I had ever heard.
Agree on Rubber Soul...In My Life is one of the best love songs ever written.
The Beach Boys were riding high on the success of Pet Sounds, celebrating with a party and someone put on the new Beatles album (Sgt Peppers) and they all KNEW music had just changed again....Sgt Pepper was revolutionary...to suggest they were not creative is like attempting to claim that water is not wet.
It is ok to not care for their music...we are not monolith...we have differing tastes...
As for those who took them too seriously (the lyrics), they just don’t get it...it was about fun...John Lennon said many times that they were just words...nothing more.