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Early Beatles Vs. Late Beatles
9 November 2018
8.16am
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Jolly Jimmy
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Before I go too deep, I am sure all of you like all of the Beatles music throughout their entire career.  That’s why you registered to post on this website.  My question is whether you ever encountered anybody who liked one but hated the other.  This could be in your social circle or through some form of media.  Actually, I am asking about the whole Beatles culture, not just their music.

In general, I am guessing:

THOSE WHO PREFERRED THE EARLY YEARS

1.  Liked it when the songs were (on the surface) simple and harmless

2.  Preferred the relatively clean cut non-controversial image

3.  Went bonkers when they grew facial hair.  They seemed less “cute”.

4.  True oldies stations tend to play these songs more often than the later heavier ones.

 

THOSE WHO PREFERRED THE LATER YEARS

1.  Later generations seem to focus on these songs more.  The influence on current bands is more evident.

2.  Early songs seem too bland and in-distinctive to them.  Like the heavier more psychedelic sounds.

3.  Classic rock stations tend to play music from this era only.

4.  Blue Album outsold Red Album when first released in the 70s.

 

No right or wrong answer here.  I just want to read your opinions on the issue.  Or tell a story about someone you knew who fit into one of these categories.  I wonder whether there was a mini-generation gap even when Beatles were together.

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9 November 2018
9.37am
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Expert Textpert
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Interesting topic. I don’t personally know anyone who fits one of these categories, but I have read that post-Beatles John Lennon preferred the early straight rock and roll to the embellished psychedelia with “daft” lyrics. You can see him returning to basics with Rock ‘n’ Roll and Double Fantasy . Also, he was the driving force of the early Beatles.

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9 November 2018
11.13am
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Dark Overlord
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To me, early Beatles means Please Please Me through Revolver and late Beatles means The Beatles through Let It Be . My favorite period is from late 1965 to 1969 where they released 5 classic albums of all Beatles material in a row with my favorite of those being The Beatles, closely followed by Sgt. Pepper ‘s Lonely Hearts Club Band. So i guess that means i prefer the late Beatles although i really love those vocal harmonies and catchy pop tunes of early Beatles.

Can i pick mid period, i really love Sgt. Pepper ‘s Lonely Hearts Club Band and Yellow Submarine is one of the best films of all time, not to mention the psychedelic finishes done to Rocky and Paul’s Rickenbacker.

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9 November 2018
3.39pm
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The Hole Got Fixed
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My dad has a friend that hates the early period ‘they were just teenyboppers’, though he quite likes the later period ‘they became more real musicians compared to before’

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9 November 2018
4.07pm
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Dark Overlord
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@The Hole Got Fixed 

What’s the first album he likes.

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9 November 2018
4.26pm
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The Hole Got Fixed
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I don’t know that specific, but I know he likes the White Album .

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9 November 2018
9.22pm
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Ahhh Girl
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When I am with my mom, she always wants to hear the early albums. They sound more like the 50’s music she heard in her teen years.

10 November 2018
7.46am
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Jolly Jimmy
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Thanks AG for your posts.  That was what more like the intent of my thread.

While all of us here have our favorite era of the Beatles, we like and listen to all of their music.  I guess I was more interested in hearing about extremists you know who listen or play one period while ignoring the other.  What is their reason and such?  Does that bug you?

I also thought of the “classic rock that really rocks” type of station that might play Revolution but not Yesterday .  And then there are the soft rock or “lite” stations that might do the opposite.  Do you find that as narrow-minded as I do?

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11 November 2018
4.42am
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Timothy
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The Hole Got Fixed said
My dad has a friend that hates the early period ‘they were just teenyboppers’, though he quite likes the later period ‘they became more real musicians compared to before’  

I can understand what he means even though I’m a huge fan of those early days. They had a raw energy about them.

To us, albums like Revolver and Sgt Pepper have always been THE BEATLES because we automatically inherted everything, but back then, I can imagine how different it all sounded to people.

1.The Beatles 2.Sgt. Pepper 3.Abbey Road 4.Magical Mystery Tour 5.Rubber Soul 6.Revolver 7.Help! 8.Let It Be
9.A Hard Day’s Night 10.Please Please Me 11.Beatles For Sale 12.With The Beatles 13.Yellow Submarine

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11 November 2018
8.01am
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Shamrock Womlbs
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My father likes their early years better. He is not a fan, though. He could enjoy songs like Penny Lane , or Something but would clearly disapprove their druggy/political stuff… That’s fine with me, after all the first beatle album that I heard was his (Twist And Shout EP) n_n

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13 November 2018
6.01pm
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QuarryMan
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Elderly family members and friends (including one, and I know I’ve bragged about this before, that went to school with Paul) usually tend to prefer the early stuff in my experience, though everyone seems to love the happier tunes from later days, like Here Comes The Sun , Hey Jude , With A Little Help etc. Younger people tend to prefer Revolver and the White Album , which I consider to be their most hipster-ish projects anyway.

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I've been up on the mountain, and I've seen his wondrous grace,
I've sat there on the barstool and I've looked him in the face.
He seemed a little haggard, but it did not slow him down,
he was humming to the neon of the universal sound. 

15 November 2018
8.34pm
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Timothy
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Shamrock Womlbs said
My father likes their early years better. He is not a fan, though. He could enjoy songs like Penny Lane , or Something but would clearly disapprove their druggy/political stuff… That’s fine with me, after all the first beatle album that I heard was his (Twist And Shout EP) n_n  

Y’know, I suppose you could call it a pet peeve. I get a little annoyed when the moptop, all wearing the same uniform image of the Beatles gets used so often. I get that was their breakout, and it’s iconic, but were so much more than that stereotype. I love the early years, but I prefer the longer haired experimenting Beatles!

1.The Beatles 2.Sgt. Pepper 3.Abbey Road 4.Magical Mystery Tour 5.Rubber Soul 6.Revolver 7.Help! 8.Let It Be
9.A Hard Day’s Night 10.Please Please Me 11.Beatles For Sale 12.With The Beatles 13.Yellow Submarine

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15 December 2018
12.23pm
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My favorite period of their music was 1964-1966, but my four favorite Beatles songs are all from after this period– two are on the White Album , one is from Yellow Submarine , and one is a single from 1968. I guess I just like all their music a-hard-days-night-george-10

But I think the whole “early Beatles vs late Beatles” has a lot to do with lyrics. Early Beatles lyrics could be pretty generic, and they didn’t get to the really interesting lyrics till later. So I think the late-Beatles-only people probably care more about the lyrics, and early-beatles-only people just like the tunes, and don’t care about the lyrics. For instance, I love the song I Want To Hold Your Hand , but the lyrics are pretty blah. On the other hand, a huge part of the appeal of Maxwell’s Silver Hammer is the whimsical lyrics.

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15 December 2018
1.37pm
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silverhammerYT
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I love all of their music, but personally I feel like the later songs had a bit more thought in them. Their later music was so much more diverse; they incorporated Hard Rock (like Helter Skelter ), Psychedelic Rock (for example- Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds ), Indian (like Within You Without You ), and Musique Concrète (such as Revolution 9 ). I also especially love how in the second half of Abbey Road (or some parts of Sgt. Pepper ) the songs perfectly blend together into a splendid medley that is wonderful to listen to. I  also think that certain songs like All You Need Is Love are very sweet, impacting, and powerful. 

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31 December 2018
12.15am
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Timothy
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Gotta say this folks. I’m sitting back tonight with my iPod, rocking out in bliss to Please Please Me in stereo. I do get a real kick out of the early albums in remastered stereo, even though they weren’t intended to be listened this way. So clear and open. Love it so much.

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1.The Beatles 2.Sgt. Pepper 3.Abbey Road 4.Magical Mystery Tour 5.Rubber Soul 6.Revolver 7.Help! 8.Let It Be
9.A Hard Day’s Night 10.Please Please Me 11.Beatles For Sale 12.With The Beatles 13.Yellow Submarine

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31 December 2018
4.48am
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QuarryMan
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Yeah, the later songs and albums were definitely a big advancement both musically and lyrically. I think both halves or eras of their career (assuming Rubber Soul /Revolver era as a cutoff) are equally important historically, but if I could only listen to one, it would definitely be Rubber Soul onwards.

I've been up on the mountain, and I've seen his wondrous grace,
I've sat there on the barstool and I've looked him in the face.
He seemed a little haggard, but it did not slow him down,
he was humming to the neon of the universal sound. 

31 December 2018
4.52am
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QuarryMan
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Jolly Jimmy said

I also thought of the “classic rock that really rocks” type of station that might play Revolution but not Yesterday .  And then there are the soft rock or “lite” stations that might do the opposite.  Do you find that as narrow-minded as I do?  

I don’t find it too narrow minded actually. Radio stations do have to fit a certain mood that people are tuning in for, and I doubt the reason said station isn’t playing Yesterday is because they despise it, more like it just doesn’t fit the mood of their playlist. 

I've been up on the mountain, and I've seen his wondrous grace,
I've sat there on the barstool and I've looked him in the face.
He seemed a little haggard, but it did not slow him down,
he was humming to the neon of the universal sound. 

31 December 2018
3.21pm
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sir walter raleigh
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Timothy said
Gotta say this folks. I’m sitting back tonight with my iPod, rocking out in bliss to Please Please Me in stereo. I do get a real kick out of the early albums in remastered stereo, even though they weren’t intended to be listened this way. So clear and open. Love it so much.  

I heard the steroe mixes several times before I knew that they were remasters. I remember going into my ipod settings and changing the entire output to mono and being stunned by the increase in quality. I’ve never gone back from mono since for the early Beatles. 

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31 December 2018
4.27pm
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Dark Overlord
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@sir walter raleigh I’ve thought about listening to The Beatles stereo mixes folded down to mono as well, do you still listen to them like so.

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31 December 2018
6.05pm
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sir walter raleigh
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Dark Overlord said
@sir walter raleigh I’ve thought about listening to The Beatles stereo mixes folded down to mono as well, do you still listen to them like so.  

Now I just listen to the mono mix. But the stereo mixes reduced to mono sound great as well. 

"The pump don't work cause the vandals took the handles!"

-Bob Dylan, Subterranean Homesick Blues

"We could ride and surf together while our love would grow"

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