I'm personally very lukewarm about most Beatles' stuff before A Hard Day's Night, and it's really not until Help that I become a fan. From then on, though, I'm pretty rabid. Likewise with The Stones; Aftermath and/or 19th Nervous Breakdown (same time frame, one album, one single) is where I start becoming enthusiastic.
Cut off for music purchase-Are you an Audiophile or Musicphile?
- Thread starter Nevillekapadia
- Start date
Not just as an expression of your personal preference though, but as a manifestation of you operating at a higher level of understanding of the musical merits of the Beatles' catalogue. Let me quote your original statement "Abbey Road is the one album that people who don't really care about the Beatles claim they like. As good as Abbey Road is, compared to the earlier Beatles LPs, it's fluff."
I stand by what I said and I mean what I said. Does that mean that anyone agrees with me? Hell if I know. Unlike a politician, I didn't lick my thumb and stick it in the air to see which way the wind is blowing. I just told you how I feel. So basically, I'm operating at a higher understanding of what I think the musical merits of the Beatles catalog are.
Some young guy I know from work was showing me his Facebook page and under his "likes" he had the Beatles. So I asked him what albums he has and what his favorites are and he had no answers. He just listed the Beatles because it sounds cool to like the Beatles. I'm surprised he couldn't spit out "Abbey Road" though because like I said, people who don't really care about the Beatles have usually heard of Abbey Road and will tell you that is their 'favorite' Beatles album.
You poor, misguided soul lacking in musical taste. You obviously have not consulted with Dr. mep, who could have enlightened you on the finer hidden qualities of pre-help Beatles, and point out how their output went downhill since the mid-60, culminating in that turd of an album Abbey Road. I only found out recently myself - but I wish I had discovered earlier, so I would not have wasted endless hours listening to their fluffy stuff and miss out on the true masterpieces.
Fess-up brother. You said you have the entire Beatles catalog but you only listen to Abbey Road. Does that make you a genius and all the rest of the Beatles albums aren't worth listening to? Your the guy with a six-figure system and only 100 albums that you are willing to play on that six-figure system and only Abbey Road made that cut from the Beatles catalog. I'm happy for you that you determined that Abbey Road was the only Beatles album that deserved to be in your hot 100 albums, but it just doesn't make sense to me. And, it doesn't have to make sense to me. But just because I'm not so narrow-minded that I have one eye stacked on top of the other and I can and do enjoy more than 100 albums and that I find great pleasure in the early Beatles LPs doesn't make me 'wrong' either. It's just my opinion.
I'm a fan of good music. Good music is music that I have determined is good. It could be crap to you, but I'm ok with that. The vast majority of my fair sized LP collection consists of your standard every day release. Being in Canada those are either Canadian or U.S. pressings. Some are great, others not so much, but I love them both. Of the ones I really love I've taken the steps to try and secure better pressings with some wonderful results. I continue to seek out new artists (or new to me new artists) and have fun buying those. In the context of the thread title I am a musicphile.
I am also a fan of good gear, but financial constraints don't allow me access to much of what many here own. And I'm ok with that too. I've assembled something that I can afford (obviously) and I get great pleasure from it.
If you have a great pressing being played on a great system it gives you goosebumps. Some will focus on the gear and its excellent presentation, I focus on the music and think about what was hidden in the grooves and originally laid down. It makes me appreciate the art of the art that is music. I don't know if I'm explaining it properly.
I am also a fan of good gear, but financial constraints don't allow me access to much of what many here own. And I'm ok with that too. I've assembled something that I can afford (obviously) and I get great pleasure from it.
If you have a great pressing being played on a great system it gives you goosebumps. Some will focus on the gear and its excellent presentation, I focus on the music and think about what was hidden in the grooves and originally laid down. It makes me appreciate the art of the art that is music. I don't know if I'm explaining it properly.
I own all the albums, I have listened to all of them at some stage in my life. Now that I don't listen to rock as much as I used to I find myself occasionally reaching back to Abbey Road, but not the other albums. Tell you what. Whenever I listen to Abbey Road, I listen in my upstairs system (5 figure) or in the car. I don't listen to rock in my main system, with the exception of concert DVDs.
I'm not saying your wrong. I'm saying you have a different opinion and taste, which is fine. You're the one saying the Abbey Road crowd is misguided (i.e. "wrong"), which is hugely presumptuous.
Let's not turn this into Beatles thread, but here's my 2 cents. "Abbey Road" ISN"T fluff, but it also isn't early raw Beatles that consisted more of purer rock 'n roll.
The genius of Abbey Road is - more than any other rock album I know - it is an organic whole, not a selection of songs.
You mean like Bill Haley and Chuck Berry "rock and roll". For me, what was great about the Beatles was how far beyond that they went while still staying within the framework of popular music. I wouldn't have cared for them if they had never gotten past their rock and roll stage. JMO, of course.
To edify: I wasn't implying that Abbey Road was less because it's not as rock 'n roll as the earlier attempts. In fact, I think that "Medley" is absolutely brilliant.
RE the bolded - a progressive rock fan's observation.
Early stuff like "I Saw Her Standing There"....raw, almost garage band kind of feel to it. Beautiful. The fact however is that they were so talented and needed to grow......
I didn't know they had gotten past their "rock and roll stage." At what album did that occur? There is a big difference (I think) in the early driving beat/sound of the Beatles and the LPs that came after, but there was still plenty of rock and roll to go around. Of course John couldn't leave Paul by himself for too long without reigning him in. Otherwise you have songs like "Just Another Silly Love Song."
Yer Blues, Back In The USSR, Birthday, Helter Skelter. There was some R&R on the White Album.
I'd say Sgt. Pepper was the definitive break with the past. "The past" being an extrapolation of those who had come before them. In the Pepper years and beyond they developed a truly unique voice.
"Some" yes! It was to me a compilation of quirky little ditties that worked really well together. Another brilliant attempt to stretch album boundaries.
My favourite Beatles album in my 20s. I did a paper on the Beatles in high school and cut out pics from the folded inlay of the white album. I sang "Rocky Raccoon" with a street musician in Amsterdam. Say what you want, but you cannot blame my misguided love for Abbey Road on lack of knowledge of the catalogue.
Well, I guess here is where we get to that nebulous distinction between "rock" and "rock and roll". Those tunes and much of what the Beatles did from Revolver on I call "rock", but it's far from what I call "rock and roll"
Pradeep (S/boy56),
I concur with your thoughts for two camps. But many I know on the forum have good equipment and a good collection/broad taste for music too.
Being such an avid analogue fan (great gear BTW), how do you deal with your collection locally as there wont be many an avenue for vinyl purchases. Would it have to be on your travels or are o/seas shipments safe enough for home postage delivery.
Best,
Neville
I concur with your thoughts for two camps. But many I know on the forum have good equipment and a good collection/broad taste for music too.
Being such an avid analogue fan (great gear BTW), how do you deal with your collection locally as there wont be many an avenue for vinyl purchases. Would it have to be on your travels or are o/seas shipments safe enough for home postage delivery.
Best,
Neville
Hi Neville.
Many thanks.
I probably belong to the camp where the hardware investment is miles ahead of what I spent on my 600 odd LPs. That is largely for reasons of geography and I suspect a naive viewpoint that once the difficult and lumpy hardware investment is done, the software can follow. I usually get my LPs from online stores in the US. The LPs find me months later when friends or family visit from the US. Occasional forays to Singapore, particularly The Adelphi, are rewarding and expensive.
Cheers
Pradeep
PS Any relation to the famous Dimple ?
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