Music: The Beatles, greatest "popular consensus" band of all time?

[Perennial]

Greatest American band ever?

I think a case could be made for Tool

 

[Shareefruck]

Yeah, the Beatles are easily #1

The only thing the Beatles are lacking is that one big signature song that people associate with them

I'd say Yesterday is arguably their most popular song, but there are certainly other contenders such as Hey Jude, Let It Be, I Want To Hold Your Hand, etc.

But for argument's sake, let's say it's Yesterday. Now put that up against Stairway To Heaven, or Bohemian Rhapsody, or Comfortably Numb, or even Paranoid Android, and it just seems to pale in comparison

I would not at all consider that a flaw, nor would I consider Yesterday anything remotely close to their magnum opus (if anything, I would sooner consider it their equivalent of "Creep"). The only reason they don't have one song that is viewed as their consensus best is because they have several that are on that level, whereas these other bands arguably don't.

Strawberry Fields Forever, A Day in the Life, Tomorrow Never Knows, In My Life, and While My Guitar Gently Weeps are all vastly superior to Stairway to Heaven, Bohemian Rhapsody, Comfortably Numb, or Paranoid Android. It's not even close, IMO.

 

[WetcoastOrca]

Yeah, the Beatles are easily #1

The only thing the Beatles are lacking is that one big signature song that people associate with them

I'd say Yesterday is arguably their most popular song, but there are certainly other contenders such as Hey Jude, Let It Be, I Want To Hold Your Hand, etc.

But for argument's sake, let's say it's Yesterday. Now put that up against Stairway To Heaven, or Bohemian Rhapsody, or Comfortably Numb, or even Paranoid Android, and it just seems to pale in comparison

For me, their signature song is A Day in the Life. I’d put it up there with any of those songs.

 

[Perennial]

I would not at all consider that a flaw, nor would I consider Yesterday anything remotely close to their magnum opus. The only reason they don't have one song that everyone associates them with is because they have several that are on that level, whereas these other bands only have one.

Strawberry Fields Forever, A Day in the Life, Tomorrow Never Knows, and While My Guitar Gently Weeps are all vastly superior to Stairway to Heaven, Bohemian Rhapsody, Comfortably Numb, or Paranoid Android. It's not even close, IMO.

The Beatles are my favorite band, but I've never even heard of Tomorrow Never Knows

I didn't say Yesterday was their "magnum opus", I said it was 'arguably their most popular song'

I think you stand alone with your assessment that those songs are "vastly superior" to the ones I listed

Your entire post comes across needlessly confrontational and argumentative - are you having a bad day?

 

[Perennial]

For me, their signature song is A Day in the Life. I’d put it up there with any of those songs.

That's a good one too

I probably could've listed another 5 or 6, but just opted to put "etc" to cover them all

 

[Shareefruck]

The Beatles are my favorite band, but I've never even heard of Tomorrow Never Knows

I didn't say Yesterday was their "magnum opus", I said it was 'arguably their most popular song'

I think you stand alone with your assessment that those songs are "vastly superior" to the ones I listed

Your entire post comes across needlessly confrontational and argumentative - are you having a bad day?

Bluntness and lack of concession is often mistaken for confrontational argumentativeness. I'm reading back my post and I don't see anything personal, toxic, or loaded in there-- All I did was completely disagree with you. I used extreme words in cases where I wanted to honestly express degrees of severity, and I included "In my opinion" in case it was mistaken as anything more. Maybe try reading it again in a more charitable and less defensive manner? Here it is again:

I would not at all consider that a flaw, nor would I consider Yesterday anything remotely close to their magnum opus (if anything, I would sooner consider it their equivalent of "Creep"). The only reason they don't have one song that is viewed as their consensus best is because they have several that are on that level, whereas these other bands arguably don't.

Strawberry Fields Forever, A Day in the Life, Tomorrow Never Knows, In My Life, and While My Guitar Gently Weeps are all vastly superior to Stairway to Heaven, Bohemian Rhapsody, Comfortably Numb, or Paranoid Android. It's not even close, IMO.

If we're only talking about popularity, I'm not sure Paranoid Android should be included either. It's arguably their widely agreed upon magnum opus to a lot of people, but it's not really a super popular household name, is it? If the latter is what we're referring to specifically (rather than something more meaningful like "this is their agreed upon crowning achievement"), I'm not sure how something like Hey Jude is lacking in comparison to the others. Do you mean that it pales in comparison to their popularity, or their quality? It's arguably more popular/widely known than these other songs, and it appears as high or higher on most greatest of all time lists.

 

[Perennial]

Bluntness and lack of concession is often mistaken for confrontational argumentativeness. I'm reading back my post and I don't see anything personal, toxic, or loaded in there-- All I did was completely disagree with you. I used extreme words in cases where I wanted to honestly express degrees of severity, and I included "In my opinion" in case it was mistaken as anything more. Maybe try reading it again in a more charitable and less defensive manner? Here it is again:


If we're only talking about popularity, I'm not sure Paranoid Android should be included either. It's arguably their magnum opus to a lot of people, but it's not really a super popular household name, is it? If that's what we're referring to specifically (rather than something more meaningful like "this is their agreed upon crowning achievement"), I'm not sure how something like Hey Jude is lacking in comparison to the others. Do you mean that it pales in comparison to their popularity, or their quality?

I took exception to the manner in which you stated your opinion as fact

"I'd argue X, Y, Z are superior to..." is a much more engaging approach to the discussion instead of your method, "You're wrong, X, Y, Z are vastly superior!"


Not popularity or quality, but more in terms of complexity

Someone mentioned A Day In The Life, and that is definitely a complex and multilayered song, but others such as Let It Be, Yesterday, or Hey Jude are pretty simplistic in their structure and execution

I prefer Yesterday, for example, to Bohemian Rhapsody, but I'm far more impressed with the latter as a musical endeavor

 

[Shareefruck]

I took exception to the manner in which you stated your opinion as fact

"I'd argue X, Y, Z are superior to..." is a much more engaging approach to the discussion instead of your method, "You're wrong, X, Y, Z are vastly superior!"


Not popularity or quality, but more in terms of complexity

Someone mentioned A Day In The Life, and that is definitely a complex and multilayered song, but others such as Let It Be, Yesterday, or Hey Jude are pretty simplistic in their structure and execution

I prefer Yesterday, for example, to Bohemian Rhapsody, but I'm far more impressed with the latter as a musical endeavor

You've twisted my words here, and I'd suggest taking another look at whether or not I actually did. I used purely subjective prefaces such as "in my opinion", "I disagree", and "I consider" all over the post (which to be honest, should be implied and unnecessary anyways), and never said "you're wrong" or anything that suggests that, so why would you take any of that as a statement of fact or personal affront? Are you sure you're not just mistaking words that merely imply severity like "vastly" or "it's not even close" for authority? Because that's the only notable difference I can see when comparing "I'd argue X, Y, Z are superior to..." with what I actually said-- "X, Y, Z are vastly superior and it's not even close, in my opinion."

I think what you're describing is more a byproduct of The Beatles also having simpler classics in addition to their complex and multi-layered classics, leading to audiences not identifying them exclusively with one over the other rather than anything resembling a shortcoming or lack of impressive output on their part. Strawberry Fields Forever is generally considered to have more multi-layered complexity than any of these songs (in addition to historical impact and being considered their magnum opus by a lot of people), but it has to share the spotlight with something simpler like Hey Jude or Yesterday (or even Penny Lane, if we're looking at the time frame). Not that that's necessarily even unfortunate or relevant-- I don't see why complexity vs. simplicity matters to begin with, personally.

I'm pretty sure that if Zeppelin or Pink Floyd or Queen had a Paul McCartney (who has a real knack for writing simpler, massively popular classics), you would see a very similar phenomenon with how their band-defining classics are viewed.

 

[Say Hey Kid]

Critically? Maybe. Popular consensus? Obviously not. The top 8 classic rock bands in popular consensus are Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Tom Petty, AC/DC, Aerosmith, and ZZ Top.

 

[Perennial]

You've twisted my words here, and I'd suggest taking another look at whether or not I actually did. I used purely subjective prefaces such as "in my opinion", "I disagree", and "I consider" all over the post (which to be honest, should be implied and unnecessary anyways), and never said "you're wrong" or anything that suggests that, so why would you take any of that as a statement of fact or personal affront? Are you sure you're not just mistaking words that merely imply severity like "vastly" or "it's not even close" for authority? Because that's the only notable difference I can see when comparing "I'd argue X, Y, Z are superior to..." with what I actually said-- "X, Y, Z are vastly superior and it's not even close, in my opinion."

I think what you're describing is more a byproduct of The Beatles also having simpler classics in addition to their complex and multi-layered classics, leading to audiences not identifying them exclusively with one over the other rather than anything resembling a shortcoming or lack of impressive output on their part. Strawberry Fields Forever is generally considered to have more multi-layered complexity than any of these songs (in addition to historical impact and being considered their magnum opus by a lot of people), but it has to share the spotlight with something simpler like Hey Jude or Yesterday (or even Penny Lane, if we're looking at the time frame). Not that that's necessarily even unfortunate or relevant-- I don't see why complexity vs. simplicity matters to begin with, personally.

I'm pretty sure that if Zeppelin or Pink Floyd or Queen had a Paul McCartney (who has a real knack for writing simpler, massively popular classics), you would see a very similar phenomenon with how their band-defining classics are viewed.

You don't see the value in complexity. Okay...

And you're right, I may have misinterpreted your earlier tone

 

[peate]

Hey Jude, their top selling single I believe, and longest at #1.

Stairway is in a different class from all the others mentioned.

 

[kihei]

Critically? Maybe. Popular consensus? Obviously not. The top 8 classic rock bands in popular consensus are Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Tom Petty, AC/DC, Aerosmith, and ZZ Top.

Huh? According to what metric?

 

[kihei]

Yeah, the Beatles are easily #1

The only thing the Beatles are lacking is that one big signature song that people associate with them

I'd say Yesterday is arguably their most popular song, but there are certainly other contenders such as Hey Jude, Let It Be, I Want To Hold Your Hand, etc.

But for argument's sake, let's say it's Yesterday. Now put that up against Stairway To Heaven, or Bohemian Rhapsody, or Comfortably Numb, or even Paranoid Android, and it just seems to pale in comparison

Signature song? According to the BBC, Yesterday had been covered 2200 by the turn of the century; some more recent sources estimate that the number is now closer to 3000 times. In 2000, Yesterday was voted the number one pop song of all time by both MTV and Rolling Stone magazine. How much more "signature" can you get than that?

The problem here is that the Beatles have too many to choose from.

 

[Perennial]

Signature song? According to the BBC, Yesterday had been covered 2200 by the turn of the century; some more recent sources estimate that the number is now closer to 3000 times. In 2000, Yesterday was voted the number one pop song of all time by both MTV and Rolling Stone magazine. How much more "signature" can you get than that?

I meant 'big' as in 'epic'

Yesterday is one of my favorite songs, but it's only 2 minutes long as has a very simple structure

 

[kihei]

I meant 'big' as in 'epic'

Yesterday is one of my favorite songs, but it's only 2 minutes long as has a very simple structure

Oh....We are measuring by the pound, are we?

 

[Perennial]

Oh....We are measuring by the pound, are we?

No, we use the metric system here in Canada...

 

[kihei]

No, we use the metric system here in Canada...

 

[Shareefruck]

You don't see the value in complexity. Okay...

And you're right, I may have misinterpreted your earlier tone

I value complexity, but not any more than I value simplicity, no. To me, "this band is better than this other band because they're more complex" is kind of a meaningless sentiment, because the opposite could just as easily be true.

 

[Perennial]

I value complexity, but not any more than I value simplicity, no. To me, "this band is better than this other band because they're more complex" is kind of a meaningless sentiment, because the opposite could just as easily be true.

I never said more complex was better, just more impressive

 

[Shareefruck]

I never said complexity was better, just more impressive

You raised an eyebrow at the idea that "You don't see the value in complexity" so that's what I responded to. I use the term "better" synonymously with the term "more value".

Just as an example, I find the simplicity of the band, Neu! far more impressive, valuable, and interesting than the complexity of the band, Tool. Similarly, I find The Beatles tracks, In My Life and Nowhere Man to be a far more impressive, valuable, and interesting than tracks like I Am the Walrus and I Want You (She's So Heavy) despite the former being simplistic and the latter being complex.

 

[Perennial]

You raised an eyebrow at "You don't see the value in complexity." I use the term "better" synonymously with the term "more value".

Just as an example, I find the simplicity of the band, Neu! far more impressive, valuable, and interesting than the complexity of the band, Tool.

To each their own

 

[tacogeoff]

Critically? Maybe. Popular consensus? Obviously not. The top 8 classic rock bands in popular consensus are Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Tom Petty, AC/DC, Aerosmith, and ZZ Top.

I dont think the op called them classic rock. To my ears they go from light commerciap pop sounding to light punk/ska. They made some great music though

 

[Sentinel]

Yeah, the Beatles are easily #1

The only thing the Beatles are lacking is that one big signature song that people associate with them

I'd say Yesterday is arguably their most popular song, but there are certainly other contenders such as Hey Jude, Let It Be, I Want To Hold Your Hand, etc.

But for argument's sake, let's say it's Yesterday. Now put that up against Stairway To Heaven, or Bohemian Rhapsody, or Comfortably Numb, or even Paranoid Android, and it just seems to pale in comparison

Yesterday >>>>>>>>> Paranoid Android. Not even a contest

 

[Sentinel]

FWIW the number of songs I love from these artists goes like this:

1. Vladimir Vysotsky
2. Judas Priest
3. AC/DC
4. The Beatles
5. Running Wild
6. Overkill
7. Tom Waits

Of course I don't love them all equally.

 

[Shareefruck]

I view Yesterday as the Beatles equivalent of Creep and Paranoid Android as the Radiohead equivalent of Strawberry Fields or A Day in the Life. They're both kind of at opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to different types of massively appreciated tracks by the bands. Personally, I find the former group awful/overrated and the latter group very admirable and great, but probably not their best. For my money, the actual best track of both bands would be Tomorrow Never Knows and Pyramid Song (runner-up Everything in Its Right Place).

Don't really care for Bohemian Rhapsody or Stairway to Heaven, kind of like but don't love Comfortably Numb. My top Zeppelin track would be No Quarter, my top Pink Floyd track would be Dogs, and I don't really like anything from Queen.