I've always wanted a list of things the Beatles clearly innovated or pioneered to use when people call them overrated. I've seen bits and pieces about their influence here and there, but nothing comprehensive. I figured with all the Beatles knowledge around here it would be a good place to start. Things like were they the fist to use backwards singing on a song? What's the whole flanging thing? How about the feedback thing? And their direct influences on other bands? Just a few questions to get started.
I Feel Fine has the first feedback ever recorded -the sound at the very beginning, created by an electric guitar coming too close to the amplifier-.
The Beatles were the first with a lot of things - a band writing its own material for a great part - the line up from a band hasn't changed much basically in forty years, since the Beatles - they invented playing in a stadium - they were the first British artists to be successfull in the States - their influence on other groups was enormous. For instance, the Rolling Stones and the Hollies copied almost everything the Beatles did musically, but also with things like clothing, haircuts,styles in general - they had a great influence on both sexes and worldwide - the English language became the standard in pop music (the Beatles recorded two singles in German, because the Germans would not listen to English music before the Beatles) - rock and roll was lifted to a higher level and respected by a greater audience then ever before - press conferences became funny meetings instead of giving standard answers to standard question. - they were a group that made it, before that, it was merely single artists with a backing group. These were four members, each with their own quality and each unreplacable. - in order to give their fans value for their money, they hardly put any singles on their albums. Well, in the USA it happened, much to the disagreement of the Beatles themselves.
O, there's a lot more, specially when it comes to recording. But there's more knowledge about that topic than in my head.
Well they pretty much invented music videos They made boy bands. They changed music. First band to have a cartoon First band to have so much unreleased stuff hope that helps
"And in the end, The love you take is equal to the Love.....You make." -The End, Abbey Road
First Rock and Roll Stadium show. Largest TV audience for 'All You Need..." First Mellotron, I believe. Longest (timewise) #1 single with 'Hey Jude' clocking in at 7:11.
Screw that. The Beatles were NOT a boy band in any respects.
Boy band = a manufactured group of young males usually in their late teens, who can only do vocal arrangements and dance. They don't play instruments or write their own songs. Their lasting power is 1 to 3 years, tops. They always have some lame pop princess as their opening act, and one of them is usually gay.
New Kids on the Block was the first "boy band". Well, maybe the Monkees, but they were for a TV show so that's different.
You're so vain, you probably think this post is about you.
sgt pepper was the first rock gatefold i think and first concept album... but how firsts for ringo?first to elevate the drummer.first bass drum in liverpool...there are others too someone must know...
I still think they invented the 'Bonus Track'. Its common these days on Greatest Hits albums or compilations to add an unreleased song or two, but they were possibly the first to do that on the UK 'Collection of Oldies but Goldies'. It was a compilation except for 'Bad Boy' which was previously unreleased in the UK.
I Feel Fine has the first feedback ever recorded -the sound at the very beginning, created by an electric guitar coming too close to the amplifier-.
The initial pluck is from John's acoustic guitar, which was feeding back because they were using one of those mikes that attaches to the guitar. In the middle solo section, after George does his first few licks, the band stops playing, and there's another guitar playing the riff. This is John's acoustic guitar, surprisingly enough, which is getting an overdriven signal from the miking technique, making it sound electric. How's that for innovation?
The initial pluck is from John's acoustic guitar, which was feeding back because they were using one of those mikes that attaches to the guitar. In the middle solo section, after George does his first few licks, the band stops playing, and there's another guitar playing the riff. This is John's acoustic guitar, surprisingly enough, which is getting an overdriven signal from the miking technique, making it sound electric. How's that for innovation?
sgt pepper was the first rock gatefold i think and first concept album... but how firsts for ringo?first to elevate the drummer.first bass drum in liverpool...there are others too someone must know...
Beatles For Sale was a gatefold. Gatefolds were very common, but not for "pop" music. Pepper (of course) was not really a concept album ...
But you are right about the elevation of the drummer. Ringo is regularly put down by ignorant people, but gee he did a lot for the status of the drummer as a musician.
I agree: Ringo put the beat in Beatles. The way his drums were recorded and mixed--out front and big--had a lot to do with the Beatles innovative sound. Sun Records recorded big drums--check out Jerry Lee Lewis "Great Balls of Fire," but the sound was muddy compared to the crispness of the Beatles recordings. You can really hear the kick and snare--not to mention all those cymbals.
Double-tracking: the Beatles were one of the first groups to double-track lead vocals. They originally had to do this live, but Geoff Emerick and the techs came up with flanging or phasing as a way to produce the sound of two voices singing almost in sync. It's sorta like echo, but echo is the multiplied repeat of a sound that decays. Flanging fattens up the voice. This helped the great lead vocals of Paul and John (more often) stand out in front of those big drums.
Horns: the Beatles close-miked horns (on songs like Got to Get You Into My Life) in way that hadn't been done before. They stuck the mikes practically into the horns, giving them the tonal clarity and attack you wouldn't get if you just miked the room.
Sitar and other Indian musical instruments: Beatles were the first to incorporate these into pop-rock music.
I don't know if they were the first to do this, but the Beatles did gender-bending versions of girl-group songs like Please Mister Postman.
The Beatles were one of the first groups to popularize the mellotron (e.g., Strawberry Field Forever opening).
I think the ultimate innovation of the Beatles was having four irreplaceable parts in a pop group where the whole was greater than the sum of the parts. From the very beginning this was recognized and they were marketed that way. Each member was in his way so distinctive that you couldn't replace one and still have the Beatles.
Be yourself, no matter what they say. Administrator
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Quoted from adamzero
I agree: Ringo put the beat in Beatles. The way his drums were recorded and mixed--out front and big--had a lot to do with the Beatles innovative sound. Sun Records recorded big drums--check out Jerry Lee Lewis "Great Balls of Fire," but the sound was muddy compared to the crispness of the Beatles recordings. You can really hear the kick and snare--not to mention all those cymbals.
Double-tracking: the Beatles were one of the first groups to double-track lead vocals. They originally had to do this live, but Geoff Emerick and the techs came up with flanging or phasing as a way to produce the sound of two voices singing almost in sync. It's sorta like echo, but echo is the multiplied repeat of a sound that decays. Flanging fattens up the voice. This helped the great lead vocals of Paul and John (more often) stand out in front of those big drums.
Horns: the Beatles close-miked horns (on songs like Got to Get You Into My Life) in way that hadn't been done before. They stuck the mikes practically into the horns, giving them the tonal clarity and attack you wouldn't get if you just miked the room.
Sitar and other Indian musical instruments: Beatles were the first to incorporate these into pop-rock music.
I don't know if they were the first to do this, but the Beatles did gender-bending versions of girl-group songs like Please Mister Postman.
The Beatles were one of the first groups to popularize the mellotron (e.g., Strawberry Field Forever opening).
I think the ultimate innovation of the Beatles was having four irreplaceable parts in a pop group where the whole was greater than the sum of the parts. From the very beginning this was recognized and they were marketed that way. Each member was in his way so distinctive that you couldn't replace one and still have the Beatles.
You've been swotting up on your Revolution In The Head havn't you? lol
"Here" means nothing on the internet. YOU live in the US. So what? Try and judge things from a perspective that's a little wider than your own backyard.
Moreover, it doesn't change the fact that Beatles For Sale had a gatefold before Pepper. BFS wasn't released as such in the 60s in the US; however, elsewhere in the world it was - and it had a gatefold sleeve.
Meaningless. Rock n roll was real enough coming from the likes of Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, and a host of others. Did not even the Beatles themselves admire them?
I agree: Ringo put the beat in Beatles. The way his drums were recorded and mixed--out front and big--had a lot to do with the Beatles innovative sound. Sun Records recorded big drums--check out Jerry Lee Lewis "Great Balls of Fire," but the sound was muddy compared to the crispness of the Beatles recordings. You can really hear the kick and snare--not to mention all those cymbals.
Double-tracking: the Beatles were one of the first groups to double-track lead vocals. They originally had to do this live, but Geoff Emerick and the techs came up with flanging or phasing as a way to produce the sound of two voices singing almost in sync. It's sorta like echo, but echo is the multiplied repeat of a sound that decays. Flanging fattens up the voice. This helped the great lead vocals of Paul and John (more often) stand out in front of those big drums.
Horns: the Beatles close-miked horns (on songs like Got to Get You Into My Life) in way that hadn't been done before. They stuck the mikes practically into the horns, giving them the tonal clarity and attack you wouldn't get if you just miked the room.
Sitar and other Indian musical instruments: Beatles were the first to incorporate these into pop-rock music.
I don't know if they were the first to do this, but the Beatles did gender-bending versions of girl-group songs like Please Mister Postman.
The Beatles were one of the first groups to popularize the mellotron (e.g., Strawberry Field Forever opening).
I think the ultimate innovation of the Beatles was having four irreplaceable parts in a pop group where the whole was greater than the sum of the parts. From the very beginning this was recognized and they were marketed that way. Each member was in his way so distinctive that you couldn't replace one and still have the Beatles.
Ringo was also the first drummer to remove the bottoms off his drums to give them a more kick.
... - in order to give their fans value for their money, they hardly put any singles on their albums. Well, in the USA it happened, much to the disagreement of the Beatles themselves. ...
Nice summary there!!! ...
... but I wouldn't say "they hardly put any singles on their albums" ... it was not a very Guyish thing to do tho some people may think so ... another myth (things were not so strict):
They released many (more or less half of them!!! ... and some of the most famo-us) singles on their albums, every year!!!:
1963.- Love Me Do and Please Please Me 1964.- Can't Buy Me Love and A Hard Day's Night 1965.- Help! and Ticket To Ride (A-sides) 1966.- Yellow Submarine 1967.- All You Need Is Love (A-side) and I Am The Walrus (B-side) 1968.- the re-make of Revolution 1 1969.- Come Together/Something 1970.- Get Back and Let It Be (A-side) ... ----------------------------------------------- 20 songs = 10 singles
... imagine! they even included Yellow Submarine (once again on an album after have been a single too) and All You Need Is Love on their Yellow Submarine album!!! ...
... and I'm not going to remember A Collection Of Oldies But Goldies (1966) including recent singles too ... or those tons of EPs till mid-60s with nothing new on them (exception: Long Tall Sally EP including their original I Call Your Name) ...
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I do not agree - I think it IS true to say that they hardly ever took singles from their albums. Some of the tracks you mentioned were actually released BEFORE the albums (Ticket To Ride and Can't Buy Me Love for example) but still it was still quite rare for a song to be released as a single and to also appear on an LP.
For example - none of the following albums contained ANY UK singles:
With The Beatles Beatles For Sale Rubber Soul Sgt Pepper White Album (you can't say that Revolution was released from this album - it was a TOTALLY different version!)
PLUS they released all of these singles which didn't appear on a any UK albums (apart from A Collection Of Oldies)!!!!
Love Me Do - version 1 with Ringo on drums (different version to the Please Please Me LP) From Me To You - Thank You Girl She Love's You - I'll Get You I Want To Hold Your Hand - This Boy I Feel Fine - She's A Woman Help! (different vocal to Help! stereo LP version) - I'm Down Day Tripper - We Can Work It Out Paperback Writer - Rain Strawberry Fields Forever - Penny Lane (All You Need Is Love appeared on Yellow Submarine) - Baby You're A Rich Man Hello, Goodbye - I Am The Walrus Lady Madonna - The Inner Light Hey Jude - Revolution (version 2 - completely different to White Album version) Get Back (different ending to Let It Be version) - Don't Let Me Down Ballad Of John And Yoko - Old Brown Shoe Let It Be (different verses and guitar solos to Let It Be version) - You Know My Name
PLUS they released 2 EPs of exclusive material - Long Tall Sally and Magical Mystery Tour and had one spare track left over for their greatest hits collection in 1966 (A Collection of Oldies) - Bad Boy
To me that looks like quite an obvious policy of trying not to release singles from albums, don't you?
Well, I've re-read the "original post" and mine too ... and I insist: I wouldn't say they hardly put any singles on their albums
Quoted from raxo
...
... but I wouldn't say "they hardly put any singles on their albums" ... it was not a very Guyish thing to do tho some people may think so ... another myth (things were not so strict): ...
Getting a little off the current track here, but wasn't Yesterday and Today (with British Revolver tracks I'm Only Sleeping, And Your Bird Can Sing and Dr Robert) released 2 mos. before Revolver was released? So us Yanks got a sneak preview of the Revolver sessions even BEFORE the Brits? If so, that's sort of a US milestone here.
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hope that helps
again!!!LOL! 
Well, I've re-read the "original post" and mine too ... and I insist: