just wondered what everyones preference was, i just cant choose  

Why a preference? They each had their own wonderful qualities with that, and that's why it's so hard to choose. I just have to ask myself which of the two I couldn't do without, in which case it would have to be our boys. But I would miss the others, too.

The Beach Boys

The Beach Boys, hands down.

The Beatles had two part harmonies, the Beach Boys three, four or even five part harmonies. And they had SIX potential lead vocalists.

Quoted from Joost

The Beach Boys, hands down.

The Beatles had two part harmonies, the Beach Boys three, four or even five part harmonies. And they had SIX potential lead vocalists.

Agreed. Not even a contest.

Quoted from Joost

The Beach Boys, hands down.

The Beatles had two part harmonies, the Beach Boys three, four or even five part harmonies. And they had SIX potential lead vocalists.

Er, The Beatles also did three part. They were quite famous for it. But otherwise agreed. The BB's, hands down.

as far as harmonization, I don't think there's any question The Beach Boys take this one. This of course casts no aspersions on our beloved mop-tops, but I believe Brian Wilson, for as far back as I remember, took great pains to re-create that 50's Four Freshmen type of sound in his songs. The Beatles, on the other hand (in the early days before they started writing original material) identified more w/ "roots" rock & roll (e.g., Chuck Berry, Eddie Cochran), which had less to do w/ harmony and more to do w/ beat. They would, as we know, make the occassional (and successful) foray into the Motown vault (or r&b)which is where they eventually became more proficient at arrangement subsequently, so when they began to write themselves, you'll notice the journeys into Beatle-brand harmonies really began..but the BB really mastered this art from the start. In fact, along w/ surfer girls and hot rods, the very first thing ppl think of when you say "Beach Boys" is impeccable harmonic vocals. This is not to say that The Fab didn't eventually give them a "run for their money" in this regard w/ tunes like "Girl" and later with the gorgeous strains of  "Because", for example. But as early as '60-'61, Brian, Carl, Dennis, Al & Mike got there first. Hooray for the U.S.A (sorry, couldn't resist the national plug)

all true but they had some great 3 way harmonising before then with songs like if i fell and yes it is

Quoted from fendertele

all true but they had some great 3 way harmonising before then with songs like if i fell and yes it is

yes, like I said, when they essentially stopped doing covers, they started to incorporate more complex harmonies starting w/ the early self-penned material. My contention was that the BB really mastered that style of singing even earlier..

Yea, barbershop quartets are cute. But 'Baby's In Black' has cajones.

I Like The Beatles harmonising there's something quite folky about it ?, it's a smaller less showy,  than The Beach Boys which always sounds exotic to me ?
So it's The Beatles harmonising for me ,even though the sound The Beach Boys make is beautiful.

DaveRam

I love The Beach Boys harmony like 'Our Prayer' and some later stuff, not just the early days. However, it is still The Beatles for me.

Both groups were brilliant at thier hamonizing!
But The Beach Boys had that unique classic sound that no-one can touch!

What makes the Beatles harmonies a hands down winner IMO is the beauty of the sheer unexpectedness of Paul's harmonies. Just off the top of my head, when he sings harmony in the lines ...

1) "I'm in love with you" , the 2nd line of "I'll get you in the End"
2) On the bridge of "I Want to Hold Your Hand"
3) "All I Gotta Do ..." in song of the same name ,

... it just blows me away - they are so original, and sound so great. True genius, IMO. That one on IWTHYH especially - his harmony is a C major chord, when the chord of the song itself is a Dm7. Who could think of trying that?

The BB harmonies have always seemed a tad overdone to me, and not as creative. But I must admit I don't know them as well, so there is lots of room for ignorance.

THanks for a nice thread!

I think the Beach Boys stuff is too homogenized. There's something rather phony or unfeeling about their harmonies to me. I think Brian Wilson was so into getting things technically perfect that he had little time to worry about feeling. I think the Beatles blended together naturally because of who they were and how well they all fit together as people. It was a more natural thing and not forced or overdone or whatever you call it. But that's my very non-technical opinion and I'm also not a huge Beach Boys fan. Plus, couldn't you walk to the corner of any Brooklyn street back in the old days and hear harmonizing just as good as what the Beach Boys were doing? I don't find it all that original as I do the Beatles stuff. But again, not a huge BB fan.