Back to the Best - The Beatles

Now transport yourself back to early rock and roll. Rock, at its roots, is an art form of rebellion. This was illustrated through wild songs and fresh melodies that fused with amazing beats to create one of the best genres ever. The industry was kick-started by early rockers like Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Elvis Presley, and my favorite bad-to-the-bone rocker himself Jerry Lee Lewis. Now these guys were uncensored! From Elvis’ uncontrollable dance moves, to Lewis’ constant insanity, rock looked bright. Check out one of my previous blog posts to see more of this wild side of rock.

The problem in the early 60s, though, was that the early rockers were disappearing. Chuck Berry went to jail. Little Richard joined a church. Buddy Holly died. These classic rockers left behind a void that needed to be filled. Censored, manufactured artists like Pat Boone attempted to fill the generations’ craving for rock; but let’s admit it… his songs were all garbage. Pat Boone sounded to me like he was an old man crooning about dandelions in his backyard. I cringe to even post a link to this video because it’s so bad. If you want to torment your ears, listen to some horrible “rock”:

Coming off of this “old man music”, the Beatles were a fresh and cool group. In my opinion, a bunch of hip young guys were able to single-handedly reenergize the rock and roll community and probably made thousands of youth around the world take a sigh of relief. THEY WERE FINALLY FREE FROM THE GARBAGE OF THE EARLY 60S!

I’ll be honest, until a couple of days ago, I had never listened to a full Beatles song. Once I listened to the first song, though, I had no idea why I hadn’t started before. To put it bluntly, they were so amazingly talented that my brain did a flip! I listened to their first album, Please Please Me, and absolutely loved it. You would think that this was the first time I had ever heard music. I was struck by their raw talent and perfectly balanced harmonies that carried each song so fluidly. Throughout the album, their songs connected to each other under the common theme of love. I thought that this connectedness really aided at the success of their album and the band itself.

Their light-hearted songs, I feel, offered a transition period from the highly-manufactured songs of Boone, to a more modern rock (mimicking the good stuff from pre-1960s). I love how I am able to just easily tap my foot and sway to the rhythm as the instrumentals carry the counter melody to the lead vocalist. Another thing that struck me was the raw talent in everything. They were able to all sing great and wrote their own songs from the heart. I once wrote a song, but I remember it as a pretty challenging process. These guys were able to churn out songs as fast as McDonald’s does with hamburgers. That analogy wasn’t the best, but I’m too overwhelmed with the sheer awesomeness of the Beatles to try to correct it. No comparison would be sufficient to describe the Beatles.

Just to give you a sampling, I chose my two favorite songs from their first album. This first song is “I Saw Her Standing There”. The lighthearted lyrics mesh perfectly with the jolly tone. There is a pretty cool instrumental section towards the end of the song with an amazing guitar/bass solo. I love the vocal range of John Lennon. He’s really able to hit those high notes. Once again, the harmonies are insanely legit.

In contrast, my other favorite song is “Twist And Shout”. This song, at the end of the album, shows the tired, yet gravelly vocals of Lennon. This gravelly melody, even if accidental, adds a more urgent tone to this song and a more classic rock sound. I highlighted this song because it showed the versatility of the Beatles that made them so successful.