Post by Amadeus on Jun 13, 2013 11:14:48 GMT
On an unrelated note, it's six o'bloody'clock in the morning and I'm up. Mrs. A. couldn't sleep so she got up to have a coffee and the cream had gone off so I had to go to the grocery store to get more coffee cream. Now I'm having a coffee and doing my best not to be cranky.
The Best Second Album Ever
Really?
In my opinion, if Please Please Me was the sound of a new act quickly arriving, With The Beatles is the sound of that band truly and firmly arrived! You can maybe see Please Please Me having competition with other Merseyside groups but With The Beatles just leaves all the others so far behind that The Beatles are now at this point, untouchable. In fact, they became untouchable with She Loves You.
This album is the sound of a group that are supremely confident in their own abilities in the studio. It sounds so relaxed and effortless. Light years ahead of Please Please Me.
By the standards of the time, they are a hard rocking group. And yet, subtle when the tune calls for it. Some of the covers they chose this time around were from some of the newer 'black' artists back in the US. Gosh! Just listen to their playing on this record.
The originals are (mostly) a huge leap forward from the ones on the debut. Most rock and roll is based on those 3 chords with, maybe, a fourth thrown in for a middle eight, but the way The Beatles absorbed their musical surroundings while growing up, very much presented many more options than just rock and roll chords.
Listen to the completely unusual chord progression in Not A Second Time. BTW, there aren't any aeolean cadences in that song. The reviewer of the time must have made that up to get people to 'dig' his review. But those chords! The song never goes to the next 'logical' chord but always to a relative major or minor and his melody weaving all over the place (for a Lennon song).
All My Loving and All I've Got To Do. Just the musical depth that reside in those songs is awesome for the time. And especially considering that these complex tunes resolve way under three minutes.
Even George's tune follows an unusual direction (for it's time) and has a dark undertone with that minor chord progression.
But the first thing I notice about this album compared to the debut, The Sound.
First off, The Beatles have gotten new equipment since Please Please Me and the sound is just better, but the biggest change in the band's sound? RINGO!
He recently got his Ludwig set. Listen to it. It sounds so much better. Bigger. And his style of playing reverts to his style on stage. The biggest difference? The Open Hi-hat. Not only is there a much heavier bottom end on those drums but the hissing of that open hi-hat does SO much to create the excitement that this record puts across.
The confidence! This record is in my top 10 favorites of all time. Definitely a desert island disc.
And that album cover. Honestly, when you think about it, The Beatles got unheard of complete artistic control over their output. Including the artwork. Gerry and the Pacemakers didn't look that cool. A lot of the other bands had cheesy pictures that showed the members struggling to get their shorter hair to stay down at the front.
This album also stands out over the debut in that it was recorded with the finished product in mind. It was recorded as an album and therefore has a certain continuity about it that the debut doesn't have. Why? The debut has ten songs on it really that were intended for the album but the sound continuity was interrupted by two very different sounding singles from different points in time with different objectives. A bit patchwork sounding if you like. Every song on With The Beatles was intended for this album. The surrounding singles were a completely separate entity.
This record is the sound of a band completely relaxed and hungry at the same time. The playing is masterful, the singing is strong, the little ragged edges left in there give it so much character, (Hold me tyne...). There is no filler on this record! You can't say that about any Dave Clark Five albums.
It's now seven o'bloody'clock and I'm off.
The Best Second Album Ever
Really?
In my opinion, if Please Please Me was the sound of a new act quickly arriving, With The Beatles is the sound of that band truly and firmly arrived! You can maybe see Please Please Me having competition with other Merseyside groups but With The Beatles just leaves all the others so far behind that The Beatles are now at this point, untouchable. In fact, they became untouchable with She Loves You.
This album is the sound of a group that are supremely confident in their own abilities in the studio. It sounds so relaxed and effortless. Light years ahead of Please Please Me.
By the standards of the time, they are a hard rocking group. And yet, subtle when the tune calls for it. Some of the covers they chose this time around were from some of the newer 'black' artists back in the US. Gosh! Just listen to their playing on this record.
The originals are (mostly) a huge leap forward from the ones on the debut. Most rock and roll is based on those 3 chords with, maybe, a fourth thrown in for a middle eight, but the way The Beatles absorbed their musical surroundings while growing up, very much presented many more options than just rock and roll chords.
Listen to the completely unusual chord progression in Not A Second Time. BTW, there aren't any aeolean cadences in that song. The reviewer of the time must have made that up to get people to 'dig' his review. But those chords! The song never goes to the next 'logical' chord but always to a relative major or minor and his melody weaving all over the place (for a Lennon song).
All My Loving and All I've Got To Do. Just the musical depth that reside in those songs is awesome for the time. And especially considering that these complex tunes resolve way under three minutes.
Even George's tune follows an unusual direction (for it's time) and has a dark undertone with that minor chord progression.
But the first thing I notice about this album compared to the debut, The Sound.
First off, The Beatles have gotten new equipment since Please Please Me and the sound is just better, but the biggest change in the band's sound? RINGO!
He recently got his Ludwig set. Listen to it. It sounds so much better. Bigger. And his style of playing reverts to his style on stage. The biggest difference? The Open Hi-hat. Not only is there a much heavier bottom end on those drums but the hissing of that open hi-hat does SO much to create the excitement that this record puts across.
The confidence! This record is in my top 10 favorites of all time. Definitely a desert island disc.
And that album cover. Honestly, when you think about it, The Beatles got unheard of complete artistic control over their output. Including the artwork. Gerry and the Pacemakers didn't look that cool. A lot of the other bands had cheesy pictures that showed the members struggling to get their shorter hair to stay down at the front.
This album also stands out over the debut in that it was recorded with the finished product in mind. It was recorded as an album and therefore has a certain continuity about it that the debut doesn't have. Why? The debut has ten songs on it really that were intended for the album but the sound continuity was interrupted by two very different sounding singles from different points in time with different objectives. A bit patchwork sounding if you like. Every song on With The Beatles was intended for this album. The surrounding singles were a completely separate entity.
This record is the sound of a band completely relaxed and hungry at the same time. The playing is masterful, the singing is strong, the little ragged edges left in there give it so much character, (Hold me tyne...). There is no filler on this record! You can't say that about any Dave Clark Five albums.
It's now seven o'bloody'clock and I'm off.