boo boo

The Beatles, they have the most consistant run of great albums in the history of rock music and while The Beach Boys were great in their own right, their discography is about 50/50 in the good albums/sh*t albums ratio. They really should have called it quits after Surf's Up.

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Goblin Tears

I prefer Beatles overall...though Beach Boys are pretty top notch.

xraygord

The Beatles, very easy choice for me.

Necromancer

The count for the Beatles so far is, 10.
The count for the Beach Boys is, 7.

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The Beatles!

Now, if this were The Beatles vs. Brian Wilson, I would have been tearing my hair out trying to decide - Excellent British Rock filled with innovation vs. Brilliant Writer who perfectly captured the American Sound and style and later went onto create masterworks like "Good Vibrations." That would have been a major tie.

Still, thanks to all of the crap the BBs unleashed while Brian lost it, all the way to making one of the most annoying 80's hits that ranks up there with Starship's crap-o-rama, it has to be The Beatles, Solo albums included...even Ringo's post Mid-70's albums.

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The Very Best of The Beach Boys - 1983 UK-released collection that stops perfectly. All you need to start off with, really.

Pet Sounds - Perfect American Bedsit music. Brian Wilson's work on that album clearly was a good cooling down (and really a time for introspection) after all of the wild stuff happening then. Hits - "Sloop John B.," "Wouldn't It Be Nice," "Caroline, No" (Brian's solo album-closer), and the very well-arranged "God Only Knows." It's a bit whiny, but the production and arrangements really proved that there was something really good going on in The LA scene by '66 and there were excellent musicians contributing.

20/20 - A mixed bag, but here, Dennis Wilson shows his true colors, and a couple of Smile tracks appear. The big hit - "Do It Again." Under-rated gems - about half of the rest including "Cabinessence," "Never Learn Not to Love" (Dennis' re-working of Charles Manson's "Cease to Exist"), "All I Want to Do" (Dennis Rocking out Late '60's style), "Time to Get Alone" (Cheesy, but nice), and the cover of "I Can Hear Music." "Our Payer" is a favorite of the BB Harmony fans.

Surf's Up - The pick of The 70's BBs.

telepicker

well, the discussion wasn't "Pet Sounds" vs. "Sgt. Pepper." - it's Beatles vs. Beach Boys.

And "Sgt. Pepper" may be the worst LP in the Beatles catalog.



maybe unfair...but entirely accurate.

I don't care about his depression; my dad beat me when I was a kid, too - I don't get to have a breakdown and lay in bed for years because of it.

Lennon was abandoned by both parents; his mom died when he was just starting to reconnect with her...but he wrote top-notch stuff his entire life.

I agree - Pet Sounds is a masterful record.

Smile could have been great.



I guess I can understand that - basically, you're saying that our personal preference is the Beach Boys, but that the Beatles are obviously more consistant.

Yeah, I agree somewhat - the Beach Boys' high points eere arguably as good or better than the Beatles from '63-'66...but from '67-on, the Beatles surpassed the Beach Boys by far.

The sheer consistancy of the Beatles recorded catalog (every song from every album is a winner) compared to the Beach Boys (some really good songs mixed with an overwhelming amount of schlocky crap) would easily beat that out.

Great first post.


umm...have you ever heard "Drive My Car"?

"Taxman"?

"I'm Only Sleeping"?

How 'bout "I Want You (She's So Heavy)"?

Or "Come Together"?

"While My Guitar Gently Weeps"?

Paul had a knack for coming up with inventive, moving grooving basslines which were complex but not obtrusive; moving but rock solid; simple but harmonically complex, all at the same time.

I would rather listen to Paul dong descending runs in "Why Dont We do It in the Road" than anything Victor Wooten has ever done.

As much respect I have for players like Wooten, Flea, or Claypool...my favorite bassists are guys like McCartney, Rick Danko, Geezer Butler, Sven Pipien, Duff McKagan,John McVie, Carl Radle, Nikki Sixx, etc. Guys who work with their drummer and bandmates as a rhythm section. I LOVE Ronnie Wood's bass playing on those first Jeff Beck records. Two recent favorites are Tod Bowers from the Steepwater Band and Shonna Tucker from Drive-By Truckers.

You know; dudes who play the SONG, who don't care about showing off as much as making the SONG sound as good as possible.

George Harrison IS "it as a guitarist" - so, this makes you biased against Paul as a bassist?

Because your friend in Iowa thinks George is awesome?


aren't we all?

really?

Is that why they played all the intruments on all their records, and the Beach Boys ALWAYS used LA session musicians on their records?

Can you explain this situation to me?

Was it that the Beach Boys were so damn good that they didn't NEED to play?

Them Beatles, all show-offy...making their records sound good by playing their own instruments just 'cause they can or sumpin'...

what about George?

I thought you really respected your friend in Iowa's opinion?

I figured that a world-class lead guitarist would be a "real advantage"? Not to mention the fact that George wrote some really awesome songs in his own right.

Also, I would think having a drummer that could actually play and keep time (Ringo) would be better than having the musical liability that was Dennis Wilson.

The Beatles also had the advantage of having better SOUNDING records, fidelity-wise. Compare, say, "Fun, Fun, Fun" to "I Saw Her Standing There" - the Beatles song has a bigger, more full sound, as well as having better definition as far instrument fidelity.

The Beatles had George Martin, Geoff Emerick, and Abbey Road - which made their records simply sound better (another reason why the Beatles were the better band - they didn't have their dad's megalomanically running the control room, ruining their records like Murray Wilson did the Beach Boys'.)


looks like it.

you shouldn't be surprised...and that new Mono boxset of Beatles is well worth the investment

the Beatles sell more, are played more, and more revered around the world.

well, I can't believe it IS a question - the Beatles are realistically superior in almost every single category, especially the most important one: who played together the bes. - as a BAND?

It most certainly was not the dudes who took good pictures and had the best LA session musicians playing in their recird's that they hired outside writers to write the lyrics for.

Janszoon

No. Just no.

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Necromancer

I find comparing the close relationship that the Beatles and the Beach Boys shared between each other from that certain era of 1961 and on, the be the most interesting view for me, instead of reflecting on the subject of who is the best of the two bands mentioned.
But I have to admit that I find Brian Wilson to be a unique, interesting, and intriguing legacy to review personally, (in conclusion) if the term musical genius is to be applied, then Brian Wilson should surely qualify for that position.
I mean Wilson was noticed for his natural musical abilities at the early age of two and three years old, at the age of eight he was backed by a church choir.
Its interesting the way he introduced 'doubletracking' into production at that certain time in 1963, and how he was also influenced by Phil Spector for one to mention, Wilson was known to strive for perfection in the studio.
And to the fact that the Beatles suggested Wilson was a major influence to their music.
And I was really shocked when I found that it affected Wilsons mental stabililty when Paul McCartney played a tape of 'A Day In The Life' for Wilson off of the Beatles Peppers album in Los Angeles, 1966.
Theres just so much interesting info. to review concerning the Beach Boys albums, production, personal life, you just have to get the whole story for yourself.
I might mention Brian Wilson does have an album release scheduled for Aug. 17th, 2010.
'Brian Wilsons Reimagines Gershwin', which includes Wilson completing two unfinished pieces by Gershwin, its hard to believe this guy is still making deals and recording (Disney Pearl Label).

boo boo

Beach Boys didn't turn to "shlocky crap" until around 74 or so but so did The Rolling Stones so what can ya do?

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