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Originally Posted by Unknown Soldier
I've been listening to a number of Beach Boys albums again recently and my opinion about them hasn`t really changed. The majority of the material sounds like great music to put you into a happy mood, whether it be for summer, easter and especially christmas, with their at times sublime surfy psychedelic harmonious sound.
As a contest with the Beatles, the Fab Four win hands down.
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Agreed. I feel the Beatles were the better group musically because their music has more variety both in sound and subject matter. The Beach Boys' songs are often beautiful, just like you describe. Yet the Beatles' songs can also feel sublime and rich but more thought-provoking lyrically and musically.
I grew up in the 70's listening to both The Beatles and The Beach Boys, thanks to my older brother's record collection. I loved the sound of the Beach Boys, but The Beatles...they really made me THINK. I would listen to their songs again and again, wondering about their meaning, singing them to myself afterwards, enjoying all the little weird details.
The Beach Boys produce a wash of feeling that is fun to experience. In contrast, the Beatles' music makes me want to tease the songs apart and wonder about them. This is what I felt when I was 8. I still feel the same way now that I'm...not 8.
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Originally Posted by Burning Down
Both are great and both bands had unique talents that worked for them. The Beach Boys had the ability to harmonize beautifully while the Beatles wrote complex instrumental parts.
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I agree, Burning Down. For instance, I like the musical complexity in "Eleanor Rigby," which offers a great example of counterpoint used in a popular song. The cello/violin at times play a separate melody from the main vocal line, yet both are meshed together to create harmony. I also like the fact that this song, like many by The Beatles, doesn't just deal with romantic love like so many of the Beach Boys songs.
I feel The Beatles' songs as a whole cover more of life's complexity, and so they aren't always pretty, while the Beach Boys' songs seem myopic in a pleasant way.