Why was Sgt. Peppers such a huge album?

[mani]

Yeah Casey,Nesmith was undoubtedly the prolific one of the lot. I love stuff like Tapioca Tundra and Auntie's Municipal Court. And his voice is so cool with that southern drawl. Great stuff. Y'know what?! I'm all Beatled out. Frickin' moptops! This thread has made me break out in Beatlemeasles. Btw, Goffin and Kings' Porpoise Song is one of my favs.

[ernstinen]

How about one of my favorite King/Goffen songs by Herman's Hermits: " I'm Into Something Good"!?You can hear it sung by Carole King if you try! Ern:) BTW, we've tried to identify the piano on this song on another forum. Any ideas!?

[hookstownbrown]

All this talk about Goffen/King and the Monkees has me thinking back to the days of the Brill Building songwriters. What a mark in history they - and that place has left. Mann/Weil; Bacharach/David; Lieber/Stoller; Neil Diamond; Neil Sedaka...I do believe that the Monkees were initially conceived as just a Brill vehicle... One that made Don Kirshner a gazillionaire....

[Casey H]

A lot of later-famous rock stars tried out to be Monkees including members of the Byrds, Stills, Young, etc.. In fact, Stills was rejected because he had bad teeth but referred his friend Peter Tork...The Byrds song, "So You Wanna Be A Rock N Roll Star" is about the Monkees.Speaking of Carole King, take a listen to the early 60s hit, "Locomotion"... Supposedly it was sung by Carole King's babysitter, "Little Eva"... Listen real carefully- is sure sounds like Carole King, doesn't it?Also, Herman's Hermits were awesome! I love their songs!! They do a great version of Skeeter Davis's "The End of The World"- a real beaut...One of my fav Monkees songs, can bring a tear to my eye if I'm feeling really sad.... "Shades Of Grey"...That's all for now... 12 pages and counting... Casey

[drew]

Here's one I win bets with: When someone asks how I can remember the lyrics to so many songs I tell them "you know a lot of songs too", when they deny it I start naming off Beatle songs, the average non-musician probably knows 150 or more Beatle songs they can sing along with. Though maybe not good enough for karaoke (thank goodness) I saw a comedian one night who suggested they put warning labels on alcohol "Warning: Use of this product can cause horrible accidents like karaoke" How many Beatle songs do you know?

[katy]

One last thought on "revolutionary": I think it dependson how you define that word. And, I don't think it canbe broken down so handily. "Revolutionary impact" ismore than the sum of its parts. There's no doubt aboutthe extensive impact of the Beatles, and it's a matter of the opinions of many "HO's" whether or not thatextensive impact was also "revolutionary". So, take that you HO's and ponder it! lol I don't think I could ever be "Beatled-out". There alwaysseems to be at least one more piece of interesting trivia coming down the pike.Regarding the latest question about how many Beatles'songs does one know, I think I'll have to ask Bob thatone... he knows more about the Beatles than anyone Iknow... like youse gize, he got started as a bedroomBeatle...

[mani]

Hi Katy,I promised myself I wasn't going to write any more but you reeled me back in. Let me say that I consider the Beatles the first commercially successful fusion chefs of the music world.Let me explain:They took already established and readily identifiable elements and mixed 'em all up to make their music. Some would consider that revolutionary. I don't. They never came up with something so innovative that it stood on its own as a radically new departure in music the way, say, Picasso did in the art world. That's not a criticism. There are very few who are lucky enough to do that.Let me paint this using an artist who might throw what I'm saying into sharper relief: David Bowie. To me, Bowie was to the 70's what the Beatles were to the 60's in his approach to making music. He has a song called 'Ashes to Ashes'. I'm sure you know it. It's a wonderful song full of nifty tricks, turns and ideas. The song is an electronic pop/rock song with a funk bassline over a 4/4 waltz! On top of that, there is the use of a recurring character from one of his old songs (Major Tom), a moog solo that is quite possibly the finest I've ever heard and the appropriation of an old English childrens' rhyme ('my mother said that I never should, play with the elves in the wood' becomes 'my mama said to get things done, you better not mess with Major Tom'). In all the pantheon of 20th Century pop music, there's nothing quite like this song. It's a one of a kind and I love it. Do I consider it revolutionary? No. The reason? All the elements, although brilliantly juxtaposed against one another are well established, and even traditional in nature. He creates a fantastic recipe but the elements do not fuse to create an altogether new medium. In my mind this last part; that chemical reaction that creates something new where the parts and influences are now largely unrecognizable and a new form of expression is born is fundamental to qualifying as revolutionary in any art form.Bach was revolutionary. I don't like Bach.Massive Attack were revolutionary. I like Massive Attack. Are they as good as the Beatles? I really don't think so.The Beatles were not revolutionary. I love the Beatles.

[katy]

I suppose that points out the reality that how onedefines "revolutionary" influences whether or nothe/she considers the Beatles' music to be revolutionary.It looks like your definition refers more to the product(and whether or not the influences are recognizable).Sometimes the definition is more linked to the impact,the process of moving people, creating change, musically, socially, spirititually, or politically, etc., etc.That's how I view the definition; the inspiration of change, and the chemical reaction was one betweenGeorge Martin & the Beatles. The impact of that combo on their music and on the world was undeniablydramatic in terms of inspiring millions of people tobecome interested in playing/writing music, producingmusic differently, dressing differently, etc., etc. Othersmay have done some of the same things, but not inpop music, necessarily, and not bringing about the sameimpact.So, I suppose it's all in the definition of "revolutionary"eh?Hope y'all are having a good one.

[booker]

Geeezz...I ask one little question about the Beatles and...zoom! Obviously this band touch all our lives in some way..good or bad. Thats why it's so easy to talk about. Common ground ..ya know. IMaHO!

[ernstinen]

Quote:Sometimes the definition is more linked to the impact,the process of moving people, creating change, musically, socially, spirititually, or politically, etc., etc.That's how I view the definition; the inspiration of change, and the chemical reaction was one betweenGeorge Martin & the Beatles. The impact of that combo on their music and on the world was undeniablydramatic in terms of inspiring millions of people tobecome interested in playing/writing music, producingmusic differently, dressing differently, etc., etc. That's very well put, Katy. Thanks for summing that up. You win Ringo's favorite ring!Ern