Rock & Pop > pre 1970 Rock & Pop > Psychedelic

Leaders of Innovation

Advantages: pop perefection, lyrics, evolutionary
Disadvantages: none

Rubber Soul was the key which opened the door to an evolution of pop pin ups into musical visionaries. Often regarded as one of their finest efforts (behind Revolver), rubber soul contains every aspect of the Beatles broad musical taste, with each of the main songwriting members all contributing equally (Lennon/McCartney/Harrison). There's pop perfection with songs like 'In my Life', dirty old rock n roll (drive my car), classic ballads (girl), and ...
...scope and willingness to try things new can only now be labeled 'Beatlesesque'. The fab four could no longer be defined as anything after this effort. New phases of music were created merely from one song on the album. Norwegian Wood is credited as being the first pop recording to use the sitar; an Indian instrument, which sparked a musical craze in the mind sixties. This song is now classed as one of the cornerstones of what we now know today as ...

carneypingu 17.02.2008 · Read full review
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Review of Rubber Soul - Beatles (The)

Sgt Pepper - Overrated muddle

Advantages: Some absolute classics
Disadvantages: Lots of filler

Let me say this right off the bat - I'm a massive Beatles fan. Not just a passive, casual, 'enjoy them in the background' sort of listener, i have all their albums, lots of books etc and enjoy them all BUT Sgt Pepper is one of the worst Beatles album - There i said it Dont get me wrong, it is dusted with greatness (A Day in the Life, She's Leaving Home), but the dusting is a little light when you compare how much filler there is on this - Good Morning, ...
...Hole - These would have been b-sides in their pomp Even some of the better songs could be classed as 'throwaway' (When im Sixty-Four, Lovely Rita Meter Maid) and whilst the production still stands up today, it doesnt have the same hynoptizing effect as im sure it did in the 60's Dont believe the hype - Buy Abbey Road/Revolver/Rubber Soul instead ...

navidson 11.02.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - Beatles (The)

  Young Guns

Advantages: Accessible, charming music. Essential listening if you like sound.
Disadvantages: It's cut and paste in style, sometimes dated, and there is filler

...until about three years ago. Revolver and Rubber Soul came to my attention last year, and I have yet to listen to Abbey Road, The White Album, or any of the early stuff. It's a jumble, essentially, is what I'm saying here. I know the songs, but not the context. Which means I can criticise away as much as I want. Revolver has a concise format, with most of the songs knocked down to around 2-3 minutes each, with nothing particularly long. That's not ...
...Rigby' respectively, are what make Revolver worth listening to even now. If you try and ignore the nostalgia that is invariably attached to anything they did as a partnership, then you'll find some superb arrangements at play here, which are bolstered by strong, free-wheeling lyricism. The heartbreak that comes into most of McCartney's songs is in full display on the album, as is the slightly jaded cynicism that comes with a lot of Lennon's work. ...

Seresecros 28.07.2008 · Read full review
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Review of Revolver - Beatles (The)

Let me tell you this.

Advantages: Great 1960's music
Disadvantages: A little inconsistent for some

...time of its release. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida starts with the ridiculously happy Most Anything That You Want, where Dorman puts down a fabulous sliding bassline that works to great effect with Dorman's B-movie baritone singing. A really fun bouncy song that remains one of the forgotten classics of the 1960's, followed by the quaint tripe of Flowers And Beads, a dippy surf/pysch love song with cringe-inducing lyrics "flowers and beads are one thing, but ...
...it properly, and thus In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida it was. Again the lyrics are nothing special "don't you know that I love you, don't you know that I'll always be true, girl won't you come with me, and take my hand, girl won't you come with me, and walk this land....." that 's basically it.....but the music makes up for it. A blues riff in Fmaj (it is!! it is!!) all the members of the band get to have a solo: Brann, after some earlier featherweight guitar ...

TheIncredibleCheeseSandwich 24.04.2008 · Read full review
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Review of In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida - Iron Butterfly

Ummagumma

Advantages: This is where the Floyd started their musical journey post Syd Barrett.
Disadvantages: Can be hard to take it all in on the first listen.

Ahhh Ummagumma... This album could strike fear for the uninitiated as this album is the Floyd's most experimental. What we have is two discs - the live side and the studio side - the latter, where each member of the band indulges themselves musically if not at all successfully! The live disc is superb and shows the Floyd playing to their strengths. Here they practically invent the space rock genre and send you to the outer limits of the milky way ...

mindos 29.08.2008 · Read full review
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Review of Ummagumma - Pink Floyd