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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jan 30, 2023 12:13:57 GMT
in the 1960s, my Beatles' listening experience was based on my parents buying the 45s (earlier) or hearing the singles on the radio (later). We didn't buy/have many albums in our household, and no Beatles' albums. So, after 1970, it was pretty much a wrap as far as following The Beatles was concerned. There were very few oldies stations on the radio back then, so The Beatles' singles took a back seat to the then burgeoning solo careers. Needless to say, the Red/Blue albums were very welcomed! Now it was time to buy albums, and my older sister did just that.
BEST SONG on 1962-66: I guess things didn't change. My old favorites were still my favorites - "Please Please Me", "She Loves You", "I Want To Hold Your Hand", and "A Hard Day's Night". Where was "I Should Have Known Better"? For voting purposes I'll go with "Please Please Me". It still sounded so good.
WORST SONG on 1962-66: Every song on this comp is such high quality; it doesn't get much better than this. I'll go with "Drive My Car". I wasn't very familiar with this song (didn't have the record and didn't hear it much on the radio), and it really hasn't grown on me like other Beatles' songs have.
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Post by kds on Jan 30, 2023 13:54:12 GMT
I remember wanting these compilations so bad when they came out. It took two weeks of allowance to afford one. I bought 67 to 70 first. I blame 62-66 for the fact that I never purchased the earliest Beatles albums. Of course now I prefer to listen to the individual albums - but for a middle schooler - these were the bomb! Best: “In My Life” - This song WILL be played at my funeral. Never tire of it. Its beautiful. Worst: “Yellow Submarine - It’s fun - but this is a best of and I used to skip it. I never listen to it now. I'm picking the same pair for the Red Album. In My Life remains one of my favorite Lennon moments. I picked it for the mother / son dance at my wedding. Yellow Submarine is a fun enough song, but if I were compiling a Best of The Beatles from 1962-66, there's no way Yellow Submarine makes the cut. Speaking of the Red Album, what the hell was up with Capitol releasing it as a double CD? The runtime is just over an hour.
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Post by Kapitan on Jan 30, 2023 15:41:50 GMT
Tough choices, because there are a lot of candidates for "best" and quite frankly, in any sane universe, none for "worst." These are great songs from top to bottom. But in the interest of the exercise...
Best: Paperback Writer gets my vote for first among equals. But really, I could list 10 or more songs as truly in the running, and could just as easily have named those. Make me choose from among them again in a couple weeks without letting me see what I picked this morning, and I'm betting I'd pick something else. But Paperback Writer has everything I love, from great vocals (including harmonies) to a rocking beat in the verses to a fantastic fuzz guitar riff to a fabulous bass line to interesting lyrics. As I said, it has everything.
Worst: I use the term very loosely. But I'll go with Love Me Do. It's just (to my ears) the least best. Yes, it's what kicked off the revolution, and it's good enough, for sure. But they topped it quickly, and regularly. So up against their other best, it pales a bit. Still, we should all be so lucky as to have such a "worst" song...
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Post by Kapitan on Jan 30, 2023 15:50:25 GMT
Speaking of the Red Album, what the hell was up with Capitol releasing it as a double CD? The runtime is just over an hour. Hmm, interesting. You sent me down a bit of a rabbit hole here. First, I was thinking CD running times have increased, and so maybe it was an issue of that. But this does not seem to be the case, necessarily. (There are some examples of extending CD run times having to do with how the data is encoded, apparently, but the discs themselves could always hold ~80 minutes.) So that's out. According to the album's wiki page, "It was released on two discs for the price of two albums, though it could have fit onto a single disc; EMI stated that this was done to match the release of 1967–1970." (But that explanation includes no citation linking to EMI's alleged statement about it.) Maybe there is something to that, having a more symmetrical presentation with the second volume. But you have to think it was also just a nice way to sell twice as many discs.
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Post by kds on Jan 30, 2023 16:05:46 GMT
Speaking of the Red Album, what the hell was up with Capitol releasing it as a double CD? The runtime is just over an hour. Hmm, interesting. You sent me down a bit of a rabbit hole here. First, I was thinking CD running times have increased, and so maybe it was an issue of that. But this does not seem to be the case, necessarily. (There are some examples of extending CD run times having to do with how the data is encoded, apparently, but the discs themselves could always hold ~80 minutes.) So that's out. According to the album's wiki page, "It was released on two discs for the price of two albums, though it could have fit onto a single disc; EMI stated that this was done to match the release of 1967–1970." (But that explanation includes no citation linking to EMI's alleged statement about it.) Maybe there is something to that, having a more symmetrical presentation with the second volume. But you have to think it was also just a nice way to sell twice as many discs. I think EMI / Capitol kept the Red Album as a double because they know it's The Beatles, and people will still buy it.
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Post by lonelysummer on Jan 30, 2023 22:18:47 GMT
The reason the red album was released as two cd's was a stipulation in the Fabs contract with Capitol that any reissues had to match the original packaging. That meant a double album had to remain a double album. This lead to some interesting changes - the cassette versions of the red and blue albums were originally one cassette each. The change in the cd era meant that 1962-1966 now had to be split into 2 tapes. Same for 1967-1970.
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Post by kds on Jan 31, 2023 14:02:27 GMT
The reason the red album was released as two cd's was a stipulation in the Fabs contract with Capitol that any reissues had to match the original packaging. That meant a double album had to remain a double album. This lead to some interesting changes - the cassette versions of the red and blue albums were originally one cassette each. The change in the cd era meant that 1962-1966 now had to be split into 2 tapes. Same for 1967-1970. Wow, didn't know that. I'll give their label (or Beatles Management, not sure which) a little bit of credit. I think they have showed a lot of restraint when it comes to Beatles compilations. They could probably easily toss out a random compilation every few years or so and have it sell.
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Post by Kapitan on Jan 31, 2023 14:15:43 GMT
I had no idea, either. Very interesting. It's also something I could see working both for and against the fans.
Against: as we just were discussing, you're getting charged for two CDs when the contents of the red album could have fit onto one.
For: I think there is something to the brand continuity of having the same cover, the liner notes, etc., as they appeared on the originals. I know I hated when I'd buy a cassette or CD of some '60s or '70s album only to find that the inside of the cover was ... a blank, white piece of paper/card stock.
Against: would that rule out expanded packaging? A lot of reissues include both original AND new liners, essays, or whatever. If this was taken strictly that things had to be identical to the originals (as opposed to an "original, plus..." approach), that might have been worse.
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Post by kds on Jan 31, 2023 14:27:04 GMT
I had no idea, either. Very interesting. It's also something I could see working both for and against the fans. Against: as we just were discussing, you're getting charged for two CDs when the contents of the red album could have fit onto one. For: I think there is something to the brand continuity of having the same cover, the liner notes, etc., as they appeared on the originals. I know I hated when I'd buy a cassette or CD of some '60s or '70s album only to find that the inside of the cover was ... a blank, white piece of paper/card stock.Against: would that rule out expanded packaging? A lot of reissues include both original AND new liners, essays, or whatever. If this was taken strictly that things had to be identical to the originals (as opposed to an "original, plus..." approach), that might have been worse. I know that's an issue with me for most of Jimmy Buffett's catalog, which was issued on CD by MCA with no liner notes to speak of. To this date, I don't believe there have ever been any reissues. I was also annoyed when I finally got a tangible copy of Johnny Cash's The Christmas Spirit album this year, but was able to find a CD with the original cover art.
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Post by lonelysummer on Jan 31, 2023 19:45:27 GMT
I had no idea, either. Very interesting. It's also something I could see working both for and against the fans. Against: as we just were discussing, you're getting charged for two CDs when the contents of the red album could have fit onto one. For: I think there is something to the brand continuity of having the same cover, the liner notes, etc., as they appeared on the originals. I know I hated when I'd buy a cassette or CD of some '60s or '70s album only to find that the inside of the cover was ... a blank, white piece of paper/card stock.Against: would that rule out expanded packaging? A lot of reissues include both original AND new liners, essays, or whatever. If this was taken strictly that things had to be identical to the originals (as opposed to an "original, plus..." approach), that might have been worse. I know that's an issue with me for most of Jimmy Buffett's catalog, which was issued on CD by MCA with no liner notes to speak of. To this date, I don't believe there have ever been any reissues. I was also annoyed when I finally got a tangible copy of Johnny Cash's The Christmas Spirit album this year, but was able to find a CD with the original cover art. I started printing out photos to put on those blank inserts.
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Post by lonelysummer on Feb 1, 2023 2:53:35 GMT
The Beatles/1967-1970
Best track: I had this album long before I owned Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band or The Beatles, so those tracks really excited me at the time. Then when I got a copy of Pepper from the library, I played A Day in the Life over and over. So that's my pick. I just love everything about it - John's voice and guitar, Ringo's drums, the orchestral climax, Paul's middle section. The original vinyl fades out that last chord prematurely, but that doesn't bother me.
Worst: The Long and Winding Road. Great song ruined by Phil's overproduction.
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Barco
Denny's Drums
Posts: 41
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Post by Barco on Feb 1, 2023 3:52:05 GMT
I'm late for the Red Album, but here it is:
Best: I have to say it, picking just the one track as a definitive favorite isn't possible. There are a dozen or more tracks I can't say a bad thing about on this album. So I'll just say In My Life because that's the one I've been listening to the most lately and, well, because I feel like saying it today. How can a 25 year-old write something like that? If you were to ask me tomorrow, however, there is an extremely high chance my answer would be different.
Worst: Love Me Do. As important as it was, I think it's by some far distance the weakest of the bunch.
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Post by Kapitan on Feb 1, 2023 12:23:04 GMT
I'm late for the Red Album, but here it is: Best: I have to say it, picking just the one track as a definitive favorite isn't possible. There are a dozen or more tracks I can't say a bad thing about on this album. So I'll just say In My Life because that's the one I've been listening to the most lately and, well, because I feel like saying it today. How can a 25 year-old write something like that? If you were to ask me tomorrow, however, there is an extremely high chance my answer would be different. Worst: Love Me Do. As important as it was, I think it's by some far distance the weakest of the bunch. While I ended up with a different choice for best, this really sums up my thoughts. The Beatles' output was astoundingly good.
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Post by kds on Feb 1, 2023 13:52:57 GMT
The Blue album was the first Beatles "album" I ever owned, picking up a used copy at a collectors mart in the fall of 1996 for $12.00. So, even though I barely listen to the comps any more, this one feels a little special.
Best - A Day in the Life - I almost had to roll the dice between this and Strawberry Fields. But, I probably go ADITL at least four days out of the week.
Worst - Old Brown Shoe - As mentioned on a previous release, this is one of the few Beatles tracks that gets no real reaction from me. It might be my least favorite Beatles track ever released as a single.
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Post by Kapitan on Feb 1, 2023 19:59:20 GMT
For me, best on this is relatively easy even though (as with the red album) I love almost everything on it, just because "A Day in the Life" is almost certainly my favorite Beatles song. So if it's my favorite overall, it's bound to be my favorite on any album it's on. (But at least half a dozen, if not more, of the other songs would also be guaranteed to be my favorite song on virtually album they could be put on, if not for one another.)
Worst? Much harder, as usual. I do think some of the lows are lower here than on the red album. I guess I'll say "Octopus's Garden" edging out "Fool on the Hill," "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," and "Come Together." As usual, nothing bad. (I mean, Beatles' greatest hits...) But those are the the worst for my taste.
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