What made The Beatles so great? Was it the hairdos and suits? The wit and charm? The fairytale story of their rise from Liverpudlian underdogs to the world’s crown princes of pop (the lovely lads themselves always acknowledged Elvis as the king)?
Though all of these things contributed to the group’s stature as one of the greatest rock and pop bands of all time – if not the greatest – a recent viewing of Across the Universe made me realize the answer was more singular yet more difficult to define – melody.
Across the Universe is a 2007 musical film that weaves a Vietnam War-era story from The Beatles’ songbook. Though the story taken alone doesn’t have the strength of a pair of Toughskins, the common thread that keeps it from unraveling is The Beatles’ preternatural sense of melody. The performances are good – including a fun cameo from Bono – but the real stars of the show are the songs themselves.
But what really struck me about this tour through The Beatles’ repertoire was the sterling quality of each and every melody. It didn’t matter who was singing a song, or from what period of the band’s always-evolving career it came – the melodies expressed more than any interpretation or voice, any arrangement, even any lyric, ever could.
The Beatles’ meteoric rise to the top of the charts was swift and fierce, carried to the heavens on the backs of well-conceived but simple pop songs like “Love Me Do” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” In less than a decade, the shooting star that was The Beatles would burn out and fade into the horizon. And in that short period, their evolution covered more sonic territory than most musicians traverse in a lifetime.
Whether they were sending girls atwitter with their early and potent pop songs, or turning their musical peers and commercial radio on their ears with Sgt. Pepper’s on the front end of their foray into psychedelic sound, or just churning out some of the most sophisticated rock ‘n’ roll ever recorded – always at the heart was astonishing melody.
What are your favorite Beatles songs? Albums? Career period? Band member?
Submitted by jennyjean4 on November 21, 2008 - 4:22pm.
The Beatles are hands down the best band that ever was or ever will be. Every period of their career was amazing and groundbreaking. They explored so many different sounds and perfected each type. It's so hard to single out favorite songs from such an amazing catalog, but few of mine are "A Day in the Life" (I love the contrast between the apocolyptic middle and the happy melody that comes right after), "Across the Universe" (This one reminds me of the birth of my son and the lyrics and melody are so beautiful) and "Why Don't We Do It In the Road" (I just love hearing Paul cut loose - that man can sing like no other).
Submitted by writers bloc on November 24, 2008 - 1:34pm.
All phases of The Beatles' career were amazing for different reasons, but I'm a big fan of the period where you could tell they were breaking away from the tight pop confections of their early career into uncharted songwriting territory. On the album "Rubber Soul" you really hear this transition, as radio-ready delights are balanced with new and intriguing directions in songwriting. But "Revolver" is the album where the experimentation really started to take hold with songs like "Eleanor Rigby" and the sprawling, psychedelic masterpiece "Tomorrow Never Knows." It's almost impossible to pick a favorite Beatles song as there are so many greats from which to choose, but "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" from the "White Album" might be it -- where Lennon managed to take all the elements from all phases of the bands career and mash them together.
Submitted by OliviaB. (not verified) on March 10, 2009 - 7:18pm.
Funny enough, most of my hard-core Beatles friends refused to watch "Across the Universe." They couldn't bear to think of anyone singing The Beatles' songs on a major production - let alone make a movie that strings the songs together. But didn't The Beatles do that with their OWN songs - Hard Day's Night & HELP? It was one giant string of music videos. I think the video was true to the Beatles spirit.
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OliviaB. Los Angeles DUI lawyer
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First I have to finish
First I have to finish swooning at the thought of the Beatles and my love for them and then I'll get back to you with an intelligent answer!
The Beatles are hands down
The Beatles are hands down the best band that ever was or ever will be. Every period of their career was amazing and groundbreaking. They explored so many different sounds and perfected each type. It's so hard to single out favorite songs from such an amazing catalog, but few of mine are "A Day in the Life" (I love the contrast between the apocolyptic middle and the happy melody that comes right after), "Across the Universe" (This one reminds me of the birth of my son and the lyrics and melody are so beautiful) and "Why Don't We Do It In the Road" (I just love hearing Paul cut loose - that man can sing like no other).
...Melody sweet Melody how I
...Melody sweet Melody how I wish I could caress...
I agree wholeheartedly that the key ingredient to the Beatles success was melody.
That elusive, intangible, indescribable building block of music that even a toddler will respond to. Melody=Magic.
I was amazed as well at how well the interpretations of the Beatles songs used in the film Across the Universe affected me.
As long as those melodies were there...the songs still had their impact.
Actor Jim Sturgess's performance of "Girl" is just lovely...he would do John proud.
All phases of The Beatles'
All phases of The Beatles' career were amazing for different reasons, but I'm a big fan of the period where you could tell they were breaking away from the tight pop confections of their early career into uncharted songwriting territory. On the album "Rubber Soul" you really hear this transition, as radio-ready delights are balanced with new and intriguing directions in songwriting. But "Revolver" is the album where the experimentation really started to take hold with songs like "Eleanor Rigby" and the sprawling, psychedelic masterpiece "Tomorrow Never Knows." It's almost impossible to pick a favorite Beatles song as there are so many greats from which to choose, but "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" from the "White Album" might be it -- where Lennon managed to take all the elements from all phases of the bands career and mash them together.
Funny enough, most of my
Funny enough, most of my hard-core Beatles friends refused to watch "Across the Universe." They couldn't bear to think of anyone singing The Beatles' songs on a major production - let alone make a movie that strings the songs together. But didn't The Beatles do that with their OWN songs - Hard Day's Night & HELP? It was one giant string of music videos. I think the video was true to the Beatles spirit.
-------
OliviaB.
Los Angeles DUI lawyer
Beatles... man they just
Beatles... man they just simply rock.
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