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Mix Six: “Beatlesque”

Ted Asregadoo September 22, 2009 17

DOWNLOAD THE FULL MIX HERE

Call this mix the postscript of Beatles Week at Popdose … a postscript that’s a couple of weeks late! But better late than never, right?  There’s been a lot of talk about the marketing savvy of Beatles merchandise, and it’s pretty damn impressive. I mean, getting people to buy remastered recordings they’ve probably had in their collections for years (and I’m talking about vinyl, cassette, 8 track, CD, and mp3s) is no easy feat – unless the product really is superior to what came before.  And yes, the remasters did live up to the hype.  But if I may start a second sentence with a conjunction, what also lives up to the hype is the long shadow of the Beatles’ style of music on popular recording artists.  Billy Joel, Andy Partridge, Roland Orzabal, Jeff Lynne, Neil Finn, and the Gallagher boys must have all, at one point or another, fantasized about being “The 5th Beatle” while singing along to one of the Fab Four’s songs.  So much so, that they all wrote songs that were unabashedly Beatlesque.

“Scandinavian Skies,” Billy Joel (download)

Billy is certainly a singer/songwriter who doesn’t need to copy the style of musical giants since, well, he’s in that pantheon.  I’m not a big fan of his music, but The Nylon Curtain was, for me, the most impressive of his catalog.  The sappy love songs were absent and the themes tackled were certainly a step up from what came before and after this album — and having several nods to the Beatles only added to the depth of this album.

“Sowing the Seeds of Love,” Tears for Fears (download)

Watching the video on MTV back in 1989, it seemed a little old and tired to see Tears for Fears pushing flower power. The blatant Beatles parroting just seemed like a big bowl of wrong — to me, at least. Being a fan of the band, however, I was quick to forgive them of what I thought was a big transgression and bought the CD.  I wasn’t disappointed, and over the years have grown to appreciate the sonic prowess of the studio production on this song.

“Morning Glory,” Oasis (download)

Talk about wearing your influences on your sleeve!  Oasis really wanted to be the Beatles II, and one listen to this album and it’s pretty clear that there was nary a Rolling Stones album in the Gallaghers’ home.  Christmas at the Gallagher abode is probably going to be awkward this year– what with all the fighting between the boys.  No, don’t count on a Christmas photo of the brothers Gallagher sipping a nog by the fire while singing “Morning Glory” or “Wonderwall.”  You’ll only see that happening at the McCartney household with Ringo.

“The Diary of Horace Wimp,” Electric Light Orchestra (download)

For those who live in the U.S. (and remember when this album came out), “The Diary of Horace Wimp” was a deep track. For those who live in the UK, it was top 10 single back in the day.  Lyrically, the song is a pretty simple narrative of “Awkward boy gets the girl,” but the production on this song is anything but simple — and maybe that’s why Lynne became a much sought after producer after ELO broke up.  But for all his love of the Beatles, Lynne is a guy who can put his unique stamp on artists whom he produces — so much so that he’s made George Harrison and Roy Orbison sound like members of ELO.

“Earn Enough for Us,” XTC (download)

Yes, people have asked why Andy Partridge is a wanker, but for all his brooding and pouting over his personal travails, his ability to craft amazing pop songs is, as Darth Vader said to Luke, “Impressive.” Skylarking is one big Beatles fest in style, but what struck me about “Earn Enough for Us” is the the wonderful Paul McCartney imitation Colin Moulding created on the bass guitar.  Just listen to that closing riff as the song ends cold and you’ll know what I’m talking about.

“Not the Girl You Think You Are,” Crowded House (download)

What I like about Neil Finn is that he wasn’t shy about saying “Um, here’s a song that written in the key of Beatles.”  That’s not a direct quote, but it’s clear that “Not the Girl You Think You Are” was written while drinking heavily from the Beatles’ well. Oh, and don’t forget that Jon Cummings’ interview with Neil Finn is coming to Popdose very soon – where he might be talking about the influence of the Beatles in his music.

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About the author: Ted Asregadoo View all posts by
Ted Asregadoo has a last name that's proven to be difficult to pronounce for almost everyone on the Popdose staff, some telemarketers, and even his close friends. He lives in Walnut Creek, CA and is an avid bicyclist who is not a total douche when riding in traffic.

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  • tonys1

    Nice list, but I'd listen closer to the remasters. I don't think they lived up to the hype. The sound is compomised by the fact that a lot of the treble is gone. This is noticeable on vocal-heavy tracks like “Because.”

    But for a side-by-side, play “She Said She Said” on vinyl, and then compare it with a new CD. It sounds like a different song — the cymbals are toned down (and don't even have the sustain they once did) and the guitar has no edge, because it has no top range. Other casualties include the harpsichords in “Fixing a Hole” and “For No One,” where the lack of treble makes the instruments sound boxy and also gives the music less harmonic resonance, because we don't hear the upper note in the right hand chord triad. And this is just the very obvious stuff…

  • http://www.popdose.com Ted

    Did you read the article in Rolling Stone about why the Beatles broke up? In the print version of the magazine, there's an article about the remastering project and how the remasters compare to the CDs and even the vinyl. I've only heard the remaster of Revolver, but I rather like the low end enhancements to the songs. To me, they are less jarring on the ears and things like cymbal crashes or even hi-hat “chokes” are brought to the front of the mix when appropriate — instead of all the instruments coming at you at once.

  • Old_Davy

    For the first time, I already own every song and album in the Mix 6. WOW! Great Mix!

  • http://www.bullz-eye.com DavidMedsker

    “Diary of Horace Wimp,” YES. Love that song.

  • http://www.popdose.com Ted

    Thanks! In a way, I feel like I've let you down 'cause you already have the songs, but I suppose that's a good thing.

  • http://www.popdose.com Ted

    That's been a fav of mine, too. I've wondered why they didn't release it as a single in the US because while the song is quirky, it has some great hooks.

  • tonys1

    ELO's “Discovery” spawned four hit singles in the US. The first two, “Shine a Little Love” and “Don't Bring Me Down” went Top Ten (with the latter going to Number 4 and becoming the band's biggest hit). The follow up singles, “Confusion” and “Last Train to London” barely scraped the Top 40.

    My guess is that “Horace Wimp” didn't get a US single release because they'd already tapped out the US market with four singles (two of which didn't do so well). Also, its British tone probably wouldn't have connected with US audiences — even though there are som similarities with “Mr. Blue Sky.” “Wishing” might have made for a better US fifth single.

  • http://thevitaminkid.blogspot.com autodidact

    I'm going to somewhat agree and disagree. The comparisons I've seen between the 1987 CDs and the new 2009 remasters — using software to compare the frequency balance — generally show a bump up in the bass, and some sparkle added in the extreme high frequencies. On some of the graphs I've seen a drop in frequencies around 4000-5000 Hz, which would mean guitars have less nasty bite to them, and the vocals do lose some of the overtones.

    I would have preferred a transfer to digital from the master tapes with as little equalization as possible, and no limiting or dynamic compression. I'm a purist that way. The 1987 CDs are said by reliable sources to be pretty faithful to the master tapes as far as frequency response goes. Yet, on A Hard Day's Night, I like how the bass bump in the remaster brings out McCartney's bass work.

    Well, you can't have everything. My biggest beef is that they shouldn't have used any limiting at all. The bass and treble boost I can live with. But I noticed the same suckout in the treble you did, which makes vocals and guitars smooth, but artificially so. Let It Be Naked has the same sanitized sound to it, but not to the same extreme.

  • http://thevitaminkid.blogspot.com autodidact

    Thanks, Ted. I own all of these except Oasis and ELO's Wimp. I've never even heard Wimp. Surely Todd Rundgren has done some imitating of Beatles on his own work, besides the XTC production here. I say “surely” though I really don't know his catalog. I'm guessing, though.

  • tonys1

    For Todd Rundgren Beatle imitations/tributes, check his version of “Rain” from “Faithful” plus all of “Deface the Music” with Utopia and much of the self-titled Utopia album from 1982.

  • bassbintwins
  • http://www.popdose.com Ted

    Well, it was certainly more catchy than the last two singles released, but maybe the label tested it in a few American markets and it kind of just sat there and did nothing…

  • http://www.popdose.com Ted

    Yeah, there was debate about limiting when they were doing the remasters, but they ultimately thought it added some heft that was missing from the mix.

    Oh, and I really liked Let It Be…Naked. I didn't mind the clean sound and found the stripped down songs refreshing — especially “The Long and Winding Road.”

  • http://www.popdose.com Ted

    Well, it was certainly more catchy than the last two singles released, but maybe the label tested it in a few American markets and it kind of just sat there and did nothing…

  • http://www.popdose.com Ted

    Yeah, there was debate about limiting when they were doing the remasters, but they ultimately thought it added some heft that was missing from the mix.

    Oh, and I really liked Let It Be…Naked. I didn't mind the clean sound and found the stripped down songs refreshing — especially “The Long and Winding Road.”

  • http://www.popdose.com Ted

    Well, it was certainly more catchy than the last two singles released, but maybe the label tested it in a few American markets and it kind of just sat there and did nothing…

  • http://www.popdose.com Ted

    Yeah, there was debate about limiting when they were doing the remasters, but they ultimately thought it added some heft that was missing from the mix.

    Oh, and I really liked Let It Be…Naked. I didn't mind the clean sound and found the stripped down songs refreshing — especially “The Long and Winding Road.”