Which is better: The Beach Boys or The Beatles? - Music

theblueboy

Gowi wrote:

Don’t exactly agree with this. I may be biased especially here, but I’ve always thought 20/20, Today!, and Summer Days (and Summer Nights) were some of their exceptional albeit non-experimental works. Of course nothing tops Surf’s Up, Friends, Smiley Smile, Pet Sounds, etc. in terms of songwriting depth I’d say writing off the aforementioned albums is a pretty unwise choice.

The Beach Boys have plenty of depth.

Yeah, I guess I love a lot of the more straightforward pop stuff from both bands. For me, the argument that things really kicked off with Rubber Soul and Pet Sounds is a bit overplayed. I really love those earlier albums as well and they are more consistent than they are often given credit for. After the more experimental stuff, I think both bands really needed to get back to basics, so I don't see the late 60s Beach Boys output as a step-back in the same way as a lot of people. In the case of he Beatles, I think I would have loved the Let it Be album had it worked out, but I don't think the Beatles could really function as a band at this point so the result is a bit of a mess.

Daydreamer

Michael1981 wrote:

Gowi wrote:

Don’t exactly agree with this. I may be biased especially here, but I’ve always thought 20/20, Today!, and Summer Days (and Summer Nights) were some of their exceptional albeit non-experimental works. Of course nothing tops Surf’s Up, Friends, Smiley Smile, Pet Sounds, etc. in terms of songwriting depth I’d say writing off the aforementioned albums is a pretty unwise choice.

The Beach Boys have plenty of depth.

Yeah, I guess I love a lot of the more straightforward pop stuff from both bands. For me, the argument that things really kicked off with Rubber Soul and Pet Sounds is a bit overplayed. I really love those earlier albums as well and they are more consistent than they are often given credit for. After the more experimental stuff, I think both bands really needed to get back to basics, so I don't see the late 60s Beach Boys output as a step-back in the same way as a lot of people. In the case of he Beatles, I think I would have loved the Let it Be album had it worked out, but I don't think the Beatles could really function as a band at this point so the result is a bit of a mess.

I agree. Help! was a great album and the gap between that album and Beatles For Sale is so much bigger than between Help! and Rubber Soul.

On the whole Beatles vs Beach Boys. I like Beach Boys but I love The Beatles.
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DJTommy

Daydreamer wrote:

Michael1981 wrote:

Gowi wrote:

Don’t exactly agree with this. I may be biased especially here, but I’ve always thought 20/20, Today!, and Summer Days (and Summer Nights) were some of their exceptional albeit non-experimental works. Of course nothing tops Surf’s Up, Friends, Smiley Smile, Pet Sounds, etc. in terms of songwriting depth I’d say writing off the aforementioned albums is a pretty unwise choice.

The Beach Boys have plenty of depth.

Yeah, I guess I love a lot of the more straightforward pop stuff from both bands. For me, the argument that things really kicked off with Rubber Soul and Pet Sounds is a bit overplayed. I really love those earlier albums as well and they are more consistent than they are often given credit for. After the more experimental stuff, I think both bands really needed to get back to basics, so I don't see the late 60s Beach Boys output as a step-back in the same way as a lot of people. In the case of he Beatles, I think I would have loved the Let it Be album had it worked out, but I don't think the Beatles could really function as a band at this point so the result is a bit of a mess.

I agree. Help! was a great album and the gap between that album and Beatles For Sale is so much bigger than between Help! and Rubber Soul.

On the whole Beatles vs Beach Boys. I like Beach Boys but I love The Beatles.

To add to discussion: I think The Beatles' early stuff is too often underrated because it's not "serious" enough and other bullshit. I see the same being said about great tracks like "Yellow Submarine" from later in their career. Even fantastic stuff like "Within You Without You" is often looked down upon because it doesn't "sound right". Talking about their early stuff, A Hard Day's Night is really underrated and a fantastic collection of tracks. Beatles for Sale, though easily one of their weakest albums, deserves much more credit than it gets in the band's evolution. People say that Help! or Rubber Soul was when their sound changed, but it was really with Beatles for Sale. That was the album where they started going for a folkier and somewhat darker sound. Some people dismiss their early music as generic boyband music and that it was first with Rubber Soul that they became good (something they've been their hold career IMO). These people annoy me a bit.

theblueboy

DJTommy wrote:

Daydreamer wrote:

I agree. Help! was a great album and the gap between that album and Beatles For Sale is so much bigger than between Help! and Rubber Soul.

On the whole Beatles vs Beach Boys. I like Beach Boys but I love The Beatles.

To add to discussion: I think The Beatles' early stuff is too often underrated because it's not "serious" enough and other bullshit. I see the same being said about great tracks like "Yellow Submarine" from later in their career. Even fantastic stuff like "Within You Without You" is often looked down upon because it doesn't "sound right". Talking about their early stuff, A Hard Day's Night is really underrated and a fantastic collection of tracks. Beatles for Sale, though easily one of their weakest albums, deserves much more credit than it gets in the band's evolution. People say that Help! or Rubber Soul was when their sound changed, but it was really with Beatles for Sale. That was the album where they started going for a folkier and somewhat darker sound. Some people dismiss their early music as generic boyband music and that it was first with Rubber Soul that they became good (something they've been their hold career IMO). These people annoy me a bit.

Yeah, I definitely agree with the above. I didn't investigate the earlier albums of both these bands for many years as I presumed they would not be up to some sort of artistic standard I had in mind. I was totally missing out though! I'm glad both groups developed in the way they did as nearly all bands need to make changes to keep being interesting. But I don't think the later albums are better than the earlier ones in every way. For both bands, as they became more artistically interesting, some of the freshness, warmth and energy of the earlier albums was lost. Being serious isn't everything when it comes to music!

Also, I agree that "Yellow Submarine" and "Within You, without you" are key tracks on their respective albums.

Yann

Gender: Male
Location: France

bobbyb5 wrote:

There's also the tendency of music fans to mythologize musicians who had mental health or drug problems, as if these things were the source of their talent.

Well, who knows about mental health (or at least latent mental health) and music ? the first Pink Floyd album is kind of mad, and Pet Sounds is just out of this world. But one thing is sure. Acid just ruined their career. What amazing albums we could have had from Barrett (but then perhaps no Dark side of the Moon...that's a ccomplicated thing this Pink Floyd band...) or from Wilson, had they not burned their wonderful brains with acid...

RoundTheBend
I miss the comfort in being sad

Location: Ground Control

Beach Boys: yes they had more than one great album. yes their best of album incorporating their early hits is likely just as good as the early years of the Beatles.

Beatles: Their early years albums seem to be more interesting. I can actually make it through without cringing on most of those albums. Beach Boys have far more cringe worthy material overall. As stated before, their bubble-gum pop is more or less comparable up until the Rubber Soul days. Perhaps just a notch higher for the Beatles.

Alas my own opinion probably is getting in the way of the overall score I gave them. Probably deserve another album or two review on the Beach Boys side of things.

Beach Boys Average: 78.6
Title Band Year Year Rank Rating
The Smile Sessions The Beach Boys 2011 3 90.5
Pet Sounds The Beach Boys 1966 3 90
Smile The Beach Boys/Brian Wilson 2004 4 88.2
Smiley Smile The Beach Boys 1967 7 85
Surf's Up The Beach Boys 1971 18 75.5
Today! The Beach Boys 1965 12 70
Wild Honey The Beach Boys 1967 27 65
Friends The Beach Boys 1968 36 65

Beatles average: 88
Title Band Year Year Rank Rating
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band The Beatles 1967 1 100
Abbey Road The Beatles 1969 1 100
Revolver The Beatles 1966 2 95
Magical Mystery Tour The Beatles 1967 4 95
With The Beatles The Beatles 1963 2 90
Rubber Soul The Beatles 1965 1 90
Let It Be The Beatles 1970 7 90
The Beatles (The White Album) The Beatles 1968 2 90
Beatles For Sale The Beatles 1964 2 85
Help! The Beatles 1965 4 85
Please Please Me The Beatles 1963 4 80
A Hard Day's Night The Beatles 1964 4 80
Yellow Submarine The Beatles 1969 54 65

SleepDealer

Location: Isca Dumnoniorum

I prefer the Beach Boys. Although I never really loved Pet Sounds and found most of their discography pretty inconsistent, it has been much more rewarding to discover so many great tracks that don't appear on the usual 'best of' compilations that are inevitably driven by their early commercial singles.

I like the Beatles too, and probably prefer them as an albums band just about, but find them to be less interesting than the late 60s Beach Boys and Byrds.
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