Results tagged “The Beatles” from Birmingham Mail - Blog Rockin' Beats

I've recently been reminded of the genius that is Bang Bang It's Reeves and Mortimer, by a fellow Vic and Bob devotee. But, having acquired the series on DVD, I realised how under-rated this great comedy sketch show was. It never gets the same recognition as The Smell Of Reeves and Mortimer or Shooting Stars.

And this got me thinking of other things that are also under-rated, such as the movie A Life Less Ordinary. Naturally, it wasn't long before I got on to the subject of music. Here are a few albums I have in my collection that, had I listened to critics or other people, I wouldn't have had the pleasure of listening to.

"Second Coming" - Stone Roses
Lambasted by critics and even some fans for being different to their classic debut and seen as the beginning of the end for one of Britain's best bands. But all they did was discover blues rock and added it to their funky guitar pop to create an astonishing, powerful record.
And songs such as Begging You, Love Spreads, Breaking Into Heaven, Driving South and the lovely Ten Storey Love Song easily compare with anything they did before.

"New Adventures In Hi-fi" - REM
When REM went 'back to their roots' for the previous album Monster, they lost a lot of casual fans who had only been interested in the band's more commerical work. But they're the idiots as this turned out to be a beaut of an album.
Engaging, interesting and startlingly lovely, it also contains one of the most gorgeous and my personal favourite REM song, Electrolite.

"Hail To The Thief" - Radiohead
Talk about a no win situation. Some said they were merely covering old ground, others expressed disappointment that it wasn't like their earlier records! Many said it weak.
But if great songs make for a strong album, how can an LP that contains There There, 2+2=5, Go To Sleep, Where I End And You Begin, A Wolf At The Door and Myxomatosis be weak?

"Help!" - The Beatles
I know it seems strange to include the Fab Four in this list but I've always felt Help! is overlooked because it is caught between early Beatles and the start of their mid to late 60s transformation.
But this album is stunning. So many great pop singles. Yeah, yeah, Rubber Soul followed later in the same year but this is where you can hear the first traces of Paul, John, George and Ringo leaving Beatlemania behind and growing up.

"Trompe Le Monde" - Pixies
Ok, so they were on the verge of breaking up and the relationship between members was crumbling but that only adds to the brilliance of this record. It sounds fresh. More like a band on the verge of something bigger rather than the beginning of their end.
I still feel like leaping around like a madman when I hear Alec Eiffel, U-Mass and Planet Of Sound. And they even manage to do the near-impossible - a great cover of a Jesus and Mary Chain track, Head On.

Sir Paul McCartney. One quarter of The Beatles. The McCartney in the Lennon-McCartney song-writing partnership which changed the face of British pop music in the 60s.

And yet according to a poll, he is the most annoying pop star in the world. What on earth do they base this on? Well, according to Craig Dawson, head of www.musicmagpie.co.uk, who published the list, people are fed up with Macca because he has "driven people up the wall with his 'holier than thou' approach to his divorce, two-fingered peace gesture and penchant for wearing trainers with suits".

Well, there you go then. He is the most annoying musician because of non-music related reasons. More annoying than Robbie Williams, Liam Gallagher, Mick Hucknall, Jay Kay, The Spice Girls, Bono, Bob Geldof, The Cheeky Girls, James Blunt and Johnny Borrell.

Well, sorry, I can't accept that. Macca should never have been anywhere near the Top 10 based on his contribution to music. I don't care for the reasons given, he was the driving force behind most of The Beatles best work. Ok, his subsequent Wings and solo work was patchy and at times awful (The Frog Chorus anyone?) but I'll forgive him anything because he gave us Penny Lane, Hey Jude, Here There and Everywhere and Blackbird to name a few.

Of course, he is upstaged in most people's eyes by John Lennon but I suppose that is what you get when you are not gunned down at a relatively young age. No one would deny Lennon's brilliance, but Paul was his equal. And he is far more likeable as a person than Lennon ever was.

It was Paul who formed a band, got in a bus and toured Student Unions and small venues after The Beatles split, while the others revelled in their rock God status - a far more punkish and man of the people attitude than "imaginging no possessions" while sitting at a grand piano in your plush New York home.

John was a genius and worthy of hero worship. But it would be nice if people got over themselves and stopped mocking a true music legend.