Fifty years ago, the Beatles split after the release of
their last album, “
Let it Be.” Why speak now of a broken-up band that has not
released music since 1970? For the same reason we mention Johann Sebastian
Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and
Ludwig van Beethoven: They are still making waves.
اضافة اعلان
Fifty years also offers space to analyze the influence of
the greatest Western pop-rock band of all time. This would not have been
possible 10 or 20 years after the split. Now, however, we realize what the
Beatles have brought us. American music magazine Rolling Stone lists Beatles
Paul McCartney and John Lennon as the second and third greatest songwriters of
all time, the first being Bob Dylan. I want to argue that Lennon-McCartney should
come first, but who am I to contradict the Rolling Stone?
The Beatles have cast their spell on three generations,
gliding into a domain of enduring cultures.
In 1967, Tony Palmer wrote in The Observer: “If there is
still any doubt that Lennon and McCartney are the greatest song writers since
Schubert, then next Friday, with the publication of the new Beatles double LP,
should surely see the last vestiges of cultural snobbery and bourgeois prejudice
swept away. … Not even Schubert wrote at that speed.”
Some still try to unravel the secret behind the group’s global
success, but there is not much to it. The big six — Lennon, McCartney,
Harrison, Starr, and their producer, George Martin — simply happened to be in
the right place at the right time.
The band has not released any music since 1970, but “Yesterday,”
“Michelle,” “Back in the USSR,” “Something,” “Help,” “Let it be,” “Come
Together,” “Hey Jude,” “Girl,” “When I’m Sixty-Four,” “With a Little Help from
my Friends,” “While my Guitar Gently Weeps,” and at least 50 percent of their 200
songs, have become classics. They have been covered countless times by other
artists, and this continues today.
Gabriella Quevedo is a fine example of how the Beatles are influencing
younger generations. The 24-year-old Swede is popular on YouTube for her impressive
guitar covers. Her music videos have gathered millions of views. The guitarist has
covered “Let It Be” and “Blackbird,” two masterpieces by the Beatles, but her prowess
falls short of the Beatle standard. Nevertheless, it is a good tribute to the
group.
Interestingly, and as Palmer pointed out: “The Beatles are
competent rather than virtuoso instrumentalists, but their ensemble playing is
intuitive and astonishing.”
This goes to show that musicianship, soul, originality, and
genuine inspiration are more important than technical, instrumental virtuosity.
The Beatles’ flavor has surpassed anything the world of popular music has known
to this date.
So, what happened after the Beatles split and went solo? Except
for a few songs, such as Lennon’s “Imagine,” Harrison’s triple album “All
Things Must Pass,” and McCartney’s inspired duets with Michael Jackson, making
music that was on a par with what the group was able to come up with in their
heyday proved impossible. It was good music, but the magic of their trademark sound,
of their melodies, voices, and harmonies, was gone.
Fifty years after, musicologists, reviewers, and critics
agree that the Beatles are for Western pop-rock what Bach is for classical
music.
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Opinion & Analysis
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