Re: Who vs. Beatles

[istanley@quartz.nbnet.nb.ca]

>Date: Fri, 16 May 1997 ACEFACE6 wrote:

>Wait a second. I have a few questions. First, you're saying George Harrison
>was a better guitarist than Pete Townshend? Sorry, I don't agree. And also,
>the reason I think the Who are better than the Beatles is because all of them
>are so talented, not just the singer, or bassist, or guitarist, or drummer.
>Also the lyrics to the Who songs are so much superior to the Beatles. I'll
>admit the Beatles had a lot of good melodies, but after that there's not
>much.

 Sorry,but I have to disagree with you.Back in the mid 60's George Harrison
*was* a better guitarist than Pete.Pete's playing was more on par with John
Lennon's,in that they were both essentially rhythm guitarists.John Entwistle
himself has said that many of the leads that people assume are Pete's
guitar,are actually his bass.Harrison,on the other hand,was a much more
"rounded" player,in that he played not only rhythm guitar,but several styles
of lead.He could play rock n' roll leads for songs like "Roll Over
Beethovan," or country-style picking on songs like "Act Naturally." Plus,he
played sitar.Not brilliently perhaps,but he did master the instrument to a
degree.You say that The Who are better because all of them are so
talented,but in reality Pete was not an especially great guitarist in the
early days,and while Roger has certainly come a long way as a vocalist,his
voice wasn't that strong in the beginning,and he was certainly no
competition for Lennon or McCartney.Lyrically,Pete has written some great
songs.But he's also written some absolute crap like "Did you steal my
money." I mean,look at "Squeeze Box." It might be a good novelty song,but
lyrics like "Mama'a got a squeezebox,daddy never sleeps at night" could
hardly be called "deep" or profound.The Beatles certainly wrote throw-away
lyrics too,like "Oh-Bla-Dee-Bla-Da." But they also wrote some great lyrics
like "Eleanor Rigby","Help","In My Life","Hey Jude","Revolution",etc.To say
that there's "not much" after you get past the Beatles melodies is
foolish.The Beatles were the most innovative band on the music scene in the
mid '60's,and the effects that they pioneered in the studio were ahead of
anything that anyone else was doing.When "Sgt.Pepper" was released in '66,it
was the album that *everyone* was listening to,from Simon and Garfunkle to
The Rolling Stones,because it was light-years ahead of what anyone else was
doing at that time.And as for the melodies themselves,that's nothing to take
lightly.The melody is what sells the song.And the greatest lyrics in the
world will not be heard by anyone unless they have a good melody wrapped
around them.For example,I'll bet that you could recite some Beatles lyrics
if you had to (even a few lines),but how many poems by Alan Ginsburg do you
know?

                            Long Live Rock,

                                    I.S.

 BEER...It's not just for breakfast anymore!