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Townshend, never one to shy away from speaking his mind with tape rolling, said in a 1965 interview that The Beatles sounded “flippin’ lousy” when you head their music isolated from the vocals. It was nothing personal, of course.
Townshend, never one to shy away from speaking his mind with tape rolling, said in a 1965 interview that The Beatles sounded “flippin’ lousy” when you head their music isolated from the vocals. It was nothing personal, of course.
Trash talking was quite common back then. The Stones would also take shots at The Beatles.
Pete seems to say a lot of stupid things but I kind of agree with him. The Beatle’s sound in my opinion was not that much rooted in blues as some of their peer’s music was, soecifically The Rolling Stones. The Beatles in my opinion were more of a pop group with instruments, that’s why their appeal was/is so universal.
Up until '66 or so they were pretty pop oriented. After 1967 they started to rock it up. The White Album started to get even more rock oriented, but they were never as raw and bluesy as the Stones. Pete Townshend has nothing to say about it.The Who also played some very poppy music. They weren't as talented as the Beatles and their singing was, comparatively, not very good.
Speaking with Rolling Stone in 1982, Townshend was asked about McCartney’s latest album, Tug of War. When the interviewer (Kurt Loder) told Townshend it had “virtually nothing to do with rock & roll,” Townshend asked if McCartney “ever really had anything to do with rock.”
Then he answered his own question. “No, he never did,” Townshend said. “You know, I could sit down and have a conversation with Paul about rock & roll, and we’d be talking about two different things.” After complimenting McCartney’s collaboration with Stevie Wonder, he got back to the former Beatle’s music.
To be more polite than Townsend deserves, that's an absurd statement.
Oh! Darling - a classic '50s-style rocker. Back in the USSR - it tries (and succeeds) in emulating Chuck Berry. Helter Skelter - do I really need to explain this one?
And if you want to focus on just early Beatles, from before young 20-year-old Townsend made the 'flippin' lousy' comment, there's the Little Richard-esque I'm Down. These are all McCartney songs.
It's simply delusional to deny that those songs are the epitome of rock and roll.
Two questions:
*Why do people invent their own definitions of concepts - like rock and roll - and expect the rest of us to accept those invented definitions and reject the common definitions? Because the meaning of cultural terms like rock and roll is defined by common usage.
*Why do people think that because someone is a talented guitarist and lyricist, they must therefore be wise on the history and nature of the rock genre? You might as well assume Eddie Van Halen is a scholar of music historian.
Townsend has always suffered from foot-in-mouth disease and been possessed of some combination of arrogance and insecurity that makes him rail against The Who's musical rivals. While I very much like Townsend's music, I don't go one step further and hang on his every utterance as gospel. A person can be both a great artist and a clueless jackass. Rock and roll positively teems with people who manage to be both.
The Beatle’s sound in my opinion was not that much rooted in blues as some of their peer’s music was, soecifically The Rolling Stones.
Imo, Mersey beat is a just as valuable music genre as blues is. If the Beatles weren't rock, that might not be a bad thing, but they're overrated for other reasons anyway.
Townshend, never one to shy away from speaking his mind with tape rolling, said in a 1965 interview that The Beatles sounded “flippin’ lousy” when you head their music isolated from the vocals. It was nothing personal, of course.
Yeah, that "flippin' lousy" quote is from a British TV show "A Whole Scene Going"
from January 1966....that TV series only ran 6 months January to june 1966 and
The Who were on the first and last episodes.
I used to think it was a weird TV show title but it was a whole scene going...
the initial first wave British Invasion was quickly becoming old...replaced in 1966-67
with newer groups and growing psychedelia. Rock 'n Roll was turning into Rock.
Albums becoming more important than singles.
Pete was referring to listening to the "new" Beatles album...Rubber Soul...
a bit of jealousy mixed with some truth...Rubber Soul was mixed kinda weird..
vocals all one side ...music on the other side of the stereo spectrum...(I have an original UK vinyl LP).
He shouldn't have talked...The Who's new album .."My Generation" suffered from a poor mix too.
Pete Townshend has always been a huge Rolling Stones fan....doesn't hurt that both groups
are from London...not that "foreign" Liverpool way up north...
I remember that when Townshend played in McCartney's all star "Rockestra" band (circa 1979),
he showed up drunk and refused to wear the shiny jacket "uniform" ...which PO'd MacCartney.
Sure, The Beatles weren't the most rockin' group...but they had their fair share of rockers...
both original and covers like Chuck Berry's "Rock 'n Roll Music" or Little Richard's "Long Tall Sally".
Who needs "Yesterday" or "In My Life" when there are treasures like "Magic Bus" and "Boris the Spider".
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