Revolver Entry

The Beatles did something unusual, something many bands did not do. They took a break just before recording. They did not have to worry about deadlines (something many bands have not mastered). Having this time off helped them come up with new ideas for their album, and they really got to try things they had not been able to do before.

It is a known fact The Beatles were using serious drugs during the making of the album, the most talked about being LSD. It was said that LSD had a huge influence on their music, especially for the album, “Revolver”.

The Beatles were competing in a friendly competition with The Beach Boys at the time, and decided to take some risks in the studio. The Beatles have been credited as having been the first group to use Direct Input for their guitars. It was the first record that had used compression as a sonic tool. The Beatles had also thickened their vocals by using double tracking in their recordings. This is why their vocals sound stronger and more thick than their previous albums.

I have always been a huge Beatles fan, they were the first band I have ever listened to. My father and mother grew up listening to the Beatles and they would constantly play “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” and “Something”. I have always tried to model everything I do with vocals after Paul McCartney. He has a choir sound but it still sounds like rock music. He knows how to make something sound good, like the Bass guitar, despite the fact he was initially a guitar player. I would listen to their music and try to mimic it on my bass, never sounding nearly as good. Even in the song “Taxman” they are experimenting with different ideas for the instruments, and many of those ideas are still prevalent today.

Pet Sounds Entry

The album, “Pet Sounds” by the Beach Boys, was an amazing album. It’s innovative techniques in recording and writing music have influenced the entertainment industry for years. The Beach Boys before “Pet Sounds” had harmony ideas that really had not been used in Rock music. The thing that truly separates the Beach Boys from other artist, in my mind, is the fact they sing traditional barbershop music and mix rock in with it. Most artist have harmonies but they don’t get nearly as close as the Beach Boys did.

Most of their songs did not touch on serious subjects, like God. This was a huge step outside of their comfort zone and I think it was a wise decision, in my opinion, “Pet Sounds” is their best album. Brian Wilson’s writing partner for the song, “God Only Knows”, Tony Asher had said it was a risk on their part to include the word “God” in the song. It was a risk because not many songs referencing religion got air time over the radio. Not to mention Brian Wilson had a creative idea for instrumentation and included the French Horn and Accordions. Even though, their instrument choice on previous records were basic; bass, guitar, and drums, their musical choices reached a vast range of audience members. Many people at Capitol Records said they didn’t like the album just because it didn’t follow the type of sound their previous albums had.

Brian Wilson had a key role in the success of this album, being the songwriter and lead singer for many songs. He worked with Tony Asher to create some of the best songs ever written. The Beach Boys had a friendly competition with their British counterparts- The Beatles, which helped encourage taking new risks not just in songwriting, with changing tempos and different instrumentation, but in the studio as well.

 

References

The Beach Boys. (n.d.). The Beach Boys. Retrieved November 2, 2013, from http://www.thebeachboys.com/

The Making of Pet Sounds. (n.d.). albumlinernotes. Retrieved November 2, 2013, from http://albumlinernotes.com/The_Making_of_Pet_Sounds.html

 

Welcome!

Hello!

I am Stacey Eller, born in Rochester Hills, Michigan. I enjoy listening to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, The Monkees and The Beatles. I play bass guitar and I sing barbershop. 

I plan on going to Germany to work after graduating. I would like to work in Game Audio or Film, however, the German music culture is fairly undiscovered by Americans and I would like to introduce it to the American music scene. There are many great artist in Germany, and throughout Europe, that have not made it to the United States.