Browsing gently through some songs, I thought, “Ooh! That sounds like The Beatles.” I pondered that their influence has been so wide and so long, there must be plenty of songs not by The Beatles but sounding more like The Beatles than The Beatles themselves, and I’m not talking deliberate pastiche like the magnificent Rutles. It made me wish there was a word for it.
Fiona Apple, for example, loves The Beatles so much, she named herself after their record label. She does a wonderful cover of Across The Universe. On Paper Bag, the piano chords and the horns are straight out of The White Album.
How many Beatlesque songs can The Afterword think of?
“Sowing the seeds of love” – Tears for fears
“Deface the Music” – Todd Rundgren’s Utopia (an exact pastiche up there with The Rutles)
An awful lot of ELO
An Andrew Gold album I heard once
loads and loads more…
I couldn’t place that Tears For Fears but, bloody hell, it’s uncanny!
If you think that’s audacious, just cop a load of this:
Gosh! Does that track really last 57 minutes?
Listening to the start, I’d say it’s actively a tribute to The Fabs.
According to Wikipedia (I know) the first track was written for the movie ‘Roadie’ and the producers rejected it because they feared a lawsuit from Apple.
It’s the horn solo that puts the tin lid on it.
Didn’t you mean a lot of ELO is awful?
No, because that would be wrong.
Sorry but I was subjected to Out of Time every week for about 3 years in the 70s. I used to go to a youth club every Friday evening in 77/78/79 and we brought records along to play while we played Football or Table Tennis or Pool etc. One guy brought ELO along every week and it was always Out of Time. It put me off them forever.
I had a flat mate who liked ELO, Fleetwood Mac and Abba only. In the end, I managed to persuade him AWB, EWF and More Songs About Buildings And Food are great and he convinced me of the merits of Tusk.
As a ‘fairly’ big fan of ELO in the seventies, I’ve no recollection of Out of Time.
Wooooh! Yesterday sequel pitch…
Sorry I’m mixing up Out of the Blue and Time. Still not keen on them.
I thought it maybe a compilation. Out of the Blue is patchy, a double with a lot of filler. Eldorado is the unknown gem.
Puzzled me too, I think it is a non Beatlesque REM album.
The Knickerbockers – Lies. John Lennon remarked on hearing it ‘I don’t remember recording that’
And to help the false memory, here’s a YouTube clip, using footage of the Beatles.
That’s way more than Beatlesque! It’s a replication.
That’s the one that first came to my mind. Could easily slip it into an early Beatles compilation without many realising.
A fair few Crowded House songs sound very Beatleish.
Kurt said he wanted to make music that combined The Beatles and Black Sabbath. Well About A Girl is beatlesque I think. I can hear them doing this song in my head and doing it better if I’m honest.
A bit She’s A Woman-ish I would say.
Not sure about Beatlesque but Kurt had clearly been listening to the Bunnymen and the Teardrops. That’s Read It In Books
Well this is just an obvious ripoff but fits the brief I think.
Here they are covering an actual Beatles song, Slow Down. Well, a song The Actual Beatles sang.
I don’t know if this track from Bob Dylan is a deliberate pastiche or not but it sounds very Beatlesque to me.
Great call!
It’s deliberate, based on Norwegion Wood
There was speculation in the first issue of Mojo as to whether the lyric was slightly a dig at the Fabs, and suggested he was a bit pissed off that their names were being yoked together.
Of course this means nothing, because we all know they both copped everything off DONOVAN.
These guys
Nice one. Could be recorded early 1969 at Twickenham, except it sounds happier.
Canadian early 70s group Klaatu were rumoured to actually be the HJHs after the release of their first LP.
The only tune they’re recalled for is Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft.
This is Klaatu’s best tune, but perhaps a bit more Wings than the Fabs.
https://youtu.be/tiRUOzJ-FrE
With a touch more George guitar, this could be on Rubber Soul.
This was the start of the Rutles. Fab indeed.
“Snap out of it, George!”
see also Don’t Get Me Wrong
This song reminds me more of Pink Floyd. I see Gilmour’s lank hair and slightly pissy pout when I hear it.
This site has helped me to understand The Beatles over the years. I can’t profess to be a fan but I can understand their influence on many of my favourite bands. The Jam and Tears for Fears have already had a mention. Try this from Del Amitri. The first time I heard it on “Some Other Suckers Parade” I thought McCartney. ..
Absolutely! I’d definitely say it’s Beatlesque…
This might be a “cheat” cos it was written by a Beatle chap
Badfinger – Come And Get It
Add to that: Day After Day, No Matter What, Baby Blue … most of their stuff actually
Disqualified on the grounds that it is a Beatles song, so, therefore, not not by The Beatles.
It was only a demo (he says asking for a stewards enquiry).
Harsh, but fair
No. look it up on iTunes and AMG. It’s a Beatles song. It features exactly the same number of Beatles as Julia, Yesterday and Good Night.
And Within You, Without You, just to even things up.
If this doesn’t make you shout “Kaili!”
As much as Lee Mavers might deny it, The Beatles are in their blood.
And from the same cloth, but definitely not in denial…
I could take this song to the desert island. It was good to be young in the early 90s.
@moose-the-mooche
Loved the Real People. An upmarket Oasis.
I’m sure there was a tribute band called Noasis that sounded a lot like the Beatles.
And one called No Way Sis…I left after one number.
My favourite is “Oasish”…
Requiresh earplugsh!
And yet, not that much at all actually. More plodding rock n roll, a bit of T Rex, Stooges, Sex Pistols even Neil Young. Beatles? A few obvious snippets, well Lennon solo Imagine and the ending of A Little Help With My Friends, some lyrical references.
Ha ha! Like Oasis have ever heard Neil Young! He’s as far out as Sun Ra as far as they’re concerned.
Well ha ha. Preposterous clearly. Actually Noel has name checked Neil and Slide Away and Live Forever have that Like A Hurricane feel, albeit more clunky but good tracks really. Beatlesque though, where? It’s not apparent much.
I don’t really like Hurricane or those extended NY pieces in general, but I respect that they are things where he is genuinely trying to Work Something Out, whereas NG extends his songs because he hasn’t the imagination to change key or do anything different, and assumes we will be pathetically grateful for him wasting as much of our fucking time as he wants to.
Well he aspires to emulate his heroes however much he falls short and however deluded he is in thinking he’s got near. Not Beatles sounding though, however superficially.
Maybe more solo-Lennon (Insant Karma?) than truly Beatlesque, but fits the profile
Beady Eye – The Roller
A Gallacher? Shooting fish in a barrel
Fish have more life in the eyes.
And less eyebrows (eyebrow?)
Adrian Belew is a big Beatles fan. Quite a lot of his solo material (and even some of the King Crimson material he wrote) is “Beatlesque” in at least the song construction, if not always in overall sound.
An example:
(Never Enough)
That’s rather good. Would have added something to Beatles For Sale. I have loads of Adrian Belew but none of his solo stuff. I’ll have to put that to rights.
Thank you.
Do you not even have Pretty Pink Rose? You’ll never guess who the guest vocalist is…..
Does this count?
…and this from after the Dukes were swallowed up by the ‘C.
Never one to disguise who his heroes were (Roxy, Bowie, Lou Reed, Kraftwerk, John Cale etc.), John Foxx came out as a Fabs fan on his third solo album. Several songs on there qualify for this thread, this just happens to be my favourite.
PS) Fiona Bruce is looking well…
You’d swear he’d heard Sgt. Pepper.
I’ve always liked John Foxx. Him, not his music you understand.
Frank Zappa and the Mother’s sounding very Beatlesque….
You just have to look at the cover of The Mothers’ debut.
If you’re thinking of “We’re Only In It For The Money”, that was their third album, released in June 1968. “Freak Out!” and “Absolutely Free” both came before it in March and October 1967 respectively.
Of course!
What is it that makes a song sound Beatlesque?
Here’s a Wikipaedia page explaining it all:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatlesque
My favourite is, “a simulacrum of the Beatles’ reputed sound that ultimately means nothing (“a copy without an original”).
That wiki page is really rather disappointing and does not answer Tony’s question. There seems to be quite a lot of agreement here on songs that show a Beatles influence. But how would you explain their sound to someone who had never heard a single song?
It is no easy task as they were such chameleons. Far easier to explain why a song sounds Stonesy.
Yes. I guess I was bedazzled by the mention of tone clusters and fourth intervals.
Me too. I liked those technical bits where they tried to explain what was special, eve if I did not understand them.
They mention the use of cellos and, like several other 60s bands, the Beatles loved to experiment with instrumentation. Harpsichords, sitars, string quartets, brass bands etc, etc. That is definitely part of their sound.
This kind of thing is so commonplace today that one forgets that this was not always the case.
That’s what I was trying to get at. I like the Beatles as much as the next fan, but unless it’s a deliberate pastiche (e.g. The Rutles) or a ‘conscious’ steal from a particular song (e.g. ‘Start’) I wouldn’t be able to give a scientific/musical definition of Beatlesesque.
As a non-musician who knows very little about music, it seems to me there are certain chords and chord progressions, certain sorts of vocal harmonies, certain choices of instrumentation that just sound Beatle-y to me.
Yes, yes. Tone clusters and fourth intervals!
*whistles innocently, pretending he knows what he’s talking about*
It’s the Aeolian cadences that give it away every time.
Nice one. I’m writing that down!
I think I’m moving towards this opinion.
That if you have to explain why you like a certain song or piece of music, then you’re probably talking to someone you shouldn’t.
While Barry Gibb was finding his voice, he channeled many acts. Pick up one of their budget compilations and thrill to this Gerry & The Pacemaker like ditty
Kenny Everett once had a feature on his show called “The Beegles” where he played all the bits from Bee Gees records that he felt had a striking resemblance to the Artistes Formerly Known As Japage-3.
Good thread. You might think Steve Earle was Fab free but the last line of the chorus in this cracker is pure Beatles.
One of any number of artists I’ve seen drop a Beatles song into their set when doing a gig in Liverpool – but the only one I’ve seen choose Cry Baby Cry.
Love Steve Earle. Love this Fabs inspired track.
This is the great Tages singing So Many Girls from 1966. Sounds very Lennon ’65 to me and could, to my ears, have been one of the highlights on Help! or Rubber Soul.
I hear a lot of Paul, too. In either case, definitely Beatlesque.
The words could be McCartney. Oh, I’ve been around girl, as you probably know, but now I’m gonna marry you. “I’ve been doing my very best to make you feel good.” So why are you complaining?
From Neela’s Tages to Bourgeois Tagg – Produced by Todd Rundgren, who is very good at getting a Beatles sound
It’s the cello that clinches it.
Neil Finn is his own songwriter, and a great one too, but for sure he carries McCartney and Lennon with him
How about this brilliant track from The Byrds.
This really is the sound of Gene C smelting Dylan and Lennon/MCartney and coming up with a third thing. Something beautiful…
In the parallel beautiful universe I have invented, The Byrds did not have to tour by plane and GC was able to contribute to The Notorious Byrd Brothers and Sweetheart of the Rodeo.
Who, in those circumstances, would have needed a moonshot?
Mmmmm.
More like Needles And Pins, so Searcheresque..?
Their melodic pop instincts run deep in Liverpool – you can hear it in any number of bands like The Zutons, The Boo Radleys, Lightning Seeds, The Coral and many more
Oh, there’s all sorts in that. A bit of Fabs, Slade, Monkees, even Dexy’s (and no that is not an excuse for that fucking picture of Kevin Rowland in a dress… it’s 20 years ago now, can we agree that we have processed it?)
Not sure I know what you’re referring to there Moose?
Bloody love The Coral – this is more Beatle-esque though:
Mid-period Beatles here… Noel Gallagher loved them obviously.
Very good. Almost a ‘caustic Lennon vocal there.
Good call. I was scrolling down the page thinking “I wonder if anyone’s picked Cotton Mather yet…” I love this album – always thought it’s like a collection of Beatles demos, but without being a pastiche.
White album outtake:
All these years and I’ve only just ‘got’ the title of the song!
As pointed out on here before, World Party do a good late Beatles sound:
There’s no denying it, is there? You couldn’t leave World Party off a Beatlesque playlist.
Under-rated Britpoppers. I should stop thinking about this and go to bed:
https://youtu.be/LJZS4AFFB4Q
A fade in, polo neck jumpers and messing about on pogo sticks. The only thing missing is a fourth member.
The Mosquitoes – Bingo, Bango, Bongo and Irving – appeared on Gilligan’s Island in that mid-60s period where every TV show needed to insult or parody those kids and their music, so pervasive was it.
Their dress sense was the oldster’s impression of Carnaby St, with wigs that looked so fake it wasn’t real (man) – obviously they couldn’t find any actors who really had hair that long. And the music was strictly generic “yeah yeah yeah” of the sort that was playing on Ringo’s transistor radio the train carriage in Hard Day’s Night.
Brilliant! They look and sound just like The Monkees.
Surprised that after 90+ comments, there has been no mention of this……
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-MmzB-
Freiheit / Keeping The Dream Alive
Whoops – something went wrong there – please delete / ignore
Surprised that after 90+ comments, there has been no mention of this…..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-MmzB-tnQE
Freiheit / Keeping The Dream Alive
Now that you point it out, it seems so obvious.
The Bend from New Zealand (NOT the Noel Gallagher song)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2whcNk28LbI
Sounds spot on but not on spotify. 😀
@Tiggerlion no sorry, we’re working on it…
None more Beatley:
Absolutely, nigel. That’s on the list.
Is someone doing a playlist of this little lot?
Yes. Once things settle down, I’ll get to it!
if we are looking for Beatlesesque songs, we should definitely be scouting around in other languages.
Locust and Neela may have some Swedish suggestions.
And Brazilian songwriters like Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil have acknowledged a great debt to their Liverpudlian colleagues.
https://www.academia.edu/35432564/_Tomorrow_never_knows_The_Influence_of_the_Beatles_Music_in_Brazil
Neela did indeed recommend Tages somewhere above.
Ooops! Sorry @Neela. It is a long thread and I was reading it on my phone,
Just pay some bloody attention, @kaisfatdad. That’s all I’m asking for. Well, that and maybe some cake. Or is it too late?
And so the Swedish civil war started.
Surströmming at dawn.
Stuff and nonsense! Cooffee and cake in the afternoon more like it.
Neela knows that every time I indulge in a delicious Princesstårta (Princess Tart), I always leave a large slice for him. We are civilised up here in the North!
Bloody delicious it is too!
Coffee (or tea, we are, as you pointed out, civilised) and a slice of princess? Your place or mine?
@moose-the-mooche
You know what? Despite having been Swedish my whole life, I’ve never had, been offered, nor wanted, surströmming.
Historically it’s a speciality of the north, and I’m from the south. But even friends and acquaintances from the north, at least of my generation, hasn’t eaten it. Weird.
I suspect it’s pretty much a Swedish test of macho-ness.
Rather like in the UK, going to an Indian restaurant and ordering a Phaal.
Which, as we know, is code for ‘test of stupidity’.
When I was in Sweden, Ljungby to be be precise, I was offered it… by a Danish guy. In retrospect the locals weren’t interested.
Oh yes! I remember someone here mentioned having worked in Ljungby. That was you? Ljungby is almost next door. Well, the locals would have known what to expect.
Especially if Danish surströmming is to Swedish what Danish cheese is to Swedish. You could probably kill a small village with one fart.
A nod to Lennon and McCartney from Milton Nascimento
Look and learn, bloggers, look and learn. If you want to get 100 posts and 500 views (and rising) on The Afterword in under a day there is one simple technique required. Insert the word ‘Beatles’ in your blogpost title…..
There are some who roll their eyes at a list thread. I think they have two main functions: to encourage The Afterword to think about their vast music collections in a different way, sometimes refreshing the way we listen, and, most importantly, to have a bit of fun. There isn’t enough joy in the world as far as I can see.
Completely agree. Can’t have too many list threads or indeed matters Beatly as far as I’m concerned. This thread magnificently combines both.
So what did you do, Granddad, that last glorious summer Friday night before Johnson got in, prorogued parliament, tanked Sterling and declared war on Iran, leading to this civil war in which my generation must fight hand-to-hand through the rubble of the palaces in which you once lived?
Well, Jimmy, I created joy by making a big list of vaguely similar YouTube clips.
I’ve resigned myself to the fact I can do nothing to prevent Johnson from becoming PM (I’m not a member of the Tory Party). I also have zero influence over Iran or Trump. So, let’s face the music and dance!
Besides, you don’t have to join in, chiz. It’s not compulsory. You can grumble and mumble on other threads or other parts of the Internet if you like.
We’ve got a surge of clips about the moon now as well. At this rate the internet will crash, Twitter will shutdown, Trump will lose interest and give up, everyone will forget about Brexit and war and it’ll all be fine again.
Well said Tigger…
We all know you don’t like lists Chiz, there’s no need to keep reminding us so spare us the sneering sarcasm (here and on the HP thread) – incidentally, what would you rather we did that could affect the events you mention?
The arrival of that smug, self-serving, untrustworthy, cowardly narcissist at Number 10 will be a dark day for the UK.
So a thread about four British musicians whose songs continue to spread joy around the world is perhaps not such a bad thing?
We must keep our spirits up!
The band Stonecake come from Borlänge in Sweden where I live. They released the song Tuesday Afternoon in 1991. You’d swear it was some old hit from the sixties it sounds so right and so McCartney.
One of the weaker Help! tracks, maybe?
Harsh or maybe flattering? Depends how you look at it.
Written by Fountains Of Waynes Adam Schlesinger with obvious affection
Pretty well every song from the soundtrack is a runaway steaming winner
More Beatlesque than the Beatles !
Marvellous!
Think this thread calls for a Beatlesque Spotify playlist.
Will compile one when I have a spare moment.
Sorry Tiggs. Didn’t see your comments above.
I’ll leave this to you.
Possible title ?
“ Not that’s what I call The Beatles “.
I don’t suppose You Suffer by Napalm Death is the kind of thing you’re looking for, is it?
Not exactly, no.
This bunch have been seen on this forum before, but what the heck…
Starts off as a wonky Beatles cover, then takes a left turn into something else…
And here’s “the German Klaatu” – Key:
Sounds great but, sadly, not on Spotify. At least, not in the UK.
Beau Brummels with Laugh Laugh. Great harmonica in this track. Produced by Sly Stone.
Perfect! I never realised Sly was involved. Intriguing…
Picture yourself in a boat on the river
Sparklehorse – Don’t Take My Sunshine Away
Hiya Tiggs
Who doesn’t love hearing an xmassy song in July huh?
Cheap Trick at their best.
Ummm….
Connan Mockasin – It’s Choade My Dear
ah, this is the one I was actually looking for.
Connan & the Mockasins – ‘Skies are for Flying’
Tim Presley’s White Fence “I Have to Feed Larry’s Hawk”
which reminded me o’ this
Great to see you, Contrary. As ever, you give us a whole bunch of selections I’ve barely heard of, all great and fitting the brief, but not all on Spotify.
I hope all is well in your world.
If we’re getting really obscure, cult band Glowhoney are reissuing early stuff and their earliest incarnation was well Beatly.
Try this…
The Topp Shelf by The Topp Shelf (Glowhoney)
Really good example but to obscure for the playlist.
Not many ladies represented so far, I think this qualifies
Aimee Mann – Lost in Space
There’s a doozy of a band out in New Jersey who have been making psychedelic Beatley records for years now.
The Grip Weeds. As you’ve already guessed, they’re named after Lennon’s character in ‘How I Won the War’, Private Gripweed.
Here’s one of many such.
Spoon – Don’t Make Me A Target
The Muppets (on Sesame Street) – Exit
https://youtu.be/3dFYsrGw5eI
This actually makes me tear up a bit. Sorry.
https://youtu.be/wuH4eJGVCS4
PS. Wonder if Prince wrote this one on the quiet?
Spotify List:
Beatlesque – Now That’s What I Call Not The Beatles
There’s a track by the Swedish band Brainpool called “Free Ride” that would suit this playlist perfectly, but it’s not on Spotify and not even on YouTube, unusually. I used it in the first AW swap.
Besides having lyrics describing the rise and fall of band/record company relations, it crams as many Beatles-like riffs and soundscapes into its 4:41 minutes as possible, including a Pepper-like outro during the final 1:41. Very much on purpose, of course.
In my attempt to find that track, I found this, Locust.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGyoqoz_Lpo
No doubt about Brainpool’s admiration for the Fabs.
Doing a medley of My Sweet Lord and He’s So Fine is such an obvious idea it’s strange no one thought of it a long (long long) time ago.
I was gonna post that, but couldn’t find a link. Great band!
Very underrated.
Found You Are Here on CD just a couple of months ago. Probably their best album.
It’s a bit more of an ELO copy… I think Jeff gets money for The Chagingman. https://youtu.be/4z2-MBZNUaM
I know where you’re coming from, that was my concern when I first thought of the track as I hadn’t heard it in a while, but after playing it through I conclude that it’s 95% Beatles 5% ELO influenced.
Either way, it’s a damn fine song.
This came up next on Spotify 🙂
A loooong time ago when I was more regular here I did a thread like this. I love Beatlesque songs. I think this one by The Bees could pass as White Album era Fabs
This one could be a cast-off from the Magical Mystery Tour EP
I think John would have been happy to see this on Rubber Soul
Oh, this is great. I only know ‘Hold Back The Night’ which is a bit special, but haven’t investigated them much further… I will now, thanks!
Dear Prudence?
Thanks BigJim. My memory is not what it was but your expertise on the topic is amply demonstrated by those four excellent choices.
Not sure how Beatlesque this is but it has the chords from ‘Dear Prudence’. Ian Brown used to drop a few bars in when playing live:
Oh yes!
Ms November by The Silver Seas always takes me somewhere Beatley.
Just to prove it:
Bee Gees In My Own Time could sneak into Revolver relatively unnoticed.
That’s ridiculously close. I had no idea they started out sounding like that.
This… very Paul…
Someone should post this. In fact I think I will.
This one is a real forehead slap moment. Brian was responding to The Beatles well before Rubber Soul!
And Carl, being the biggest Beatle fan of the group, was given his first lead vocal.
The Vinyl Kings – Mind Over Matter
As we are running out of steam, I’ve updated the Spotify Playlist, adding about a dozen other tracks not yet posted on the thread.
Sorry this is late, sir. Dog ate my homework!
I can’t leave this post on 199
Here are Field Music to take it to 200
https://youtu.be/cZKnG-DEMWk
Thank you. 🙂
Cheap Trick “Voices”
A lovely tune from the “Dream Police” album 1979.
I think this thread has now run its course. Not bad for a ‘list’ thread. Lots of comments, lots of views and an interesting and varied Spotify Playlist (for whatever that’s worth). There are clearly some naysayers but lists clearly remain popular on The Afterword.
Thank you all for contributing.
Lots of views? The Johnson thread has almost as many views in a day as this has in a week.
Lots of comments? About a third of them are from you
Careful, chiz. After the popularity of The Boring Thread, I’m considering starting a Favourite Lists thread, too. After all, I’m on a roll…
Just let me finish the three hampers first.
There is still a place for a list thread on The Afterword. This one is top ten in all of the most commented/viewed charts.
There is a place for a political thread, too.
My favourite is a list to the left.
SWIDT?
My favourite list is “Brahms and.”
Outrageous stuff by the newly revived Supernaturals.