I will first summarize The Beatles early years, to give a foundation for their later music. John Lennon, who is considered the founding1 member, was born in Liverpool England on October 9, 1940. As a child he was a trouble-maker and poor at school. However what he lacked in mathematical skill, he compensated in his exceptional art potential. As a child he grew up in a very strict household, which led to reading and writing. This interested John quite a bit, and this same artistic flare led him to music. He began playing the harmonica, but soon was introduced to the guitar which became his concentration. John then formed a band in high school with his two friends, Ivan Vaughan and Pete Sholden. They became known as the Quarrymen, an ode to their school, Quarry Bank High School. John was inspired

“Abbey Road” was intended to be The Beatles last album, a proper farewell. Although it was not their last album, “Let it Be” followed, it was one of their best. They used their mature songwriting ability, and combined it with their early harmonies. Each member produced a gem on the album. Lennon wrote one of his best songs, the seven minute opus to Yoko Ono, “I Want You”. Harrison wrote the beautiful song “Something”, based off of a James Taylor song titled “Something In The Way She Moves”. It was so well liked that known rock ‘n’ roll disparager Frank Sinatra called it the greatest love song ever made. It was also covered by Elvis. Ringo contributed with “Octopus’s Garden”, a silly song with a great guitar riff. And McCartney released what I believe is his best song, “You Never Give Me Your Money”. He combined eight unfinished recordings into one melody. It may be the most complex song The Beatles ever released. Although the album was more of a cohesive project then “The White Album”, it was headed by McCartney, and he gets the last words of The Beatles in the song “The End”. They are “And in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love, you make, Ah”. Not a bad message to end a legacy with.

This was the beginning of The Beatles greatness. They moved beyond the mop-tops and matching suits, and began putting full attention to putting out a complete album, in the form of “Rubber Soul”. With this, it seemed that the Beatles had grown up. Prior to Rubber Soul, the Beatles albums were more of a collection of singles rather than an artistic expression. In “Rubber Soul” we see a new era of fresh ideas, not only musically, but philosophically. The album contains their first song not about love, Lennon’s “Nowhere Man” describing the stress involved in finishing songs. At this period, the Beatles were still pressured constantly for more songs, more singles, by the record companies. It is amazing that “Rubber Soul” is one of the greatest the Beatles produced, as the final songs for it were not written nor recorded until the middle of November 1965, just a mere eighteen days before the album hit the record store shelves. The Beatles took chances on this album and it paid dividends. George Harrison made some note-worthy contributions with writing “If I Needed Someone”, and playing the sitar on Lennon’s “Norwegian Wood”. The song itself was about an affair Lennon had. This demonstrates The Beatles slowly drifting from the mainstream both lyrically and musically. All in all, “Rubber Soul”, is the bridge between the old care-free Beatles into the more politically conscious musicians that they would later become. This mixes wonderfully, and remains a classic to this day.

With “Revolver” they stretched pop music to its boundaries, while doing so, completely changing the face of modern music forever. If they grew up in “Rubber Soul”, they now established themselves with “Revolver”. The Beatles had an unusual amount of time to make “Revolver”. They were supposed to make a movie, but because of differences regarding the script, it got scratched. This gave The Beatles two months to do anything they wanted. They choose to make on of the greatest albums ever. This extra time allowed them to experiment with different sounds to complement their songs. This session turned The Beatles into a studio band. They added an orchestra (“Eleanor Rigby”), two songs with a sitar (“Tomorrow Never Knows”, “Love To You”) and

If “Revolver” stretched the rules of pop music, “Sergeant Peppers Lonely Heart Club Band” broke them. Never before has pop music sounded like this. They made a conceptual album that layered wonderfully crafted pop songs over obscure sound effects. This album proved that unorthodox music can be commercial and opened the doors for such artists as Iggy Pop. The concept of the album wa

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