Heavy Metal is an ever-changing genre of rock-n-roll. The diversity of artists that can be included in 'metal' music is enormous. When, exactly, did bands stop calling their music 'Rock N' Roll' in favor of 'Heavy Metal'? The 80's? The 70's? The 60's? If you ask 5 different fans, you may get 5 different answers. Myself, I generally align with the opinion that credits Dave Davies of the Kinks as the progenitor of heavy rock and what would grow to become known as heavy metal when he slit the speaker cone of his amp to achieve the sound they displayed on their first hit single "You Really Got Me" in 1964.
What else was going on in 1964? Why, The British Invasion of course! In this past December's reader's poll, I pitted the 2 biggest bands from this era, The Rolling Stones and The Beatles, against each other and asked you to choose a favorite. The result was a bit more lop-sided than I anticipated, as The Beatles took the poll comfortably by a vote of 12 to 2 over their old contemporaries.
Don't doubt for a second that the Fab Four are still a relevant influence on today's heavy metal artists. Several big-time bands have covered their songs, but even more obvious is how many headbangers still cite The Beatles as a major influence in their decision to pursue a career in music.
As my recommended picks from The Beatles, who have such a prolific catalog to choose from, I'll simply share one of my favorite compilations of theirs: The Beatles 1.-Love Me Do
-From Me To You
-She Loves You
-I Want to Hold Your Hand
-Can't Buy Me Love
-A Hard Day's Night
-I Feel Fine
-Eight Days a Week
-Ticket to Ride
-Help!
-Yesterday
-Day Tripper
-We Can Work It Out
-Paperback Writer
-Yellow Submarine
-Eleanor Rigby
-Penny Lane
-All You Need is Love
-Hello, Goodbye
-Lady Madonna
-Hey Jude
-Get Back
-Ballad of John and Yoko
-Something
-Come Together
-Let It Be
-The Long and Winding Road
2 comments:
I saw your poll, but I didn't vote, because I think the best band from the British Invasion era is The Who. Although they may not have had such a large impact during the British 'pop' era, when the groups made the switch to rock The Who is #1 in my book by far.
Albums like Tommy, Quadrophenia, and Who's Next, blew away The Beatle's Abby Road and Let It Be (then they broke up), and whatever the biggest albums by the Stones were (I'm not really up to date with them).
It's The Who all the way
Fair enough. THough it wasn't intended to be total "Brit Invasion" poll. I plan to get more content about The Who on here pretty soon. It's thanks to Townshend that one of my favorite guitarists pursued a career in music (Ace Frehley). Plus I'm a huge fan of Who's Next, so keep checking back...
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