Beatlesque Explained

"Beatlesque" or "Beatles-esque" describes a musical resemblance to the English rock band the Beatles. The term is loosely defined and has been applied inconsistently to a wide variety of disparate artists.

Definitions

To better explain what the word might mean, eight possible answers were formulated by radio producer Kevin Howlett, music professor Rob Bowman, and Klaatu drummer Terry Draper:

• "Penny Lane"-style piano tone clusters (also heard on "Getting Better" and "With a Little Help from My Friends")
• "the big ending", as in "It's All Too Much"
• bluegrass-influenced close harmonies, using fourth intervals
• "I Am the Walrus"-inspired cellos
• the stylistic contrast between Lennon and McCartney
• the left-handed, right-handed drumming; referencing Ringo Starr's habit of playing right-handed drum kits despite being left-handed
• when audiences feel that the band is a continuation of the Beatles, as was the case for Klaatu
• a simulacrum of the Beatles' reputed sound that ultimately means nothing ("a copy without an original").^[1]

The Toronto Stars Jack Sakamoto has commented: "[Some people's] notion of that sound includes everyone from Panic! at the Disco to Billy Joel to the Red Hot Chili Peppers. With those reference points, it's debatable whether the Beatles themselves would qualify for the adjective their music has spawned."^[1] Culture Sonars Scott Freiman argued that anyone who is "Beatlesque" has "got to be a band – not just a singer/songwriter with a backing band ... [but having] multiple songwriters and multiple vocalists".^[2]

Writing in 2017, Rolling Stone critic Rob Sheffield identified Paul McCartney as the Beatle whose character best fitted the term "Beatlesque", adding: "If you dislike the Beatles, it's because you dislike Paul. If you love them despite their flaws, you mean Paul's flaws ..."^[3]

Associated artists

Notable acts described as "Beatlesque"

• Badfinger^{[1] [2]} – The first artists to sign with the Beatles' Apple Records. Their songs "Come and Get It" (1969), "No Matter What" (1970) and "Day After Day" (1971) were produced by McCartney, Beatles road manager Mal Evans, and George Harrison, respectively.
• Big Star^[2] – Although the American band attracted critical acclaim for its Beatles-influenced work in the 1970s, its life proved contentious and short. They earned critical acclaim and a cult following despite the lack of commercial success.^[4]
• The Byrds^{[5] [6]} – Sometimes regarded as the "American Beatles".^[2] While their long-term influence has proven to be comparable to that of the Beatles in terms of sound and style, the Byrds failed to match their contemporaries' record sales.^[7]
• Cheap Trick^[2] – Also sometimes known as the "American Beatles".^[8] In addition, the group's 1980 album All Shook Up was produced by longtime Beatles producer George Martin, and the group's live performance of Beatles songs culminated with a full orchestra-backed live album, titled Sgt. Pepper Live (2009).^[9]
• Electric Light Orchestra^{[1] [2]} – Formed explicitly with the intention of "picking up where the Beatles left off", the outfit has proved one of the few Beatlesque groups to achieve sustained commercial success. In addition, frontman Jeff Lynne began a musical collaboration with George Harrison in the late 1980s that led to him working on several projects related to the Beatles. In the early 1970s, John Lennon praised ELO as "sons of Beatles" and cited their 1973 song "Showdown" as a personal favourite.^[10]
• Elephant 6 – Not a band, but a collective of them. The collective is famously inspired by psychedelic pop of the 1960s, including the Beatles and The Beach Boys, with bands like The Apples In Stereo^[11] and Of Montreal^[12] gathering comparisons to the Beatles.
• Harry Nilsson – During a 1968 press conference, the Beatles were asked what their favorite American group was and answered "Nilsson". Sometimes known as "The American Beatle",^[13] he was close friends with both John Lennon and Ringo Starr.
• Klaatu^[1] – Falsely rumoured to be the Beatles themselves, re-formed.^[1] The band are sometimes known as the "Canadian Beatles".^[14]
• Oasis^{[1] [2] [15]} – Their Beatles influence was labelled as an "obsession" by British media.^[16] During their 1991 to 2009 career, the band's widespread success in terms of culture and social reach caused it to be possibly the most popular band since the Beatles.^[2]
• Squeeze^[2] – The British band's songwriting pair of Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook has attracted comparisons to the Lennon–McCartney partnership.^{[17] [18] [19]} Both Difford and Tilbrook have acknowledged the influence of the comparison on the band's catalogue.

Other

• Bee Gees (early years)^{[20] [21]}
• Chris Hillman^[22]
• Marshall Crenshaw^{[23] [24]}
• Fountains of Wayne^[2]
• The Knack^[2]
• The La's^{[25] [26]}
• Los Shakers^[27]
• Panic! at the Disco (Pretty. Odd. album)^{[28] [29]}
• The Sea Nymphs^[30]
• The Smithereens^[31]
• Tame Impala^[32]
• XTC^{[2] [33]}

See also

• Cultural impact of the Beatles
• Musical style and development of the Beatles
  • List of the Beatles' instruments
  • The Beatles' recording technology
• Pop rock
• Power pop

Notes and References

1. News: Sakamoto. John. What do we really mean by 'Beatlesque'?. Toronto Star. 1 November 2013.
2. Web site: 15 Bands Following in the Beatles' Footsteps. Scott. Freiman. CultureSonar. 12 November 2016. 3 January 2019.
3. News: The Inexhaustible Four. John. Williams. The New York Times. 4 May 2017. 10 July 2019.
4. https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123270136 Big Star: The Unluckiest Band In America : NPR
5. Book: Inglis, Sam. Neil Young's Harvest. 2003. Bloomsbury Publishing. 978-1-4411-8896-0. 12.
6. Book: Kemp, Mark. Dixie Lullaby: A Story of Music, Race, and New Beginnings in a New South. 2006. University of Georgia Press. 978-0-8203-2872-0. 27.
7. Book: Schinder. Scott. Schwartz. Andy. Icons of Rock. registration. 2008. Greenwood Press. 978-0-313-33846-5. 257–258.
8. News: Cheap Trick's five most underrated songs. Axs.com. Joe. Szczechowski. 21 October 2015. 26 December 2018.
9. https://www.allmusic.com/album/sgt-pepper-live-mw0000829202 SGT. Pepper Live – Cheap Trick|AllMusic
10. News: ELO: The band the Beatles could have been. 9 December 2014. The Guardian. 16 October 2008.
11. Web site: Apples Joyfully Hop on Beatles Bandwagon Arts The Harvard Crimson . 2023-08-24 . www.thecrimson.com.
12. Web site: 2015-01-26 . of Montreal = The Beatles + David Bowie? of Montreal Live Review The Social Orlando January 16 2015 ⋆ Shows I Go To . 2023-08-24 . Shows I Go To . en-US.
13. Web site: Fennessey . Searn . August 6, 2013 . Deconstructing Harry . Grantland.
14. https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/5839-the-sepultura-ep/ North of America The Sepultura EP Review|Pitchfork
15. Book: Young, Clive. Crank It Up: Live Sound Secrets of the Top Tour Engineers. 2004. Hal Leonard. 978-1-61774-510-2. 167.
16. News: Glassman. Julie. The Beatles' musical footprints. BBC News. 30 November 2001.
17. Kot . Greg . Fresh Squeze . Chicago Tribune . Nov 17, 1989 . 5 September 2022.
18. Holden . Stephen . Pop: Difford and Tilbrook . The New York Times . 3 August 1984 . 5 September 2022 . 0362-4331.
19. Web site: Parker . Lyndsey . Two side story: Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook reflect on 45 years of Squeeze . Yahoo Music . 5 September 2022.
20. Book: Crouse, Richard. Who Wrote the Book Of Love?. 2012. Doubleday Canada. 978-0-385-67442-3. 108.
21. Book: George, Nelson. The Death of Rhythm and Blues. 2003. Penguin Publishing Group. 978-1-101-16067-1. 165.
22. Book: Unterberger, Richie. Richie Unterberger. Eight Miles High: Folk-rock's Flight from Haight-Ashbury to Woodstock. registration. 2003. Backbeat Books. 978-0-87930-743-1. 39–.
23. News: Sasfy . Joseph . Marshall Crenshaw . Washington Post . 5 September 2022 . 25 June 1982.
24. News: Harrington . Richard . Marshall Crenshaw: Bringing It All Back Home . Washington Post . 5 September 2022 . 24 June 1982.
25. The Likely La's . David Giles . NME . 14 November 1987 . United Kingdom . https://web.archive.org/web/20091026154010/http://www.geocities.com/the_las/lamerseybeaks.html . 26 October 2009 . 1 July 2011 . dead .
26. Bob Stanley . Bob Stanley (Saint Etienne) . 10 June 1989 . Side Lines . . United Kingdom . 1 July 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20091026154005/http://www.geocities.com/the_las/lammjune89.html . 26 October 2009 . dead .
27. Web site: Por Favor! - Los Shakers. Unterberger. Richie. Richie Unterberger. AllMusic. May 10, 2017.
28. Let! Them Be . SPIN . April 2008 . 92 .
29. Web site: Panic At The Disco: We're Inspired By The Beatles . Gigwise News.
30. News: Kane . Jack . April 2003 . Label of Love . . live . 13 October 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140914221710/https://cardiacs.org/record-collector-cardiacs-article/ . 14 September 2014 . Cardiacs.org.
31. Book: Riley, Tim. Tim Riley (music critic). Tell Me Why: A Beatles Commentary. registration. 2002. Da Capo Press. 978-0-306-81120-3. 340.
32. Web site: Tame Impala's Kevin Parker on the Beatles' 'Abbey Road' .
33. Book: Johnston, Richard. How to Play Rhythm Guitar: The Basics & Beyond. 2004. Backbeat Books. 978-0-87930-811-7. 63.