The Beatles vs. The Rolling Stones

The opportunity to be over exposed by the masters of classical could not occur in the same way that The Beatles could. There was no way to hear the masters of the classical that you mention daily because there was no way to reproduce the composers music over and over and over on a daily basis unless mozart,bach or beethoven went from town to town country to country doing nonstop performances and you as a person had the luxery to be at each and every show. Until the advent of the phonograph or radio did the masses have a chance to hear these songs over and over and over on a daily basis. When The Beatles were in there prime They were on saturday cartoons,on AM and FM how many times a day,they are ingrained in my brain.

the beatles/ the stones/ led zepplin/ the who/ pink floyd....in that order....next jimi, cream, the small faces, the yardbirds, the byrds.....my top ten for output and importance.......honorable mention, the hollies, whose new lp is incredible.

Jaybo, you missed the Kinks!

Qdrone, it's interesting to note that George Martin [the Beatles producer] had only produced classical albums until he worked with the lads. It's obvious to hear the classical influence on their collaborations starting with the album "HELP".

The same type of overexposure regarding Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, et.al. that have left no mystery for 200+ years?

No. There is plenty of "mystery" left in their stuff: different interpretations, transcriptions, instruments, and the music itself has so many layers to consider; from listening to the great melodies ("tunes"),to how themes are worked out, etc. As Tvad aluded to, a Bach piece can be played on an organ, by a brass quintet or a full orchestra. It's still Bach, but it's different and interesting. A Beatles cover by some other singer or band just ain't the Beatles.

But as to the qn. about the two bands; I never understood the fascination with the Rolling Stones. On some of their studio recordings instruments and vocals are painfully out of tune. Or is that part of the fascination? As somebody pointed out, the Beatles were the best song-writers since Schubert.

A fifty-one-year-old fogey,

Steve O.