# Bands With a Slight Beatle-esque Sound



## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

Thought this would be an interesting thread to see what others think sound Beatle-Esque at times. From 60's Pop to Indie Pop of nowadays, there is definitely some influence to the Beatles. Heck even in classic rock, I hear some of that. Boston being an example of that. But the bands I think sound the most like the Beatles
The Zombies. Though they are unique in their own way, they got a Beatle-esque sound imo.
The Left Banke. Almost Beatles clones in the mid 60's. But they had a few unique traits to their style. Their love of harpsichord. 
The Kinks. They started out heavy. But gravitated towards Beatle-esque pop with The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation of Society. 
The Moody Blues. Though they are more associated with Progressive rock, Days of Future Passed and In Search of the Lost Chord I think of is the best response to the Sgt Pepper album. 
Pink Floyd. The Piper at the Gates of Dawn another response to Sgt Pepper. Though they are way more psychedelic imo. 
Electric Light Orchestra. I think of them as the Beatles of the 70's. Some incredible albums they made. 
Badfinger. Paul McCartney even wrote a song for them. The album Abbey Road comes to mind when I listen to them. 
The Raspberries. The 70's Left Banke who were very Beatle-esque.
I'm not too familiar with Indie Pop, but Olivia Tremor Control, Foxygen, and the Apples in Stereo seem to have that kind of sound.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Porcupine Tree has a very varied sound, this one has some Beatleseque vibes:

Porcupine Tree - How Is Your Life Today?


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## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

Porcupine Tree reminds me more of Pink Floyd. Especially From their early stuff. Like Atom Heart Mother and Saucerful of Secrets. Great stuff. I'm sure many fans of the Beatles also like Pink Floyd. Just a guess.


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

The Jonas Brothers

Simply The Beatles of our time, they just have to get into drugs later in life yet.


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## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

Um no. Just no. Beatles aren't a boy band. Too cool for that.


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## lupinix (Jan 9, 2014)

Porcupine tree actually reminds me of both the beatles and pink floyd


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

neoshredder said:


> Um no. Just no. Beatles aren't a boy band. Too cool for that.


I'm sorry, but they were for much of their career. It's just they have became a classic boy band and for some people it seems as if they were somehow better and less cheap than their modern equivalents. Just an illusion.


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## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

Even when they went for a more clean cut look and sound, they still screamed cool. By Rubber Soul, they were looking for a different look. Brian Epstein had different plans obviously for them. But they got tired of being like that. Heck one of the original members got killed from a gang fight. So they weren't so clean cut as their appearance.


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## Schubussy (Nov 2, 2012)

If their modern equivalents wrote anything a 10th as good as Strawberry Fields Forever you may be right. But they haven't.

I do worry a bit about people who can't tell the difference in quality between The Beatles and Jonas Brothers.

Anyway:


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

neoshredder---

Check out The Knickerbockers doing "Lies" on youtube.
I thought it WAS the Beatles when I heard it.


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

It's a great song too.


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## lupinix (Jan 9, 2014)

Aramis said:


> I'm sorry, but they were for much of their career. It's just they have became a classic boy band and for some people it seems as if they were somehow better and less cheap than their modern equivalents. Just an illusion.





Schubussy said:


> If their modern equivalents wrote anything a 10th as good as Strawberry Fields Forever you may be right. But they haven't.
> 
> I do worry a bit about people who can't tell the difference in quality between The Beatles and Jonas Brothers.


me too.....
too many things I missed in most popular music today I found in songs by the beatles when I was about fifteen
year, 
of course, they were "mainstream" and maybe in the beginning that was all that they wanted of their music, but soon they began really making really great music and originality become more important (I would say in at least the time from a hard days night until abbey road) and in stead of them following the mainstream I think popular music just evolved around them. Many great progrock bands were influenced by the beatles, even today some of the new ones.
Its also interesting many later styles of music seem to have some early version in some of their songs, they made the first song that at least according to many sounded already like metal, also some of their more simple songs of heir last few year seem to foreshadow punk imo, and of course they were a very great part to the psychedelic genre in the widest form and I think many of their psychedelic music is still not surpassed by later bands.

also even in their earlier songs they use subtle but unusual modulations and even sometimes creative chords and just many things that hadn't yet been done in rock n roll music (and isnt done now either in mainstream music). Also they have made songs with instruments that were strange to rock music in that time, and have made attemps to integrate musical things from totally other traditions like indian music.

most important about the beatles I think is that they really created their own personal style in every way. Although ringo might not have been the best drummer technically, no one can drum like he did. Same goes for the very personal solos of george harrisson instead of that fast boring so-called virtuosic **** you usually hear in rockmusic.

Of course without George Martin they would never have come that far, but it is the final music that counts. Also I think Paul McCartney for instance has never stopped making great and original music in his solo carreer.

I wouldn't say they made greater music than for instance Frank Zappa but they really were among the greatest bands of their time. I know many of the things I said here are my own opinion, but I think its very silly to even think you can compare them totally in an objective way (unless you really have some ground for it that I can't think of obviously) and saying things like "it's an illusion" if you think they were better than the jonas brothers are...

Maybe this might sound like Im offened, its not that, I havent listened to the beatles for at least over 2 years. But either you are just a big Jonas Brothers fan (why I guess you aren't judging from your posts, if you are that's fine, then I only hope you aren't insulted by me not thinking them as good as the beatles) or you just don't like beatles. And if you don't like the beatles why would you post in an beatle thread? I mean unless their music or their name bring back bad memories to you to some trauma or they have done something to you or someone you know why would you even care about them or people liking them? The only thing this changes for you is that saying things like that might ruin it for people who are actually interested in the beatles but do not know them. I don't really like stravinsky but I don't post in a stravinsky thread "stravinsky sucks, even my cats compositions are better" (ok i exaggerate but still). I wouldn't even look in such kind of thread unless I want to try again to broaden my horizon.

Yeah of course you may give your opinion, but people usually do when they are excited about something, or feel bad about something or whatever, I'm just tired of people having to judge and rate anything they can instead of just experiencing and enjoying what you do enjoy. This isn't about the beatles (or even about you so I'm sorry because this may sound personal though its really not meant that way... it's something Im personally tired of though so it is about me, people have just ruined many much more important things for me because they just couldn't let me be). I might be wrong but to me it seems this thread is just for people that like the beatles who want to share music they think is similar, or at least for people interested in the beatles, because unlike them I can't imagine (but it might be a lack of my imagination) you feeling any better after posting in thread.

As for the jonas brothers, I think they may really want to be like the beatles but I personally think they will never be even close (even in popularity I guess?), at least to me.


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## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

Itullian said:


> neoshredder---
> 
> Check out The Knickerbockers doing "Lies" on youtube.
> I thought it WAS the Beatles when I heard it.


Sounds like "Run for Your Life" from the Beatles.


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

check their early use of feedback in I FEEL FINE.

People forget the impact this band had on music because time has blurred it.

They also made artists writing and performing their own songs the thing.


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

I always thought Roy Wood's The Move sounded a bit like the Beatles. I don't mean their masterpiece album, _Looking On_, but their first two albums, _The Move_ and _Shazam_. I don't know if I ever heard _Message from the Country_, their fourth and last album, before they became Electric Light Orchestra.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Big Star - certainly Bealtleque in places, especially the first album which featured Chris Bell. Also Moby Grape - remembered mainly for being a San Francisco psychedelic group but wrote some great power pop, too. Think we can also include other mid-late 60s bands like the Turtles and the Lovin' Spoonful as well. 

And there's Badfinger, of course - originally signed to Apple and McCartney wrote their Come & Get It hit but featured three fine songwriters in Peter Ham, Tom Evans and Joey Molland. Should have been huge but money/management hassles (they were royally ripped off, basically) completely screwed them and led to Ham and Evans committing suicide. Terrible story.


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## Guest (Jan 23, 2014)

Obviously there's all those other '60s bands like The Zombies that you've mentioned. But, to mention something we might not be thinking of, Tame Impala has a distinctly '60s psych rock sound. Maybe closer to some other bands (Strawberry Alarm Clock? lol, idk), but definitely some Beatles vibes.


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## regressivetransphobe (May 16, 2011)

Aramis said:


> I'm sorry, but they were for much of their career. It's just they have became a classic boy band and for some people it seems as if they were somehow better and less cheap than their modern equivalents. Just an illusion.


Disingenuous. When we think "boyband," the image that comes to mind is a corporate vehicle repackaging very safe, well worn musical ideas for pubescent girls. The Beatles' innovations range from early music videos to spearheading genres like baroque pop and psych rock, and they even put out some prototypes to punk and metal (see certain tracks on the white album). It's well documented that the band had four gigantic, conflicting egos by the middle of their career, which was obvious in their music, so it can't really be claimed someone was packaging their sound for them. Are these simple facts an "illusion"?

Anyway, any "boy band" in the 60s had more integrity than most "real bands" have now. It was simply a better time for popular music.

Back on topic, Cheap Trick were once referred to as "the new Beatles" in the music press. Seems far-fetched now, but there are shades.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Harry Nilsson

This Chicago tune sounds like Abbey Road Beatles. Recorded around the same time.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

starthrower said:


> Harry Nilsson
> 
> This Chicago tune sounds like Abbey Road Beatles. Recorded around the same time.


One of my favourites of theirs. It always reminded me of Stephen Stills's early solo stuff rather than the Beatles, though.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

^^^
Definitely some CSN vibe on Chicago III.


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## GodNickSatan (Feb 28, 2013)

The Olivia Tremor Control is a good choice.


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## Schubertiac (Jan 28, 2014)




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## Haydn man (Jan 25, 2014)

Listen to anything with Neil Finn in e.g. Crowded House and you could be listening to the Beatles
If these boys weren't from Australia then they would be megastars
Give em a try and see what I mean


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## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

Prog band, Spock's Beard, when Neal Morse was still in the band, showed some obvious Beatles influences, especially in the choruses. Now mind you, these influences are in the context of extended, prog 'epics'. 

Neal didn't try to hide his love for the Beatles. 

Spock's 2nd album from 1996 is titled, 'Beware of Darkness' after George Harrison's song of the same title. They also do a nice cover of it as the opening track.

The Beatles influences left, for the most part, with Neal. 

They have Genesis influences, and a bit of Gentle Giant (listen to the song 'Thoughts") influences also.


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## maestro267 (Jul 25, 2009)

Two songs by Transatlantic, a supergroup featuring the above-mentioned Neal Morse, are very Beatlesque. Mystery Train, and Suite Charlotte Pike, which is essentially their Abbey Road medley. So much so that they mixed the two medleys together live in concert to create a half-hour piece.

When I heard The Day We Caught the Train by Ocean Colour Scene for the first time, I genuinely thought it was a Beatles song.


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## Funny (Nov 30, 2013)

I heard once that the Beatles of the 80s was split between Squeeze and XTC, with the former taking the early Beatles and the latter taking the later Beatles. XTC of course went on to release albums as The Dukes of Stratosphear, which quite unabashedly mimics (and parodies) a bunch of different Beatles-era bands.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Funny said:


> I heard once that the Beatles of the 80s was split between Squeeze and XTC, with the former taking the early Beatles and the latter taking the later Beatles. XTC of course went on to release albums as The Dukes of Stratosphear, which quite unabashedly mimics (and parodies) a bunch of different Beatles-era bands.


The D's of S material is great fun and actually rather clever - as you say most, if not all, of these respectful parodies are based on the style of one particular group or another to the point where you could make a quiz out of it. Some are relatively easy to spot - Pink Floyd, The Electric Prunes, The Kinks, The Byrds &c. but some are more harder to interpret unless one is an aficionado of psychedelia (which I'm not).


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## Schubussy (Nov 2, 2012)

I love The Dukes of Stratosphear, I actually prefer their Beach Boys pastiche to the actual Beach Boys.






XTC I find pretty inconsistent though, they have some great songs and some songs I don't like at all.


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## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

Really digging Foxygen - We are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic. Reminds me of the Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour. Pretty trippy stuff. http://www.amazon.com/21st-Century-...e=UTF8&qid=1391491839&sr=1-1&keywords=foxygen


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## maestro267 (Jul 25, 2009)

The Beatles + ELO = Sowing the Seeds of Love by Tears for Fears


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