Why Pete Townshend thought The Beatles were 'lousy' and the album that turned him off the band Cult Following
While the Fab Four were responsible for some of the best albums in history, the Empty Glass songwriter was left unmoved by one of The Beatles‘ biggest releases. A trick in the studio, where the vocals were coming out of one side of the stereo and the backing track from the other, would define The Beatles’ sound. It would feature on some of their biggest tracks, but it did little for Townshend, who called it “flippin’ lousy.” He and The Who bass guitarist John Entwistle had been listening to an album by The Beatles shortly before Townshend gave an interview. The interview was seemingly given around the time of Rubber Soul‘s release, an album which changed the future for The Beatles.
An interviewer asked The Who guitarist: “But wouldn’t you say The Beatles and people like that have a certain musical quality?” Townshend replied: “Ooh, that’s a tough question. Actually, this afternoon, John [Entwistle] and I were listening to a stereo LP of The Beatles — in which the voices come out of the one side and the backing track comes out of the other.
“When you actually hear the backing tracks of The Beatles without their voices, they’re flippin’ lousy.” The Beatles’ album has been praised by fans in the decades to follow this interview, with alternate takes and re-releases consistently hailed by listeners old and new.
An early version of Norwegian Wood from The Beatles‘ Rubber Soul album was hailed as “genius” by fans. The Beatles’ Rubber Soul is considered a turning point for the band, with Norwegian Wood featuring lyrics influenced by Bob Dylan. The legendary artist would not, however, influence the sitar featured on the song.
John Lennon had asked George Harrison to add a sitar layer to the song, with the track suggested as a veiled account of an extramarital affair. Harrison’s additions to the song have been hailed as a “genius” inclusion on the track. One user wrote: “I can’t get over how much of a genius George is.”
Source: Ewan Gleadow/cultfollowing.co.uk
