In previous generations, young people were under their parents’ control ; now the age children of the West’s richest generation were ready for something to get excited about. The Beatles simply put a spark to a fuse(导火线) that was waiting to be lit. Everything changed, and what changed for the Beatles was their lives and their working habits, in the midst of the hysterical(歇斯底里的) following the band attracted. Because of the demand of the fans to see them perform, they played bigger and bigger venues (meeting-places) , especially in America. They played pop music’s first "stadium" concert—to 60,000 people in Shea Stadium. But John, Paul, George and Ringo became increasingly unhappy that, because of the screaming of their fans, neither the band nor the audience could hear the music. Creatively frustrated and tired of the pressures of life under siege() from their fans, they retired from playing concerts in 1966 and decided to concentrate on recording. It was from this point that the brilliance of the Beatles really began to reveal itself: they would record over their career some 200 songs. Never before nor since has any recording and writing group ever developed and yet remained the same in the way the Beatles did. With the aid of the musically wise producer George Martin, the Beatles took their music from the realms of sing-along pop songs into sophisticated pieces that set new boundaries for popular music. But at the same time their songs never lost their universal appeal — thanks to the warmth and timelessness of their melodies and lyrics. John and Paul were the major writers in the Beatles, though the skilled musicianship and imagination of George and Ringo meant the band always operated very much as an equal group of individuals. John and Paul were also powerful singers with distinctive styles. It became apparent that, despite the fact that the songwriting credits were always equally attributed to them, Paul and John wrote and sang their own songs. George also contributed two or three of his own compositions to each of the Beatles eleven albums. Even Ringo wrote and sang the occasional song. |