The Beatles were never scared to try something new and experiment with different sounds. The Fab Four revolutionised popular music in the second half of the 1960s, evolving from their early rock and roll stylings to create an innovative, psychedelic and avant-garde new sound.
The Beatles’ ‘worst song’ that Paul McCartney said was ‘very me’ but John Lennon ‘detested
1965’s ‘Rubber Soul’ is credited with beginning that journey in earnest, as the band looked more closely at what they could achieve with an album and how they could push the boundaries lyrically and musically. The 1966 album ‘Revolver’ is viewed as the start of The Beatles’ psychedelic era, influenced by their time in India and use of LSD.
The following year saw ‘Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ reinvent what could be done with an album – using new studio techniques, capturing the zeitgeist of the so-called ‘summer of love’ and changing music forever. Though The Beatles’ experimental music in this period was adored by critics and fans, it didn’t always lead to
The sessions for ‘The White Album’ were notoriously ill-tempered as each member of The Beatles wanted to put their stamp on their work and express themselves creatively. About that period of recording, Paul said: “There was a lot of friction during that album. We were just about to break up, and that was tense in itself” and John later added: “The break-up of The Beatles can be heard on that album.”
The disagreement on ‘Back in the USSR’ was one of many disputes during those sessions, which took place between May and October 1968. ‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da’ was written by Paul while The Beatles were in India in early 1968 and he was inspired by the growing popularity of reggae music in the UK.
