StevieFan13 wrote:Hoo boy. Was feeling pretty good about the Beatles' chances until now.
When you posted this there was only a one point difference
But really, I might jinx the whole thing just by posting this, but at this time I'm starting to wonder why Help is doing so incredibly well. I can somewhat see why Have One On Me is not for everyone; it's a long, off-kilter album with not a hint of pop and little in the way of melody. To say nothing of an erratic voice and weird lyrics. I also think it is one of the best albums in the game, partly because of these reasons, partly because it is wholly unique and couldn't have been made by anyone else, party because it is extremely consistent over those two hours plus and finally completely because it gets to me. It also manages to be varied, while having a consistent feel and some overriding themes. I'm not sure which other singer/songwriter of the last 10 years could pull this off.
I have a hard time saying any of this about Help. Perhaps some other Beatles albums like Revolver or Abbey Road, but certainly not Help. It perhaps bears the honor of being the Beatles least distinctive album. Even Let It Be, which is weaker overall, sounds more like an effort in a new direction. Nothing is bad on Help, but perhaps half the songs aren't all that memorable and feel like filler. I Need You, Another Girl, It's Only Love, You Like Me Too Much and Tell What You See in particular are about as run-of-the-mill as anything The Beatles ever did. It's hard for me to see why exactly this is a great album. Sure it has Help!, Yesterday and You've Got to Hide Your Love Away, but Have One On Me at least to me consist of mostly songs that can match of even beat those.
It's perhaps an unpopular opinion but I feel that The Beatles have earned their victories in this poll too easily. This might have been helped by that they had opponents who aren't easily likable, namely Raekwon and Julia Holter, even if I think that at least on the level of Help they easily outrank the The Beatles.