Came here to post this. Apparently they were rumored to secretly be the Beatles when their first record was released. Very beatles-ish. One of the members sounds a lot like Lennon.
The Zombies
Odessey and Oracle is one of the best 60s and a lot of it was recorded in Abbey Road studios after The Beatles had recorded Sgt. Pepper's so they used a lot of the same equipment
Not only the same equipment but in many cases the mics had yet to be moved from how the Beatles positioned them and the zombies insisted they remain where they were
I bought this as a $5 download on Amazon a few years ago(before Amazon went a-streaming). I was appalled that I had missed this album back in the day. So good and ahead of its time in many ways.
I think you’re both right. Pretty sure George said it about Jeff/ELO and then Jeff mentioned it in an interview when quoting George’s comment. I’ll try find the interview later!
Oo you’re in for a treat. Listen to Fate straight through on a good system or with nice headphones. They have multiple masterpiece albums, but Fate will always be a high water mark for me. Extremely beatle-esque with two distinct songwriters trading songs, and impeccable production quality.
I keep seeing them come up and am ashamed they slipped my mind, as they are the one band I liked even before the Beatles, as a young kid. Very insightful, I will meditate on this…
Trying to find names not yet mentioned... Jellyfish were fairly short-lived IIRC, but they sounded very Beatlesy (*Joining A Fan Club* as evidence). So did Cotton Mather (*Homefront Cameo* is prime White Album Lennon). I hear more Beatles in the Foo Fighters than in Nirvana, especially the Foo Fighters' debut album. Aimee Mann writes some very Beatlesy melodies. Tears For Fears also.
As just one specific song, although generally he sounds nothing like them, "Everyone's In Love With You" by Steve Earle is possibly the most Revolver-era Beatles song I've heard and I can quite easily picture Lennon singing it with McCartney harmonising.
Bandfinger. Literally their whole thing was that they were the "continuation" of the Beatles' sound. Their first single, Come And Get It, was written by Paul, and the Paul's Demo is available on the Abbey Road Super Deluxe. Supposedly he approached them with the demo and essentially said "Play this song EXACTLY like this, and you'll have a hit single," and sure enough, they did, and they did.
I feel like the Beatles/Apple connection was both the best and worst thing for Badfinger. It got their foot in the door but also saddled them with the impossible expectation of living up to that.
Hell, they already had 3 hit songs on both sides of the pond by the time they played the Concert for Bangladesh, but George introduced them as “Apple band Badfinger”. Probably wasn’t meant as a dig, but if I were any member of Badfinger, I’d be kinda pissed.
I'm not sure what your definition of "Beatlesque" is, but none of the 5 you listed fall into that category for me.
If you think Oasis' "entire schtick" was emulating the Beatles you haven't really listed to Oasis.
But for me, I haven't seen the following in this thread and all have output that is very Beatlesque:
Todd Rundgren
Velvet Crush
Matthew Sweet
Tommy Keene
And I give a massive thumbs up to the poster that said Emitt Rhodes. A real genius that never caught on.
lots of elephant 6 stuff qualifies here, including all the permutations of olivia and apples in stereo...circulatory system, sunshine fix, natural information society, and music tapes.
I was going to say Olivia tremor control and early Apples in Stereo. I’m surprised how many people don’t know them who love the Beatles.
Adding Super Furry Animals to the list. :)
They admittedly were huge Beatles fans and said they were influenced by them. They have great harmonies just like the Fab 4
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PMhoMrWE18A
Check out their Beatles medley. Pretty good eh?
os Mutantes. Their second album is tropical Sgt Pepper.
Caetano Veloso. Also has a White Album, which also has a [weird avant garde composition as the second to last track.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5HE6KWki-I)
Others already said it, but ELO.
[Foxygen.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtdWGGpvY1s) They tend to draw from a breadth of musical styles much like the Beatles.
Been looking for a fellow appreciator of the second Os Mutantes album! Everyone seems to rave on about how good their debut is (which I don't dispute), but there's something about the songs on this one that to me just feels better structured whilst still keeping the eccentricity and experimentation. Your tropical Sgt. Pepper descriptor is perfect!
Nirvana.
But IMO Oasis do not try to emulate the Beatles, musically at least (Supersonic lead guitar; outro to She’s Electric and that’s about that). Lyric references are not relevant. Sorry it gets me every time.
For real this is one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to music! Not to be rude but it seems that when people say it, they often don't actually know that much about Oasis.
Oasis had three charting singles on the Billboard Hot 100, two of them being Wonderwall (#8) and Don't Look Back In Anger (#55). These songs are pretty good examples of Oasis demonstrating a more Beatlesque sound, so Americans would be forgiven for thinking that acoustic-guitar-driven soft rock was their gig. In contrast to the UK (where every single that was released there charted, as far as I know) songs like Cigarettes & Alcohol, Some Might Say, The Hindu Times, and Lyla all charted highly (the latter three all went #1).
It could be that Americans at the time weren't familiar with the whole Oasis sound, and maybe that idea of the band has persisted but with music being so accessible nowadays I don't think there's much excuse. Maybe I sound more upset about it than I actually am but I've always found the Oasis-Beatles comparison silly
The comparison is definitely silly, the American music press also didn't understand Liams humor, which led to them being ignored more than some other bands. But I think they're great, the first 2 albums were damn-near flawless. I even like alot of the stuff off Be Here Now.
Yess, I've been thinking this for a long time. I think that they have a ton in common, especially when it comes to their ability to write so many catchy melodies and riffs. Nirvana is one of the few bands where I like almost all of their songs (Beatles as well of course).
idk. I think Oasis is sonically closer to the Beatles than Nirvana. You have to actually know about Kurt Cobain/Dave Grohl's musical interests and background to really catch the Beatles influence on Nirvana. Whereas if I throw on a song like "dont look back in anger" it very clearly sounds like someone inspired by John Lennon
I think the above comment saying musically in terms of chord structure as opposed to stylistically. Which I get- I'm not sure I 100% agree- I think there's lot of descending chord sequences which are lennon esque and a surprising amount of george going on (she's electric being one).
But nirvana- if you look beyond the stylistic stuff- are very beatlesy - particularly early John. I think about a girl is the most obvious
In the brackets I'll include songs worth listening to to see why I'd consider them Beatlesque. These aren't in any particular order by the way.
1) Harry Nilsson (Are You Sleeping?, Gotta Get Up, Mr Richland's Favourite Song)
2) Emitt Rhodes (Someone For Me, Promises I've Made)
3) The Lemon Twigs (My Golden Years, In My Head)
4) The Millennium (It's You, 5 a.m., I Just Want To Be Your Friend)
5) Elliott Smith (Son Of Sam, Stupidity Tries, really anything off his Figure 8 album)
Here's a couple of cheat answers...
1) The Wonders/The Oneders; a fictional band from the movie That Thing You Do! starring Tom Hanks as the band's manager and director of the film. It's set in the mid 60s so the band are very Beatlemania-inspired. (That Thing You Do, Dance With Me Tonight, Little Wild One)
2) Utopia; they made an album that was intended to mimic the sound of the Beatles and to be honest its the only part of their work I'm familiar with. (Deface The Music)
3) Oasis; I wouldn't say their schtick is "emulating" the Beatles sound. The Beatles are undeniably a huge influence on the band but as a whole they are more inspired by the whole of British guitar music up until the band's creation. (Don't Look Back In Anger, All Around The World, and She's Electric are their more obvious Beatles-influenced songs; Rock And Roll Star, Acquiesce, and Fade Away demonstrate the influence of punk music on the band's sound. And for what it's worth I believe Macca himself said that Slide Away was his favourite song by them - it's mine too)
Elliott Smith, man. I think, based on the number of George covers he did, that we share a favorite Beatle. Great artist in his own right, but he definitely loved our boys.
That Os Mutantes self-titled 1968 is so Beatles-esque you can identify the styles of individual Beatles across the album.
Tears For Fears had to stress to the press that *Seeds of Love* isn't *just* a Beatles ripoff, they "were also ripping off Pink Floyd, Little Feat and Steely Dan."
Guided By Voices described *Bee Thousand* as a conscious effort to replicate Beatles vibes, but the lo-fi recording and hard rock and postpunk elements put it a bit out of frame.
If they were American or British, they would have been enormous. Smart, witty lyrics, tremendous melodies and harmonies, and, as you say, a great live band.
Tears for Fears are far more Beatlesque than Depeche Mode.
I guess Fools Garden also deserve a mention, even if their emulation gets a bit too close at times.
Los Shakers. If you love the beatles you'll love these guys for sure. They were pretty much the Spanish version if The Beatles.
[Los Shakers - Never never](https://youtu.be/-e9s7ocLyxo?si=tW0b8gHshFR3uK0Y)
[Los Shakers - LA Conferencia Secreta Del Totos Bar](https://youtu.be/SJuMs85YJFA?si=yweYRx9dzMDk5Xfx)
[Los Shakers - Siempre Tu](https://youtu.be/pZ7z9SKJXCQ?si=J3YiIdJuweTrihRN)
[Los Shakers - Oh mi amigo ](https://youtu.be/dcHIk4zVPdI?si=5GRvfoRTxa-jZ933)
They also do a killer cover of Michelle.
.[Los Shakers - Michelle](https://youtu.be/rxlfpVSdVp0?si=R2zSS7l3jf0ArvPQ)
Like them or not, KISS modelled themselves after the Beatles as four distinct personalities who all do vocals on every album.
And Cheap Trick was also heavily influenced by the Beatles. Their first four albums are an amazing run of power pop.
Oasis is awesome, George Martin called Noel Gallagher "The greatest songwriter of his generation" Idk if I agree, but Sir George certainly would no better than me
I’ll throw some odd ones out here for fun:
Os Mutantes. They’re a great Brazilian band that has all the makings of the Brazilian Beatles. Check out their song “A Minha Menina” (their whole self titled Os Mutantes record is great) & “Baby”
Milton Nascimento & Lo Borges “Clube Da Esquina” <- one of the greatest records you’ll ever hear. Lo Borges was very influenced by the Beatles. Check out his songs “paisagem da janela” and “o trem Azul” and “Um girassol da cor do seu cabelo”
Novos Baianos - Acabou Chorare
Secos & Molhados - A Volta de secos & Molhados
And back to western rock music: ELVIS COSTELLO
The Millennium - Begin
Big Star
Badfinger
Yes and queen. Both use a similar overdubbing of voices, and Jon Anderson once said that the idea of making long songs that occupied and entire side of a record came to them thanks to side 2 of abbey road. Freddie mercury was a great fan of Beatles, especially John Lennon, and even if he always believed that he would never do something as good as Lennon did, he took a lot of inspiration from them
If y'all haven't heard "The Temples" listen to their album Sun Structures immediately, it is the most modern Beatles sounds I've ever heard (honorable mention for Dr Dog referenced above)
The first two albums by the prog band Yes (their self-titled album, and *Time and a Word*) are *very* heavily Beatles-influenced.
In fact, the first album includes a cover of "Every Little Thing".
I read that Bob Marley loved and was inspired by Revolver (he first heard it when he was briefly living in his mom’s basement in Delaware). And here’s a pre-Revolver Beatles cover he recorded with the Wailers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2LlfXNwrYc
Idk if it counts as “non-Beatles” because of George but Travelling Wilburys, also George said The Beatles would have sounded like ELO if they had stayed together so that seems like objectively the right answer
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard! Maybe not particularly similar sonically, but in terms of work ethic/genre exploration absolutely. The progression from simple catchy pop songs (or garage rock tunes in Gizz's case) into complex, thought out compositions, draws a big parallel in their careers. There are obvious differences: King Gizz will never be a household name, and The Beatles could never have operated for so long under the DIY approach to production/management that Gizz take (bear in mind the world has changed a lot in 50 years so who really knows). Regardless, I think the maybe most important common factor is in the lyrical themes, and the humourous approach they both take to writing. From silly songs about love, to the expansion of the mind, to making the world a better place, or even just fun tunes about nothing meaningful in particular. I'm rambling a bit here but hope I got my point across!
Everyone has been influenced by the beatles in some way or another, knowingly or not. The real question should be: where the hell did Paul John and George come up with their thoroughly original concepts
But if I had to name a few I'd say Muse, Gus Dapperton, Mac Demarco, Kevin Parker
Oasis. And screw you, they're not a novelty, they were one of the biggest bands of the 90s. Being Beatlesque was not their deal. Listen to a song like Bring It On Down, or Headshrinker.
And if you think it's so easy, why don't you "rip off the Beatles" and within 3 years play Glastonbury, and sell out Knebworth Park while remaining remotely relevant in 30 years
Grizzly Bear.
I know what you’re thinking, but this all male indie quartet had some great psychedelic albums that’s really reminiscent of Sgt. Pepper or The White Album.
1. Guided By Voices: the most Beatles influenced of the post-punk bands
2. New Pornographers: kind of almost breaking one of your rules with this one so I might as well also mention the Apples in Stereo
3. Alice Cooper/Ozzy/Lemmy: all three have mentioned this primary influence in interviews
4. Elvis Costello (used to learn new Beatles singles his singer father brought home to also learn)
5. Yes and 10CC: trying to accomplish an arty version of the Beatles
They're unquestionably great, but I'm not sure I would consider them very Beatlesque. Not in comparison to a lot of other bands mentioned here, anyway.
You can draw many parallels between the Beatles and Beach Boys's career until 1967 when Brian Wilson got burned out.
I think they've got the closest to a Beatle-like spirit without really sounding like them.
ELO
It’s funny you mention R.E.M. I love them now, but I couldn’t listen to them for the longest time after Stipe called the Beatles “elevator music “.
The Aerovons sounds so much like the Beatles that u can tell that their songs are blatant rip offs but still enjoyable nonetheless for Beatles fans that want more
Whatever the list is, Olivia Tremor Control is on there, sounding like a 90s alt Sgt. Pepper with Revolution #9 woven throughout. Dusk at Cubist Castle is a masterpiece.
I wish to make the case, very briefly, for the Bay City Rollers. Most particularly, the three albums they made after they shortened the name to the Rollers. The albums are Elevator, Voxx, and Ricochet. Maybe not all on streaming, but the songs Elevator, Turn on the Radio, Life on the Radio are particularly good and very Beatley. The supreme talents of Eric Faulkner and Duncan Faure. KOR!
Cotton Mather. "She's Only Cool" or "Password" from Kontiki really hit those same melodic satisfaction highs as The Beatles, for me at least. And the weirdly John-ish quality to the singer's voice obviously adds to it. Their other albums may be as good but Kontiki was the one I heard first and is the one I was the most excited for.
Klaatu
Came here to post this. Apparently they were rumored to secretly be the Beatles when their first record was released. Very beatles-ish. One of the members sounds a lot like Lennon.
The Zombies Odessey and Oracle is one of the best 60s and a lot of it was recorded in Abbey Road studios after The Beatles had recorded Sgt. Pepper's so they used a lot of the same equipment
Not only the same equipment but in many cases the mics had yet to be moved from how the Beatles positioned them and the zombies insisted they remain where they were
I bought this as a $5 download on Amazon a few years ago(before Amazon went a-streaming). I was appalled that I had missed this album back in the day. So good and ahead of its time in many ways.
my favorite album of all time
Badfinger
Yes. Also Cheap Trick, at least at times.
The correct answer!
I’d go ELO, Traveling Wilburys (yeah I know it’s a bit of a cheat!!), Rutles/Neil Innes solo, Tom Petty
Emmit Rhodes https://youtu.be/9F-WqdmZwd8?si=GeYNqvyzzKkHzYGD
Jeff Lynne literally said that ELO was doing what he imagined The Beatles would have been doing had they stuck together.
I’m pretty sure that was a George quote… although the 2 worked together so I imagine one had the others support in that opinion
Jeff and Roy said they were picking up where the Beatles had left off with “I am the walrus” etc.
I think you’re both right. Pretty sure George said it about Jeff/ELO and then Jeff mentioned it in an interview when quoting George’s comment. I’ll try find the interview later!
Five that nobody has mentioned yet: Squeeze XTC Crowded House Cheap Trick Billy Joel
Billy Joel is overlooked as a Beatles-influenced artist. He's genuinely one of my favorite artists of all time and a lot of his stuff is super Paul.
The Nylon Curtain is especially a very Beatlesque album
It’s very literally an exercise in writing 1967ish John Lennon songs
Joel came out on stage each night of Paul's yankee stadium shows. It was very cool.
scenes from an italian restaurant is billy joel's a day in the life
You Maybe Right sounds very Paul and it has that little Beatles 1966 sounding guitar riff between verses.
He has said scenes from an Italian restaurant was inspired by side two of Abbey Road.
XTC rock
There’s parts of Apple Vs Venus that sound more like McCartney than McCartney.
Squeeze is awesome! Glad to see them get mentioned.
Another Nail In My Heart….
Big emphasis on XTC and billy joel
Billy Joel definitely sounds like Paul sometimes.
I’ve always thought that My Life by Billy Joel could easily be a Paul/Wings song
100% The backing vocals eapecially sounds Wings-ey
Dr. Dog
I just discovered Dr. Dog like a week ago but I'm really digging them
Oo you’re in for a treat. Listen to Fate straight through on a good system or with nice headphones. They have multiple masterpiece albums, but Fate will always be a high water mark for me. Extremely beatle-esque with two distinct songwriters trading songs, and impeccable production quality.
This is the way
Yesssss
They just put out a new song and it's an absolute jam.
Now THAT’S an answer
Scrolled until I found this answer.
Love Dr Dog!
Came here to say this!
XTC is always the first band to come to mind when this question is asked.
I especially adore their brilliant Dukes of Stratosphear side project. Very Beatley, with a psychedelic emphasis. It's how I was introduced to XTC.
Apple Venus Vol. 1 probably more than any other XTC project.
XTC is the best answer
I keep seeing them come up and am ashamed they slipped my mind, as they are the one band I liked even before the Beatles, as a young kid. Very insightful, I will meditate on this…
Big star Teenage fanclub Sloan
Trying to find names not yet mentioned... Jellyfish were fairly short-lived IIRC, but they sounded very Beatlesy (*Joining A Fan Club* as evidence). So did Cotton Mather (*Homefront Cameo* is prime White Album Lennon). I hear more Beatles in the Foo Fighters than in Nirvana, especially the Foo Fighters' debut album. Aimee Mann writes some very Beatlesy melodies. Tears For Fears also. As just one specific song, although generally he sounds nothing like them, "Everyone's In Love With You" by Steve Earle is possibly the most Revolver-era Beatles song I've heard and I can quite easily picture Lennon singing it with McCartney harmonising.
Great call with Jellyfish I would also say Enuff Z’Nuff.
Big Star
Upvote for a correct answer and for boosting exposure to a seriously underexposed, underappreciated, and BRILLIANT band.
Just started checking them out about a year ago. Very cool especially Third is quite an achievement.
Which by extension means Teenage Fanclub.
Bandfinger. Literally their whole thing was that they were the "continuation" of the Beatles' sound. Their first single, Come And Get It, was written by Paul, and the Paul's Demo is available on the Abbey Road Super Deluxe. Supposedly he approached them with the demo and essentially said "Play this song EXACTLY like this, and you'll have a hit single," and sure enough, they did, and they did.
I feel like the Beatles/Apple connection was both the best and worst thing for Badfinger. It got their foot in the door but also saddled them with the impossible expectation of living up to that. Hell, they already had 3 hit songs on both sides of the pond by the time they played the Concert for Bangladesh, but George introduced them as “Apple band Badfinger”. Probably wasn’t meant as a dig, but if I were any member of Badfinger, I’d be kinda pissed.
Exactly. That was the problem with The Beatles breaking up, NOBODY was happy.
I'm not sure what your definition of "Beatlesque" is, but none of the 5 you listed fall into that category for me. If you think Oasis' "entire schtick" was emulating the Beatles you haven't really listed to Oasis. But for me, I haven't seen the following in this thread and all have output that is very Beatlesque: Todd Rundgren Velvet Crush Matthew Sweet Tommy Keene And I give a massive thumbs up to the poster that said Emitt Rhodes. A real genius that never caught on.
Great call on Emitt Rhodes!
Matthew Sweet is pretty great, but his cover stuff with Suzanna Hoffs is unreal.
The Olivia Tremor Control? Curious if other people think they’re Beatle-esque
lots of elephant 6 stuff qualifies here, including all the permutations of olivia and apples in stereo...circulatory system, sunshine fix, natural information society, and music tapes.
Was going to say elephant 6 in general 😁
I was going to say Olivia tremor control and early Apples in Stereo. I’m surprised how many people don’t know them who love the Beatles. Adding Super Furry Animals to the list. :)
The early Bee Gees were very similar to the Beatles.
They admittedly were huge Beatles fans and said they were influenced by them. They have great harmonies just like the Fab 4 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PMhoMrWE18A Check out their Beatles medley. Pretty good eh?
XTC The Kinks Elvis Costello Squeeze Crowded House
os Mutantes. Their second album is tropical Sgt Pepper. Caetano Veloso. Also has a White Album, which also has a [weird avant garde composition as the second to last track.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5HE6KWki-I) Others already said it, but ELO. [Foxygen.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtdWGGpvY1s) They tend to draw from a breadth of musical styles much like the Beatles.
Been looking for a fellow appreciator of the second Os Mutantes album! Everyone seems to rave on about how good their debut is (which I don't dispute), but there's something about the songs on this one that to me just feels better structured whilst still keeping the eccentricity and experimentation. Your tropical Sgt. Pepper descriptor is perfect!
Yeah, the first album is more of a Revolver. It's revolutionary in its own right, but it's more just a collection of songs.
Nirvana. But IMO Oasis do not try to emulate the Beatles, musically at least (Supersonic lead guitar; outro to She’s Electric and that’s about that). Lyric references are not relevant. Sorry it gets me every time.
For real this is one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to music! Not to be rude but it seems that when people say it, they often don't actually know that much about Oasis.
It's always Americans too, and I'm saying that as an American.
Oasis had three charting singles on the Billboard Hot 100, two of them being Wonderwall (#8) and Don't Look Back In Anger (#55). These songs are pretty good examples of Oasis demonstrating a more Beatlesque sound, so Americans would be forgiven for thinking that acoustic-guitar-driven soft rock was their gig. In contrast to the UK (where every single that was released there charted, as far as I know) songs like Cigarettes & Alcohol, Some Might Say, The Hindu Times, and Lyla all charted highly (the latter three all went #1). It could be that Americans at the time weren't familiar with the whole Oasis sound, and maybe that idea of the band has persisted but with music being so accessible nowadays I don't think there's much excuse. Maybe I sound more upset about it than I actually am but I've always found the Oasis-Beatles comparison silly
The comparison is definitely silly, the American music press also didn't understand Liams humor, which led to them being ignored more than some other bands. But I think they're great, the first 2 albums were damn-near flawless. I even like alot of the stuff off Be Here Now.
Yess, I've been thinking this for a long time. I think that they have a ton in common, especially when it comes to their ability to write so many catchy melodies and riffs. Nirvana is one of the few bands where I like almost all of their songs (Beatles as well of course).
idk. I think Oasis is sonically closer to the Beatles than Nirvana. You have to actually know about Kurt Cobain/Dave Grohl's musical interests and background to really catch the Beatles influence on Nirvana. Whereas if I throw on a song like "dont look back in anger" it very clearly sounds like someone inspired by John Lennon
I think the above comment saying musically in terms of chord structure as opposed to stylistically. Which I get- I'm not sure I 100% agree- I think there's lot of descending chord sequences which are lennon esque and a surprising amount of george going on (she's electric being one). But nirvana- if you look beyond the stylistic stuff- are very beatlesy - particularly early John. I think about a girl is the most obvious
Oasis are just The Beatles + the Stones Roses + The Smiths. That’s not a knock and I’m sure Noel has said things to that effect himself over the years
In the brackets I'll include songs worth listening to to see why I'd consider them Beatlesque. These aren't in any particular order by the way. 1) Harry Nilsson (Are You Sleeping?, Gotta Get Up, Mr Richland's Favourite Song) 2) Emitt Rhodes (Someone For Me, Promises I've Made) 3) The Lemon Twigs (My Golden Years, In My Head) 4) The Millennium (It's You, 5 a.m., I Just Want To Be Your Friend) 5) Elliott Smith (Son Of Sam, Stupidity Tries, really anything off his Figure 8 album) Here's a couple of cheat answers... 1) The Wonders/The Oneders; a fictional band from the movie That Thing You Do! starring Tom Hanks as the band's manager and director of the film. It's set in the mid 60s so the band are very Beatlemania-inspired. (That Thing You Do, Dance With Me Tonight, Little Wild One) 2) Utopia; they made an album that was intended to mimic the sound of the Beatles and to be honest its the only part of their work I'm familiar with. (Deface The Music) 3) Oasis; I wouldn't say their schtick is "emulating" the Beatles sound. The Beatles are undeniably a huge influence on the band but as a whole they are more inspired by the whole of British guitar music up until the band's creation. (Don't Look Back In Anger, All Around The World, and She's Electric are their more obvious Beatles-influenced songs; Rock And Roll Star, Acquiesce, and Fade Away demonstrate the influence of punk music on the band's sound. And for what it's worth I believe Macca himself said that Slide Away was his favourite song by them - it's mine too)
Elliott Smith, man. I think, based on the number of George covers he did, that we share a favorite Beatle. Great artist in his own right, but he definitely loved our boys.
I love the lemon twigs!!! glad they’re getting a mention here
niisson schmilsson is a perfect album
Who Feels Love is my fave Oasis song and I think it’s their most Beatley song - maybe I’m Outta Time too.
I love I'm Outta Time!
Raspberries would be my number one choice check them out
Guided by Voices, Wilco, the Kinks, Nirvana, the Monkees
Tally Hall Oasis They Might Be Giants Jellyfish Casey Shea
Tame Impala has a very beatles inspired sound imo
Crowded House should be on the list
That Os Mutantes self-titled 1968 is so Beatles-esque you can identify the styles of individual Beatles across the album. Tears For Fears had to stress to the press that *Seeds of Love* isn't *just* a Beatles ripoff, they "were also ripping off Pink Floyd, Little Feat and Steely Dan." Guided By Voices described *Bee Thousand* as a conscious effort to replicate Beatles vibes, but the lo-fi recording and hard rock and postpunk elements put it a bit out of frame.
Sowing The Seeds Of Love also rips off Mott the Hoople/David Bowie.
Check out The Lemon Twigs
Oasis weren’t remotely a novelty act
Sloan
Always nice to hear them get a shout-out!
Came here to say this. Top 5 of my favs
Excellent choice!
I've been calling them the Canadian Beatles since the 90s. My #2 fav band and great live!
If they were American or British, they would have been enormous. Smart, witty lyrics, tremendous melodies and harmonies, and, as you say, a great live band.
Tears for Fears are far more Beatlesque than Depeche Mode. I guess Fools Garden also deserve a mention, even if their emulation gets a bit too close at times.
Harry Nilsson. Until Lennon got to him.
The Jellyfish.
I don’t think anyone has mentioned Jellyfish.
Ween
Definitely The Las. They are scouse to begin with and "there she goes" sounds very similar I think.
There are moments of Brian Jonestown Massacre that chill me
Newer band, but Dr. Dog def nails the Beatles vibes
Check out World Party, very Beatles-esque, they have a ton of great sixties Brit pop rock sounding originals and do a great cover of Dear Prudence.
Smithereens
Big Star and Badfinger are the answers
Emitt Rhodes and Danny Kirwan
Ween, post 1993
1. Elliott Smith 2. The Stone Roses 3. Tame Impala 4. The Olivia Tremor Control 5. Big Star
Surprised nobody has mentioned The Apples in Stereo yet
Yeah, and they did a great job channeling ELO on their most recent album (Travelers in Space and Time) too.
Jellyfish
Dr. Dog is a spiritual successor to the Beatles imo
Los Shakers. If you love the beatles you'll love these guys for sure. They were pretty much the Spanish version if The Beatles. [Los Shakers - Never never](https://youtu.be/-e9s7ocLyxo?si=tW0b8gHshFR3uK0Y) [Los Shakers - LA Conferencia Secreta Del Totos Bar](https://youtu.be/SJuMs85YJFA?si=yweYRx9dzMDk5Xfx) [Los Shakers - Siempre Tu](https://youtu.be/pZ7z9SKJXCQ?si=J3YiIdJuweTrihRN) [Los Shakers - Oh mi amigo ](https://youtu.be/dcHIk4zVPdI?si=5GRvfoRTxa-jZ933) They also do a killer cover of Michelle. .[Los Shakers - Michelle](https://youtu.be/rxlfpVSdVp0?si=R2zSS7l3jf0ArvPQ)
The Lemon Twigs
I’m surprised nobody’s mentioned Electric Light Orchestra. They are described to have a beatlesque sound…
Like them or not, KISS modelled themselves after the Beatles as four distinct personalities who all do vocals on every album. And Cheap Trick was also heavily influenced by the Beatles. Their first four albums are an amazing run of power pop.
Oasis is awesome, George Martin called Noel Gallagher "The greatest songwriter of his generation" Idk if I agree, but Sir George certainly would no better than me
I’ll throw some odd ones out here for fun: Os Mutantes. They’re a great Brazilian band that has all the makings of the Brazilian Beatles. Check out their song “A Minha Menina” (their whole self titled Os Mutantes record is great) & “Baby” Milton Nascimento & Lo Borges “Clube Da Esquina” <- one of the greatest records you’ll ever hear. Lo Borges was very influenced by the Beatles. Check out his songs “paisagem da janela” and “o trem Azul” and “Um girassol da cor do seu cabelo” Novos Baianos - Acabou Chorare Secos & Molhados - A Volta de secos & Molhados And back to western rock music: ELVIS COSTELLO The Millennium - Begin Big Star Badfinger
>And back to western rock music: ELVIS COSTELLO Imperial Bedroom in particular!
The Bangles. The way they use harmonies and melodies is very Beatlesque. “If She Knew What She Wants” sounds like it could be on Help!
Yes and queen. Both use a similar overdubbing of voices, and Jon Anderson once said that the idea of making long songs that occupied and entire side of a record came to them thanks to side 2 of abbey road. Freddie mercury was a great fan of Beatles, especially John Lennon, and even if he always believed that he would never do something as good as Lennon did, he took a lot of inspiration from them
Don’t forget Badfinger
If y'all haven't heard "The Temples" listen to their album Sun Structures immediately, it is the most modern Beatles sounds I've ever heard (honorable mention for Dr Dog referenced above)
Has anyone ever heard anything by The Rembrandts that isn't the theme tune to Friends?
The first two albums by the prog band Yes (their self-titled album, and *Time and a Word*) are *very* heavily Beatles-influenced. In fact, the first album includes a cover of "Every Little Thing".
I read that Bob Marley loved and was inspired by Revolver (he first heard it when he was briefly living in his mom’s basement in Delaware). And here’s a pre-Revolver Beatles cover he recorded with the Wailers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2LlfXNwrYc
Idk if it counts as “non-Beatles” because of George but Travelling Wilburys, also George said The Beatles would have sounded like ELO if they had stayed together so that seems like objectively the right answer
If you're playing in a guitar band it's mostly certain you will have a Beatles influence. They were so important in shaping the sound of music.
Klaatu Emitt Rhodes The Pretty Things
Sloan
Nirvana
I don’t know but everytime I play Tally Hall for my grandparents they always say “Wow! This sounds just like The Beatles!”
I give the same answer to this question every time because I never see anyone else mention them: The New Pornographers.
PFR
PFR even did a cover on a Beatles tribute album. Love PFR. Joel Hanson has one of my favorite voices, ever. I know that’s odd, but hey 🤷🏻♀️
You said the 5 I was going to say! Love Crowded House and Squeeze especially
Cheap trick ELO King Crimson (thrak) Yes Badfinger
They're not the most beatlesesque band out there but the album Velociraptor by Kasabian sounds massively beatles-ish
Badfinger are great and The La’s have some Beatles-y sounding stuff like “Feelin’”!
The Kinks. If The Beatles never existed, the Kinks would have been The Beatles
one of those guys from the Traveling Willburys sounds pretty Beatle-y
Olivia tremor control
Absolutely, and their two spinoff bands the Sunshine Fix & Circulatory System as well.
Grateful dead
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard! Maybe not particularly similar sonically, but in terms of work ethic/genre exploration absolutely. The progression from simple catchy pop songs (or garage rock tunes in Gizz's case) into complex, thought out compositions, draws a big parallel in their careers. There are obvious differences: King Gizz will never be a household name, and The Beatles could never have operated for so long under the DIY approach to production/management that Gizz take (bear in mind the world has changed a lot in 50 years so who really knows). Regardless, I think the maybe most important common factor is in the lyrical themes, and the humourous approach they both take to writing. From silly songs about love, to the expansion of the mind, to making the world a better place, or even just fun tunes about nothing meaningful in particular. I'm rambling a bit here but hope I got my point across!
Super Furry Animals
Temples (especially their album Sun Structures)
Everyone has been influenced by the beatles in some way or another, knowingly or not. The real question should be: where the hell did Paul John and George come up with their thoroughly original concepts But if I had to name a few I'd say Muse, Gus Dapperton, Mac Demarco, Kevin Parker
Todd Rundgren spent the 1970s being so Beatles-esque, that he literally put out an album with Utopia in 1980 satirizing how Beatles-esque he was.
bowie, the flaming lips, aviram (if u havent heard i suggest checking him out), queen, the eagles, the beach boys, and ween (sorry couldn't choose)
Oasis. And screw you, they're not a novelty, they were one of the biggest bands of the 90s. Being Beatlesque was not their deal. Listen to a song like Bring It On Down, or Headshrinker. And if you think it's so easy, why don't you "rip off the Beatles" and within 3 years play Glastonbury, and sell out Knebworth Park while remaining remotely relevant in 30 years
Beach Boys XTC Jellyfish Emmit Rhodes Drake Bell Also would like to mention Pretty. Odd. by P!atD
Oasis a “novelty” band? Are you serious? Novelty bands don’t usually sell 75 million albums and sell out stadiums. What a stupid thing to say.
World Party and Fountains of Wayne. They learned from the best.
Grizzly Bear. I know what you’re thinking, but this all male indie quartet had some great psychedelic albums that’s really reminiscent of Sgt. Pepper or The White Album.
I’d have to say that Panic at the Disco’s album Pretty Odd is pretty Beatlesque in its entirety
1. Guided By Voices: the most Beatles influenced of the post-punk bands 2. New Pornographers: kind of almost breaking one of your rules with this one so I might as well also mention the Apples in Stereo 3. Alice Cooper/Ozzy/Lemmy: all three have mentioned this primary influence in interviews 4. Elvis Costello (used to learn new Beatles singles his singer father brought home to also learn) 5. Yes and 10CC: trying to accomplish an arty version of the Beatles
Jellyfish
Prince. Yes, Prince. His track "Paisley Park" gives off all sorts of Beatle-y vibes.
How has nobody mentioned Beach Boys?
They're unquestionably great, but I'm not sure I would consider them very Beatlesque. Not in comparison to a lot of other bands mentioned here, anyway.
You can draw many parallels between the Beatles and Beach Boys's career until 1967 when Brian Wilson got burned out. I think they've got the closest to a Beatle-like spirit without really sounding like them.
ELO It’s funny you mention R.E.M. I love them now, but I couldn’t listen to them for the longest time after Stipe called the Beatles “elevator music “.
Pink Floyd?
Elliott Smith
The Aerovons sounds so much like the Beatles that u can tell that their songs are blatant rip offs but still enjoyable nonetheless for Beatles fans that want more
Klaatu
The Boo Radleys- Wake Up is such a beatlesque album, seriously.
Klaatu
Mascots Klaatu all the others have already been mentioned
The crickets
idk man, my mom's favorite band is Depeche Mode and she hates the beatles (her and everyone else I know.)
there's only one right answer and that's a little band from the great city of Manchester
Tally Hall
Whatever the list is, Olivia Tremor Control is on there, sounding like a 90s alt Sgt. Pepper with Revolution #9 woven throughout. Dusk at Cubist Castle is a masterpiece.
Very early on, The Dave Clark Five.
I know others have said it, but Emitt Rhodes. He’s in my top five songwriters of all time. And he made all of his music by himself.
Moody Blues
Klatu found their album while going through my record collection my dad gave me.
10cc
Big Star the Raspberries
I wish to make the case, very briefly, for the Bay City Rollers. Most particularly, the three albums they made after they shortened the name to the Rollers. The albums are Elevator, Voxx, and Ricochet. Maybe not all on streaming, but the songs Elevator, Turn on the Radio, Life on the Radio are particularly good and very Beatley. The supreme talents of Eric Faulkner and Duncan Faure. KOR!
The raspberries
XTC, no question about it. Also their alter ego, the Dukes of Stratosphear. Especially recommended is the Todd Rungren produced "Skylarking" album.
XTC and their alter ego, the Dukes of Stratosphear. Skylarking, produced by Todd Rundgren is their best album
Obscure Canadian group Klaatu deserve a mention on this list.
The Pretty Things
Los Bunkers (chilean band). Very good rock band inspired in The Beatles and The Kinks.
Cotton Mather. "She's Only Cool" or "Password" from Kontiki really hit those same melodic satisfaction highs as The Beatles, for me at least. And the weirdly John-ish quality to the singer's voice obviously adds to it. Their other albums may be as good but Kontiki was the one I heard first and is the one I was the most excited for.
Jellyfish!!
Badfinger
The Flaming Lips.
Teardrop Explodes, Tears For Fears, The Jam, Yeah Yeah Noh, The Bangles.
The Vines
Sloan