Similarities Between The Beatles And The Isley Brothers

One way to make a name for yourself in the music industry is to create a new song, a new sound that changes and tests the music of the time. Bands such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Who all redefined the music of the sixties and in doing so created a new genre of music that inspired generations of music to outlive them. However, something all of these bands did, dating back into the late fifties early sixties, was do covers of already famous classics. A cover song is when a band redoes an already famous song, a “classic,” with a new twist that either fits their style or the new direction music is going in. Sometimes a cover song can be out of homage for inspiration or just because the song is fun but rarely if ever out of competition …show more content…
The Isley Brothers were an American R&B group that started in the mid-fifties becoming a large inspiration for those growing up post war. Being such a huge inspiration for young kids like The Beatles, they helped define the music that wanted to make and build upon for their future audience. Inspiration given by the Isley Brothers to The Beatles is evident in the similarities between the two versions as well as their differences based on the musical elements and time periods of the two works. Songs revolve around ideas and motifs that are usually repeated to help define the message or feel the song is bringing about. Both versions keep these elements intact, The Beatles maintain the original ideas of the song written by the Isley Brothers, which can be seen through different musical elements. Tempo is kept relatively fast throughout each song which a steadily fast beat. Which an upbeat tempo the song is easily danced too allowing you to really feel the depth of the music in your body. These type of upbeat tempos almost makes these type of dances songs hard not to dance too. Elements like this are brought …show more content…
The Isley Brothers were an R&B band but did not shy away from their fair share of big band work. The original version of “Twist and Shout” has brass instruments playing along with them while the Beatles kept the song within their own members of the band. Overall sound of the two songs are also very different. The original has a very mellow tone to it that brings out the harmonies and emphasis each member of the band. The Beatles version I would go as far to say has a very raspy tone that emphasizes different parts of the song at each point. The vocals are even stuttered at times to add extra attention to them when they go around. These two differences have a lot to do with the sound of the time. Even though the two releases are not that far about, the Isley Brothers have a very straight pattern for their music while The Beatles have a lot of rock going on in their version. A lot of heavy guitar and almost screaming when the song reaches the peak of the melody. Also the dynamics are different, dynamics are the range or change in the “loudness” of the song ranging from very soft, “piano” to very loud “forte.” The Isley Brothers keep a very steady dynamic really only increasing at the most crucial points of the song. The Beatles take a different approach on the dynamics and steadily increase their volume as the song is played. They start loud but very