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Originally Posted by SuchFriendsAreDangerous
Other bands had concept albums before them
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Nay. No. Nope. No sir. Untrue. False. Not
even. Some bands had concept albums around the same time (Kinks, the Who), but
before the Beatles? Tell me, what concept albums can you recall from pre-1962? And jazz records don't count, different kind of concept.
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the tracklisting even during Beatles was determined by record company contracts and business models NOT necessarily as something artistic, same things with singles they are part of record company plans not necessarily any kind of artistic showcase.
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You're kinda right about the album lengths... But also kinda wrong. The Beatles were heavily involved in planning their albums even at the very start. In the UK, they pretty much called the shots thanks to having Epstein on their side. Labels didn't truly begin to interfere with track listings to profit off of singles until the Beatles albums were issued in the US. And the Beatles HATED it.
You're basically asking me to tell you what the Beatles
invented. Innovated isn't the right word. You're asking for examples of Beatles music that contains musical elements that were completely novel.
My answer to that is, everything that came after Help! Literally everything they did from Rubber Soul to The White Album contained never before heard sounds and recording techniques and engineering.
Integrating the sitar into rock music? Beatles. Backward guitar solos? Beatles. No "lead singer"/shared songwriting duties split at times between all four members? Beatles. Concept albums? Beatles. Hybridizing R&B and folk with "rock and roll" beats and guitar/bass/drum arrangements? Beatles. Leading songs with note assortments instead of chords? Beatles ("And Your Bird Can Sing") Self-referential lyrical wordplay/myth making/song sequels/interconnected lyrics? Beatles!
Long story short, pop music as we know it is a periodic table made up of fragments of what the Beatles did musically. There's no overstating this. They're not my favorite band, but they were the BEST. Pop culture revolves around them to this day like the solar system revolves around the sun. The connections are here, there and everywhere.