Last month, Slipknot and Stone Sour frontman Corey Taylor explained why he thinks The Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love” is “a piece of shit” (to the irritation of countless fans). Of course, that doesn’t mean he dislikes everything the band’s done; in fact, he recently revealed that there’s one Beatles song he’s been dying to cover.
During his Sept. 6 appearance on the Barstool Backstage podcast, Taylor talked about a bunch of different things, such as Meghan Trainor, fake band names, his upcoming second solo album (CMF2), and The Beatles. When the Fab Four came up, Taylor was quick to clarify that he’s a “massive Beatles Fan,” adding: “I study them like the Zapruder film sometimes, man, ’cause I feel like they were really the kind of the progenitor for so many different vibes.”
Specifically, he highlighted 1967’s “Strawberry Fields Forever” – “one of the darkest fucking songs” – as a prime example of how “a lot of their great songs weren’t even on albums; they were singles, man.” He continued: “I’ve never had the balls to cover it – let’s put it that way. I’ve always wanted to, ‘cause it just – it has the potential to be able to kind of take it down this fucking twisted vibe, right?”
Released as the other half of the “Penny Lane” double A-side, the nightmarishly wistful, psychedelic and experimental track was intended to appear on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. It was inspired by John Lennon’s childhood, and to Taylor’s point, its perpetual use of bizarre sound effects, ominous voice clips, reversed instrumentation and the like makes it truly unsettling.READ MORE: 10 Rock Lyrics That Didn’t Age All That Well
Along the way, Taylor also dove into how The Beatles impacted their generation:
In the ’60s, you had very specific bands that did very specific things — obviously, The Who, The Kinks, all that stuff that kind of led down different musical paths. But, The Beatles, dude, were so instrumental in really kind of planting the seeds for so many different genres. The fact that they are clowned now makes me mad, and I’ve push those people down by their fucking face when they talk shit. . . . [Their catalog is] unmatched. Even bands like [Led] Zeppelin, who are massively fucking influential, you know? They don’t hold a candle to what The Beatles were able to do.
He also cited 1966’s Revolver as his favorite of their records, calling it “really, really good.”
So, do you agree with Taylor’s assessment of Revolver, “Strawberry Fields Forever” and/or “All You Need Is Love”? Let us know!
Last week, Taylor divulged that he always knew Stone Sour – who went on indefinite hiatus in 2020 – wouldn’t “have the same impact” as Slipknot. Around the same time, he also reflected on the moment (back in 1999) when he knew that Slipknot were getting big.
Later this week – on Sept. 15 – CMF2 will officially be released via Decibel Cooper/BMG. It’s the follow-up to 2020’s CMFT and you can preorder it here. Likewise, Taylor is embarking on an international tour in support of the record, and you can see the full list of dates here and grab tickets here.
Corey Taylor Discusses The Beatles + More on the ‘Barstool Backstage’ Podcast (Sept. 6, 2023)
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