Music: Who's post-Beatles career do you like more - John Lennon or Paul McCartney?

[sr edler]

Harrison's All Things Must Pass probably. Since he was largely suppressed as a Beatle, he still had good songs left for solo material.

 

[VMBM]

Paul Ramon was McCartney's stage name during an early tour on which the band was called "Long John and the Silver Beetles"; Lennon was known as Long John, McCartney as Paul Ramon and Harrison as Carl Harrison. I think that hotel tale is total nonsense... although it's vaguely possible that both stories are correct.

 

[Ben Grimm]

... Maybe I'm Amazed and Live and Let Die I don't think he was quite as much of a machine there as I thought. Actually, some of his more prog structured ones like Band on the Run and Uncle Albert ended up sticking the most.

Paul crushed John.

 

[SmytheKing]

Edit - RIP John. Sure I can't stand that one song but the world lost a beautiful human for such a senseless and horrible reason.

Absolutely NOT a beautiful human. He was a certified monster and a POS father. Fantastic songwriter however. Terrible man though.

 

[BackToTheBrierePatch]

McCartney. He had a great post Beatles career. RAM is one of the best albums ever IMO. He obviously did some great stuff with Wings as well. Not to take anything away from Lennon who was great in his own right and it would be interesting to see how their careers compared if Lennon was still alive.

 

[Sentinel]

I'll give a very paradoxical answer. I take McCartney over Lennon in the Beatles all day long, but, while I own the entire Lennon solo catalog, I never got around to hearing solo McCartney (except a couple of songs, like "Live and Let Die"). I have not even heard Band on the Run or RAM! I intend to fill that gap but for now, I have to go with Lennon by default.

My problem with Lennon's solo stuff is that Ono makes some of it downright unlistenable. While they say "love is blind," Lennon's love was deaf.

 

[PANARIN BREAD FAN]

I'll give a very paradoxical answer. I take McCarthy over Lennon in the Beatles all day long, but, while I own the entire Lennon solo catalog, I never got around to hearing solo McCarthy (except a couple of songs, like "Live and Let Die"). I have not even heard Band on the Run or RAM! I intend to fill that gap but for now, I have to go with Lennon by default.

My problem with Lennon's solo stuff is that Ono makes some of it downright unlistenable. While they say "love is blind," Lennon's love was deaf.

mccartney solo stuff - start out with the live album wings over america and then go from there.

 

[VMBM]

Nevermind.

 

[Fantomas]

Not really a fan of any of their solo careers. But solo Paul can be a lot of fun: Monkberry Moon Delight, Arrow Through Me, Check My Machine. John still wrote beautiful melodies and was coming back in a serious way in 1980 with Double Fantasy. He also wrote my favorite Ringo song, I'm the Greatest.

I just really don't care for George. He's a bore. My Sweet Lord is amazing, but it's not even his melody. So what's left? Got My Mind Set on You? He didn't write that either.

 

[Mike C]

I'll give a very paradoxical answer. I take McCarthy over Lennon in the Beatles all day long, but, while I own the entire Lennon solo catalog, I never got around to hearing solo McCarthy (except a couple of songs, like "Live and Let Die"). I have not even heard Band on the Run or RAM! I intend to fill that gap but for now, I have to go with Lennon by default.

My problem with Lennon's solo stuff is that Ono makes some of it downright unlistenable. While they say "love is blind," Lennon's love was deaf.

Deaf, Dumb and Blind.

That woman has zero appeal in any aspect of anything

 

[Mike C]

He took time before releasing one album we could say is good from first song to the last. It's Band on the Run. Before that his albums were a big deception, while George did his masterpeice on his first album. All Things must Pass sold more than Band on Run and Imagine combined and was better critic awarded.

Ram was a good album after all. His first one was a deception, Wild Life was bad, Red Rose Speedway was bad too. It was in 1973 I think Band on the Run was released. There's nice story about how the album was composed andm produced. After meeting a bandit in the african forest Mac had to give his tape recorder with the demos of the album. He recreated it by memory after. He was on the set of the movie Papillon starring McQueen and Hoffman. Hoffman and his wife invited Paul, they discussed, had wine and Paul said he could create a song just by reading a title on a newspaper. Picasso was dead and he did the song Picasso's Last Words.

After Band on the run his albums were better but some boring albums were made like London Town. McCartney end up making good songs from a ton of songs, a ton and a ton and a ton.

Lennon makes less but better. Lennon is able to make a song that really moves you. It's intimate, deep and brillant. But he did run of the mill albums like Mind Games.

I thought Mind Games was pretty decent

Check out Eric Church's cover at the Lennon 75th Birthday concert. I thought it was chillingly awesome

 

[Sentinel]

No offense, but come on; Paul McCartney is one of the most famous dudes on the planet.

(Or is this some inside joke that I don't get? Or your phone doing its tricks?)

My phone. Thanks. Should've proofread before hitting "enter." Embarrassing. Fixed now

 

[Catanddogguitarrr]

I thought Mind Games was pretty decent

Check out Eric Church's cover at the Lennon 75th Birthday concert. I thought it was chillingly awesome

Decent but not enough for John's familiar quality and creativity. He's the one who wrote In my life, Norwegian Wood, Day Tripper, A Day in the Life, Strawberry Fields, Don't let me Down, Come Together, etc. I buyed that record at the time and it was a deception. I liked Mind Games a bit, the orchertration was boring and repetitive, I liked the neo jazz song Intuition and the rest I don't remember. I think #9 Dream was on another record. I had Some Time in NY City and it was very boring, except that jam with Zappa. But when Yoko scream live on stage I can't stand it. Rumours said he was invited to perform at Conccert for Bengladesh and John asked George to have Yoko scream on stage. George said no. And the concert was an huge success musically. Not that many funds made their way to help that country but George tryed.

But back to Mind Games and other ex beatles records, the fans started to look elsewhere because so much was happening in the rock era of the 70's. The first albums of ex Beatles were awaited and analysed and after few bad albums they became meh artist.

 

[Mike C]

Decent but not enough for John's familiar quality and creativity. He's the one who wrote In my life, Norwegian Wood, Day Tripper, A Day in the Life, Strawberry Fields, Don't let me Down, Come Together, etc. I buyed that record at the time and it was a deception. I liked Mind Games a bit, the orchertration was boring and repetitive, I liked the neo jazz song Intuition and the rest I don't remember. I think #9 Dream was on another record. I had Some Time in NY City and it was very boring, except that jam with Zappa. But when Yoko scream live on stage I can't stand it. Rumours said he was invited to perform at Conccert for Bengladesh and John asked George to have Yoko scream on stage. George said no. And the concert was an huge success musically. Not that many funds made their way to help that country but George tryed.

But back to Mind Games and other ex beatles records, the fans started to look elsewhere because so much was happening in the rock era of the 70's. The first albums of ex Beatles were awaited and analysed and after few bad albums they became meh artist.

Walls and Bridges for #9 Dream. That was a much better offering than Mind Games 100 percent

Geoege stayed true to what he wanted to do and Paul certainly played his cards into mega commercial success

 

[VMBM]

Decent but not enough for John's familiar quality and creativity. He's the one who wrote In my life, Norwegian Wood, Day Tripper, A Day in the Life, Strawberry Fields, Don't let me Down, Come Together, etc.

Don't want to get too deep into the Beatles nerdery, but McCartney has claimed that he wrote the music for "In My Life"... And he certainly helped Lennon on "A Day in the Life" and "Come Together" too.

This went both ways of course, and Paul often got help from John on songs that were (mostly) his. I think he has lamented that he never again had a similarly brilliant sounding board, even though occasionally co-writing with other people (Denny Laine, Eric Stewart, Elvis Costello...).

 

[Catanddogguitarrr]

Don't want to get too deep into the Beatles nerdery, but McCartney has claimed that he wrote the music for "In My Life"... And he certainly helped Lennon on "A Day in the Life" and "Come Together" too.

This went both ways of course, and Paul often got help from John on songs that were (mostly) his. I think he has lamented that he never again had a similarly brilliant sounding board, even though occasionally co-writing with other people (Denny Laine, Eric Stewart, Elvis Costello...).

George helped John and Paul songs and didn't get credit too. George wrote Badge for Cream under the pseudonym of Angelo Misterioso.
Mick Jones complained he didn't get the credit for songs with the Rolling Stones and left the group.
Denny Laine felt that too with Paul. But this happens all the time.
And the song Happy Xmas of Lennon was Skewball (or Stewball) an old 18th century ballad song.

 

[McGarnagle]

Paul had a significantly better solo output. He was consistent in releasing good pop songs either solo or with Wings from 1970 straight through 1985.

John had a couple good albums right after the Beatles broke up and then a good album right before he died, and in between he spent about 6 or 7 years sitting around doing heroin and covering 50s rockabilly. The real shame is that he was just starting to write and record his best solo stuff when he was killed.

 

[VMBM]

George wrote Badge for Cream under the pseudonym of Angelo Misterioso.

I thought Eric Clapton actually wrote most of that, but idk.

 

[Catanddogguitarrr]

I just really don't care for George. He's a bore. My Sweet Lord is amazing, but it's not even his melody. So what's left? Got My Mind Set on You? He didn't write that either.

Here is a list of good songs from Harrison : What is Life, Awaiting for you all, The Art of Dying, Give me Love, Living in a Material World, Badge (group Cream), Photograph (Ringo), It don't Come Easy (Ringo), When we were Fab, This is Love, Handle me with Care and The End of the Line. He is a good help on the song Day after Day from Badfinger with his guitar. Other songs too but to say George have two good songs and he didn't wrote it is not true.

 

[Catanddogguitarrr]

I thought Eric Clapton actually wrote most of that, but idk.

There is a bridge in the middle and it's George with his Leslie speaker who plays it. Badge was a mistake, it was bridge, badly wrote by George but Clapton kept the title with the mistake.
And btw, George have almost every guitar works done with the Leslie speaker. That's a very special sound effect, the same principle used the siren of a police car. It was most commonly used with an organ with jazz keyboards. More recently, the Leslie speaker with a guitar was used in Black Hole Sun from Soundgarden.

 

[McGarnagle]

I find Paul's solo catalogue to have the most depth, John's to have the highest peaks, but George has a consistency and balance of quality and quantity. And Ringo is just Ringo.

 

[Mike C]

Don't want to get too deep into the Beatles nerdery, but McCartney has claimed that he wrote the music for "In My Life"... And he certainly helped Lennon on "A Day in the Life" and "Come Together" too.

This went both ways of course, and Paul often got help from John on songs that were (mostly) his. I think he has lamented that he never again had a similarly brilliant sounding board, even though occasionally co-writing with other people (Denny Laine, Eric Stewart, Elvis Costello...).

What's that, you don't acknowledge the Lovley Linda??

 

[Sentinel]

Mind Games is alright. "Tight A$" and "Intuition" are great. "Only People" too. "One Day at a Time" would not be out of place on any of the Beatles albums.

 

[VMBM]

What's that, you don't acknowledge the Lovley Linda??

Oh yeah. Right up there with Rita Marley.

Paul did say in some documentary that Linda wrote the 'badge' (see a previous post, heh heh) of "Live and Let Die" ("What does it matter to ya" etc). Still my wild guess is that the Paul and Linda McCartney writing credits on those '70s Wings/McCartney albums are mostly a bit of a joke. (This is terrible misogyny, I know.)

 

[Mike C]

Oh yeah. Right up there with Rita Marley.

Paul did say in some documentary that Linda wrote the 'badge' (see a previous post, heh heh) of "Live and Let Die" ("What does it matter to ya" etc). Still my wild guess is that the Paul and Linda McCartney writing credits on those '70s Wings/McCartney albums are mostly a bit of a joke. (This is terrible misogyny, I know.)

It's OK man, I'm not woke either. When they say I hate women, I say in all earnestness "Don't freaking flatter yourself, I hate everyone else too"

Very effective!