The Beatles' Solo Careers Poll - Voting and General Discussion Thread

Thanks for the Spotify playlist, niels! It's nice to listen to a ilx-curated collection of these songs. I've found it really challenging to slog through Harrisons non-ATMP solo work in particular. I've put on Dark Horse, Extra Texture, etc so many times and always give up after a couple of songs. Nice to discover so many gems I've ignored.

that features the appearance of at least Beatle.

i assumed you were trying to approximate Leo McKern in Help!

I think George would win for me via Peak Value (like Sandy Koufax). Thus Paul would lead in volume of gold AND shit.

At the same time, John's smaller discography also results in him having a much higher hit:miss ratio than any of the other Beatles imo.

The guy made two great albums, and you seriously have to cherry pick from the rest.

My favourite Lennon deep cut is 'What You Got' ... awesome song, great vocal.

oh god I hate that honking pre-disco vibe. I can smell the old cigs on sofa cushions.

yeah, blech

made two great albums

I listed five, which is way more than you can say for McCartney

not a bad track on any of those imo. That can't be said of a lot of Macca's albums, which feature not just boring or lazy songs but actively terrible ones.

(I re-listened to "My Love" after being reminded of it by Alfred but being unable to recall it and jeeeeeezus christ that is godawful)

always loved the Spector-ish melodrama of this, would've fit right in on Death of a Ladies Man

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O28PqKx8n2s

I listed five, which is way more than you can say for McCartney

― Οὖτις, Thursday, May 17, 2018 4:38 PM (twenty minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

You listed two John Lennon albums, two Yoko Ono albums and a Nilsson album, and four of those albums came out prior to 1972. McCartney not only made more very good to great music, but made more of it in Lennon's lifetime alone.

I'm using the criteria for this poll, John was deeply involved with the production of all those albums, regardless of when they came out

John was obviously better at choosing collaborators/projects too, nobody of any quality was willing or able to work with Paul throughout the 70s

I'd say "able" more than "willing", but it doesn't matter since McCartney had the talent to be able to do it himself anyway.

xxpost What I love about Working Class Hero is that each time he sings the chorus, its meaning seems to shift, from ironic to sincere to resigned. Also, a Beatle calling his listeners "fucking peasants" must have been shocking.

my v helpful contribution to this thread is i'd rather listen to ram than almost any lennon solo album, and yoko is a more consistent songwriter than either

idk if i'm gonna vote in this though, i know yoko's and john's catalogs really well and love all things must pass, ram, and band on the run but... beyond that idk!

You listed two John Lennon albums, two Yoko Ono albums and a Nilsson album, and four of those albums came out prior to 1972. McCartney not only made more very good to great music, but made more of it in Lennon's lifetime alone.

― Le Baton Rose (Turrican), Thursday, May 17, 2018 5:03 PM (nineteen minutes ago)

this is a strange statement since lennon didn't make any albums for the last 5 years of the 70s. if you're comparing lennon 70-75 to mccartney 70-75, lennon wins that one hands down.

and McCartney's '75-'80 output is godawful, a few scattered gems aside

Don't provoke the Maccamaniacs, whatever you do.

anyone like "Girls School"?

this is a strange statement since lennon didn't make any albums for the last 5 years of the 70s.

Moot point. Not McCartney's problem.

Also between 1970-1975 McCartney released Band on the Run and Venus and Mars, both superb and untainted by not being hipsterflappybirdPitchforkcore a la John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. Also, he put out Ram and singles such as 'Live and Let Die', 'Another Day' etc.

Just create the Beatles forum already pls

hipsterflappybirdPitchforkcore a la John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band

https://i.imgur.com/zrw2CSd.jpg

You mean like that Steve Hoffman thing? (xp)

i like "girls' school!"

and i am back from cleaning the kitchen to report that goodnight vienna and ringo's rotogravure are both lousy records, though both with some flashes of energy that put them above the bulk of ringo. generally though the vibe is similar: some lennon-penned or lennon-ish good-time goofy party numbers, dragged down by oddly disinterested rhythm tracks and hungover vocals from our boy. his cover of bruce channel's "hey baby," the only rotogravure single to chart in the US (#74) is remarkable only for its decadent blowsiness - not recommended as an interpretation of the song, but it does offer an alternately appealing and gross glimpse into the endless party ringo was apparently having at this point. spotify also uses these albums as a vehicle for the non-album back off boogaloo which isn't exactly my cup of tea but at least musters something close to thunderous force. you do indeed want to back off!

highlights if you need 'em: snookeroo (john/taupin) is what these records are mostly going for but missing through undistinguished MOR overproduction. occapella is also pleasant dopey fun but basically superfluous next to lee dorsey's earlier version. no no song and husbands and wives i've already praised upthread and are the best things here. pure gold (mccartney) was evidently not good enough for speed of sound and it's not great in ringo's hands but there's the outline of a great slow-dance prom number there. cryin', thank god, takes him back to sad-sack country, the one mode he was always reliable in. lady gaye is about good enough to be filler on most horrible 70s albums with titles like ringo's rotogravure.

oh mannnn the next album opens with "drowning in the sea of love." i might not make it back this time.

occapella is also pleasant dopey fun but basically superfluous next to lee dorsey's earlier version

How about Van Dyke Parks' version?

xposts
you are truly doing the lord's work there, dr casino. however, i skipped straight to "no no song" to check it out and i feel like i'm listening to Jimmy Buffet. i can't, i'm out ringo, sorry

"No no no no, I can't take it no mo'!" - Karl Malone

^that, but slowly getting softer and softer as i lightly jog toward the horizon

yeah Ringo's discography is a real wasteland, perhaps not surprisingly. he just never gives that much of a shit.

or, perhaps more charitably, his skills are not well-suited to solo albums

yeah i scrolled through his list of drum credits above to get back to loving ringo. unfortunately i think you may have given him more than he deserves - for example (according to wiki) on leon russell's debut he only plays on "Dixie Lullaby," "Shootout On The Plantation," and "Hurt Some Body," alongside George for all three. no shade, assembling a list like that would be tedious as all hell! anyway the drumming on those tracks is good.

"Snookeroo" is splendid nonsense, much more bearable than "No No Song."

Yeah i had a hard time looking up some individual track credits for various albums he played on

Xp

Ringo alas became a sad alcoholic from the seventies through the late eighties. Check out this shambolic appearance. George looks embarrassed:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDglxOfzlJ4&t=78s

That scene from The Kids Are Alright where Ringo and Keith Moon are all like "We're not drunk, teenyboppers! We've just had our medicine!" ...

Moot point. Not McCartney's problem.

Also between 1970-1975 McCartney released Band on the Run and Venus and Mars, both superb and untainted by not being hipsterflappybirdPitchforkcore a la John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. Also, he put out Ram and singles such as 'Live and Let Die', 'Another Day' etc.

― Le Baton Rose (Turrican), Thursday, May 17, 2018 5:51 PM (one hour ago)

?? i didn't say it was "mccartney's problem," i said it was weird to praise paul for (supposedly) releasing more good stuff in lennon's lifetime like that was especially impressive considering that lennon didn't make any music for most of the last five years of his life. no idea what that description of POB is supposed to mean but yes, for crying out loud, POB is better than venus and mars.

Yeah, by miles

Turrican resorting to ad homs = par for the course

Anyone voting for Pete Best rekkerds?

https://sonicmoremusic.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/ringo-starr-and-john-bonham1.jpg

?? i didn't say it was "mccartney's problem," i said it was weird to praise paul for (supposedly) releasing more good stuff in lennon's lifetime like that was especially impressive considering that lennon didn't make any music for most of the last five years of his life.

Lennon may not have released any new music 1976-1979, but it still doesn't make my statement any less true. Arguably, Lennon was washed up by '73, but still managed to hit upon the occasional stunner.

By comparison, McCartney was just beginning to get started again in '73, after spending 1970-1972 just enjoying himself with the pressure off - but even then he put out Ram, plus gems like 'Maybe I'm Amazed', 'Another Day' etc.

Wouldn't call either of those "gems" tbh.

They just had different approaches resulting in different rates of output imho. Lennon driven more by inspiration and his own emotional ups and downs, Macca driven by a protestant work ethic. AndLennon was on fire from '69-'73 in a way that Macca was not imho. When he stopped, Macca just kept rolling on (mostly as before).

idk again ram is fucking awesome

lol @ plastic ono band being "pitchforkcore"

that was def some outstanding nonsense

Not denying Ram's awesomeness!

Xp