POLL Those Years Ago: The Beatles Solo Careers Poll Results Thread

the shouted fame rejoinder reeeeeally sounds like john

I would have been more than happy to keep the "Beatle as guest artist" shit out of the poll entirely, tbh.

also, shout out to nicky hopkins for that wurly part on "how do you sleep?" i wonder if he knew the song would fade out in the middle of his solo.

(Not that I'm implying that 'Fame' is shit - it's anything but, but c'mon...)

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i agree with you, but ultimately it's just 4-5 spots in a 100 song poll. i did my part by not voting for any of those tracks.

idk it makes it more fun even though i'm also like "why"

I used to find 'How Do You Sleep?' amusing for a while because of the whole Lennon dissing McCartney aspect, but once the novelty of that wore off and I started to listen to the song for what it was in a musical sense, I don't think it's really that great. 'Strawberry Fields Forever' it ain't.

"how do you sleep" is great, it's like the pettiest drone

it's just a well-done slinky, swampy rocker. i tend to ignore the lyrics tbh

I only voted for songs they played on if they left a major impression on the final mix - Harrison on Day After Day, Lennon/Ringo on Why, etc

It makes sense that Harrison plays on it, because the chord progression feels quite Harrison-like in places. I wonder how many tries it took to get the perfect Pepper-spoofing intro, too.

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like Lennon's presence/influence on some of these Yoko songs feels suspect to me, as cool as may be.

I think it was more that Yoko influenced Lennon, and then Lennon reflected that influence back into both the Yoko stuff he played on and his own work.

I would have been more than happy to keep the "Beatle as guest artist" shit out of the poll entirely, tbh.

says the guy who didn't vote at all lol

Look, keeping it to just things the four Beatles officially released under their own names is a) totally arbitrary and b) providing an incomplete picture of their post-Beatles career. For example, the *exact same band* recorded both Plastic Ono Band albums. But only John's is eligible, just because it has his name on it? Or if Wings is eligible, why isn't the Traveling Wilburys? The best, most interesting option was to allow it all, and the only sensible criteria was that a Beatle was involved. Given the difficulty with determining credit (see above discussion of "Fame") the only way to resolve that issue would be to err on the most generous side - if a Beatle was credited with doing something in any capacity, it was allowed.

By the way I voted for the Beach Boys "Vegetables" (and I wasn't the only one either) so nyah. If you cared that much you should have voted.

xp

67. Jenny Wren - Paul McCartney (feat. Paul) (531 points, 8 votes)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/15/Jenny_Wren_cover.jpg

66. Take It Away - Paul McCartney (feat. Paul) (539 points, 10 votes)
http://www.notreble.com/buzz/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Paul-McCartney-Take-It-Away-300x300.jpg

aw two of my favorite macca songs

i could only fit one song from chaos and creation on my ballot and it ended up being "anyway" but it was sooo close to being "jenny wren"

65. Remember - John Lennon (feat. John, Ringo) (540 points, 8 votes)
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0067/2072/products/R-6782548-1426549730-1369.jpeg_grande.jpg?v=1448974143

"Take It Away" my #1. That outro! The perfect George Martin production.

Well no, I didn't vote - that's correct, but if I had, I sure as hell wouldn't have voted for David Bowie and Beach Boys tracks in a solo Beatles poll. There were so many options that it would have been difficult enough to begin with, which is one of the reasons (although absolutely not the only one) that you didn't get a ballot. If it were a McCartney only or Lennon only poll etc. it may have been a different story.

(xxxposts)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMaSh20qBbg

'Jenny Wren' and 'Take It Away' both fantastic McCartney songs. 'Anyway' is one of my favourites too, Brad, so glad you found a place for it on your ballot.

Remember...
Remember...
THE FIFTH...
OF NOVEMBER!

boom

64. With A Little Luck - Wings (feat. Paul) (570 points, 10 votes)
https://i.ebayimg.com/thumbs/images/g/o-gAAOxyjPNRFIk7/s-l225.jpg

63. Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth) - George Harrison (feat. George) (571 points, 9 votes)
https://img.discogs.com/S3up-ceTOgeS6SyGcs14LHOByYU=/fit-in/300x300/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(40)/discogs-images/R-7149418-1434827068-9448.jpeg.jpg

"with a little luck" and "london town" were the songs that kept climbing up my ballot. respectable showing for the former, i'm sure doc casino will be happy

62. Silly Love Songs - Wings (feat. Paul) (588 points, 9 votes)
https://images.eil.com/large_image/PAUL_MCCARTNEY_AND_WINGS_SILLY%2BLOVE%2BSONGS%2B%2B%2BDANISH%2BEXPORT%2BSLEEVE-519101.jpg

Remember was my 3. So it's TOO LOW!

and I was hoping Take It Away would be higher. I remember when MTV used to play that nonstop.

I'm so glad to see 'With a Little Luck' here - I really love the way that track sounds. One thing about it that makes me chuckle a little is just how much the synth solo in the middle sounds like the theme tune to Thomas the Tank Engine, even though it predates it by a good few years.

THOMAS WAS THE FIFTH BEATLE

I didn't vote but Give Me Love would have been in my top five.

with a little luck is fantastic, the end of the synth solo always fools me into thinking that the song is ending, but then...nope!

I'd never seen these 'Wings visit the Berlin wall' pictures before

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/LFb7QRAHDM4/maxresdefault.jpg

https://78.media.tumblr.com/6cd31c0d390acc6eeef243eb56be42c7/tumblr_n9xbrnbBUW1rg1rnvo1_500.png

next entry is ironic in that context

61. Behind That Locked Door - George Harrison (feat. George, Ringo) (599 points, 11 votes)
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSpLaJAdLvEzw9FsJWs-RiYqIAnIHcmdNsm7H3tqGP7kCORiKRAFw

Jenny Wren is gorgeous, could see it fitting neatly on the White Album.

love isn't silly at all!

'Behind That Locked Door' is simply gorgeous.

When I wonder why Dylan never sued George for copyright infringement over "Give Me Love"'s similarity to "I Want You," I remember they were bros.

60. Single Pigeon - Wings (feat. Paul) (605 points, 8 votes)
https://www.the-paulmccartney-project.com/_images/artworks/red-rose-speedway/05_big.jpg

first Ringo sighting

59. Back Off Boogaloo - Ringo Starr (feat. Ringo, George) (610 points, 10 votes)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/32/Back_Off_Boogaloo_cover.jpg/220px-Back_Off_Boogaloo_cover.jpg

McCartney has the most songs in the results so far!

58. Don't Worry Kyoko (Mummy's Only Looking for Her Hand in the Snow) - Yoko Ono (feat. John, Ringo) (624 points, 9 votes)
https://e.snmc.io/lk/l/l/e6bd32062ebe6460cd8ed8569dd6efeb/1246851.jpg

it's almost as if McCartney released way more songs than the other Beatles!
xp

yay ringo! i like back off boogaloo

This track fucking slays. I'm actually glad to see this here, and I'm fully expecting 'Why' to place too.

"Don't Worry" was my #2, such a jam