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

oh lol i'm really good at reading

73. Day After Day - Badfinger (feat. George) (478 points, 6 votes)
https://www.udiscovermusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/badfinger-day-after-day.jpg

*98. Long Haired Lady - Paul & Linda McCartney (feat. Paul) (342 points, 7 votes)*
🖼

Apparently, the Badfinger dudes play guitars on most of the ATMP tracks, too.

Todd Rundgren claims he rescued the shit out of “Day After Day” despite only getting an engineering credit on it. But it does have the signature George slide guitars so...

Rundgren says a lot of things tbg

tbf

yeah, George added a lot beyond the solo:

During their peak, Badfinger enjoyed a fabulous working relationship in the studio with The Beatles’ George Harrison. George took on a ‘big brother’ role of sorts with the band, especially in the studio during the recording of the Straight Up album, including the decision to shelve the first set of tapes from the recording sessions.

“George thought we sounded too much like a ‘beat’ group, and thought we could do better”, says guitarist Joey Molland. “He was really hands-on with the arrangements of songs like ‘Name Of The Game’ and ‘Suitcase’, including having me change the lyrics from “pusher, pusher” to “butcher, butcher”…because in those days, the radio wouldn’t have played anything with a even a slightly negative meaning related to drugs and the like.”

72. Apple Scruffs - George Harrison (feat. George) (479 points, 9 votes)
http://images.45cat.com/george-harrison-what-is-life-apple-2.jpg

"Apple Scruffs" is almost too effortless for George.

71. I’m Losing You - John Lennon (feat. John Lennon) (488 points, 8 votes)
https://solobeatles.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/roger_farrington_neg241-e1378166116167.jpg

I love the Cheap Trick version

TIE 70. Heart of the Country - Paul & Linda McCartney (feat. Paul) (519 points, 8 votes, 1 No. 1 vote))
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/Heart_of_the_Country_label.jpg/220px-Heart_of_the_Country_label.jpg

TIE 70. Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll) - George Harrison (feat. George) (519 points, 7 votes)
http://images.45worlds.com/f/ab/george-harrison-all-things-must-pass-19-ab.jpg

69. How Do You Sleep? - John Lennon (feat. John, George) (525 points, 10 votes)
https://images.rapgenius.com/109c86ac9ef78d8fc4f345febed7abf1.500x748x1.jpg

two amazing songs

er, three

68. Secret Friend - Paul McCartney (feat. Paul) (529 points, 8 votes)
http://www.macca-central.com/macca-songs/singles/images/temporary_secretary_secret_friend_12in_emi_b.jpg

the best of the outtakes to date

I once spent a morning listening to "Secret Friend" on repeat

yoooo “secret friend” made it!!!!

Y'know, I might quibble about the order of these things, but I like-to-love every song that's placed so far.

YESSS @ 'Secret Friend'

yeah, George added a lot beyond the solo

According to the Badfinger biography, Without You, George bailed in the middle of the album sessions, Rundgren added overdubs to "Day After Day" (and the other songs Harrison worked on) and also mixed the whole album but got no credit for the songs Harrison worked on. Reading between the lines, it doesn't take much of a leap to believe that George got the sole producer's credit on that song because it was chosen as the lead single by their label. Which was, you know, Apple.

'Day After Day' is a fucking beautiful song, and undoubtedly my favourite Badfinger song. It means a hell of a lot more to me than 'Without You' ...

"I'm Losing You" too low, pretty sure that made my top ten, like an alienated 80's update of "Cold Turkey" with love replacing junk

Damn, I meant to vote for Secret Friend and don't see it anywhere on my ballot. My favorite of things I discovered in poll listening.

i nearly put it in my top five and then figured i wouldn't have been able to bear it if it ended up in this poll's top ten, i guess i didn't have to worry

voted for i'm losing you, certainly my favorite from double fantasy

heart of the country is such a cute little song, i love it to death.

it's def my favorite john song on double fantasy xp

"goodnight tonight" is such a groove

i didn't listen to any of the compilation albums so i've never heard goodnight tonight before. it's fucking wild. where does that guitar break come from??? one of those songs that explains why paul and stevie wonder were such good friends.

did joe jackson ever get sued over "day after day"/"breaking us in two"?

Catching up a bit ...

Quibbles:
Re. "Secret Friend," I like it more as a "Paul tried out this sort of thing" more than "This is awesome." While I enjoy it, I'm not really sure if it's any better or worse than "Frozen Jap" or "Front Parlour."

Were it not for the Cheap Trick version of "I'm Losing You," I would think the song is shit. As it is, I still mostly think it is. The organ is sub-Roll With It Michelob fodder.

"Beautiful Boy" is a great song almost completely ruined by Jack Douglas's production (and Mr. Holland's Opus -- Richard Dreyfus singing "Darling ...COLLLLLE" will forever haunt me).

"Goodnight Tonight" is ... fine, but a pretty anonymous disco play that isn't groovy enough to make me really love it. Bass line isn't bad tho.

John's co-write on "Fame" has always seemed odd to me -- perhaps because I've never believed he actually sings the "Fame!" retort as he supposedly did.

Loves:
"Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll)" is about as great a song as George ever wrote. Love it. TOO LOW!

"One of These Days" is not only a great song, but the one it is believed Lennon was referring to in one of his last interviews when he said Paul sounded "sad."

I completely forgot how much I liked "Crippled Inside" -- the two double basses on that (quadruple bass?) is an absolute masterstroke.

For a guy who was all about mono, I think my favorite thing about Imagine is Spector's stereo separation -- even when some of the songs on it don't totally light me on fire, they are just gorgeous to listen to.

"Magneto and Titanium Man" is probably up there among my top 20 Paul songs for no other reason than it's a completely goofy earworm.

John's co-write on "Fame" has always seemed odd to me -- perhaps because I've never believed he actually sings the "Fame!" retort as he supposedly did.

wtf he sings and plays guitar on this song

Bowie would have done an incredible version of "Hold On" for YA

you'd think so, but then again his across the universe is very very bad

it's def my favorite john song on double fantasy xp

― flamenco blorf (BradNelson), Monday, June 4, 2018 1:09 PM (eighteen minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this is kind of a diss tbh

i like the "heart of the country" -> "let it roll" transition on the playlist

I regard "Goodnight Tonight" as a song released in the disco era but not a disco song, no matter what Paul says or how high he mixed his bass (it made my ballot).

wtf he sings and plays guitar on this song

No, Bowie played the distorted bit (the bit that sounds like a brass section, according to Chris O'Leary).

So what the hell did Lennon do? He's also credit with "tape loops" which I'd guess is the intro and the Mellotron-esque scale down of "Fame" near the end of the song.

His guitar is buried amid the Alomar flourishes and, yeah, the loops. Remember how typically generous Bowie was about songwriting credit.

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...)

(x-post)

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"