I kind of combined Garcia-Hunter as a tag team, Phil, and Bob Weir. Though i guess a lot of these songs were co-written with one another.
McCartney Blames Lennon
- Thread starter Althetuna
- Start date
It would have been interesting but they rocked pretty hard for the times they lived in and if not 'rocking' got in pretty deep with stuff like Dig a Pony and Helter Skelter.
As a major fan of The Beatles, my sweet spot is roughly mid-'65 to early-'67 (but also, The White Album is one of my favorites, so it extends a little past that central period).
Early period has a lot of good moments, but heavy on covers and some weaker originals. Late period is polished and dynamic, but also less of a unified effort.
When I first got entranced as a next-gen Beatles follower, I preferred the "Blue Album" period by a significant margin. My preferences became a bit more balanced thru the years.
I'm the same way, as a teenager in the 90s I rejected grunge/hip hop that was going on for Beatles, Stones, Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The Who, etc. I'm sure I seemed like a dork to most of my friends but it all just completely blew my mind.
Ignored everything before Sgt Pepper. Then as an adult I found a lot of that earlier stuff and especially Rubber Soul was a lot deeper than I realized and actually better in some ways.
Lately I've found that I do like a lot of New Wave and even some 90s britpop almost as much as that 60s British invasion but I have to dig a little deeper for the gems. Some of that is music I grew up with as a little kid, but most of it wasn't anything I ever got exposed to at the time.
yep, the Beatles could literally do any genre, they were that good. They influenced pretty much everyone, even artist in hip hop and rap.
I have a hard time putting anyone's solo work above John's:
Mind Games
Watching the Wheels
Imagine
Happy Xmas (War is Over)
Nobody Told Me
Whatever Gets You Through the Night
Woman
Instant Karma
#9 Dream
Give Peace a Chance
Nobody Loves You (When You're Down and Out)
Cold Turkey
All good tunes and a couple of mega all-timers. I love George's stuff, but I just don't see it.
I used to be the same but after deep diving George beyond just All Things Must Pass (which really is enough on its own) I really like his solo catalog the best.
For John what I like most is the entire Plastic Ono album, it's not commercially accessible, but I'd call it the greatest "work of art" by a Beatle after their breakup.
An underrated George song is Cheer Down, which in my opinion is the latest really great song by a Beatle (1989).
I won't argue, but virtuosity as instrumentalists probably isn't high on the list of primary contribution from The Beatles (in my assessment).
McCartney is a heel
Paul McCartney Dismisses Rolling Stones As 'Blues Cover Band'
“I think our net was cast a bit wider than theirs,” the former Beatle told The New Yorker about the group's top musical rivals.
www.huffpost.com
Most of Lennon’s post-Beatles albums were pretty political one way or another. I agree, the Plastic Ono Band album is good, but highly political. (I’m very sympathetic with this and other of Lennon’s political stuff.)
I like the straight ahead ‘Teddy Boys’ rocker, “Rock n’ Roll” from Lennon’s LA period when he was hanging out with Harry Nilsson. They had some fun making that one!
Virtuosity isn't all about playing the fastest or doing some pyrotechnic thing, nor does it necessary make great music. One of George's Harrison's contributions was his mutability--his ability to learn and play several different styles and to enhance the songs of his bandmates.
I like the rivalry. I've never been a Stones fan personally but they have a lot of content out there. McCartney and Lennon did what they did well but I think their legend is greater than the men.McCartney is a heel
Paul McCartney Dismisses Rolling Stones As 'Blues Cover Band'
“I think our net was cast a bit wider than theirs,” the former Beatle told The New Yorker about the group's top musical rivals.www.huffpost.com
I’ve read that McCartney took over lead guitar from Harrison on many recordings. Also that Ringo had the respect of his peers for his seldom equaled, metronome-like ability to maintain their beat.
IMO, McCartney wanted to be a songwriter/musician in a band; an entertainer. He was and is a very talented musician and singer. He was and is a very talented musician who played the bass, lead guitar and piano expertly. McCartney was happy with the songwriting team he had with Lennon, and with the Beatles, and would always have wanted a reunion.
Lennon was a great songwriter whose partnership with McCartney created some tunes that will resonate for as long as Western pop music has fans. He was not willing to be JUSt a singer-songwriter-performer and that restlessness broke up the Beatles. His later career is filled with music that spoke to the issues of the day, many of which remain issues today.
IMO, McCartney wanted to be a songwriter/musician in a band; an entertainer. He was and is a very talented musician and singer. He was and is a very talented musician who played the bass, lead guitar and piano expertly. McCartney was happy with the songwriting team he had with Lennon, and with the Beatles, and would always have wanted a reunion.
Lennon was a great songwriter whose partnership with McCartney created some tunes that will resonate for as long as Western pop music has fans. He was not willing to be JUSt a singer-songwriter-performer and that restlessness broke up the Beatles. His later career is filled with music that spoke to the issues of the day, many of which remain issues today.
I also think John is the rare case where he legitimately wanted to make music SO personal that it made no sense to be from a band.
McCartney self titled is great and his best album imho…but it could have been a band’s album. Plastic Ono band is like John’s personal therapy session and would be just weird for an entire band to claim as their work.
The difference between the Beatles and what came before them is much wider than with the Beatles and 70s hard rock bands. I think we do not fully appreciate just how dark, heavy, violent, and sexual their sound and image was compared to the competition in the 1960s. Even the "good" rock 'n' roll that came before them that they were seeking to emulate and synthesize (e.g., rockabilly, classic Motown, Chuck Berry, etc.) was pretty far behind where they would have things by the get-go. Ringo is underrated in this -- he always played on the back half of the beat, which gave them a marvelously heavy sound that still comes through.
I read somewhere that in the history of the band, there were maybe ~10 takes ruined by a mistake in the drum part. Considering they recorded 200+ songs over the course of 7-8 years and had thousands of hours in the studio while doing that, that's pretty impressive. Ringo never had the flash of many of his contemporaries, but he was freakishly consistent. There's a reason the three guitarists wanted him when they were the first band in Liverpool to land a recording contract -- he was the best drummer in town and they knew it. And there's a reason he kept playing on their solo albums by invitation after the band broke up. John and George could have had any studio drummer in the world, and they often still picked Ringo to play on the best of their solo albums.
I don’t think you’re giving enough credit to the Stones, The Who, the Animals, even the (Young) Rascals. Just to name two from the Stones that were contemporary with early-to-mid Beatles, “Paint It Black” (1966) and “Satisfaction” (1965) were pretty dark, heavy, violent and sexual.
The Animals‘ House of the Rising Sun was 1964, their We Gotta Get Out of This Place was 1965 and Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood was also 1965.
The Who’s My Generation was ’65, Happy Jack ‘66.
A bit lighter and later, the Young Rascals brone out in ‘66 and ‘67 with Good Lovin’ and Groovin’.
The Who’s My Generation was ’65, Happy Jack ‘66.
A bit lighter and later, the Young Rascals brone out in ‘66 and ‘67 with Good Lovin’ and Groovin’.
