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

Wow, "Mull of Kintyre" to me has always sounded like one of those "this tune hasn't existed for hundreds of years?!" things. It's really beautiful imho, let down only by what Tom Ewing pegs as "standard Highlands postcard imagery." I think there's some memorable lyrical turns, and I'd take it over "Rocky Mountain High."

though most of this thread has been discussing paul's output, I suspect that Lennon will probably do very well in the top 20

some of those Linda songs are p cool btw, she's got great attitude

this playlist is more or less updated btw
https://open.spotify.com/user/betamaxdk/playlist/61os6iMh4h0qY70BawKB5U

seems nobody's mentioned "my mummy's dead" but what an urtext for lennon, will def be on my ballot

"one day at a time" is a nice deep cut from Mind Games in that proto-ariel pink vein

for some reason I really like "whatever gets you through the night"

makes a lot of sense that Lennon has a song called "gimme some truth", so many of his songs are attempts at expressing some existential/spiritual/political/deeply personal truth. I'd never thought much of it before reading this thread but, in contrast, paul indeed has a lot of gibberish songs

"long haired lady" is another cool RAM track

RAM and Flaming Pie are my fav Paul albums, BotR 3rd, and I could (but won't) vote for every track on them, shoutouts to "The Song We Were Singing" and "Heaven on a Sunday"

thread has for obv reasons not been too preoccupied with huge songs but "my sweet lord" is such a jam

too late but I think a fun side poll would have been album covers

can I do a mixed ballot?

listening to We All Stand Together and irl lolling at work paul you so crazy those frogs wtf

with something like Harrison's "You" can't help but think that any other singer (apart from Dylan) would have been thrashed by critics for that delivery

i've sorta been putting off the lennon deep listening, since george and ringo have more unknown territory for me, but it really is about time i cracked him open, it's been eons since i listened to some of those albums...

yeah i thought i was pretty thoroughly familiar with pre-double fantasy lennon but some of the tracks on some time in nyc really surprised me

albeit it was mostly yoko who surprised me

i think the only way i'm going to take advantage of the poll rules is through including a lot of yoko in my ballot. i went through her discography a few months ago but it still feels like i'm getting to know her as a (brilliant, lou reed-esque) songwriter

ringo at the peak of his powers on both plastic ono band records

otm. i love how Ringo's lack of pretension leads him to the craziest places. he's up for drumming on anything. bet if you ask him about the noisier avant garde material he would say "Oh yeah, we just jammed it out, lads" goofy peace sign

can I do a mixed ballot?

what do you mean?

Ringo is crazy good on Yoko's stuff, yeah.

this has got to be about the heaviest thing any of them ever did:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCb0TsSIqI0

Ringo getting into Neu territory on that track

for those wondering about how to fill their ballots, I will refer back to the initial posts where I tried to make it clear that *anything* a Beatle played on or had a hand in producing is eligible. So my ballot, for example, ranges well outside John/Paul/George/Ringo solo albums to include tracks from Yoko, Nilsson, David Bowie, the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, Ravi Shankar, Ronnie Spector, the Traveling Wilburys and even the Beach Boys

does this one count? not sure about McC's role in the final recording that Cilla Black released:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KyvGnJn5Ms

honestly just going through macca solo is filling out my ballot easily. i am voting for a ronnie spector track tho

that Cilla Black thing is tricky because really you'd have to vote for the demo, I guess? Macca isn't on her released version.

"greenfield morning" is such a cool song

This should get a few votes, George's high quality contribution to the Lethal Weapon II soundtrack
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YaDExzJxP0

it's on my list. I love the extended demonstration of his slide guitarin'.

"open your box"/"hirake" is just the coolest song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1VQahA0-dA

approximately infinite universe is one of the best double albums i can think of but i'd like to specifically rep for "catman"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YU5rbfx_Fo

song kinda makes me think of kate bush five years before kate bush

I can't stress enough how delighted I am that people have come around on Yoko's stuff so much. I get really irritated when I read people slagging her off and all the implied and/or expressed racism, sexism and rockism that comes along with it.

I'm very much in the camp that feels that Yoko reinvigorated John, opened his mind and - most importantly - made him happy.

i wish, btw, that george had stuck by covers a bit more! his rendition of "If Not For You" is just so lovely.

I always wanted to hear a George version of Patience by G'n'R

many thanks to ppl who've posted Yoko piano-y ballads itt

here's another incredible one that should be high on everyone's ballot
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLeZTKEVGVk

yep!!!

also maybe all of her songs on double fantasy are making my ballot

'Give Me Something' rules - New Wave Yoko at her finest.

"walking on thin ice" is the best song ever made by anyone let alone by someone who recorded with the beatles

Kiss Kiss Kiss made my ballot from Double Fantasy. Dirtbombs did a great cover of that.

and from Season of Glass:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULZrHWe3aZ0

finishing up lennon's discog today, how good is "old dirt road"?

I'd say it's pretty good. I didn't vote for it though. Nilsson sure liked it.

not sure whose version is better tbh

i'm not sure if i'm voting for it but it's a really nice moment on walls and bridges. def voting for "bless you" i think

"steel and glass" sure is "how do you sleep" but with the guitar riff transposed to to horns

"Bless You" is good. So much of that album ("What You Got") has this smoke-filled singles lounge vibe circa 1975.

I lamed out on Brainwashed, but am digging this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ytCkcYpxCQ

Wow,I had never heard Mrs.Lennon before but Alex Chilton sure did! It's a dead ringer for Holocaust, right?

Chilton acknowledged he lifted it iirc

Did not know that. Thanx.

lmao "secret friend" is like music made just for me

in 1980 paul mccartney invented balearic deep house