When did it all go wrong for Paul McCartney? (2 Viewers)

[Lefty Frizzell]

Christ, give it a rest you two or I'll send you both to bed early

Watching Mitchum argue is like watching Linda McCartney make vegetarian sausages. Savour it.

 

[Mitchum]

Watching Mitchum argue is like watching Linda McCartney make vegetarian sausages. Savour it.

C'mon...it's nonsense to suggest George only wrote three good Beatles songs & that his solo work stands over the songs he wrote in the Beatles?

I'm not alone in thinking this, surely?

 

[Wilbert]

I'd rate McCartney slightly higher that Lennon in the Beatles.
Not sure why because for every great McCartney song there is an equally good Lennon song.
I think McCartney's were more sophisticated and interesting though, but then Lennon wrote "I Am The Walrus" so it's really hard to know who is best.

Anyone seen the Howard Goodall documentary on The Beatles?
Here's a chunk

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[Wilbert]

C'mon...it's nonsense to suggest George only wrote three good Beatles songs & that his solo work stands over the songs he wrote in the Beatles?

I'm not alone in thinking this, surely?

He also wrote Savoy Truffle which is one of the best throwaway songs ever.

 

[rettucs]

no way

at 25 you don't know your arse from your elbow

I agree, generally. But how often has it happened that artists have released their masterpiece within their first or second albums, and have spent the rest of their careers trying to top it? It happens a lot.

Case in point, the current topic of discussion. Whatever about the Lennon vs McCartney argument (and I never understood why one was expected to take sides after their acrimonious split), neither came close to the stuff they did in the Beatles (in my humble meaningless opinion).

 

[ratmonkey]

Case in point, the current topic of discussion. Whatever about the Lennon vs McCartney argument (and I never understood why one was expected to take sides after their acrimonious split), neither came close to the stuff they did in the Beatles (in my humble meaningless opinion).

Because they each had their heads up their respective arses and no one was there to point out when something was shite?

 

[oh shit]

there was a good doc on radio 4 this morning about the end of the beatles, lots of great interview with lennon in which he profaned several times!

 

[Lefty Frizzell]

C'mon...it's nonsense to suggest George only wrote three good Beatles songs & that his solo work stands over the songs he wrote in the Beatles?

I'm not alone in thinking this, surely?

You're not alone but not many of his songs got onto beatles albums and even when they did some of them were stinkers; blue jay way.

He can't have written more than ten beatles songs surely.

For you blue is a great one.

 

[snakybus]

Because they each had their heads up their respective arses and no one was there to point out when something was shite?

I agree with this, yeah. With a band, sometimes you need that. Though lots of people come out with their best stuff when they split up with their band or when they're older - Paul Simon for example, Elliott Smith. Depends on the person I guess. Pop music is youth-centric, no doubt, though.

 

[cephalopod]

I agree with those who think the Frog Chorus gets a bad rep. I think its timeless, and children will still be happily humming along to it long after people conclude that Imagine is a piece of cod-commy idealistic hokum.

As for songwriters expiring at 25, well I would agree that many of the greats did their best work in their 20's at any rate. I recently found out that Born To Run was completed when Springsteen was in his early 20's...amazing

 

[Mitchum]

He can't have written more than ten beatles songs surely.

From With the Beatles (1963)
"Don't Bother Me"

From Help! (1965)
"I Need You"
"You Like Me Too Much"

From Rubber Soul (1965)
"Think for Yourself"
"If I Needed Someone"

From Revolver (1966)
"Taxman"
An alternate mix appears on Anthology 2 (1996)
"Love You To"
"I Want to Tell You"
From Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
"Within You Without You"
An instrumental version appears on Anthology 2 (1996)

From Magical Mystery Tour (1967)
"Blue Jay Way"
"Flying" (Lennon/McCartney/Harrison/Starkey)

From The Beatles (1968)
"While My Guitar Gently Weeps"
A demo appears on Anthology 3 (1996)
"Piggies"
A demo appears on Anthology 3 (1996)
"Long, Long, Long"
"Savoy Truffle"

From Yellow Submarine (1969)
"Only a Northern Song"
The rhythm track version with an alternate vocal take appears on Anthology 2 (1996)
"It's All Too Much"
A version with an extra verse appears in the film Yellow Submarine (1968).

From Abbey Road (1969)
"Something"
An early demo appears on Anthology 3 (1996)
"Octopus's Garden"
Co-written with George Harrison, but credited only to Richard Starkey
"Here Comes the Sun"

From Let It Be (1970)
"I Me Mine"
An unedited version appears on Anthology 3 (1996)
"Dig It" (Lennon/McCartney/Harrison/Starkey)
"For You Blue"
An early take appears on Anthology 3 (1996)

Non-album tracks
"The Inner Light," appearing as the B-Side of "Lady Madonna" (1968).
"Old Brown Shoe," appearing as the B-Side of "The Ballad of John and Yoko" (1969).
"Free as a Bird" (Lennon/McCartney/Harrison/Starkey), single (1995) and appearing on Anthology 1 (1996).
"Christmas Time (Is Here Again)" (Lennon/McCartney/Harrison/Starkey), appearing as the B-Side of "Free As A Bird" (1995).
"In Spite of All the Danger" (McCartney/Harrison), appearing on Anthology 1 (1996).
"Cry for a Shadow" (Harrison/Lennon), appearing on Anthology 1 (1996).
"You Know What to Do," appearing on Anthology 1 (1996).
"12-Bar Original" (Lennon/McCartney/Harrison/Starkey), appearing on Anthology 2 (1996).
"Not Guilty," appearing on Anthology 3 (1996).
"Los Paranoias" (Lennon/McCartney/Harrison/Starkey), appearing on Anthology 3 (1996).
"All Things Must Pass," appearing on Anthology 3 (1996).

Re: "The Frog Chorus"...small point of Beatles pedandtry-it's actually called 'We All Stand Together'.

Bum bum.

 

[Lefty Frizzell]

Mitchum you're a card.

 

[Goodbye]

Fuck it... Back on the ignore list

 

[Lefty Frizzell]

Fuck it... Back on the ignore list

I thought we were pals?

 

[oh shit]

he can't hear you now

 

[Lefty Frizzell]

This place is cold baby.

 

[Jerry Twig]

Mitchum you're a card.

he's simple as well. A heap of those songs are co-writes.

And Mitchum, I'll give you four songs then

 

[MDR]

In terms of the Beatles stuff, there was quite a bit co-writing between Lennon and McCartney, and not just in the sense of stitching each other's half songs together. From the White Album onwards, they were writing separately, or so the story goes. To be honest I think it's impossible to put one ahead of the other during the Beatles period. Sgt Peppers is Paul's best album - Sgt Peppers, get by with a little help, getting better, fixing a hole, she's leaving home, co-writing day in the life (he came up with the rising orchestra bit).

The 2 CD Wingspan compilation which also includes solo stuff is astonishingly good. Musically, after the Beatles, McCartney outstripped Lennon; lyrically Lennon was better, apart from his juvenile political stuff. Mccartney's song 'waterfall' on the second cd of the wingspan collection is fantastic.

McCartney's reputation suffers because he's done too many albums. Nobody can keep writing excellent songs at that rate. Dylan, Van Morrisson etc have all had lengthy dodgy patches too. McCartney's new song (everybody's goona be fine etc.) sounds very bland.

 

[Bunny]

Jesus! Good work

From With the Beatles (1963)
"Don't Bother Me"

From Help! (1965)
"I Need You"
"You Like Me Too Much"

From Rubber Soul (1965)
"Think for Yourself"
"If I Needed Someone"

From Revolver (1966)
"Taxman"
An alternate mix appears on Anthology 2 (1996)
"Love You To"
"I Want to Tell You"
From Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
"Within You Without You"
An instrumental version appears on Anthology 2 (1996)

From Magical Mystery Tour (1967)
"Blue Jay Way"
"Flying" (Lennon/McCartney/Harrison/Starkey)

From The Beatles (1968)
"While My Guitar Gently Weeps"
A demo appears on Anthology 3 (1996)
"Piggies"
A demo appears on Anthology 3 (1996)
"Long, Long, Long"
"Savoy Truffle"

From Yellow Submarine (1969)
"Only a Northern Song"
The rhythm track version with an alternate vocal take appears on Anthology 2 (1996)
"It's All Too Much"
A version with an extra verse appears in the film Yellow Submarine (1968).

From Abbey Road (1969)
"Something"
An early demo appears on Anthology 3 (1996)
"Octopus's Garden"
Co-written with George Harrison, but credited only to Richard Starkey
"Here Comes the Sun"

From Let It Be (1970)
"I Me Mine"
An unedited version appears on Anthology 3 (1996)
"Dig It" (Lennon/McCartney/Harrison/Starkey)
"For You Blue"
An early take appears on Anthology 3 (1996)

Non-album tracks
"The Inner Light," appearing as the B-Side of "Lady Madonna" (1968).
"Old Brown Shoe," appearing as the B-Side of "The Ballad of John and Yoko" (1969).
"Free as a Bird" (Lennon/McCartney/Harrison/Starkey), single (1995) and appearing on Anthology 1 (1996).
"Christmas Time (Is Here Again)" (Lennon/McCartney/Harrison/Starkey), appearing as the B-Side of "Free As A Bird" (1995).
"In Spite of All the Danger" (McCartney/Harrison), appearing on Anthology 1 (1996).
"Cry for a Shadow" (Harrison/Lennon), appearing on Anthology 1 (1996).
"You Know What to Do," appearing on Anthology 1 (1996).
"12-Bar Original" (Lennon/McCartney/Harrison/Starkey), appearing on Anthology 2 (1996).
"Not Guilty," appearing on Anthology 3 (1996).
"Los Paranoias" (Lennon/McCartney/Harrison/Starkey), appearing on Anthology 3 (1996).
"All Things Must Pass," appearing on Anthology 3 (1996).

Re: "The Frog Chorus"...small point of Beatles pedandtry-it's actually called 'We All Stand Together'.

Bum bum.

 

[Jerry Twig]

Jesus! Good work

It's called Wikipedia. The kid's a genius