Solo Beatles

[Worm of Despite]

Once you've been a Beatle, there's nowhere to go but down, right? Actually, some of the post-Beatles material is excellent, a lot of it making a substantial impact on 70s rock.

So where to begin? Here's how I rank the top 5:

1) Plastic Ono Band, John Lennon (1970)
Stark, minimally-arranged songs where Lennon purges, well, just about everything there is to purge. Always direct, hard-hitting and tender by turns. Almost every track here is a gem; together with Joni Mitchell's Blue, this album is a reminder that there was a time in rock history, before David Bowie, when realness mattered. Ringo drums, Klaus Voorman plays bass, and Phil Spector "produces" in the most uncharacteristically minimal way imaginable. Essential for anyone with even a passing interest in Lennon's work.

2) All Things Must Pass, George Harrison (1970)
Harrison dug into his backlog of songs composed during his Beatle days, and came out with a brilliant double album (the third disc, a collection of tepid jams, is disposable). It's full of classic cuts, and he rarely misses the mark. The rest is solid but slightly monotonous, with Harrison adopting a mega-produced sound--huge choruses, booming drums, zillions of rhythm guitar tracks, and countless guest artists. The logical sonic extension of Abbey Road.

3) Imagine, John Lennon (1971)
Everyone's heard the title track, but there's more to this album than just one masterpiece. The production is more filled out than in Plastic Ono Band--usually to good effect. Most of the songs are entertaining, and some are memorable--especially the ballads. George Harrison plays lead (often slide) guitar on about half the tracks, and it's a major asset. Despite this, Lennon's musical ideas are already starting to narrow at this point, and his politicized lyrics are getting increasingly nasty.

4) Band on the Run, Paul McCartney (1973)
Certainly Paul's best solo effort. The lurching, thudding "Let Me Roll It" is one of his best rockers; "Jet" speeds along with soaring harmonies and tons of hooks; the title track, with a memorable slide guitar part, is both like an intricate mini-pop-symphony and a good-natured, live-in-the-studio sing-along joke tune. Some of the material is gimmicky (the "reprise" section close to the end of the record) or just shallow (the lyrics throughout), and Paul's fragmentary band at this point (himself, Linda in some capacity, and guitarist Denny Laine) sounds thin. But it's a good listen all the way through, with even the humorous numbers being enjoyable and fully-fleshed out. You'll want to put this on whenever you're in the mood for catchy, melodic, mid-tempo, medium-volume 70's rock.


Eh, can't think of a fifth album. Those are all the classics, anyway. Maybe Red Rose Speedway would be #5. Very solid album, and the experiments with structure and arrangement work.

[Damelon]

Once you've been a Beatle, there's nowhere to go but down, right?

Actually, as you point out, Harrison in particular, did rather well solo. The Beatles kind of held him back, creatively, since John & Paul thought of Harrison as a kid brother.

I also am fond of Wings.

[[Syl]]

Yeah, call me a heathen, but I liked Harrison's solo stuff a lot more than I liked The Beatles'. But then, I'm an Elvis man.

[Worm of Despite]

IMHO, George Harrison's solo career was an overall disappointment. The few songs he got onto Beatles records ("Taxman", "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", "Something", etc.) hinted at a genuine songwriting talent, and his debut solo album was a landmark, for sure. But a series of albums throughout the 70s suffered from creaking vocals, preachy lyrics, and an occasionally slipshod approach to production, despite top-notch session players and continuing support from 60s superstars like Eric Clapton and the other Beatles. By the 80s he had pretty much lost interest in music, shifting instead to a new career as a movie producer. Indeed, after 1987's Cloud 9 he stopped making studio albums completely, despite one live record and a couple of collaborations with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr on small side-projects, such as the Anthology series.

Another disappointment is the grudging realization that the Beatles were more than just an alliance of superstars; without the others, Harrison sometimes just couldn't deliver when it came to melodicism, production, and musical virtuosity. Same goes for John, Paul, and Ringo.

[Lord Zombiac]

Ringo Star-- Photograph
George Harrison-- isn't it a pity
John Lennon-- Instant Karma, Mother, God, Cold Turkey, Don't Worry Kyoko (mommy's only looking for her hand in the snow), Why
Paul McCartney-- Jet, Maybe I'm Amazed, London Town, Live and Let Die, Band on the Run, From a lover to a friend, with a little luck, Let 'em in

[Cail]

Paul- No More Lonely Nights, Spies Like Us, Maybe I'm Amazed

John- Working Class Hero, Beautiful Boy, Starting Over

George- All the Traveling Wilbury's stuff

Ringo- Meh. OK, Joe Walsh's cover of In My Car is awesome.

[High Lord Tolkien]

I always thought it was "Baby, I'm amazed"
Oh well.

[Lord Zombiac]

I always thought it was "Baby, I'm amazed"
Oh well.

I still have to look it up every time I cite it to make sure I don't make the same mistake myself!

[danlo]

John-Instant Karma, Free as a Bird, Mind Games, Happy Xmas (War is Over), Working Class Hero.

Paul-Mull of Kintyre, Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey medley, Too Many People, Rock Show, Band on the Run, Maybe I'm Amazed.

George-Wah-Wah, If Not For You, Living in the Material World, When We was Fab, What is Life?, Isn't it a Pity

Ringo-Photograph, No No Song

[Vader]

Yeah, call me a heathen, but I liked Harrison's solo stuff a lot more than I liked The Beatles'. But then, I'm an Elvis man.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1HUZO6haks