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

Let's definitively decide which of the cuddly moptops had the best career outside of the Fab Four!

Some voting rules:
- Ballots can contain up to 100 tracks
- Points will be allotted per usual rules (no. 1 gets 100 pts, no. 100 gets 1 pt, etc.)
- [b]I'm going to allow any non-Beatles track that features the appearance of at least Beatle.[b] This means collaborative things like the Traveling Wilburys, Yoko Ono tracks that John plays on, Nilsson's Pussycats, "Badge" by Cream, McCartney + randos collabs etc. are all eligible.
- Ballots are due on FRIDAY, June 1st, 5pm PST. E-mail your ballots to audiobot at yahoo dotcom.

Let's do this
https://proxy.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2F78.media.tumblr.com%2F3b2bd462d1d8e4c57a8a62c6fd391fa0%2Ftumblr_nz7r43eyEb1qzy30io1_1280.jpg&f=1

lol html edit

I'm going to allow any non-Beatles track that features the appearance of at least Beatle.

ONE Beatle

this is off to a great start...

Very cool poll. Just to clarify, it's any track that a single Beatle made an appearance on? So in theory my #1 could be David Bowie's Fame?

yes

what about Billy Preston songs sans any other Beatle?

the girl is mine ftw

Billy Preson was not a Beatle, so no

frog chorus ftw

A few years ago I made extra Beatles albums, about another 12 or so going up to the early 80s, compiled from solo work & would like to share them here. Anyone know how I could do that. Mediafire would take them down, Mixcloud would block in the USA and nobody trusts torrents now.

dropbox links

Cool -- Tim Ellison and I have a new playground in which to continue our 15-year argument over why solo George ruled/sucked!

yr welcome

think you know where I fall on that divide

At this point isn't Paul going to win really easily?

I think the idea that any Beatle besides Paul has a prayer of winning this poll on ILX is folly

I, for one, don't rate Paul's solo career nearly as highly as others, apparently

Guess we should just poll it all and find out.

honestly I can see a scenario where Yoko actually tops the poll, people sure do love Walking on Thin Ice...

All POLLS Must Pass
It's Just ANOTHER POLL

or a Beatles-hater submitting a top 10 that's all Kanye, David Bowie, Elton John, Yoko, Nilsson, Michael Jackson, and the Wilburys

xp

Yoko's "Mind Train" will actually be really high on my ballot probably

The Ballot of John and Yoko and Paul and George and Ringo

^^^

love the 100-song ballot and the long voting period. once i'm through grading i will start hyping some lesser-loved tracks.

you really missed the boat by not calling this thread "Imagine All The Pre-POLLs"

POLL Those Years Ago

I'm just beginning to consider what to vote for and... finding it easier than I thought!

awesome, can't wait, 100 tracks is daunting but exciting. Plastic Ono Band lock for best album right?

ah just tracks, no albums

I wasn't planning on bothering with side polls for albums, individuals, etc. Tracks should speak for themselves imo

JL/POB wouldn't be my #1 in that imaginary albums poll.

It wouldn't be mine, either.

me neither

it's easy if you try

surely this is a lock for #1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjhRmOnoFBo

What format do you want them in? I guess something like

1. We All Stand Together - Paul McCartney & The Frog Chorus

will be ok.

never heard "Tandoori Chicken" before. wonder if it was the secret inspiration for "Cook of the House"

Am I the only person who likes "Say, Say, Say" better than "The Girl Is Mine?" I honestly hope not.

I could pretty much take dark horse, plastic ono, all things must pass and call it a day

Dark Horse is a fucking woeful record. One or two half-decent tracks ruined by George's vocals.

Am I the only person who likes "Say, Say, Say" better than "The Girl Is Mine?" I honestly hope not.

― Westworld more like Worstworld right? (Phil D.), Thursday, May 10, 2018 6:45 PM (seven minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

No, I too prefer 'Say Say Say' ... I'd take 'The Man' over 'The Girl Is Mine', too.

I would prefer the format to be like this:

[Artist] - [Song title]

No numbers necessary as long as they're in order (number one at the top etc)

gonna continue to rep for obscure George nuggets

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3s4ncKCE2g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVRmdrM0Mmg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCVe4pNMLW0

I like 'I Live For You' a lot - also, I seem to remember Kula Shaker nicking the riff from 'Ski-ing' for one of their B-sides.

or a Beatles-hater submitting a top 10 that's all Kanye, David Bowie, Elton John, Yoko, Nilsson, Michael Jackson, and the Wilburys

xp

― Οὖτις, Thursday, May 10, 2018 6:01 PM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Let's not forget The Smokin' Mojo Filters and... Oasis!

Live and Let POLL

Thomas The Tank Engine theme tune hereby nominated

? does not feature any Beatles.

while the votes are being counted up, general question:

what are the best documentaries that dedicate a significant amount of time to the solo, post-beatles years? is scorsese's Living in the Material World good? i thought the two short clips from the 1988 Imagine film i posted above were gripping, so i definitely plan on watching all of that. are there others i should seek out?

You should watch Material World. Clapton has a mordant sense of humor (his reaction to being asked what it would've been like if he'd replaced George in 1968), McCartney speaks affectionately and without smarm, and the Wilburys phase is a joy. The middle stretch is a drag, though, and offers few insights into his solo albums post-ATMP.

thanks! looks like Living in the Material World is up on Netflix, too.

is there anything worth watching that focuses on Paul? or actually, is there anything at all that focuses on him, worthwhile or not? my googling skills are failing me here but i can't seem to come up with much.

There's Wingspan from 2001. I have not seen any of it since it was first broadcast on TV.

There'll not be a decent documentary or book on McCartney until he's long dead, I suspect.

the Barry Miles book is generally well regarded?

It's not bad, but as a book it's very heavy on the Beatles years and I'm tired of reading about that part of McCartney's career, particularly since his post-Beatles career has hardly been uneventful and the Beatles years has been documented in forensic detail so much that there's really nothing new to say about that period anymore. He's had a long post-Beatles career, with a lot of material, and I'd rather hear more about all of that.

agreed

The Miles book is much better than "not bad." It is also semi-authorized, so goes out of its way to put a few narratives forward that McCartney felt got short-shrift (such as the "Paul was the experimental one" theme, which is strong). That said, I agree it would be great to get something that discusses his post-Beatles career -- particularly to get under the veneer of whimsical pop stardom which Paul has always glided on in a particularly friction-less way.

Exactly! I want to know what's under that veneer, and I suspect there's quite a few things under that veneer that McCartney deems "too personal" to let out into the public. I'm sure that McCartney has his "off" days (as we all do) and his moments of rampant ego (as I would expect from someone in his position) but McCartney has always been careful about his public image, so...

Hey, remember when McCartney got busted for cultivation in 1972? (Great excuse, btw.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYWX_hzkJ60

and AGAIN in Japan in 1980!?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhX_j26CApg

guy loves his weed

and AGAIN in 1984!?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RABMeIg14ds

is it the barry miles book where paul says "got to get you into my life" is about weed? bless

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7028/6477007523_b23188f083_o.jpg

well that's the best thing i've ever read

He's the only Beatle in the Anthology who doesn't show the slightest trace of anger or bitterness. George lets out an exasperated sigh or two (in addition to giving some serious side-eye to Paul when they're all sitting around a table like, "ugh, this fucking guy"), Ringo doesn't hide how much he hated playing live in '66, and they both sound particularly bitter about the Philippines debacle. But even when Paul's talking about the Philippines, or how the others wanted Allen Klein to manage them, he almost sounds cheerful.

holy hell that Scratch letter is great

Brad and Tarfumes OTM, that letter is a thing of beauty!

George lets out an exasperated sigh or two (in addition to giving some serious side-eye to Paul when they're all sitting around a table like, "ugh, this fucking guy"),

There's that moment when he looks like he's going to belt Paul after Paul suggests running through "Blue Moon of Kentucky."

i'm leaving civilization in a couple hours and by the time i get back this weekend i think the results will be fully rolled out.

looking forward to seeing how it all shakes* out when i get back!
*no pun intended

ok I got five more ballots over the weekend so voting is officially closed now!

wow @ Scratch letter, that's so great

The address alone!

There's that moment when he looks like he's going to belt Paul after Paul suggests running through "Blue Moon of Kentucky."

George Harrison was a sourpuss.

There. I said it.

stating the obvious there

george wrote more songs about money than any other beatle

haha that scratch letter is tremendous

and what's up with that band (wings??) live in Japan video, rocking out!

just discovered there's a results thread going!

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

just re-downloaded the pre-voting listening playlist. which still rules. thanks again!

also just deleted two dozen songs performed and added to the playlist by an acoustic singer-songwriter named "Stewart Harding" ...

Stewart Harding, American singer/songwriter. After toiling in obscurity for the greater part of 2 decades, Harding finally got his big break after posting two dozen songs to a Spotify playlist for a Beatles poll run by internet messageboard ILM[3]. After listening all the way through hundreds of solo Beatles songs, many ILM music fans found themselves mesmerized by the inventive, playful yet melodic Beatles-influenced songs written and performed by Harding. Soon a thread dedicated to Harding's music was posted to ILM[4]. Soon thereafter, the rapturous reception of Harding's music led to a multi-album recording contract with EMI.

okay fess up which one of us is inventive, playful and melodic singer-songwriter Stewart Harding

I believed Karl's amazing story.

it isn't my story. it's the story of all of us who ever dreamed of finally hitting it big by tacking on some of our songs to someone else's public playlist[2].

hahah

the wonder of it all baby

It’s just another day.

but you know who should have put their songs on the playlist to get a big break? Weyes Blood! do y'all know about this artist? she has her own thread - Weyes Blood - but i'm mentioning her here because her songs in my friend's quarantine playlist really scratch the solo Beatles itch for me. check out "Something to Believe" - like a lost George/John teamup album cut if they'd gotten Nico in to sing, sorta.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mt2o_VMWiEw

bit of "Without You" too, I suppose

weyes blood is a rapturously beloved ilm favorite, i think she reached the top ten of both end-of-year polls last year

Love this. I got those vibes a lot too, Doc.

(y'know only she's better)

haha well the secret's out that i'm behind on my old habit of weeding through the annual polls as my primary means of keeping up with "new" music

Ha ha - join the club. Though I'm (recently) up to date with Weyes Blood.

Ha! I just made a playlist for a friend and put "Something to Believe" right next to "All Things Must Pass". The new Weyes Blood album makes me want to go back in time and force George Harrison and Karen Carpenter to collaborate.

A new angle on my theory that Ringo's solo career should largely have consisted of country-flavored duets: they should have been produced and arranged by George, and Karen Carpenter should have been a regular guest.

If you're looking for another recent track that's a cousin of All Things Must Pass, try this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1H1SXeDQcm8

hey should have been produced and arranged by George, and Karen Carpenter should have been a regular guest.

I like this so long as George insists on Karen drumming.

All Things Must Pass album, I should say, not the track. And it starts out more Esher demo.

x-post

very Esher demo! nice pick.