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

here we go!

Some general stats:
- A whopping 476 individual tracks received votes
- Not surprisingly, the general split between members had a lot to do with the volume of their respective outputs. In terms of songs they played on that got votes, Paul had 232, John had 117, George had 119 and Ringo had 58.
- In terms of overall points McCartney was again favored just by virtue of the fact that so many of his songs were voted for. So in terms of the points allotted to songs they played on, Paul had 47,173, John had 42,892, George got 34,472, and Ringo got 32,013.

Bear in mind these statistics have little bearing on where songs actually place in the poll results. I'm going to roll these out pretty fast, starting from 100.

down for a fast rollout

Alright!! This is going to be cool.

100. Calico Skies - Paul McCartney (feat. Paul) (320 points, 5 votes)
http://images.45worlds.com/f/cd/paul-mccartney-8565002-4-cd.jpg

aw what a lovely song to start with

has anybody already started a spotify playlist / should i?

99. Getting Closer - Wings (feat. Paul) (328 points, 7 votes)
http://images.45cat.com/wings-getting-closer-1979-16.jpg

do it, brad

YEAH

I'M GETTING CLOSERRRR

my salamander

98. Long Haired Lady - Paul & Linda McCartney (feat. Paul) (342 points, 7 votes)
http://webpages.charter.net/ram71/01-11-71h%20Ram%20Sessions%20Long%20Haired%20Lady.jpg

kinda loving the images you found shakey

spotify playlist btw https://open.spotify.com/user/unbornwhiskey/playlist/2NrZx1eW2LzUZLqLyYfZyt?si=T2ZY6GH9RpG0dAclcgxBDA

97. Give Peace A Chance - John Lennon (feat. John) (344 points, 7 votes)
https://www.beatlesbible.com/wp/media/john-lennon-give-peace-a-chance.jpg

ugh what an endless song

kudos to john i guess for writing a protest song that's as simple and direct as a slogan but actually listening to it sucks imo

otm

yeah the song is not good

i feel bad for "long haired lady"

96. How? - John Lennon (feat. John, Ringo) (346 points, 5 votes)
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81kJinEks%2BL.jpg

and here's the first (of many!) songs released under a non-Beatle's name and featuring a Beatle

95. Greenfield Morning I Pushed An Empty Baby Carriage All Over The City - Yoko Ono (feat. John) (349 points, 5 votes)
https://assets.catawiki.nl/assets/2017/9/30/6/b/5/6b5a2c66-ef2c-4a52-ad1c-7034118e5c9f.jpg

side two of imagine is one of my favorite sides of any record ever and “how?” is a big reason why; wandering, cosmic john is maybe my favorite mode of his

"greenfield" is the first yoko track i put on my ballot, it is just wild

94. Crippled Inside - John Lennon (feat. John, George) (359 points, 5 votes)
https://static.wixstatic.com/media/e58f00_cf3f3d8fec06478cbbb5c7f708602744.jpg/v1/fill/w_498,h_459,al_c,q_90/file.jpg

93. Oh My Love - John Lennon (feat. John) (363 points, 5 votes)
http://images.45cat.com/john-lennon-instant-karma-1992-6.jpg

92. What A Bastard The World Is - Yoko Ono (feat. John) (364 points, 5 votes)
http://images.45worlds.com/f/ab/yoko-ono-yang-yang-1973-8-ab.jpg

"crippled inside" is kinda like if the sound of jl/pob were turned inside out, jaunty ass tune about depression

somehow missed calico skies in my runthrough, what a gorgeous little song

god this is goin' real fast lol

"what a bastard the world is" is just perfect songwriting and storytelling

YES! Two Paul songs that I would have voted for 'Calico Skies' and 'Getting Close', and one John that I would have voted for 'Oh My Love' - which is way too low. I really should have submitted that ballot.

(*'Getting Closer')

pretty irritated that this beat the above Yoko tune, I must say. A worse song in every way imho.

91. Mull Of Kintyre - Wings (feat. Paul) (368 points, 6 votes)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/fd/Mull_of_Kintyre_%28Wings_song_cover_art%29.jpg/220px-Mull_of_Kintyre_%28Wings_song_cover_art%29.jpg

voted for long haired lady i think, love linda's honky backing vocals

kudos to john i guess for writing a protest song that's as simple and direct as a slogan but actually listening to it sucks imo

― flamenco blorf (BradNelson), Monday, June 4, 2018 4:34 PM (eleven minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

This is OTM.

90. Monkberry Moon Delight - Paul & Linda McCartney (feat. Paul) (370 points, 6 votes)
http://images.45cat.com/curtiss-mason-monkberry-moon-delight-columbia.jpg

also fyi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bL6GJ10OBPE

'Mull of Kintyre' is an absolute classic - brilliant song, and a million-seller in the UK too. No way is 'Monkberry Moon Delight' better.

pretty irritated that this beat the above Yoko tune, I must say. A worse song in every way imho.

fair exchange for “give peace a chance” even appearing. also i assume most ballots weren’t full of yoko songs

“mull of kintyre” is good

comments claim Screamin' Jay said Paul had written the song with him in mind, which makes a lot of sense really

xp

“monkberry” is such a great song and also a solid lol every time i hear it

WELL I KNOW MY BANANA IS OLDER THAN THE REST!

absolutely adore monkberry moon delight.

it's my favorite paul song and i voted for it at #3

So I sat in the attic, a piano up my nose,
And the wind played a dreadful CANTATA.

(can-ta-ta)
(can-ta-ta)

i like mull of kintyre, one of the rare occasions that i don't head for the hills when i hear bagpipes

i really should've voted for "calico skies," dang

I've gotten so many pedantic remarks on my blog about Yoko: WELL SHE WASN'T A BEATLE YOU KNOW

And Im like, "Well, yeah, she was. After she refused George Martin's invitation to join in 1962, she consoled herself with dating Paul a couple years, after which she joined on second wind."

89. Power to the People - John Lennon (feat. John) (376 points, 6 votes)
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51s9grx-mwL._SX355_.jpg

88. One of These Days - Paul McCartney (feat. Paul) (394 points, 7 votes)

I pretty much know duck-all about Solo Beatles, but “Temporary Secretary” (a recent discovery) led me to McCartney II — and the above closing track is a very fine song.

McCartney II is pretty much the hipster/Pitchfork readers choice.

Yr starting at the wrong end of the list morris

The first 4 or 5 tracks (and that final track) are great — for a minute I was like, “Is this gonna be a one-guy skewed bedroom-pop classic? — but then there’s some real bloozy shmooz in the middle. I do like a few of the instrumentals. I guess it was a big deal for a guy like McCartney to release an album full of that stuff, showing that he’s not weighed down by his rep?

It also sent me off listening to other stuff that seemed related in my personal taxonomy, like Fred Frith’s Cheap at Half the Price (that’s a lot more “unconventional,” of course).

Nah, he'd already released McCartney ten years prior, which was mostly him pissing about at home. In between those two, it was all stuff with (Paul McCartney &) Wings and Ram (which was billed as a Paul & Linda album) ...

The first album released solely under his name (i.e. not Wings) to have high production values is Tug of War, which was designed to be a blockbuster.

The first Wings album sounds like it was written and recorded in the same amount of time as it takes to listen to it!

Hmm. I tried listening to the first McCartney LP, but it didn’t jibe (“Maybe I’m Amazed” notwithstanding)

Usually I do dig “musician messing around with a multitrack and lots of instruments” type albums

mccartney I is more interesting than mccartney II imo, the later album has some cool stuff but feels way blander than its reputation

It's a mixed bag of stuff - 'Junk' and 'Teddy Boy' were songs that didn't make it onto The Beatles, I think 'Hot as Sun' was written pre-Beatles even (I'll have to double check that) ... most of the songs were just made up as he was recording. 'Maybe I'm Amazed' is the best song on there, IMO, and it's tempting to think of it as an obvious Beatles single had they stayed together.

The reputation of MII comes from its re-release during a particular time: the apogee of Hot Chip, Junior Boys, etc. Lots of stories praising "Secret Friend," for example.

The first McCartney is pretty much McCartney pissing about at home and trying to take his mind off the whole Beatles fall-out, whereas McCartney II was McCartney pissing about at home in between Wings projects and possibly trying to come up with something for the next Wings album. 'Wonderful Christmastime' came out of the same sessions.

Of course, the Japan thing happened and Wings broke up and a solo album was cobbled together from the demos.

one of these days >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> maybe I'm amazed

This isn't the controversial opinions thread.

one of these days >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> maybe I'm amazed

no way. more like
one of these days >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> maybe I'm amazed

otm

like mccartney ii isn’t the best mccartney record or anything but it’s got a lot of cool stuff on it

McCartney II is pretty much the hipster/Pitchfork readers choice.

not Ram?

I agree. It's not the best McCartney album but nor is it down there with his worst (Pipes of Peace, Off the Ground) and it does have some neat stuff on it. 'One of These Days' is a middle table McCartney song at best, though, whereas 'Maybe I'm Amazed' is one of his finest songs.

Ram is another one beloved by hipsters and Pitchfork readers, yeah. I'm glad they haven't discovered Back to the Egg or Flowers in the Dirt yet.

i don’t really give a shit about who particularly prioritizes ram, a great record

iirc it made vh1’s 100 greatest records ever, it’s reputation cant be isolated to pfork in the way mccartney ii’s can

i apologize for enjoying this pbr. i hope the other bar patrons don’t discover the wonders of peroni or modelo especial

man, I've tried to like Ram but can't get beyond the obvious stuff and "Eat at Home." Give me Press to Play and Flowers in the Dirt.

Alfred OTM, and I like Ram!

“One of These Days” is one of those (rare) songs whose melody feels both ingenious/inspired and natural/“inevitable,” if that makes sense.

Like, “someone had to compose this melody sooner or later, it makes perfect sense, and it’s beautiful”

(But also — “it took a great songwriter to do it”)

otm x3

I understand hearing it as middling McCartney. but it's one of those simple, sad, understated songs that, if you they get to you and hit you at the right time, they become favorites, unspeakably beautiful and suddenly offering shelter, inspiration. I had McCartney II for three years and knew the song before I got stuck on it.

“One of These Days” is one of those (rare) songs whose melody feels both ingenious/inspired and natural/“inevitable,” if that makes sense.

― i stan corrected (morrisp), Sunday, January 20, 2019 3:34 AM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Like, “someone had to compose this melody sooner or later, it makes perfect sense, and it’s beautiful”

― i stan corrected (morrisp), Sunday, January 20, 2019 3:35 AM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

(But also — “it took a great songwriter to do it”)

― i stan corrected (morrisp), Sunday, January 20, 2019 3:40 AM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

This pretty much sums up a lot of McCartney ballads to me. At his best, he makes it sound all so effortless.

i don’t really give a shit about who particularly prioritizes ram, a great record

Of course but I haven't heard every great record played multiple times in different coffee shops.

The echo on Paul’s voice on One of These Days is sublime.

The first /McCartney/ is pretty much McCartney pissing about at home and trying to take his mind off the whole Beatles fall-out, whereas /McCartney II/ was McCartney pissing about at home in between Wings projects and possibly trying to come up with something for the next Wings album. 'Wonderful Christmastime' came out of the same sessions.

Of course, the Japan thing happened and Wings broke up and a solo album was cobbled together from the demos.

I ranked his solo top tens. He had a lot.

Where’s Uncle Albert?

ah yes -- corrected!

'My Love' and 'Live and Let Die' both far too low, but no complaints about anything at the top.

'Spies Like Us' is aural excrement, IMO. The sound of McCartney phoning it in and scraping the bottom of the barrel for a good idea.

I adore "FourFiveSeconds" but it's hard to compare - my faves here are probably "Uncle Albert," "Goodnight Tonight," "Band on the Run," and "Take It Away."

man, I've tried to like /Ram/ but can't get beyond the obvious stuff and "Eat at Home."

we'll never agree about "Uncle Albert."

I can’t do uncle albert

first track is the best probably

ram is fucking amazing

too many catchy tunes, it’s hard to RATE

too many reaching for a piece of cake imo

I didn't like it when I first got it, probably around age fourteen or so, early '80s. I went back and listened to these albums in the late '90s (bought a number of them for cheap again at used record stores) after reading Barry Miles' McCartney book and having my perspective on McCartney changed. I realized how great I thought it was then, but I do wonder why I didn't have the same realization earlier.

I think it has to do with the production. There's something a bit ramshackle-Beatles-White-Album still going on. That works for McCartney's songs on the White Album, where you have variety and they're offset by everyone else's songs, but you have to do a deep dive to appreciate it for a whole album length.

Alfred, ever hear Thrillington? I always say that album reflects really favorably on how good Ram is compositionally.

No, but I should

ram on...give your heart to somebody...sooooooon right awayyyyy

i still don't get how ram was so underrated in this poll. how is "the back seat of my car" not obviously top 5 for instance

Agree - it was my #1.