The Best Five Post Beatles Albums By John Lennon, Paul McCartney, & George Harrison
People love to off handily dismiss the solo work of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison and say that they were no good after The Beatles. And while it is true that they never quite reached the same level as The Beatles (but who has?) they really did release a number of great albums after "the greatest band of all time."
In this article I highlight five such albums that I recommend you give an honest listen to. Are any of these albums a match for Revolver, The White Album, or Abbey Road? No, not in my opinion. But not many albums are in that league! While these albums may not be true classics, they are (in some cases) very close to that status.
Paul McCartney - Ram (1971) - This album has a real "magic" to it. I think it may actually be Paul's best solo album because it unleashes his musical creativity in it's most unbridled way. Sadly, a lot of the music critics at the time just didn't get what Paul was doing and I think he backed away from this really quite "weird" (and I mean that in the best way) direction because of that.
John Lennon - Plastic Ono Band (1970) - John, Paul, & George all started off really strongly with their debut solo albums in my opinion. But it was probably this album by John that has had the most lasting impact. it's really revelatory in it's stripped down stark style. It's a very influential album.
George Harrison - All Things Must Pass (1970) - This one was a huge revelation as showed what a prolific songwriter George was He had a lot of songs built up from his time with The Beatles that he wasn't able to get onto Beatles albums thus this triple album came into being (the 3rd LP being instrumental jams.) Unfortunately he never came close to matching this album the rest of his career, in my opinion.
Paul McCartney & Wings - Band on the Run (1973) - This was Paul doing his "perfect album" thing (in the Sgt. Pepper / Abbey Road vein) and he does it very well. Of course it's not as good as those legendary Beatles albums, but it's still really really good. The title song is brilliant. But there's a lot of other really good stuff on the album too including "Let Me Roll It" which is a real classic.
John Lennon/Yoko Ono - Double Fantasy (1980) - The quality of Lennon's songs on his final album before his untimely death shows that Lennon still had some great music left in him. Sure these were probably Lennon's most purely "pop" songs he had recorded during his solo career but they weren't fluffy pop. These were (and are) great songs.
This list is not meant to be the top five and it's definitely not meant to be all inclusive. These are just five albums to check out so that you can get a taste of the great music John, Paul, & George kept making after they left The Beatles. - 23812
In this article I highlight five such albums that I recommend you give an honest listen to. Are any of these albums a match for Revolver, The White Album, or Abbey Road? No, not in my opinion. But not many albums are in that league! While these albums may not be true classics, they are (in some cases) very close to that status.
Paul McCartney - Ram (1971) - This album has a real "magic" to it. I think it may actually be Paul's best solo album because it unleashes his musical creativity in it's most unbridled way. Sadly, a lot of the music critics at the time just didn't get what Paul was doing and I think he backed away from this really quite "weird" (and I mean that in the best way) direction because of that.
John Lennon - Plastic Ono Band (1970) - John, Paul, & George all started off really strongly with their debut solo albums in my opinion. But it was probably this album by John that has had the most lasting impact. it's really revelatory in it's stripped down stark style. It's a very influential album.
George Harrison - All Things Must Pass (1970) - This one was a huge revelation as showed what a prolific songwriter George was He had a lot of songs built up from his time with The Beatles that he wasn't able to get onto Beatles albums thus this triple album came into being (the 3rd LP being instrumental jams.) Unfortunately he never came close to matching this album the rest of his career, in my opinion.
Paul McCartney & Wings - Band on the Run (1973) - This was Paul doing his "perfect album" thing (in the Sgt. Pepper / Abbey Road vein) and he does it very well. Of course it's not as good as those legendary Beatles albums, but it's still really really good. The title song is brilliant. But there's a lot of other really good stuff on the album too including "Let Me Roll It" which is a real classic.
John Lennon/Yoko Ono - Double Fantasy (1980) - The quality of Lennon's songs on his final album before his untimely death shows that Lennon still had some great music left in him. Sure these were probably Lennon's most purely "pop" songs he had recorded during his solo career but they weren't fluffy pop. These were (and are) great songs.
This list is not meant to be the top five and it's definitely not meant to be all inclusive. These are just five albums to check out so that you can get a taste of the great music John, Paul, & George kept making after they left The Beatles. - 23812
About the Author:
It's because of the greatness of The Beatles music (heard in The Beatles in Stereo & The Beatles in Mono box sets) that the solo work of John, Paul, & George is so often overlooked.
posted by X - Men at
1:16 AM
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