Del Boy
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Post by Del Boy on Dec 12, 2015 10:46:33 GMT
Got to disagree with you Bal on both counts. Firstly all of the Beatles achieved legendary iconic status by the time they split in late 1969.
At the time of John death people were hopeful of a Beatles reunion as Paul was finished with Wings and John had returned after several years out of the game. John's untimely death in the manner in which it happened was always going to heighten the public's affections for what he achieved. This is also true of Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix and many others singers and actors who passed on way to early.
I would agree that the Plastic ono Band stuff was somewhat of an acquired taste, but even that was a concept purposely sparse , Plastic in its production. Johns 1971 album Imagine is the best album work of any ex-Beatle. It wasn't cutting edge or hard rock being mainstream, but it definitely had hits that equalled the success of the fab four.
George and Paul both made some good albums but many were filled with weak tracks which is why i believe Imagine is the best album of the lot.
I would say that Paul's stretching it a bit now but you have to allow for the geezers age (he is 70 odd you know). And considering that it's about right, obviously his best years are long gone.
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Post by Superclassic on Dec 12, 2015 11:01:31 GMT
Obviously I am a big John Lennon fan......well,a fan of the Beatles both collectively and solo.Although some of the solo material from each Beatle could be dubbed 'below par' (only some-not all).I am too young to remember the killing:I would have been 6,and I have absolutely no memory of it happening.Strange,really-I remember some events in my life prior to Lennons' murder quite clearly.Some of the big events that happen in our lifetime really leave a big mark:Diana,9/11,and indeed the murder of John Lennon.We remember where we were when we heard the news.(although,as I just said,I don't have a recollection of the news,but I seemed to be aware of it shortly after).
The Double Fantasy album is always accused of being lightweight Lennon,but when blokes are living in domestic 'bliss',with a wife and young family,as John was at the time,the songwriting goes a touch soft.It happened with Macca,(although some critics of his work could say his songwriting has always been a bit soft,I'm not one of them)and it happened with Lennon.The early 70s didn't prove plain sailing with Lennon and he spent time in the company of drunks when he should really have known better,so the songwriting suffered there,too.However,there are still some excellent songs in the canon.What I will say is that I agree with music writers who down the years have stated that with either Lennons' solo work,or McCartneys' solo stuff,there always seemed to be something missing:they were better together,a line here,a little melody there,it just seemed to bring the songs onto another level.
Who knows what kind of legacy John would have had now if he were still here and the tragedy hadn't happened:after all,he was a Beatle,and they are bigger than ever,really.(although some of that may be down to the murder of Lennon kicking off the re-surgence all those years ago).I don't buy the opinion of Macca being a sad old man,he's just an old man doing what he's always done.I reckon John would have been the same.They would also have reformed,not for the full-on tour bit,I don't think,but they would have worked together again.It's a nice thought that I'll keep believing,even bitter George seemed ok with the anthology bit.
Rest In Peace,John:those 35 years have gone in a flash.
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Villain
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Post by Villain on Dec 12, 2015 15:34:46 GMT
Obviously I am a big John Lennon fan......well,a fan of the Beatles both collectively and solo.Although some of the solo material from each Beatle could be dubbed 'below par' (only some-not all).I am too young to remember the killing:I would have been 6,and I have absolutely no memory of it happening.Strange,really-I remember some events in my life prior to Lennons' murder quite clearly.Some of the big events that happen in our lifetime really leave a big mark:Diana,9/11,and indeed the murder of John Lennon.We remember where we were when we heard the news.(although,as I just said,I don't have a recollection of the news,but I seemed to be aware of it shortly after).
The Double Fantasy album is always accused of being lightweight Lennon,but when blokes are living in domestic 'bliss',with a wife and young family,as John was at the time,the songwriting goes a touch soft.It happened with Macca,(although some critics of his work could say his songwriting has always been a bit soft,I'm not one of them)and it happened with Lennon.The early 70s didn't prove plain sailing with Lennon and he spent time in the company of drunks when he should really have known better,so the songwriting suffered there,too.However,there are still some excellent songs in the canon.What I will say is that I agree with music writers who down the years have stated that with either Lennons' solo work,or McCartneys' solo stuff,there always seemed to be something missing:they were better together,a line here,a little melody there,it just seemed to bring the songs onto another level.
Who knows what kind of legacy John would have had now if he were still here and the tragedy hadn't happened:after all,he was a Beatle,and they are bigger than ever,really.(although some of that may be down to the murder of Lennon kicking off the re-surgence all those years ago).I don't buy the opinion of Macca being a sad old man,he's just an old man doing what he's always done.I reckon John would have been the same.They would also have reformed,not for the full-on tour bit,I don't think,but they would have worked together again.It's a nice thought that I'll keep believing,even bitter George seemed ok with the anthology bit.
Rest In Peace,John:those 35 years have gone in a flash. Good post there mate . Thirty five years since John was killed and nigh on twenty years since the Anthology stuff began to surface... I'm pretty sure had John lived, he'd have been just as involved with it as the other three were, although there were moments when they didn't all agree on what should be included and what should be left out. I can remember being as excited in 1995 about the prospect of unreleased Fabs recordings and out takes being made available as I was when 'It Was Twenty Years Ago Today' (a 20th anniversary Sgt.Pepper ) was aired on ITV back in 1987. Although often cited as a bit of a moaner, George certainly appeared to enjoy telling his stories when he did all his Anthology interviews, with plenty of good humour coming through. At that point in time, the band had split a quarter of a century earlier so they had a good perspective on it all by then. For anyone who still doesn't 'get' the Beatles and just how far in front of everyone else they were in their most creative period, just listen to the 1966 / 67 Anthology out takes and studio chatter, in particular the way the various takes of Strawberry Fields gather pace and change in atmosphere as they progress through each night's recording session. Magical stuff, almost other worldy sometimes and miles ahead of anything anyone else was writing or recording at the same time. Recorded in the depth of Winter when every journalist and his wife thought they'd split up without actually telling anyone, there is a very definite feeling of 'darkness' about the making of this great track. I've heard twenty four different bootlegged versions of the song so far, each take has something different about it which you can't quite put into words. Just before it was released, Paul and John invited Pete Townsend and Eric Clapton round to Macca's gaff in Cavendish Avenue for a preview, after listening to it Townsend was utterly astounded at what he'd just heard, he ask Macca to play it again several times and all he could say was ''f*cking hell, what do we do now...?" Eric just sat there speechless apparently! RIP John. Villain
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Villain
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Post by Villain on Dec 12, 2015 16:29:54 GMT
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