What do John Lennon and George Harrison have in common?
Beyond the obvious, dimnut.
The greatest solo albums they released were their first and their last (no, i don't mean VIRGINS or WONDERWALL, nutbush). I don't think there is anything profound or mystical in this. The circumstances of their final albums were different, as George probably knew he was working on his last. Yet it's a curiosity worth mentioning, these wonderful bookends, John's PLASTIC ONO BAND and DOUBLE FANTASY, and George's ALL THINGS MUST PASS and BRAINWASHED. It's possible that casual fans don't know George's last album. Alternately buoyant and serene, irreverent and devout, it's wonderful and amazing from start to finish. How it got largely overlooked, even by Beatle fans, is a cause for head-shaking.
Paul, of course, won't follow this pattern, even if his final album is as good as BAND ON THE RUN. And Ringo, well Ringo is of course Ringo. It's been argued that nothing the Beatles did solo lived up to their output as a unit. This may be true, but that observation is also a loaded one, dripping with self-fulfilling prophecy and measuring something against a previous accomplishment when it ought be measured only against itself. I loved Paul's stuff first, because it was more prominent on the radio when i grew up. And then i heard "Imagine", and knew that John was not only my favorite Beatle, but also my favorite musician, period. Paul has been abused because he's not John. This is an attitude worthy of a moron, and it's time to put it to rest. Quantitatively and qualitatively, he's arguably the greatest songwriter of the twentieth century, in the company of only Cole Porter and Paul Simon. As for Ringo, bless him, i defy anyone to listen to the PHOTOGRAPH anthology, and tell me he didn't hold up his end of the legacy. It took a longer time for me to come around to George's music, because of the god stuff. But when i finally lifted that rock...well, i refuse to pick a favorite solo Beatle. There are some absolute wonderments of his you probably don't know. Like the demo version of "Let it Down" on the ALL THINGS 2001 reissue. Freed from Spector's overproduction, this song is all that one voice and one guitar could be. The CONCERT FOR GEORGE tribute album...i could write a whole blog on what Clapton, McCartney, and the others created that night. The songs "Here Comes the Moon", "Soft-hearted Hana", and above all the achingly beautiful "Someplace Else". And of course everything George did with the Wilburys. I wonder, had John lived, would he have created a similar band with Elton, Nillson, Bowie, Ringo, and maybe a wild card like Roger Waters?
The lads seem to be shuffling off this mortal coil at regular intervals. If this continues, we'll have one of them until 2040.
No wagering, please.
No comments:
Post a Comment