The Solo Beatles

I went back and re-listened to some things this week and I've taken a second/third pass at my solo Beatles evaluation - I'm one of those annoying people who find themselves in the "better together than apart" camp, although I think they probably broke up at the right time, before things REALLY went south:

John - definitely the best solo Beatle IMHO, although he could be wildly uneven, which even he himself admitted. I agree with the idea he was often trying to be artsy and political to be edgy and avante garde, especially with the "Some Time In NYC" album, a record even he admitted was an almost total failure. However, at least he was trying to make some statements and a lot of his lyrics are really deep, unlike Sir Paul. "Plastic Ono Band" is brilliant, but one of the most depressing things every recorded (ditto with "Cold Turkey," a definite skip track/single). "Imagine" is quite good as are "Mind Games" and "Walls and Bridges." "Rock and Roll" was something he had to crank out due to copping bits of a Chuck Berry song for "Come Together," but there are some decent covers here and there, especially "Stand By Me." I think "Instant Karma" and "Power to the People" are absolutely magnificent singles. "Double Fantasy" and "Milk and Honey": unlike a lot of fans, I think John had a clutch of excellent commercial and highly enjoyable tunes for those two albums. Many critics said his 1980 stuff was crap and Yoko's was brilliant. I don't know about you, but I'd rather listen to my cat whine than Yoko Ono "sing." Right now I have the 2 CD "Working Class Hero" which collects most of the best stuff.

Yoko recently announced remastered John albums and a boxed set like last year's Beatles box, a treasure which I own and love. I have to look at the price and see if I think it's really worth it (or if one of the two new compilations are a better buy, since John could be inconsistent).

Paul - mostly bubblegum garbage. I've heard all of his solo stuff and I'm not really impressed. Without John helping/pushing/prodding, he's a chronic under-achiever.

George - a few songs here and there, NOTHING Jeff Lynne produced. Don't care for Lynne's "I make everyone sound just like ELO" motto. Again, I can skip it all and be perfectly happy.

Ringo - ah, no one expected much from the lad, then came "It Don't Come Easy" and the "Ringo" album. Suddenly he was the best-selling solo Beatle until the inevitable difficulty of repeating that success and too much drugs and booze (often in the company of John) in the mid-1970s stalled his career. If you only want one album by Ringo, I guess I'd go with "Photograph: Best of." Harmless, dumb fun, which is more than I can say for George and Paul. DUCKS!

IMHO none were ever as good solo as they were when they were The Beatles, but to this day, John holds the greatest interest for me as a solo artist.