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Post by Joe Karlosi on Jan 20, 2010 20:02:07 GMT -5
I couldn't resist mentioning the following. I've just watched the DVD celebrating John's 1970 PLASTIC ONO BAND album. I've always thought it was a great album, but watching this special really made me appreciate it even more as a work of sheer genius. I don't usually go in for the "John vs Paul" thing, but I have to say that Paul McCartney could NEVER have pulled off a great and heartfelt personal album like Lennon's PLASTIC ONO BAND. Paul came sort of close with CHAOS AND CREATION, but it's nowhere near as personal or intense. Both John and Paul were great, but I don't think Paul's ever come close to achieving anything like JOHN LENNON/PLASTIC ONO BAND.
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Post by sayne on Jan 20, 2010 20:55:23 GMT -5
. . . I don't think Paul's ever come close to achieving anything like JOHN LENNON/PLASTIC ONO BAND. Don't worry Return to Pepperland, I've got your back. I'll take this one. . . . and John has never come close to achieving anything like C Moon and Mary Had a Little Lamb. So there! ;D But, seriously, I don't think many people can really expose themselves as John did (pun intended). I think the nude photos John took with Yoko were literal manifestations of where John could go lyrically. Dylan, as great as he was, hid behind metaphors. Paul hid behind characters. John, could hide with the best of them, but he also put himself out there like no other.
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Post by hotassun on Jan 22, 2010 10:28:25 GMT -5
Those two songs are awful, but nothing comes close to "Forgive Me, My Little Flower Princess". Absolutely, the worst song by a first rate artist in the history of first rate artists......
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Post by joshferrell on Jan 22, 2010 23:44:51 GMT -5
to me "Forgive Me, My Little Flower Princess" sounds unfinished compared to the other tracks from the same sessions,it sounds (to me) like it could have been a "walls and Bridges" out take (cough,"bless you",cough) just not as good..and not as "produced" or not as dark..to me 'double fantasy"/"milk & honey" were upbeat and "flower" simply just doesn't fit and sticks out like a sore thumb
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Post by joshferrell on Jan 22, 2010 23:50:44 GMT -5
I couldn't resist mentioning the following. I've just watched the DVD celebrating John's 1970 PLASTIC ONO BAND album. I've always thought it was a great album, but watching this special really made me appreciate it even more as a work of sheer genius. I don't usually go in for the "John vs Paul" thing, but I have to say that Paul McCartney could NEVER have pulled off a great and heartfelt personal album like Lennon's PLASTIC ONO BAND. Paul came sort of close with CHAOS AND CREATION, but it's nowhere near as personal or intense. Both John and Paul were great, but I don't think Paul's ever come close to achieving anything like JOHN LENNON/PLASTIC ONO BAND. as far as this..I feel that it's just not paul style to sing about Angst and Pain and if he did do an album like that people would say he's trying to copy john and it wouldn't come off as being real or sincere ..
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Post by Deleted on Jan 23, 2010 5:55:17 GMT -5
I couldn't resist mentioning the following. I've just watched the DVD celebrating John's 1970 PLASTIC ONO BAND album. I've always thought it was a great album, but watching this special really made me appreciate it even more as a work of sheer genius. I don't usually go in for the "John vs Paul" thing, but I have to say that Paul McCartney could NEVER have pulled off a great and heartfelt personal album like Lennon's PLASTIC ONO BAND. Paul came sort of close with CHAOS AND CREATION, but it's nowhere near as personal or intense. Both John and Paul were great, but I don't think Paul's ever come close to achieving anything like JOHN LENNON/PLASTIC ONO BAND. it's to late now for Paul to even attempt to to match this album...he's to old...his voice wouldn't cut it...his insistence on moon/june rhymes wouldn't work anyway....
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Post by Joe Karlosi on Jan 23, 2010 6:26:48 GMT -5
to me "Forgive Me, My Little Flower Princess" sounds unfinished compared to the other tracks from the same sessions, Same here. It's incomplete, which is why I can't really fault it. We don't know what it would have become, or if John would have even issued it on MILK AND HONEY, had he lived.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 23, 2010 7:43:38 GMT -5
to me "Forgive Me, My Little Flower Princess" sounds unfinished compared to the other tracks from the same sessions, Same here. It's incomplete, which is why I can't really fault it. We don't know what it would have become, or if John would have even issued it on MILK AND HONEY, had he lived. I agree...it was basically a demo..he never got to flesh it out...
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Post by sayne on Jan 23, 2010 11:24:06 GMT -5
. . . he's to old...his voice wouldn't cut it...his insistence on moon/june rhymes wouldn't work anyway.... I don't know about the "moon/june" reference, but don't you think his voice would work if he took a Johnny Cash w/Rick Rubin approach? (Yes, I know . . . as if)
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Post by ursamajor on Jan 23, 2010 16:15:08 GMT -5
Those two songs are awful, but nothing comes close to "Forgive Me, My Little Flower Princess". Absolutely, the worst song by a first rate artist in the history of first rate artists...... oh well .. each to their own.. I love that song and the acoustic demo is far superior to what we hear on Milk and Honey... it's a very catchy and melodic little tune ..
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Post by ursamajor on Jan 23, 2010 16:28:39 GMT -5
I couldn't resist mentioning the following. I've just watched the DVD celebrating John's 1970 PLASTIC ONO BAND album. I've always thought it was a great album, but watching this special really made me appreciate it even more as a work of sheer genius. I don't usually go in for the "John vs Paul" thing, but I have to say that Paul McCartney could NEVER have pulled off a great and heartfelt personal album like Lennon's PLASTIC ONO BAND. Paul came sort of close with CHAOS AND CREATION, but it's nowhere near as personal or intense. Both John and Paul were great, but I don't think Paul's ever come close to achieving anything like JOHN LENNON/PLASTIC ONO BAND. Glad to see you went out and bought it Joe. It's a real revelation about John that we don't often get to see. The genius is in the simplicity. When they break down a track to the drums or bass it sounds like almost nothing, blank space.. but when you put it all together with John's voice you get an amazing song, it works perfectly. The word one of the engineers used was ingenius and I would agree with that. With Paul, I would say he was the opposite, he preferred fleshed out productions. I would say McCartney is his POB musically, something that would match the simplicity of POB and Chaos moreso with the lyrics .. BUT.. Paul still had a father and a brother when his mother died .. he didn't go to bed feeling like he had no one. That's why I don't think Paul could sing the way John did on POB, literally primal screaming. I think POB is something Paul would not ever do, it's just not in his makeup / personality. He does not have the emotional scars for it.
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Post by vectisfabber on Jan 23, 2010 20:02:22 GMT -5
And not everyone likes JLPOB. Respect it, yes: like it, no. I like my music a great deal lighter.
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wooltonian
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Post by wooltonian on Jan 24, 2010 3:38:54 GMT -5
And not everyone likes JLPOB. Respect it, yes: like it, no. I like my music a great deal lighter. Agree. (In fact, I vaguely remember starting a thread on Steve's old board along similar lines.) Can't remember the last time I actually played JLPOB all the way through. Sacrilege.
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Post by Panther on Jan 24, 2010 5:30:41 GMT -5
For me, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band is the tightest and best Beatles "solo" album. There is certainly a place that Lennon was capable of reaching, emotionally and lyrically, that no other artists could. The closest equivalents would be the "confessional" (though I hate that term) songs of Joni Mitchell circa 1970-71, and the raw fury of early punk rock artists in London (c.1977) and Los Angeles (c.1980). The fact that John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band ties together Joni Mitchell and The Sex Pistols is enough reason in itself to say that it's a remarkable achievement. It's honest and confessional, but not wimpy. It's tough, loud, and primal, but not insensitive or cartoonish. It's catchy and direct musically, but it's completely uncompromising and pure. It's arty and weird, but it's easy to listen to and popular.
Now, obviously, we wouldn't want every record to be like this, because you do have to be in the right mood to listen to an album this intense. But for what it is, there is absolutely nothing better.
Another great thing about this record is how austere and stripped down it is. There is not an ounce of flab on the bones of this record. Ten (and a half) tight, perfectly constructed songs, with minimal arrangements. We hear pure Lennon on every track, without horns, synths, strings, or producers (or Yoko -- whew!) getting in the way.
I'll take it one step further and state that I think this is the best album of the 1970s. It's certainly doesn't suffer comparison to records like Joni Mitchell's Blue or Dylan's Blood On The Tracks, and, as I stated above, it has a lot more power and rock'n'roll energy than those. (Ringo almost outdoes John Bonham on a couple of those tracks!)
Another thing not appreciated about this album is how AMAZING the vocals are. This is some of the finest singing ever recorded, as far as I'm concerned. Who else but John can verge from the vocal on "Love" to the vocal on "Well, Well, Well"?
It's curious that he didn't record anything in this way again. Certainly his vocals on Imagine are not nearly as good -- it sounds like he's rushing those vocals out as quickly as he can. And the rest of his stuff is somewhat over-produced.
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band = TIMELESS GENIUS
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Post by ursamajor on Jan 24, 2010 6:04:42 GMT -5
For me, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band is the tightest and best Beatles "solo" album. There is certainly a place that Lennon was capable of reaching, emotionally and lyrically, that no other artists could. The closest equivalents would be the "confessional" (though I hate that term) songs of Joni Mitchell circa 1970-71, and the raw fury of early punk rock artists in London (c.1977) and Los Angeles (c.1980). The fact that John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band ties together Joni Mitchell and The Sex Pistols is enough reason in itself to say that it's a remarkable achievement. It's honest and confessional, but not wimpy. It's tough, loud, and primal, but not insensitive or cartoonish. It's catchy and direct musically, but it's completely uncompromising and pure. It's arty and weird, but it's easy to listen to and popular. Now, obviously, we wouldn't want every record to be like this, because you do have to be in the right mood to listen to an album this intense. But for what it is, there is absolutely nothing better. Another great thing about this record is how austere and stripped down it is. There is not an ounce of flab on the bones of this record. Ten (and a half) tight, perfectly constructed songs, with minimal arrangements. We hear pure Lennon on every track, without horns, synths, strings, or producers (or Yoko -- whew!) getting in the way. I'll take it one step further and state that I think this is the best album of the 1970s. It's certainly doesn't suffer comparison to records like Joni Mitchell's Blue or Dylan's Blood On The Tracks, and, as I stated above, it has a lot more power and rock'n'roll energy than those. (Ringo almost outdoes John Bonham on a couple of those tracks!) Another thing not appreciated about this album is how AMAZING the vocals are. This is some of the finest singing ever recorded, as far as I'm concerned. Who else but John can verge from the vocal on "Love" to the vocal on "Well, Well, Well"? It's curious that he didn't record anything in this way again. Certainly his vocals on Imagine are not nearly as good -- it sounds like he's rushing those vocals out as quickly as he can. And the rest of his stuff is somewhat over-produced. John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band = TIMELESS GENIUS Nice review but you have erred. Yoko Ono plays WIND on this album. Check the credits again.
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Post by Joe Karlosi on Jan 24, 2010 7:20:42 GMT -5
For me, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band is the tightest and best Beatles "solo" album. There is certainly a place that Lennon was capable of reaching, emotionally and lyrically, that no other artists could. The closest equivalents would be the "confessional" (though I hate that term) songs of Joni Mitchell circa 1970-71, and the raw fury of early punk rock artists in London (c.1977) and Los Angeles (c.1980). The fact that John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band ties together Joni Mitchell and The Sex Pistols is enough reason in itself to say that it's a remarkable achievement. It's honest and confessional, but not wimpy. It's tough, loud, and primal, but not insensitive or cartoonish. It's catchy and direct musically, but it's completely uncompromising and pure. It's arty and weird, but it's easy to listen to and popular. Now, obviously, we wouldn't want every record to be like this, because you do have to be in the right mood to listen to an album this intense. But for what it is, there is absolutely nothing better. Another great thing about this record is how austere and stripped down it is. There is not an ounce of flab on the bones of this record. Ten (and a half) tight, perfectly constructed songs, with minimal arrangements. We hear pure Lennon on every track, without horns, synths, strings, or producers (or Yoko -- whew!) getting in the way. I'll take it one step further and state that I think this is the best album of the 1970s. It's certainly doesn't suffer comparison to records like Joni Mitchell's Blue or Dylan's Blood On The Tracks, and, as I stated above, it has a lot more power and rock'n'roll energy than those. (Ringo almost outdoes John Bonham on a couple of those tracks!) Another thing not appreciated about this album is how AMAZING the vocals are. This is some of the finest singing ever recorded, as far as I'm concerned. Who else but John can verge from the vocal on "Love" to the vocal on "Well, Well, Well"? It's curious that he didn't record anything in this way again. Certainly his vocals on Imagine are not nearly as good -- it sounds like he's rushing those vocals out as quickly as he can. And the rest of his stuff is somewhat over-produced. John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band = TIMELESS GENIUS This is literally one of the finest posts I have ever read on this board.
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Post by John S. Damm on Jan 24, 2010 13:05:03 GMT -5
That was a very nice post panther. I liked your reference to Blood On The Tracks which is one of my favorite albums and it stands with POB. BOTT came out closer in time to John's Walls And Bridges and those albums were sometimes compared but as much as I like W & B, BOTT blows it away.
I also like your mentioning of being in the right frame of mind for POB. The old-timers here know POB is my favorite solo album but I can't put it on 24-7. I know enough not to throw POB on during a party! ;D
I tend to agree though with Carr & Tyler who wrote that while POB was a masterpiece, it may have painted John into a corner or led him down a dead-end. Every album he did couldn't have the theme of POB and any album with a softer theme might appear soft or sugarcoated. John pulled it off with Imagine but that album isn't as soft or sugarcoated as it may seem at first blush. It is lusher but many of the themes are as serious and brutal as any on POB("Crippled Inside," "Gimme Some Truth,""How Do You Sleep," "How," "It's So Hard" and "I Don't Want To Be A Soldier Mama"). There are softer things on POB too.
I would assert though that Chaos and Creation In The Backyard is Paul's POB so in answer to this Thread, I would say that yes, Paul could and did match John's first album. JoeK acknowledged that Chaos came close but I'd go that extra mile farther than Joe. Chaos is through and through a masterpiece. My thought on Chaos takes nothing away from John's POB, not a thing. We waited 35 years for Paul to match POB and he did it or came damn close.
We fans have at least two certified masterpieces and how awesome that they came from John and Paul!
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Post by Joe Karlosi on Jan 24, 2010 13:11:38 GMT -5
We waited 35 years for Paul to match POB and he did it or came damn close. We fans have at least two certified masterpieces and how awesome that they came from John and Paul! I really don't mean to take away from CHAOS, but there's nothing on there that's as "iconic" as GOD, LOVE, or MOTHER (off POB). I don't know if I'd go as far as to call CHAOS a "certified masterpiece" either, but I do think it's a damn good album.
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Post by vectisfabber on Jan 24, 2010 20:27:18 GMT -5
I agree with every word, Panther. I still don't like it very much, though.
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Post by John S. Damm on Jan 25, 2010 0:36:46 GMT -5
We waited 35 years for Paul to match POB and he did it or came damn close. We fans have at least two certified masterpieces and how awesome that they came from John and Paul! I really don't mean to take away from CHAOS, but there's nothing on there that's as "iconic" as GOD, LOVE, or MOTHER (off POB). I don't know if I'd go as far as to call CHAOS a "certified masterpiece" either, but I do think it's a damn good album. Time takes time, JoeK. We're 40 years off POB and just 5 years off Chaos. In ten more years all the songs off Chaos may be iconic!
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wooltonian
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Post by wooltonian on Jan 25, 2010 4:55:47 GMT -5
Having read Panther's excellent review of JLPOB, I am now even more determined to go out and buy a decent stereo system, so I can re-evaluate this album. The only copy of JLPOB I ever owned was a fairly shabby vinyl pressing.
My only lingering doubt is what sort of mood I have to be in to enjoy such an intense, full-on experience.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2010 5:41:03 GMT -5
That was a very nice post panther. I liked your reference to Blood On The Tracks which is one of my favorite albums and it stands with POB. BOTT came out closer in time to John's Walls And Bridges and those albums were sometimes compared but as much as I like W & B, BOTT blows it away. I also like your mentioning of being in the right frame of mind for POB. The old-timers here know POB is my favorite solo album but I can't put it on 24-7. I know enough not to throw POB on during a party! ;D I tend to agree though with Carr & Tyler who wrote that while POB was a masterpiece, it may have painted John into a corner or led him down a dead-end. Every album he did couldn't have the theme of POB and any album with a softer theme might appear soft or sugarcoated. John pulled it off with Imagine but that album isn't as soft or sugarcoated as it may seem at first blush. It is lusher but many of the themes are as serious and brutal as any on POB("Crippled Inside," "Gimme Some Truth,""How Do You Sleep," "How," "It's So Hard" and "I Don't Want To Be A Soldier Mama"). There are softer things on POB too. I would assert though that Chaos and Creation In The Backyard is Paul's POB so in answer to this Thread, I would say that yes, Paul could and did match John's first album. JoeK acknowledged that Chaos came close but I'd go that extra mile farther than Joe. Chaos is through and through a masterpiece. My thought on Chaos takes nothing away from John's POB, not a thing. We waited 35 years for Paul to match POB and he did it or came damn close. We fans have at least two certified masterpieces and how awesome that they came from John and Paul! Thats stretching reality a little to far to call Chaos a masterpiece,it's an album that starts out maudlin and never strays...it has to have been a reflection of Paul's mood with the mucca mess,sure it was better than Driving Rain,but then,so was Liverpool 8......
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Post by Steve Marinucci on Jan 25, 2010 10:52:33 GMT -5
Having read Panther's excellent review of JLPOB, I am now even more determined to go out and buy a decent stereo system, so I can re-evaluate this album. The only copy of JLPOB I ever owned was a fairly shabby vinyl pressing. My only lingering doubt is what sort of mood I have to be in to enjoy such an intense, full-on experience. Just enjoy it for what it is ... a very powerful album. It's one of my favorite John albums. I bought the vinyl when it first came out and literally wore it out.
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Post by ursamajor on Jan 25, 2010 20:18:40 GMT -5
Having read Panther's excellent review of JLPOB, I am now even more determined to go out and buy a decent stereo system, so I can re-evaluate this album. The only copy of JLPOB I ever owned was a fairly shabby vinyl pressing. My only lingering doubt is what sort of mood I have to be in to enjoy such an intense, full-on experience. Put it on and listen, that's all you have to do.
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Post by ReturnToPepperland on Jan 26, 2010 19:31:50 GMT -5
I agree John Lennon POB is a masterpiece. It is heartfelt and emotionally deep. I always thought John took his que from the deep emotion of Maybe I'm Amazed, a track in which Paul lays bare his feelings about the Beatles breakup (baby I'm a lonely man whose in the middle of something that he doesn't really understand.) and exposes his vulnerability regarding his dependence on his love for Linda (maybe I'm afraid of the way I need you. ...you pulled me out of time, hung me on the line). I think that track can at match anything on POB.
Perhaps Paul did not assemble one album as intense as POB. However, Paul was not always good at assembling his best tracks into one package. At the same time those songs are there if you put them together. John gets credit for putting it all into a neat package. But consider these songs by Paul:
1. Maybe I'm Amazed 2. Every Night These were written during the depths of his depression about the Beatles. And for a very naturally optimistic and less exhibishionist person, these songs are very honest and personal. In Every Night he talks about not being able to get up and out of his bed because of his depression. He just doesn't always spell these things out again because of a need for keeping some things private. But the songs are there if you look. 3. Dear Friend A heartfelt ode to John regarding their strained relationship that is aching in its beauty and raw emotion recorded during the Ram sessions: Dear friend, what's the time? Is this really the borderline? Does it really mean so much to you? Are you afraid, or is it true? Dear friend, throw the wine, I'm in love with a friend of mine. Really truly, young and newly wed (to throw off the meaning though they were both newly wed). Are you a fool, or is it true?
4. Dragonfly Also recorded during Ram sessions a released later, this is clearly a sincere and emotional plea for John to "come home". It is heartbreaking. Up to now Paul has only talked about the "Little Lamb" part of this song. That part aside, the Dragonfly (John born in Chinese year of the dragon) part of the song is clearly very emotional:
Dragonfly Fly By My Window. You And I Still Have A Way To Go (reconciliatory) Don't Know Why You Hang Around My Door I Don't Live Here Any More (he never went back to the Apple offices and recorded away from Abbey Road during this time) Since You've Gone I Never Know, I Go On, But I Miss You So
Dragonfly Don't Keep Me Waiting When We Try We'll Have A Way To Go Dragonfly You've Been Away Too Long How Did Two Rights Make A Wrong? Since You've Gone I Never Know I Go On But I Miss You So In My Heart I Feel The Pain Keeps Coming Back Again.
Dragonfly Fly By My Window. You And I Can Find A Way To See (conciliatory again) Dragonfly The Years Ahead Will Show How Little We Really Know. Since You've Gone Its Never Right They Go On The Lonely Nights (not sexual), Come On Home And Make It Right. This is clearly not about a damn lamb.
5. Goodbye Even a song that was supposedly written for another person is telling. This was early 1969--a troubled time for John and Paul's relationship. I always thought this was Paul talking to John ala Two of Us. He even sings the songs without changing it to "her"side instead saying "his" I think in a reference to John. I don't mean they were literally lovers. Only emotionally: Far away my lover sings a lonely song And call me to his side When the song of lonely love invites me on I must go to his side. Late today when it becomes tomorrow I will leave to go away. Leave your flowers at my door I'll leave them for the one who waits behind.
Paul's work has much more subtlety or as he said if you're going to reveal something personal, at least "veil it a little".
6. Dear Boy Clearly about John though Paul has never admitted it. Its a more negative feeling but it is not just about nothing at all. It talks about when they met "hearts down and out" etc. To be continued.
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Post by vectisfabber on Jan 26, 2010 20:00:22 GMT -5
Incidentally, the title of this thread kind of suggests that Paul has never done anything to match JLPOB and might not be capable of it. I take issue with the whole idea of a question phrased like that a little bit. It's as unfair as asking whether John could match Liverpool Oratorio.
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nine
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Post by nine on Jan 26, 2010 22:00:48 GMT -5
I'D LIKE TO SEE (HEAR!) PAUL CUT A AN ALBUM WITH HIMSELF ON GUITAR OR PIANO AND KLAUS AND RINGO. NO ONE ELSE!
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Post by Joe Karlosi on Jan 27, 2010 6:59:23 GMT -5
Incidentally, the title of this thread kind of suggests that Paul has never done anything to match JLPOB and might not be capable of it. I take issue with the whole idea of a question phrased like that a little bit. It's as unfair as asking whether John could match Liverpool Oratorio. That's how I honestly feel. I honestly do NOT think Paul was capable of the kind of raw, pained, introspective honesty that John displayed on POB. That's not a shot at Paul's musical ability; I'm just saying I don't think he was that type of person. Paul was much more private and protective of himself; John let it all hang out, which is why I've always preferred Lennon as a person. On the other hand, your suggestion of whether or not John was capable of a LIVERPOOL ORATORIO is more of a "music abilities" question. And frankly, to balance the scales somewhat, I am not so sure that John could have done the Oratorio.
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Post by Joe Karlosi on Jan 27, 2010 7:01:34 GMT -5
We're 40 years off POB and just 5 years off Chaos. In ten more years all the songs off Chaos may be iconic! I don't think so, John. And some of those songs on John's POB were hot and discussed right from the time the album was released (like GOD, for instance). It was viewed as an honest, ballsy, heart-searching album of self-exposure right from the get-go.
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Post by Joe Karlosi on Jan 27, 2010 7:13:48 GMT -5
I agree John Lennon POB is a masterpiece. It is heartfelt and emotionally deep. I always thought John took his que from the deep emotion of Maybe I'm Amazed, a track in which Paul lays bare his feelings about the Beatles breakup (baby I'm a lonely man whose in the middle of something that he doesn't really understand.) and exposes his vulnerability regarding his dependence on his love for Linda (maybe I'm afraid of the way I need you. ...you pulled me out of time, hung me on the line). I think that track can at match anything on POB. Even here while giving some credit to John, you feel the compulsion to somehow elevate Paul and even give HIM the credit! So of course, you have to even go so far as to decide that John was influenced by Paul's MAYBE I'M AMAZED? By the way, you do raise a good point about, at least, MAYBE I'M AMAZED and DEAR FRIEND. Especially with MAYBE I'M AMAZED, that's Paul expressing that he's afraid and has some kind of inner turmoil. It's a rare moment of direct self-analysis, not just "I love you, and June/Moon/Spoon" fodder. Didn't Paul at some point say MAYBE I'M AMAZED could be what he considers to be his "best" song, or something? I thought I heard that he felt that way. And if it's true, then it just goes to show that Paul knows he was being honest and open with MAYBE I'M AMAZED, and perhaps that it makes a difference when you write like that. But when you say that some of Paul's songs were "obviously about..." this or that, I don't think we can know this for sure without Paul making it rather clear, or admitting it in an interview, or something. And that takes us right back to what I said about John's POB and Paul not really being able -- or more aptly, not being willing -- to put it right out there and be direct.
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