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I saw Billy Preston in '73 opening for Grand Funk Railroad. GFR was pretty good but BP blew them off the stage
I saw Billy Preston with the Rolling Stones in '75. He ruled, they sucked. Saw Preston again with Ringo Starr in the '90s. He stole the show.
I do love the first album by the Traveling Wilburys. Too bad Roy Orbison passed soon afterwards. Each ex-Beatle made at least one -and in a few cases- several great albums. Each has had some stinkers too. Hard to pick whose best for me.
Hahaha, well Mel Schumacher's 'do wasn't far behind in those days. But for me, Mel was the one who really got his nuts handed to him that night, I dunno who BP's bassist was on that tour but he was just a fecking monster. As a young bass player I was amazed.
I don't listen to John, Paul, George & Ringo much after The Beatles, but when I do It's John about 80% of the time with George about 15% of the time and Paul about 5% of the time.
Nothing against Ringo, but his post-Beatles work just doesn't do anything for me musically.
I picked George due to All Things Must Pass, which is not only my favorite solo ex-Beatle album but one of my favorite albums of all time (excluding the Apple Jam third disc). That record led me down so many meaningful, unexpected pathways in life. And I love George's slide guitar playing on it -- can never get tired of that sound. Second for me would be Paul's melodic gem RAM, even if it's a bit whimsical and silly in parts, the melodies, arrangements and song structures are largely superb. As for John, Plastic Ono Band is often regarded as his best work and I do like it but have a hard time warming up to that album. It's one of those albums I respect more than play. Maybe I can't take its nearly unrelenting anger and cynicism, although it does have its tender moments. My favorite John album is Mind Games; spotty and echo-laden as it may be, there are some great tunes on there such as title track, "Intuition", "Out The Blue" and "I Know (I Know)".
I can cherrypick so many solo ex-Beatles songs I absolutely LOVE, even among their less than stellar releases.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Urban Hat€monger ?
I mean look at this for a band line up
Billy Preston – vocals, piano, organ, tack piano, backing vocals; electric piano
George Harrison – electric and acoustic guitars, Moog synthesizer, sitar
Eric Clapton – electric guitar
Keith Richards – bass
Ginger Baker – drums, tambourine
Ive just read this thread and I got the feeling that most of the posters on this thread aren't really in a position to offer an opinion, not an informed opinion anyway.
To compare the solo careers of the four I think you would have to judge them between 1970 and 1975.Lennon released several albums in the early 70s, most notably Imagine and Walls and Bridges, Imagine is the one Lennon album that is considered a stand out album. Lennon stopped recording in the mid 70s and didn't release a new album until Double fantasy ( which was a poor effort ) in 1980. Harrison only made one stand out solo album "All Things Must Pass" which came out in the early 70s, a fantastic album comprised of tunes Harrison had written during The Beatles era, its probably kinder if we don't mention Ringo. McCartney, like Lennon, released several albums during the early 70s, three of these albums are stand out albums, McCartney, Ram and Band on the Run.
It depends on how much knowledge you have of their work after the Beatles, some people have been influenced by the music media and others have listened to all the albums and have made a more informed decision.
In my opinion McCartney was almost certainly the best all round musician in The Beatles, he definitely had the strongest singing voice in The Beatles, and he was probably the strongest songwriter in The Beatles. I think the work that the four of them put out between The Beatles officially splitting up in 1970 and Lennon stopping recording in the mid 70s proves this statement to be true.
All three of Paul's, John's and George's solo work is amazing. McCartney has the biggest discography and thus can have a lot of mediocrity, and the really good songs get lost in the shuffle.
Its scary to think these songs would of came out under the Beatles moniker if they stayed together. An album featuring: Distractions, Mull of Kyntire, When We were fab, 9 dream, instant karma, imagine, Ive got my mind set on you, house of wax etc etc would be an astonishing Beatles album.
I love that show -- we have relatives in Kent, England and it always reminds me of the mini-railway they have there.
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