Lennon/McCartney #1 songwriters
Some guy named Chris Harvey published a list of the '50 Best British Songwriters'.
Now I don't know who Chris Harvey is, but the list has a major problem. He separates Lennon and McCartney. John is #1 and Paul is #4, behind Kate Bush and Morrissey/Johnny Marr. I don't know squat about Kate Bush or Morrissey, but Lennon/McCartney should be #1.
Giving John solo credit for his Beatles' songs is flat out wrong and inaccurate. Even though some tunes were composed individually, they were written with the other guy looking over their shoulder. That's a major factor and all you have to do is listen to their solo work to see that the 'bullshit factor' made them better writers.
And rating Lennon #1 based on his solo work is a stretch. Yeah, there are some great songs in his canon, but you could argue that Paul's solo work is stronger overall.
But Chris Harvey did get one thing right. He calls Paul's last album 'atrocious'.
Now I don't know who Chris Harvey is, but the list has a major problem. He separates Lennon and McCartney. John is #1 and Paul is #4, behind Kate Bush and Morrissey/Johnny Marr. I don't know squat about Kate Bush or Morrissey, but Lennon/McCartney should be #1.
Giving John solo credit for his Beatles' songs is flat out wrong and inaccurate. Even though some tunes were composed individually, they were written with the other guy looking over their shoulder. That's a major factor and all you have to do is listen to their solo work to see that the 'bullshit factor' made them better writers.
And rating Lennon #1 based on his solo work is a stretch. Yeah, there are some great songs in his canon, but you could argue that Paul's solo work is stronger overall.
But Chris Harvey did get one thing right. He calls Paul's last album 'atrocious'.
posted by John Goins at 9:37 PM
2 Comments:
Hi John, I was just listening to Cry Baby Cry and searched the term "local bird and bee." Im glad I did!..lol I dig your blog..
I've been sitting and thinking about the songwriter topic for a bit. This is a tough one and though I agree with some of what you say in terms of Paul's prowess, I think of some of John's work. Where should I begin? Should I even begin? John's solo music with the Beatles influenced so much change in the industry as well as society. But then the same should be said for Paul. I think the best and safest way to handle this is to imagine that we may have never had the chance to hear each one's music had the stars not been aligned...had they never met. It's clear that though they had measured success after the Beatles, they never had "it" again. YOu're right, the both of them are number one.............the both of them.
Thanks for reading. I agree. The most 'magical' thing about the Beatles is that John Lennon and Paul McCartney were born around the same time, in the same town, AND hooked up. The stars were lined up bigtime.
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