Lennon was the avant-garde Beatle? It was McCartney who was the Stockhausen fan, and who suggested and led the way in creating the tape loops used on Tomorrow Never Knows. He, together with George Martin, took the rudimentary tapes left by Lennon, and added the mellotron opening and the coda that made Strawberry Fields the tour-de-force that it became.
Coming Up, the song that sent Lennon back to the studio in 1980, was part of McCartney II, a minimalist project inspired by Philip Glass and Steve Reich. Also on that LP was Temporary Secretary, an original combination of a simple melody, and repeated electronic rhythmic motifs.
It’s clear they both knew they were something special when they worked together and something just a little less when on their own. I think it bothered both of them. Each were massive talents individually (I speak of both in the past tense, as McCartney of course is still alive and working, but I think his best work is behind him) but sublime as a partnership. As to lyrical beauty, McCartney’s “Here Today”, written for his dead brother is perhaps one of the most poignant sets of words he’s ever done. It’s like arguing about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin as to who was “better”. To me, it’s an irrelevant discussion and diminishes both men.
John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty. Three authentically angry people who as a result were such credible rockers. Little people who, unlike McCartney, couldn't quite handle making it big.
I have always felt that the lyrics that ended up in Hey Jude do make way more sense as a song about John. They don’t really make sense as a song about a child.
At least from the quote as presented Lennon said that McCartney lacked confidence in his own ability, not that he wasn't capable. Lennon in fact said the opposite- that Paul did write well.
A lot of Paul’s Beatle-era lyrics were stellar (I remember seeing Eleanor Rigby read out like a poem on a BBC2 arts programme in 1969 or 1970. However his post-Beatles lyrics did tend to be a bit daft and vapid, in my opinion.
Lennon was the avant-garde Beatle? It was McCartney who was the Stockhausen fan, and who suggested and led the way in creating the tape loops used on Tomorrow Never Knows. He, together with George Martin, took the rudimentary tapes left by Lennon, and added the mellotron opening and the coda that made Strawberry Fields the tour-de-force that it became.
Coming Up, the song that sent Lennon back to the studio in 1980, was part of McCartney II, a minimalist project inspired by Philip Glass and Steve Reich. Also on that LP was Temporary Secretary, an original combination of a simple melody, and repeated electronic rhythmic motifs.
It’s clear they both knew they were something special when they worked together and something just a little less when on their own. I think it bothered both of them. Each were massive talents individually (I speak of both in the past tense, as McCartney of course is still alive and working, but I think his best work is behind him) but sublime as a partnership. As to lyrical beauty, McCartney’s “Here Today”, written for his dead brother is perhaps one of the most poignant sets of words he’s ever done. It’s like arguing about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin as to who was “better”. To me, it’s an irrelevant discussion and diminishes both men.
John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty. Three authentically angry people who as a result were such credible rockers. Little people who, unlike McCartney, couldn't quite handle making it big.
I have always felt that the lyrics that ended up in Hey Jude do make way more sense as a song about John. They don’t really make sense as a song about a child.
At least from the quote as presented Lennon said that McCartney lacked confidence in his own ability, not that he wasn't capable. Lennon in fact said the opposite- that Paul did write well.
A lot of Paul’s Beatle-era lyrics were stellar (I remember seeing Eleanor Rigby read out like a poem on a BBC2 arts programme in 1969 or 1970. However his post-Beatles lyrics did tend to be a bit daft and vapid, in my opinion.
Good write up!