The 10 Best Beatles Solo Albums

[peregrine9]

Paste Magazine
January 30, 2012
The 10 Best Beatles Solo Albums

The Beatles were bigger than the sum of their parts, but those parts were still pretty amazing: John Lennon’s blunt, personal lyrics, Paul McCartney’s powerhouse vocals and memorable bass lines, George Harrison’s legendary lead guitar work and Ringo Starr’s thumping, solid drums.Tied together with now-legendary producer George Martin, the group made some of the most beloved music of the ’60s. To celebrate the release of Ringo Starr’s new album, Ringo 2012, we’ll take a look the best solo accomplishments from the Fab Four.

http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2012/01/the-10-best-beatles-solo-albums.html?fb_comment_id=fbc_314972151871790_4001689_315436741825331

[Kylenz]

'Living In The Material World' above 'Band On The Run'? Whaaa? Are they mad?

I realise there's currently some kind of revisionist fondness towards George over the likes of Paul especially (John's always been noted by critics as having the creative edge over Paul for some reason), but this is ridiculous.

Fair enough having 'All Things Must Pass' in the top spot (I would agree with that one), but I think there's an effort to give George more credit and that's natural. Personally I'd have Back To The Egg, London Town, Venus and Mars and Red Rose Speedway well above Cloud Nine. I'd probably fill the list with Wings albums and have Plastic Ono Band and ATMP near the top spots. The rest would be all Paul albums, no room for Ringo.. 

[Greg]

I can live with the top 5.  The Ringo album is really good and could've been higher.
The thing that's striking is the love for George on this list.  idk.  ???

Double Fantasy will always be terrible to me.  I like Sometime in NYC way more.

Back to the Egg?  Yes!  Love it.

I love lists like this.  It's fun to criticize and agree with.

[Borris]

Everyone's list would be different. When i think about it I realise how much I love a lot of Beatle solo albums. The Beatles were great but it wasn't all over when they broke up. My selection is mainly made up from George and Paul's work,

1. All things Must Pass
2. Ram
3. Brainwashed
4. Venus and Mars
5. Cloud Nine
6. Flaming Pie
7. Sentimental Journey
8. George Harrison
9. Off the Ground
10. 33&1/3

A bit idiosyncratic having Venus and Mars instead of band on the Run, not having any of John's, having Sentimental Journey instead of Ringo & including off the Ground which many love to hate. But these albums just get to me. Some of them are really well made and sincere, some are charming, some are fun and some are full of musical invention. When it comes to music it is what moves you there are different rights and wrongs for each of us.

[Kylenz]

Everyone's list would be different. When i think about it I realise how much I love a lot of Beatle solo albums. The Beatles were great but it wasn't all over when they broke up. My selection is mainly made up from George and Paul's work,

1. All things Must Pass
2. Ram
3. Brainwashed
4. Venus and Mars
5. Cloud Nine
6. Flaming Pie
7. Sentimental Journey
8. George Harrison
9. Off the Ground
10. 33&1/3

A bit idiosyncratic having Venus and Mars instead of band on the Run, not having any of John's, having Sentimental Journey instead of Ringo & including off the Ground which many love to hate. But these albums just get to me. Some of them are really well made and sincere, some are charming, some are fun and some are full of musical invention. When it comes to music it is what moves you there are different rights and wrongs for each of us.

Oh, very good! I'll have a go at this!

1. All Things Must Pass
2. Red Rose Speedway
3. Band on the Run
4. Back To The Egg
5. Plastic Ono Band
6. Ram
7. Venus and Mars
8. London Town
9. Chaos and Creation in the Backyard
10. Milk and Honey

[2 of 3]

I'll try:

 1.   All Things Must Pass
 2.   Plastic Ono Band
 3.   Ram
 4.   Back To The Egg
 5.   Brainwashed
 6.   McCartney
 7.   Cloud Nine
 8.   Memory Almost Full
 9.   Imagine
 10. Red Rose Speedway

[Greg]

I have my own opinions, but what I gain most from this thread is the fact that so many are holding that McCartney flag high.  I am stuck in my youth as far as Paul goes.  It's Ram and many of the other 70's stuff.  But I see some of these choices and am inspired when I see Off The Ground and Chaos (I just plain don't.  I also have even more respect for Paul that kylenz picked, of all lps, Red Rose Speedway so high!  What an odd choice considering it didn't come out during your teen years.  I just think that's so cool. 

[Kylenz]

Yeah, the reason I hold Red Rose Speedway so high, is because that one and Band on the Run were two of the first albums I ever heard and loved. While I always knew BOTR was a classic album and loved every track, it always felt a little short and almost too perfect, if that's possible. RRS seemed to have a different feel to it. It had more of an inviting country twang to many of the tracks (maybe that's due to Henry McCulloch's guitar playing), it had a warmth that drew me in every time, Little Lamb Dragonfly and Get On The Right Thing would be like two of my favourite McCartney tracks ever, and then side 2 had a medley chock full of the most charming love songs such as Hold Me Tight and Hands of Love (again, two of my favourite McCartney tracks ever). I think if I hadn't heard that album as a young child I wouldn't be as sensitive and nice as I am as an adult, listening to that had a huge effect on my personality, probably made me an odd-one-out as it were. It's never cool to like syrupy love ballads.

And without listening to something like 'Loup' maybe I wouldn't have the same appreciation for longer instrumental progressive rock-type tracks. I heard these albums long before I heard The Beatles too, so there's no bias or preconception over whether Paul's output was 'as good as he was in The Beatles'. I will always hold that album in higher regard than Band on the Run - it came out the same year, and it's got a completely different feel to it. Big Barn Bed sounds like a band having a jam in a barn somewhere, having a good time. It's a great way to open an album. And of course, My Love is timeless. Then later on you have the simplicity of Single Pigeon and One More Kiss, both those songs would've worked well on Rubber Soul or especially Revolver, or the Kinks albums from around the same time. I will always love Red Rose Speedway.

All Things Must Pass though, is in a league of its own. Stunning. A better album than the White Album. Thoughts? How do you think ATMP compares to the best Beatles albums?

[EddieV]

1. Band On The Run
2. Plastic Ono Band
3. All Things Must Pass
4. Imagine
5. Ram
6. Memory Almost Full
7. Flaming Pie
8. Flowers In The Dirt
9. Brainwashed
10. Driving Rain