Lennon or McCartney?

Look at the list;-

'Imagine' and 'Bohemian Rhapsody' is: 'Hey Jude' by the Beatles, Abba's 'Dancing Queen', 'Every Breath You Take' by the Police, Ben E King's 'Stand by Me', 'The Drugs Don't Work' by the Verve, 'Don't Look Back in Anger' by Oasis, 'Groove Jet (If This Ain't Love)' by Spiller and Bryan Adams's '(Everything I Do) I Do It For You'.

Dont look back in Anger, the equally dreadful Bohemian Rhapsody, Bryan sodding Adams, the bleeding Police !!!

Groove Jet is a brilliant pop song but is it REALLY one of the best 10 songs of all time? Even the most ardent fan of Spiller or Sophie Ellis Bextor herself couldn't make that claim.
 
The point I was replying to was the phrase of note.

Anything else is subjective

I think the fact that imagine is one of the most recognisable songs on the planet certainly makes it “of note”.
 
HarryVegas said:
No, you're completely correct. Groove Jet is a work of genius and beats the talentless Lennon's output any day.
Click to expand...

Nothing like jumping to conclusions and putting words into someone else's mouth, is there?

I've already said you couldn't make a claim that it's one of the top 10 songs of all time, so not sure why you think I've compared with Lennon's entire output.
 
The_Lizards_Jumpers said:
Nothing like jumping to conclusions and putting words into someone else's mouth, is there?

I've already said you couldn't make a claim that it's one of the top 10 songs of all time, so not sure why you think I've compared with Lennon's entire output.
Click to expand...
But you did dismiss Imagine as garbage and classified Groove Jet as great...
 
Lennon all day , Songs dont get better than Working Class Hero, Lennon was more edgy, better voice ... Macca prob wrote more tuneful and poppy tunes ....knew a chap who came in my record shop from Hutton Henry is a a massive Macca fan , travels all over the world to see him, met him a few times as well
 
alanmoodysdog said:
Lennon all day , Songs dont get better than Working Class Hero, Lennon was more edgy, better voice ... Macca prob wrote more tuneful and poppy tunes ....knew a chap who came in my record shop from Hutton Henry is a a massive Macca fan , travels all over the world to see him, met him a few times as well
Click to expand...
They were each other's perfect foil, and made each other want to be better writers right up until the end.
 
I'm somewhat disappointed to hear that many don't rate" Imagine'
It was one of the first songs that I wanted to learn how to play when I first picked up
a guitar and is also one of the first songs that I usually play to my visitors and friends
that ask me to play something.
Maybe I got it all wrong and didn't understand that they wanted me to actually play " Something" 🤣

I guess the next time I have visitors, I will have to ask them to be a bit more specific. :unsure: 🤣
 
Tough one, McCartney (just) for me - I think he's a slightly better songwriter than Lennon but I am more naturally drawn to Lennon's harsher, more "raw" work (although Helter Skelter is arguably the best "heavier" song in either cannon).

Most perfect post-Beatles solo album would go to George for me though, All Things Must Pass is a masterpiece.
 
The_Lizards_Jumpers said:
Look at the list;-

'Imagine' and 'Bohemian Rhapsody' is: 'Hey Jude' by the Beatles, Abba's 'Dancing Queen', 'Every Breath You Take' by the Police, Ben E King's 'Stand by Me', 'The Drugs Don't Work' by the Verve, 'Don't Look Back in Anger' by Oasis, 'Groove Jet (If This Ain't Love)' by Spiller and Bryan Adams's '(Everything I Do) I Do It For You'.

Dont look back in Anger, the equally dreadful Bohemian Rhapsody, Bryan sodding Adams, the bleeding Police !!!

Groove Jet is a brilliant pop song but is it REALLY one of the best 10 songs of all time? Even the most ardent fan of Spiller or Sophie Ellis Bextor herself couldn't make that claim.
Click to expand...
They are all really good songs, maybe not in the ten best of all time, we can agree there, but i would respectfully suggest Jedi’s point that it is all subjective is a fair one. The older i have got the more Imagine has grown on me tbh.

Rating Barbie and Mr Blobby ahead of imagine is fine too, if you’re a 5 yr old, but you’re not. As for saying Wings were criminally underrated, I would say Wings records were criminally overrated, garbage mainly. Seeing as you mentioned a video, Pipes of Peace video was awful. As Jedi says, it is subjective, personal taste, nobody is really wrong.
 
not sure what the criteria is?

They are/were both 3 dimensional characters, with pros and cons. Both wrote some cracking songs and some dross. Both did some good things politically and socially, both were bellwhiffs at times too.

I'd say Lennon was more a character of extremes and that reflected in his song writing, he was more spontaneous, more 'good enough will do', more keep it real. Paul was more measured, more of a perfectionist, you knew what you got with Paul, he was dependable, professional, Lennon could be late, lazy, disinterested, off it on heroin, then suddenly click into gear and be radically different person with an air of godlike genius.

They have both added to the rich tapestry of British music and culture. I refuse to choose.
 
Last edited:
coluka said:
As Jedi says, it is subjective, personal taste, nobody is really wrong.
Click to expand...

Of course it is, as are most things on this messageboard hence the discussions.

If you could only comment on a thread if you were the definitive voice / decision maker then it'd be pretty empty.
 
johnsmithsno2 said:
Which, of course, proves nothing
Click to expand...
It only proves that saying Imagine is a terrible song is going against the grain. Of course popularism is often wrong, but in this the popular opinion is right, in my opinion.

It's a great song that captured the zeitgeist of a time when the Vietnam war was on the news, religion was beginning to be questioned openly and faulter, the nuclear arms race had led to the CND movement, and the hippy culture was ending....but even though it had to die, the essence of love thy neighbour, be part of a community that cares, peace not war, was an important message.

Musically, ok it's hardly cutting edge in it's chord progressions, but some great little harmonic twists, and the melody is beautiful and very unlike Lennon who preferred to sing a very flat melody, the melody sounds more like it had been written by McCartney to be honest.
 
The_Lizards_Jumpers said:
Which would be OK if it weren't delivered by a multi millionaire, wife beating, child neglecting, IRA funding hypocrite.
Click to expand...
agreed, he was a character of real personal conflict, hypocrisy and dichotomy. Drugs and alcohol brought the worst out of him, and he was a troublesome kid that never solved his issues of motherly loss. But, none of that makes the message of Imagine less relevant of that time, or indeed today
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top