With solo albums like Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band and Imagine, McCartney’s Ram, Harrison’s All Things Must Pass, and others, it’s tough to compete with The Beatles. Where do our boys stand when it comes to solo albums?

Cant comment at all but theres a
lady in Grace McKeller who'd help
me with Ram and I know Eric a really old guy that
works at Black Rock sewage plant and he loves that Harrison album



ROCKMAN

Keith stands a chance with his solo albums, and Ronnies had a few nice solo tunes, but Mick doesn't fare nearly as well...songs like Lets Work sunk that ship long ago...

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Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

To be fair...

Stones solo albums really only started coming after they jumped the shark in the mid 80s - and let's leave Ronnie out of this.

So comparing Apples (fallen though they may be) to Stones albums may be the better way to look at it, at least through the 70s and compare Stones solo albums to albums by McCartney and Harrison released AFTER 1984.

In that case, which I think is totally reasonable, the Stones do very well indeed.

I'd say the Beatles plateaued at Abbey Road and stayed at a reasonably high level until the early seventies and petered out.

Stones triple peaked LIB through Exile and dipped slightly but not severely before another double peak with Some Girls and Tattoo You.

Beatles didn't quite achieve that.

Mick and Keith had two good solo albums, that's all. Wandering Spirit and Talk is Cheap.

As far as latter day stuff, I liked McCartney's 'Flowers in the Dirt' and even 'Off The Ground' has it's moments, as did 'Flaming Pie' and 'Chaos and Creation in the Backyard'. Harrison's 'Brainwashed' was also very good.

But I'd still listen to 'Talk is Cheap' or 'Main Offender', 'Slide on This' or 'Wandering Spirit' more.

Of course, I'm biased though.

Let’s agree that solo albums by Keith are generally better than Mick’s .. and except for George’s theirs are better than any of the Beatles’ solo albums

Plastic Ono Band, All Things Must Pass and Band on the Run are better than some Stones albums in my opinion. But it’s all about personal taste of course.

Quote
treaclefingers
To be fair...

Stones solo albums really only started coming after they jumped the shark in the mid 80s - and let's leave Ronnie out of this.

So comparing Apples (fallen though they may be) to Stones albums may be the better way to look at it, at least through the 70s and compare Stones solo albums to albums by McCartney and Harrison released AFTER 1984.

In that case, which I think is totally reasonable, the Stones do very well indeed.

I'd say the Beatles plateaued at Abbey Road and stayed at a reasonably high level until the early seventies and petered out.

Stones triple peaked LIB through Exile and dipped slightly but not severely before another double peak with Some Girls and Tattoo You.

Beatles didn't quite achieve that.

Mick and Keith had two good solo albums, that's all. Wandering Spirit and Talk is Cheap.

+1

Plastic Ono Band on its own is better than any of Stones solo albums.

This is obviously a discussion of personal taste or choice.

Three close friends of mine are Beatles fans, and I am the lone Stones guy among us.

I have heard enough of the Beatles solo works on long car rides to honestly say, I have a hard time listening to any of them. Aside from an individual song here or there, the only complete Beatles' solo album that I might choose to listen to on my own would be All Things Must Pass.

I'll take any of Keith's or Mick's or Ronnie's solo works over any of the Beatles' solo works with me on a long car ride every time.

Easy.

1.Lennon
2.Jagger
3.Watts
4.Richards
5.Harrison
6.Taylor
7.Wood
8.Wyman
9.Macca
10.Ringo

That's it. Next one.

- Doxa

Keith's solos stuff has been interesting and enjoyable, Mick had Wandering Spirit
Ronnie has had a couple, but overall I would say that the Beatles solo stuff has been a lot stronger.
All Things Must Pass, Band on the Run, Ram, Plastic Ono Band, Imagine, all have been hailed as masterpieces and have stood the test of time.
Even these late period Mccartney solo releases have been really good.

Quote
Doxa
Easy.

1.Lennon
2.Jagger
3.Watts
4.Richards
5.Harrison
6.Taylor
7.Wood
8.Wyman
9.Macca
10.Ringo

That's it. Next one.

- Doxa

I'd put Macca ahead of Wyman but otherwise, spot on.

The sum of the parts is much stronger than each part alone.

Between the two bands members releasing solo efforts, KR's "Talk Is Cheap" and Harrison's (for the most part) "All Things Must Pass" are the best, IMHO, with McCartney's "Band On The Run" up there, but wasn't this one a Wings album?

Easy one for me-

Wandering Spirit, I’ve got my own album to do and Talk is cheap are better than anything any of the Beatles did.
Beatles stuff is pop drivel, Hare Krishna tinged pop drivel and 50 songs that say
“Yoko” over and over.

True, Band On The Run is considered Wings. Although I believe it's just Denny Lane with Paul and Linda.

Denny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes.

Clearly Stones for me, mostly because of Keith & Ronnie.

Don't forget Lennon's Yoko factor. Even before Plastic Ono, he did some really crap albums w/ Yoko, like Two Virgins, Life with Lions ... that are complete crap, noise, screeching, which I suppose was intended to be art progressive rock of some sort.

Even his later solo albums contain about 1/2 Yoko songs, so that is hard to get through.

Paul definitely has great stuff through the Wings period ... Jet, Helen Wheels, Uncle Albert, Let Me Roll It, too many to think of all of them. But after Wings it goes significantly downhill, especially his duet period, thinking specifically of w/ M Jackson, Say Say Say, Girl is Mine (please kill me before i ever listen to those again) ... and that vomit worthy My Brave Face or No More Lonely Nights ... too much crap like that, which is pretty unbearable.

And can't deny Harrison, he has many great solo songs, My Sweet Lord i guess gets slacked for being a copy, but it's still a great song! Ringo too has some quite nice tracks ... but still both Harrison & Ringo have too many crap tracks too.

John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
has to be up there with Dylans
Time Out Of Mind as the most depressing record ever ....



ROCKMAN

Quote
treaclefingers

Quote
Doxa
Easy.

1.Lennon
2.Jagger
3.Watts
4.Richards
5.Harrison
6.Taylor
7.Wood
8.Wyman
9.Macca
10.Ringo

That's it. Next one.

- Doxa

I'd put Macca ahead of Wyman but otherwise, spot on.

I admit that was a tough one. Macca has his moments, but then I realized that Bill's cool stage charisma put on vinyl clearly outdoes Paul's. Si Si.

- Doxa

Plastic Ono Band is a bit of a masterpiece - what a great work. Nothing any solo Stone ever did comes close in my stupid opinion.

1.Richards
2.Harrison
3.McCartney
4.Lennon
5.Jagger
6.Wood
7.Watts
8.Taylor
9.Ringo



Distant 10.Wyman

Quote
NashvilleBlues
With solo albums like Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band and Imagine, McCartney’s Ram, Harrison’s All Things Must Pass, and others, it’s tough to compete with The Beatles. Where do our boys stand when it comes to solo albums?

1. Lennon, obviously. Plastic ono Band is one of the greatest albums ever recorded.
2. Harrison. All things must pass.
3. Mc Cartney. No full album but if you compile his best solo songs you have a good pop album.

29. Richards Talk is cheap. It’s ok I guess. Take it so hard is good.
29/30: Jagger: Wandering Spirit. Never listen to it but yes it’s ok. It’s something.

1. Wood
2. Richards
3. Harrison
4. Jagger
5. Lennon
6. McCartney
7. Wyman
8. Watts
9. Taylor
10. Ringo

Of course "all things must pass" is best.
But all solos vs all solos competition goes for Stones

Paul/Wings' span of Red Rose through Venus and Mars (or maybe London Town) was pretty good (mostly). Ringo Ringo was nice. Single Fantasy (minus the Yoko songs) was very good. Ditto All Things, but George did have some poor ones, too.

I like Talk Is Cheap and Gimme Some Neck (please remix this) best of the Stones stuff. Also, Got My Own Album. Wandering Spirit is good. I also like parts of Boss and Cool. Bill is so so and I have never heard Charlie, Mick T., or Brian solo.

Chuck Leavell has a good Christmas album.

Even though he has several fillers on many of his 70s albums, I think John Lennon tops them all. He even tops Beatles themselves on his better outputs, IMO.
After that; Mick Jagger, Harrison and Ron Wood. Allthough if it wasn't for Wandering Spirit and All Things Must Pass, Jagger and Harrison wouldn't be worth mentioning.

I loved Lennon's Rock N Roll album around 1974 ...showed a great love for the music which inspired him ...

...and maybe exorcised the old Rock N Roller in him, who was kind of unfulfilled within the framework the Beatles.

I wish he'd done more stuff like that.

I have never listened to Paul. George on the other hand made a brilliant album back in 1987 - Cloud nine. When I was young and ready! John is John - great, for the most part. Ringo is Ringo.

Never diss Ringo! A great drummer in his own right, and penned some quality tunes. Did you know the brilliant Don't Pass Me By is a Ringo tune? A great song!