McCartney Sabotaged Lennons Songs?

[electracoyote]

There's an interview (can't find the link atm) with George Martin where he talks about reading the Lennon interview(s) where John said some pretty unkind things about GM and the other Beatles. Martin said he ran into Lennon a few years later in a pub and when John greeted him, he said "I'm not sure if you want to speak to me, John..." Lennon replied "Oh, take no note of that, George; I was out of my head when I said a lot of those things. I didn't mean it." and seemed very sincere.

George Martin should be a candidate for sainthood.

 

[Skitch it!]

Paul has too much pride in his own performance to deliberately under-perform for the sake of argument, I do remember an old interview where Martin wanted a couple of notes to sit consistently on a track, he had Paul play it until his fingers started to suffer as I remember, Paul is too pretty well focused in his work ethic imo, but I could be wrong....? Stuff happens.

 

[Mike M.]

It seems to me that as much as Paul tried to push his songs first he knew a good thing when he heard it, regardless of who wrote it and wanted to get the very best from it.

On the session for "Something" Harrison even said that while he (Harrison) had a huge say in the song, Paul also worked very hard on it.

 

[GregDunn]

George Martin should be a candidate for sainthood.

Yeah, he coaxed the best out of the bands he worked with, and did so without alienating anyone for the most part. You can't overstate his accomplishments.

 

[powderfinger]

Shes' So Heavy

 

[RBrownBass]

It makes sense, since at the time, Paul was so musically fertile, that he'd want to add his personal stamp when it came to contributing to someone else's composition.

I believe it was George who said the bass part on "Something" was a bloody bass solo.

Of course, it's perfect.

I just lost every bit of respect I ever had for George Harrison, his music and his memory after reading this. Sad to hear that he was just another guitard.

 

[Pet Sounds]

I just lost every bit of respect I ever had for George Harrison, his music and his memory after reading this. Sad to hear that he was just another guitard.

Well, I wouldn't go that far, but George certainly was wrong about Paul's beautiful bass line on Something. Again, he was frosted because Paul wouldn't let him scribble on Hey Jude (if you listen closely to their argument in the Let It Be movie, you'll hear the Hey Jude conflict mentioned). And Paul clearly was dominating.
Generally, I think this whole thread is kind of a misfire because McCartney, whatever his sins may have been, obviously was a very supportive, "team player" in the Beatles. He was the one who was most devastated when they broke up.

 

[dougjwray]

Well, I wouldn't go that far, but George certainly was wrong about Paul's beautiful bass line on Something. Again, he was frosted because Paul wouldn't let him scribble on Hey Jude (if you listen closely to their argument in the Let It Be movie, you'll hear the Hey Jude conflict mentioned). And Paul clearly was dominating.
Generally, I think this whole thread is kind of a misfire because McCartney, whatever his sins may have been, obviously was a very supportive, "team player" in the Beatles. He was the one who was most devastated when they broke up.

And, it may not have been Harrison who made the "bloody bass solo" comment. I remember reading an interview where he complimented Paul's playing on "Something."

Hard as it is for us mere mortals to comprehend, these guys were once kids who met on the bus to school; McCartney and Harrison always had an "older brother/younger brother" dynamic which very much carried over into their relationship in the Beatles.

 

[Deluge Of Sound]

After the dust settled, Harrison had the best solo career of the bunch.

 

[FunkMetalBass]

Sabotage sells.

 

[John Swartz]

Some things:

~ Sign me up for the foot in the groin to the "boy band" revisionists. I'll wear my steel-toed boots.

~ The Playboy interview took place immediately before Lennon was murdered. Not in the early '70s. I believe it was printed in the January 1981 issue.

~ Paul doesn't read music.

~ Paul was the best, most versatile player, and the most prolific writer (and the smoothest singer) in the band. But, for one thing, Lennon knew how to fingerpick a guitar, which McCartney has never learned. And, in addition to guitar, he did play harmonica and piano, and naturally, always added exactly the right touch to make a song. I remember reading about how Paul's "Obla-Di, Obla-Da" was sitting there, flat, until Lennon sat down at the piano and made it come alive.

~ As someone said, Lennon was a complicated guy. He could be very jealous, spiteful, even sadistic, but also express great tenderness in his music (e.g. "Julia"). Ringo has said that he thought John was a lovely guy underneath it all. Remember that John had significant problems growing up (never knew his father, felt abandoned by his mother, witnessed her death at the hands of a drunk driver when he was 15 and just getting to know her). Also, by the time of the White Album, he was in love with Yoko Ono as well as using heroin, and he was losing interest in the Beatles. Paul was the one who was determined to keep things together, and, from what I understand, his obsessiveness started to become more than a bit annoying, to both Lennon and Harrison. I think Lennon tried to have it both ways by exerting comparatively very little effort on the band by that time, and then turning around and complaining about Paul being the taskmaster who (paradoxically) did an offhand job on John's songs. I think it was Geoff Emerick (or maybe George Martin) who said that John liked to work very quickly, and then lost interest, while Paul would, indeed, stay late to make sure that everything sounded good.

~ Lennon often expressed his preference for '50s-style rock and roll, yet he created some of the most visionary Beatles songs. Contrary to popular opinion, he also created some of the most beautiful Beatles melodies ("Norwegian Wood", "A Day in the Life", "If I Fell", the aforementioned "Julia", "Girl", "In My Life", etc., etc.). He also had a way of discovering some amazing, fresh chord progressions and modulations that, to me, equalled Paul's more polished, Mozart-like mastery of music.

~ What can you say? They were the greatest band and the most fascinating combination of musicians.

+1

 

[SMILEYSIXX]

Lennon became an attention whore and an all around ass who distanced himself from the band. Not that this was all his fault *cough* yoko *cough*.

Paul was a great bassist and, if anything, improved on Lennon's music. When I listen to the Beatles, all I really pay attention to is the bass because he was easily the best musician there. Lennon was a good songwriter, but stack his guitar playing next to Paul's bass playing, and there's no comparison.

 

[dougjwray]

Lennon became an attention whore and an all around ass who distanced himself from the band. Not that this was all his fault *cough* yoko *cough*.

Paul was a great bassist and, if anything, improved on Lennon's music. When I listen to the Beatles, all I really pay attention to is the bass because he was easily the best musician there. Lennon was a good songwriter, but stack his guitar playing next to Paul's bass playing, and there's no comparison.

While not a revolutionary instrumentalist like Paul, Lennon was actually quite a fine rhythm guitarist, with solid time, a funky feel, and some interesting ideas (such as his part in "All My Loving", which Paul has singled out for praise).
(And saying Lennon was a "good songwriter" is like saying Superman has "above-average strength." But I'll leave that alone. )

 

[ilikeindie]

Just read the Geoff Emerick book and you'll see that Paul dug in and did everyone's songs justice... while they went home and crashed - or whatever.

I'm glad to see that someone else read that book.

What a fantastic read.

 

[Toronto Bassist]

John was indeed a great rhythm guitarist...the chords on "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" are awesome. I always ponder if it would've been cooler to let George wail away at the end, but I think it adds more to the ominous feeling as it is.

Also, I have to admit that I think the bass line on "Something" is a tad busier than necessary. I mean, I love creative bass parts as much as anyone else, but it just strikes me as having a little too much overplaying.

 

[RBrownBass]

Well, I wouldn't go that far, but George certainly was wrong about Paul's beautiful bass line on Something. Again, he was frosted because Paul wouldn't let him scribble on Hey Jude (if you listen closely to their argument in the Let It Be movie, you'll hear the Hey Jude conflict mentioned). And Paul clearly was dominating.
Generally, I think this whole thread is kind of a misfire because McCartney, whatever his sins may have been, obviously was a very supportive, "team player" in the Beatles. He was the one who was most devastated when they broke up.

And, it may not have been Harrison who made the "bloody bass solo" comment. I remember reading an interview where he complimented Paul's playing on "Something."

Hard as it is for us mere mortals to comprehend, these guys were once kids who met on the bus to school; McCartney and Harrison always had an "older brother/younger brother" dynamic which very much carried over into their relationship in the Beatles.

Well, I get that, and I hope it wasn't George who trashed his bassist while trying and failing to achieve what Paul did as a composer.

After the dust settled, Harrison had the best solo career of the bunch.

Disagree totally. As much as I like Give Me Love, What Is Life, My Sweet Love and While... Weeps, Paul's Wings material keeps up with George's in quality.. the catch is, you have to set aside your unconscious snobbery to realize it (I certainly did that back as a teen and as a result, the music sticks with me to this day) and blows it away in quantity.

I could list a bunch of Paul tunes, but a quick look at one compilation album (Wingspan) tells the story pretty well.

 

[Rockmusician]

I wouldn't read too much into it. Their relationship was like a marriage. It had its ups and downs.