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Post by Kapitan on Aug 13, 2021 0:51:27 GMT
A brief interjection: listening to side two of Abbey Road right now and really sad thinking that this is where we were 5-6 years later.
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Post by lonelysummer on Aug 13, 2021 1:14:14 GMT
A brief interjection: listening to side two of Abbey Road right now and really sad thinking that this is where we were 5-6 years later. Extra Texture and Dark Horse both top tenned in the US, but they were in and out of the charts pretty fast. Goodnight Vienna was the last of Ringo's top ten albums, and John retired, so going into 76, Paul was the only one riding high on the charts. Look back, though, at what the ex-Fabs accomplished in their first five years apart, it's pretty impressive. There were times when all four Beatles were in the top 40. Do you know of any other band that can claim that? Fleetwood Mac? Eagles? Chicago? The Beach Boys?
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 13, 2021 11:37:11 GMT
A brief interjection: listening to side two of Abbey Road right now and really sad thinking that this is where we were 5-6 years later. Extra Texture and Dark Horse both top tenned in the US, but they were in and out of the charts pretty fast. Goodnight Vienna was the last of Ringo's top ten albums, and John retired, so going into 76, Paul was the only one riding high on the charts. Look back, though, at what the ex-Fabs accomplished in their first five years apart, it's pretty impressive. There were times when all four Beatles were in the top 40. Do you know of any other band that can claim that? Fleetwood Mac? Eagles? Chicago? The Beach Boys? I understand how commercially successful they had been.
But nothing any of them were doing in 1975 (or before, for that matter) is remotely close to as good as side two of Abbey Road to my ears. However many albums they sold or however high their work ended up on the charts, it is almost all a disappointment to me relative to their Beatles output. And by 1975, only Paul was doing anything I think is remotely close: Ringo is Ringo; John's Rock 'n' Roll wasn't to my taste at all, and the albums since Imagine were OK but not great (or always good); and George had declined with every album to the point of this one, which I don't intend to ever listen to again once our ratings are done.
So yeah, it's depressing to me to see how much worse they were apart than together five years down the line.
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Post by kds on Aug 13, 2021 12:13:30 GMT
A brief interjection: listening to side two of Abbey Road right now and really sad thinking that this is where we were 5-6 years later. Crazy isn't it. It's hard to believe that this is really my first deep Beatles solo dive, and the first time I've listened in chronological order. For some reason, I always thought the dip in quality wasn't until later.
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 13, 2021 12:20:05 GMT
I've always rated the Beatles solo careers lower, but was far more familiar with Paul's and John's. The George material after Living In the Material World is new to me, and from Ringo, everything but Ringo! is new to me. Especially with George, I guess I assumed it would be better. I'm surprised that I'm not just pleasantly ambivalent, but often actively disliking it.
Earlier in the thread I think we were saying something along these lines, but I'll just say that again, as of this point, the only solo Beatles albums that stand up in quality to Beatles albums for me are Plastic Ono Band, All Things Must Pass, Imagine and Band on the Run. Even those would all be significantly better as Beatles albums, I'm certain, but they're really great.
I'd say Ram, Living in the Material World, and maybe Venus and Mars and Mind Games (or a best-of between that and Walls & Bridges are next.
Don't get me wrong, I get it: they had been playing together for years, and they didn't want to anymore. There's nothing wrong with that. They're free men who should have done whatever they wanted to do (and so they did). But the music could have been so much better had they felt and chosen otherwise.
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Post by kds on Aug 13, 2021 12:22:28 GMT
While I never bought Dark Horse and Extra Texture, I remember listening to them and liking them more at one time.
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 13, 2021 14:50:55 GMT
As I listen yet again to Extra Texture with ratings in mind, I can't help but think about albums like Queen's Hot Space or the Flash Gordon soundtrack album, albums that have a few good songs that have a lot of heavy lifting to do when it comes to the albums' reputations.
How much do I like "You," in particular? That's really what it comes down to, and to a lesser degree, "The Answer's At the End," "This Guitar (Can't Keep From Crying)," and "Tired of Midnight Blue." Enough to give the album, say, a 5? I can't see 6, because I don't like it as much as several albums I rated 6s. So 5 is the upper limit for me, though I don't think I could go below a 4, either. You could say my range on this is 4.0 to 5.49.
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Post by kds on Aug 13, 2021 15:02:42 GMT
I think the reason I went with a six is because, while the songs can be a bed tedious and samey while listening to the full album, I think taken individually, there's nothing on it I'd really call bad.
Whereas an album like Hot Space, I think Back Chat, Cool Cat, Staying Power (the studio version at least), and Dancer are shite.
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 13, 2021 15:05:44 GMT
Yeah, I have a lower opinion of some of what's on ET, I think. Maybe not QUITE as bad as the worst of Hot Space, but certainly not enjoyable for me.
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Post by lonelysummer on Aug 14, 2021 6:32:57 GMT
I think, taken individually, there are many good songs on ET, but together on the album, there's all slow, tedious, and so serious. World of Stone, Grey Cloudy Lies, Tired of Midnight Blue, Can't Stop Thinking About You...I don't rate Thirty Three and 1/3rd as highly as most GH fans seem to these days, but at least it's got a bit more upbeat feeling to it. Actually, side two of that album is quite good; where it falters is right out of the starting gate, with the pseudo disco of Woman Don't You Cry For Me. The second track, Dear One, is a bit of a snore, but then it gets better from there. Honestly, some of George's best work was still ahead of him.
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 14, 2021 11:15:09 GMT
I just can't agree: "many good songs" on ET? Not to my ears, I was ambivalent-to-annoyed listening to three of those four you named. But, that's individual perspective/taste for you.
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Post by B.E. on Aug 14, 2021 14:15:47 GMT
Well, I'm at a strong '7'. (I wonder if it will stand as the highest rating...@robesimo?) I actually slightly prefer it to Thirty Three & 1/3, Gone Troppo, and Live in Japan. One of the things I like about it is just its uniqueness (in his catalog). I feel similarly about Dark Horse. None of his other albums sound like those, so when I'm in the mood, I really enjoy them. After this album, I think he kind of adopts (or settles into) a certain style and sticks to it (minor production variations aside). That said, I understand the criticisms of Extra Texture. I think "Ooh Baby (You Know That I Love You)" is kind of all of them wrapped into one. That, and his other ode to Smokey Robinson ("Pure Smokey"), are two of my absolute least favorite George Harrison tracks. Another is "His Name Is Legs" (despite its welcomed tempo). I'm also not thrilled with how they used the reprise of "You". So, for an album with only 9.5 songs, I'm already down to 7...thing is, I like all 7. I'd probably rank them like this: You - 9.75 Can't Stop Thinking About You - 9.25 This Guitar (Can't Keep From Crying) - 8.75 Grey Cloudy Lies - 8.25 Tired Of Midnight Blue - 7.75 World of Stone - 7.5 The Answer's at the End - 7.5 Sure, some of the songs are a bit long, and there's some noodling and '70s sounds that aren't my favorite, but I think of it as a moody, late night album or something. I might get tired of it if I listened to it over and over...but I don't. I'm a wise man. I also like the packaging. In addition to the CD, I have two LPs. One has a surface kind of like a basketball and the other has the lettering cut out revealing the sleeve which is a great picture of George. I also like the subtitle: OHNOTHIMAGEN. And I had a really cool T-shirt when I was a teen but it no longer fits.
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Post by B.E. on Aug 14, 2021 14:21:33 GMT
A brief interjection: listening to side two of Abbey Road right now and really sad thinking that this is where we were 5-6 years later. Crazy isn't it. It's hard to believe that this is really my first deep Beatles solo dive, and the first time I've listened in chronological order. For some reason, I always thought the dip in quality wasn't until later. I'm not denying the dip in quality from George at this time, but if all we heard from George in 1975 were Beatle versions of "You" and "This Guitar (Can't Keep From Crying)" I don't think anyone would have really noticed.
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Post by B.E. on Aug 14, 2021 16:54:00 GMT
I don't know if you guys would agree, but to my ears Extra Texture has George venturing furthest from his comfort zone. Stylistically, he seemed to be trying something fairly different. Vocally, he was spending more time in a higher register.
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Post by B.E. on Aug 14, 2021 16:57:38 GMT
Well, I'm at a strong '7'. I wonder if it will stand as the highest rating? Someone went higher. I can dig it.
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