The post Beatles solo work of Lennon, McCartney, & Harrison is often dismissed out of hand. The "conventional wisdom" that all of their post Beatles albums were garbage is often taken as truth by people who really haven't even given their solo work a proper listen. The truth is that they did record a number of excellent albums during their solo careers.
Five of the best solo albums of John, Paul, & George's solo careers are included in this article. I should be clear that I don't think any of these albums are as good as The Beatles best albums but I do think they are still worth a close listen. They shouldn't be dismissed without actually being heard first!
Paul McCartney - Ram (1971) - This album has a real "magic" to it. I think it may actually be Paul's best solo album because it unleashes his musical creativity in it's most unbridled way. Sadly, a lot of the music critics at the time just didn't get what Paul was doing and I think he backed away from this really quite "weird" (and I mean that in the best way) direction because of that.
John Lennon - Mind Games (1973) - A lot of people have heard the title track but I think the rest of the album is mostly unknown to people until they hear it. This makes it quite a "revelatory" experience to a Beatles fan in my opinion. It's a good album and works really well as an album (rather than just a collection of songs.)
George Harrison - All Things Must Pass (1970) - This one was a huge revelation as showed what a prolific songwriter George was He had a lot of songs built up from his time with The Beatles that he wasn't able to get onto Beatles albums thus this triple album came into being (the 3rd LP being instrumental jams.) Unfortunately he never came close to matching this album the rest of his career, in my opinion.
Paul McCartney - Chaos & Creation... (2005) - Nigel Godrich (known mostly for his work with Radiohead) came in to produce this album and he really brought a level of discipline otherwise missing from Paul's solo work which makes it a uniquely tight album in Paul's catalog.
The Fireman - Electric Arguments (2008) - This is Paul's third release as "The Fireman" which is actually a duo of McCartney and the producer Youth. The first one isn't worth checking out, but the second one is titled Rushes (1998) and it's a really great electronic ambient music album that I highly recommend. Anyway, as far as Electric Arguments goes - it's basically a marriage of Paul's experimental edge with his more pop oriented songwriting.
This list is not meant to be the top five and it's definitely not meant to be all inclusive. These are just five albums to check out so that you can get a taste of the great music John, Paul, & George kept making after they left The Beatles.
Five of the best solo albums of John, Paul, & George's solo careers are included in this article. I should be clear that I don't think any of these albums are as good as The Beatles best albums but I do think they are still worth a close listen. They shouldn't be dismissed without actually being heard first!
Paul McCartney - Ram (1971) - This album has a real "magic" to it. I think it may actually be Paul's best solo album because it unleashes his musical creativity in it's most unbridled way. Sadly, a lot of the music critics at the time just didn't get what Paul was doing and I think he backed away from this really quite "weird" (and I mean that in the best way) direction because of that.
John Lennon - Mind Games (1973) - A lot of people have heard the title track but I think the rest of the album is mostly unknown to people until they hear it. This makes it quite a "revelatory" experience to a Beatles fan in my opinion. It's a good album and works really well as an album (rather than just a collection of songs.)
George Harrison - All Things Must Pass (1970) - This one was a huge revelation as showed what a prolific songwriter George was He had a lot of songs built up from his time with The Beatles that he wasn't able to get onto Beatles albums thus this triple album came into being (the 3rd LP being instrumental jams.) Unfortunately he never came close to matching this album the rest of his career, in my opinion.
Paul McCartney - Chaos & Creation... (2005) - Nigel Godrich (known mostly for his work with Radiohead) came in to produce this album and he really brought a level of discipline otherwise missing from Paul's solo work which makes it a uniquely tight album in Paul's catalog.
The Fireman - Electric Arguments (2008) - This is Paul's third release as "The Fireman" which is actually a duo of McCartney and the producer Youth. The first one isn't worth checking out, but the second one is titled Rushes (1998) and it's a really great electronic ambient music album that I highly recommend. Anyway, as far as Electric Arguments goes - it's basically a marriage of Paul's experimental edge with his more pop oriented songwriting.
This list is not meant to be the top five and it's definitely not meant to be all inclusive. These are just five albums to check out so that you can get a taste of the great music John, Paul, & George kept making after they left The Beatles.
About the Author:
George Harrison, John Lennon, and Paul McCartney are all great artists both individually and as a part of The Beatles.
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