# Post Beatles: Lennon vs McCartney
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-beatles-lennon-vs-mccartney/433347
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [January 13, 2008, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-beatles-lennon-vs-mccartney/433347 "2008-01-13T02:23:57Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)
#### Post date: [January 13, 2008, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-beatles-lennon-vs-mccartney/433347/1 "2008-01-13T02:23:57Z")
Who put out the best music?
My ipod has Lennon the winner 10 to 3.
John
Imagine
Instant Karma
Jealous Guy
Cold Turkey
Mind Games
#9 Dream
(Just like) Starting Over
Women
Watching the Wheels
Give Peace A Chance
Paul
Maybe I’m Amazed
My Love
Uncle Albert/ Admiral Hasley
What your “score”?
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### Author:  [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)
#### Post date: [January 13, 2008, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-beatles-lennon-vs-mccartney/433347/2 "2008-01-13T02:26:44Z")
Nil all going in to extra time.
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### Author:  [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)
#### Post date: [January 13, 2008, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-beatles-lennon-vs-mccartney/433347/3 "2008-01-13T02:41:23Z")
You have to wonder what you would think had Mcartney been killed in 1980, and Lennon had lived. It’s easy to dismiss that effect, but I think it is much more significant than “afficianado’s” like to admit.
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### Author:  [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)
#### Post date: [January 13, 2008, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-beatles-lennon-vs-mccartney/433347/4 "2008-01-13T02:59:05Z")
I adored the Beatles and their music, but I have to admit there hasn’t much by either John or Paul since that I’ve liked all that much. Just sorta/kinda, if at all. However, despite Paul’s greater output, I’d give the nod to John as to which one’s music I sorta/kinda liked best. I felt that way prior to John’s murder, and Paul’s output since hasn’t changed my mind.
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### Author:  [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)
#### Post date: [January 13, 2008, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-beatles-lennon-vs-mccartney/433347/5 "2008-01-13T03:03:21Z")
For the record, I tend to agree that Lennon’s music was better, but I can’t be sure that in alternate universe McCartney’s music would have been played differently had he died.
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### Author:  [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)
#### Post date: [January 13, 2008, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-beatles-lennon-vs-mccartney/433347/6 "2008-01-13T03:09:18Z")
Lennon v McCartney? Impossible to choose!
Might as well ask if I like Ron or Dirk better.
Seriously, though, it’s a toss up for me. They each have songs that are inextricably linked to big emotional moments of my life.
I wonder what it might have sounded like if they had covered a few of each other’s tunes.
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### Author:  [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)
#### Post date: [January 13, 2008, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-beatles-lennon-vs-mccartney/433347/7 "2008-01-13T03:14:40Z")
Dead heat at 0/0.
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### Author:  [@Ichbin\_Dubist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ichbin_Dubist)
#### Post date: [January 13, 2008, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-beatles-lennon-vs-mccartney/433347/8 "2008-01-13T03:28:59Z")
Lennon 21, McCartney 25, Harrison 25, Ringo 2.
In my defense, it’s a big iPod.
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### Author:  [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)
#### Post date: [January 13, 2008, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-beatles-lennon-vs-mccartney/433347/9 "2008-01-13T03:37:52Z")
I’ve got three LPs in favor of Lennon (_Walls and Bridges, Imagine, Double Fantasy_) and three LPs in favor of McCartney (_Band on the Run, Speed of Sound, Wings over America_)
Just have to figure out what to do about [Suzy and the Red Stripes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzy_and_the_Red_Stripes)… 😃
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### Author:  [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)
#### Post date: [January 13, 2008, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-beatles-lennon-vs-mccartney/433347/10 "2008-01-13T04:03:27Z")
IMHO: John Lennon had more great songs, post Beatles than Paul did.
(You Tube Links below)
[Imagine](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEOkxRLzBf0), [Working Class Hero](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njG7p6CSbCU), [“Happy Xmas (War Is Over)”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8jw-ifqwkM), [Give Peace A Chance](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-NRriHlLUk), John Lennon’s version of [Stand By Me](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4_ghOG9JQM), [Jealous Guy](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lLs2dC9NaE), [Woman](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaLfDnShEn0&feature=related), [Nobody Told Me](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s10t32X5wvI&feature=related), [“Jealous Guy”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rqsuq_EQZyk), [“Love”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GmVajkqLNU), [beautiful boy (darling boy)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_imwld_WzI&feature=related), the more obscure [Borrowed Time](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce6dUH2XYYQ), [Woman is the Nigger of the World](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6P91_H690z4), [“Power to the People”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wos-dDxpJlQ), “[Instant Karma!](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MieDFkhlByo)”, [“Cold Turkey”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtcUEP6goZ0), [“#9 Dream”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVKZ4_5FlNs) and I am forgetting a few.
Oh, I forgot [Nobody Loves You (When You’re Down And Out)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iwJ71Wzn0U)
Look in the end, Paul was a great Pop Artist, John really was a genius, he was something truly special, if anything, he was better & deeper after the Beatles.
Did I mention Imagine, that trumps everything Paul did post-Beatles, by itself.
When John Lennon was gunned down, I was only 14. I cried on and off for the next day or two. I know I missed school that Tuesday and I was disappointed, I could not go to the Strawberry Fields Candle Remembrance with my older brother and some of my friends. I think that was on the following Sunday.
My father & I were watching Monday Night Football, when a shocked Howard Cosell announced his death. I had a second room in my parents basement where my stereo was and I just went down there and listened to John’s music into the night.
I forgot my score: 14 for John Lennon to only 2 for Paul. Not an Ipod, just my hard drive.
Jim
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### Author:  [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)
#### Post date: [January 13, 2008, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-beatles-lennon-vs-mccartney/433347/11 "2008-01-13T04:14:14Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?]
Look in the end, Paul was a great Pop Artist, John really was a genius, he was something truly special, if anything, he was better & deeper after the Beatles.
[/quote]
This was sort of my feeling when I first read the OP. I answered, as can be seen above; but really, it is (IMHO) like comparing apples and bananas. One was arty and desired to Say Something, one wrote and played music in order to sell it. One was the George Orwell of music; the other was the Stephen King. Or so it seemed to me; John’s music was art for the few; Paul’s was commercial for the masses. It’s a difficult question, really; if you remember the post-Beatle days when McCartney and Lennon were each pursuing separate paths.
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### Author:  [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)
#### Post date: [January 13, 2008, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-beatles-lennon-vs-mccartney/433347/12 "2008-01-13T04:37:59Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?]
IMHO: John Lennon had more great songs, post Beatles than Paul did.
(You Tube Links below)
[Imagine](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEOkxRLzBf0), [Working Class Hero](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njG7p6CSbCU), [“Happy Xmas (War Is Over)”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8jw-ifqwkM), [Give Peace A Chance](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-NRriHlLUk), John Lennon’s version of [Stand By Me](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4_ghOG9JQM), [Jealous Guy](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lLs2dC9NaE), [Woman](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaLfDnShEn0&feature=related), [Nobody Told Me](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s10t32X5wvI&feature=related), [“Jealous Guy”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rqsuq_EQZyk), [“Love”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GmVajkqLNU), [beautiful boy (darling boy)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_imwld_WzI&feature=related), the more obscure [Borrowed Time](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce6dUH2XYYQ), [Woman is the Nigger of the World](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6P91_H690z4), [“Power to the People”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wos-dDxpJlQ), “[Instant Karma!](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MieDFkhlByo)”, [“Cold Turkey”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtcUEP6goZ0), [“#9 Dream”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVKZ4_5FlNs) and I am forgetting a few.
Oh, I forgot [Nobody Loves You (When You’re Down And Out)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iwJ71Wzn0U)
Look in the end, Paul was a great Pop Artist, John really was a genius, he was something truly special, if anything, he was better & deeper after the Beatles.
Did I mention Imagine, that trumps everything Paul did post-Beatles, by itself.
When John Lennon was gunned down, I was only 14. I cried on and off for the next day or two. I know I missed school that Tuesday and I was disappointed, I could not go to the Strawberry Fields Candle Remembrance with my older brother and some of my friends. I think that was on the following Sunday.
My father & I were watching Monday Night Football, when a shocked Howard Cosell announced his death. I had a second room in my parents basement where my stereo was and I just went down there and listened to John’s music into the night.
I forgot my score: 14 for John Lennon to only 2 for Paul. Not an Ipod, just my hard drive.
Jim
[/QUOTE]
What are your 2 songs from Paul?
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### Author:  [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)
#### Post date: [January 13, 2008, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-beatles-lennon-vs-mccartney/433347/13 "2008-01-13T04:45:41Z")
george!
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### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [January 13, 2008, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-beatles-lennon-vs-mccartney/433347/14 "2008-01-13T04:48:00Z")
I don’t have either on my iPod, but as far as post Beatles music, my nod has to go to George Harrison – 1 album (_All Things Must Pass_). I also have one from Paul (_Band on the Run_), but that had far fewer songs (but was probably better overall). I had nothing by Lennon because his stuff was very uneven, usually because he insisted Yoko take part.
To further complicate the issue, according to Lennon himself, McCartney wrote more Beatles songs than he did.
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### Author:  [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)
#### Post date: [January 13, 2008, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-beatles-lennon-vs-mccartney/433347/15 "2008-01-13T04:59:43Z")
“Hope of Deliverance” is McCartney’s best post-Beatles song. It went nowhere in the U.S. as a single, probably because it was far more mature as well as darker than his earlier material. But that’s what makes it work.
“We live in hope of deliverance from the darkness that surrounds us.”
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### Author:  [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)
#### Post date: [January 13, 2008, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-beatles-lennon-vs-mccartney/433347/16 "2008-01-13T05:45:09Z")
So, whose _Simpsons_ appearance was best?
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### Author:  [@Oregon\_sunshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oregon_sunshine)
#### Post date: [January 13, 2008, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-beatles-lennon-vs-mccartney/433347/17 "2008-01-13T06:13:54Z")
Is there even any question? Just listen to _Plastic Ono Band_ once. It speaks for itself.
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### Author:  [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)
#### Post date: [January 13, 2008, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-beatles-lennon-vs-mccartney/433347/18 "2008-01-13T06:41:01Z")
_Plastic Ono Band_ beats anything McCartney ever put out, but McCartney did a lot more good songs. McCartney was, of course, much more active.
Personally, though, I get off on some of Harrison’s music more than anything either of them did. Songs like “What is Life,” “Dream Away” (my personal favorite), his cover of “I’ve Got My Mind Set On You,” and some of the Travelling Wilburys’ stuff is just amazing.
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### Author:  [@Great\_Dave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Dave)
#### Post date: [January 13, 2008, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-beatles-lennon-vs-mccartney/433347/19 "2008-01-13T07:44:28Z")
I’m not big into either of them, but I did watch a Lennon DVD (Imagine, I think, it was a greatest hits thing), and saw the US vs John Lennon. I have to agree with **Jim**. Paul’s great, and very musically talented, but John was on a different plane. Salieri vs Mozart, Magritte vs de Kooning, King of the Hill vs the Simpsons.
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### Author:  [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)
#### Post date: [January 13, 2008, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-beatles-lennon-vs-mccartney/433347/20 "2008-01-13T12:33:53Z")
Truth is, none of the Beatles maintained the peak of their creativity for long after the group split. Lennon managed to produce a great album _(Plastic Ono Band)_ and a pretty good one _(Imagine)_ before his muse gave out on him; ever the solipsist, he had nothing left to write about except idiotic New Left politics and, when that dried up, his creepy wife/mother-figure. In addition, he needed a strong producer to create listenable work. Much of his work post-1971 is bland and lacking in any distinctive character – including _Double Fantasy_, which garnered tepid praise at best in the few days between its advance release and December 8th. (The miraculous reappraisal that record has undergone should sicken any true Lennon admirer.)
As for George Harrison, the frustration he’d endured in having his songs continually overlooked by Lennon and McCartney paid a surprising dividend: he was able to stock his first proper solo disk with the great songs that might have graced _Let It Be_ or _Abbey Road_ had his colleagues been of more generous mind. Once his backlog was cleared, he sank into the same torpor as Lennon. Much of Harrison’s 70s output was, until a few years ago, actually out of print. He did score a nice hit with _Cloud Nine_, an album with some pretty good songs only partially destroyed by Jeff Lynne’s soul-sucking production.
McCartney’s solo career is interesting in that he’s the only one of the Beatles truly capable of producing himself, and as awful as a lot of his post-Beatles output is – some of those records have, at best, a single worthwhile song – you do at least hear him attempting to advance his sound; a lot of it may be crap, but it’s interesting-sounding crap. (Compare the quirky, New Wave-y sound of _McCartney II_ with the AOR-pop of _Double Fantasy_.) McCartney’s are the only solo Beatles albums that really do sound like the work of one person, from beginning to end, and I think that lends an aspect to his solo career that’s worth rediscovering.
As for who’s better, I think it is very much an apples/oranges/pears thing. I think _Plastic Ono Band_ is probably the best album any ex-Beatle ever made; I think _All Things Must Pass_ is damn fine; and I think Paul McCartney has produced much better work than most people realize. In fact, I dream of attending a Paul McCartney show where he doesn’t play a single Beatles song; he could easily fill a two-hour set with great solo material. Granted, he’s had almost 40 years to build it up.
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