Hard to believe that, by the end of '74, George Harrison seemed so out of ideas that he could come up with so little for his Dark Horse album. Leading with an instrumental and two filler songs? "Maya Love" sounds pretty good. "Bye Bye Love" seems like an odd cover, but maybe it just sounds so weird to hear an Everly Brothers song without harmonizing on it. "Ding Dong Ding Dong" is a paper-thin confection, but if you ignore how there's almost nothing to it, the tune is rather catchy. And then, of course, "Dark Horse" is pretty good and the raison d'etre for the album. I prefer this bonus track/earlier version - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqL2PEwq9qM.... Harrison seems to make a habit of layering too much onto his songs, when they sound best with the simplest of arrangements.
I've been looking forward to listening to this one again! I don't own it, but I've grooved to John Lennon's Rock n' Roll album more than once, borrowing it from my library. This is always going to be my favorite Lennon solo album -- no Lennon the Artiste or Lennon the Social Critic or Lennon, Yoko's Stooge in sight -- this is just a guy who loves rock n' roll music, singing rock n' roll music, and you can hear that love in every tune. The only missteps are slowing down "Do You Want to Dance" and "Bony Maronie," which turn out not as good as the originals. Conversely, "Sweet Little Sixteen" is much improved by mixing in the sound of "Little Egypt" by the Coasters. But the one I'm going to share is "Just Because" -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQkouyTSKlg... -- which John can't resist waxing nostalgically on before he starts belting it out.
After Ram and Band on the Run, it would be hard for anyone's album to measure up, so it's no surprise that Venus and Mars doesn't quite measure up. But there are no bad songs! The "Venus and Mars" intro and reprise are now becoming familiar features of Beatles and solo Beatles albums, but the reprise comes almost in the middle, defying expectations. "Rock Show" is fun, but more satisfying are the gentle "Love In Song," the retro "You Gave Me the Answer" (Paul was so good at retro), and another rocker, "Letting Go." "Medicine Jar" is the weakest song, and that's only because it's so average. "Spirits of Ancient Egypt" is so goofy that it shouldn't work, but Paul sings it with such earnestness that you can't help but like it. Of all the songs on it, "Call Me Back" is the song I sing most often out loud, it's so amazing that Paul can take anxiety about a phone call, something we can all relate to, and turn it into something so epic. But, of course, I can't not mention "Magneto and Titanium Man!" Paul's tribute to the Marvel Comics work of Jack Kirby is marred only by the fact that Jack Kirby didn't have anything to do with the Titanium Man. And those two villains never worked together, ever. And the crime they're pulling off is just silly. But it's good clean comic book fun! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wq9z7D8HKZo&list=PLrv5a_5drVgT6kEK-hHQYs-UaE9LyM7F-&index=5
So far in my listening project, I've heard two masterpiece albums from Ringo, three from Paul, and one from John and George each, so it got to be pretty difficult getting through George's Extra Texture. I normally write these based on my own impressions without doing any additional reading first, but I did happen to see the comments section on "You" and how some people loved it for its simplicity. And it's true that I did say George was better when he went for sublime without too much over-layering...but there is a line he's crossed here that seems to veer into sheer laziness. I can't even recommend "Tired of Midnight Blue," probably the least bad song on the album, enough to bother linking you to it. Hoping things pick up again soon...
It doesn't seem quite fair to compare "Best of" albums to regular albums, so all I'm going to say about John Lennon's Shaved Fish and Ringo Starr's Blast from Your Past is that they are full of great songs, and Shaved Fish is a terrible name.
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