Topic: Who was the best instrumentalist in The Beatles? (Read 7398 times)

ShesCominDownFastYesSheIs · « **Reply #20 on:** March 15, 2007, 12:50:35 AM »

Paul by far.....and that's not to discredit the other three.

adamzero · « **Reply #21 on:** March 15, 2007, 02:08:56 AM »

Paul and George--it's pretty damn close.  Paul's great on bass, but his intonation on guitar can be a little sloppy (even on great solos like "Taxman" and "Drive My Car" not to mention lesser efforts like "Another Girl").  George's solo on "Something" is something else--I don't think Paul could have played that.  And Paul certainly couldn't have played the kind of slide George later became noted for (his pitch accuracy is what makes his slide sing so much).

To me, the guitar solos on "The End" show the relative strengths of the three guitarists--and George wins easily, hands down.

Of course, I'm not sure George could play the bass-line on "She's So Heavy."

But then I'm not sure Paul could have come up with the intro to "Octopus's Garden."

Oh, well, I give up for now . . . .

tkitna · « **Reply #22 on:** March 15, 2007, 05:45:02 AM »

Quote from: 9

Paul and George--it's pretty damn close. Paul's great on bass, but his intonation on guitar can be a little sloppy (even on great solos like "Taxman" and "Drive My Car" not to mention lesser efforts like "Another Girl"). George's solo on "Something" is something else--I don't think Paul could have played that. And Paul certainly couldn't have played the kind of slide George later became noted for (his pitch accuracy is what makes his slide sing so much).

Yeah and i'm sure George was well versed in playing the drums, wood winds, brass, and every other known instrument. Sorry, but George was a one trick pony and its not even a bit close.

raxo · « **Reply #23 on:** March 15, 2007, 10:11:02 AM »

Quote from: 373

Yeah and i'm sure George was well versed in playing the drums, [...]

I don't know about the other instruments, including the Indian ones but (and this should be posted in George's forum) theses are excerpts from an interview with Jim Keltner -talking about George as a drummer (and he sounds sincere to me)- that I copied long ago and that I think you might like, tkitna (this is from me to you

):

MD: One of the questions I asked Ringo for Quick Beats was: Who was a better drummer, George or John? And Ringo said "George." Would you agree with that?

Jim: [laughs] Good question

Kevin · « **Reply #24 on:** March 15, 2007, 12:10:24 PM »

Has to be Paul, if for his bass work alone. He was the master of his instrument.

Andy Smith · « **Reply #25 on:** March 15, 2007, 02:19:07 PM »

Totally agree Kevin!!
McCartney was & still is an incredible bass player!
I've always thought he was the best Instrumentalist out of the four.
He can play bass, drums, guitar, piano, recorder, flugelhorn (on his last album)
& even the trumpet!
McCartney 1 & chaos & creation shows shows proof of all this!

adamzero · « **Reply #26 on:** March 16, 2007, 04:11:32 AM »

I'll grant that Paul can play more instruments.  But if you look at it from a producer's point of view, George Harrison has a one-of-kind sound that is instantly recognizable.  From the Beatles days (particularly the latter period--through his solo career--to the Wilbury's).  I'm not sure you can say the same about Paul.

"Hey that's a Paul McCartney bass-line, or a Paul McCartney piano solo, or a Paul McCartney flugelhorn!"

Jeff Lynne said George was his favorite guitarist--that's pretty high praise--coming from performer/producer who's worked with some titans.

This is not to take away from Paul's versatility--but that ain't always the same thing as virtuosity.  I like the Henry McCullough comment saying that Paul's solo for "My Love" was crap and having to stand up to Paul and George Martin to play his classic solo (which Paul apparently didn't have the chops to play).

http://www.dmbeatles.com/forums/m-1156929152/s-0/highlight-henry+mccullough/#num0  Thanks, Bobber.

tkitna · « **Reply #27 on:** March 16, 2007, 10:25:45 AM »

Thanks for the article Raxo. I've read it before, but its been awhile. Jim is and will always be one of my top 5 drummers.

As for Paul not having the chops to play the solo in 'My Love',,,,,bullsh*t! Theres no chops to it. Henry wanted to play it because he can play with soul and feeling. Not everybody can do that. I'm not a big fan of Pauls lead guitar work by the way. It always sounded like he struggled. It didnt flow, but it was passable. I do like him as a drummer though. He's more than competent there. And again, his bass playing is outstanding. He had the chops and the feel when it came to the bass.

sewi · « **Reply #28 on:** March 16, 2007, 06:01:17 PM »

Obviously Paul.

Brynjar · « **Reply #29 on:** March 17, 2007, 10:59:40 AM »

Quote from: 564

Obviously Paul.

Why is that?

« **Reply #30 on:** March 18, 2007, 03:17:49 AM »

I would put Paul at instrumentalist and George at guitarist, but despite all the sh*t that John gets for his guitar playing, he can still do some nice stuff, like in the performances of the Rooftop Concert, John can play a bit when he wants too...

raxo · « **Reply #31 on:** March 19, 2007, 05:28:16 PM »

zoo_gang · « **Reply #32 on:** March 20, 2007, 02:51:47 AM »

Joost · « **Reply #33 on:** March 20, 2007, 11:15:54 AM »

The Beatle that mastered his own instrument the best was definately George. But the best overall musician is Paul. Great bass player, great guitarist, good pianist and a not too bad on drums either.

tkitna · « **Reply #34 on:** March 20, 2007, 11:40:17 PM »

Quote from: 56

The Beatle that mastered his own instrument the best was definately George. But the best overall musician is Paul. Great bass player, great guitarist, good pianist and a not too bad on drums either.

I disagree. I think Paul was a better bass player than George was a guitar player.

Joost · « **Reply #35 on:** March 21, 2007, 03:40:35 PM »

Quote from: 373

I disagree. I think Paul was a better bass player than George was a guitar player.

No way... George's solos are definately harder to play than Paul's basslines. I know cause I tried...

Bobber · « **Reply #36 on:** March 21, 2007, 03:45:32 PM »

Quote from: 56

No way... George's solos are definately harder to play than Paul's basslines. I know cause I tried...

Maybe you're a better bassplayer than a guitarist.

Indica · « **Reply #37 on:** March 21, 2007, 06:02:20 PM »

Quote from: 56

No way... George's solos are definately harder to play than Paul's basslines. I know cause I tried...

Complexity isn't everything ...

adamzero · « **Reply #38 on:** March 21, 2007, 06:07:41 PM »

Quote from: 297

Just an aside. Been reading up on elvis sun sessions. That standup bass behind Paul was Bill Black's. Linda bought it for him and it's one of his prize possessions. Bill and Scotty painted the white trim on it.

That's the bass on the Sun Sessions!

raxo · « **Reply #39 on:** March 21, 2007, 06:40:41 PM »

Quote from: 158

Complexity isn't everything ...

And it's because of that that the lists of the all-time greatest are not based on complexcity or virtuocity ... but on much more!

News:

Author Topic: Who was the best instrumentalist in The Beatles? (Read 7398 times)

Bobber