Paul McCartney vs. Rod Stewart: the solo records

[fange]

For the sake of this battle, I'm counting Wings as a solo project of Maccas

So, no Beatles stuff or Jeff Beck Group/Faces stuff, etc. Just the records that have their name in the marquee position.




vs.

[davey]

This is easy. Stewart’s first 4 are far and away better than any albums McCartney’s ever released as a solo artist.

[DayoRemix]

I'd rather stab myself in the ears with scissors than research this topic beyond my cursory knowledge of either..

[fange]

Nov 3, 2024 3:19:44 GMT davey said:

This is easy. Stewart’s first 4 are far and away better than any albums McCartney’s ever released as a solo artist.

Wow, i am kinda surprised to see you write that, davey. That different, huh?

[fange]

Nov 3, 2024 4:08:20 GMT DayoRemix said:

I'd rather stab myself in the ears with scissors than research this topic beyond my cursory knowledge of either..

Put the scissors down and step away, dayo. No need to van Gogh too far.


I know they aren't really your thing, but are there any Rod records you like?

[davey]

Nov 3, 2024 4:35:09 GMT fange said:

Nov 3, 2024 3:19:44 GMT davey said:

This is easy. Stewart’s first 4 are far and away better than any albums McCartney’s ever released as a solo artist.

Wow, i am kinda surprised to see you write that, davey. That different, huh?

I don’t think I’ve ever been shy about my regard for Rod’s early solo work. I think that body of work (really the first 7, but Smiler is relatively weak) are a Hall of Fame worthy run all on their own.

McCartney’s work during the same period is spotty, albeit with some unqualified high points.

[DarknessFish]

Rod is an utter embarrassment these days, an almost Daniel O'Donnell level of cringeworthy nan-porn. But he made some reasonable songs at some point, so he wins this easily.

[Stacy Heydon]

I'd take McCartney I think. I just don't find Stewart very interesting on any level.

[adamcoan]

Mm, savlon or TCP, which one do you prefer to lick ?

Looking forward to the Mariah Carey deep cuts thread.

["BING E BONG"]

Nov 3, 2024 9:54:33 GMT Stacy Heydon said:

I'd take McCartney I think. I just don't find Stewart very interesting on any level.

Have you spent much time with those first four albums, G? There are some wonderful songs there.

[rayge]

I'm sure that it's no particular shock to any of you that I have little or no interest in the output of FabMaccaWhackyThumbsAloft, whoever he was playing with, but you may be surprised to learn that from the Beck albums, through the Faces and the first few albums as a soloist, especially Old raincoat, Gasoline Alley and Every Story I counted myself as a fan of the Moddy One's records. We parted company with Atantic Crossing, I guess, as he dived into his cocaine period, but my owning maybe eight albums with him as lead vocalist suggests I thought he had something going for him before that.

[Stacy Heydon]

Nov 3, 2024 11:17:06 GMT "BING E BONG" said:

Nov 3, 2024 9:54:33 GMT Stacy Heydon said:

I'd take McCartney I think. I just don't find Stewart very interesting on any level.

Have you spent much time with those first four albums, G? There are some wonderful songs there.

No. I know they're highly rated, but I've heard the songs that are meant to be classics, 'Gasoline Alley' and so on, and they don't do much for me. I don't hate them so I'm not going to subject them to some diatribe, but they don't grab me either or make me think I really should explore further.

[loveless]

I remember an "unnecessarily spirited debate" (one that I don't recall having truly ever opted into) with a colleague of mine a quarter of a century ago, regarding two consecutive albums by a then-current act whom I can't be bothered to name - I posit that we were young enough to be unnecessarily bullish (nay arrogant) in a way that time has assuredly mellowed in both cases. At any rate, I'd stated my preference on whatever basis (perhaps that one record just seemed less deliberate and performatively baroque than the other - that it, in fact, felt more "accidentally" and organically effective), and - not content to accept my personal preference as just that (if I wasn't there yet, he REALLY wasn't) - my "opponent" rebutted with the unimpeachable argument that "It SPEAKS to me!" (wholly true, I'm certain, but perhaps lacking some universal criteria).

And so it goes with me and Rod. I have a generally warm feeling towards his golden era (for me Truth through Every Picture/A Nod...), "Maggie May" is an insanely special song in my view, I like the general uncontrived scrappiness of all this shit, and you mention certain titles ("You're My Girl"..., "Every Picture...", "Shapes of Things", "It's All Over Now", etc.) and I think warm and positive thoughts. I mean, his voice was amazing then, and he had unerringly perfect and optimal collaborators for what he was doing (Martin Quinneton, Ian MacLagan, Beck, Wood, Micky Waller, Nicky Hopkins, Kenny Jones, Ronnie Lane).

BUT...

I NEVER listen to this shit. I have a few of the records, and am wholly unbothered by the ones I don't own.

This is to say: I know it's great, and yet...my drive to listen to any of it is NIL. My contentment to admire it in theory (rather than practice) is roughly at 100%.

Like...the problem (if we even consider it a problem) is 100% mine. Nothing to do with the records, or the performers. Just...it's a great restaurant that I don't order from. And for no actual reason.

And, as with the "But it SPEAKS to me!" anecdote above, I can't really offer any qualified ranking of my favorite musician and record maker of any era with a guy whom I know to have really been special...but to whom I am (in practice) oddly indifferent.

If I'm a Paul guy (as I assuredly am in this instance), it isn't Rod's fault.

[toomanyhatz]

A tough one for which there's no easy answer. Those Mercury albums are pretty special, and Macca's records during the same period are awfully spotty, but...does EPTaS do more for me than Ram? I'm thinking not. And yeah - there's some pretty embarrassing recent Rod stuff, but Paul's embarrassing work sets in a lot earlier. There's more recent work by Paul that I care about. I've pretty much ignored the last 30-40 years of Rod, and haven't heard anything by accident to draw me back in.

Lots to chew on here...I'll get back to it.

["BING E BONG"]

Nov 3, 2024 15:57:28 GMT toomanyhatz said:

does EPTaS do more for me than Ram? I'm thinking not.

I would agree.

EPTaS is the Rod album that's usually singled out for special praise, and although it's a strong album, there are way too many covers (yeah yeah, maybe he does a great job with a couple of them - 'Reason To Believe' without doubt). It's HALF a great album, I'd say. No match for Ram, then.

BUT...I'd definitely prefer to hear a (self-compiled, of course) Rod comp than one of Paul's stuff, put it that way.