Paul McCartney is an Overrated Songwriter

[bernicia-sciw]

I admire McCartney for his musicianship, songwriting abilities and longevity . I know he is a master at what he does . But his songs mean almost nothing to me . They just don't affect me emotionally, never have . He is a pop singer and songwriter, and his voice, lyrics and melodic style have always been too lightweight for me . Lennon at his best provokes a far more visceral reaction in his listeners, partly due to his voice (a classic rock voice) .You feel impacted by songs like Strawberry Fields, Jealous Guy, Imagine, 9 Dream, I'm so tired, She said, God, etc in ways you never could listening to Paul. But that is just my personal taste .

[paulogarcia]

McCartney's solos really outed him, tbh. John amd George's solo outputs may not amways have Macca's pop confections, but they wrote meaningful and beautiful lyrics with nice melodies.

[michaelrfitzgerald]

McCartney has written some very well-constructed songs; some are very, very good, but none truly great IMO. He's got a gift for melody but not so much for lyrics. He's definitely overrated.

[mattiasolsson]

Mccarney it the best singer/songwriter ever. Just look att the Nr one singels of the beatles.

[chopsieflores]

Thank you! I've said this for years. Paul did not evolve, or at least not much, as a songwriter after the Beatles. John and Gorge grew professionally. I just didn't hear it in McCartney songs that sounded just like the McCartney songs when I was seven-years-old. Admiral Halsey was dreadful. My parents sat me in the corner and played that song when I was bad. It left a bitter taste that I can't be rid of.

[niloofarghorbani]

I think a lot of Paul McCartney fans aren’t the type of people who take lyrics over music

[James-bnhq]

This is a preference. Lennon and McCartney just have different lyrical approaches. Lots of John's lyrics were intentionally non-sensical, does that mean that he should be written off? Or does it mean he's a poet of his generation? I'd be the first to admit that some of McCartney's lyrics can be twee, regardless, he was responsible for lots of lyrical brilliance, She's Leaving Home and Eleanor Rigby come to mind. I don't know how you can posit that Maybe I'm Amazed is superficial. It's an amazing depiction of someone deeply in love, Deep Deep Feeling does the same. The Long and Winding Road is beautiful. In any case, lyrics aren't the center piece of Paul's song writing - melody is. If you examine John's career purely from melody it falls flat.

[oppothumbs]

A day in the Life is basically John's song. John would have fleshed out a song like "Yesterday" by adding more substance, detail, humor and made it less facile.

[vitmlejnek]

1. Also, you make it sound like Lennon did only great songs after going solo. Songs you mention are certainly great songs, but go and listen to "Sometime in New York City" and come back to confirm its a album full of only great songs with only great lyrics. 2. George Harrison career did not end up with ATMP. Are we sure that, say, Gone Tropo, is a better album then, say, Tug of War? 3. Temporary Secretary is a great song to many, its only down to your personal taste do dismiss it. 4. And as for Yesterday - there´s nothing shallow about its lyrics, especially when you consider he´s possibly talking about his late mother. He wrote it when he was like 22. And as such, it precedes Julia by good 3 and half years. It would be more fair to compare Julia with, say, Blackbird from the same album.

[stevefrompolaca]

not the best singer, Lennon by a country mile, maccer had a ready thin voice and had to force raunch, Lennon was way the better singer not technically, but technically don't cut the mustard

[guyjerry]

Lmao even if he had only written ONE of the first three songs you listed on his resume (yesterday, let it be, hey Jude) he’d be among the greatest songwriters of all time. But he wrote all those and about 150 others, in a span of 9 years, that utterly changed songwriting, music, and the world itself forever. All by the time he was 28 years old. He’s not overrated.

[jjov]

As big a beatles fan I am, he is ngl. He has written some fantastic songs but i think the way he writes songs is repetetive compared to the way Dylan or Lennon write songs.

[Clicker]

I mean if you take the lyrics away- he’s gotta be in the top three.

[michaellacross]

I sort of feel sorry for Paul McCartney. Imagine going through life having to constantly talk about his past because what he is currently singing/writing never eclipsed what he did as a Beatle? Think about how painful that pill was swallowing. Band On The Run was a masterpiece. But look how long it took him to make that masterpiece post beatle? All Things Must Pass was a masterpiece. Had Paul (and John) given George more respect they both might have learned something from George. Plastic Ono Band was a masterpiece...total brilliance. Paul held the others back in a very passive aggressive manner towards the end of the Beatles, and the rest of the beatles resented him for it. The proof is All Things Must Pass and Plastic Ono Band. The first albums by John and George were brilliant. Paul didn't write a brilliant album until Band On The Run. How does this "gifted and talented" songwriter go from Abbey Road to release a garbage LP like McCartney? McCartney's first album was garbage. It was cold. Scarce. Empty. What was the point Paul? What statement were you making with that crap? Pure self-indulgence. He used it to announce his break up with the beatles....VINTAGE MCCARTNEY. Ram? Pfffft! Another crap album. Ram was a big improvement over McCartney...which isn't saying much....but Ram came to be your typical Paul McCartney and Wings album. 1 or 2 songs certain to be a hit and get radio time because it was pushed and promoted, while the rest of the songs had no cohesion to the album. Without John and George to rein Paul in, you end up with "Silly Love Songs." It can be a #1 hit, but that doesn't mean it's a great song. The Night Chicago Died was a hit song! But was it a great song???? HELL NO! That's what McCartney fans just can't grasp. You really want to piss off a McCartney fan? Remind them that RINGO sold more albums post beatles than Paul, yet you'll never hear a McCartney fan say Ringo was a brilliant songwriter/singer. But album sales are the key measurement when they want to compare Paul's songs to John's songs.

[justiceforjamespaulmccartney]

Faul (Billy Shepherd) is an overrated songwriter, but James Paul McCartney (1942-1966) was a genius, he was at least at the same level with John Lennon.

[JoshuaBurtthelegendarysaiyan]

Imagine not understanding that Paul McCartney is probably the greatest living - and among the greatest of all-time - songwriters and overall musicians.

[vitmlejnek]

Well, he only wrote about 45 % of Beatles canon... Than continued sucesfully for another 50 years as solo artist and whilst some albums were not that good, show me an arists who´s a) in the game for 60 years now and b) have done only immaculate stuff. Dylan had weaker periods, Bowie as well, etc. etc. etc. But there are tons of great solo stuff as well, Ram is pure genius.

[oppothumbs]

Paul had done good work . I don't understand the popularity of the song Hey Jude or Let it Be but the Beatles were great. It’s repetitive and tedious nah nah nah nah on Hey Jude . Let it Be and Hey Jude are dull songs that go on too long, not that I like them in the first minute.

Can I find anyone else to concur that the white album and abbey road are their worst records? No so far, I haven't except George Martin was very disappointed.



I know how easily Paul's fans are hurt by my personal opinion after hearing so many threats from them. You'd think they were sarcastic Lennon fans? I guess too many of Paul's songs sound a little sappy, corny to me and to me and my monkey. It’s interesting to see Paul’s fans fight for every inch of a John song. . Please don't threaten my life and my wife.

McCartney was always just a schmaltzy showbiz pop singer .. but he has written some good songs. But all the silly loves songs behind that mask does not make him a "genius" or make him equivalent to irreplaceable talent and impact of John Lennon, who also couldn't do so well on his own.

But who does continue to write great songs for a long time ? Few.

[melissaish]

Agree! Lennon says more, and conveys a lot, in a very simple and economical way. He mostly avoided Paul's flights into whimsy and silliness. It is hard to imagine John writing a song as insipid as Magneto and Titanium Man, even while drunk. Venus and Mars and Back to the Egg are mostly dreadful, far worse than John's worst album Some Time in New York City. Maxwell's Silver Hammer, Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da, Rocky Raccoon, Temporary Secretary, C Moon, Jet, Helen Wheels...just ugh.

[phayzyre]

I respect your opinion but in my opinion Paul McCartney was the most successful solo artist following the break up of the Beatles. However Paul’s talents seemed to wane right about the time he went full vegetarian and if my memory serves me correctly that was about in the mid-1980s. The last decent song he wrote was the 1984 hit “No more lonely nights.“ Ever since then his music has been ho-hum and bland.

Which brings me to the following: I can’t help but wonder if the reason why Paul’s music went to hell WAS because of his vegetarianism!? Dollars to donuts I bet if someone took Paul out to a local grill and shoved a nice big fat bacon loaded greasy cheeseburger down his throat he would probably write a whole slew of songs all of which would be number one hits!