The George Appreciation Thread

[babaoriely]

I don't think he was overrated or underrated. His contributions to The Beatles are, for the most part, fantastic but he created less than 6% of their catalogue. He simply is nowhere near the song-writing calibre of Lennon and McCartney, for the sheer amount of songs they could create if anything. When Lennon and McCartney were throwing out half a dozen songs each for an album, George would often struggle to pen a single worthy track. He has, of course, proved that he is a very competent song writer but come on... he is no Lennon or McCartney. People on here are actually close to overrating him.

This isn't an attack on George. I love him; he's my second favourite Beatle. It's an attempt to put people who are adamant he's underrated to the point that he should stand equally alongside L/M into their place.

The reason George only had one to two songs per album was because that was all John and Paul would let him put on an album. All Things Must Pass was a large album because it contains many songs he wrote while the Beatles were together.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaRi2TO3xZ0&NR=1

[beatleschick24]

george is my fave beatle <3

[Inaudible-Whisper]

George was by far the most talented musician in The Beatles, he was a great songwriter, and he had the best solo career out of all The Beatles. How was he not the best?

He was the best guitarist. That is the only thing he was the best at in the band. If you honestly think he was a better songwriter than John or Paul you're a fool. Best Beatle I'm fine with, if you like him as a person and musician. But no matter what you say, no matter how many times you might say "He wasn't given the chance towards to end" or "All Things Must Pass is a great solo record" the fact still remains that he wrote less than 6% of their catalogue. His list of Beatles songs is TINY. Could he have had more songs on the latter albums? Probably. Would they have all been up to scratch? Maybe. Would he be anywhere near to catching up to Lennon and McCartney in terms of sheer number of hits? Not even close. I just can't begin to put him equally alongside them based on nothing but potential. The reason he wasn't given the chance before 'Something' was simple. As Lennon said -- "There was an embarrassing period when George's songs weren't that good and nobody wanted to say anything". Lennon then went on to say that Something is actually the best track on the album. But it still doesn't really begin to make up for the 300+ songs Paul and John wrote. Nor do any of his other solid tracks.

[HeadHunter67]

he created less than 6% of their catalogue. He simply is nowhere near the song-writing calibre of Lennon and McCartney, for the sheer amount of songs they could create if anything. When Lennon and McCartney were throwing out half a dozen songs each for an album, George would often struggle to pen a single worthy track.

That's incorrect. He was only allowed to contribute one or two songs to each album, despite allegedly being an equal partner. He built up enough of a backlog of songs to release a triple album the year the Beatles broke up, so it's obvious he wasn't "struggling" to write worthy songs.

His only "struggle" was to gain the equal recognition and contribution he deserved. You're basically trying to justify your position by defending his exclusion and then using it to show why you think he didn't put in enough. That's like your boss locking you out of your workplace, and then firing you because you didn't do any work.

[QwertyMcUiop1963]

While My Guitar Gently Weeps is my favorite Beatles song, as hard as it is to pick one.

I got a lot of Beatles CDs from the library to listen to since I haven't heard most of their albums and I just finished listening to Within You Without You now.

[moose39]

Without a doubt, George is my favorite Beatle. His solo stuff is amazing, not to mention all of his awesome tracks he wrote with The Beatles.

Give Me Love (Give Me Peace), My Sweet Lord, and What Is Life are all INCREDIBLE.

[HeadHunter67]

Give Me Love (Give Me Peace), My Sweet Lord, and What Is Life are all INCREDIBLE.

That bears repeating!

[beatlemaniac247]

george is my fav beatle at the moment (i always seem to change my mind). I think he was a great songwriter towards the end of the beatles and no one has mentioned how good of a singer he is.....i mean paul and john obviously are some of the best singers of all time, in any genre of music, but george has almost like an odd quality to his voice that i think makes it great. Definitely underrated and deserves more credit.

I do have to point out that yeah george has great solo work but i dont think you could say the best for sure......and you have to keep in mind that lennon only had a ten year period after to beatles to get out a solo catalogue....if lennon would have lived till say 2001 like george there is no telling how many more great songs he could have came out wtih

[Jayrod1137]

How come everybody forgot "Think for Yourself"?

[Robondacob]

He was the best guitarist. That is the only thing he was the best at in the band. If you honestly think he was a better songwriter than John or Paul you're a fool.

Two things wrong with that.

First, I never said he was a better songwriter than John or Paul (but he is better than Paul).

Second, he was definitely the most proficient in music in composing songs (do not confuse this with making rock songs).