Guest Timothy Connelly
GuestForum Replies Created
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Great comments, Howard!
Just as I prefer the Beatles to McCartney solo, I prefer the Twins together to the Twins separately. But that hasn’t stopped me from buying something like 20 McCartney solo albums and it wouldn’t stop me from supporting Mona and Lisa if they ever decided to do something without the other. No matter how good George was with the Beatles- I think it was a good thing that he did the Concert for Bangla Desh without John and Paul. I hope that Mona and Lisa never pursue solo paths but if either decide to do a solo project- count me in as being very supportive of it. However, I hope they do another 10 or 15 together before that happens!
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Thanks Howard,
You are a master researcher! I appreciate your taking all the time that must have taken. Spoiler!!!!
Don’t look at this if you want to try and answer the questions above yourself:
How many degrees to Bob Dylan? They recorded Dylan; they met Donovan who met Dylan
How many degrees to Peter, Paul and Mary? They recorded Dylan who recorded songs done by Peter, Paul and Mary; they met Donovan who met Peter, Paul and Mary
How many degrees to Eric Clapton? They recorded Clapton; they met Michael McCartney who probably met Clapton, if not on to Paul through Michael and then Clapton
How many degrees to Jimi Hendrix? They recorded Dylan who did songs that were also done by Hendrix; Michael to Paul to Hendrix
How many degrees to Elvis? They recorded an Elvis song; Donovan to Lennon to Elvis
How many degrees to Elton John? They recorded Beatles as did Elton; Michael to Lennon to Elton
How many degrees to Queen? They recorded Beatles, David Bowie recorded Beatles, Queen and Bowie did a song together; They met Donovan, who met Lennon, who met Bowie who met Queen
How many degrees to David Bowie? They recorded Beatles, David Bowie recorded Beatles; They met Donovan, who met Lennon, who met Bowie
How many degrees to Paul Simon? They recorded Simon and Garfunkel; They met Donovan who met Dylan who met Simon.Please feel free to correct any mistakes or to shorten any degrees.
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I’ll let Paul and Ringo know that you approve of a “few decent songs” by them. I’m sure they’ll be flattered.
Of course everyone is entitled to their own opinion. But I think George’s best post Beatles work is better than his work with the Beatles. John’s work on Plastic Ono Band and Imagine is nothing short of exceptional and Paul’s Band on the Run album has flashes of what makes him so amazing.
On most of the solo albums- you can see how much they miss one another with the album cuts which are frequently pretty weak. But the best songs- every bit as good as most songs in the Beatles catalog!
It would be very interesting to hear recordings by Lisa and Mona without one another and without Rudolf. I think what you would find is a fairly similar thing as the solo Beatles. Over 10 to 12 songs- the quality would diminish because the other Twin brings so much good to the table. They would certainly miss the spark of genius that Rudolf offers. But I guarantee you that both Lisa and Mona would hit some home runs because they’re such talented musicians. Whether with covers or with originals- I guarantee you that both of them would produce something we all would enjoy!
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Great question, Robert! I look forward to hearing the response.
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Great job in finishing the list of big moments, Jung!! I’m not sure the 2007 concert, the Steve Harley tour or the John Sebastian experience can be left off. And of course, the creation of this Club has gotta go on the list!
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Truer words, more poetic words, can’t be found!
Great work again, Jacki!
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Mona,
You’ve already mastered the drums and guitar! You are an amazing musician and your ability to play acoustic and electric guitar, blues harp, flute and whatever you need for the song is amazing! Reminds me of this guy named Lennon- he got some tips from Mike Pinder of the Moody Blues on how to play the Mellotron and out of that, the sound for Strawberry Fields Forever was born. He got some tips from Donovan and out of that the finger picking style he used on Julia was born. Even earlier, he learned how to play guitar by taking his left handed instructor’s lessons (some forgotten guy who years later would form a band called Wings) and transposing them in a mirror. The way you work is perfect! -
I love all of your Christmas songs but this one is at another level!! Fantastic job!!!!
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Great post, Jung! I was fortunate enough to see The Beach Boys in Wilmington, NC in April 1987. They put on an amazing show! The songs sounded just like the records- many of them more than 20 years after their original recording. Brian was actually at the Wilmington performance- one of the first times he had performed with them in years.
Hearing the MLT version of God Only Knows was the moment when I said to myself- these ladies are so good it’s worth getting to know everything they’ve ever done or will do. I don’t think I’ve made a better musical choice in the last 2 decades!By the way, if you haven’t already seen Love and Mercy- the 2016 film about Brian’s sinking into addiction, being basically kidnapped by his therapist and being saved by the love of his future wife, Melinda- you definitely should.
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Thanks Jung, I’m glad to see this post get some love!
I love The Beach Boys and believe that Brian’s vocal arrangements and production skills are unrivaled in the history of rock and roll. I think the great weakness of The Beach Boys is in their songwriting. I’m not saying they didn’t write some really great songs- I’m saying those songs don’t have the great variety of styles The Beatles had. There is a greater difference between Strawberry Fields Forever and I Want To Hold Your Hand, between Within You Without You and When I’m 64 and between Come Together and Here Comes The Sun than the law allows but The Beatles made it work beautifully.
I think MLT are closer to The Beatles in that respect than The Beach Boys. Club 27 to Still A Friend of Mine is such a major shift in songwriting.
I am not a major fan of Pet Sounds. I love the three classics- Wouldn’t It Be Nice, Sloop John B and God Only Knows but precious little of the rest of the album. I actually love California Girls, I Get Around, Fun, Fun, Fun, Surfin’ USA, and about 25 or 30 of the early songs every bit as much as I do the Pet Sounds songs. Most bands sound a lot alike from song to song so it’s probably more my lack of attention span that needs the kind of shifts I get with The Beatles.
Rudolf is obviously a technical virtuoso like Brian. But he has dedicated his career to supporting his daughters and has mainly stayed in the background. I don’t think he’s had the problems poor Brian had. At least that’s my hope! -
Just thought I would mention that the Rubber Soul that Brian listened to was very different than the British version you just got. It had 2 songs that were on the British Help! album and it didn’t have Drive My Car, Nowhere Man, If I Needed Someone and What Goes On.
The North American version by Capital was also mixed differently- the songs had more of a folk-rock feel to them. Instead of Opening with the fast paced Drive My Car it opened with I’ve Just Seen a Face.Although I love the British version, I’ll always prefer the US version.
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Great question, Jung!
Personally, I think quite a bit of their solo work is as good as their work together. All Things Must Pass has the title cut, My Sweet Lord and What is Life- those are three really great songs surrounded by many other excellent songs. And George got a much better recording of All Things Must Pass (the song) with Phil Spector than with George Martin.
Later on, I think Blow Away, Crackerbox Palace, Got My Mind Set On You, When We Was Fab, This is Love, Marwa Blues, Devil’s Radio, Any Road, Give Me Love- would be terrific additions to the Beatles catalog.
With Ringo It Don’t Come Easy is better than any of his Beatles songs. With Paul, Maybe I’m Amazed, Too Many People, Here Today, Band on the Run, Mull of Kintyre are great songs. John has Instant Karma, Happy Xmas, Mind Games, Love, Mother, Jealous Guy, Woman, Watching the Wheels- all great songs.
My own view of their solo work is that it’s just a continuation of their Beatles work- albeit- most of it not as inspired. But John Lennon didn’t cease to be a genius because Paul McCartney and George Martin weren’t in the studio with him. The guys had laid themselves bare during the Beatles years so there wasn’t as much in the tank but I love solo Beatles. -
Thanks Jung, that’s very nice of you to say. And I agree completely- having a vision of things and creating your art according to that vision is the difference between an artist and an entertainer. Even with their covers- the Twins make music that is artistic- it maintains the integrity of the originals while being its own thing.
It’s very easy to get caught up in your own ego and want the Twins to respond to your ideas with a rushing enthusiasm. Guilty as charged. But at least I know enough that they have a closeness to their goals and visions- they understand the obstacles they face and how best to navigate around them- I respect that and defer to team MLT on everything! -
I think we can close the door on this thread because Lisa already answered it in her response to Mike. She said there was probably too little to gain in coming to the states and doing a series of concerts even with John Sebastian- that the expenses were always much higher than one might expect. That being the case- doing a series of concerts to a very small group as in the house concerts would make no sense at all.
She also said they had already laid out their schedule and there was no room for a US concert in the near future because they were working on new material.
Thanks Lisa for responding- even if indirectly. Since the goal of the suggestion wasn’t just to hear from you (which is always nice but not necessary since you’ve already given many of my questions loads of your time) but to see if the suggestion might be something you’d want to consider- feel free to skip over it. -
Michael, that works perfectly. So that’s two down and about 13 to go!