99: Autumn ’74 – Walls and Bridges and Dark Horse

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Ten years after The Beatles’ North American debut, at least three former members of the group battled an array of personal problems. John, George, and Ringo went through marital break-ups in 1974, which along with other issues, informed releases by at least two of the three ex-Beatles. In this episode, Robert and Richard discuss the parallels between albums issued by George and John that year.    

Songs include “Nobody Loves You When You’re Down and Out” and “Dark Horse.” 

Find Richard’s books here.

Find Robert’s books here.

0 thoughts on “99: Autumn ’74 – Walls and Bridges and Dark Horse”

  1. Thanks guys. Can never get enough Walls & Bridges—after Plastic Ono,his best. And his most fun. Wish we could get a W&B multi-disc set with outtakes, home demos, interviews and promos.

  2. I am a huge fan of both, especially John, but for me there are not a lot of tracks that are listenable..
    Always a fan of ‘Whatever Gets You Through the Night’, but the production is thin..
    listen to Stones ‘Miss You’ a few years later in comparison..#9 Dream was always a great track for me
    ..George’s ‘Dark Horse’ single I really Iiked,, but he had a prolonged period of saxapohones, synths, and thin, buried vocals ..yechh .. still, love ’em both

      1. Or another option: Dave just doesn’t like it much. That’s fair enough, isn’t it? I don’t like it much either, inasmuch as it doesn’t really compare very well to Lennon’s Beatle work. It’s a let down.
        Just because you don’t agree with Dave, doesn’t mean he is “tin-eared”.

  3. P.S., always wondered what a Lennon tour would have sounded like with a band with guys like Abe, Rusty ,Abe, etc..
    Wow

  4. George’s record is better than John’s because he wasn’t partying too much like Lennon was at the time and regarding “What ever gets you through the night” is concerned it’s pretty much a lame song

  5. Interesting, hadn’t thought about the parallels. I do find W & B to be far superior to Dark Horse. I think you sometimes overestimate George’s talents. Only at his very best (ATMP) can he get anywhere near solo Lennon (or especially McCartney) as a songwriter and he can never get close vocally with his frankly weak and weedy efforts. Tough competition in that group though.

  6. Great show guys. “Walls” is an amazing underrated album with “#9 Dream” as to me one of the 5 greatest solo Beatles songs ever. Simply magical…..Sad that George’s self-destructive path in 1974 lead to such a “rough” tour for him and probably scarred him for the rest of his life regarding touring!

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