McCartney vs. Townshend

[Marc/Carolyn Hurwitz <MHurwitz@compuserve.com>]

This isn't to anyone in particular, and perhaps it veers off
the subject of the Who, but lots of messages here have
been doing that lately, so who cares.  I've been noticing
some discussion of McCartney's solo career vs. Pete's,
mainly dismissing the former as crap.  While I firmly believe
that Townshend is a better lyricist, I don't think this com-
parison is quite fair; it's like comparing ice cream sundaes
with a T-bone steak.  The two are completely different in
their approach to composing.  Paul's solo career suffers
vis-a-vis Pete's because while he was with the Beatles,
he had a strong sounding board to bounce his ideas off
and suggest alternative lyrics, not to mention the input of
the other Beatles and George Martin.  Pete, OTOH, has
*always* been a solo songwriter, so he had to stand on
his own from Day One.  Apart from that, Pete's obviously
an intellectual and Paul isn't, but let's not let that fact cause
us to be snobby about who's "better" than the other.  Sure,
Pete writes songs (for the most part) with lyrics that stick in
your head and make you think; he's also much better at
expressing anger, rage and sadness than Paul, who has
always done his best to hide emotions of that type in his
public life and songwriting.  BUT, Paul can write *much* better
love songs than Pete, and dammit, that's important, too.
When I want to get in a romantic mood, a good ballad from
Paul will do the job much better than any of Pete's solo
work.  I'm not talking about "Silly Love Songs", either;
that was a satire which unfortunately backfired in the wake
of McCartney's perceived lightweight status by most
rock critics.  Most of Paul's love songs *aren't* silly; they're
very serious about conveying his love for his partner.
So what IS wrong with that, I'd like to know?  I tell my husband
I love him every day, and vice versa (unless we're fighting <g>).
Paul's melodies are better than Pete's, too, and he's written
some terrific rockers (BACK TO THE EGG, prime example)
as well.  Hell, Pete played on "So Glad To See You Here"
and "Angry"; he must've thought they were pretty damn good!

One last comment:  Although most of Paul's lyrics are, indeed,
either pleasantly forgettable or actively bad (his animal rights
stuff comes to mind), he's released at least two albums in
which he actually showed his emotions for a brief instant or
two.  TUG OF WAR was recorded right after Lennon died, and
it's the most naked album of Paul's emotionally, and the best
lyrically ("Ebony & Ivory" notwithstanding).  And FLOWERS IN
THE DIRT, with some lyrical input from Elvis Costello, is another
winner, IMHO.  Not that I'll convince any of you. <g>

So there's my 2 cents worth, and don't worry; I still think
Pete Townshend is one of the 2 best solo songwriters out there.
Feel free to ask who the other one is. <g>

--Carolyn
"What the hell gives you the right to tell me what to do
with my life?"--McCartney, "Angry"