I recently was listening to the White album and decided to put each Beatle's compositions onto their own separate playlists and compare them (guaranteed I'm not the first person to do this, or the first to post about it, but who cares). IMO, John blows Paul out of the water, but I am a tad biased towards John to start with.

This is going to upset many Beatles fans (but who the hell is reading this anyway?), but Paul can't really seem to write as well without John, but John seems to have no trouble without Paul. When actually composing together, they are unstoppable, but you already knew that. Paul's songs tend to just be happy-go-lucky stoner rave-ups (USSR, Ob-La-Di) and delicate ballads (Blackbird, I Will). Don't get me wrong: I love these songs, but they aren't particularly challenging or different than standard McCartney fare.

<BR>Meanwhile, John Lennon created a masterpiece, only you'd never know it when interspersed within the rest of the album. Lennon himself has said that his compositions for the White Album are among his favorites of all-time. They range from distorted doo-wop (I'm So Tired), to doing pure British blues and doing them well (Yer Blues), staight rock and roll (Monkey, Revoloution 1) to lush, slightly unclassifiable songs, some sounding slightly like Animal Collective (Sexy Sadie, later ripped off by Jet on Look What You've Done), others just being very very very good songs (Cry Baby Cry, Glass Onion). Lyrically, he challenges politics (Revoloution 1) and rampant Beatlemania (Glass Onion), deals with his mother (Julia), and jokingly pleads for death (Yer Blues). All the while, each song is backed with insane levels of detail, Sexy Sadie and Cry Baby Cry being the best examples. I really don't think Lennon gets the credit he deserves for this album.

<BR>George's songs are very good, Long Long Long being the best, and the exception being Piggies, by far the worst on the album, and Ringo was Ringo.

<BR><BR>In the end, I'm not sure why I bothered to make this point, but this should really get recognition as Lennons finest Beatles album. I'm not sure which other album featured better songs collectively for him than this, Revolver being the biggest competiton. Lennon fovever.