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3.05pm
21 June 2017
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Dark Overlord said
Welcome to the forum Kite. Anyways, John and George both shared lead guitar on I Feel Fine , John on his acoustic Gibson plugged in (he did this on a few songs, She Loves You is another example) and George on his Gretsch, although George is the one playing the solo.As for the Fender not being a good sound for The Beatles, I couldn’t disagree more, I love George’s Strat sound on songs like Nowhere Man , Taxman , and All You Need Is Love .
I still feel the Gretsch and Rickenbacker guitars produced the right sound or tone on songs from the first half of their careers…
2.11pm
20 December 2010
Offline George was a very innovative guitar player. Think about how many people he inspired to play the guitar. His playing in the early days was a reflection of the times. His major contribution to the Beatles songs was that he played to the song like adding frosting to the cake. He was not a flashy player nor did he want to be one. I think he was capable of playing that way but did not want to. His playing improved as he grew with the band. He always had little licks in songs that we don’t pay attention to but if you take it out of the song, you will hear the difference. Sometimes less is more. It’s not always how fast you can play. If you can get the same point across with less notes, to me that is what makes you a special musician.
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6.53pm
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1 May 2011
Offline One aspect of George’s playing I love is that he didn’t see the point in [regularly] playing a guitar solo for 10 minutes, taking all the focus. He did his bit and then left, happy to retreat to the shadows. Which is how he was in life.
It’s the same as with Ringo’s drumming, Paul’s bass or John’s rhythm. Take away or change them and suddenly the entire song is weaker but most of the time you’ll take each for granted.
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8.04am
14 November 2017
Offline meanmistermustard said
One aspect of George’s playing I love is that he didn’t see the point in [regularly] playing a guitar solo for 10 minutes, taking all the focus. He did his bit and then left, happy to retreat to the shadows. Which is how he was in life.It’s the same as with Ringo’s drumming, Paul’s bass or John’s rhythm. Take away or change them and suddenly the entire song is weaker but most of the time you’ll take each for granted.
Agree with you here 100%. Great post.
I’ve had discussions with people, and 9 times out of 10,they talk about Paul and John, and hardly give George a mention. Then I’ll say to them “what about George? He was phenomenal”. Then they say “yeah,he was alright I suppose,not as good as the other 2 though”.
Just because he wasn’t as good (and that’s debatable anyway) as the other 2,that doesn’t make him just ‘alright’,it just means that Paul and John were a pair of geniuses,who anybody would look inferior to in comparison. At this point,I normally direct these people to George’s solo work, and say to them “listen to this, and tell me if you still think he’s just ‘alright'”.
I actually feel sorry for George in a way. He was very quiet, and McCartney and Lennon were quite strong personalities,so it must have been difficult at times for him to make himself heard.
I’ve read numerous books on the Beatles over the years, and a large number of them mention how John and Paul used to talk down to him a lot, and treat him as just a kid at times, because he was the youngest.
What always comes to my mind is the scene in the Let It Be film,where Paul is telling him how to play a certain chord, and George just says something like ‘look, tell me and I’ll play,or if you don’t want me to play,I won’t play at all. Whatever’s easiest for you, I’ll do it’. I remember watching that, and swearing at the TV “George knows what he’s doing, just let him fucking play it”.
That scene reminded me of the whole ‘talk down to him and treat him as a kid’ stuff that I’d read about. He didn’t deserve that. He was their equal,or as close to it as could possibly be.
Sorry for the length,but it annoys me so much when people can’t see how good the guy was
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12.19pm
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15 February 2015
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I don’t think George much minded Not Being The Most Popular Beatle, but if people started disrespecting him (talking down to him, etc.), he’d be rightfully pissed off. I also don’t think he had a terribly huge opinion of himself as a guitarist or songwriter; he took a more down-to-earth approach of ‘It’s what I do, and it seems to work’. Which is yet another reason to love the Hari. 
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