Oh, that magic feeling.

Many of time’s most celebrated musical acts produced their celebrated music by writing songs as a group, together. Indeed, two heads are often better than one and collaboration often results in a more well-rounded product. These collaborations sometimes manifested themselves as partnerships – Jagger/Richards, Page/Plant or John/Taupin for example – that allowed each player a role in the creative process.

The relationships, like any, were at turns tumultuous and harmonious. One could convincingly argue that the state of the relationship had an influence on the resulting music and that the emotions of the people involved were partly, but not solely, responsible for the output of quality work (certainly the musicality and creativity of the individuals played a big part too).

One of the most successful songwriting partnerships was Lennon/McCartney. DUH. A friend recently argued that the work of Lennon/McCartney as Beatles was superior to the work of Lennon and McCartney as solo artists – that their partnership conjured something magical in the two of them that they could never replicate or hope to top on their own. I completely disagreed.

See, having listened to a lot of the Beatles, and having listened to a shitload of solo John Lennon lately, I’m realizing that the dissolution of the Beatles freed Lennon to pursue his own, unique brand of music – music that never would have materialized had Lennon not been free to realize his own, unique vision.

Paul McCartney was way-awesome, and his role in the musical partnership cannot be understated. But clearly, Lennon’s post-Beatles stuff wouldn’t sound anything like it does had the two collaborated on it. Just listen to the spare “God” off Plastic Ono Band and imagine how much less effective it’d be with a jaunty McCartney bass line. Or the airy “You Are Here” off Mind Games; how would that sound with a Paul-to-the-wall horn section or a busier melody? I don’t necessarily surmise that McCartney would have actually done these things if given a seat at Lennon’s songwriting table. My point is that he could have. Without Paul in the room, John could write and perform the songs just as he saw fit. It goes the other way too: McCartney’s Band on The Run wouldn’t sound like it does – hell, it wouldn’t be as awesome as it is – if Lennon had a hand in its creation.

It’s a fact that removing an element from an equation (L + Mc = magic) produces a different outcome (L – Mc = different magic or Mc – L = different magic). That point is unassailable. It’s mathematical. The understanding that those outcomes, while magical, are still incomparable apples and oranges is the takeaway here. It all boils down to personal taste, which outcome sounds better to you or which brand of magic you prefer. Because really, it’s all magic in the case of L and Mc… and oh, that magic feeling. Nowhere to go.