re: Brian Wilson vs Paul McCartney

quote:

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Who was the more overall genius?

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That's a loaded question - they both wrote a bunch of popular pop songs. Certainly Paul would be considered the better musician - could have played bass, drums or electric guitar for number of bands - was better than the other Beatles at their instrument, with he and George probably equal on the lead guitar. For my money, he was the best lead singer in the Beatles. Paul is the better live performer.

Wilson is probably the better producer, with Paul relying on George Martin for much of the Beatles era - although he went on to produce a lot as he got older and further away from the Beatles.

I think the volume of Paul's work, and the length of time he was productive edge him to the victory. Wilson is certainly highly influential. His reclusiveness and stagefright probably preclude his true genius from being fairly evaluated.