People have asked what an anthology of the Fabs’ greatest hits since 1970 would include so below is my proposed track listing. I tried to emulate the chart-topping 1973 Beatles collection 1962-1966 and 1967-1970, commonly referred to as The Red Album and The Blue Album, with 54 songs total.
The Solo Beatles had 56 Top 10 hits, and a four-record anthology could have been compiled with just those songs, but there were some classics that didn’t make it that high on the chart (Lennon’s “Mind Games” and “Stand By Me,” for example) so the overview was expanded to three volumes.
Some songs below were included in this list because they were hits but I did not profile them in the book because I didn’t think they were the artists’ best, and the book is about the “essential” songs. (Songs not in the book are indicated with an asterisk.) Still, realistically a solo Beatle retrospective would have to include Paul’s collaborations with Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder … and probably even “Wonderful Christmastime.”
Looking over the list, it’s interesting to see how many of their finest songs are not included, as they were deep album cuts not released as singles … I guess that’s a compilation for another day!
1969-1974 (The Yellow Album)
Side One
1. Give Peace A Chance
2. Instant Karma
3. Maybe I’m Amazed
4. My Sweet Lord
5. What is Life
6. Another Day
7. Power To The People
Side Two
1. It Don’t Come Easy
2. Imagine
3. Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey
4. Hi Hi Hi
5. Back Off Boogaloo
6. My Love
7. Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
Side Three
1. Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)
2. Live And Let Die
3. Mind Games
4. Helen Wheels
5. You’re Sixteen
6. Jet
7. Photograph
Side Four
1. Band On The Run
2. Whatever Gets You Thru the Night
3. Oh My My
4. Junior’s Farm
5. Dark Horse
6. Only You
7. #9 Dream
1975-1983 (The Green Album)
Side One
1. Listen to What the Man Said
2. The No No Song *
3. Venus And Mars/Rock Show *
4. Stand By Me
5. Silly Love Songs
6. You *
7. Snookeroo
Side Two
1. Let ‘Em In
2. Crackerbox Palace *
3. Mull Of Kintyre
4. With a Little Luck
5. Blow Away
6. Wonderful Christmastime *
7. Rockestra *
Side Three
1. Goodnight Tonight *
2. (Just Like) Starting Over
3. Coming Up
4. Woman
5. Waterfalls *
6. Beautiful Boy
7. Watching the Wheels
Side Four
1. All Those Years Ago
2. Take It Away
3. Ebony And Ivory *
4. The Girl Is Mine *
5. Say Say Say *
6. In My Car
7. Pipes Of Peace *
1984-2005 (“The Indigo Album”)
Side One
1. Nobody Told Me
2. No More Lonely Nights
3. Borrowed Time
4. We All Stand Together *
5. I’m Stepping Out
6. I Don’t Want to Do It
7. Once Upon a Long Ago *
Side Two
1. Got My Mind Set On You
2. My Brave Face
3. When We Was Fab
4. This One *
5. Handle With Care
6. Put It There
7. End of the Line
Side Three
1. Weight of the World
2. Hope of Deliverance
3. Free as a Bird
4. Real Love
5. Young Boy
6. Beautiful Night
7. Flaming Pie
Side Four
1. No Other Baby
2. From a Lover To a Friend
3. Any Road
4. Jenny Wren
5. Never Without You
6. Fine Line
7. Liverpool 8
* Not profiled in the book
In 1980 Lennon returned to the studio for the first time in almost 6 years and recorded enough material for a complete solo album. But eventually he and Yoko Ono decided to release an album comprised of half Lennon tracks and half Ono tracks. Some biographers have speculated that Ono was getting restless in their relationship and perhaps even cheating on him, so Lennon offered her half the space as a way to revive their marriage, resulting in the LP Double Fantasy.
