Beatles Albums That Should Have Been

“Best of the Solo Beatles” Boxed Set

July 6, 2017 · by solobeatles

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

Lennon’s Best Album: If Double Fantasy & Milk and Honey Were One

July 9, 2016 · by solobeatles

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.

Thus when Lennon was murdered in December 1980, he had another half of an album left in the vaults. In 1984 the sequel Milk and Honey emerged, again consisting of half Lennon, half Ono songs. Many of the Lennon songs were superior to those that had ended up on Double Fantasy. They had only been passed over because they did not fit the earlier album’s theme of a “heart talk” between husband and wife. Thus they now poignantly served as unknowing final statements.

Had all of Lennon’s songs formed one record, it might have been his greatest solo album. In marked contrast to the angst of parental abandonment chronicled in his debut solo album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, his final songs were mostly happy tracks about the home he had built with his wife and son and his peaceful acceptance of middle age.

See the tunes below or play them continuously at:

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA798FF33C92509CE&feature=plcp

Ethan Hawke Makes Solo Beatles Compilation in BOYHOOD

October 8, 2014 · by solobeatles

Richard Linklater’s terrific film Boyhood has a great sequence where the father, Ethan Hawke, gives his son a mix of solo Beatles tracks. Buzzfeed printed Hawke’s playlist along with his heartfelt note about how coming to terms with the Beatles’ breakup echoed coming to terms with his own divorce. Thanks to Hawke and Linklater for reminding the world that the great Beatle music didn’t stop in 1970!

http://www.buzzfeed.com/ethanhawke/boyhood-the-black-album?bftw=main#3f36lx9

iTunes Releases Collection of Solo Beatles Tracks

October 8, 2014 · by solobeatles

For the first time, Apple and iTunes released a compilation of solo songs featuring cuts by all four Beatles last month. Perhaps they are running out of ways of repackaging the ’60s catalog and are testing the waters for a whole new era in (solo) Beatles collections, if all the estates can get on the same page regarding the licensing issues. Obviously, I think that would be fantastic, though personally I think they could have chosen stronger songs to make a splashier statement for this first effort. Still, it must be said that George’s “Let it Down” and Paul’s “Call Me Back Again” were pretty out-of-the-box choices, so you have to give them props for that. John’s “Love” is a near-standard, and Ringo’s “Walk With Me” is a reunion with Paul, so those are more obvious choices for what will hopefully become a new tradition. Here’s a recent article on the e.p.:

http://ultimateclassicrock.com/beatles-free-itunes/

The Songs the Beatles Gave Away — My Article Today in Slate.com

April 23, 2013 · by solobeatles

When Lennon and McCartney skipped school to write songs as teenagers, they envisioned themselves becoming a great composing team like Leiber and Stoller or Rodgers and Hammerstein. In 1963 and 1964, they gave their best shot at it, not only writing songs for the Beatles but giving away 16 compositions to other artists, including the Rolling Stones. Half were originally written for themselves, and half they wrote for other artists under Brian Epstein’s management—such as Billy J. Kramer and Cilla Black—or for the pop duo Peter and Gordon.

In the U.K. two of the songs were No. 1s and ten more made it to the Top 40, while in the U.S. one hit the top spot and five more made the Top 40—an impressive record for any songwriting team. It’s true that they abound in puppy love clichés, but they also reveal the composers’ growing sophistication.

Please click here to continue to the article, complete with videos and Spotify playlist:

http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2013/04/22/the_beatles_give_their_songs_away_the_lennon_mccartney_originals_that_they.html

(Cilla Black pictured with Lennon and McCartney in home page photo)