"Who is your favorite Beatle?"
Inevitably if you're engaging in any kind of music related conversation with anyone, this is bound to come up. Most people like The Beatles. Hell, I fucking love The Beatles. And if you don't, that's totally fine. I just don't understand how that's possible. That's like saying you don't like Nirvana, which would be weird considering they were both the greatest rock bands of all time! (This is fact! Not opinion!)
In all seriousness, it's cool if you don't like The Beatles. But you might want to skip this entire blog entry then.
When I get asked the above question, I have a 2 part answer. Well, Paul McCartney is my favorite Beatle. But so is John Lennon. Err... OK. Let me rephrase. Paul was my favorite during The Beatles run. John is my favorite post-Beatles. My all time favorite Beatles songs are ones fronted by Paul. Hey Jude, Let It Be, Hello Goodbye, Here There and Everywhere, Yesterday and so on and so forth. But when I analyze their solo careers, John had the best solo songs. Instant Karma, Mind Games, Jealous Guy, freakin' Imagine! But maybe I was looking at it the wrong way.
A few days back, I borrowed the movie BOYHOOD from my buddy Sean Keller, and along with the DVD, he handed me a mix CD he'd made for me called "The Black Album." Now, I'd heard vaguely about this and how it plays into the movie because my friends know that I'm embarking on a project revolving around mix tapes and here's a new movie that talks about mixes! So of course, I've heard a dozen times, "have you seen BOYHOOD yet? There's a scene about a mix in there!" It wasn't until after I watched the film that I saw it in context and understood Sean's argument for his version of The Black Album that he handed me. Here... let's watch Ethan Hawke break it down in what is easily my favorite scene of the whole movie.
"There is no favorite Beatle! It's in the balance!"
And he's totally right! While I appreciate all the post-Beatle solo albums out there, I never got into that stuff nearly as much as I did the original Beatles records. And Sean made the very valid point that we won't all agree on our version of The Black Album. For him, seeing a 3-disc version in the movie is overkill. He told me you can accomplish greatness in the span of one solid disc. And also, the track listing for the movie version very equally separates the tracks as one song by Lennon, one by McCartney, one by George, one by Ringo. But Sean again reminded me that Beatles albums all had a few Lennon and McCartney songs and then snuck in one or two tracks from George and usually only one from Ringo. Again, it's all about the balance!
Point being, there is no wrong version of The Black Album. It's just all personal preference. I just never looked at the idea of combining some of the best of the solo material as "putting the band back together!" And since I'm not well versed enough in their post-Beatles discography, I've listened to Sean's mix several times now and can totally imagine it as a new Beatles album.
1. Band On The Run (Paul McCartney & Wings)
2. My Sweet Lord (George Harrison)
3. Instant Karma! (We All Shine On) (John Lennon)
4. Photograph (Ringo Starr)
5. Mind Games (John Lennon)
6. Silly Love Songs (Wings)
7. Woman (John Lennon)
8. What Is Life (George Harrison)
9. Live And Let Die (Wings)
10. It Don't Come Easy (Ringo Starr)
11. Jealous Guy (John Lennon)
12. Jet (Paul McCartney & Wings)
13. Watching The Wheels (John Lennon)
14. Beware Of Darkness (George Harrison)
15. You're Sixteen (You're Beautiful and You're Mine) (Ringo Starr)
16. Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy) (John Lennon)
17. Maybe I'm Amazed (Paul McCartney)
18. Imagine (John Lennon)
Pretty darned spot on if ya ask me.
The only glaring omissions I find in The Black Album playlists I've seen online are that none of them include both "Free As A Bird" or "Real Love;" 2 long lost Lennon songs that the band finished as Beatles songs for the Anthology documentary and multi-disc collections. Hell, "Real Love" (the song and the video) is probably my favorite thing from The Beatles. I shall leave you with that.
Oh and you should definitely check out BOYHOOD. I love Richard Linklater's stuff and it's a beautiful, moving experience more than just your traditional "movie." Really a marvel to sit through. And check out BEFORE SUNSET too, my favorite of his films!
"No need to be afraid..."
