Had a lot of response to this poll question; I appreciate all of the participation. For my hypothetical Beatles greatest hit album 1971-1979 single-disc release, I used your votes - any song getting more than 50% (8 or more votes) was automatically included.
Generally speaking, Paul and Ringo's solo output, while successful in its time, appears to be poorly regarded in terms of the complete Beatles ouevre. A lot of the later stuff McCartney did with Wings, especially his pop hits "Let 'Em In" and "Silly Love Songs", were deemed unworthy, as was much of Ringo's 1970s stuff, most of which was lightweight at best. And generally, I agree with this assessment. Could you imagine Paul showing up at the studio and attempting to press John and George into recording something like "Coming Up"? Neither can I - they would have laughed him out of Abbey Road studios!
That being said, there were some songs that didn't make the 50% threshold that I feel the group would have definitely considered recording together. "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey", an early solo McCartney number, would easy have fit onto a Beatles album coming immediately after Abbey Road. And "Photograph" was the kind of song the band would throw at Ringo for his traditional one-song-per-album lead vocal. I've always thought that the boogie-woogie 4/4 beat of "Helen Wheels" would have been a logical followup to the stripped-down sound the Beatles showed on Let It Be. And I can't understand why "Give Me Love" didn't gain enough votes here - it's also one I thought would be right in the band's wheelhouse.
So, without further ado, here's the greatest hits album that never was, The Beatles' 1971-1979:
"Maybe I'm Amazed"
"Imagine"
"My Sweet Lord"
"Jealous Guy"
"It Don't Come Easy"
"Give Peace A Chance"
"All Things Must Pass"
"Love"
"Mind Games"
"Jet"
"Give Me Love"
"Helen Wheels"
"Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey"
"Photograph"
For those of you keeping track, that's five Lennon songs, four McCartney songs, three Harrison songs, and two Starr songs. The complete vote breakdown is below:
"Maybe I'm Amazed" - 13 votes
"Imagine" - 13 votes
"My Sweet Lord" - 12 votes
"Jealous Guy" - 10 votes
"It Don't Come Easy" - 10 votes
"Give Peace A Chance" - 10 votes
"All Things Must Pass" - 9 votes
"Love" - 9 votes
"Mind Games" - 8 votes
"Jet" - 8 votes
"Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" - 7 votes
"Photograph" - 7 votes
"Whatever Gets You Through The Night" - 7 votes
"Power To The People" - 6 votes
"What Is Life" - 6 votes
"Give Me Love" - 5 votes
"My Love" - 5 votes
"Oh Yoko!" - 5 votes
"Oh My My" - 4 votes
"Blow Away" - 4 votes
"Helen Wheels" - 4 votes
"You're Sixteen" - 3 votes
"Silly Love Songs" - 3 votes
"Coming Up" - 3 votes
"Crackerbox Palace" - 2 votes
"Let 'Em In" - 2 votes
Top Lennon solo song - "Imagine", 13 votes
Top McCartney solo song - "Maybe I'm Amazed", 13 votes
Top Harrison solo song - "My Sweet Lord", 12 votes
Top Starr solo song - "It Don't Come Easy", 10 votes
Again, thanks for voting. I'll post another poll soon, when I can think of a good topic. If you have anything to say regarding this survey, I'm always happy to hear your comments.
[ . . . and (finally) acting upon a great recommendation from a friend of mine here on this blog, here is a a faux-greatest hits compilation based on the selections above (with a couple of bonus tunes added):
Please use the email link below to contact me, and I will reply with the download link(s) ASAP:
Send Email
Enjoy, and let me know what you think.]
This would make a nice little comp cd (hint, hint) especially if you 'corrected' some of the voting. As for the new poll, don't expect many responses, it's really hard to vote for any of those albums. Nice job of compiling a really horrble list.
ReplyDeleteHeh heh heh . . . mission accomplished, then! I tried to think of the most horrible albums I could, with the premise being: if I were stuck on a desert island and could only take one of these crappy LPs with me, which one would be the least threat to my sanity? I think I'll get a few more votes though - I'm fortunate that a lot of the readers of this blog are pretty smart and like music just as much as I do.
ReplyDeleteAs for putting together a "1971-1979" comp of the songs from above, that's a good idea! I'll possibly do that shortly. Thanks for the recommendation,my friend, and the comment.
You're welcome. And that illustration would make a great cover. Now, how about a title?
ReplyDelete'The Gray Album' ?
With all due respect to DJ Danger Mouse, that title has already been taken . . . I was trying to make a mockup album cover, but I can't seem to find the right font to download that comes close to the typography used on the 1962-1966 and 1967-1970 albums. The "Lazybones" font is fairly close, but I'll be damned if I'm paying for it - if I can find it, or a reasonable facsimile for free, then I'll put it together and post it all.
ReplyDeleteAlways appreciate your comments and suggestions. Tinpot!
Try the font MotterFemD. Freely available on the web
ReplyDeletethis is great. many many thanks.
ReplyDeleteDidn't I read somewhere that Coming Up was a song that got Lennon interested in recording again...I would think John liked Paul's melodies ..and I shall be asking for that link soon..
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.. And I am going to weigh in after I see what's in the link..
-Ted
I agree with your executive decisions in producing a faux-greatest hits compilation that, whilst based on the poll results, you have tweaked around the edges to come up with an overall more satisfyingly rounded, balanced and likely set.
ReplyDeleteI laughed at 'tinpots' comment about calling this 'The Gray Album". interesting concept, and executed very nicely indeed. I will enjoy this very much, thank you for the effort you put into this and sharing it. - B
ReplyDeleteSomebody fiddled with your poll, P (That's poll, Son, not pole.)
ReplyDeleteImagine puts Maybe I'm Amazed in the weeds every day of the week, twice on Saturday.
This compilation should have been made by now. Maybe it won't because of the multiple companies and people involved. At least Pee-Pee makes it available. Thanks!
ReplyDelete