Gonna slam you with playlists over the next little while, 'cause I been busy! We're going to ease into it with . . . The Beatles?!
Well, sure, just consider this my reckoning with The Beatles. I often have talked trash about the Fabish Four, not so much because I dislike them but because I was sick of hearing about them. They continue to be, to my mind, as over-rated as a band can be. Which is not quite the same thing as saying they are no good. This list is part of a continuing series of playlists I put together to examine bands that I am somehow undecided on: the first was a six-hour Bob Dylan playlist, and actually led to an appreciation of Dylan, some 40 years after people first tried to brainwash me into the cult of Bob. I listen to the playlist frequently, and while I remain unconvinced of his status as deity, I nonetheless count myself a fan, if somewhat on the casual side, relatively speaking.
The second was Steely Dan. I will still confess an appreciation of the first album (Can't Buy a Thrill), as well as "Rikki Don't Lose That Number". Other Dan, on the other hand, makes me homicidal. I sifted through the internet to tap into others' opinions of the cuts that displayed the genius of the Dan, and put together a 3 hour playlist. Lived with that for a couple months, then shaved the songs that I really hated. Spent some time with that, then cut some more. At the end, I was pretty much left with the first album and "Rikki Don't Lose That Number". The rest left me with angst on a scale that ranged from mild annoyance to rage. Ordered a 7" of "Rikki" off discogs and deleted the playlist.
Next was Z Z Top. Love Tres Hombres. Remember from high school that I was down with everything through Fandango! Definitely not a fan of Eliminator on. Mined the stacks for any riff that caught my ear and stuck it on a playlist. Lived with the playlist for a couple months, decided all you really need is Tres Hombres, then deleted the playlist.
And now, The Beatles. Well, I know I like a lot of Beatles songs, and I like couple John Lennon songs. What really inspired this, though, is that this year I have fallen head over heals for George Harrison's All Things Must Pass. It has lately become quite the obsession for me. I decided to put together a playlist with Beatles and Beatles related material, so I could get it all in one place. I would never try to convince anyone that this is in any way definitive, a "best-of", or even coherent and logical. This is a Beatles playlist I thoroughly enjoy, that is all. It has been sequenced for your listening pleasure, but hey - John Cage sez that "random" button is never a bad idea.
Two more notes: this playlist is subject to change, since the only Harrison solo album I took anything from is his first. Nothing else he did has caught me yet, but I will continue to sift through his albums to see if there's anything else. I imagine I'll find another song or two here and there. Same with Lennon, though I actually have spent time with his records over the years. Paul and Ringo, on the other hand, are as represented as they will ever be. Second: my favorite Beatles-related material is mostly by Yoko Ono, and she does have a couple songs on this playlist. However, even if I like both The Beatles and Yoko, they do not live together very well. Otherwise, this would be a lot heavier on Yoko.
So there you have it. If you are in a Beatles mood, give this a spin: it just may provide a worthwhile slant for you. And now, on to my Thin Lizzy playlist. I promise the next playlist posted will be of quite a different sort.
