My friend and mentor Rob Quicke recently contacted me to see if I could write an article about my favorite Beatles' albums to listen to on vinyl. I of course said yes, and began the rather difficult task of compiling my list together. I didn't want to be cliche and just write about the White Album or Abbey Road, so I took a different approach. I focused on my feelings I have when I listen to these particular albums.
Overall, I really like how the article came out. I think it has some solid writing in it. Although, looking back, I could of done a better job in taking the photos. Well, I still have time to fix that. Anyways, I hope you enjoy it.
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One Fan’s Recommended Vinyl Listening Experience for The Beatles
Question. How do you write an article about the best
Beatles’ albums to listen to on vinyl? It’s a pretty daunting task. After all,
The Beatles are arguably the greatest band of all time. The shear number of
articles and books that have been written about them seems to be near infinite
at this point. What could I say that
hasn’t already been said? Then it dawned on me. Feelings. How did I feel when I
listened to each particular album on this list? Is there a sentimental meaning
for me towards a particular album? That would be unique. And that’s what I did.
So for my list of favorite Beatles’ albums to listen to on
vinyl, I based my decisions off of feelings I have towards a particular record.
And just to make the list a little more diverse, I tried to focus on “lesser
known” albums. Which is particularly difficult to do, again greatest band of
all time. Finally, I included solo albums on this list because why not?
Ringo Starr:
Beaucoups of Blues
When I first heard that Ringo Starr had recorded a country
and western album in 1970, to say I was surprised would be an understatement.
In fact, I remember thinking, “Who would want to listen to that? That sounds
terrible!” Well eventually I did, and boy was I surprised. I was surprised by
how great it was. I was surprised by how well Ringo’s vocal style fits into the
country and western genre. I was surprised by how much I liked it. I was
surprised! It’s a great feeling to be caught off guard, and I was caught off
guard with this album. It made me realize how greatly underappreciated Ringo’s
solo catalog is. How you could still find a hidden gem from a member of The
Beatles, and this is truly hidden gem. Search for it, and give it a shot.
Paul McCartney and
Wings: Wings Over America
If you have never seen Paul McCartney live, you are truly
missing out. I am blessed to be able to say I’ve seen him five times over the
course of the last ten years, but being born in the 1980s, I will never be able
to see Paul perform as a young man. But in a way, that’s okay, because I have
Wings Over America. A triple LP of Wings’ 1976 World Tour, this album
transplants me to the mid 70s. Whenever I listen to it, I imagine myself in a
beanbag chair, dropping the needle on the turntable, putting on my 1970s oversized
head phones, and being transplanted to one of the single greatest live concert
experiences of all time. For me, the benchmark of great music is whether or not
it can take me away from my worries. This album does just that.
John Lennon: Mind
Games
Story time. I became a fan of the Beatles when I watched the
movie “Help!” with my older sister. Watching that movie with her gave me an
appreciate of the Beatles that I carry to this very day. And it was that movie
where John Lennon stood out from everyone else, and became my favorite Beatle.
But for the longest time, I would never listen to his solo work. His music with
the Beatles was just so perfect, why would I listen to anything else? Well that
all change when I walked into an independent bookstore in Chicago, and came
across Mind Games. Obviously I had heard of Lennon’s album Imagine, but Mind
Games was something completely new to me. Something I had never heard of. (This
was before the time of Google and Wikipedia.) And so for the small price of $2
I took a chance, and purchased the album. Till this day, one of the single best
decision I have ever made. This is the album that made me realize that Lennon’s
solo work was just as great as his work in The Beatles. This is the album that
cemented Lennon as my favorite Beatle of all time. So every time I listen to
it, I am reminded of this, and it makes me smile.
George Harrison: All
Things Must Pass
Much like John Lennon’s album Mind Games, All Things Must
Pass is the album that made me a fan of George Harrison’s solo work. It is without a doubt, the best solo Beatles’
album ever released. It’s a masterpiece, and every autumn, when we get our
first chill in the air, I’ll spend a weekend and listen to it in its entirety.
It’s a tradition I plan to do for as long as possible. For it was in the fall
of 2000 that I first heard this album on vinyl and was engulfed by the “Wall of
Sound”. I think the fact that I still remember how I first heard it, is a
testament to its greatness.
The Beatles: Rubber
Soul
Rubber Soul is my all time favorite Beatles album. I see it
as this perfect bridge between the pop/rock of A Hard Day’s Night and Eight
Days a Week to the experiment music of A Day in the Life, and The Abbey Road melodies.
It’s pure magic listening to this album on vinyl. I feel like Rubber Soul caught
the vibe of 1965, and holds that vibe forever in each and every groove of the
record. But the true greatness for me is, whenever I am feeling low or depressed,
I put Rubber Soul on my turntable, and within the first few notes of Drive My
Car, I’m already beginning feeling better. I mean, how could I not? I’m listening
to the Beatles and I’m listening to Rubber Soul, how can life not get better?
