living is easy with eyes closed

Artist Song
the beatles  "day tripper" 
the beatles  "we can work it out" 
the beatles  "you won't see me" 
the beatles  "norwegian wood (this bird has flown)" 
the beatles  "in my life" 
the beatles  "nowhere man" 
the beatles  "tomorrow never knows" 
the beatles  "paperback writer" 
the beatles  "rain" 
the beatles  "i'm only sleeping" 
the beatles  "here, there & everywhere" 
the beatles  "she said, she said" 
the beatles  "strawberry fields forever" 
the beatles  "penny lane" 
the beatles  "a day in the life" 
the beatles  "lucy in the sky with diamonds" 
the beatles  "getting better" 
the beatles  "it's all too much" 
the beatles  "across the universe" [world wildlife fund version] 
the beatles  "while my guitar gently weeps" [anthology 3 version] 
the beatles  "blackbird" 
the beatles  "i'm so tired" 
the beatles  "julia" 
the beatles  "don't let me down" 
the beatles  "the ballad of john & yoko" 

Comment:

i've been hesitating & avoiding posting this on here since i finished it weeks ago. how do i accurately sum up the greatest recording unit in pop music history in a mere 80 minutes? i'm not quite sure.

this started out, believe it or not, as an "introduction" for somebody - hard to believe there's anybody out there not well acquainted with the fab four, but they do exist. this seemed little more than an excuse for me to finally kick myself in the ass & assemble what i see as the mix enthusiast's most harrowing challenge. i view the single artist beatles mix as the most difficult task any mixer can take on, even more difficult than the desert island song mix (which, by the way, i've had in the works for months, or technically years, now). seriously, how do you distill seven years worth of the most brilliant music ever waxed to a single disc? or even two or three discs? it's impossible.

which brings me to my next point. there's two very different kinds of single artist mixes: the introductory single artist mix & the personal single artist mix. the former, type 1, eschews a biased viewpoint in favor of an accessible entry point. no obscurities, no live takes, no demos, etc. - it should, in my eyes, consist of important album tracks, singles, historically significant songs, culturally influential songs, etc., to help give easy access to an artist's catalogue. then they can take it themselves from there to explore deeper. the latter, type 2, is a collection of your personal favorite tracks by said artist, which can include obscurities of all kinds - it's more about personal association & what songs speak to you the most. i've tackled both on this site before: see "sixteen, clumsy & shy: an introduction to the smiths" for type 1, & "with yours eyes like smoke & your prayers like rhymes" (a dylan single artist mix) for type 2.

with this mix, even though it was technically made to "introduce" someone to the vast genius of the greatest musical outfit any of us will ever witness, i made the decision to go with a more personally biased approach. this was done because the impossibility of an all-encompassing, comprehensive two-disc set of the beatles was so frustrating i would have never been able to finish it. so i shifted gears & decided to make a single disc set of just my absolute favorite tracks from not only my absolute favorite band but the greatest band who will ever exist. this explains the lennon bias (my favorite musician, musical figure, songwriter, etc., of all-time). although challenging, collecting personally affecting songs was easier & more rewarding than a comprehensive overview of their career.

with that said, this disc - for the most part - only covers what i see as their absolute peak, that being the stretch of albums (& singles) from rubber soul through the white album, though there are exceptions (the yellow submarine track, & the b-side & single, respectively, that close it out). so, this covers those glorious three years when pop music was at its absolute peak. there will probably be a part two to cover please please me through help! & their final two years.

hope you all enjoy. i know i did.

Feedback:

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Barrydali
Date: 2/3/2008
I couldn't do this Ant, I really couldn't but if I did, it would look more like this than any Beatles mix i've seen on here. Good to see you back mate.
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doowad
Date: 2/3/2008
Very John heavy, but very well-done. I am of the same mind on both of Barry's points.
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hemizen
Date: 2/3/2008
Great job.
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g.a.b. l@bs
Date: 2/3/2008
Nice one, Anthony...I haven't listened to a Beatles track in I don't know how long. R U 1 of them teknikal type fellas who is gonna post us all a link?
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Mixxer
Date: 2/3/2008
Hmm, I had not thought quite that deeply about single artist mixes, but you are spot on. Great work. I am pretty much where the man from the l@bs is; have not listened to them much lately but would love to hear it.
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sammyg123
Date: 2/3/2008
Hard to compile, yes. But think of us, a hard mix to comment on. For instance, how do I say 'Where the hell is If I Fell, Girl, All You Need Is Luv' to name but three, without offending the host of such a mix?
But it's all subjective, and as you rightly state, summing up the greatest band who ever lived in one disc is tough, tough, tough.. You'd need 10 discs..
Best Band Ever! = Best mix ever!!
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Rob Conroy
Date: 2/3/2008
A lot of these are big favorites of mine and almost all of them made my first volume back in the day (when I had my Beatles mixes posted in individual volumes). I obviously disagree with your Lennon bias, though. ;-)
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mahdishain
Date: 2/3/2008
like anyone with ears and an opinion, my selections would be different. i would have included earlier era as i think of their whole career as one big peak. that said, wonderful job. the jukebox in my head will be playing beatles nonstop for a few days. thanks!
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KathrynandRupert
Date: 2/4/2008
I think their peak started with A Hard Day's Night, in my opinion their best "pop" LP. Anyway all the songs you picked are superb and you could have picked another 25 from the same period and I would have said the same.
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Mark Petruccelli
Date: 2/4/2008
Nicely done, Anthony. Gwtting away from the "Why didn'y you include this?" perspective, I really love the flow of this and as a mix, as opposed to a Single Artist Mix, I think it stands on its own.
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Bear
Date: 2/4/2008
Great choices, I guess yr always gonna leave someone's favourite off with the Fabs but you can't fault what you have put on. I'd like to see a non-chronological Beatles single disc tho...
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Funky Ratchet
Date: 2/4/2008
Excellent! Looking forward to seeing you cover the earlier years in volume two...
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DJ Karen Adams
Date: 2/5/2008
Excellent choices and sequencing!
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French Connection
Date: 2/5/2008
I'm gonna make a big confession here, I have " Beatles cd's never listen to em ( Sgt Pepper's = OK but couldn't listen to it start - finish in one go & I think I have a copy of Anthology, though last time I looked I couldn't find it) Now, I'll admit the Fab Fours' contribution to modern music is second to none, their influence is everywhere but that's just it I prefer the influence to the Beatles themselvesd. Of course my opinion may be somewhat effected by the fact that when I was at school there were 2 camps - The Stones & The Beatles, no prizes for guessing where my allegiance lay! Maybe I need to add to those 2 aforementioned discs?
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Salman1
Date: 2/5/2008
I too fall in the same camp as Cliff although in my high school the two camps were Tupac Shakur or Nirvana (I stradled both lines!). I actually prefer bands that were influenced by the Beatles than the Beatles themselves. Maybe its cuz I was born in the 80's but I never completely connected with the Beatles.
A pretty impressive feat, nonetheless, you've accomplished with this mix, Anthony. A perfect beginners guide to the band.
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gobi
Date: 2/7/2008
love it and the John bias !