Other Mixes By Rob Conroy
CD
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Single Artist
CD
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Mixed Genre
CD
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Mixed Genre
Cassette
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Single Artist
I don't believe in "Beatles" (2 CDs)
| Side A | ||
| Artist | Song | |
| The Dirty Mac | Yer Blues | |
| The Plastic Ono Band | Give Peace a Chance | |
| The Plastic Ono Band | Cold Turkey | |
| John & Yoko with Plastic Ono Band | Instant Karma! | |
| John Lennon & the Plastic Ono Band | Mother | |
| John Lennon & the Plastic Ono Band | Hold On | |
| John Lennon & the Plastic Ono Band | Working Class Hero | |
| John Lennon & the Plastic Ono Band | Isolation | |
| John Lennon & the Plastic Ono Band | Love | |
| John Lennon & the Plastic Ono Band | Look at Me | |
| John Lennon & the Plastic Ono Band | God | |
| John Lennon & the Plastic Ono Band | My Mummy's Dead | |
| John Lennon & the Plastic Ono Band with the Flux Fiddlers | Imagine | |
| John Lennon & the Plastic Ono Band with the Flux Fiddlers | Crippled Inside | |
| John Lennon & the Plastic Ono Band with the Flux Fiddlers | Jealous Guy | |
| John Lennon & the Plastic Ono Band with the Flux Fiddlers | Gimme Some Truth | |
| John Lennon & the Plastic Ono Band with the Flux Fiddlers | Oh My Love | |
| John Lennon & the Plastic Ono Band with the Flux Fiddlers | Oh Yoko! | |
| John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band with the Harlem Community Choir | Happy Xmas (War is Over) | |
| John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band with Elephant's Memory | The Luck of the Irish | |
| John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band with Elephant's Memory | John Sinclair | |
| John & Yoko with Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention | Well (Baby Please Don't Go) | |
| Side B | ||
| Artist | Song | Buy |
| John & Yoko with Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention | Scumbag | |
| John Lennon | I'm the Greatest | |
| John Lennon & the Plastic U.F.Ono Band | Mind Games | |
| John Lennon & the Plastic U.F.Ono Band | Bring on the Lucie (Freda People) | |
| John Lennon & the Plastic U.F.Ono Band | Out the Blue | |
| John Lennon & the Plastic U.F.Ono Band | You Are Here | |
| John Lennon | Real Love | |
| John Lennon | Steel and Glass [studio rehearsal] | |
| John Lennon | Nobody Loves You (When You're Down and Out) [alternate version] | |
| John Lennon | Old Dirt Road | |
| John Lennon | Bless You | |
| John Lennon | Scared | |
| John Lennon | #9 Dream | |
| John Lennon | Move Over Ms. L | |
| John Lennon | My Life | |
| John Lennon & Yoko Ono | Watching the Wheels | |
| John Lennon & Yoko Ono (with Cheap Trick) | I'm Losing You | |
| John & Yoko | Nobody Told Me | |
| John Lennon | Grow Old with Me | |
Comment:
Yes, I'm a pro-Paul man, which by its nature means that my genuine love for John Lennon (he's one of my four or five favorite figures in music history and is--by a hair--my second-favorite Beatle) often goes unrecognized. Yes, I think his solo career is erratic at best (much more erratic than McCartney's from the same 1970-1980 period, IMO); he did, however, record my favorite Beatles solo album (Plastic Ono Band) and there are quite a few fantastic moments after that point, so I wanted to recognize that fact by expanding my seven-year old single-disc Lennon comp into this double-disc version. Last track cut: "Whatever Gets You Thru the Night." [Two notes: 1) I've tried repeatedly to change the category of this mix to "Single Artist," but AotM won't let me do so. 2) Sam was not hallucinating--"Bring on the Lucie" was not originally on this mix. However, when I opted to use the rehearsal version of "Steel and Glass," it was longer and I had to cut "Fame" (yes, the Bowie song) and "What You Got" (which I was already leaning towards ditching). At that point, space was freed for "Lucie," which, upon re-listening, is considerably superior to "What You Got."]Feedback:
Awesome, in the strictest sense of the word, as per usual
Splendid, Good Sir. I qite like Mind Games, and would've found room for 'Bring On Da Lucie', but apart from that this covers all his greats. Love those closing 5 on Side 2.
In my youth I loved Lennon most of the four Beatles but maturity has shifted him down to second behind Ringo. I'd remove Imagine, it's so cringe-making listening to Lennon singing "imagine no possessions" when he has plenty himself and the video to accompany the song, him sitting at a piano in an empty room trying to convince us of his sacrifice...but he's sitting in a huge mansion, hypocrite springs to mind. And I won't rant on about Working Class Hero....but he's still made some great records and your mix is still exemplary.
The reason some dislike "Imagine" also happens to be exactly why the song, and all such art, is necessary. It envisions, and in doing so creates, a world that we can't in real life. Yes, Lennon had a tendency to be arrogant, eccentric and over-confident in his beliefs and abilities. But at the same time, he had the strength of character to be true to those ideals, though they tended to fluctuate. As he once said, speaking of his and Yoko's bed-ins, "We are willing to become the world's clowns if it helps spread the word for peace." I found him to be challenging and thought-provoking even when he was arrogant.
well, john lennon is my all-time favorite music figure [don't worry, macca is no. 2 ;)], bar-none, so i'm not going to spend frivolous time pointing out how great i think he is or my favorites here (though you've nailed most, if not all, of them). i've always detected a twinge of resentment of lennon on your behalf, dunno if that's imaginary or not, but i've felt it. not to say it's totally unreasonable, as i am quite fed up with lennon's faux-image as a saint or a rebel as well - & trust me, that is not the reason i love the man so. i feel that, if people were to listen to his entire catalogue - & not just the standards that paint him in the aforementioned light - they would see that his music illustrates quite accurately what a flawed, multi-dimensional, but ultimately human musician john was. & that's why he's my favorite beatle, my favorite musician & the greatest thing that ever happened to recorded sound.
I feel compelled to add my two cents...Of course, The Beatles are so deeply entrenched within my heart, I sometimes think that separation would be fatal...Hopefully that isn't too, too dramatic. It's hard to single out a favorite. Over the years, I've actually come to feel that in the post-Beatles era, George put together the strongest collection of music. I still love Paul so much for his genuine enthusiasm about his music and all the fantastic songs he's crafted that have brought endless smiles to my face and warmth to my soul. But John is really something different, and in many ways, better. His amazing talent with phrases and words is really unparalleled. "All we are saying is give peace a chance" may be innocent and bordering on naive, but at the same time, it's an absolutely gorgeous phrase and sentiment. So many phrases like over the years, defining and re-defining the era, the emotion and the times in which we (they) lived is, I suppose, the reason for this fantastic and thorough mix. Excellent, excellent work.
vastly improved I dare say
I'm pleasantly surprised to see your mix go so late into his career. Great comments here from people. The "Imagine" comment below (KaR) is interesting, to be sure. Still, I love that song because I had never before heard someone express those thoughts so eloquently. Same with so many of his other songs. Lots of filler, and lots of bad production. But geez, find me a musician of his caliber who hasn't had that fault.
Simply Great.
Congrats!
Congrats!
I still think the best thing Paul & Jon had was each other as both solo careers clearly demonstrate. I almost used that Zappa/Lennon track on my MAS with Cliff, but then I realized the screaming wasn't zappa, but Yoko's caterwauling. I know I burned myself out on the Imagine album at 14 or 15, though I like the little songs from there now (Crippled Inside for one). The Plastic Ono Band quiet songs were the best thing to listen to after a day of dosing, that's a fact, Jack.I'm a little disappointed to not see Rock n' Roll represented here, which I find myself enjoying most of all out of his solo efforts at this late date (similar to Rupert's sentiments below). His version of Slippin' and Slidin' is just fun rock n' roll. Much like Steve Earle, I prefer John when he was focused on his muse rather than on matters of this world.
Awesome collection.
I'm a pro-John guy myself, so I'm digging this mix quite immensly. Great mix, Rob.
I'll go with Paul myself as well. I am three quarters through watching the Beatles Anthology again (thanks Netflix for having EVERYTHING), and I am loving reliving all the Beatles period.
A Beatles book you MUST get is : Revolution in the Head by Ian MacDonald. It goes into detail about the recording of each song.
A Beatles book you MUST get is : Revolution in the Head by Ian MacDonald. It goes into detail about the recording of each song.
excellent