Reviewing the Beatles Solo Albums in Order - The End

At some point I stopped blogging about this project, as I had fallen behind in writing up what I was listening to, and then I would have to go back and listen to them again. Which was enjoyable, but time-consuming.

I am not used to finishing the big projects I start, which is why I'm happy - but also sad - to have finally finished listening to all the Beatles solo albums in chronological order*.

 

I have listened to many a fantastic album, and some terrible albums, and some just not-so good albums, but it was a journey worth taking. It's been a parallel journey to my own my entire life, though I was only paying attention to it periodically.

 

What have I learned? I'm astounded by people who still say John or George are their favorite solo Beatles. Though they all have produced impressive work, Paul has produced almost five times as much material as John did in his life, almost four times as much as George produced. By sheer volume alone, Paul is unmatched, but add the dazzling quality of RAM, Band on the Run, Flaming Pie, and New on top of all that, and be staggered by the sheer awesomeness of it all.

 

And I've learned that Paul in particular never runs out of contributions to make to us. At the age of 79 - 79! - he produced McCartney 3. And, while much of it is admittedly self-indulgent, and his voice is obviously weak from age, the song "Women and Wives" is, at least, a worthy addition to his catalog. Then he encouraged young people to remix this weak album as McCartney 3 Imagined and they actually managed to make it weaker, telling me that the younger generations *still* aren't ready for Paul to hand the baton off to them yet.

 

And Ringo, poor Ringo, with a bum rap for so long, has produced some fantastic albums, long since the days of Good Night Vienna. Time Takes Time, Ringo Rama, and Zoom In are all things you need to hear if you haven't already. His last EP, the very last thing I listened to for this project, was Change the World. And, boy, did they ever. Interestingly, as if anticipating this might be his last album, he brings us full circle at the end - no, not back to "Love Me Do", but to a cover of "Rock Around the Clock." This has been a time-bending trip across the entirety of all of rock n' roll. The solo Beatles have been my Virgil, leading me to Paradise. Thanks, guys.

 

(*"All" albums means all albums with new material or new arrangements on them. I did skip some of the best of and concert albums.)

...No, I'm not done yet. I was thinking about the rhetorical ending I tossed in at the last moment and realized it was a more apt metaphor for the project than I'd at first considered it to be. Dante's Divine Comedy has some interesting parallels to my listening project.

I started my journey, like with the Inferno, by listening to John and Yoko's experimental albums. If there's an Afterlife where bad people are punished, they are made to listen to Yoko Ono there.

And there are periods of Purgatorio I heard too. George, when he just didn't care anymore and churned out albums like Gone Troppo. Ringo and Paul both went through dry periods where they had trouble finding a way to reconnect to their audience.

And there is Paradiso - not as an end goal, though, to be reached. My Paradise are the moments you pass through where everything is perfect. Being emotionally swept up in the powerful early tracks on All Things Must Pass. Listening to RAM for flaws and finding none. Feeling joy for Ringo when he clearly got his groove back on Time Takes Time. Hearing John happy and just having fun on Rock n’ Roll.