With a presidential election that's not too far ahead of us, there's been a lot of strife, anger and uncertainty leading up to it, so I figured, why not enter the fray with a little musical fun? That being in the form, of course, of a politically-themed playlist utilizing the solo music of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.
Inspiration came from Moondog385's Looking for Changes playlist back in June, in which he tackled the political aspect of Paul's solo career, talking about the values of equality, progress, kindness and hope. I wanted to see what it'd be like with John, George and Ringo for the ride, and it turned out easier than I thought it'd be; on John's Gimme Some Truth compilation from 2010, there's a whole disc dedicated to his political music titled Working Class Hero, so I used that as a basis for his solo stuff.
Halfway there already, I looked into George's solo stuff to see what songs from him would work. Some of it was more subtle than others, but I could definitely detect hints about wanting to make the world a better place in the lyrics at points. Same thing with Ringo, even though he only gets four spots on this playlist.
Still, Ringo's biggest contribution to this playlist is Peace & Love, named for his catchphrase. It just sounds like something you'd see as a Beatles album title. I also threw in the subtitle Imagine Not Included as a reference to Monty Python's 20th anniversary special Parrot Sketch Not Included. So don't expect John's most famous solo track to appear at any point; it's not the only one which has a political message, after all.
1. Gimme Some Truth - 3:16 (John, 1971)
2. Hope of Deliverance - 3:22 (Paul, 1993)
3. Devil's Radio - 3:52 (George, 1987)
4. Mindfield - 4:06 (Ringo, 1998)
5. Working Class Hero - 3:48 (John, 1970)
6. Tug of War - 4:04 (Paul, 1982)
Side B (24:36)
7. Tears of the World - 4:04 (George, 1981)
8. Everybody Out There - 3:21 (Paul, 2013)
10. Wild Life - 6:48 (Paul, 1971)
11. Run of the Mill - 2:49 (George, 1970)
12. Bring on the Lucie (Freda Peeple) - 4:12 (John, 1973)
Side C (23:07)
13. Don't Go Where the Road Don't Go - 3:20 (Ringo, 1992)
14. Women and Wives - 2:52 (Paul, 2020)
15. Steel and Glass - 4:37 (John, 1974)
16. Looking for Changes - 2:47 (Paul, 1993)
17. Remember - 4:33 (John, 1970)
18. Save the World - 4:58 (George, 1985)
Even though I'm presenting the playlist as six sides, in reality, it should also fit onto two CDs as well. I've kicked off the compilation with "Gimme Some Truth", which Paul had a songwriting credit that went unnoticed at the time, yet does feature a slide guitar solo by George, making it the most obvious choice for an opener. Ringo makes an appearance on drums for "Devil's Radio", a criticism of gossip journalism, and his first unlikely contribution is "Mindfield" from 1998's Vertical Man, with the first verse containing lines such as "What's right? Who's wrong? Everybody takes sides" and "Man becomes a female", suggesting a message in there. The disc opens with a statement from each Beatle, which feels democratic in my opinion.
"Tears of the World" warns us about the threat of nuclear disaster, and even though "Run of the Mill" was about the dysfunction within the Beatles circle in 1969, the lyrics could also refer to what happens up top. Either way, "it's you that decides." "Don't Go Where the Road Don't Go" provides a bit of light-hearted levity before things get a bit darker, and "Save the World" coming after the ending explosion of "Remember" is darkly humorous.
Side D (22:19)
19. Too Many People - 4:10 (Paul, 1971)
20. I Don't Wanna Be a Soldier - 6:05 (John, 1971)
21. Anthem - 5:01 (Ringo, 2012)
22. Big Boys Bickering - 3:22 (Paul, 1992)
23. Grey Cloudy Lies - 3:41 (George, 1975)
Side E (23:51)
24. Only People - 3:23 (John, 1973)
25. I've Had Enough - 3:02 (Paul, 1978)26. Isolation - 2:51 (John, 1970)
27. See Yourself - 2:51 (George, 1976)
28. Meat City - 2:45 (John, 1973)
29. How Many People - 4:14 (Paul, 1989)
30. Love First, Ask Questions Later - 4:45 (Ringo, 2003)
Side F (23:54)
31. Instant Karma! (We All Shine On) - 3:21 (John, 1970)32. Hope for the Future - 4:09 (Paul, 2014)
33. The Day the World Gets 'Round - 2:53 (George, 1973)
34. Ebony and Ivory - 3:50 (Paul, 1982)
35. Happy Xmas (War is Over) - 3:34 (John, 1971)36. Brainwashed - 6:07 (George, 2002)
Disc two starts off with Paul's "Too Many People", and I feel that its message rings truer than ever. Ringo's "Anthem" does a lyrical drop of the title "peace and love", and George's "Grey Cloudy Lies" is probably the darkest song on the playlist, showing how easy it can be to give up and despair. "We gotta keep trying, we can't give up" vs. "I thought to close my mouth with a padlock on the night", with "Big Boys Bickering" right in between.
On a lighter note, "See Yourself" comments that "it's easier to tell a lie than it is to tell the truth", and "Love First, Ask Questions Later" perfectly sums up how Ringo thinks the world should be. It's one of my favorite solo Ringo songs, and it sounds like an outtake from the Magical Mystery Tour era. George's final two songs are sonically opposite to one another; "The Day the World Gets 'Round" is a folk number about ending suffering, and "Brainwashed" is a loud, bombastic number that tells us what he once said back in 1965 to think for ourselves. Appropriately, I made it the final track on the compilation. (For those wondering, "Ebony and Ivory" is the Paul solo version.)
Overall, I ended up using eighteen songs from the 1970s (half of this compilation, no less!), seven from the 1980s, five from the 1990s and three from the 2010s, with "Love First, Ask Questions Later" and "Brainwashed" both representing the 2000s, and "Women and Wives" from McCartney III representing 2020. There were thirteen other songs I ended up cutting due to wanting to keep the runtime down.
From Paul, there was "With a Little Luck", "Coming Up", "Pipes of Peace", "C'Mon People" and "People Want Peace", and the first three were all #1 hits for him. As for the others, I cut John's "I Found Out", "God" and "Power to the People" (as well as "Give Peace a Chance"; I wanted to focus on stuff from 1970 onward), George's "Beware of Darkness", "The Light That Has Lighted the World" and "Cockamamie Business" and Ringo's "It Don't Come Easy" and "Peace Dream". A whole disc could be made out of those songs alone, but I'll leave that job to you.
