Another brilliant effort (by the Fabs, not me).  I'm not happy with "Who Can See It," but I don't know.  It's so plaintive, that I keep it.  Thoughts?


Band On The Run (Released December 1973)

Side 1
Band On The Run
Jet
Who Can See It
You’re Sixteen (You’re Beautiful And You’re Mine)
Sue Me, Sue You Blues
Mind Games

Side 2
Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)
Helen Wheels
Out The Blue
Oh My My
Bless You
Nineteen Hundred And Eighty-Five

Great album, I am seriously thinking of making playlists of these for miPod.

Again, I am not sure about the cover version though.

Michelle,

Yeah, the cover versions thing is definitely questionable.  I'll cop to this: I probably went with a few of them simply for the enjoyment of hearing them, rather than some other album cut of around the same time.  I included "If Not For You" for a while, before settling on "Apple Scruffs."
Conceivably, they could've gone back to them; I mean, clearly they did during the solo years.   Who knows; they might have had to record some Chuck Berry to keep him happy, after the "Come Together" thing.  
Anyway, they're cool playlists.  People on the train probably think I'm an idiot, grinning away when I catch a particularly cool segue.
Thanks again for your considered opinion.  There's a Hard Day's Night reference for you.  
walrus

Alas, walrus_21, this one I don't like.  And it's not because the songs are weak. In fact, it's for precisely the opposite reason. I think the solo efforts for this year are so strong, they deserve their own space. Can you really put Who Can See It next to You’re Sixteen (or even on the same album) and have either song come across as it was meant to be presented? It's a completely different mood and feel. Ditto John and Paul's stuff.

Nope, for 1973, I'm digging the solo efforts. When you have strong, thematically or sonically consistent albums, I think it's a mistake to split them up. The guys can always reunite in 1974!

I'm really enjoying this series. Cheers.

Hari,

I suppose they could have released solo stuff while having stayed together until 1975.  Any number of possibilities exists.  And I love that you're very protective of their solo stuff.  I am too, but the exercise was to create five what-ifs.  
As to having two songs with a completely different mood or feel next to each other ... well, that's what makes the Fabs unique in the first place.  Maybe "Who Can See It" and "You're Sixteen" are not meant for each other, but it's no less jarring than "Yer Blues" into "Mother Nature's Son," in my humble.  Or "Love You To" anywhere.  "Within You Without You" into "When I'm 64?"  
As I said in a previous post, I'm less enamored with "Who Can See It" as time passes.  But I fall in and out of love with Beatles tracks.  Right now, I could listen to "Hey Bulldog" all day.
You know, like a lot of people, I've tried to understand why people like us, and the more casual fans, still are fascinated by them.  There's myriad reasons, and the sheer strength of the individual songs, I think, is the main reason.  But with the strength of the individual songs is how different they are.  Someone once wrote that listening to the first side of "Revolver" was like running down the AM dial and catchnig different things.
I digress.  Thanks for weighing in; I might evolve the sequence a bit more, based on yours and Michelle's ideas.
Isn't collaboration marvelous?  
Hugs, w

Yes, we all have our tastes. Me, for example, could put "Love You To" anywhere. Between every other song would be good.  I'm deeply in love with "Who Can See It" and I actively hated "You're Sixteen" when it came out; it struck me as creepy that some "old guy" was singing about a 16-yr-old! I always skip "When I'm 64" on the original album, too. Paul has written some beautiful songs and some fun songs, but some of his stuff just grates on me for some unknown reason. I do not possess the gene that allows me to appreciate "Michelle", for example, one of his best-loved songs. In your list above, I actively like "Nineteen Hundred And Eighty-Five", and none of the others. Why? I don't know. But I certainly understand why some people don't like George's Indian-influenced stuff; whatever it is that has me like it and them dislike it is probably what allows them to listen to "Jet" and "Helen Wheels" and actually like it. That's why I for one am glad the former Beatles put out solo albums. I don't like a mishmash. I prefer a collection that I can put on in a certain mood, and just enjoy it from end to end.

Yeah, I'll take George's Indian stuff any day. WYWY is in my Top 10.  There was a thread about that someplace.  Back in the old days of making mixed cassettes, I had one of George and none of the others.  

I'm with you on Macca's stuff as sometimes grating.  I wasn't making value judgments on "Love You To" or any of the others I cited as jarring.  They're just so sonically different.   And again, a tremendous strength of theirs.

Anyway ... discussion boards are for discussions.  Thanks again for responding -- makes me feel very welcome.  

w

Quoted from walrus_21

You know, like a lot of people, I've tried to understand why people like us, and the more casual fans, still are fascinated by them.

I think because they were so different to anybody else, they wrote timeless songs & they
were very very interesting people. There's lots more which i could go on with but that's just
a taster of what i reckon. anyway, i think this should be in anither thread!

Andy

Hear hear, Andy.  I have a screenplay in the works about them, and it focuses on their relationships rather than any product they did/might have done.  
When I hear new bootlegs, I listen for the studio banter more than any alternate versions of songs.  They were funny, witty, original, spontaneous, smart ... I could go on and on.  I often do.  Hearing Paul coach John on the Anthology discs while working on "Julia" and "Mr. Kite" made me see him in a new light.  
Best, w