Mix Tape of the Day: April 9, 2015 - The Best of the Beatles (1968-1969)

Today marks the anniversary of the official break up of the Beatles back in 1970, so it was only fitting to close out this retrospective today.  Focusing on the final albums (The Beatles (White Album), Abbey Road, and one choice song from Let It Be), I feel that this is the strongest mix to date.  Despite the difficulties of these final years, the work was among the best.  Also, bear in mind that I've already included four songs from this era on previous mixes ("Blackbird," "Hey Jude," "Here Comes the Sun," and "Let It Be"), so don't get confused as to why they aren't here.  If I missed your favorite, do not fear.  I'm sure any necessary Beatles songs will make their way onto a future mix.

1. Back in the U.S.S.R. - The Beatles (1968) The Beatles liked to have fun.  They began their huge four-sided White Album with a Beach Boys parody, for goodness sake!

2. Dear Prudence - The Beatles (1968) It's fun looking back at their early work and then seeing how far they came over six short years.  This would be the pinnacle of music for a long time.

3. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da - The Beatles (1968) Silly and serious.  Back and forth.  So great.

4. While My Guitar Gently Weeps - The Beatles (1968) George Harrison's few songs were all special and this one is quite magnificent.  While I'm fond of the melancholy Floyd Pepper cover, the original is fantastic.

5. Happiness Is a Warm Gun - The Beatles (1968) I almost left this one off because I forgot how cool it was.  Silly me!

6. Helter Skelter - The Beatles (1968) At some point in life everyone has that moment of "Helter Skelter is a Beatles song?!"  Yep.  McCartney at his hardest rockingnest.

7. Revolution - The Beatles (1968) Number 1.  Not Number 9.  For obvious reasons.

8. Come Together - The Beatles (1969) We've made it to the true final album, Abbey Road.  And they have clearly saved the best for last.  I often like to play a game with myself where I create an endless stream of lyrics to this song, completing the phrase, "He got ________, he got _________."  Let's play it sometime.

9. Something - The Beatles (1969) We'll now count down one final masterpiece from each of the members.  Harrision's contribution to Abbey Road is fittingly wonderful and with "Something," we finally have the best Beatles song ever and I will gladly argue with any Beatles fan about that statement.

10. Octopus's Garden - The Beatles (1969) Finally, Ringo gets his song!  Yay!  It's the second best Beatles song ever!  No argument.

11. I Want You (She's So Heavy) - The Beatles (1969) One more Lennon song for us here.  Complete with strange imagery and changing musical styles throughout, it's a great final effort on his part.

12. The End - The Beatles (1969) And finally, one last McCartney song to close things out.  Coming at the end of a larger medley, this was also the last song recorded by the complete group and it will remain that way forever.  How fitting.

13. Across the Universe - The Beatles (1969) But wait?  What's this?  A bunch of unreleased songs were slapped together to make one "final" Beatles album.  Like many fans, I'm not too fond of Let It Be's placement in history, but at least it included a then-rare track that had been recorded prior to Abbey Road and released shortly afterwards.  "Across the Universe" is a great metaphysical track to have as an "encore" song.