Imagining Another Beatles Album

[jadams501]

A pastime that amuses me from time to time is imagining what a post-Let It Be Beatles LP would have shaped up as if the band had chosen to take some time off and then bury the hatchet rather than break up.

The following is just over 78 minutes, a double LP. I've assembled their most prominent early 70s material, along with a few other favorites. Wish I had George Martin on hand to remix the masters...

Interested to hear what you all think.

Imagine
Band On The Run
My Sweet Lord
It Don't Come Easy
Mother [Single Version]
Isn't It A Pity
Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey
Photograph
Give Peace a Chance
Junk
Real Love (Original Guitar Version)
What Is Life
Jet
Mind Games
Back Off Boogaloo
Maybe I'm Amazed
All Things Must Pass
The Back Seat Of My Car
God

[shalloboi]

those are some nice choices. 'god' is my favorite solo lennon song. i've also read that a lot of george harrison's early solo stuff was brought to the 'let it be' sessions. i've always had a bit of a distaste for mccartney's stuff (even some of his beatles stuff), but pretty much anything from 'ram' is very difficult to fault- it's not much of a stretch to picture them ending up on a beatles album. i'm tempted to assemble a playlist with all of these songs and give it a shot- i don't have any beatles solo recordings, sadly, even though i've heard a ton of it.

[TheWarmth]

I'm not familiar with Ram. I guess I should check that one out. I don't have any of McCartney's solo albums. All Things Must Pass is absolutely essential, Tyler. I highly recommend it. You can usually find the vinyl version for reasonable prices.

[spzretent]

Ram is great. That and Wings Wild Life are the only Paul records I own

[radioshack]

I'd have had Love from Plastic Ono band in there. Floors me everytime I hear it.

Distant runner-ups would also be Oh My Love or Gimme Some Truth.

[KingHarry]

Working Class Hero has to be on there.

[The Breeze]

...and The Frog Chorus

[scratch]

great idea!
and many songs I agree with.. but I feel it´s quite a stretch including 72, 73 and 74 stuff..

..so I will try to make one with 70-71 recordings only.. (most of my wings, george and ringo lp:s are not in town anyway)


also a double-lp..
produced by phil spector of course... klaus voorman becomes the fifth beatle (allowing paul to play drums and guitar when he wants to) and makes an album cover even better than revolver´s.

side 1: ICECREAM

well well well (5:59)
mumbo (4:02)
mother (5:34)
I found out (3:37)
oh woman oh why (4:39)


side 2: HATE

too many people (4:10)
dear boy (2:12)
how do you sleep? (5:36)
beware of darkness (3:52)
gimme some truth (3:16)
dear friend (5:59)


side 3: GODS OF YESTERDAY

remember (4:33)
another day (3:44)
tomorrow (3:27)
uncle albert/admiral halsey (4:51)
god (4:09)
my sweet lord (4:43)


side 4: SOFT MACHINES

If not for you (3:33)
singalong junk (2:37)
It don´t come easy (3:02)
love (3:21)
all things must pass (3:47)
wild life (6:39)



To me imagine, working class hero and cold turkey are Lennon´s signature songs so I don´t think they belong on an album by the beatles. Imagine them bonus tracks on the cd if you want.. maybe george should have another song - bangladesh

[Kurious Oranj]

this could make for a fun playlist

[BzaInSpace]

I'll settle for the John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band album - I love that record (and Yoko's 'sister' album) as much as any Beatles LP.

Will need to check out Ram though as I've never heard it - I like a lot of McCartney's more bonkers solo stuff. 'Temporary Secretary' anybody? 'Coming Up' is fantastic too!

Also, much praise for All Things Must Pass, the jams side may be a bit hit-or-miss, but what a record. Interesting to note that Spector produced this and Plastic Ono Band, but each display his production skills in maximalist and completely stripped down effect, respectively.

PS : I don't see 'Back Off Boogaloo' (aka 'Zombie Man' ) on any of those lists... sort it out!

[jadams501]

Working Class Hero has to be on there.

Imagine and Working Class Hero are two of my least favorite John Lennon songs -- I find them intolerably vapid and smug. Imagine I felt I needed to include because it sounds broadly Beatles-y, but WCH just didn't seem to fit. Which was fine with me!

Also, much praise for All Things Must Pass, the jams side may be a bit hit-or-miss, but what a record. Interesting to note that Spector produced this and Plastic Ono Band, but each display his production skills in maximalist and completely stripped down effect, respectively.

PS : I don't see 'Back Off Boogaloo' (aka 'Zombie Man' ) on any of those lists... sort it out!

According to Wikipedia, Spector wasn't really on hand for the Plastic Ono Band sessions and John/Yoko essentially produced the album themselves. Very impressive.

And, I did include Back Off Boogaloo! I was sorry that I couldn't fit even more Ringo, but I wanted the playlist to fit the double LP format.

[scratch]

I'll settle for the John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band album - I love that record (and Yoko's 'sister' album) as much as any Beatles LP.

Will need to check out Ram though as I've never heard it - I like a lot of McCartney's more bonkers solo stuff. 'Temporary Secretary' anybody? 'Coming Up' is fantastic too!

PS : I don't see 'Back Off Boogaloo' (aka 'Zombie Man' ) on any of those lists... sort it out!

yes, plastic ono band is actually too good to chop up... and amazing that Jason don´t have it - said he thought isolation was by the beach boys in some german interview!!

Ram might be the best mccartney record... whoa mccartney II.. hehe haven´t heard that one in more than 25 yrs

I think boogaloo wasn´t recorded until early 72 which is why I didn´t include it (nothing later than 1971 became my rule when realising it would be a huge box if the album would have been released in 74..)

[spzretent]

Off subject but I am sitting in the shop in the middle of a huge 4 day street festival. Two kids about 16 walked in and then a couple about 65-ish walked in. Abbey Road came on and all four were singing along.
Thought I would share that with y'all.

[angelsighs]

Abbey Road is definitely my favourite Beatles album. its superb.

[jadams501]

Yeah I love that Abbey Road is all the songcraft and harmonies, with that wonderful 1969 rootsy sound. Definitely my favorite as well.

[shalloboi]

i waffle between 'abbey road' and 'revolver.' it doesn't really matter- i love them both.

[scratch]

I only love parts of those records..
maxwell silver hammer for example may be one of the worst songs I have.. like having the most beatiful girl in the world, naked in your bed when she suddenly decides to poop..

[BzaInSpace]

That's an... interesting analogy, for sure.

Abbey Road - interesting as I read a conteporary review (1970ish) somewhere discussing another artists' work, and it mentioned this record as being somewhat lightweight, although recieved wisdom tells us that this album is an all-time classic, lauded upon release.... maybe?

I would certainly argue the case for it's flaws - despite an outstanding production going on (great drum sounds) there are several songs on here that are just pretty sub-standard. Personally I need never hear 'Hear Comes The Sun' again (sorry George) and the so-called 'Long Medley' is merely a bunch of outtake-quality tracks arranged into something desperately attempting to be bigger than the sum of it's parts... which it isn't. I like 'The End' and 'She Came In Through The Bathroom Window' but they are perhaps not totally convincing. Would the have 'made the grade' being just standalone tunes? Probably not.

Maybe it's just me but I find a lot of the album somehow soulless - I can only compare it to the early rock n' roll records which sound so full of vitality, speed and excitement - the plush production on here seems to deaden everything. Lennon's voice is pretty fucked-up sounding, and a lot of the guitars sound way to clean and over-compressed or something... nice bass sound though.

Strangely, the stuff that seems to annoy most Beatles fanatics I actually quite enjoy - I really rate 'Oh! Darling' (despite being a tongue-in-cheek doo-wop pastiche thing) and 'Maxwell's Silver Hammer' is no way as bad as it's supposed to be. I could name a bunch of other McCartney tunes that I feel are far more guilty of songwriting crimes... Honey Pie, Rocky Raccoon etc.) 'Come Together' remains a cool-as-fuck track, and I still really enjoy 'I Want You (She's So Heavy') and 'Because' is still a strange, eerie thing quite different from anything else in the catalogue.

'Octopus Garden' is pointless. Perhaps on a nice summers day with a glass or two of sangria I could dig it...

Controversy-baiting, devil's advocate soundbite: I prefer Let It Be, shitty pseudo-gospel tracks and all.

Sort of by the way, I heard 'Don't Let Me Down' the other day on the radio, and I'm convinced this song is one of the highlights of the Beatles 'final phase'. Fantastic, underated etc.

[angelsighs]

interesting, in Revolution in the Head Ian MacDonald does put forward the case that the great production on Abbey Road (lush tones, mastered and EQ'd superbly) makes it "sound better then it is", or something. I do love the production but I think the songs are right up there too. It is certainly missing the vitality of the early records (I'm particularly enjoying With The Beatles at the moment), but it's aiming for something else- it's like it's got the studiocraft and great production of Sgt Pepper but without the silliness

I really like Oh Darling too, it's spot on (wish the backing vocals were higher in the mix though). Something is sublime. I quite enjoy Octopus's Garden, I like it better than say, Yellow Submarine at least! Because is brilliant too, I also love Sun King for lush eeriness..
they are seriously the only two songs you like in the Medley?? cmon... Golden Slumbers? no? .. and when Carry That Weight segues into the reprise of You Never Give Me Your Money, it's one of their greatest moments!

maybe Abbey Road isn't their best collection of songs per se (on a song for song basis), but its definitely one of their best albums- the sequencing and that production all binds it together

I like Let It Be too, its a perfectly fine album.

[BzaInSpace]

It is certainly missing the vitality of the early records (I'm particularly enjoying With The Beatles at the moment), but it's aiming for something else- it's like it's got the studiocraft and great production of Sgt Pepper but without the silliness...

they are seriously the only two songs you like in the Medley?? cmon... Golden Slumbers? no? .. and when Carry That Weight segues into the reprise of You Never Give Me Your Money, it's one of their greatest moments!

Haha. I always love a bit of Beatles debate... Yeah. 'Carry That Weight' is good. But it's just a chorus! And that's it I guess, they were aiming for something else. It just sometimes feels to me these songs were more about studio craft than anything else, they seemed to get really into pastiche or genre songwriting which is at a fore on this particular record. Whatever commerical considerations were at work in the earlier records (and they were, hugely so) a lot of those songs just seem more honest(?) and loaded with stunning songwriting and ensemble playing.

Ian MacDonald. I do like that book, but I find a lot of what he says faintly absurd and certainly depressing. He was definitely of the rather dangerous idea that good music stopped being made at some date around late 1966 and everything has been poor ever since (although he did cite Prince as being one of only a few exceptions ). Some of the more questionable statements in that book have been also refuted by McCartney, and sometimes the writing is just OTT...

"..in 1967 The Beatles then decided that they would save the entire planet..."

whilst annoyingly often referring to four distinct individuals as some kind of symbiotic, universal mind, trying to evolve mankind by the power of song and maybe hallucinogenic drugs.... they were just a fucking popular band who liked a laugh, for chrissakes!!!
He also seems to take delight in knocking down some of their best loved songs (nothing wrong with that of course) but the one he puts forward for reconsideration are misguided at best ('Fool On The Hill' etc)

Ultimately the book has a distinct tone of bitterness and anger at how "the sixties" failed to produce a glorious utopia that we all live in today. I was still a bit shocked when I heard MacDonald killed himself though.

[angelsighs]

yeah, MacDonalds viewpoint seems to be that music has been on a gradual but inevitable decline since the 60's. his main bugbear in particular seems to be the decline of the warm organic approach of recording in a room together. he also hates mega-amplified, distorted rock music (he slags Helter Skelter!!). there's a sort of truth in there but it's such a sweeping generalisation.
but he's one of those writers who is so readable I even enjoy him when not agreeing with his opinions.

weirdly though, I do remember reading a review he did of one of the later Oasis albums and although hardly a rave he did have a bit of time for it. also trashed the lazy Beatles comparisons (musically, Oasis are not Beatles-like at all really- much less intricate chord changes and much less attention to arrangements)

back to the Beatles... you could probably trace the move towards genre exercises and pastiches further back to the White Album rather than laying it on Abbey Road