There can be no doubt that the Beatles were diluted in the years following their break up. The sum of the four parts being stronger that the individuals as the cliche goes.
However, taking the best of the solo releases from the year 1973, it is possible to suggest that The Beatles would have released some of their strongest work. I think it may have been John who suggested that if we all can’t get over the split, then we could take a track from him, a track from Paul etc etc…So, going down that road we get a tantalising insight into what the band may have considered to be album worthy. In fact using this approach, it allows fans to second guess what may have been released in terms of new Beatle product throughout the Seventies, but for now 1973 seems to be a particularly strong year. Just for talking sake, The Beatles could easily have released two strong albums, taken in the James Bond theme and had a string of hit singles. No different in fact to when they were a functioning band really.
Look at these candidates as an example and they’re in no particular order:
My Love
Band on the Run
Jet
Bluebird
Let me Roll It
No Words
1985
Mind games
Out of the Blue
Tight A$
Intuition
One Day at a Time
Give Me Love (give Me Peace on earth)
Photograph
You’re Sixteen
Living In The Material World
I’m the Greatest
Oh My My
Try Some Buy Some
Live and Let Die
That gives out the following ratio: Paul with 8 songs, 6 John songs and 6 between George and Ringo. This seems to me to be similar to what you’d expect from them as the band and in fact it’s quite a strong show from George and Ringo.
Of course what that list doesn’t really do, is to demonstrate how they would have been inspired and cajoled by each other in the studio environment. Whilst I’m sure there was a competitive streak between them as solo artists, I’m sure there would have been that added dimension of “The Beatles” acting like a fifth member. In other words, there probably would have been other tracks which would only have been written if the chemistry of the “Beatles” was present. The 1973 output would have been no surprise to people at the time. I think it would have been a case of business as usual for the record buying public. With the quality of product as listed above, it’s likely that their sales would have been through the roof and it would have been another vintage year for them. I think the band would have scored big time with Live and Let Die, which is a monument to song writing, recording and production in any case. Apart from the Bond theme, in terms of potential singles, Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth), My Love, Mind Games, You’re Sixteen seem like a particularly strong set for the year to me. B sides could easily have been made from the rest of the tracks from the solo albums.
I think what this demonstrates is that by 1973 the guys had recovered somewhat from the impact of the break up and begun to claw their way back to a commercial and pop footing. Now, that doesn’t negate their previous releases in anyway whatsoever, but it has to be said that some of their releases previous to this year were pretty personal and not put together with a Beatle ethic in mind.
So, just for fun, I’d love to hear your suggestions as to how the 1970’s would have panned out for Beatles albums using the solo albums as a guide. Could the Beatles have kept the momentum of their Sixties output going throughout the Seventies? Would they have found and broken yet more new ground? Or, was it better that they ceased to be when they did? Would they have left the 1970’s with their reputation as the greatest band of all time intact?
What do you think?
Subscribe To
Posts
Comments
About Me
- The Beatcomber
- I've been a musician for around 25 years with a primary interest in songwriting and production.
3 comments:
Had they continued there would have been more LET IT BEs than ABBEY ROADs. If they hadn't invested so much capital in what became LET IT BE I'd venture to say it would have never been released in the first place. The one thing I would have liked for them to do would have been an oldies album along the lines of John's ROCK 'N' ROLL disc. Judging by that and the tapes that surfaced from the BBC and Star Club there were still quite a few chestnuts that the Beatles could have recorded as a nice nod to their roots.
Hi Beatcomber!!
I really don't remember the Beatles when they were together as a group but their songs were
played all the time as I grew up in the 70s and I was hooked. I managed to Wings Greatest in
the late 70s and sadly after John's death "The Lennon Collection" but most of my spare cash went on late period Beatles albums.I could not afford many albums in those days and spent
the 80s completing my Beatles collection so it is not until the 90s ,inspired by the Anthology that I began to explore the solo back catalogue.
There are some gems like 'Imagine' , 'All Things Must Pass','Ringo' 'Band on the Run' and some complete duds like 'Sometime in New York City', Wild Life' , 'Gone Troppo' and pretty much anything Ringo did after 1974 to the 1990s (don't dis his post 90s stuff though !)
I once made a 4CD 'After the Break Up' CD set back in the late 90s ,when CDRs were expensive, of the
Beatles Solo 70s into a collection similar to the famous Red & Blue Albums.
I will post the details of each CD when I have had time to re-evalute the tracks .
The 1st CD listing was
1. How Do You Sleep
2. Another Day
3. My Sweet Lord
4. It Don't Come Easy
5. Maybe I'm Amazed
6. Instant Karma
7. Give Ireland Back to the Irish
8. Power to the People
9. What is LIfe
10. Working Class Hero
11. Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey
12. Remember
13. Hold On
14. Too Many People
15. Back Off Boogaloo
16. Back Seat of My Car
17. Jealous Guy
18. Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp
19. Gimme Some Truth
When I think about this now - "HoW Do You Sleep" would never be a Beatles track although it
may have surfaced with different lyrics. And also the vinyl of the day was primed for about 50 mins of audio. So we would probably have seen a few of these songs dropped from an original 70s album. But if we assume that a few would be A-side and B-sides of singles and not on the album then an album in 1971 would have been very listenable and a few singles
with a very heavy political shout "Power to the People" being the strongest b/w "Give Ireland Back...." could have shook up the world but probably would have been banned her in the UK (actually it was!).
That said the first 5 tracks are a very strong first side and ''Uncle Albert' is a Beatles song in all but artist name!! 'Remember 'may be an Abbey Road out-take but would still sit well on this album and 'Jealous Guy' (previously 'Child of Nature') is almost John singing like Paul to dispel the myth of Paul as the balladeer and John as the revolutionary. George features well but has so much more to give and Ringo has two big hits as well. I could see a number of solo albums surfacing even if the Beatles had not broken up. And I could also predict the likelihood of this then diluting the quality on Beatles records. In the 60s only the very best of the best surfaced on a single and only the best tracks on an album. With all the pressure and egos involved after 1970 the Beatles may well have ended up like the Rolling Stones and joining the never ending world tour re-hashing hit after hit. Or they may have pushed musical boundaries further ?????????????? I would like to think the latter ..but i. mo not sure. See you in a week
I will post the 2nd CD in a week or so once I've re-evaluated it...................
Stevie T
I actually think that by 1973 or so, the quality of their albums would begin to drop off a little bit, since only Paul (and Ringo, with a little help from his friends) was really writing whole albums full of Beatles-grade material. Lennon's Mind Games is something of a marking time album, dominated more by McCartneyesque tunes than his own trademark acidity. My guess is that Paul wouldn't have been able to get more than 5 tracks from Band On The Run onto disc (by the 70s, singles weren't released as entities separate from albums), and so his compositions wouldn't have complemented each other as well in the contexts of a Beatles record as they do on his solo album. There's a consistent vibe on Band On The Run that Lennon's music from 1973 doesn't replicate. 1973 may have been successful commercially, but I think the record would have turned out much like the Stones Goats Head Soup from the same year, a mixed bag of a few chef-d'ouvres and some duff tracks that sounded sort of like re-writes of past successes (Mind Games vs. All You Need Is Love; Dancing With Mr D vs. Jumpin' Jack Flash or Sympathy).
In contrast, I think that the Beatles music from 1970 WOULD make a terrific album, since individually all of the Beatles except George really did make an effort to get back to simpler production and approach. The difference is that they didn't insist on doing it all live, or filming it, etc. etc. But Junk (a White Album reject, nonetheless), Every Night, and Maybe I'm Amazed all would sound beautiful as Beatles songs—especially the latter two. Can you imagine those with Lennon's harmonies, Harrison's maturing lead guitar voice, and Starr's drumming? My guess is that Lennon would have started stockpiling some of his more personal songs for a solo album, but he might have offered up some less overtly personal tunes than "Mother" or "God" (would that latter one have been written at all?), such as "Instant Karma!" (which probably would not have been a solo single had a "divorce" not been requested in September 69, and which would make a stellar Beatles track), "Remember", "Isolation", or "Well Well Well" for the new album. "Jealous Guy" was also floating around in some form, having been demoed as "Child of Nature" in '68 at George's house. There were also a few attempted tracks from 1969, like "Watching Rainbows", that he might have deemed Beatle worthy and polished up for release, perhaps with Paul's assist. Paul and John were really moving in the same stripped-down direction in 1970. George, of course, had his epic ATMP songs on hand, and those could fill two albums, as we of course know. I suspect that he would have offered "Isn't It A Pity" and the title track. I would love to hear a Beatles' version of What Is Life, but Lennon and McCartney might have been threatened by such strong tracks. Ringo, meanwhile, would probably have done "It Don't Come Easy".
Post a Comment