Ringo Starr's "With a Little Help from My Friends" (1970-1981)

Continuing from the previous post in which I did a compilation of Paul McCartney solo songs in which the first letter of each title spelled out "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", I'm now doing a compilation of Ringo Starr solo songs. This time, it's a compilation in which every song features at least one other Beatle, whether John, Paul and George wrote something for Ringo, performed on it or, in most cases, both. This covers the period of 1970 to 1981 since that was when John Lennon was the most active, and when Ringo had the most help from his friends. (See where I'm going with this?)

With a Little Help from My Friends (1970-1981)

Side A (19:43)

1. Photograph - 3:56 (w/ George; 1973)

2. It Don't Come Easy - 3:02 (w/ George; 1971)

3. You're Sixteen (You're Beautiful and You're Mine) - 2:48 (w/ Paul; 1973)

4. Back Off Boogaloo - 3:22 (w/ George; 1972)

5. I'm the Greatest - 3:21 (w/ John and George; 1973)

6. Pure Gold - 3:14 (w/ Paul; 1976)

Side B (18:34)

7. Only You (and You Alone) - 3:26 (w/ John; 1974)

8. Stardust - 3:22 (w/ Paul; 1970)

9. Early 1970 - 2:20 (w/ George; 1971)

10. Attention - 3:20 (w/ Paul; 1981)

11. Down and Out - 3:04 (w/ George; 1973)

12. (It's All Down to) Goodnight Vienna - 3:02 (w/ John; 1974)

Side C (17:40)

13. Sure to Fall (In Love with You) - 3:42 (w/ Paul; 1981)

14. Cookin' (in the Kitchen of Love) - 3:41 (w/ John; 1976)

15. You Belong to Me - 2:09 (w/ George; 1981)

16. Six O'Clock (Extended Version) - 5:23 (w/ Paul; 1973)

17. Sunshine Life for Me (Sail Away Raymond) - 2:45 (w/ George; 1973)

Side D (18:42)

18. You Can't Fight Lightning - 5:41 (w/ Paul; 1981)

19. Wrack My Brain - 2:21 (w/ George; 1981)

20. I'll Still Love You - 2:57 (w/ George; 1976)

21. Private Property - 2:44 (w/ Paul; 1981)

22. You and Me (Babe) - 4:59 (w/ George; 1973)

In order to get the track listing down, I've used Ringo's 2007 compilation Photograph: The Very Best of Ringo Starr as a reference. Tracks 1-5, 7, 9, 12 and 19 remain the same as they are, and on the digital version, "King of Broken Hearts" was replaced with the extended version of "Six O'Clock" as found as a bonus track on Goodnight Vienna. So technically, that's ten songs which retain their original track listing positions, so we're halfway done already!

Because a good chunk of material comes from Ringo, Ringo's Rotogravure and Stop and Smell the Roses, I've tried to spread songs from each of them as evenly as I could. The first replacement track was "Pure Gold" from 1976, taking the place of "Oh My My". "Stardust" from 1970's Sentimental Journey replaces "Beaucoups of Blues", and then "Attention" occupies "Snookeroo"'s spot. All three songs feature Paul McCartney in some capacity, giving him much more of a presence in the first half. "Down and Out", the B-side of  "Photograph" and also featuring George, substitutes "No No Song", capping off the first half of this compilation.

The second half was where I got truly creative. The first three substitute tracks were "Sure to Fall" with Paul, "Cookin' (in the Kitchen of Love)" with John and "You Belong to Me" with George, the first and last of which both come from Stop and Smell the Roses, and the middle from Ringo's Rotogravure, much like "A Dose of Rock 'n' Roll". The next replacement track is "Sunshine Life for Me (Sail Away Raymond)" from Ringo, another one written for him by good old George.

Track 18 onwards is where it gets truly interesting, since there are only two empty spaces to fill in, but four songs remain. "You Can't Fight Lightning", featuring Paul and an outtake from Stop and Smell the Roses, substitutes Ringo's 1989 re-recording of "Act Naturally" with Buck Owens, and "I'll Still Love You", the last track from Rotogravure, is the replacement for "Fading In Fading Out". This means that the final two tracks are now additions; these being "Private Property" featuring Paul, and "You and Me (Babe)" featuring George. Coincidentally, the latter concludes his 1973 eponymous album, so it's only right that it concludes this compilation as well.

In total, John Lennon contributed to four songs, Paul McCartney to eight songs, and George Harrison to eleven songs (exactly half!), with "I'm the Greatest" featuring joint contributions from John and George, so they really get three-and-a-half and ten-and-a-half, respectively. Of Ringo's albums from this time period, Beaucoups of Blues, Ringo the 4th and Bad Boy are not represented at all.

Ringo was the glue who helped to keep the Beatles together, even during the post-breakup years, and his eponymous album from 1973 is the closest we got to a reunion between the four. During the 1970s, he collaborated with George the most, appearing on All Things Must Pass, Living in the Material World and Dark Horse for a few songs. Even John invited Ringo to play drums for Plastic Ono Band. Paul, still sore about the Beatles' breakup, only played with Ringo a few times that decade, but by 1980, feelings between them had healed enough so that they played together on Tug of War, Pipes of Peace and Give My Regards to Broad Street. Maybe that would be a project worth exploring?

Listen to the playlist

Paul McCartney's "S.E.R.G.E.A.N.T. P.E.P.P.E.R.'S. L.O.N.E.L.Y. H.E.A.R.T.S. C.L.U.B. B.A.N.D." (1970-2020)

Here's something a little different from me; a selection of random Paul McCartney solo songs in which the first letter of each song spells out "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", with Sergeant, of course, being spelled out in whole. This is really helpful to me, as otherwise, I wouldn't be able to feature at least one track from every one of Paul's solo albums, with a few non-album tracks thrown in here and there.

This playlist is meant to be played in order, and don't expect to see many popular hits such as "Live and Let Die" or "Band on the Run". There's a pretty heavy focus on deep cuts.

Part I

1. Silly Love Songs (Wings at the Speed of Sound; 1976)

2. Every Night (McCartney; 1970)

3. Run Devil Run (Run Devil Run; 1999)

4. Get Out of My Way (Off the Ground; 1993)

5. Early Days (New; 2013)

6. Another Day (non-album single; 1971)

7. Nobody Knows (McCartney II; 1980)

8. Tomorrow (Wild Life; 1971)

Part II

9. Pipes of Peace (Pipes of Peace; 1983)

10. English Tea (Chaos and Creation in the Backyard; 2005)

11. Press (Press to Play; 1986)

12. Picasso's Last Words (Drink to Me) (Band on the Run; 1973)

13. Ever Present Past (Memory Almost Full; 2007)

14. Rockestra Theme (Back to the Egg; 1979)

15. Seize the Day (McCartney III; 2020)

Part III

16. Little Lamb Dragonfly (Red Rose Speedway; 1973)

17. Only Our Hearts (Kisses on the Bottom; 2012)

18. Nothing Too Much Just Out of Sight (Electric Arguments; 2008)

19. Everybody Out There (New; 2013)

20. Letting Go (Venus and Mars; 1975)

21. Your Loving Flame (Driving Rain; 2001)

Part IV

22. Home Tonight (non-album single; 2019)

23. Ebony and Ivory (Solo Version) (Tug of War; 1982)

24. Arrow Through Me (Back to the Egg; 1979)

25. Really Love You (Flaming Pie; 1997)

26. That Day is Done (Flowers in the Dirt; 1989)

27. Sixty Second Street (Egypt Station; 2018)

Part V

28. Call Me Back Again (Venus and Mars; 1975)

29. Little Willow (Flaming Pie; 1997)

30. Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey (Ram; 1971)

31. Backwards Traveller/Cuff Link (London Town; 1978)

Part VI

32. Back on My Feet (non-album single; 1987)

33. Average Person (Pipes of Peace; 1983)

34. No More Lonely Nights (Give My Regards to Broad Street; 1984)

35. Despite Repeated Warnings (Egypt Station; 2018)

Originally, this was going to be a Beatles playlist, but because there were no songs from them as a group that began with the letter "U" - and using any song that started with the word "You" was right out, since that technically begins with "Y" - I switched to using songs from Paul's solo career instead. "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" was the most obvious choice for "U", and so the rest of the pieces fell into place from there. I'd say it makes for quite the listening experience!

The image of Paul comes from his 1989 world tour, with the text (appropriately in the Yellow Submarine font) in the same color as his outfit on the Sgt. Pepper's album cover. For CD purposes, the track listing splits between "Nothing Too Much Just Out of Sight" and "Everybody Out There".

Listen to the playlist

The La's' "Callin' All" - 1988 Bob Andrews Mix

The La's are probably the biggest example of "what could've been" in the world of popular music. Between Lee Mavers' entry into the group in 1984, and their subsequent breakup in 1992, they released a grand total of one album and four singles, not counting a re-release of their most well known song "There She Goes", remixed by Steve Lillywhite in 1990. And yet, they've recorded so much more than what their sole eponymous album suggested, including B-sides.

Looking at the sessions for the twenty songs recorded and re-recorded between July 1987 and February 1990, I've noticed that out of these eight sessions, there were three that had enough material each to be its own album, with producers Bob Andrews (July and August 1988), Mike Hedges (April 1989) and Steve Lillywhite (December 1989 to February 1990). The last of these makes up the album we all recognize today, but for this post, as the title suggests, I'm basing it on what might've happened had they released their debut album about two years earlier, with Bob Andrews taking on the George Martin role, and putting Lee Mavers in his place as opposed to letting his perfectionism get the better of him.

I've retitled this album Callin' All, as was believed to be the original title for the album before it was changed to simply The La's.

Callin' All (1988)

Side A (18:02)

1. Son of a Gun - 2:01 [Callin' All, 2-11]

2. I Can't Sleep - 2:25 [Callin' All, 2-10]

3. Callin' All - 3:39 [Callin' All, 2-9]

4. Man I'm Only Human - 4:34 [Callin' All, 1-9]

5. There She Goes - 2:29 [Callin' All, 1-6]

6. Doledrum - 2:54 [Lost Tunes]

Side B (19:20)

7. Feelin' - 1:53 [The La's - Deluxe Edition, 2008]

8. Way Out - 2:53 [Lost Tunes]

9. Clean Prophet - 2:02 [The La's - Deluxe Edition, 2008]

10. Who Knows - 3:30 [Callin' All, 1-7]

11. Come In, Come Out - 2:13 [Callin' All, 1-8]

12. Looking Glass - 6:49 [Callin' All, 2-12]

With Bob Andrews in the producer's seat, fourteen songs were recorded; seven were eventually included on the final album with Steve Lillywhite, while two others ("Freedom Song" and "Failure") are believed to be lost. The remaining five songs - "Come In, Come Out", "Who Knows", "Man I'm Only Human", "Clean Prophet" and "Callin' All" - are therefore brought in to fill the gaps. The official album is 35 minutes long, so it doesn't take much to bring up the album to a similar length.

Out of the replacement tracks, "Callin' All", "Clean Prophet" and "Who Knows" were all debuted during the Bob Andrews sessions. "Timeless Melody" was first tried out back in July 1987 with John Porter, but was never recorded with Andrews, and the oldest recordings of "I.O.U." and "Freedom Song" that we have are with Mike Hedges from April 1989, which are outside the timeframe we want to work with.

"Man I'm Only Human" and "Come In, Come Out" both debuted a little earlier in January 1988 with John Leckie as producer. The former was not re-recorded following Andrews, whereas the latter was with Hedges and Lillywhite, but that didn't make the final track listing either. "Failure" is another song from the John Porter era, and was later recorded with Jeremy Allom and Mike Haas as producers between January and April 1989. "Liberty Ship" seems to be the youngest song recorded for The La's, with the Hedges recording being lost, when it was first tried out.

Is Callin' All really the album Lee Mavers wanted to go for back in 1988? Probably not. He seemed to be his own worst enemy when it came to bringing the songs he envisioned to life, eventually leading to the La's' debut album being released against his own will, and to this day, he's yet to release any new music. However, I'd imagine that if someone had knocked him down a peg, and even told him to restrain both his ego and perfectionism, Callin' All could've come out sooner, and the band wouldn't have to just rely on single releases, and they might have the material ready for a second album, possibly for a 1991 release. Maybe this is the path that could've been this whole time?

As a matter of fact, this is how I feel their discography might have gone:

• "Way Out" b/w "Knock Me Down" and "Endless" - 1987; produced by Gavin MacKillop
• "There She Goes" b/w "Come In, Come Out" - 1988; produced by Bob Andrews
• Callin' All - 1988; produced by Bob Andrews
• "All by Myself" b/w "Failure" - 1989; produced by Jeremy Allom and Mike Haas
• "Timeless Melody" b/w "I.O.U." and "Freedom Song" - 1989; produced by Mike Hedges
• "There She Goes" b/w "Liberty Ship" - 1990; produced by Steve Lillywhite

And yeah, I do have "There She Goes" re-released much like what happened in real life, but the Lillywhite mix is iconic in its own right, so I'd imagine that this is a similar situation to the Beatles' "Love Me Do" and "Let It Be" having different mixes between the single and album versions. Besides, we've already got a different mix of "Way Out" being released in 1987, so why not? And as a bonus, I've even put together a second disc compiling these leftover tracks, along with a track that was only recorded live for the BBC, that I've titled There She Goes:

There She Goes (1991)
Side A (18:05)

1. Way Out (Original Single Mix) - 2:43 [Callin' All, 1-1]

2. Knock Me Down - 3:15 [Callin' All, 1-2]

3. Endless - 3:09 [Callin' All, 1-3]

4. All by Myself - 5:53 [Callin' All, 1-16]

5. Failure - 3:05 [Callin' All, 2-13]

Side B (17:55)

6. Over (Live) - 4:47 [BBC in Session]

7. Timeless Melody - 3:07 [The La's - Deluxe Edition, 2008]

8. I.O.U. - 2:05 [The La's - Deluxe Edition, 2008]

9. Freedom Song - 2:43 [Callin' All, 2-16]

10. There She Goes (1990 Lillywhite Remix) - 2:42 [The La's]

11. Liberty Ship - 2:31 [The La's]

The La's Recording Sessions