Chapter 11: Happy Together (September 1968 - February 1969)

25 September 1968

The lineup for the New Yardbirds, 1968. Not pictured: Keith Relf and Jim McCarty.

Recording was about to commence for the Yardbirds' sixth album. Fittingly enough, the six members - Jimmy Page, Keith Relf, Jim McCarty, and newbies Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, and John "Bonzo" Bonham - went into the studio to record the new material that Page and the newbies had performed during the Scandinavian tour, which they were known as the New Yardbirds.

JIM McCARTY: "Alongside the new material Jimmy, Rob and the Johns wrote up, Keith and I came out with a couple of tracks we couldn't include on Dazed and Confused." (1992)

The leftover tracks by McCarty and Relf were the psychedelic "Avron Knows" and the mostly instrumental "Spanish Blood" in which McCarty provided spoken verses. They were re-worked to fit the newer songs such as "I Can't Quit You Baby" and "How Many More Times".

Recording for the album took a combined total of 36 hours spanning over a few weeks, and that included the final mixing due to the very low cost of £1,782 (the equivalent to $2,317, $16,719 in today's money) paid for by Page and manager Peter Grant. Much of the album had been recorded live with the overdubs added in later.

Jimmy Page with Jeff Beck during the latter's time as a Yardbird, 1966.

JIMMY PAGE: "Coming up with an album title wasn't easy. We'd just signed up with Atlantic Records after our contract with Epic had ended, but our first album for Atlantic had no name. I then came across a picture of the Hindenburg disaster and recalled a saying from Keith Moon a few years back." (2009)

Back in 1966, Jimmy Page had recorded with Who members John Entwistle and Keith Moon as well as pianist Nicky Hopkins and former Yardbirds member Jeff Beck for an instrumental that became "Beck's Bolero", later to end up on Beck's debut solo album Truth. The outcome was so satisfying that there was even the possibility of forming a full time group and an album to go along with it.

KEITH MOON: "Yeah, it'll go down like a lead zeppelin." (to Jimmy Page, 1966)

Remembering this quote, Page opted for the title Going Down Like a Lead Zeppelin for the next album, another landmark in the Yardbirds' history.

10 January 1969

The Yardbirds - Going Down Like a Lead Zeppelin

Released: 10 January 1969

Recorded: September - October 1968

Producer: Jimmy Page

Track listing[1]

Side A

Good Times Bad Times/Communication Breakdown
I Can't Quit You Baby
Heartbreaker
Avron Knows
Baby Come On Home

Side B

Spanish Blood
You Shook Me
Moby Dick
How Many More Times

The Yardbirds' sixth album, Going Down Like a Lead Zeppelin, was advertised as being "the only way to fly" in selected music papers. When it first came out, it had received poor reviews from critics; Rolling Stone unfavorably compared it to the works of the Jeff Beck Group, formed at the start of 1967 following Beck's departure. Page's production and writing skills were also criticized, as well as the minimal involvement from founding members Relf and McCarty.

But was it all that bad? In a review from Melody Maker, Chris Welch wrote that "Jimmy Page triumphs - [Going Down Like a] Lead Zeppelin is a gas!" Felix Dennis of Oz and Robert Christgau of The Village Voice were also fairly positive.

For all the mixed reception the album got from critics, it was still a commercial success, reaching #7 in the United States and #6 in the United Kingdom, marking the first time the Yardbirds had reached the Top 10 on either side of the Atlantic. Going Down Like a Lead Zeppelin would become influential towards heavy metal music, not dissimilar to the Beatles' self-titled album from two months previous.

November 1968
Although it looked as though the Yardbirds were destined to continue, the Monkees were slowly beginning to disintegrate.

Theatrical poster for Head, released November 1968.

MICKY DOLENZ: "Although The Birds, The Bees [& The Monkees] had done fairly well by our standards, band morality was sort of low. Peter seemed to get the worst of it. All of us were going different directions by that point." (1997)

That February, The Monkees television show had been cancelled. This seemed to be a blessing for Micky, Peter, Michael and Davy since it meant that they could spend more time in the studio. However, they performed less as a band and more as a series of parallel solo careers, each member having his own set of backing session musicians. Around that time, they had featured in Head, a meandering, nonsensical, and full-blown psychedelic full-length movie without a coherent plot. Co-written by future star Jack Nicholson, the intent of the movie was to destroy the mythos of the Monkees, potentially ending their career for good.

DAVY JONES: "[Bob] Rafelson and [Bert] Schneider seemed to have lost it when they made Head. When it flopped against a budget that was less than a million, they severed all ties with us altogether. Not that we were bothered." (1975)

As time went by, Head would develop a cult following for its style and humor, and Michael Nesmith would even admit that it was a crowning achievement for the Monkees.

Peter Tork, 1968.

What wasn't a crowning achievement, however, would be the television special 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee, to air on the National Broadcasting Company in April the following year. Ironically enough, the Monkees played second-string roles compared to the guest stars. It was on the first day of filming that Peter Tork had decided that he was finished with the Monkees.

PETER TORK: "I was just unhappy at that point. I wasn't feeling creatively inspired. I felt like I was barely part of the group. I'd had enough. If they wanted to carry on with that ridiculous battle of the bands as the press was calling it, I wished them the best." (1987)

MICHAEL NESMITH: "By the time Peter had left us, we were planning for another double album like The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees, with each member occupying his own side. As it turned out, however, that album had sort of dried up my well of material, and I wouldn't have much contributions until we got to Listen to the Band[2]. Micky and Davy had enough to fill their own sides, but Peter barely had any material of his own. It was very much two Monkees per side in the end, with Micky and Davy as the main acts and Peter and I being the intermission acts of sorts." (2009)

February 14, 1969

The Monkees - The Monkees Present Micky, Peter, Michael & Davy

Released: February 14, 1969

Recorded: December 9, 1967 - January 10, 1969

Producer: The Monkees, Gerry Goffin, Eddie Hoh, Felton Jarvis, Keith Allison, Bill Chadwick, Tommy Boyce, Bobby Hart, Neil Sedaka, Carole Bayer Sager, Bones Howe

Track listing[3]

Side A: Micky and Peter

Porpoise Song
Can You Dig It?
As We Go Along
Just a Game
Shorty Blackwell
Mommy and Daddy
Seeger's Theme
(I Prithee) Do Not Ask for Love

Side B: Michael and Davy

Circle Sky

Don't Wait for Me
While I Cry
Daddy's Song
Don't Listen to Linda
Me Without You
You and I
The Girl I Left Behind Me
A Man Without a Dream

The sessions that ultimately produced The Monkees Present Micky, Peter, Michael & Davy had stretched far back to December 1967, during the sessions for The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees, all the way to January 1969, two months after Tork's departure. The album consisted of a whopping seventeen songs with only two contributions from Tork, three from Nesmith, and six each from Dolenz and Jones. It only reached #32 in the United States and failed to chart in the United Kingdom.

A non-album single, "Tear Drop City", had origins tracing back to October 1966 during the sessions of the band's second album, More of the Monkees. Its B-side, "A Man Without a Dream", actually came from the album. "Tear Drop City" only reached #56 in America whilst doing a somewhat better #44 in the United Kingdom.

Overall, with Peter Tork's departure and The Monkees Present... failing to reach the Top 10, there were questions as to whether or not the Monkees' reputation could be salvaged or that they needed to be put out of their misery. It was undisputed, however, that in this battle of the bands against the Who, the Rolling Stones and several other bands, the Monkees might be the one of the first horses to drop out of the race.

Footnotes

1. All tracks are taken from Led Zeppelin, excluding "Heartbreaker" and "Moby Dick" from Led Zeppelin II, "Avron Knows" and "Spanish Blood" from Yardbirds '68, and the outtake "Baby Come On Home" from Coda. The track listing is based upon a live performance Led Zeppelin did on October 10, 1968; "Good Times Bad Times" and "Communication Breakdown" are even cross-faded together to form a medley, per the live performance.
2. OTL's The Monkees Present.
3. Tracks are mostly sourced from Head and the 2011 reissue of Instant Replay. "Mommy and "Daddy" is taken from OTL's The Monkees Present, and "Seeger's Theme" is from Missing Links Volume Two.

Author's Comments

Not a whole lot for me to talk about, really. The Monkees still split up at the start of the 1970s per OTL, and as for the Yardbirds' 70s output? It's pretty much Led Zeppelin in all but the name so they won't be talked about very much. There will, however, be changes to the output from Led Zeppelin II to Physical Graffiti, which I'll cover not only during Phase One, but Phase Two as well.

Chapter 10: For What It's Worth (January - November 1968)

January - May 1968

As 1967 drew to a close, Pink Floyd brought in a second guitarist, Syd Barrett's roommate from Cambridge Tech, David Gilmour. Known for being a member of Joker's Wild, Gilmour was asked to join the group by Roger Waters out of concern that Barrett's unpredictable behavior would hamper the band.

The 1968-1971 lineup for Pink Floyd.

Waters' concerns were not unjustified; Barrett was slowly showing signs of having a mental breakdown, most likely due to an over-consumption of LSD. Waters even tried taking Barrett to a doctor to nip the latter's breakdown in the bud before it affected their surroundings for the worst. Whilst it seemed to work out okay, Barrett would eventually show signs again, and the cycle would continue.[1]

DAVID GILMOUR: "The first half of '68 was rather eventful since I first joined Pink Floyd. Syd seemed to have fried his brain with lysergic, Roger was trying to keep him from completely losing it, and Nick was out producing for the Yardbirds. That sort of left me and Rick on our own." (1987)

Despite Syd's troublesome antics, the band still managed to record material for their third album, such as Barrett's "Scream Thy Last Scream" and "Vegetable Man", both written directly about his madness, as well as "Apple and Oranges", a track chosen for a potential single release. Meanwhile, Roger would contribute "Corporal Clegg", "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" and "Julia Dream" and Rick Wright brought up "Paintbox" and "See-Saw". Being a new member, Gilmour had no songs to contribute of his own, and nor did Mason due to work on the Yardbirds' Dazed and Confused.

Although Barrett had contributed a little over half of the album, the final result was still considered a group effort by the quintet.

12 July 1968

Pink Floyd - Scream Thy Last Scream

Released: 12 July 1968

Recorded: August 1967 - May 1968

Producer: Norman Smith

Track listing[2]

Side A

Vegetable Man

Apples and Oranges

Corporal Clegg

Golden Hair/Paintbox

Scream Thy Last Scream

Side B
Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun

In the Beechwoods

Julia Dream

See-Saw

Jugband Blues

Although it took well over nine months to record, especially as the sessions began during the latter half of the sessions for The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, Scream Thy Last Scream was a commercial success in the United Kingdom, reaching #9, but it did not chart at all in the United States. Reviews for the album were generally positive, citing David Gilmour as a welcome addition. Nick Mason would even go far as to say it was his favorite Pink Floyd album.

ROGER WATERS: "Dave really saved our asses there when Syd started to go mad. I don't know what could've happened if we'd just stuck with Syd." (1985)

With Syd Barrett temporarily under control, Pink Floyd would carry on as a quintet for more albums to come. Although Barrett was still a member of the band, he would not join them when they were out touring, giving him the chance to go into rehab and spend time with his family. Of course, that was all on Syd to decide.

30 May - 13 October 1968

George Martin, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr during the recording for Beatles '68, 1968.

GEORGE MARTIN: "They came in with a whole welter of songs - I think there were over forty, actually - and I was a bit overwhelmed by them, and yet underwhelmed at the same time because some of them weren't great. ... I thought we should probably have made a very, very good single album rather than a double - a triple, perhaps - but they had planned about making a more traditional album and a rock opera, both being recording simultaneously." (The Beatles Anthology, 2000)

To compensate for the recording of two Beatles albums simultaneously, George Martin had brought in engineer Geoff Emerick and young record producer Chris Thomas to assist in the production. The first song that was tracked was a political number John Lennon had called "Revolution", and it was done in an acoustic blues style. He had pushed for it to be a single, but it was vetoed in favor of "Hey Jude", but "Revolution" still ended up as its B-side, albeit in a much faster and heavier tone.

Most of what would end up on Beatles '68 (working title, A Doll's House, which was Lennon's idea after the play by Henrik Ibsen; it was rejected after a band called Family had used the title Music in a Doll's House that July) was perhaps some of the most serious the group had ever recorded. The sessions had begun with "Good Night" on 28 June and stretched all the way out to "Julia" on 13 October, both penned by Lennon, with the former sung by Ringo Starr for Lennon's son Julian.

John Lennon and Yoko Ono, 1968.

Whilst recording for both Beatles '68 and Alice in Wonderland was taking place, Lennon had went into the studio with girlfriend Yoko Ono to record a piece dubbed "Revolution 9", with had origins tracing from the acoustic rendition of "Revolution". The track had run for over ten minutes with the official song at the first three, and then the remainder was spent on Lennon making strange vocal noises.

JOHN LENNON: "'Revolution 9' was an unconscious picture of what I actually think will happen when it happens; just like a drawing of a revolution." (1970)

"Revolution 9" wasn't the only instance of extended jamming in the studio; Paul McCartney's "Helter Skelter" had a version that lasted well over twenty minutes, something that was completely unheard of by then. For the official album, it was reduced to 3:44, whilst the final forty-five seconds were tacked onto the end of the album after ten seconds of silence following "Good Night", becoming the first example of a hidden track on an album. It ends with Lennon asking "How was that?", immediately followed by Starr screaming "I got blisters on my fingers!"

But if any track was to be considered a highlight, it was George Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". The initial version was a solo acoustic by Harrison, but it soon became harder and more bluesy, especially with the inclusion of a guitar solo performed by Eric Clapton. During a session in early September, it would become the first Beatles song recorded using eight tracks.

Jackie Lomax and George Harrison, 1968.

Harrison's other track, "Not Guilty", had taken a hundred takes to get a version that he liked. He had written this track concerning his then-present relationship with Paul McCartney following the band's falling out with the Maharishi.[3] (It is also said to be believed as a response to John Lennon, but this is a rumor both Lennon and Harrison have denied.)

GEORGE HARRISON: "I said I wasn't guilty of getting in the way of his career. I said I wasn't guilty of leading him astray in our going to Rishikesh to see the Maharishi. I was sticking up for myself." (1999)

The final track listing for Beatles '68 had five songs each from John and Paul, two from George and one from Ringo given to him by John. Starr's sole contribution, "Don't Pass Me By", was left off of the album due to time constraints.

22 November 1968

The Beatles - Beatles '68

Released: 22 November 1968

Recorded: 28 June - 13 October 1968

Producer: George Martin

Track listing[4]

Side A

Back in the U.S.S.R.

Dear Prudence

Mother Nature's Son

Not Guilty

Sexy Sadie

Helter Skelter

Julia

Side B
While My Guitar Gently Weeps

Yer Blues

Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da

Revolution

Hey Jude

Good Night

The biggest surprise out of the Beatles' first studio album under the Apple banner was the inclusion of both "Revolution" and "Hey Jude". In the case of the latter, instead of being seven minutes long per the single release, to fit the album constraints, it was reduced to five minutes in length, another first for any album.[5]

PAUL McCARTNEY: "I think [Beatles '68] was a very good album. It stood up, but it wasn't the most pleasant album to make, due to a lot of projects going on at the same time. The songs are quite varied; I think it's a fine album." (1995)

Like many Beatles albums before it, Beatles '68 reached #1 in both the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as in many other parts of the world. Critical reception was also very favorable, with The New York Times dubbing it was more imaginative than Merseyside as they focused more on the songwriting rather than the studio tricks. Some criticism came down to the fact that the album was dubbed "too heavy" with gentle ballads few and far in between, as well as the shortening of "Hey Jude". However, those were a vocal minority, but even the harshest critics singled out "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" as the true highlight of the album.

The Beatles performing "Hey Jude" on Frost on Sunday, 8 September 1968. The performance was directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, who also directed the music videos for "Paperback Writer" and Rain". Lindsay-Hogg is also the head of Apple Films.

In 2003, Rolling Stone would rank Beatles '68 at #10 on its list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, with Rubber Soul, Abracadabra and Merseyside being ranked at #5, #3 and #1 respectively. Considered to be the Beatles' heaviest album to date, many artists such as Joe Strummer, Dave Grohl, John Lydon, Kevin Ayers, Billie Joe Armstrong, Adam Levine and Mike Shinoda have commented about the influence of the album on their music. Roger Waters even praised it for being an inspiration to the sound on his first solo album, Bricks in The Wall.

GEORGE MARTIN: "A lot of people I know still think it's still the best album they made. I later learned that by recording all those songs for this one and Alice in Wonderland, they were getting rid of their contract with EMI more quickly." (The Beatles Anthology, 2000)

Footnotes

1. Syd Barrett was kicked out of the band after a frustrating session for a song titled "Have You Got It Yet?" That was the climax which led to Syd being kicked out of Pink Floyd. With him under control (for now), he stays in the band for at least a few more years.
2. Tracks are sourced from The Early Singles (A2, A4b, B3), A Saucerful of Secrets (A3, B1, B4, B5), The Early Years 1965-1972 (B2), as well as the bootleg The Syd Barrett Tapes (A1, A5) and Syd Barrett's The Madcap Laughs (A4a). "Golden Hair" and "Paintbox" are both cross faded together to form a medley.
3. "Not Guilty" was indeed a contender for The White Album, but it was left out at the eleventh hour and eventually re-recorded in a more jazz arrangement for George Harrison in 1979.
4. All tracks are taken from the 2018 remaster of The White Album, excluding "Revolution" and "Hey Jude", taken from Past Masters. "Not Guilty" has opening dialogue removed which trimmed it to 4:18, the fade-in from "Helter Skelter" is cut and tacked on after six seconds of silence following "Good Night", and "Hey Jude" is cut to 5:05, and therefore fades out earlier, matching the version found on the US edition of 20 Greatest Hits.
5. As mentioned, "Hey Jude" is trimmed down to 5:05 and fades out earlier; some artists tend to release shorter versions of songs on the album whilst longer versions come out on singles - for example, "I Want to Break Free" from Queen's The Works.

Author's Comments

There's quite a bit going on, isn't there? Pink Floyd is now a somewhat stable quintet, and the Beatles are now seemingly going in a new direction thanks to the influence of John and George's newly formed bond from India. Oh yeah, and Ringo never quit the band; I didn't mention that in the narrative, but I think we can conclude that it didn't happen due to butterflies.

Right now, we've reached the midway point of Phase One, nearing the tail end of 1968. What's gonna happen as the decade comes to a close? Which loose ends have yet to be tied up (I'd love to hear suggestions regarding this so-called battle of the bands mentioned in chapter seven)? Who else will end up being affected by the point of divergence a few years back? One thing that I'll say for now is that Richard Nixon still ends up being President in this timeline. At least for now, politics haven't been affected in the world.

Let me know how you've been enjoying this plausible nonsense so far; I'd love to hear your feedback!

Chapter 9: I'm a Believer (June 1967 - September 1968)

1 June - 30 December 1967

The Zombies, 1967.

By the start of 1967, St Albans rock group The Zombies were beginning to fall out of favor with music fans. Out of desperation to retain chart success, the band, fronted by keyboardist Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone, signed a new contract with Capitol Records.[1] Their previous label, Decca, had seemingly not given a single thought to their material, despite its quality.

ROD ARGENT: "We were failing at the rate of a lead balloon. Our singles were falling off the charts like flies, and our material was left unreleased. We could've released about four albums by the start of '67, but it seemed as if nobody gave a damn about the Zombies anymore." (2016)

The first Zombies album under Capitol was to be titled Odessey and Oracle (the title came about after the word "odyssey" was misspelled by Terry Quirk) and recording had begun no sooner than the release of the Beatles' Merseyside; it was John Lennon's Mellotron that the Zombies used during the recording.

Whilst the recording was going on, there came the death of Beach Boys frontman Brian Wilson from heart attack and the subsequent posthumous release of his masterwork Smile. With the Beach Boys having fallen apart, another gap in the world of rock music needed to be filled.

COLIN BLUNSTONE: "Rod seemed to jump at the chance of filling the void the Beach Boys had left behind after they put out Smile. I was uninterested in being part of the Zombies at this point, but Rod was confident that Odessey and Oracle would be what would save us. If it was a success, I'd stay on. If not, I was out of here." (1997)

CHRIS WHITE: "Rod was really hellbent about saving our group from failure. He practically begged for Capitol for an aggressive promotion towards Odessey. I thought he'd have a breakdown like Brian Wilson had." (2004)

The Zombies at Abbey Road's Studio 3, June 1967.

Tensions were high and the pressure was on. Blunstone and guitarist Paul Atkinson were particularly irritable during the recording of "Time of the Season", to be featured as the final cut on Odessey and Oracle. Blunstone became frustrated when Argent insisted that he sing the song a certain way and told the songwriter to sing it himself. But despite this argument, he still sang the vocal as required.

"Time of the Season" had been picked as the first single off of the album for a November release. Blunstone's first choice was "Care of Cell 44", the story of a person writing to their partner in prison. As a compromise between the band and the label, both tracks were released as a double A-side.[2]

To simultaneous surprise and relief among the band, "Time of the Season" had reached #3 in the United States by the end of the year. It was kept out of the #1 spot by the Monkees' "Daydream Believer" and the Beatles' "Hello, Goodbye", but that didn't stop the single from being successful among fans and critics. "Care of Cell 44" topped out at #19.

"I thought you were crazy about this album," Colin told Rod upon hearing the news, "but you were right and I was wrong. Perhaps we'll make it after all. Long live the Zombies!"

19 April 1968

The cover for the Zombies' Odessey and Oracle album, released April 1968.

Odessey and Oracle was finally released under the Capitol label, with hype having been built up following "Time of the Season", being regarded as an anthem for the counterculture of the 1960s. The second single off the album, "Butcher's Tale (Western Front 1914)", was a response to the Vietnam War, but unlike "Time of the Season", a Top 10 hit, "Butcher's Tale" only managed to reach #29 in America.

This little slump didn't hurt the success Odessey and Oracle received upon release. To promote the albu, the band performed live in the United States for a series of shows, with "Time of the Season" almost always performed as an encore.[3] It had become the anthem for the Summer of Love the year previous.

Whilst the Zombies were out on tour, Capitol was in negotiations with their previous label Decca to release their unreleased material from 1964-1967 as a box set. They would soon come out by the end of the year under the title From Beyond the Grave, with the songs being organized by period.[4] With the box set's release, fans have since speculated on what the albums would've been like had the material been released earlier.

With the Zombies once again a success, the members began to discuss material for the next album.

February - July 1968

The Yardbirds, 1967.

For their initial first few years, the Yardbirds were a bit of a revolving door with members coming and going; the first lineup upon formation in 1963 would feature Keith Relf, Top Topham, Chris Dreja, Paul Samwell-Smith and Jim McCarty. Topham would leave in favor of Eric Clapton, who would then leave in 1965 in favor of Jeff Beck. In 1966, Samwell-Smith would leave in favor of Jimmy Page, and by the end of the year, Beck was kicked out for being a consistent no-show.

By the start of 1968, the lineup for the Yardbirds seemed to have been stabilized, with Relf, Dreja and McCarty being the most consistent members. But even with familiar company, it couldn't last forever.

JIM McCARTY: "We had Mickie Most to produce our previous album, Little Games, and it was sort of dismal, looking back. Unwilling to repeat the mistakes, Jimmy offered to produce our next album." (1995)

JIMMY PAGE: "Nobody seemed to agree on what they wanted; Jim and Keith wanted something inspired by classical music and folk. I wanted a more heavy sound, and Chris wanted to pursue an interest in photography." (1977)

CHRIS DREJA: "It was Keith who suggested that we try and bring in Norman Smith to produce what would eventually become Dazed and Confused. Norm declined our offer, but he suggested we bring in Nick Mason of Pink Floyd instead." (1983)

Nick Mason (front right) with the rest of Pink Floyd, 1968. David Gilmour is not pictured.

At that time, Pink Floyd were in the midst of recording their third album, Scream Thy Last Scream.[5] Nick Mason was volunteered into helping the Yardbirds produce their fifth album, and he even brought Roger Waters along with them to, as Mason would put it, "keep the buggers in line." (2006)

JIM McCARTY: "With Nick and Roger in the studio, there was little tension among us; you always have to be on your best behavior in front of guests." (1995)

ROGER WATERS: "I was involved in the studio with Keith, Chris and the Jims, but I did not contribute any songs of my own. Okay, maybe a lyric or two. *chuckles* With me and Nick in charge, they got things done quickly. The Yardbirds needed something to keep themselves from splintering." (1980)

To further keep things calm between the band members, Jimmy Page had invited his friend John Paul Jones into the studio to perform bass duties. The band was more or less in two halves; Dreja, Relf and McCarty on one half, and Waters, Page and Jones on another, both being produced and managed by Mason. Whilst recording was going on, the Yardbirds went on tour in America for the spring; it would also be the last tour the Yardbirds would take with Chris Dreja as a member. During the tour, one of the album's tracks, "Think About It", would be released as a single to showcase their new sound. Although it didn't chart on the Billboard Hot 100, it would become a cult hit among fans.

19 July - 25 September 1968

The Yardbirds - Dazed and Confused

Released: 19 July 1968

Recorded: February-April 1968

Producer: Jimmy Page and Nick Mason

Track listing[6]

Side A

Henry's Coming Home
Taking a Hold on Me
Love Mum and Dad
My Baby
Think About It
L.S.D.
Dazed and Confused

Side B
Goodnight Sweet Josephine
Knowing That I'm Losing You[7]
Black Mountain Side
Shining Where the Sun Has Been
Together Now
De Lane Lea Lee[8]

JOHN PAUL JONES: "Dazed and Confused is an interesting album in Yardbirds history. The title reflected how everyone was feeling at the time. *laughs* But if you dig a little deeper, it's a transitional album. It was the first album I took part it, and it was the last before Robert [Plant] and Bonzo [John Bonham] came into the picture."(2008)

The fifth Yardbirds album, Dazed and Confused, was released shortly after the Yardbirds had finished their tour in Scandinavia. With the tour now completed, Chris Dreja left the group and was subsequently replaced by John Paul Jones on bass guitar.

Dazed and Confused was viewed a little more positively than Little Games the year previous, but despite the difficult circumstances, Keith Relf and Jim McCarty had chosen to stick around for a little bit longer, despite Robert Plant and John Bonham coming into the picture. For the time being, Relf and McCarty would serve as mentors to Plant and Bonham before deciding to leave the Yardbirds for good. It was the beginning of a new era for the Yardbirds.

Footnotes

1. In OTL, the Zombies were transferred to Columbia Records (then known as CBS).
2. Only "Care of Cell 44" was released as a single in November 1967 with "Beechwood Park" as the B-side. "Time of the Season" would come out in March 1968, months after the band had broken up, before making a breakthrough the following year.
3. In 1969 in OTL, fake versions of the Zombies were created by promoters to cash in on the success of "Time of the Season". This time around, the real band performs.
4. OTL's Zombie Heaven, minus the material from Begin Here and Odessey and Oracle.
5. OTL's A Saucerful of Secrets.
6. Tracks are sourced from the 1992 expanded edition of Little Games, Yardbirds '68 (or Cumular Limit, depending on what you have), and Led Zeppelin from early 1969. Some of the bonus tracks were done by Keith Relf and Jim McCarty as the duet group Together.
7. "Knowing That I'm Losing You" would eventually morph into "Tangerine" on Led Zeppelin III.
8. "De Lane Lea Lee" is the longer version found on Cumular Limit running for about ten minutes; it plays after ten minutes of silence following "Dazed and Confused".

Author's Comments

Those poor Zombies; they're a great example of great things falling through the cracks. Happily though, they've been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, so they're finally getting the recognition they should have received five decades ago. Having them signed up to Capitol Records and releasing "Time of the Season" as part of a double A-side, I figured, might've been what could've saved the Zombies from falling apart before their time. Or maybe it couldn't - who knows?

And as for the Yardbirds, it's surprising that they had enough material for one more album, a transitional one before it metamorphosed into Led Zeppelin (in a manner of speaking), and yet no one bothered to compile a proper swan song for them back then. My interpretation obviously would not have been called Dazed and Confused, but probably something else instead, and maybe with Keith Relf and Jim McCarty's solo singles from that time (i.e. "Henry's Coming Home") to flesh it out a bit. Anyone up for that challenge on their own blog?

I'm honestly a bit iffy about this chapter; it's not outright awful, but it's not as great as I feel it could be. If you have any ideas as to what I could change up here, that'd be great. I promise the next chapter will be better.

Chapter 8: Look Through Any Window (January - August 1968)

January 1968

The remainder of 1967 had been very quiet for the Beatles. After a small but significant university tour following the success of Merseyside, plus a performance with Pink Floyd before the album, the group was feeling burned out. By this time, there were plans for an animated movie based off the Beatles' classic "Yellow Submarine" from Abracadabra.

The Beatles, 1968.

Around this time, the Beatles were informed by Brian Epstein that they had two million pounds (roughly 34 million in today's money) that they had the choice of either investing in a business or would give up to the Inland Revenue since business taxes were lower than individual tax bills. Epstein was alarmed about the prospect and quickly held a meeting with his four clients and close friends. Details of the meeting are vague, but the long and short is that it was decided to put the two million pounds towards a new business founded by the Beatles.

PAUL McCARTNEY: "We're starting a brand new form of business. So, what is the first thing that a child is taught when he begins to grow up? A is for Apple." (to Derek Taylor, 1968)

GEORGE HARRISON: "Paul had a lot of ideas at the time; he felt Apple could go beyond the music and also focus on clothing and whatnot, but Brian refused. 'We can't afford any of that,' he said. For now, we sort of had to start small before going all out." (1998)[1]

Apple Corporation was going to be jointly managed by Brian Epstein and Derek Taylor, leaving the Beatles free to do recording.[2] They were still contracted to EMI's Parlophone and Capitol Records in the United Kingdom and the United States respectively, so any Beatles recordings released under Apple would be owned by EMI until January 1976.

The logo for Apple Records, represented by a Granny Smith; it has never been changed since its formation in 1968, excluding special occasions.

Throughout 1968, Apple was being prepared for the public, along with dealings to merge with NEMS Enterprises (North End Music Stores), Epstein's record company, and Northern Songs Ltd., run by Dick James, which had ownership over the Lennon/McCartney catalog; James chose to hold off until Apple was fully sorted out, but he signed an agreement to not sell to another company in the meantime.[3] Apple first opened office at 95 Wigmore Street in London on the fourth floor for a one-year lease. Soon they would transfer full time to 3 Savile Row in July.

As the month drew to a close, the Beatles were filmed for an on-screen appearance for the ending of Yellow Submarine at Twickenham Film Studios. This sequence reflected on their witticisms during the early press conferences, group interviews and fan club recordings. John Lennon would also get an interview appearance on The Kenny Everett Show for radio, and Ringo Starr would rehearse for an appearance on Cilla Black's Cilla on the BBC.

3-11 February 1968

John Lennon, George Harrison and Paul McCartney in the recording studio, 1968.

During these nine days, four new compositions were being recorded for a single release in March. They were Lennon's "Across the Universe" and "Hey Bulldog" (the latter of which was also being recorded with Yellow Submarine in mind), McCartney's "Lady Madonna", and Harrison's "The Inner Light". The Harrison song had been started the month previous and was completed during the sessions. It was initially considered for a B-side, but Lennon insisted that Harrison hold it back.

JOHN LENNON: "This is written art there, George. It's too good be relegated to a mere B-side. Why don't we save this for a later album?" (to George Harrison, 1968)

"Lady Madonna" was chosen to be the lead A-side for March, with "Across the Universe" as the B-side.[4]

13 February 1968
The weather in Blighty was horrible, to say the least. No one liked going outside during this time, and even if you were inside, you couldn't go a few hours without catching a runny nose. When the Beatles gathered together, it was George who suggested, whilst fiddling with his sitar, to head to India. John was in favor of the idea, especially as he and George were both into transcendental meditation, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's meditation technique.

15 February - 12 April 1968

The Beatles with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in Rishikesh, 1968.

John and George were the first Beatles to arrive at India, along with their respective wives Cynthia and Pattie, as well as the latter's sister Jenny Boyd. They were greeted by the band's long-time roadie Mal Evans upon arrival in Delhi. The next day, they were in Rishikesh to begin studying meditation with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

JOHN LENNON: "George and I were feeling closer than we'd ever been during that time in India. I could sense that he was growing as a song writer if 'Inner Light' was anything to go by, but he'd needed an outlet for his ever-increasing output. The big obstacle was Paul." (1976)

A few days after John and George, Paul and Ringo had made their way to Rishikesh along with the former's fiance Jane Asher and the latter's life Maureen. It was barely a few hours after arriving at their hotel before Starr was taken to the hospital because of an allergic reaction to some of the Indian cuisine. Less than two weeks after the incident, the Starrs went back home again to England, with Ringo having consumed no more than Heinz baked beans and eggs. In addition, they hated being separated from their children, and Maureen was afraid of flies, which were difficult to avoid in Rishikesh.

But despite the absence of Ringo, his other bandmates were firing on all cylinders with their songwriting. Well, John and George were, at least.[5]

PAUL McCARTNEY: "John and George were running the show by this point. I wrote up what I could, but I was struggling with coming up with good material. It felt as if my brain had a blocked nose or whatever. In retrospect, India should've been detox for me." (1989)

JOHN LENNON: "Georgie was easily writing rings around Paul by then. No question about it." (1982)

GEORGE HARRISON: "To be fair to Paul, he did at least come up with some good ones like 'U.S.S.R.' and 'Blackbird'. I think he could've turned to me and John for ideas. We could've become Lennon/McCartney/Harrison as a result. If only Paul had known what I was capable of back then..." (1993)

George Harrison in Rishikesh, 1968.

Whilst the Beatles were in India, the "Lady Madonna" single was released with "Across the Universe" as its B-side; the former became their 20th number one single, and despite the latter's B-side status, it had become popular with fans and critics alike. Less than a fortnight after the single was released, Paul and Jane, along with long-time Beatles associate Neil Aspinall, had left Rishikesh and returned to England. Less than three weeks after Paul's departure, John and George left with their spouses as well, having become disillusioned with the Maharishi after an alleged sexual advance towards actress Mia Farrow, soon to be Frank Sinatra's ex-wife. It was that incident that inspired Lennon's "Sexy Sadie".

With all four Beatles back in England, it was time to get serious about their business.

May 11-14, 1968
If Apple Records was going to be a success, they were going to have to find some up and coming acts. Among the first were Fleetwood Mac, a London-based group founded by drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie. Fleetwood was Harrison's brother-in-law through Pattie's sister Jenny, and when Harrison asked him if he'd like to be part of a label founded by the Beatles, Mick was in favor of the idea, but he agreed not to sign the band onto another label in the meantime whilst Apple was being set up.[6]

In the Big Apple, Lennon and McCartney talked extensively about Apple.

On the last day, the 14th, they made an appearance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.[7]

24 May 1968
Following the press tour in New York, The Beatles went down to Harrison's place in Esher to record some demo tracks for the official follow-up to Merseyside. Almost thirty songs were recorded during these sessions, and there were a few holdovers from 1967 by McCartney and Harrison. Although a double album was considered, maybe a triple, Lennon suggested that they record a rock opera with some of the tracks, and anything leftover would be put out on a self-titled album.

RINGO STARR: "John had suggested that we do our own take on Alice in Wonderland, his favorite childhood book by Lewis Carroll. The lads had to rewrite a lot of their songs and even compose new ones to make this concept work." (2009)

It quickly became clear that the proposed Alice in Wonderland rock opera was going to be big. 24 songs were proposed for inclusion on the album, and the majority of them were based off the tracks either written in India or were recorded but not included on an album or a single. For example, "The Fool on the Hill" would become "The Frog of the House", a theme associated with a character in the novel. "The Inner Light" was transformed into "Paint the Roses Red", where the Queen of Hearts' card soldiers repaint some roses after they were painted white by mistake.[8]

June - July 1968

Stephen Stills, Graham Nash and David Crosby, 1968. These three men would be one of the most successful supergroups of the 20th century after being signed up to Apple Records.

It was a very busy time for the Beatles, what with recording for two projects simultaneously as well as interviews concerning Apple and signing in new acts including Mary Hopkin, James Taylor, Jackie Lomax, Fleetwood Mac, Badfinger (previously the Iveys), Cream, and the newly formed supergroup Crosby, Stills & Nash, featuring David Crosby of the Byrds, Stephen Stills of Buffalo Springfrield, and Graham Nash of the Hollies. Lennon was initially dismissive of the supergroup, but Harrison had them signed up for Apple, and the rest would become history.[9]

STEPHEN STILLS: "We almost didn't make it onto Apple [Records]; something tells me that John [Lennon] wanted nothing to do with us, but Paul [McCartney] and George [Harrison] seemed to talk a bit of sense into him, and so we were signed up." (1977)

ERIC CLAPTON: "Polydor was initially going to pick us up when we did Wheels of Fire, but Apple snagged us at the last moment. Who knows what could've happened if we'd had stuck with Polydor?" (2001)

RINGO STARR: "The summer of '68 was big for us; we had founded the headquarters of Apple on Savile Row. George was off with Ravi Shankar filming Raga, and later producing for Jackie Lomax. Paul was flying all over and producing for Mary Hopkin. John was spending time with Yoko. But me? I was sort of at home with my family. *laughs*" (1983)

But one of the most significant moments was the premiere of the animated film Yellow Submarine on 17 July 1968. Although George and Ringo had turned up with their respective spouses, John was with Japanese-American multimedia artist Yoko Ono instead of Cynthia. Only Paul turned up alone for the premiere.

The poster for the Yellow Submarine film.

The movie was met with positive reviews from fans and critics alike, having been released in the middle of the psychedelic pop culture of the 1960s. Although reluctant at first following their disappointment with Help!, the Beatles ended up voicing their animated selves in the final film to fulfill their contract with United Artists.[10] Alongside the Beatles were the voices of Paul Angelis as the Chief Blue Meanie, Dick Emery as Max, Lord Mayor and Jeremy Hilary Boob, and Lance Percival as Old Fred.

Whilst the Beatles voiced their animated selves, their Pepperland selves were voiced by John Clive (John), Geoffrey Hughes (Paul), and Paul Angelis (George and Ringo).[11] Each Beatle debated that their respective voice actors got their voice wrong and the other three were accurate, but all of them admitted to liking the film, especially John, who had the chance to improvise a lot of his dialogue. For years to come, Ringo would be approached by children asking "Why did you push the button?", referring to when his character curiously presses the panic button, ejecting him from the submarine and into the Sea of Monsters.

August 2, 1968

The Beatles - Yellow Submarine

Released: August 2, 1968

Recorded: 26 May 1966 - 11 February 1968

Producer: George Martin

Track listing[12]

Side A: Film soundtrack

Yellow Submarine [Movie Remix]
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Hey Bulldog
All Together Now
It's All Too Much
All You Need is Love

Side B: 1967-1968 singles

I Am the Walrus
Hello, Goodbye
Baby You're a Rich Man
Lady Madonna
Across the Universe
Christmas Time is Here Again

As a release in conjunction with the film, the Yellow Submarine album was released in the United States with the second side consisting of the singles from late 1967 to early 1968, plus an edit of "Christmas Time is Here Again" from one of their fan club Christmas records.

It was originally released as a double extended play in the United Kingdom with the title track and "Sgt. Pepper's..." on side A, "All You Need is Love" on side B, "Hey Bulldog" and "All Together Now" on side C, and "It's All Too Much" on side D. When the Beatles' catalog was released on CD in 1987, the American album version became the official version. It was admittedly a little more hodge-podge compared to previous British releases, but it didn't stop it from reaching #1 in America when it first came out.[13]

26 July - 26 August 1968
Sadly, it wasn't all good news within the Beatles' inner circle; that May, John had left Cynthia for Yoko Ono, having met her at an exhibition in 1966. Paul had visited Cynthia and her son Julian following the breakup to provide comfort for the young Lennon. During the drive to their home in Kenwood, Paul composed "Hey Jude", which he then presented to his bandmates.

"I'll need to fix that line; 'the movement you need is on your shoulder'," Paul told John. "It's a stupid expression; it sounds like a parrot."

"You won't, you know," John insisted. "That's the best line in the song."

JOHN LENNON: "I always thought it was a song to me. On one level, Paul seemed to give his blessing to mine and Yoko's relationship, but on another, he must've been disappointed that he was being usurped as my creative partner and friend." (1980)

The "Hey Jude/Revolution" single cover, released August 26, 1968.

"Hey Jude" was recorded over a period of three days and was picked as the Beatles' first single under Apple Records. The seven minute pop epic, not unheard of by this point, was contrasted by its B-side "Revolution", Lennon's fast, loud statement against the Vietnam War. Despite Lennon insisting on "Revolution" being the A-side, "Hey Jude" was released as the lead single on the 26th, reaching #1 worldwide, excluding France (#2) and Italy (#4). At the time, it was the longest single to top the charts in England.

But it wasn't just "Hey Jude" that had come out; Mary Hopkin had come out with a rendition of the Russian romance song "Those Were the Days" and Jackie Lomax with the Harrison-penned "Sour Milk Sea" also featuring McCartney and Starr in the recording, plus Clapton. With "Hey Jude" and "Those Were the Days" reaching the top of the charts, as well as "Sour Milk Sea" becoming a Top 10 hit, Apple Records seemed to be off to a strong start.

Footnotes

1. In OTL, the Beatles had opened up Apple Boutique on December 7, 1967. It closed July 31 the following year. ITTL, the boutique was never founded due to butterflies.
2. Because Brian Epstein survives ITTL, the Beatles will not have to run into Allen Klein.
3. With Apple gaining control other Northern Songs, Lennon and McCartney get the full rights to their songs very early on, and they never merge with Sony Music Publishing.
4. "Across the Universe" is the version found on Past Masters, although the Let It Be... Naked version would work just as well.
5. In OTL, John was suffering from writer's block. ITTL, it's Paul who suffers whilst John and George assist on each others' songs.
6. Fleetwood Mac was a contender for Apple Records, but they were signed up to Warner Bros. Records through Reprise instead.
7. Joe Garagiola hosted The Tonight Show when John and Paul appeared, and the performance wasn't great, to say the least. With Carson hosting this time around, they have a lot more fun and feelings are more positive.
8. Rewriting and/or re-titling songs was not unheard of in Beatles mythology; "I Saw Her Standing There" was originally called "Seventeen", "I Want to Tell You" was "Laxton's Superb", "With a Little Help from My Friends" was "Badfinger Boogie", etc.
9. Crosby, Stills & Nash did audition for Apple, but they were rejected and instead signed onto Atlantic Records instead. In addition, Cream signed onto Polydor in 1968 for the United Kingdom, but they were still signed onto Atco in the United States.
10. The Beatles never voiced themselves in Yellow Submarine.
11. Peter Batten originally voiced George in the movie, but he was arrested during recording when it turned out he was a deserter of the British Army. His role was later finished up by Paul Angelis.
12. The "movie remix" of "Yellow Submarine" is taken from the "Real Love" CD single. "Sgt. Pepper" is from the 2017 remaster of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band with the crowd noise at the start cut and the outro extended to include the "Billy Shears" intro from "With a Little Help from My Friends" which then fades out. "Christmas Time is Here Again" is sourced from the "Free as a Bird" CD single. All remaining tracks come from Yellow Submarine, Magical Mystery Tour and Past Masters.
13. Something similar happened with Magical Mystery Tour in OTL.

Author's Comments

That came out a bit longer than I'd initially intended, but there you go. It's a pretty meaty chapter here, especially some of the behind the scenes stuff regarding Apple. In this universe, it's not the train wreck it was in our reality, but rather, the biggest and most successful independent company from England.

A lot was going on with the Beatles during this period, but I didn't want to include every detail as to what went on; just enough to give you all an idea. As the Fab Four's side of the story continues, I'll be putting a bit more emphasis on their albums with some side developments for Apple on the side. Things will turn out a lot differently than they did in OTL, believe me.