Chapter 32: I Can See Clearly Now (June 1972 - January 1973)

16 June 1972

Paul McCartney - Tomorrow

Released: 16 June 1972

Recorded: 1970-1972

Producer: Paul McCartney

Track listing[1]

Side A

Big Barn Bed
Another Day
When the Night
Ram On
Love is Strange

Side B

Oo You
Maxwell's Silver Hammer
Little Woman Love
Monkberry Moon Delight
A Love for You

Side C

Some People Never Know
Long Haired Lady
Wild Life

Side D

Oh Woman, Oh Why
Mama's Little Girl
Country Dreamer
Tomorrow
Momma Miss America

Paul McCartney's second solo album consisted largely of leftovers from Cherry Wine, a couple of previously-released singles and B-sides, and a few tracks that were proudly dubbed as "first takes". When Tomorrow came out, it was painfully obvious that Paul needed direction, especially when it failed to reach #1 on both sides of the Atlantic; #10 in America, and #8 in the United Kingdom. The planned single, "Love is Strange"/"Country Dreamer", was also cancelled in response to the poor sales and reception, even by a former Beatle's standards.

"There's no question that Paul McCartney is a wizard of pop, providing us with many Beatles classics such as 'Yesterday' and 'Hey Jude,' but Tomorrow is anything but," said Rolling Stone in its review of the album. "It's essentially an antithesis to the 1965 Beatles classic ['Yesterday'] that made him a household name. How, seven years later, did he suddenly slip up? If the title is anything to go by, Paul should hope that tomorrow is better than he's letting on, especially if his earlier 'Ireland' and 'Mary' singles are to be considered."

If the Rolling Stone review was anything to go by, it seemed as if Paul was trying to prove he really was the genius behind the Beatles' Merseyside and Everest, but everyone knew that he needed John, George and Ringo to back him up and tell him which ideas were good or bad. Even Paul admitted this, but at the time, he was still feeling bitter over being ditched by them.

Smile, 1970.

Meanwhile, things were not going well for the three-man group Smile either. Throughout 1969 to 1971, they had released a few singles, but none of them were big hits outside of the United Kingdom. By the start of 1972, lead vocalist and bassist Tim Staffell had left the group in favor of another band, Morgan, leaving just guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor.[2]

BRIAN MAY: "When Tim left the group, we didn't know what we were going to do next. We'd had some singles that were modest successes, but hardly anyone outside of England gave a damn." (1994)

ROGER TAYLOR: "All I can say is thank God for Paul McCartney. He was also going through a rut like me and Brian were, and we practically saved one another from becoming mere footnotes in music history." (2005)

When Paul McCartney heard about what was going on with Smile, shortly before the release of Tomorrow, he arranged for a meeting with May and Taylor and even offered to join forces with them. It seemed reasonable; Paul need a band, and Smile needed a vocalist and bassist. Not only that, Paul could have a couple of band mates who could also point out which songs were good or bad. By now, Hugh McCracken and Denny Seiwell had left Paul's backing band the Rude Boys, and only Denny Laine stayed alongside Paul as a second guitarist. The band was now regrouped as Paul McCartney & Smile.

October - December 1972

Paul McCartney, 1972.

GEORGE MARTIN: "When John Barry had refused to score for the followup to Diamonds Are Forever, I was called up to write the score for the next James Bond movie, Live and Let Die. Every Bond movie contains a theme song titled after the movie in question, and it was a bit of a delight to me to be working Paul again for the theme song." (2010)

The first song recorded by Paul McCartney & Smile was the title track to Live and Let Die, to be released under Untied Artists in the summer of 1973. Thelma Houston had originally been considered to sing the title song, but George Martin had insisted on it being Paul McCartney. This was to be the first time a James Bond movie had begun with a rock and roll song, and it was destined to be a big success upon release next summer.

The following month, Smile went back into the studio to record McCartney's song "Hi, Hi, Hi" for a single release; May's "The Night Comes Down" was recorded for the B-side. The single was released on December 1 and charted at #10 and #5 in the United States and the United Kingdom, respectively, finally giving Smile a Top 10 hit. Sadly, it had been banned by the BBC, this time for implied sex and drug references.

6 October 1972

George Martin in the 1970s.

For the past year, Brian Epstein had been most frustrated and dismayed at what the former Beatles were putting out; if they weren't putting out singles relating to the Ireland conflict, they were making response singles against the backlash towards said singles. So now Epstein was left wondering if there was a way to salvage what was left of the Beatles' good name. In a meeting with George Martin, he figured that there were two possible solutions to this problem; either record an album of cover songs, or release a compilation album.

PAUL McCARTNEY: "I was in favor of doing a covers album; no new songs to write, just play the songs we listened to when we were teenagers in Liverpool." (1980)

GEORGE HARRISON: "I preferred the release of the compilation album. I wasn't interested in being in the same studio as Paul at the time. Especially after that fight at the end of the Get Back sessions." (1995)

RINGO STARR: "I could've gone either way." (1976)

John Lennon had no comment on the matter, meaning that Epstein had reached an impasse with what to do. However, when an Apple Corps employee had come into Epstein's office and presented an unofficial album called Alpha Omega, containing not only Beatles songs but post-Beatle songs such as "Imagine" and "Maybe I'm Amazed", a decision had finally been reached...

The Beatles - The Best of the Beatles: 1962-1966

Released: 6 October 1972

Recorded: 11 September 1962 - 21 June 1966

Producer: George Martin
Compiler: George Martin and Brian Epstein

Track listing

Side A

I Want to Hold Your Hand
Yesterday
I Saw Her Standing There
In My Life
Can't Buy Me Love
From Me to You
Please Please Me

Side B

Nowhere Man
Paperback Writer
A Hard Day's Night
Taxman
All My Loving
I Feel Fine
Eleanor Rigby

Side C

Help!
Got to Get You into My Life
Ticket to Ride
We Can Work It Out
Day Tripper
I'm Happy Just to Dance with You
Eight Days a Week

Side D

Drive My Car
Yellow Submarine
You've Got to Hide Your Love Away
And I Love Her
She Loves You
Love Me Do
Tomorrow Never Knows

Otherwise known as The Red Album for the color of the background, The Best of the Beatles: 1962-1966 consisted of songs from Please Please Me to Abracadabra, as well as non-album singles such as "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "Day Tripper". It was preceded by the single "Yesterday"/"Eight Days a Week", which charted at #5 and #2 in America and the United Kingdom, respectively. The compilation reached #1 in both countries and was released to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the original release of the Beatles' first single, "Love Me Do". It was the second-to-last track on the compilation, followed by "Tomorrow Never Knows", showing the contrast between 1962 and 1966.

12 January 1973

The Beatles - The Best of the Beatles: 1967-1970

Released: 12 January 1973

Recorded: 29 November 1966 - 4 January 1970

Producer: George Martin
Compiler: George Martin and Brian Epstein

Track listing

Side A

Strawberry Fields Forever
Penny Lane
Here Comes the Sun
Don't Let Me Down
Lady Madonna
With a Little Help from My Friends
A Day in the Life

Side B

Revolution
Back in the U.S.S.R.
Something
Two of Us
I am the Walrus
The Long and Winding Road
All You Need is Love

Side C

Come Together
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Hey Bulldog
The Ballad of John and Yoko
Hello, Goodbye
Sexy Sadie
Get Back

Side D

Hey Jude [album edit]
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
Octopus's Garden
Let It Be
Across the Universe
Christmas Time (Is Here Again)

The Best of the Beatles: 1967-1970 - otherwise known as The Blue Album - was preceded by "Christmas Time (Is Here Again)"/"Hey Bulldog", which reached #3 in the United States and #2 in the United Kingdom. The following single, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"/"Let It Be", was released in February and hit #10 and #6 in both respective countries. The Blue Album was released to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Beatles' second single, "Please Please Me", and like The Red Album, The Blue Album reached #1 in both countries.

When presented with both compilation albums, the former Beatles' response was of both acceptance and indifference, although George Harrison would later admit that they were "a cash grab." (1993) Critical reception towards both albums was generally positive, with many praising the inclusion of all twenty-seven of their #1 hit singles from both the United States and the United Kingdom, but there were questions as to why songs such as "Twist and Shout" and "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" were left out.

Footnotes

1. Tracks are sourced from Red Rose Speedway, Ram, Wild Life, McCartney, and Band on the Run, as well as Anthology 3 ("Maxwell's Silver Hammer", with the ending chatter removed). Some of the tracks are included as bonus tracks to the McCartney solo albums; "Ram On" takes both the original track and the short reprise and merges them together to form a single track.
2. In OTL, Tim Staffell left Smile in 1970 and later joined another band, Humpy Bong. They broke up as well and Staffell went to join Morgan in 1971.

Author's Comments

Happy early Halloween! At last, I reveal the 1972 Paul McCartney album, and I can already imagine the attempts at trying to prune it down to a single album. Don't worry; we'll meet up with a certain Mr. Mercury sooner than you think. There's... not much else to say, really.

Oh yes, there's one other thing; I've made an edit to chapter 28 that includes the Move's Message from the Country and the two non-album singles released 1971 to the Apple Records discography of that year. Make sure you check out the edits I made after taking the suggestion from a comment on chapter 31.

Chapter 31: Life on Mars (April - December 1972)

April 13, 1972

Dennis Wilson, circa 1971.

DENNIS WILSON: "Before we'd begun collaborating with Steve [Winwood] and his mates for So Tough, I had gotten into an argument with my wife Carole [Freedman] that was so severe, I ended up punching through a plate glass window. That ended up severing the nerves in my hand, meaning I was unable to play the drums for about a couple of years. At least I was still able to sing, play a bit of the keyboards and produce the recording sessions, and thank goodness Roger [Hawkins] was there to play the drums in my place for the Passions' material." (1997)[1]

Prior to the recording of So Tough, the Passions' third album, Dennis Wilson starred alongside Apple Records artist James Taylor and actors Warren Oates and Laurie Bird for a movie called Two-Lane Blacktop, directed by Monte Hellman. Taylor portrayed the Driver, and Wilson the Mechanic. Based around Route 66, the film was made on a minimalist budget of $875 thousand (around $5.5 million in 2019), Two-Lane Blacktop was called movie of the year for 1971 by Esquire magazine, and although not a commercial success, it has since gone on to become a counterculture-era cult classic.

Now Dennis was collaborating with another musical peer; this time, it was for an album with Steve Winwood and the rest of Traffic. And it all happened because of a telegram:

HEY STEVIE, WANT TO GET SOME DRINKS AND TALK ABOUT THIS PROJECT? -DENNY

OF COURSE. WHAT TIME AND DATE SHALL WE ARRANGE FOR A MEETING? -STEVE

ASAP -DENNY

The members of Traffic, 1972.

Steve Winwood and his bandmates from Traffic - saxophonist Chris Wood, percussionists Jim Capaldi and Rebop Kwaku Baah, bassist David Hood, and drummer Roger Hawkins - were soon at Strawberry Hill Studios in Jamaica with the members of the Passions. Winwood had chosen the location for recording because he felt like wanting to record in an exotic location, and the vibes of Jamaican music there would also serve as an influence to their sound.

The sessions for the collaboration album, under the supergroup name "Traffic Passions", were generally smooth, save for the occasional argument between Chris Wood and Bruce Johnston. One of them ended up being so severe that Johnston decided that he didn't want to work with the Passions anymore following the sessions for the album.[2]

JIM CAPALDI: "I remember that a lot of the time, Chris [Wood] and Bruce would get into a lot of arguments due to their clashing egos, but Al and Carl were the glue that kept both Traffic and the Passions together for the collaboration album. Given the opportunity, and if Bruce hadn't been so full of himself and treated Chris like crap, I'd have liked to have played with them again." (2003)

Despite the tensions between Wood and Johnston, shortly after the final session for So Tough, a jam session had taken place consisting largely of Beach Boys covers, which would not be officially released until 2004.

October 27, 1972

The Passions and Traffic - So Tough

Released: October 27, 1972

Recorded: April 13 - September 10, 1972

Producer: Dennis Wilson and Steve Winwood

Track listing[3]

Side A

Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory
Steamboat
Tragic Magic
All This Is That

Side B

Make It Good
Evening Blue
Cuddle Up
(Sometimes I Feel So) Uninspired

The collaborative album, So Tough, managed to reach the Top 10 in the United States, topping at #6. Sadly, it was not as successful in the United Kingdom, charting at #25. The album had received mixed reviews from critics; whilst some praised the novelty of having the members of Traffic collaborating with the former members of the Beach Boys, others were less forgiving, stating that the compositions from both acts were uniformly weak, with Village Voice ending their review with the note "Giveaway: '(Sometimes I Feel So) Uninspired'." No singles were released to promote the album.

Traffic released one more album before breaking up a second time, When the Eagle Flies, in the middle of the tour for said album in 1974. As for the Passions, following the departure of Brian Johnston, Carl Wilson took over on bass, and they brought in drummer Ricky Fataar and guitarist Blondie Chaplin from South African rock band the Flame, through Carl's suggestion. They were also aided by Mike Love, having decided to rejoin his former Beach Boy bandmates with "newly-sparked inspiration following the Landlocked sessions. Although Dennis couldn't see it at the time, sooner or later, lightning would strike twice.

1 December 1972

Badfinger - Zoo

Released: 1 December 1972

Recorded: January - October 1972

Producer: Badfinger

Track listing[4]

Side A

Get Away
Piano Red
The Winner
Blind Owl
Do You Mind

Side B

When I Say
Cowboy
Regular
I Can Love You
Timeless

Badfinger's first two albums, Maybe Tomorrow (as The Iveys) and Magic Christian Music, were produced by Tony Visconti and Mal Evans, with Paul McCartney producing a few songs for the latter. No Dice was produced by Evans alongside Geoff Emerick, and Badfinger's latest album, Straight Up, had been co-produced by Todd Rundgren and George Harrison. But now, Pete Ham felt that Badfinger should try self-producing for their next album. Although there were good intentions when it came to this approach, the results were not as great as they could've been.

Zoo, Badfinger's fourth album (fifth overall if Maybe Tomorrow was counted), was released at the start of December and only managed to chart at #16 and #22 in the United Kingdom and the United States, respectively. The lead single from the album was Tom Evans' "When I Say" backed with Joey Molland's "Do You Mind", had been released earlier in September, managing to hit #14 in the United States but did not chart in the United Kingdom.

PETE HAM: "We called our fifth album Zoo, but really, we probably should've called it Ass, given everything surrounding the album. Joey wrote half of the tracks for the album, Tom and I contributed two songs each and Mike [Gibbins, Badfinger's drummer] only had one ['Cowboy']. We'd signed a publishing agreement before Joey came on board. We soon reached a settlement with help from Peter Brown, who became our manager for the rest of our time at Apple, and from Zoo onwards, all songs would be credited to 'Badfinger' as a group, not each member individually." (1981)

16 October 1972

The Electric Light Orchestra, 1972.

ROY WOOD: "Before we'd transferred to Apple, Jeff, Bev and I were being managed by Don Arden. He had a personal vision as to how bands should be operated, and we were glad to be rid of him by the end of 1970. Thank God for George [Harrison] recommending Brian Epstein to us." (1977)

When Don Arden attempted to take control of the Electric Light Orchestra at Apple, Brian Epstein and Peter Brown had already taken the reins, and Lord Beeching simply left Arden a message telling him to "bugger off and let the boys do their thing." By now, following a tour across Europe, Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood were making plans for a second ELO album.

JEFF LYNNE: "During the New Year, George and I talked about spirituality and cosmics, which planted the seed that eventually became The Lost Planet. Most of the songs were to be longer than four minutes, almost like a rock symphony." (1995)

Roy expressed some concern regarding the lack of hit singles from The Lost Planet, and so to compensate, Jeff agreed to releasing a few non-album singles. The first single was Wood's "Ball Park Incident" with Lynne's "Momma" as the B-side, for a release date of 16 October. It topped at #6 in the United Kingdom. The second single, released after the album in January, was a double A-side with Wood's "See My Baby Jive" alongside a mashup of Chuck Berry's "Roll Over Beethoven" with Beethoven's 5th Symphony. The single would top the charts in the United Kingdom and went to #17 in the United States. The latter track would end up becoming a staple in closing many ELO concerts.

15 December 1972

The Electric Light Orchestra - The Lost Planet

Released: 15 December 1972

Recorded: May - October 1972

Producer: Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood

Track listing[5]

Side A

You Can Dance Your Rock 'n' Roll
In Old England Town (Boogie No. 2)
Wear a Fast Gun

Side B

From the Sun to the World (Boogie No. 1)
Jolly Cup of Tea
Kuiama

The Lost Planet managed to reach #20 in the United Kingdom, but it fared worse in the United States at #49. Although it was not released as a single, the closing track "Kuiama" gained a cult following among rock fans, even by the band themselves, playing it at nearly all of their concerts. Drummer Bev Bevan described it as "a sad story about a war orphan with a soldier explaining to her all about the war, and that it was he that killed her parents. The most sensitive thing we do." (1973)

Despite being viewed as Beatles copycats, the Electric Light Orchestra were slowly gaining a bit of a following due to their non-album singles. Many of the die-hard fans would go all the way to purchase the albums to add to their rock music collections.

Footnotes

1. In OTL, Dennis Wilson had injured himself during the sessions for Surf's Up in 1971.
2. In OTL, Bruce Johnston had a falling out with the Beach Boys' manager Jack Rieley; there are also conflicting reports that Johnston quit because of his lack of enthusiasm for a hard rock approach and that he was fired because of his contempt towards Brian Wilson at the time.
3. Tracks are sourced from Traffic's Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory and the Beach Boys' Carl and the Passions - "So Tough" and Holland.
4. Track listing is based upon an early version of Ass, dated January 14, 1973, which can be seen here. All tracks are taken from the 2010 remaster of Ass; most of the tracks here are alternate versions. Only "Cowboy" is sourced from the actual album whilst "Regular" and "Piano Red" were previously unreleased.
5. Tracks are sourced from Wizzard Brew and ELO 2. The track listing was based off of AEC's version of The Lost Planet, only I rearranged the tracks so that not only did they alternate between Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne, but so that the sides were of roughly equal length.

Author's Comments

At last, we're back from the hiatus! This chapter was not that easy to write up, especially when it came to the segment about the Passions and Traffic, and so I apologize if the quality isn't up to my usual standard. The Badfinger and ELO parts were much easier to write up, the latter especially as I'd already had it pre-written.

The Fourteenth Album: "Hot as Sun" and Other Ramblings

The Beatles - Hot as Sun (1971)

A Hypothetical 14th Beatles Album

Side A

It Don't Come Easy
I'd Have You Anytime
Every Night
Oh My Love
Let It Down
Jealous Guy
The Back Seat of My Car

Side B

Gimme Some Truth
All Things Must Pass
Hot as Sun
Junk
Look at Me
Maybe I'm Amazed
Hear Me Lord

No new chapter for Strawberry Peppers this week. Instead, to celebrate what could've been John Lennon's 79th birthday, as well as the 50th anniversary of their last-recorded album Abbey Road, I've decided to post what I think could've been the Beatles' follow-up to Abbey Road. Now, I'm not the first person to play this game, and I doubt I'll be the last either:

• Stephen Baxter created God.
• Allyn Gibson created Hot as Sun. (If the link doesn't work, just look up "Allyn Gibson Hot as Sun" on Google.)
• Uncle Dan created Through Many Years.
• Mark Feldman created Join the Human Race.
• Jeff Suess created Apple.
• Soniclovenoize created Instant Karma!. (He also recently upgraded it, though the tracklisting remains the same; he simply used newer sources.)
• The Doc and the Guv created 1970.
• Peter Lee created Everest in his novel, The Death and Life of Mal Evans.
• AEC created Plastic Blues.
• Most recently, The Reconstructor created Falling Rain.

My contribution to this portfolio is my own personal take on Hot as Sun, completely different from Allyn Gibson's version. The reason I chose to list all ten of the above albums is because I was interested in finding out how much each hypothetical 14th Beatles album had in common. I sort of went Rivers Cuomo on them and dissected each album to determine how often each track occurs frequently, from one to ten. I shall be discussing the tracks on my own hypothetical 14th album along with how frequently they occur.

But first is a brief imaginary scenario; the Beatles come to an agreement as to how Apple Corps ought to be handled, find a more suitable manager than Allen Klein and put out Get Back first before recording and releasing Abbey Road. Afterwards, John, Paul, George and Ringo take a hiatus as the Beatles throughout 1970 (with "Let It Be"/"You Know My Name", "Across the Universe"/"Octopus's Garden", and "The Long and Winding Road"/"I Me Mine" being released as singles) and even put out solo singles like John's "Mother"/"God" and George's "My Sweet Lord"/"Beware of Darkness". The group finally reunites in December 1970 to record their follow-up to Abbey Road, slated for a July 1971 release, having worked out their differences and agreed to make room for each other to express themselves, thereby allowing personal development.

Although Hot as Sun's tracks were largely self-contained, there was actually a common theme among them concerning the Beatles trying to understand the human soul, and for the first time, George Harrison gets equal vocal spots alongside John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr even opens an album for the first time as well. Hot as Sun splits between tracks seven and eight for vinyl purposes.

1. It Don't Come Easy (Richard Starkey)
Every Beatles album often has a strong opener; Paul had "I Saw Her Standing There" from Please Please Me, George had "Taxman" from Revolver, and John had "Come Together" from Abbey Road. But none of them featured Ringo on lead vocals (Yellow Submarine doesn't count because it re-released its title track from Revolver), so it's high time he got the opening spot on the album.

The track was initially written and recorded in February 1970, making it the youngest track on the album and features George Harrison and Beatles alumni Mal Evans. I used the remaster found on Photograph: The Very Best of Ringo Starr, and even tacked on "Glasses" from McCartney as an intro, extending the song to 3:30.

Track frequency: All listed albums above include this as Ringo's number with the exception of Through Many Years, which uses the B-side "Early 1970" instead. (9/10)

2. I'd Have You Anytime (George Harrison and Bob Dylan)
In an equally bold move, Lennon/McCartney is edged out of the first two songs by having George Harrison follow up on Ringo's sole vocal spot with one of his more underrated love songs. This was originally written in November 1968 shortly before the release of the White Album. This is the only track on my personal take of a 14th Beatles album that does not appear on any other, pretty much giving my own Hot as Sun some exclusivity.

Instead of the official studio version, I used the early take version from Early Takes: Volume 1, to give the album a more "stripped" feel. As is the case with most alternate versions, the count-in and studio chatter at the end is removed.

Track frequency: As mentioned above, none of the above albums include it. However, Mark Feldman would later include it for his second album, Imagine. (0/10; 1 if we extend beyond 1970)

3. Every Night (Paul McCartney)
Finally, Paul McCartney gets his due with this simple acoustic number that was originally penned for Get Back (later Let It Be) in January 1969. In addition, the Lennon/McCartney songwriting partnership has been disposed of, so both men are now more upfront as to who wrote what. On the White Album, it's usually obvious as to who wrote that.

The track is sourced from McCartney with no editing required.

Track frequency: Every album listed above includes it, meaning it must be a very popular track for Beatles songs that never were. Who am I to break that trend? (10/10)

4. Oh My Love (John Lennon and Yoko Ono)
John Lennon is the last Beatle to finally get a vocal spot on the first side, with a simple love song dedicated to Yoko Ono, originally started in December 1968. George Harrison contributed guitar here.

With the 2018 release of Imagine: The Ultimate Collection, we got to hear stripped versions of the tracks that ended up on the album, and in this case, "Oh My Love" is take 6 from the second disc, which the count-in removed. Again, to go for a more stripped sound.

Track frequency: It only turns up on both Everest and Falling Rain. To be honest, I can't really blame the others for not wanting to go beyond 1970 when it comes to John's tracks. However, Soniclovenoize did go beyond 1970 to include it for his own hypothetical 15th album, Imagine Clouds Dripping. (2/10; 3 if we extend beyond 1970)

5. Let It Down (Harrison)
One of many songs George offered up for Let It Be, it was originally written December 1968. Sadly, this erotic love song was rejected in favor of "For You Blue".

Sourced from All Things Must Pass; however, I utilized the alternate take that was included as one of the bonus tracks and removed George's line "This is called 'Let It Down'" near the start.

Track frequency: It turns up on Through Many Years, Plastic Blues and Falling Rain. Given the quantity and quality of George's songs, choosing just two or three (or sometimes four) won't be easy. For his album, Uncle Dan used an alternate take like I did. Mark Feldman later used "Let It Down" for his own Imagine and Peter Lee used it for Abracadabra. (3/10; 5 if we extend beyond 1970)

6. Jealous Guy (Lennon)
Originally written in India in March 1968, it began as "Child of Nature" but it was left off of the White Album for sounding too similar to "Mother Nature's Son". It is fortunate that this was the case, because the revised lyrics are vastly superior, showing that John Lennon could show off his more sensitive side if he wanted to. Who says he couldn't write ballads?

Like "Oh My Love", "Jealous Guy" is sourced from Imagine: The Ultimate Collection, with its version being the raw studio mix of take 11 from the third disc. The studio chatter is removed and it ends slightly earlier.

Track frequency: God (with the track known by the original title, "Child of Nature"), Everest and Falling Rain all include this track. Mark Feldman and Sonicelovenoize both later used it for their respective second albums. (3/10; 5 if we extend beyond 1970)

7. The Back Seat of My Car (McCartney)
Paul concludes the first side of the album with a Beach Boys-influenced number that was also written for Let It Be back in October 1968. It is right up there in the Beatles' sub-genre of travel songs that include "Drive My Car".

The track is sourced from Ram with no edits. For this track and "It Don't Come Easy", I'd like to use alternate versions that feature a more stripped sound (and with Ringo on vocals for "Easy"), but I don't know if they exist anywhere on a bootleg. If anyone can find an excellent sounding quality version of both that sound good in the studio, that'd be great.

Track frequency: God, Apple, Everest and Falling Rain all include this track. Once again, Mark Feldman and Soniclovenoize both later used it for their respective second albums (though in Feldman's case, he originally had "Monkberry Moon Delight" before switching to "The Back Seat of My Car"). (4/10; 6 if we extend beyond 1970)

8. Gimme Some Truth (Lennon)
John kicks off the second side with this vitriolic number against then-American president Richard Nixon that also had origins tracing back to Let It Be in January 1969. George's guitar solo is one of the finest ever recorded for any Beatles song ever, and it right up there with "Taxman" and "Revolution" as one of the band's most political songs.

Once again, sourced from Imagine: The Ultimate Collection, this time using the raw studio mix of take 4 from the third disc. As usual, the studio chatter before and after is removed, fading out at the end, running at 3:23, slightly longer than the official version.

Track frequency: It only turns up on God and Falling Rain. However, Mark Feldman would later use it for Imagine, as would Peter Lee for Abracadabra. (2/10; 4 if we extend beyond 1970)

9. All Things Must Pass (Harrison)
Another of George's songs rejected from Let It Be, also written December 1968. Ringo plays drums on the recording, and is arguably George's best song on the album for its message about moving on in life.

This version is the demo sourced from Early Takes: Volume 1, with the second bridge removed, trimming it down to 3:30. I think the rawness of the recording makes it sound more beautiful and moving.

Track frequency: All of the above albums with the exception of Allyn Gibson's Hot as Sun and Uncle Dan's Through Many Years included it. I think it's easy to see why it was chosen, as it really is one of the best songs George never recorded on a Beatles album. (8/10)

10. Hot as Sun (McCartney)
The album's title track is the oldest song included, being written as far back as 1959 before the Beatles metamorphosed - in a sense - from the Quarrymen. A short, quirky instrumental jam that was also auditioned for Let It Be.

Sourced from McCartney, but with the "Glasses" portion removed (having already been used to preface "It Don't Come Easy") and it fades out sooner, running at 1:29.

Track frequency: Join the Human Race was the only album to include it. Despite Allyn Gibson's album being called Hot as Sun, the song of the same name doesn't turn up; instead, he uses "Valentine Day", another instrumental from McCartney of a similar length. (1/10)

11. Junk (McCartney)
12. Look at Me (Lennon)
A one-two punch of gentle acoustic numbers both written in India in March 1968 and considered for inclusion on the White Album. I just love the way that as soon as "Junk" finishes, John says, "Okay? Yes, thank you," before delving into "Look at Me", with the lyrics calling back to "Oh My Love". It's as if they were meant to be played together.

"Junk" is sourced from McCartney and is also merged with the instrumental "Singalong Junk"; the first sixteen seconds of "Singalong" plays before the official version, and then there's an instrumental break featuring piano and guitar between the bridge and second verse, extending the song to 2:43. "Look at Me" is sourced from John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band without any edits.

Track frequency: "Junk" turns up on God, Join the Human Race, Instant Karma!, and 1970. "Look at Me" turns up on Through Many Years and Everest. Both songs also appear together on Apple and Plastic Blues. Overall, both appear across eight albums, only turning up together on the aforementioned two albums. On a side note, "Junk" is auditioned for Everest in The Death and Life of Mal Evans, but the other Beatles reject it once again. (6/10 for "Junk", 4/10 for "Look at Me")

13. Maybe I'm Amazed (McCartney)
The penultimate song of the album might possibly be the greatest Paul McCartney ever wrote, let alone one of the greatest love songs ever written. The piano fades in following "Look at Me" and signals for a hopeful, optimistic future. It is the second youngest song, having been written in September 1969.

The track comes from McCartney with no editing required.

Track frequency: The only album to not include it is Falling Rain; instead, it is released as a non-album single with "Early 1970" for the B-side. I should point out that I do not account for instances where tracks are listed as non-album B-sides. (9/10)

14. Hear Me Lord (Harrison)
It's George who ends up stealing Paul's thunder for the fourteenth track of the fourteenth Beatles album. His fourth and final contribution was also written in January 1969 for Let It Be, and might possibly be the group's most religious song yet. I know some will question its inclusion on the album, but like I said, it's based on the assumption that they allowed for the others to express themselves freely. If John could get away with references to crucifixion in "The Ballad of John and Yoko", then I don't see why George can't get away with a prayer to the Lord in "Hear Me Lord".

The track is sourced from All Things Must Pass; I considered using an alternate version on the bootleg All Things Must Pass Naked, but I decided to stick with the official version instead.

Track frequency: Only Instant Karma! included it. My thinking is that the others overlooked the track due to its religious overtones. (1/10)

Also recorded alongside the album is the non-album double A-side, "What Is Life"/"Another Day", by George and Paul respectively, both written in 1969. Both turned up together on Apple. Individually, "What Is Life" also appeared on Allyn Gibson's Hot as Sun, Join the Human Race, 1970, and Plastic Blues, and "Another Day" ended up on Falling Rain. I prefer the two tracks as a non-album single because, let's face it; not all of the Beatles' best material ended up on an album, and I think it would be the same case for both "What Is Life" and "Another Day".

Between the ten albums I listed above, there's an overall total of 15 songs from John, 13 songs from Paul, 12 songs from George, two from Ringo, and two from the Beatles as a group, both written by George, totaling up to 44 songs. That's about three albums' worth! If we include "I'd Have You Anytime" from my version of Hot as Sun, then that totals 45. The most frequently used songs were "Junk", "All Things Must Pass", "Maybe I'm Amazed", "It Don't Come Easy", and "Every Night"; all of them ended up on my take of Hot as Sun. As for the tracks that only turned up once:

• "God" is exclusive to... well, God.
• "Valentine Day" is exclusive to Allyn Gibson's Hot as Sun.
• "Hold On" and "Early 1970" are exclusive to Through Many Years.
• "Mother", "Hot as Sun", "Awaiting on You All" and "Not Guilty" are exclusive to Join the Human Race.
• "Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp" is exclusive to Apple.
• "Momma Miss America", "My Sweet Lord" and "Hear Me Lord" are exclusive to Instant Karma!.
• "Too Many People" is exclusive to Everest.
• "Mind Games" and "I Me Mine" are exclusive to Falling Rain.

In addition, "Working Class Hero", "Remember", "Look at Me" and "The Back Seat of My Car" (the latter two ending up on my album) were all used four times each, and "Instant Karma!", "Isolation", "Love" and "What Is Life" (the latter being used for a non-album single) all used five times each. The remaining sixteen songs were used either two or three times each.

With near equal contributions between John, Paul and George, I went a step further by utilizing the JPGR formula for each album, determining how many song contributions came from each member. Note that the four letters correspond to each Beatle, and the number in that slot indicates how many songs they contributed and/or sung on. If there's a 4 where the J would be, that means John contributed four songs to an album. As an example, John and Paul each sung five songs, George three, and Ringo one on Revolver, which makes it a 5531 album.

• 4431: God, 1970
• 4441: Everest, Falling Rain
• 4531: Hot as Sun (Allyn Gibson)
• 4541: Join the Human Race
• 5441: Instant Karma!
• 5531: Through Many Years, Apple, Plastic Blues

The most popular type of album appears to be the 5531, five songs each from John and Paul, three from George and one from Ringo, with 4431 and 4441 both tied for second. My version of Hot as Sun is a 4541 album, with Paul contributing five songs (one being an instrumental), John and George each contributing four, and Ringo one.

Okay, I will admit that this is just a random sample of ten and they don't represent every hypothetical 14th Beatles album, not to mention all the complicated mathematics I've pointed out, but that isn't the point. The question I pose is, what does that mean when it comes to making a new Beatles album? Well, I think the simple conclusion is that everyone's just a little bit different, and that includes our personal opinions as to what songs we think should be on the next Beatles album. There are no wrong answers as to what they might have included, though I doubt "My Sweet Lord" and "God" would've ended up being on an album.

But in the end, we may never know what really could be the follow-up to Abbey Road, but it never hurts to play this little mind game of what could've been...

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Resources Used

• George Harrison's Early Takes: Volume 1 (2012)
• George Harrison's All Things Must Pass (2014 remaster)
• "Hear Me Lord"
• John Lennon's Imagine (2018 box set)
• John Lennon's John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (2010 remaster)
• Paul McCartney's McCartney (2011 remaster)
• Paul McCartney's Ram (2012 remaster)
• Ringo Starr's Photograph: The Very Best of Ringo Starr (2007)