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)