Revisiting "Hot as Sun" - The Fourteenth Beatles Album

A couple of years ago, I wrote up a side post discussing how I thought the next Beatles album might have gone had the band found a way to stay together to record a true follow-up to Abbey Road. Naturally, this sparked a lot of interesting discussion, and for a while, I was pretty happy with my playlist, but as time went by, I went through several revisions with the track listing, adding songs and removing others, until I decided upon one that I felt that I was happy with.

But before I can show you the track listing, I want you to imagine the following scenario:

It's 1969, and the Beatles have recently formed Apple Corps, but things haven't been going so well for the biggest band in the world. Miraculously, they came up with an agreement as to how Apple should be managed, and therefore they never run into Allen Klein. The Get Back album is released in May 1969 as originally intended, and four months later, they come out with their masterwork Abbey Road. But even still, the band is still at a crossroad with their future; John Lennon is tired of being confined to the Beatles, George Harrison is tired with his songwriting contributions being left aside, and Paul McCartney is tired with no one agreeing to anything he suggests. Ringo Starr, of course, is happy to go along with whatever the majority wants.

With John wanting to pursue a solo career following a live performance in Toronto, it's eventually decided that the Beatles take on solo projects for the new decade, but they still agree to recording one final album, the sessions of which take place between November 1969 and February 1970 with Phil Spector as co-producer. During that time, the group also recorded "Another Day" and "Cold Turkey" for a standalone single, later released on 20 July 1970, and John and George plan out solo albums with Phil as producer. The resultant Beatles album, Hot as Sun, is released under Apple Records on 8 May 1970, marking the beginning of a new era for the band...

The Beatles - Hot as Sun

Released: 8 May 1970

Recorded: 10 November 1969 - 25 February 1970

Producer: The Beatles and Phil Spector

Side A

It Don't Come Easy

Every Night

Gimme Some Truth

I Me Mine

That Would Be Something

Jealous Guy

Isn't It a Pity

Side B

Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)

Teddy Boy

All Things Must Pass

Junk

Oh My Love

Let It Down

Maybe I'm Amazed

Track listing details

1. It Don't Come Easy (Starr, Photograph: The Very Best of Ringo Starr, 2007) - For the first time in Beatles history, Ringo Starr leads off an album (Yellow Submarine is excluded, of course) with a track that perfectly describes the band's current situation; he even title drops "Come Together" during the chorus. The opening cymbals that fade in make for a killer start to Hot as Sun, as well as part of the first single released alongside the album. Ringo began writing this track in late 1968 after completing "Don't Pass Me By", and George appears on slide guitar, even helping to co-wrote and produce this track.

2. Every Night (McCartney, McCartney, 2011 remaster) - Paul follows up on Ringo's quasi-philosophical opener with an equally reflective track recalling the current situation the Beatles are in. At the same time, however, they convey some optimism for the future. This track was demoed during the Get Back sessions in January 1969 and even had John playing slide guitar during a run through.

3. Gimme Some Truth (Lennon, Imagine, 2018 Ultimate mix) - Following Ringo's up-tempo number and Paul's piece expressing a more hopeful future, John counters with an angry protest number calling out the hypocrisy of the Nixon administration in its lyrics. John started this in January 1969 during the Get Back sessions and even received help from Paul with the chorus. George shines through with one of his best ever guitar solos for a Beatles track.

4. I Me Mine (Harrison, Let It Be... Naked, 2013 remaster) - As a response to John's criticism of government hypocrisy, George chimes in with this waltz number lamenting humankind's self-centeredness. Written for, and eventually included on, Let It Be, this is well-known for being the final track the Beatles ever recorded in the studio while still together. "I Me Mine" is the only authentic Beatles song on Hot as Sun, as well as the only time Paul appears on another band member's song. In addition, the album kicks off with an opening statement from each Beatle.

5. That Would Be Something (McCartney, McCartney, 2011 remaster) - Paul chimes in again with a silly little number recorded entirely by himself. George was said to have called this track a fine piece of work. Even though it was recorded while the Beatles were disintegrating, this serves as a nice little bit of tension relief.

6. Jealous Guy (Lennon, Imagine, 2018 Ultimate mix) - Originally written in India and demoed as "Child of Nature" with hopes of including it on The White Album, John eventually rewrote this as a confessional piece addressing his feelings about his failure as a lover. The track was briefly revisited in January 1969 but it too was left to the side.

7. Isn't It a Pity (Harrison, All Things Must Pass: 50th Anniversary, 2021) - Dating all the way back to 1966, George closes off the first side of Hot as Sun with a seven-minute epic that recalls "Hey Jude" two years earlier. Auditioned for Revolver, Sgt. Pepper, The White Album and Get Back, the other Beatles finally relent and let George include "Pity" on one of their albums. Ringo plays the drums, and the track is released alongside "It Don't Come Easy" as a double A-side, the first single in which neither side is by John or Paul. Obviously, I've used the first version, although the second version can work just as well if you want to keep the running time for Side A under 25 minutes.

8. Instant Karma! (We All Shine On) (Lennon, Gimme Some Truth, 2020 Ultimate Mix) - Following the oldest track on the album is the youngest, written and recorded on 27 January 1970. The second single for Hot as Sun recalls "All You Need is Love" and features George on guitar, getting the second side off to a galloping start. An unwritten rule according to George Martin is to start both sides of a Beatles album off strong.

9. Teddy Boy (McCartney, McCartney, 2011 remaster) - Setting the tone for the rest of the second side's acoustic vibe is another story song that Paul wrote during the Beatles' trip to India and eventually revisited in January 1969 for Get Back. John was apparently not a fan of this number, and he would likely have opted out of it like he did with "Maxwell's Silver Hammer".

10. All Things Must Pass (Harrison, All Things Must Pass: 50th Anniversary, 2021) - George's best song on the album reflects upon how things will get better after a bad period in our lives. Written in late 1968 and tried out for Get Back, but it was left aside and never properly completed. Ringo provides the drums for the greatest Beatles track that never was; the fact that it was left aside is borderline criminal.

11. Junk (McCartney, McCartney, 2011 remaster) - Another track from the Esher demoes that didn't make either The White Album or Abbey Road. A beautiful little acoustic number from Paul.

12. Oh My Love (Lennon, Imagine, 2018 Ultimate mix) - This track begins with the "okay; yes, thank you" dialogue from "Look at Me", linking it with "Junk". The fourth consecutive ballad of the second side is also John's final track of the album, being written in late 1968 prior to the Get Back sessions. George appears on guitar.

13. Let It Down (Harrison, All Things Must Pass: 50th Anniversary, 2021) - George gets four songs on the album, with his last song for Hot as Sun breaking the ballad streak with this erotic love song. Like "All Things Must Pass", "Let It Down" was written in late 1968 and auditioned for Get Back but once again rejected. Out of the Beatles, George is perhaps the most prominent, appearing in not just his own songs, but three of John's as well as "It Don't Come Easy", for a total of eight.

14. Maybe I'm Amazed (McCartney, McCartney, 2011 remaster) - Closing out the fourteenth Beatles album is quite possibly the greatest song Paul has ever written, ending things on a hopeful, optimistic note. The song was written in 1969 just as the Beatles were beginning to splinter, and George spoke very positively about it too. It, along with "Instant Karma", is part of the second single off of the album. Between the members, Paul has five songs, John and George have four songs each, and Ringo has "It Don't Come Easy".

Overall, Hot as Sun runs at about 48 minutes, one minute longer than Abbey Road, and it could possibly hold up as their greatest album alongside it and Sgt. Pepper. It's a portrait of the Beatles regarding where they're at in the new decade, and pushes outward in so many different directions, yet still manages to remain a cohesive unit. John and George each go for Spector's production with their songs while Paul's are a lot more lo-fi by comparison, and Ringo is right down the middle. It rests between The White Album in its stark contrasts and Abbey Road in sheer majesty. I think what would make it even better is if there was more collaboration between the members on the songs, much like on "I Me Mine". Just imagine John adding some slide guitar to "Every Night", Paul's backing vocals on "Gimme Some Truth" and both he and John singing harmony on the solo demo version of "All Things Must Pass".

So where could the Beatles go next? For this scenario, they still pursue solo projects, but the Beatles as a band take a hiatus for 1970-1972. George Harrison releases his eponymous debut album (with "Hear Me Lord" closing out side A, "I Dig Love" on side B, "Art of Dying" closing out side C, and the entirety of the Apple Jam excluding "I Remember Jeep" taking up side D) in November 1970, and a couple of weeks later, John puts out Plastic Ono Band. In May 1971, Paul releases his solo debut Ram and later in December, puts out his first album with Wings, Wild Life. That September, John puts out Imagine (with "Baby Please Don't Go", "Power to the People" and "Happy Xmas (War is Over)" to fill the gaps) and come 1972, we get the releases of George and friends' The Concert for Bangladesh, John and Yoko's Some Time in New York City, Ringo's "Back Off Boogaloo" and a few stray singles from Paul and Wings.

Come late 1972, when the Beatles have gotten to say what they wanted to put down on record, they reunite in New York due to John's immigration problems to discuss the possibility of another album. Will they be able to pull it off and gel like they did in the 60s? That's for us fans to speculate with this little mind game...