Chapter 74: Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) (June - October 1983)

June 17, 1983

Patrick Stewart in Playing Shakespeare, 1982. That same year, it was announced that he had been cast in the role of Brainiac for Superman III. Robert Vaughn was originally considered for the role before Stewart was cast.

A third Superman movie had been in the planning stages since 1979, just as the production on Superman II was closing down. Ilya Salkind, David and Leslie Newman would return to write the script while Richard Donner would pass on directing duties to Tom Mankiewicz (although Donner would stay on as producer). However, John Williams did not return to score the music due to his commitments to Return of the Jedi, and so Ken Thorne took over as composer, with Williams credited for the original Superman themes. Alongside the return of Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Jackie Cooper and Marc McClure, the newcomers were Patrick Stewart as the villain Brainiac, Dudley Moore as Mr. Mxyzptlk and Helen Slater as Kara Zor-El/Linda Danvers, also known as Supergirl.

A mysterious asteroid lands on Earth, which prompts interest from Clark Kent; it turns out to be a space pod from the planet Colu, and its sole occupant is a young woman by the name of Kara Zor-El, who takes on the civilian identity of Linda Danvers, who is later revealed to be Clark's cousin. A flashback reveals that when Krypton exploded, Kara was originally meant to arrive on Earth alongside the baby Kal-El, but her space pod had been knocked off course and she ended up in suspended animation for over twenty years before landing in Colu instead, where she is raised by Brainiac who becomes her surrogate father. While Linda adjusts to life on Earth, she and Clark come across an impish trickster from the fifth dimension known as Mr. Mxyzptlk, who uses his abilities to play pranks.

Some time later, Brainiac lands on Earth, having followed Linda the whole time, hoping that she'll use her abilities to cause destruction, but thanks to Clark's guiding hand, she's using them for good, and if even dubbed "Supergirl" in the press. In retaliation, Brainiac uses a personality machine to corrupt and manipulate Superman, therefore turning him evil. Supergirl fights him and with the help of Lois Lane, restores Superman back to good. A final battle with Brainiac then commences after the group time travels to a fiefdom in the Middle Ages that the villain has taken over, leading to him getting stuck there while the heroes return to the present. At a café, Clark and Linda meet up with Mr. Mxyzptlk (who had helped them travel back to the present) who gives them a cryptic warning about a greater evil coming to Earth.[1]

Helen Slater as Kara Zor-El/Linda Danvers/Supergirl in Superman III, 1983. Not even twenty years old upon the film's release, Superman III marked Slater's cinematic debut, and her performance was acclaimed by critics and fans alike.

CHRISTOPHER REEVE: "For an early draft of Superman III, Ilya wanted to have Brainiac fall in love with Supergirl, his 'daughter', but she was in love with Superman instead, and the cousins would possibly even marry at the end. However, Margot didn't like that, and nor did I, Helen or Patrick. We felt it devalued Superman and Lois' relationship from the first two movies, and so the romance plot was cut out entirely." (2008)

In contrast to the two previous Superman films, critical reaction to the third film ranged from mixed to positive, with criticism being directed at the complexity of the plot and the villain's motivations (although Patrick Stewart's performance was acclaimed; even then, Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor, who did not appear, was generally viewed as the better villain, as was Terence Stamp as General Zod). On the other hand, Helen Slater's performance as Supergirl was praised, as was Dudley Moore as Mr. Mxyzptlk, and the ending left many moviegoers excited about a potential team-up film about the Justice League. This was later confirmed in a press release at the end of 1983, and Justice League was due for a release date in the spring of 1985.

8 July 1983

The Yardbirds - Carouselambra

Released: 8 July 1983

Recorded: 1983

Producer: Robert Plant and Jimmy Page

Track listing[2]

Side A

Other Arms

In the Mood

Messin' with the Mekon

Big Log

Side B

Thru' with the Two Step

Horizontal Departure

Carouselambra

The Yardbirds' fifteenth album was their first since 1969's Going Down Like a Lead Zeppelin to not reach #1 in either the United Kingdom (#3) or the United States (#5) - while Stairway to Heaven and Axe Ivy both reached #1 in the former country, they stalled out at #2 in the latter. Despite this, "Big Log" managed to chart fairly well in the Top 40 on both sides of the Atlantic (#4 UK, #11 US), as did "In the Mood" (#30 UK, #14 US), with both receiving music videos of their own. Critics were mixed towards Carouselambra, and many seemed to reflect on Jimmy Page's thoughts during the recording process:

JIMMY PAGE: "I personally thought Axe Ivy was our best album of the 80s, but Robert and [John Paul] Jones were in over their heads by playing too many synthesizers for Carouselambra. I felt that my work as a guitarist was being pushed to the side and wasn't shy in saying so. I even tried to tell them that if they didn't get a clue, sooner or later, the Yardbirds would be dead faster than you could play the entirety of Robert Johnson's music." (1997)

3 October 1983

Tony Banks, 1982.

In the midst of an eight-month break between the members of Genesis, Tony Banks had recorded his second solo album, The Fugitive, which was later released that June. This was his first album in which he sang the lead vocals instead of relying on a guest vocalist. While A Curious Feeling had some pop elements, they were more upfront in The Fugitive. The album received a mixed to positive response from critics and topped out at #33 in the United Kingdom. "This is Love" was the single preceding the album that May, peaking at #47 in the United Kingdom.

TONY BANKS: "Mike, Kim and I got back together in the spring of '83 to record the follow-up to Abacab, but we didn't have any songs ready for it. We just played some jams and then based the songs around them." (2005)

KIM BEACON: "Tony and Mike each thought about taking a lead vocal on the album, each having done so for their respective solo albums around that time, and I favored the idea, wanting to show that I wasn't the only guy behind Genesis. We were a group effort, and always have been. I think Shapes proves that." (2013)

Genesis - Genesis (The Shapes Album)

Released: 3 October 1983

Recorded: Spring 1983

Producer: Genesis and Glyn Johns

Track listing[3]

Side A

Mama

That's All

Home by the Sea

Promises

Side B

When It All Comes Down

Taking It All Too Hard

Just a Job to Do

Silver Rainbow

It's Gonna Get Better

Genesis' self-titled release, often referred to as The Shapes Album because of the cover, marked their first since 1974's The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway in which all the music was credited to all the members. In addition to that, Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford showed more prominence in performing the backing vocals than they had ever done on any previous album. Among the tracks that has been left unfinished was "Illegal Alien", which was intended to be a satirical approach on undocumented immigrants coming into the United States, although it was abandoned due to the insensitive nature of the lyrics.

Reception to The Shapes Album was generally very positive, topping the charts in the United Kingdom and reaching #3 in the United States, and the first two singles - "Mama" and "That's All" - also reached the Top 10 in both countries, the former even topping the charts in the United Kingdom. The album displayed Genesis heading towards a more radio-friendly approach, and Banks considered the overall sound as something that the band had longed for even when Peter Gabriel was their lead singer. Rutherford would also refer to The Shapes Album as one of his favorite Genesis albums.

Summary of single releases from Genesis' The Shapes Album

• "Mama" / "It's Gonna Get Better" - 22 August 1983 (#1 UK, #5 US)
• "That's All" / "Taking It All Too Hard" - 3 October 1983 (#7 UK, #2 US)
• "Home by the Sea" / "Second Home by the Sea" - 23 January 1984 (#28 UK, #16 US)

Footnotes

1. The plot synopsis for Superman III is based upon a treatment written by Ilya Salkind in December 1980 and released online in 2007. It was rejected for being too complex and expensive to shoot, which resulted in an entirely different Superman III directed by Richard Lester and a standalone Supergirl movie directed by Jeannot Szwarc in 1984. Both films were critically panned, with the latter becoming a box-office bomb.
2. All tracks are sourced from Robert Plant's The Principle of Moments, excluding "Carouselambra", taken from In Through the Out Door.
3. All tracks are sourced from OTL's Genesis (The Shapes Album), excluding "Promises" and "When it All Comes Down", both from a performance by Kim Beacon in 1989. As has been stated many times before, all tracks are performed by Beacon.

Author's Comments

Well, that was the latest chapter for Strawberry Peppers Mk1 done and dusted. It came out later than I would've liked, but I've had a lot of projects to deal with lately, so I ended up working on and off on it; sorry about that. I've only got six more chapters to write up until this first draft is finished. Not much else to talk about here; Genesis and its members are carrying on like normal, Superman's got the third movie it might have gotten with Richard Donner on board, and the Yardbirds are continuing down Robert Plant's solo trajectory from OTL. I was going to include Yes' 90125, but I ended up cutting it instead. That's why I've posted a shorter chapter than usual.

Chapter 64: Love Will Tear Us Apart (May - November 1980)

23 May 1980

The Rolling Stones - Emotional Rescue

Released: 23 May 1980

Recorded: 22 January - 19 October 1979

Producer: The Glimmer Twins

Track listing[1]

Side A

Dance (Part 1)

Summer Romance

Send It to Me

Little T&A

Indian Girl

Side B

Where the Boys Go

F.U.C. Her

Emotional Rescue

No Use in Crying

All About You

Keith Richards had been exonerated from a drug charge in Toronto, Canada that could have landed him in prison for years. In between, the Rolling Stones had been able to complete Give Us Some Neck for a 1979 release, and they had just put out their first album for the 1980s. Reportedly, about twenty songs had been recorded for Emotional Rescue, but only ten were chosen for release, with the rest being left aside for next year. The album reached #1 in both the United Kingdom and the United States, with the title track being released with "F.U.C. Her" on the same day as a single (#9 UK, #3 US). "All About You" / "Send It to Me" (#33 UK, #26 US) would later be released on 25 August that same year.

Later that September, former Rolling Stones member David Bowie would put out his second post-Stones album Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps), which also hit #1 in the United Kingdom and topped out at #5 in the United States. It would be three years before he would put out his next album.

July 11, 1980

Crosby, Stills & Nash - Thoroughfare Gap

Released: July 11, 1980

Recorded: June 1978 - February 1980

Producer: Crosby, Stills & Nash

Track listing[2]

Side A

Drive My Car (Needed to Ride)

Tomorrow is Another Day

Barrel of Pain (Half-Life)

Thoroughfare Gap

Out on the Island

Side B

Feel Your Love (Tears in the Light)

Love Has Come

Distances

Helicopter Song

Dear Mr. Fantasy

GRAHAM NASH: "We were all feeling like hell by the time we'd finally put out Thoroughfare Gap. Neil had left to pursue a full-time solo career, David was on the coke, and Stephen and I tried finishing up solo albums, but they went nowhere. The few songs that we did end up salvaging for CSN ended up on the album." (2016)

The title track to Crosby, Stills & Nash's first album without Neil Young since 1969 had originally been written back in 1972 for the first Manassas album, but after several attempts at recording it, the effort was abandoned as they couldn't get the right take. Six years later, it had been brought back and re-recorded for the first CSN album of the 1980s. Originally intended for a Christmas 1978 release, Thoroughfare Gap was consistently delayed until July 1980, having been recorded sporadically between June 1978 and February 1980.

A big factor in the album's delay was David Crosby himself, who was constantly under the influence of cocaine and barely contributing any songwriting material himself. This would result in a near-death experience before he ended up in prison and rehab years later. By the time Thoroughfare Gap was released, the music scene had changed a lot, especially in the UK, where the album and its three singles got lost in the shuffle in the midst of new wave and punk groups. The 80s were going to be a long decade for Crosby, Stills & Nash.

Summary of Crosby, Stills & Nash releases, 1980

• "Thoroughfare Gap" / "Distances" - May 22, 1980 (#15 US, #57 UK)
• Thoroughfare Gap - July 11, 1980 (#10 US, #44 UK)
• "Out of the Island" / "Feel Your Love (Tears in the Light)" - July 14, 1980 (#22 US, #89 UK)
• "Drive My Car (Needed to Ride)" / "Helicopter Song" - October 20, 1980 (#47 US)

18 August 1980

Yes - Song of Seven

Released: 18 August 1980

Recorded: November 1979, April - June 1980

Producer: Yes and Trevor Horn

Track listing[3]

Side A

Everybody's Song

Some Are Born

I Hear You Now

Countryside

Machine Messiah

Side B

Days

Into the Lens

High

White Car

Song of Seven

In 1977, Yes had put out Going for the One which had received a mostly positive reception from critics, citing it as a return to more accessible music, even reaching #1 in the United Kingdom for two weeks. However, the follow-up album from 1978, Tormato, was not as well-received despite hitting the Top 10 in both the United Kingdom and the United States. Despite intending to put out the album in two parts, it was released as a single album instead. Yes would go on tour lasting all the way up to June 1979, and afterward, the band would take a short hiatus.

JON ANDERSON: "In between the last show of the tour and reconvening that November to start work on the follow-up in Paris, I recorded a few improvised songs with Vangelis. It was all very spontaneous and we had a lot of fun with them, and I thought about asking him to be part of Yes. We didn't release them due to being on different labels at the time, but I kept them on the back of my mind when we reconvened in November." (2004)

Despite bringing in Roy Thomas Baker as their producer, conflict among the members of Yes were taking place; Chris Squire, Alan White and Steve Howe all wanted a heavier sound, while Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman wanted a lighter, folk-oriented sound. Enough songs for an album were recorded, but nobody could agree on what to do with them, and the sessions came to an abrupt halt after White broke his foot while roller-skating. Tensions were so great that Wakeman ended up leaving the group altogether, and he almost took Anderson with him. What was Yes going to do?

STEVE HOWE: "Rick just went said to me, Chris and Alan that he wasn't taking our crap anymore, and he just up and left us. Jon almost wanted to leave as well, but he was conflicted. He went to live with Vangelis for a few days, told him about what was going on, and even invited him to a session. We regrouped without Rick but with Vangelis, and we came up with an agreement to make an album of contrasts. But we needed a producer after Roy left the project." (1997)

Geoff Downes and Trevor Horn, the Buggles, 1979.

CHRIS SQUIRE: "At the time, we were being managed by Brian Lane, who was also manager for the Buggles, who were signed onto Swan Song Records. He presented to us with their new hit single, 'Video Killed the Radio Star', and we were pretty blown away by it. Trevor Horn's voice almost reminded us of Jon in a way. We invited Trevor to the sessions, and presented some ideas we add for the follow-up to Tormato." (2000)

The Buggles were a new wave consisting of Geoff Downes and Trevor Horn, formed in 1977 and joined Swan Song Records in 1978. They were enjoying commercial success from their debut album The Age of Plastic, backed with its lead single "Video Killed the Radio Star". After several meetings with Brian Lane, manager for both the Buggles and Yes, the latter band was able to transfer from Atlantic Records and onto Swan Song Records. It was the beginning of a new era for Yes, now with Vangelis on keyboards and Trevor Horn as co-vocalist.

ALAN WHITE: "It really felt like we had been through a rebirth after those Paris sessions; having Trevor and Vangelis on board certainly kept conflict to a minimum. At first, we didn't know what to call the album, but then Jon came up with a track that served not only as the title for the album, but also the finale for the album." (2005)

Song of Seven marked the first album by Yes released under Swan Song Records, comprised of the best tracks not only from the initial Paris sessions, but also new tracks with Trevor Horn as co-producer, as well as a reworking of one of the tracks Jon Anderson and Vangelis recorded together, "I Hear You Now" (#5 UK, #43 US), which was a Top 10 hit in the United Kingdom. The album briefly hit #1 for a week in the United Kingdom, and topped out at #14 in the United States to generally positive reception.

7 November 1980

The Clash - Something About England

Released: 7 November 1980

Recorded: February - August 1980

Producer: Mikey Dread and The Clash

Track listing[4]

Side A

Lightning Strikes (Not Once but Twice)

Version City

Look Here

The Crooked Beat

Ivan Meets G.I. Joe

One More Time

Something About England

Side B

Corner Soul

Junco Partner

If Music Could Talk

The Sound of Sinners

Midnight Log

The Equalizer

The Street Parade

By the end of the 1970s, The Clash were one of Apple's biggest punk rock acts, having achieved success with their eponymous debut album from 1977, followed by Give 'Em Enough Rope and London Calling, the latter of which was regarded as their greatest album, as well as one of the greatest albums of all time. So where were they going to go from there? After all, London Calling was a double album, so surely they would try and top that with a triple album, right?

JOE STRUMMER: "We decided upon a triple album at first, having recorded a shit-ton of music. But going through the material with Mikey [Dread, co-producer], we realized that we might have gone overboard with it." (1995)

MICK JONES: "I dunno whose idea it was, but we ended up deciding to spread the material we'd recorded over two albums to make it more digestible to the public. That meant some tracks ended up on the cutting room floor, probably rusting away in some tin in the vaults at Apple, but hey - somehow, it worked out for us and the public." (2007)

Something About England (#8 UK, #13 US), the Clash's fourth album, covered a wide variety of musical styles such reggae, rockabilly, jazz, R&B, and what would later be called hip-hop. The album was initially met with some confusion among critics and fans, but it did go on to win some polls in 1981. It was backed with the non-album single "Hitsville UK"/"Kingston Advice" (#22 UK, #19 US) on 12 December, the A-side featuring Ellen Foley on co-lead vocals. But what about the material that had been left to the side? It would be six months before it was released as Sandinista!, featuring the less experimental music from the sessions, though it would still be regarded as the sister album to Something About England.

Footnotes

1. All tracks are sourced from OTL's Emotional Rescue, excluding "Little T&A" and "No Use in Crying" from Tattoo You and "F.U.C. Her" from Ronnie Wood's Gimme Some Neck.
2. Tracks are sourced from disc four of the CSN box set, Daylight Again, Stephen Stills' Thoroughfare Gap, Graham Nash's Earth & Sky and David Crosby's Oh Yes I Can.
3. Tracks are sourced from Jon Anderson's Song of Seven, Jon and Vangelis' Short Stories, Drama and bonus tracks from Tormato. "Everybody's Song" was later reworked into "Does It Really Happen?" for Drama, "Countryside" into "Corkscrew" for Steve Howe's 1991 solo album Turbulence, and "High" to become "Sketches in the Sun" for GTR's debut album, featuring Steve Hackett (Genesis) and Howe (Yes, Asia). "Some Are Born" and "Days" were auditioned by Yes, but later re-worked by Anderson for Song of Seven.
4. All tracks are sourced from Sandinista!. The tracks included feature various members that the Clash worked with on the OTL album such as Mikey Dread, Gary Barnacle and his father Bill (real name Arthur), Tymon Dogg, Davey Payne, Rick Gascoigne, Bill Barnacle and Lew Lewis.

Author's Comments

Not much to say about the Rolling Stones or Crosby, Stills & Nash; we're not going to be seeing much of them for the remainder of Phase Three, though I will say that the Stones could either have an improved 80s for them, or they take a hiatus during that decade. Yes, on the other hand, was more difficult to figure out, especially with keeping Jon Anderson from leaving to pursue a solo career. What I've came up with was probably not my best work, but hopefully it came out okay.

I wasn't originally going to make Something About England, but after reading a bit about Sandinista!, I thought, what if the Clash had put out two single albums instead of a triple album? How I arranged the two albums (the other will come out next year) was by focusing on those that featured the likes of Mikey Dread and Tymon Dogg, some of which overlap on some songs, and then go from there. Here's a list as to who appeared on which tracks:

1. Lightning Strikes (Not Once but Twice) - Tymon Dogg
2. Version City - Lew Lewis
3. Look Here - Lewis, Mikey Dread
4. The Crooked Beat - Davey Payne, Gary Barnacle, Dread
5. Ivan Meets G.I. Joe - Payne, Rick Gascoigne, G. Barnacle, Bill Barnacle
6. One More Time - Dread
7. Something About England - Dogg, Payne, Gascoigne, G. Barnacle, B. Barnacle
8. Corner Soul - Lewis
9. Junco Partner - Dogg, Lewis
10. If Music Could Talk - Payne
11. The Sound of Sinners - Dogg
12. Midnight Log - Lewis
13. The Equalizer - Dogg, Lewis
14. The Street Parade - Gascoigne, G. Barnacle, B. Barnacle

There was also "Lose This Skin" that featured Dogg, Payne, Gascoigne and the Barnacles, but I left it off because it featured Tymon Dogg on lead vocals, which automatically disqualified it in my books. I also excluded any dub versions of songs ("One More Dub", all of side six barring "Version City") to avoid repetition, as well as "Mensforth Hill" ("Something About England" but backwards and with overdubs), which narrowed the song list down to just twenty-eight. Fourteen ended up on Something About England, along with "Hitsville UK" and "Kingston Advice" being released as a non-album single. That means the remaining twelve songs will end up on the revised Sandinista!, so nothing ends up being lost. (Except maybe "Lose This Skin", but that could probably work better as a Tymon Dogg single featuring the Clash.) This overall little experiment was partially inspired from Uncle Dan's attempt at splitting up Guns N' Roses' Use Your Illusion albums into three single albums. How would you have handled Sandinista! if you were to cut it down into a single album or two? Your results may vary, I imagine!

Extra Scenes: Yes' "Ocean" (May 1975 - June 1976)

May 1975 - January 1976

Yes during their Relayer tour, 1975.

JON ANDERSON: "By the time we had finished up the Relayer tour, we were feeling, I dunno, pretty burnt out. By then, Alan [White] had recorded some some bits and bobs for a planned solo record, and Steve and I appeared on one of the tracks, 'Song of Innocence'. Somehow, that had gotten through to someone at Atlantic Records, and when they heard it, they insisted that we put out another album." (2014)

STEVE HOWE: "Man, we were scared out of our fucking shitless when we we told to get back into the studio once the tour was over. We tried to fight our way out of it, but the executives at Atlantic refused to budge. Something in my gut told me that this would only lead to clashing egos and creative differences, which wouldn't have been so bad if we were given solo albums to work with." (1995)

PATRICK MORAZ: "What I wanted to work on was a romantic story of this massive tower in the midst of a jungle, and people from all over the world would go there but were forbidden to fall in love with each other. Two people, however, break this rule and plan on escaping as the tower also served as a prison where the inhabitants were slaves to their own desires. Jon wanted to tell the story of an alien race traveling to a new world after their home planet was destroyed following a volcanic apocalypse. Chris [Squire], Steve and Alan just wanted to do their own thing." (2001, translated from a Swiss interview)

CHRIS SQUIRE: "We must've done, I dunno, about three hours' worth of material overall, maybe even four. A whopping forty-something songs, and some went on for as long as at least eight minutes total. We wanted to put out a quadruple album, but Atlantic was worried that it would've been too expensive, and so we were forced to whittle it down to a double album, our second overall, which meant a shit-ton of material ended up on the cutting room floor. Patrick was cross about this, which was one of the reasons he left and Rick [Wakeman] came back." (2003)

ALAN WHITE: "Jon and Steve weren't too pleased with how much of their material had been left off of the album; I think they were jealous of Chris stealing their thunder. *chuckles* Most of what I'd written for my solo record wasn't that great anyway, so I'm kinda glad it never got released. Perhaps between the double album by Yes and five solo records by each member individually, the band effort was the lesser of two evils?" (1985)

18 June 1976

Yes - Ocean

Released: 18 June 1976

Recorded: May 1975 - January 1976

Producer: Yes, Bob Potter and Eddie Offord

Track listing[1]

Side A

Ocean Song
You by My Side
Spring Song of Innocence
Ram
Best Years of Our Lives

Side B

Hold Out Your Hand
Meeting (Garden of Geda)/Sound Out the Galleon
One Way Rag
Dancing Now
Break Away from It All

Side C
Beginnings
Lucky Seven
Cachaça (Baião)
Flight of the Moorglade

Side D
Oooh Baby (Goin' to Pieces)
Lost Symphony
Silently Falling

Upon its initial 1976 release, Yes' eighth album Ocean - named for the opening track, "Ocean Song", written and performed by Jon Anderson - received many mixed reviews from critics, more so than the previous effort, Relayer. Among the many criticisms Ocean received was the lack of focus, especially towards the tracks by Anderson and Patrick Moraz, saying they were "leftovers" from their respective planned concept albums before they became part of the Yes album instead. Ocean reached #47 in the United States and #22 in the United Kingdom, but the sole single, "Lucky Seven"/"Best Years of Our Lives", failed to chart in the former country. Over time, however, Ocean would go on to become a critical favorite, being cited as one of Yes' greatest works.

Footnotes

1. Tracks are sourced from Jon Anderson's Olias of Sunhillow, Chris Squire's Fish Out of Water, Alan White's Ramshackled, Steve Howe's Beginnings, and Patrick Moraz's The Story of I.

Author's Comments

Has it been a few weeks since I last posted here? Wow! Despite the fact that the world's essentially on lockdown due to COVID-19, I haven't been working much on the Strawberry Peppers story, mostly due to focusing on other projects for the time being and feeling a little burned out after writing the last few chapters of Phase Two. I've decided to post it as a way of telling you all that I'm not dead, just taking a break. I don't know when I'll come back to it full time, but we'll see.

Anyway, as for the extra scene itself, like I said, it was planned to be part of chapter 48, but I decided that the sole focus on the Beatles was strong enough on its own. Which was probably a good thing as I really didn't know what to do with that scene anyway, but I am considering giving Yes their own storyline for Phase Three, depending on what I can think of for them.

The album itself was interesting to try out; Albums Back from the Dead did a 1976 Yes album called Harmonium that featured solo tracks by Jon, Chris, Alan, Steve and Patrick and later posted about a sampler disc called Yes Solos that contained two of the same tracks - "Hold Our Your Hand" and "Spring Song of Innocence". Then there's Albums I Wish Existed that did a triple album called Works, with many of the tracks different from my selections. (Interestingly, "Spring Song of Innocence" seems to be a popular selection when it comes to a hypothetical Yes album from 1976.) I went with the double album as a middle ground and stuck with the tracks used on Harmonium and Yes Solos and tried to evenly spread the tracks as best as I could. It could still work as two albums with one being sort of a symphony and the other more self-contained, though lacking in Jon Anderson's vocals.

I could try a triple album version, but I don't even want to think about trying to whittle down over three hours' worth of music to just two hours; I think a double album is easier to handle, especially since overall, there were three songs each from Jon, Alan and Patrick and four each from Chris (almost his entire Fish Out of Water!) and Steve, which is fairly even. Could Yes have attempted an album between Relayer and Going for the One? Who knows? I guess we can only dream.