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...

Download link

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)

Chapter 30: What's Going On? (May - November 1972)

12 May 1972

The Rolling Stones - Ziggy Stardust

Released: 12 May 1972

Recorded: June 1971 - March 1972

Producer: The Rolling Stones and Jimmy Miller

Track listing[1]

Side A

Five Years

Rocks Off

Moonage Daydream

Casino Boogie

Hang On to Yourself

Side B

Ziggy Stardust

Sweet Virginia

Torn and Frayed

Starman

Loving Cup

Side C

Soul Love

Sweet Black Angel

Lady Stardust

I Just Want to See His Face

Let It Loose

Side D

All Down the Line

Star

Shine a Light

Rip This Joint

Suffragette City

Rock 'n' Roll Suicide

After the release of Lifehouse by the Who, the Rolling Stones became even more determined than ever to beat them at their game. Lifehouse was a double album, and so the Stones' next album, Ziggy Stardust, would also be a double. Unlike Lifehouse's collection of self-contained songs with a loose concept, Ziggy Stardust would tell its own story about the bisexual androgynous rock star of the same name acting as a messenger for extraterrestrial beings.

Much of the story had been outlined by David Bowie, and after he presented his material, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards changed the lyrics to some of their material to build upon Bowie's vision, essentially expanding the universe of Ziggy Stardust. For instance, "Sweet Black Angel" was originally written about civil rights activist Angela Davis in 1970 following murder charges after the Marin County Civic Center attacks, but it was later changed to serve as a lead-in to "Lady Stardust", following a sexual encounter with the titular Sweet Black Angel. This would mark the beginning of the downfall of Ziggy in the story.

Mick Jagger performing with the Rolling Stones during the Ziggy Stardust Tour, 1972.

The first single off of the album, "Starman"/"Sweet Black Angel" was released in April, the month before the album's release. It marked a milestone in the Rolling Stones' history, with some believing that it was a sequel to "Space Oddity" from their 1969 album of the same name. Still, it received positive reviews and managed to reach #10 in the United Kingdom and #6 in the United States. Ziggy Stardust did even better when it was released in May. It managed to reach #1 on both sides of the Atlantic and was hailed as the Rolling Stones' greatest album, with critics praising the story and musical direction.

MICK JAGGER: "It was strangely satisfying, and yet kind of sad, that the same year that the Beatles were putting out their worst work at the time, the Stones had put out their best." (2012)

DAVID BOWIE: "Ziggy Stardust was such a fun project to work on, possibly one of the best we've ever done." (1983)

Shortly after the release of the album, having dealt with financial problems thanks to the assistance of Brian Epstein and Lord Beeching, the Stones could now finally come back to London. They had been advised not to return to France because of the police wanting to question them following Richards' involvement with drugs. Shortly afterward, the band flew to Los Angeles and resumed rehearsals for their North American tour. The next single off of the album, "All Down the Line"/"Rock and Roll Suicide", was released in June and hit #5 and #22 in the United Kingdom and United States, respectively.

12 June 1972

The Who, 1972.

KEITH MOON: "With hindsight, we should've scampered off with our tails between our legs earlier as the battle between the Who and the Stones had gone on for about five years by that point. Let's face it; they're heavier players than we really are. Except maybe David [Bowie], but he's still a nice guy." (1975)

It had been almost a year since the Who had put out Lifehouse, and people were now wondering what the follow-up was going to be like. Beginning with 1966's A Quick One (Happy Jack in America), the Who seemed to have been alternating between the goofier, looser albums (Magic Bus, 7ft. Wide Car, 6ft. Wide Garage) and the more serious, ambitious projects (Who's Lily, Tommy, Lifehouse), so it seemed to make sense that the next album, Rock is Dead - Long Live Rock, would follow that pattern.

However, Pete Townshend instead had the idea that Rock is Dead would be about the history of the Who, with a television special following it. Among the tracks recorded were "Join Together", "Relay", "Is It In My Head", "Long Live Rock", and "Love, Reign O'er Me". But out of these sessions came the single "Join Together"/"Baby Don't You Do It", which topped out at #9 in the United Kingdom and reached #17 in the United States.

ROGER DALTREY: "The resulting sessions felt too derivative of Lifehouse, and we didn't want to repeat ourselves for the October release, so we put the album on hold whilst Pete came up with new material. Meanwhile, John [Entwistle] and I did solo albums and Keith starred in That'll Be the Day which came out next year." (1995)

The Who performing live, 1972.

PETE TOWNSHEND: "We were soon back at the studio following our European tour and rethought our strategy for Rock is Dead; the first side would consist entirely of self-contained songs such as 'Relay' and 'Join Together', whilst the second side would consist of a mini-rock opera known as 'Cut My Hair'. This would be about teenage adolescence reminiscent to our early singles such as 'My Generation'. But we still didn't have the time to get the album out by the end of '72." (1982)

The Who's next single, "Relay" backed with Keith Moon's "Waspman", was released November 20, but it did not reach the Top 10 in either the United States (#39) or the United Kingdom (#21). Townshend considered the single to be a "white flag" response to the Rolling Stones following the release of Ziggy Stardust, finally realizing that the Who could never attempt to beat them, no matter how hard they tried. The battle of the bands, having begun in 1968, was finally over.

JOHN ENTWISTLE: "It was nice while it lasted, but it was for the best that the Who moved on to do what they did best and threw in the towel; well, what little was left of it, anyway. I can't really imagine what might've happened if we kept having this dick war with the Stones." (2005)

June 9, 1972

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Southbound Train

Released: June 9, 1972

Recorded: February 1971 - May 1972

Producer: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

Track listing[2]

Side A

Southbound Train

War Song

Change Partners

Stranger's Room

Where Will I Be?

Sugar Babe

Side B

Are You Ready for the Country?

Page 43

Ecology Song

Alabama

The Wall Song

Immigration Man

GRAHAM NASH: "We had just finished up Southbound Train when Neil and I called David and Stephen into the studio that May. He'd written up a song in support of George McGovern's presidential campaign and I'd helped with the lyrics; ironic as he's Canadian and I'm British, but that's beside the point." (1992)

"Words (Between the Lines of Age)" was dropped from Southbound Train at the eleventh hour in favor of Neil Young and Graham Nash's "War Song"; instead, it would be released as part of a single with Nash's "Immigration Man" for August. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young had always included politically-oriented music on their albums - "Wooden Ships" on the eponymous debut album (without Young), for example, was about the horrors of coming across survivors from both sides following a nuclear holocaust - but Southbound Train was a bit more blatant with its political undertones.

American President Richard Nixon shaking hands with Chinese Chairman Mao Zedong, February 21, 1972.

The album's timing was very fitting for American listeners; the next United States presidential election was between incumbent Republican President Richard Nixon of New York and Democratic Senator George McGovern of South Dakota. Four years previous, Nixon had defeated Democratic nominees Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota (former vice-president to Nixon's predecessor, Lyndon Johnson) and George Wallace of Alabama (Wallace had been nominee for the American Independent Party in the 1968 election).

Since Nixon's inauguration into office, protests against America's involvement in the Vietnam War had gotten more aggressive following the exposure of the My Lai Massacre of 1968 in a Vietnamese village in November of 1969. At Kent State University in Ohio on May 4, 1970, four college students were killed by the Ohio National Guard for protesting the bombing of Cambodia, a neutral country in the war. This massacre had prompted Neil Young to write up "Ohio" in response to the shootings.

Young was heavily opposed to Nixon's presidency and instead supported George McGovern to become the 38th President of the United States through "War Song". It was the first single out of Southbound Train backed with Stephen Stills' "Singin' Call", released June 19 and reached #1 in the United States. It did not, however, do as highly in the United Kingdom, where it reached #23. The following singles - "Immigration Man"/"Words" (#14 US, #47 UK) and "Change Partners"/"Frozen Smiles" (#8 US, #40 UK) - would be released on August 4 and November 17, respectively, whilst "Page 43"/"Games" (#35 US) would come out the following year on January 19.

Stephen Stills performing live with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, 1972.

Southbound Train reached #1 in the United States, and also topped the charts for a week in the United Kingdom, with critics praising the sound for having more of a band feeling as opposed to four solo careers going on at the same time. Apart from the four singles, other noteworthy tracks included Young's "Alabama", a sequel to "Southern Man" from his solo album Oh, Lonesome Me the year before, discussing the changing landscape of America up to the early 1970s; both would inspire Lynyrd Skynyrd's most famous song, "Sweet Home Alabama", two years later.

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young went on tour across the United States following the release of Southbound Train in the months leading up to Election Day on November 7. For an opening act before each show, Stephen Stills' side band, Manassas, would perform their own set before he would be joined by Crosby, Nash and Young. They were also joined by John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band (including bassist Klaus Voormann) for their own set, focusing heavily on Lennon's politically themed numbers such as "Power to the People" and "Gimme Some Truth", as well as his own Beatles material such as "Come Together" and "Yer Blues".

This series of concerts headlined by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young would also inspire artists to perform live in support of George McGovern for president; Simon & Garfunkel had reunited for a live performance at Madison Square Garden alongside the likes of Peter, Paul and Mary and Dionne Warwick. If 1966 had been The Year Rock Fought Religion, then 1972 would go down in fame as The Year Music Fought Politics.

June 17 - November 7, 1972

The Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., 1972.

At 2:30 in the morning of June 17, a burglary had taken place at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex. Five men were arrested for breaking in, all were members of Nixon's White House Plumbers. Three days after the burglary, following the word of Deep Throat (associate director of the FBI, Mark Felt), one of the Plumbers had connections to CIA officer E. Howard Hunt, who was also connected to Special Counsel Charles Colson, who would later become a member of the infamous Watergate Seven.

Following this break in, Nixon had attempted to shut down the investigation, under the advice of Chief of Staff H. R. Haldeman, by having CIA Director Richard Helms and Deputy Director Vernon A. Walters tell acting FBI Director L. Patrick Gray to "Stay the hell out of this." The entire conversation had been recorded, thanks to a sound-activated taping system being installed in the Oval Office in February 1971.

To this day, it remains a mystery as to how and why it happened, and who committed the theft, but between June 23 (the day the conversation between Nixon, Helms and Walters was recorded in secret) and September 15 (the day that Hunt, ex-talk show host G. Gordon Liddy, and the Watergate burglars were indicted by a federal grand jury), the recording had been leaked to the public, sending the United States of America into a constitutional crisis. Now that one of Nixon's secrets had been exposed to the public, along with the popularity of anti-war music in the country, it looked as though the days of Nixon's presidency were numbered. Whoever stole the tapes has since gone down as an American legend, with people debating as to whether or not they were a hero or a villain.

"Come Home, America" was George McGovern's campaign slogan, in hopes of ending America's involvement with the Vietnam War.

President Nixon was furious about the leaks, and he ordered for the tape recorder and the tapes to be destroyed; fortunately, most were salvaged by the janitorial staff at the White House, and ended up at the National Archives and Records Administration. Knowing that it would be impossible to put this genie back in the bottle, Nixon was advised to not run for a second term following the scandal. In his place, House Minority Leader and Leader of the House Republican Conference Gerald Ford would take the Republican Party Ticket for the 1972 election with Bob Dole for Vice-President.[3] This choice was considered questionable by many, wondering why Republican liberal Nelson Rockefeller was not chosen for Ford's running mate instead of Dole.

For the Democratic Party Ticket, George McGovern's running mate for Vice-President would be former Governor of North Carolina and current president of Duke University, Terry Sanford, a close political ally of John F. Kennedy.[4] McGovern was not very popular in the American political world, but he was the Democrats' only choice following Ed Muskie's breakdown and the assassination attempt on George Wallace by Arthur Bremer, paralyzing him from the waist down. Perhaps, to McGovern's mind, choosing a Vice-President with good relations to a previous president would give him the best possible chance of success.

The 1972 presidential election would be the first following the ratification of the Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution on July 1, 1971, which would lower the voting age from twenty-one to eighteen. Many college students ranging from eighteen to twenty-one were listening to the likes of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Bob Dylan and the Ladders on their personal record players, and after hearing of the leaks of the Nixon White House Tapes exposing the president's attempt to conceal the burglary at Watergate, most of them agreed that there was an underdog they could root for, and a villain to jeer. This would all soon come to a head as to who would end up winning the election on November 7...

Republican Party nominee Gerald Ford giving a concession following his defeat to Democratic nominee George McGovern, November 8, 1972.

GERALD FORD: "We are here among friends in Nebraska, where this campaign began just a few months ago. And we now bring it to an end tonight and have just sent this telegram to Senator McGovern: 'Congratulations on your victory. I hope that in the next four years, you shall lead us to a time of peace abroad and justice in America. You have my full support and perhaps, one day, you'll come over to watch football with us. With best wishes to you and your gracious wife, Eleanor. Sincerely, Gerald Ford.'" (following the election in which George McGovern became the next President of the United States of America, November 8, 1972)[5]

Footnotes

1. Tracks are sourced from The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars and Exile on Main St..
2. Tracks are sourced from Graham Nash David Crosby, Stephen Stills 2 and Harvest. "War Song" is sourced from disc eight on The Archives Vol. 1 1963-1972. Ironically, there is less CSNY collaboration than there was on Remember Our Names; Crosby appears on every song except "War Song", Stills appears on four songs, Nash appears on eight songs, and Young only appears on his own songs, averaging about six or seven songs per member.
3. In OTL, Gerald Ford ran for President with Bob Dole as Vice-President in 1976, but they lost against Democrats Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale. Ford ran as President with Nelson Rockefeller as his Vice-President, but not choosing Rockefeller as his running mate was Ford's downfall.
4. In OTL, George McGovern chose Thomas Eagleton to be his Vice-President before replacing him with Sargent Shriver.
5. In OTL, George McGovern sent a similar telegram to Richard Nixon's re-election. Ford's invitation to watch football is a reference to Two Bad Neighbors from The Simpsons.

Author's Comments

Someone ought to wake up Green Day since September's just ending! But with all seriousness, I've posted the thirtieth chapter of the series, fittingly, on September 30. It's also the first chapter to delve deeper into American politics, as well as the first big major POD concerning them in the story. What goes on with American politics in Strawberry Peppers won't be hugely focused upon in future chapters (the same thing will apply to movies and television with some exceptions down the road), but I will write information posts as to what went on during the respective presidencies of George McGovern onwards (in case you ask about Richard Nixon, his presidency is the same as it was up to 1972; the tapes were leaked earlier, leading to his downfall, so there won't be one about Tricky Dicky), and how it affected not only America, but politics from around the world as well. I'll admit I know jack shit about foreign politics, but I'll do the best I can. These are what some side-posts will be about:

• Culture: Movies and television.
• Discographies: A summary of a specific band or artist's releases; some discographies stretch back to before the 1966 point of divergence.
• Events: Moments of a conflict, the impact of a war, a political election, changes in laws to America or England, etc.
• Extra Scenes: You already know this one.
• Information: Highlighting events that have occurred since the 1966 point of divergence.
• Profiles: Highlighting a specific character in Strawberry Peppers and summarizing their story thus far, or providing exposition on that character.

Those are likely to be a bit more frequent as the series progresses as I'm putting Phase Two on a bit of a hiatus until October 21; I've got an outline for chapter 31 planned, but getting the albums for that chapter together isn't going to be an easy task. But in the meantime, I'll be working on chapters 32 and 33, which will come out the 23rd and 25th, respectively (hopefully!), and normal weekly service will resume the 28th with chapter 34. That's the plan, at least!

EDIT: (11/3/19) The album cover to Ziggy Stardust has been updated, courtesy of Auran.

Chapter 29: Gimme Shelter (January - July 1972)

30 January 1972

A photograph taken from the Bloody Sunday massacre in Ireland, 30 January 1972. A British solider chases after an Irish civilian whilst another soldier looks on.

Needless to say, 1972 kicked off with a literal bang. In Derry, Northern Ireland, following the events of Operation Demetrius in August 1971, in which 342 Irish republican militants were arrested and 7,000 civilians displaced, British soldiers shot at twenty-eight unarmed civilians during a protest march. Thirteen were killed outright in the massacre whilst a fourteenth (John Johnston, aged 59) died of his injuries four months later. Twelve other people were also shot at whilst two more were run down by army vehicles. An unknown number of civilians were also injured by rubber bullets and flying debris. The events later became known as "Bloody Sunday".

PAUL McCARTNEY: "What the soldiers did in Ireland was simply atrocious, y'know. Despite the bad blood between me and John at the time, that was one time where we had the same feelings. We never knew about it at the time, but both us agreed that we had to make a statement." (1997)

JOHN LENNON: "George, Ringo and I were fresh from the success of the Concert for Bangladesh, and with what we'd recorded at the time, we were pretty heavy into the political scene. Well, I was with Yoko, at least. George kept busy with his religious preachings and Ringo was... ya know, Ringo." (1981)

1 - 25 February 1972

Paul McCartney and his backing band, plus Linda McCartney, outside of Rude Studio, Scotland, 1971. Hugh McCracken is not pictured.

The Beatles' hometown of Liverpool had a heavy population of Irish immigrants, and both the Lennon and McCartney families had Irish ancestry. Paul McCartney was the first to get his statement down on tape with his new song, "Give Ireland Back to the Irish". Using the same backing band that he used for his solo debut Cherry Wine - Denny Laine and Hugh McCracken on guitar and Denny Seiwell on drums, plus Linda on backing vocals - "Give Ireland..." was rush recorded and planned for a release later in the month. "Mama's Little Girl" was also recorded during the sessions as the B-side.

PAUL McCARTNEY: "When Brian [Epstein] first heard the single, he was dismayed, saying that it was nothing like anything the Beatles would've put out. EMI's chairman at the time, Joseph Lockwood, also refused to have it released because there was the potential that 'Ireland' would be banned by the BBC. In retrospect, they both had a point. Still, I insisted that it come out because I wanted to get a message out there." (2001)

"Give Ireland Back to the Irish"/"Mama's Little Girl" was released under Apple Records on 25 February and the A-side was immediately banned by the BBC. Despite this, it managed to reach #16 in the United Kingdom, but missed out on the Top 20 in the United States, topping out at #21. However, the single managed to reach #1 in Ireland. The single was criticized at being out of character for Paul McCartney, especially when some believed he was pro-IRA (Irish Republican Army) for Northern Ireland.

17 March 1972

John Lennon performing at the Free John Sinclair Concert at Crisler Arena (now Crisler Center) in Ann Arbor, Michigan, December 10, 1971.

If Paul McCartney's "Ireland" single fared poorly among critics and fans, then the Ladders' "The Luck of the Irish" (written by John Lennon) fared even worse, managing to top out at #18 in the United Kingdom and not charting in the Top 40 in the United States. The B-side "Coochy Coochy", however, penned by Ringo Starr and recorded during the Shine On sessions, managed to reach #26 in America. The A-side managed to reach #8 in Ireland.

JOHN LENNON: "Eppy seemed to be on edge when the Ladders and Paul both released singles regarding the Irish conflict within a month of each other. I told him that it wasn't about the bloody record sales; it was about making a statement and putting it out to the world, saying we're not okay with what was going on in Ireland." (1988)

GEORGE HARRISON: "Brian was furious with us. He thought we were outright destroying the Beatles' good name by making controversial statements. We put out 'Taxman' on Abracadabra about the high levels of progressive taxes in England and 'Revolution' on Beatles '68 talking about Vietnam and he didn't bat an eyelid. Same thing when we put out 'Bangla Desh' as the Ladders on Imagine. Yet the Ladders and Paul each put out a single about the Irish conflict and he freaks out." (1985)

12 May - 30 June 1972

The cover for Paul McCartney's non-album single, "Mary Had a Little Lamb".

Frustrated with Apple CEO Brian Epstein for telling them how to make music, Paul McCartney and the Ladders both rebelled in different ways.

In the same month that the Ladders put out "The Luck of the Irish", Paul McCartney recorded a version of the traditional nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb". His intention for the single was to be a response to the banning of "Give Ireland..." from radio stations, as if it was a "sod off, let's see you try to ban this" message to both the BBC and EMI. Despite being seen as a joke, "Mary Had a Little Lamb" managed to reach #10 in the United Kingdom, but it didn't do any better than McCartney's previous single in the United States, hitting #24 there. Its B-side, "Little Woman Love", managed to get more airplay in America.

Epstein was beside himself with fury when "Mary Had a Little Lamb" came out. That marked three singles in a row that the the Beatles - whether it be the Ladders or Paul McCartney - hadn't lived up to their usual standards. The straw that broke the camel's back was when John Lennon presented to him the next Ladders single, "Woman is the Nigger of the World"/"Sue Me, Sue You Blues". The former was Lennon's song concerning feminism, and the latter was Harrison's response to Epstein attempting to censor their music ("Surprisingly, he didn't get the message of my tune," Harrison remembered years later).

John Lennon and Yoko Ono, 1972.

BRIAN EPSTEIN: "You listen to me, John Winston Lennon! You've gotten us in trouble with American religious folk when you said the Beatles were bigger than Jesus Christ, you've sparked some more controversy when talking about Vietnam, and you nearly ruined the Beatles' good name by putting out that avant-garde bullshit in Back in Your Safely Beds. Then you and Paul have gone out releasing singles relating to the Ireland conflict, and now you present to me quite possibly the worst song I've ever heard! And with an extremely offensive word to boot! This is commercial suicide right there, Lennon, and if you even dare to put out that single as long as I'm CEO, there will be consequences!" (1972, to John Lennon)

Disgruntled, Lennon pulled the "Woman..." single from its planned June release and both songs were left in the Apple vaults until 1990. In its place was "Back Off Boogaloo", written and sung by Starr, backed with Lennon's "How?", an outtake from Imagine. It had a far more commercial sound compared to "The Luck of the Irish" and "Woman..." and managed to hit #2 in the United States and #8 in the United Kingdom.

RINGO STARR: "People thought it was about Brian Epstein after his reaction to the Ladders' recent material, but we'd actually done 'Boogaloo' back in September 1971 around the time of Imagine's release. It was actually my nickname for Paul during that time when he made snide remarks against John and George and was inspired by Marc Bolan of T. Rex." (2012)

5 June 1972

Yoko Ono - Sisters, O Sisters

Released: 5 June 1972

Recorded: 1971-72

Producer: John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Phil Spector

Track listing[1]

Side A

Hirake (Open Your Box)

Sisters, O Sisters

O'Wind (Body is the Scar of Your Mind)

Born in a Prison

You

Side B

Toilet Piece/Unknown

Airmale

Don't Count the Waves

We're All Water

Telephone Piece

"Sisters, O Sisters" was released as a single on 24 April as a feminist anthem, much like Lennon's unreleased "Woman is the Nigger of the World". The B-side, "Open Your Box", however, had risque lyrics - "box" being a slang for the vagina - and was banned as a result. For the album, it was released as "Hirake", the Japanese word for "opening". Neither album nor single managed to reach the Top 40, and it marked Yoko Ono's last ever contribution with Phil Spector.

14 July 1972

The Ladders - Bloody Sunday

Released: 14 July 1972

Recorded: May 1970 - March 1972

Producer: Phil Spector and The Ladders

Track listing [2]

Side A

Run of the Mill

Sunday Bloody Sunday

Who Can See It

It's So Hard

The Day the World Gets 'Round

I Don't Want to Be a Soldier

Side B

Back Off Boogaloo

John Sinclair

Hear Me Lord

How Do You Sleep?

That Is All

Brian Epstein may have prevented the Ladders from putting out "Woman is the Nigger of the World", but he couldn't stop the release of their third album, Bloody Sunday. Whilst Imagine had political undertones and was critically acclaimed, the political undertones of Bloody Sunday were more blatant, but critics were harsh toward the album. Despite the success of "Back Off Boogaloo" as the lead single, the album only managed to reach #11 and #8 in the United States and the United Kingdom respectively.

The material was a mixture of old and new; Harrison's "Run of the Mill" and "Hear Me Lord" were originally recorded for Shine On, but did not make the cut for that album or Imagine. Similarly, Lennon's "It's So Hard", "I Don't Want to Be a Soldier" and "How Do You Sleep?" also had origins from the Imagine sessions. The five new songs for Bloody Sunday included the title track and "John Sinclair" (written as a response to poet John Sinclair being sentenced to ten years in prison for offering a pair of marijuana cigarettes to an undercover police officer) both penned by Lennon. Harrison, meanwhile, penned "Who Can See It" (reflecting his feelings toward the Beatles' legacy), "That Is All", and "The Day the World Gets 'Round" (written in a similar vein to "Imagine").

Outside of "Back Off Boogaloo", the only other noteworthy song was the Lennon/Harrison collaboration "How Do You Sleep?", penned as a response to Paul McCartney's "Too Many People" from Cherry Wine, but also left off of Imagine. "Yeah, 'How Do You Sleep' was about Paul," John said when questioned about it, but it is often also considered to be an attack against Brain Epstein, per Harrison's suggestion, albeit it was indirect. When asked about his thoughts on the song, Paul replied, "Well... it's a drag, innit?" Most of the material was considered to be forgettable at best.

Six of the Chicago Seven during their conspiracy trial, February 11, 1970. Abbie Hoffman is on the far left and Jerry Rubin is third from right.

By now, the Ladders were heavily involved in the political underground scene with activists such as the Chicago Seven (with the likes of Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin) and the Black Panther Party led by Huey Newton and founded with Bobby Seale, with whom keyboardist Billy Preston got on well with. Lennon and company were now considered a threat to the Nixon administration by the FBI, who began to investigate the members in an attempt to deport them back to England, with their visas as temporary visitors set to expire that February. Fortunately, the investigation didn't last very long, with the FBI concluding that the Ladders were so deeply under the influence of drugs that they were hardly considered to be a threat instead of revolutionaries.

GEORGE HARRISON: "We were feeling sort of burnt out by the time we put out Bloody Sunday. John, Ringo and I had practically been together for about a decade, eight of those years with Paul, and the beginning of the 70s had taken a toll on us. Filming for Willy Wonka, the first three Ladders albums, the Concert for Bangladesh, Phil Spector losing his mind altogether, being involved in the political underground scene... I suggested to John and the others that we take a break for the rest of the year to refresh our minds." (1999)

In hindsight, this was the right move. Billy Preston could put more focus on his solo career, starting with finishing up his next album Music is My Life with Harrison co-producing. At the same time, Harrison was composing new material for the Ladders' next album. Ringo Starr went on to direct and produce Born to Boogie starring rock group T. Rex and their frontman, Marc Bolan; Elton John also appeared in the movie. John and Yoko would carry on with their political activities and performed a series of concerts across America with Klaus Voormann on bass.

Brian Epstein was greatly distressed by what had happened to his friends and clients; by that point, his hairline was receding and his eyesight was going bad. With the Ladders being heavily involved with politics and Paul McCartney's second album Tomorrow being a critical and commercial flop (by Beatle standards, anyway), Epstein wondered if there was a way to salvage the Beatles' good name, so he went and called up George Martin to find a solution...

Footnotes

1. Tracks are sourced from Fly and Some Time in New York City.
2. Tracks are sourced from All Things Must Pass, Some Time in New York City, Living in the Material World, Imagine, and Photograph: The Very Best of Ringo Starr.

Author's Comments

So now we're finally deep into 1972. Up until that point, the butterflies haven't had a major effect on politics, but soon they'll be in full force. How they'll affect the political landscape as a whole in the likes of England, China, the Soviet Union, etc., I don't know at this stage. For the thirtieth chapter overall, we're gonna see a big change come to the United States of America.

Oh, and don't worry; I didn't forget about Paul McCartney's Tomorrow. I'll reveal the tracklisting soon enough, just not here.