Revisiting "Hot as Sun" - The Fourteenth Beatles Album

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

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

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

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

The Beatles - Hot as Sun

Released: 8 May 1970

Recorded: 10 November 1969 - 25 February 1970

Producer: The Beatles and Phil Spector

Side A

It Don't Come Easy

Every Night

Gimme Some Truth

I Me Mine

That Would Be Something

Jealous Guy

Isn't It a Pity

Side B

Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)

Teddy Boy

All Things Must Pass

Junk

Oh My Love

Let It Down

Maybe I'm Amazed

Track listing details

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Second Coming - Genesis Discography + Peter and Phil Solo (1976-1992)

It's been a while since I last posted here, hasn't it? As I'm sure most of you are aware, I had decided to give Strawberry Peppers a reboot which I've subtitled The Second Coming, and I even outlined what I had in mind for a number of artists I listed. Among them was Genesis, a group in which I never really intended to write about at first. The idea of Kim Beacon joining them seemed like a nice idea, but in hindsight, it was pretty much plagued with issues which I've already covered. Instead, for The Second Coming, I decided to go with the question of, "What if Peter Gabriel had stayed on?" I think it's a far more realistic, plausible scenario.

In addition, I'll also be listing Peter's solo albums alongside those he worked on with Genesis for TTL, as well as a few albums by Phil Collins following his departure following A Trick of the Tail. For the most part, Phil's solo career from the 1980s and 1990s (Hello, I Must Be Going!, No Jacket Required, ...But Seriously, Both Sides and Dance into the Light) has been left more or less intact, with some changes to Face Value which I'll explain later on. I've also left the solo careers of Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford alone as I figure that they would still want to pursue side projects outside of Genesis. Steve Hackett's solo discography is left completely alone altogether for he still leaves Genesis in 1977.

So, I know what you'll like to hear (but probably not in your wardrobe), so let's get right on it!

A Trick of the Tail (February 2, 1976)

Side A (26:27)

1. Dance on a Volcano - 5:55

2. Entangled - 6:27

3. Squonk - 6:29

4. Mad Man Moon - 7:36

Side B (24:35)

5. Robbery, Assault and Battery - 6:16

6. Ripples… - 8:06

7. A Trick of the Tail - 4:35

8. Here Comes the Flood - 5:38 (Car)

The track listing up until the final track remains unchanged from OTL. "Here Comes the Flood" was originally demoed by Peter Gabriel in 1975. The latter half of the decade is generally considered the transitional period for Genesis, going from a quintet (The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway) to a trio (And Then There Were Three) within a few short years. This will also apply to this scenario, albeit a bit more quickly with Phil Collins' departure as drummer. Bill Bruford takes over on drums whenever Genesis plays live, like he did in OTL. Chester Thompson becomes drummer for the Phil Collins band.

Wind & Wuthering (December 17, 1976)

Side A (26:21)

1. Eleventh Earl of Mar -  7:45

2. One for the Vine - 10:00

3. Your Own Special Way - 6:19

4. Flotsam and Jetsam - 2:17 (Scratch)

Side B (27:06)

5. Moribund the Burgermeister - 4:20 (Car)

6. Inside and Out - 6:45 (Spot the Pigeon)

7. Slowburn - 4:36 (Car)

8. Unquiet Slumbers for the Sleepers in That Quiet Earth - 11:25

"Flotsam and Jetsam" was originally demoed in the spring of 1976, prior to the recording sessions for Peter Gabriel's first eponymous album. "Unquiet Slumbers..." also includes "Afterglow" at the end. This is Genesis' only full length album as a quartet.

Spot the Pigeon (May 20, 1977)

Side A (6:37)

1. Humdrum - 3:25 (Car)

2. Pigeons - 3:12 (Spot the Pigeon)

Side B (6:39)

3. All in a Mouse's Night - 6:39 (Wind & Wuthering)

Genesis' only extended play for this scenario, as well as their final release with Steve Hackett as lead guitarist. He is later replaced by Robert Fripp for live performances (who also played with Peter for his first three solo albums) until 1981.

And Then There Were Three (March 31, 1978)

Side A (27:12)

1. On the Air - 5:30 (Scratch)

2. Undertow - 4:47

3. White Shadow - 5:14 (Scratch)

4. Snowbound - 4:31

5. Burning Rope - 7:10

Side B (26:48)

6. Deep in the Motherlode - 5:16

7. Many Too Many - 3:32

8. Indigo - 3:30 (Scratch)

9. Say It's Alright Joe - 4:21

10. The Lady Lies - 6:08

11. Follow You Follow Me - 4:01

Genesis' first album as a trio; all three official members have been a part of the band since its formation in 1967. There are cases in which Phil Collins contributed to the songwriting, but for some of them like "Follow You Follow Me", I simply pretended that those parts were done by Peter Gabriel instead.

Peter Gabriel 1 (Peter Gabriel; January 19, 1979)

Side Car (23:39)

1. Solsbury Hill - 4:21

2. Modern Love - 3:38

3. Excuse Me - 3:20

4. Waiting for the Big One - 7:15

5. Down the Dolce Vita - 5:05

Side Scratch (24:58)

6. D.I.Y. - 2:37

7. Mother of Violence - 3:10

8. A Wonderful Day in a One-Way World - 3:33

9. Animal Magic - 3:26

10. Exposure - 4:12

11. Perspective - 3:23

12. Home Sweet Home - 4:37

A straightforward compilation of leftover tracks from Peter Gabriel's first two solo albums, with each side labeling which album they came from. I picture Peter putting his solo album out around the same time that Tony Banks (A Curious Feeling) and Mike Rutherford (Smallcreep's Day) each put out solo projects away from Genesis. Hey, Phil Collins had a solo career alongside Genesis; I don't see why Peter couldn't go the same direction.

Phil Collins (Phil Collins; March 16, 1979)

Side A (20:05)

1. Down and Out - 5:28 (And Then There Were Three)

2. Match of the Day - 3:24 (Spot the Pigeon)

3. Ballad of Big - 4:51 (And Then There Were Three)

4. Vancouver - 3:01 (Genesis 1976-1982)

5. Wot Gorilla? - 3:21 (Wind & Wuthering)

Side B (20:59)

6. Blood on the Rooftops - 5:28 (Wind & Wuthering)

7. Scenes from a Night's Dream - 3:30 (And Then There Were Three)

8. It's Yourself - 6:15 (Genesis 1976-1982)

9. Los Endos - 5:46 (A Trick of the Tail)

Phil Collins' first solo album in TTL. This is a compilation of the tracks he wrote for Genesis during the 1975-1978 period. It does feel a bit short compared to his later releases at just 41 minutes, but I think it's a nice little collection of songs there.

Duke (March 28, 1980)

Side A (28:04)

1. The Duke Suite - 28:04

Side B (27:40)

2. Man of Our Times - 5:35

3. No Self Control - 3:55 (Melt)

4. Heathaze - 5:00

5. Alone Tonight - 3:54

6. Cul-de-sac - 5:02

7. Lead a Normal Life - 4:14 (Melt)

Yes, "The Duke Suite" is made one whole track as was the original intention, with the remaining tracks taking up the second side (but of course, "Duchess" and "Turn It On Again" could still be singles). This version of Duke was probably the easiest of the albums to put together alongside A Trick of the Tail.

Face Value (Phil Collins; February 13, 1981)

Side A (24:05)

1. In the Air Tonight - 5:34

2. This Must Be Love - 3:55

3. Misunderstanding - 3:11 (Duke)

4. The Roof is Leaking - 3:16

5. Droned - 2:49

6. Hand in Hand - 5:20

Side B (22:30)

7. I Missed Again - 3:41

8. You Know What I Mean - 2:33

9. Thunder and Lightning - 4:12

10. I'm Not Moving - 2:33

11. If Leaving Me is Easy - 4:54

12. Please Don’t Ask - 4:00 (Duke)

13. Over the Rainbow - 0:37

As Phil didn't contribute to "Behind the Lines" in TTL, nor did John Lennon die in 1980, "Misunderstanding" and "Please Don't Ask" are brought in to fill the gaps. I think they blend in quite well with the rest of the Face Value tracks. Try it out!

Abacab (September 18, 1981)

Side A (17:06)

1. Abacab - 6:58

2. Games Without Frontiers - 4:06 (Melt)

3. Me and Sarah Jane - 6:02

Side B (16:01)

4. Naminanu/Dodo/Lurker/Submarine - 16:01 (Genesis 1976-1982/Abacab)

Side C (19:53)

5. Paperlate - 3:20 (3x3)

6. You Might Recall - 5:30 (3x3)

7. Wallflower - 6:30 (Security)

8. Keep It Dark - 4:33

Side D (17:08)

9. Like It or Not - 4:58

10. Another Record - 4:38

11. Biko - 7:32 (Melt)

Genesis' second double album, as was the original plan given the quantity of material recorded during that period. This was probably the most difficult album to put together, but for now, I'm happy with the album as is. "Wallflower" started off as an instrumental demo in 1979 before official recording began in the spring of 1981, which is contemporary with the Abacab sessions. David Rhodes takes over on guitar for live performances. He's another Peter Gabriel collaborator, having been a part of his studio and live performances since 1980.

Peter Gabriel 2 (Peter Gabriel; September 6, 1982)

Side Melt (25:47)

1. Intruder - 4:54

2. Start - 1:21

3. I Don't Remember - 4:42

4. Family Snapshot - 4:28

5. And Through the Wire - 5:00

6. Not One of Us - 5:22

Side Security (26:39)

7. San Jacinto - 6:21

8. I Have the Touch - 4:30

9. Shock the Monkey - 5:28

10. Lay Your Hands on Me - 6:03

11. Kiss of Life - 4:17

Again, I take the leftover tracks from the third and fourth eponymous solo albums of Peter Gabriel and make a single album out of them. This comes out around the time of The Fugitive (Tony Banks) and Acting Very Strange (Mike Rutherford), during a brief hiatus for Genesis.

Shapes (October 3, 1983)

Side A (23:37)

1. The Rhythm of the Heat - 5:15 (Security)

2. Home by the Sea - 11:14

3. The Family and the Fishing Net - 7:08 (Security)

Side B (22:33)

4. Walk Through the Fire - 4:03 (Flotsam and Jetsam)

5. Taking It All Too Hard - 3:58

6. Just a Job to Do - 4:47

7. Silver Rainbow - 4:31

8. It’s Gonna Get Better - 5:14

"Walk Through the Fire" was included on the soundtrack for Against All Odds, which also featured "Making a Big Mistake" by Mike Rutherford" and the title track by Phil Collins. I've done away with "Illegal Alien" altogether as I just can't see Peter Gabriel agreeing to it. Plus, we already had enough Mike-penned tracks on the second side as it is. I considered swapping "The Family and the Fishing Net" and "It's Gonna Get Better" around so that each songwriter has at least one spot per side, but that put both sides out of balance in terms of length, so I'll leave it as is for now.

Peter Gabriel 3 (Peter Gabriel; May 19, 1986)

Side A (22:47)

1. Don’t Break This Rhythm - 6:09 (Flotsam and Jetsam)

2. Sledgehammer - 5:12 (So)

3. Don't Give Up (feat. Kate Bush) - 6:33 (So)

4. That Voice Again - 4:53 (So)

Side B (22:25)

5. Mercy Street - 6:22 (So)

6. Big Time - 4:28 (So)

7. This is the Picture (Excellent Birds) (feat. Laurie Anderson) - 4:25 (So)

8. No More Apartheid (w/ L. Shankar) - 7:10 (Sun City)

Bonus track for CD and cassette releases

9. Curtains - 3:29 (Flotsam and Jetsam)

I took out three tracks from So for the next Genesis album (more on that in a bit) and I replaced them with other songs from the same time period. "Don't Break This Rhythm" was originally released as a B-side to "Sledgehammer", "Curtains" was the B-side to "Big Time", and "No More Apartheid" was originally included as a part of Sun City by Artists United Against Apartheid. I originally had "Curtains" in between "Big Time" and "This is the Picture", but I moved it to a bonus track due to time constraints. However, it does maintain that original spot for remastered releases.

Red Rain (June 6, 1986)

Side A (21:08)

1. Red Rain - 5:39 (So)

2. Domino - 10:44 (Invisible Touch)

3. Land of Confusion - 4:45 (Invisible Touch)

Side B (21:41)

4. Anything She Does - 4:09 (Invisible Touch)

5. We Do What We're Told (Milgram's 37) - 3:22 (So)

6. Throwing It All Away - 3:53 (Invisible Touch)

7. In Your Eyes - 5:27 (So)

8. The Brazilian - 4:50 (Invisible Touch)

Now here's an interesting story: Red Rain started off as part of the question, "what if Peter Gabriel returned to Genesis in the mid-1980s?" Admittedly, that idea was pretty silly, and the album would've been about 57 minutes long including Phil Collins' contributions, but it was partially what sparked this whole subplot to begin with. I wanted to include "Sledgehammer" as it was a pretty big hit at the time, but at the same time, I wanted to give Peter a big solo hit, and so I ended up including "We Do What We're Told" instead. Red Rain might end up losing a big hit, but it still has "Throwing It All Away" and "Land of Confusion" to make up for that. And who can forget the ten-minute epic "Domino"?

Invisible Touch (Phil Collins; December 5, 1986)

Side A (23:38)

1. Invisible Touch - 3:29 (Invisible Touch)

2. Tonight, Tonight, Tonight - 8:53 (Invisible Touch)

3. Me and Virgil - 6:18 (3x3)

4. In Too Deep - 4:58 (Invisible Touch)

Side B (23:40)

5. Mama - 6:52 (Genesis)

6. No Reply at All - 4:33 (Abacab)

7. Who Dunnit? - 3:22 (Abacab)

8. Man on the Corner - 4:28 (Abacab)

9. That's All - 4:25 (Genesis)

The second "new" Phil Collins solo album, this compiles all of the Genesis songs that he wrote the lyrics to from 1981 to 1986. Given that well over half of the album features tracks that were released as singles in the 1980s, I could see this being Phil's biggest album of the 1980s, possibly even bigger than Face Value! Given that he didn't release an album in between 1985 with No Jacket Required and 1989 with ...But Seriously, I think it's only right to fill in that gap so that it looks as though he's usually releasing an album every one to three years until 1996.

Secret World (October 28, 1991)

Side A (15:13)

1. Love to Be Loved - 5:18 (Us)

2. Never a Time - 3:52 (We Can’t Dance)

3. Steam - 6:03 (Us)

Side B (16:31)

4. Dreaming While You Sleep - 7:21 (We Can’t Dance)

5. Washing of the Water - 3:52 (Us)

6. Digging in the Dirt - 5:18 (Us)

Side C (16:42)

7. Living Forever - 5:42 (We Can’t Dance)

8. Kiss That Frog - 5:20 (Us)

9. Way of the World - 5:40 (We Can’t Dance)

Side D (17:19)

10. Secret World - 7:03 (Us)

11. Fading Lights - 10:16 (We Can’t Dance)

Genesis' third double album for the vinyl format; on CD releases, it's a single disc running at almost 66 minutes. Phil Collins took up a whopping seven songwriting slots on We Can't Dance, and so it took some thinking to see where Peter Gabriel's tracks from Us would fit. I knew I had to cut out "Blood of Eden" and "Come Talk to Me", both tracks sung with Sinéad O'Connor as I doubt that Genesis would allow guest vocalists to take up half the song, although I could see them being released as a non-album single in September 1992. I also ended up losing "Only Us" and "Fourteen Black Paintings", but they will not go unused; I see them showing up on a future Genesis album. Again, the result is surprisingly better than the sum of its parts.

I Can't Dance (Phil Collins; March 27, 1992)

Side A (25:18)

1. No Son of Mine - 6:41

2. Jesus He Knows Me - 4:23

3. Driving the Last Spike - 10:10

4. I Can't Dance - 4:04

Side B (23:44)

5. You’ve Been in Love (That Little Bit Too Long) - 4:49 (But Seriously)

6. Tell Me Why - 5:00

7. That’s How I Feel - 5:05 (But Seriously)

8. Hold on My Heart - 4:40

9. Since I Lost You - 4:10

The last of the "new" Phil Collins solo albums. All seven of his songwriting contributions to We Can't Dance could be an entire album on their own, but I thought it came up a bit short. That was why I pulled two ...But Seriously-era B-sides onto the album - "You've Been in Love" and "That's How I Feel" - to fill that void, pushing the album to a respectable 49 minutes.

What happens next?

This is a pressing question that I'm sure a lot of you may be wondering. What will become of Genesis after 1992? Obviously, Tony and Mike continue with their solo endeavors, and Peter continues to tease a follow up to his third eponymous album that will likely never come out until he's long dead, and Phil's and Steve's trajectories won't change at all.

Well, I do see Genesis putting out two more albums, both comprising of material from Calling All Stations, Peter Gabriel's Up, as well as additional recorded material by both parties from the late-90s/early-00s. The 1997 album, Calling All Stations, is their first with Nir Zidkyahu as their new drummer for both studio and live performances, bringing in some fresh blood for the band, and the tour doesn't get cut short in America like it did in OTL. Their follow up in 2002 is called I/O (short for Input, Output, a working title for Peter Gabriel's planned solo album, whenever it comes out), and as of 2021, it's their last album of original material to date.

In addition to that, they've reunited with Steve Hackett and Phil Collins for their Turn It On Again Tour for 2006 and 2007, and since 2015, there have been rumors of Genesis recording a new album, but things have not been confirmed as of yet. But as Phil says, "Never say never."

Plans for "Strawberry Peppers: The Second Coming"

This is something that I've wanted to do for a long time since I started work on Strawberry Peppers in 2018, long before this blog came to fruition. All eighty chapters covering events from 1966 to 1985, with a bit of 1965 to set the stage (an average of four chapters per year), were intended to serve as a first draft for the story. I chose 1985 as the cut off point because as the story progressed, I knew I was going to have a hard time writing out what would happen next after Live Aid, with the Clash's This is The Clash being the sole exception. It was better for the first draft to burn out than to fade away.

So, with all that being said, had I personally done a good job on the first draft? Well, in some areas, yes, but in others, I feel like I could've done them better justice. Here are five artists, in no particular order, that I feel like are going to need some reworking when I start work on what will become The Second Coming. Alongside that, I'll also be listing bands under a sixth category and determine whether or not they'll play a role in The Second Coming. Each of them will take up about a paragraph, but for now, the big ones.

The Beatles

As evidenced by the title, the Beatles are the main focus of this alternate history. My inspiration behind the idea of John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr forming a new band separate from Paul McCartney came from an October 2013 article by Paste magazine telling a five part story as to what might have happened had the Beatles continued without Paul. An interesting idea in theory, although that article's hypothetical scenario did have some plot holes: For example, did Paul ever record "Give Ireland Back to the Irish" as a response to Bloody Sunday, or what about "Live and Let Die" for the film of the same name? And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

For the early stages of the first draft, I had the Beatles do things that didn't really add much to the overall narrative. Among them being the Alice in Wonderland album and film; that could've easily been cut and the Beatles would've been more likely to record an album that didn't focus on a concept or story. Not to mention that for the Ladders, at least the earlier albums, would John have agreed to including "My Sweet Lord" on their debut album? George agreeing to "God"? And on the same album, no less? In real life, both tired of the band concept in the 1970s while Paul was unable to move on from that, hence he formed Wings (more on that later). On top of that, the Beatles reunited in 1980, which very much rendered the Ladders/Dark Horses/Paul McCartney & Smile storyline somewhat pointless. It would've made better sense if A) the Beatles remained together in the 70s, or B) the Beatles remained broken up for the 80s onward.

The solution? Choice A. But in order to get to that, I'll have to have the Beatles go through some changes before 1970 in order for them to stay together for at least five more years. In retrospect, I feel like my four-part mini series "An Alternative Beatles Discography - No Covers" is a more definitive take on how I would've handled the Beatles' story. Have them include all original material on Please Please Me and give George Harrison is due earlier on. So that will be the basis for the Beatles' story in Strawberry Peppers: The Second Coming. Some ideas from the first draft will be carried over into TSC like John Lennon ending up with Madeline Kahn instead of Yoko Ono, albeit in a different manner.

Queen/Smile

Part of the reason behind the original version of Strawberry Peppers was a question I doubt anyone else has tried to answer - "what if Paul McCartney formed a band with Brian May and Roger Taylor?" That was where I came up with the track listing for A Night at the Rock Show, combining Paul's material from Venus and Mars (plus "Spirits of Ancient Egypt" sung by Denny Laine) with Brian and Roger's vocal spots from A Night at the Opera. I do have a soft spot for that playlist, and I still have it saved on my hard drive.

However, as fun an idea as it was, it didn't really make much sense from a historical standpoint; Tim Staffell quit Smile in 1970 to join Humpy Bong, and then he later became a part of Jonathan Kelly's Outside before moving onto Morgan, led by Morgan Fisher of Love Affair (later Mott the Hoople), neither group of which were mentioned once in the first draft. To be fair, neither band made it very big, and they disbanded just as quickly as they had formed. And of course, Tim would go on to make models for Thomas the Tank Engine. Even in a world where Smile signed onto Apple Records in the late 1960s, I doubt Tim would've stayed on for very long.

So, what I'm thinking of doing instead is making Freddie a part of Smile from the get go per OTL, but with Tim Staffell still as their bassist, perhaps being convinced to stay on for at least the first album, released in 1972 under Apple. After that, John Deacon comes aboard as their bassist and the band is renamed Queen. It's a pretty similar situation to Badfinger starting out as the Iveys when they joined Apple Records.

The Beach Boys

I'm just going to say this outright - killing off Brian Wilson during the production of Smile was the biggest mistake I made for the first draft. It seemed like an interesting idea at the time when planning out the story, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that he contributed more to music than Mike Love ever did, and by killing off Brian, that just leaves major butterflies; too many to list, in fact. That's a whole other can of worms altogether.

So, that's why for The Second Coming, the Beach Boys do end up completing Smile with Brian still living, and the band lasts until 1973 with Holland, the group splitting up due to creative differences, and they end up maintaining a good track record instead of becoming shells of themselves until 2012's That's Why God Made the Radio. As for what I'll do with the post-1973 material, I'm not sure at the moment, but it'll be interesting to have albums by Brian, Dennis and Carl under the Wilson Brothers. I'd also like to keep one other brother alive so that Brian's not the sole survivor.

The Rolling Stones

I don't know why, but I found the idea of David Bowie joining the Rolling Stones instead of Mick Taylor in 1969 to be a fascinating one. The problem? I gave David too many vocal spots on their albums and didn't leave much room for Mick and Keith, both in terms of songwriting and vocal spots. I'll have to revise their 1969-1976 discography so that David has around two or three tracks per album (sometimes four, depending upon what's available), and that he also has the chance to have a concurrent solo career like leaving Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane as solo albums. As for 1976 and beyond... well, spoilers.

It'd also be interesting to tackle their pre-Could You Walk on the Water? material to see how the albums would be different. It all depends on what's available and whether or not I can make alternate albums for 1964 and 1965.

Genesis

Genesis were pretty much a last-minute inclusion for the first draft, as was the idea of Kim Beacon of String Driven Thing taking over on lead vocals for Peter Gabriel. However, as it turned out, while he was a talented musician in OTL, Kim was not the most disciplined, and it was likely because of excess drinking and drugs, pretty much any musician's bane, which could've been what led to his early death in 2001. Another idea was to bring forth John Wetton of King Crimson, which would've butterflied away the band U.K., but that also had problems; Phil Collins received criticism for causing Genesis to go pop, and Wetton would've likely been hit with the same criticism.

Then there was the possibility of having Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett and Mike Rutherford all staying together up to at least the early 2000s, but that too has problems since their respective solo careers in OTL gave them more room to experiment and expand upon their horizons. There's a Reddit post suggesting what their discography may have been like had Peter and Steve (as well as Phil, come 1996) had stayed on. It's a nice idea, but a bit messy for my tastes, not to mention pretty restrictive.

So, what could I do for Genesis in The Second Coming? Something that I'm considering, besides having them signed onto Apple outright, is to have Peter Gabriel stay on and Phil Collins leave after recording A Trick of the Tail (with "Here Comes the Flood", started in 1975, as the closing track instead of "Los Endos"). Steve Hackett still leaves following Wind & Wuthering, leaving Genesis with just three of its core founding members. Genesis and solo Peter Gabriel seem to have parallels between them, although it's probably coincidental, but they could've been more or less alert and aware of each others' activities throughout 1976-1992. It's too good of an idea to resist, but we'll see where it goes.

Other Artists

In general - With some exceptions, I don't see too many of these artists having a huge focus for The Second Coming. At most, they'd probably each have a vignette dedicated to their discography from a certain timeframe or their entire discography, depending on how long they lasted.

Badfinger - The most that I've done with them is fix up Magic Christian Music to avoid double-dipping, improve upon their 1972 album, and have Head First released earlier. I still love the idea of having Pete Ham and Tom Evans survive, though I doubt we'll see a Badfinger reunion album post-1975. This one's a maybe, leaning towards being a keeper. We'll see.

The Bee Gees - I do like the idea of Andy Gibb joining his big brothers in the late 1977s, so perhaps that could stay on. I might do more with the Bee Gees in their pre-disco days, but hopefully not in a way that's directly copying Mass' A Crazy Gift of a Time. Oh yes, and their Odessa film for 1978? That'll be a keeper too.

Bob Dylan - Not too sure about Bob here; there's a lot - and I do mean a lot - written about paths he might have taken in the 1960s, I don't even know where to begin. Either I do something with him or I leave his path mostly unchanged, except maybe by releasing The Basement Tapes in 1967.

The Clash - The Reconstructor recently posted about condensing Sandinista! into a double album instead of a triple album, and I do like the idea there, although having three double albums back to back within a three year period is a bit overkill. I could change up the track listings for Something About England and my own take on Sandinista!, but other than that, I don't see the Clash's story changing up that much.

Cream/Eric Clapton - I might polish up the 1969-1971 Cream albums a bit, but otherwise, not much would change. Eric Clapton would maintain a solo career from 1974 onward, and he doesn't become part of a second supergroup in the 1970s. I've considered having him killed off in the early 1990s as I don't feel like he contributed much to music after 1992's "Tears in Heaven".

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - The Reconstructor is currently undergoing a project where Neil Young's albums from the 1970s make actual chronological sense and he doesn't shelve projects like a madman. I've even done a chart in Excel to keep track of what was recorded back then and when they were initially released. I'm hoping Archives Vol. 3 comes out in 2022 like Neil says, so we can have a more complete picture of him in the 70s. But where does that leave, Crosby, Stills & Nash? The idea of Neil never joining the trio is an interesting prospect, so I've decided to see if I could expand upon the other side of the coin, showing how the trio thrives without Neil.

The Electric Light Orchestra - Looking back at the Move's Looking On and Message from the Country, they feel more like ELO albums pre-No Answer (a.k.a. ELO's eponymous debut), so I feel like making them part of the ELO canon. Aside from that, not much would change for them in The Second Coming. Still unsure about 1986 onward though...

Fleetwood Mac - I like the idea of Fleetwood Mac doing solo projects in 1979 instead of Tusk, originally inspired by this post by Uncle Dan, who's also done something similar with Lindsey Buckingham. For The Second Coming, I might do a similar scenario; in addition, Mirage remains intact, but the band still does an album for 1985 alongside solo projects. I'm also thinking of having Lindsey and Stevie stay with the band into the 1990s, and perhaps they bring in Neil Finn later on to bring in some fresh blood for the band.

Jimi Hendrix - I featured him once in Phase One and briefly went over what he did next, but in hindsight, I probably should've cut Jimi's story altogether as it added nothing in the long run.

Kiss - Similar story, different artist. Again, I had them put out a double album with each member having a side to themselves and re-arranged Music from "The Elder" based upon an alternate track listing. The storyline went nowhere and could easily have been cut out.

Led Zeppelin/The Yardbirds - One thing I could've changed up in retrospect is having the band rename themselves Led Zeppelin per OTL, as I doubt Chris Dreja would've agreed to let Jimmy Page and co. use the Yardbirds' name when none of the original members were left. Something else that I'm thinking of changing, however, is having Robert Plant killed in a car crash in 1975 and the band breaks up because of it. Similarly, I'd thought of having Keith Richards die in his 1976 car crash, and then Jimmy Page takes over on guitar for the Rolling Stones, while John Bonham eventually takes over as drummer for The Who (more on that in a bit). Not too sure about John Paul Jones post-1975, though. And speaking of car accidents, considering what also almost happened with Phil Spector in 1974 and Peter Frampton in 1978, what is it with rock musicians and car crashes in the 70s? And before the age of 35 too?

The Monkees - They more or less fell off the radar after Phase One, save for Peter Tork working under Highway 61 Records. I did see The Reconstructor make a post as to what the Monkees' next album would've been like had Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart not been shoved to the side regarding the band's output, and how that would've affected their next few years as a group. That would make for an interesting twist, I reckon! But first, I'll need to arrange their songs as to when they were initially started on and when they were first released, and then work from there.

Ozzy Obsourne/Black Sabbath - This one's a bit tempting to keep on; Ozzy Osbourne dying in 1982 and Black Sabbath continuing with Ronnie James Dio does have a lot of storytelling potential behind it. I did introduce this fairly late into Phase Three, but we'll see if more can be done with it for The Second Coming.

Pink Floyd/Roger Waters - Roger Waters quitting Pink Floyd in 1977 is certainly a plausible point of divergence for sure, especially seeing how the band continues on without him. Something I could change up, however, is having Syd Barrett leave in the late 1960s while the Floyd carries on without him. I'd also probably cut out the Hunky Dory subplot as it'd create headaches if I kept it. I could still probably do something with Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground though...

Sex Pistols - I could still have them do a second album, but a third and beyond, I'm not so sure about. It all depends on what material by the band members post-Pistols was available back then during a specific time frame. I would probably have to remove the "Sid and Nancy kill Diana Ross" storyline as it was something else that I feel like I included just for shock value. Not to mention that Diana did some good music in the 1980s that, like Brian Wilson post-1973, I completely took no account for at all.

Tom Petty & Mudcrutch - For them, I added cut tracks to the 1976-1985 albums and created a "prequel" album for 1975. I probably won't change up what I wrote for them.

The Who - Might add in stuff about their 1964-1966 output, based upon what Albums That Never Were did, in creating Introducing The Who and Jigsaw Puzzle. Of course, like the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and the Monkees, I'll have to arrange songs based upon when they were first written and recorded to make them sound authentic, so don't be surprised if I decide to change up a few track listings here and there. In addition, I thought of having the band kick Keith Moon out when his antics become too much for them to handle (not sure if he still dies in September 1978 or earlier; I think he was destined to die young) and they bring in a newly-sober John Bonham.

Yes - I'm going to have to cut their storyline altogether as I didn't really develop it all that well and like Kiss, it was just an excuse to put a lot of their solo material under the same banner.

The Zombies - Much like a fair number of bands that started in the 60s, I'll have to do more research on them as to when their songs were recorded and make new albums based upon notes. Hopefully I'll be able to do them better justice for The Second Coming.

TL;DR

As you can tell by a lot of the above, I've decided to change up a lot of storylines and drop some altogether in order to ensure that there is a coherent flow for The Second Coming. To quote Michael Ian Black, "your harshest critic is always going to be yourself." Looking back, I made a lot of mistakes and feel like if I was writing it right now, I'd have done things a hundred times better than I did. Now that I've finished up all eighty chapters of the first draft and given myself a self-analysis over what I could've done differently, I hope to start work on the first few chapters for The Second Coming during next year.

Of course, I do believe that you, the readers, deserve to provide some input as well regarding what I've got in mind for each the storylines. I'm working on a draft timeline that will serve as the bible for The Second Coming, as well as several documents and sheets of supplementary material that further flesh out band and label discographies. No matter what you say, I'm appreciative of any and all comments I receive from you, and I'm quite proud of the work I've done thus far on Strawberry Peppers. I hope to see you all soon for The Second Coming!

An Alternative Beatles Discography - No Covers (1984-2009)

 Here's the fourth and final part of an alternative Beatles discography in which they recorded all original songs for Please Please Me and continued to do so from there (save for one callback album of covers in early 1976). I am posting this not only to mark the release of The Beatles: Get Back on Disney+ this week (finally!), but also to mark twenty years next week since we lost George Harrison to lung cancer.

So, we're now into the 1980s, and this is where things get interesting regarding John Lennon, because as we all know, in actuality, his life ended prematurely. And that just leads to two possibilities - Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr carry on as a trio, or they break up. The former wouldn't really work out with a founding member gone, and the latter would ignore a lot of great content post-1980, so what's one to do about it?

The answer: Julian Lennon.

A few years after John's death, Julian had begun a solo career of his own, beginning with 1984's Valotte, although since then, his output has been pretty sporadic, having put out no music between 1998 and 2011, and no music since 2011. Of course, Julian does sound a lot like his father, so he could almost pass off for John most of the time, and it's the only real way we can include anything remotely Lennon after 1980. I'm not the first one to try this out, nor will I be the last. For the sake of this scenario, let's pretend that Julian's songs were actually written by John and that his voice softened as he aged. Either that, or John still died and Julian replaced him in the group. Whichever works for you.

And now, onto the 1984-2009 output! Some of it might not be among the Beatles' greatest (with one possible exception, which I'm sure most of you can guess what), especially without John, but let's try to lower our standards a bit and enjoy these albums for what they are.

War and Peace (October 22, 1984)

Side A (24:32)

1. Tug of War - 4:04 (Wingspan: Hits and History)

2. Valotte - 4:15 (Valotte)

3. Wake Up My Love - 3:34 (Gone Troppo)

4. So Bad - 3:20 (Pipes of Peace)

5. O.K. for You - 3:38 (Valotte)

6. You Can't Fight Lightning - 5:41 (Stop and Smell the Roses)

Side B (25:48)

7. No More Lonely Nights - 4:47 (Wingspan: Hits and History)

8. That's the Way It Goes - 3:34 (Gone Troppo)

9. Say You’re Wrong - 3:25 (Valotte)

10. The Pound is Sinking - 2:54 (Tug of War)

11. Mystical One - 3:42 (Gone Troppo)

12. Pipes of Peace - 3:56 (Pipes of Peace)

13. Too Late for Goodbyes - 3:30 (Valotte)

1984 was a very interesting year for the Beatles, as it was the first time in three years that their fans had heard new material from them as a group. That same year, Ringo Starr had served as the narrator for a new children's show being produced by Apple Television, Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends, based upon a series of books by the Reverend Wilbert Awdry and adapted by Britt Allcroft and David Mitton. John Lennon had been previously asked to be the narrator, but he had told the producers to fuck off, a decision he later regretted when the show premiered. "But then again," he would also say, "a whole new generation of kids wouldn't have known who Ringo was. I got the intellectuals, Paul had the teenies (teenage girls), George the mystics and Ringo the mothers and babies."

Shortly after recording for Thomas, Ringo got back with the rest of the Beatles for War and Peace, once again co-produced with George Martin. Although it charted fairly well, even hitting #1 for a week in the United Kingdom, reception was rather tepid, and critics would call it one of their lower efforts, even though it contained the big hit "No More Lonely Nights", penned by Paul McCartney. The following year, the Beatles would make it big again when they performed at Live Aid, with their setlist consisting of "Come Together", "Back in the U.S.S.R." (with the guitar solo of "Revolution" in between, connecting the two tracks), "Something", "Yesterday", "In My Life" and "With a Little Help from My Friends" segueing into "The End". John would later appear performing a medley of "Imagine" and "Give Peace a Chance". Although the Beatles' performance was highly regarded in retrospective years, almost on par with Queen's, they were not out of the woods yet for the 1980s...

Singles:

• "No More Lonely Nights" / "Wake Up My Love" - September 24, 1984
• "Valotte" / "Keep Under Cover" - December 3, 1984
• "Too Late for Goodbyes" / "So Bad" - January 28, 1985

Not much to comment on with War and Peace, although I will say that when it comes to Ringo's output, he didn't record a whole lot of quality material in the 80s, so that's why he has only one track per album for this one and the next two.

Press to Play (August 25, 1986)

Side A (24:56)

1. Stick Around - 4:03 (The Secret Value of Daydreaming)

2. Tears of the World - 4:04 (Thirty-Three & ⅓)

3. Only Love Remains - 4:13 (Press to Play)

4. Space - 4:22 (Valotte)

5. We Got Married - 4:57 (Flowers in the Dirt)

6. Hopeless - 3:17 (Old Wave)

Side B (24:48)

7. Press - 4:43 (Press to Play)

8. This is My Day - 3:51 (The Secret Value of Daydreaming)

9. Unknown Delight - 4:16 (Gone Troppo)

10. Beautiful Night - 5:09 (Flaming Pie)

11. Let Me Be - 2:12 (Valotte)

12. Once Upon a Long Ago - 4:37 (Press to Play)

As a reaction to performing at Live Aid, George Harrison wrote up "Tears of the World", which became the first song recorded for the Beatles' next album, this time with Phil Ramone as co-producer, known for his work with the likes of Paul Simon and Billy Joel. "Tears of the World" became the first single off of what would become Press to Play, but the album would not receive a release until nine months after the single. The album received mixed to negative reviews, and it became the Beatles' album to not reach #1 in either the United Kingdom or the United States. Fan reaction was also negative, with some going to far as to blame Phil Ramone for "ruining" the Beatles. "If you're one of those fans sending death threats to Phil, fuck you," John Lennon said in an interview. "Honest to God, fuck you."

1987 saw no new Beatles content being released. However, that same year, George Harrison got together with Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, Bob Dylan and Roy Orbison to form a supergroup known as the Traveling Wilburys, with their debut album Trembling Wilburys coming out that same year. The next year, they released Handle with Care and the three years after that, The Red Sky (1989), New Blue Moon (1990) and Runaway Train (1991), all three of which were released following Orbison's death of heart attack in 1988. Earlier that year, Paul McCartney had also put out a collaboration album with Elvis Costello, Flowers in the Dirt, featuring the hit singles "My Brave Face" and "Veronica". Even John Lennon got into the solo collaboration feel by playing a few live shows with John Entwistle, John Bonham and John Denver under The Long Johns, and even getting the title role for Beetlejuice, directed by Tim Burton and later released under Apple Films. (Michael Keaton could not take part due to his commitments as Iron Man for Marvel.) Ringo Starr, meanwhile, continued to narrate for Thomas the Tank Engine.

1988 also saw the release of Past Masters I, which contained all of the Beatles' non-album tracks from 1964 to 1976, essentially covering the EMI years, beginning with the German single "Komm, gib mir deine Hand" and "Sie liebt dich" and ending with the Roots B-side "Soily". With the success of these solo collaborations as well as a 60s renaissance taking place, the Beatles got back together in the studio again to record their next album.

Singles:

• "Tears of the World" / "Only Love Remains" - November 18, 1985
• "Stick Around" / "Hopeless" - May 12, 1986
• "Press" / "Coward Till the End?" - October 27, 1986

"We Got Married" and "Beautiful Night" both have origins tracing back to the mid-1980s, being originally recorded in 1984 and 1986, respectively, and I figured that they would've fit in quite well on Press to Play. It's obviously not a great album by the Beatles' standards, but then again, every ongoing artist has to have at least one bad album at some point.

Fab (March 27, 1989)

Side A (28:27)

1. When We Was Fab - 3:57 (Cloud Nine)

2. This One - 4:10 (Flowers in the Dirt)

3. Sunday Morning - 3:27 (Mr. Jordan)

4. In My Car - 3:13 (Old Wave)

5. This is Love - 3:48 (Cloud Nine)

6. Distractions - 4:38 (Flowers in the Dirt)

7. Second Time - 5:14 (Mr. Jordan)

Side B (28:34)

8. Figure of Eight - 3:25 (Flowers in the Dirt)

9. You’re the One - 5:52 (Mr. Jordan)

10. That's What It Takes - 3:59 (Cloud Nine)

11. Love Come Tumbling Down - 4:23 (Flaming Pie)

12. Mother Mary - 4:56 (Mr. Jordan)

13. Put It There - 2:07 (Flowers in the Dirt)

14. Got My Mind Set on You - 3:52 (Cloud Nine)

The Beatles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Rolling Stones front man Mick Jagger, and all four Beatles attended with their families. Feelings were very positive among the group, and this carried over onto the recording sessions for Fab, being co-produced with Electric Light Orchestra front man and fellow Traveling Wilbury Jeff Lynne. He would retain this position for the remainder of the Beatles' albums. Reception towards the album was extremely positive, with critics calling Fab the Beatles' greatest album since Band on the Run fifteen years earlier. Although the albums between Rock Show (1975) and Press to Play (1986) had flashes of artistic merit, Fab was a true return to form, hitting #1 in several countries.

Wanting to bank on that momentum, the Beatles embarked on their first big tour since 1975, save for the odd one-off performance such as Live Aid, and many of the tour's highlights would be released under the 1990 live album Tripping the Live Fab (November 5). The following year, another live album would be released, called Unplugged (May 20, 1991), which originally aired on MTV, becoming the first artist to do so. Other artists such as Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, Eric Clapton (his final live performance before his death in 1992), Alice in Chains, Nirvana, Bryan Adams and Kiss would also follow suit throughout the 1990s. Long and short, the Beatles were once again a huge deal in the music world. So much so, in fact, that Ringo had to drop out of his role as narrator for Thomas the Tank Engine after three seasons, being replaced afterward by Michael Angelis for the British dub while George Carlin took over for the American dub.

Singles:

• "Got My Mind Set on You" / "Flying to My Home" - January 30, 1989
• "You’re the One" / "That’s What It Takes" - March 27, 1989
• "Figure of Eight" / "Sunday Morning" - June 26, 1989

"Love Come Tumbling Down" was first recorded in 1987, but not officially released until 1997, and then again in 2020. Admittedly, the death of Eric Clapton in 1992 might seem like a bit of a shock, but I don't think he really contributed that much to music since 1989's Journeyman, so perhaps not much is lost in the long run. But what do you guys think?

Help Yourself (October 2, 1992)

Side A (19:52)

1. I Can’t Imagine - 4:40 (Off the Ground: The Complete Works)

2. Saltwater - 4:07 (Help Yourself)

3. Don't Go Where the Road Don't Go - 3:20 (Time Takes Time)

4. Run So Far - 4:05 (Brainwashed)

5. Off the Ground - 3:40 (Off the Ground)

Side B (21:08)

6. Open Your Eyes - 4:22 (Mr. Jordan)

7. Big Boys Bickering - 3:22 (Off the Ground: The Complete Works)

8. Devil's Radio - 3:52 (Cloud Nine)

9. Runaways - 4:51 (Time Takes Time)

10. Help Yourself - 4:41 (Help Yourself)

Side C (18:25)

11. Hope of Deliverance - 3:22 (Off the Ground)

12. Listen - 5:04 (Help Yourself)

13. That Kind of Woman - 4:32 (Still Got the Blues)

14. Winedark Open Sea - 5:27 (Off the Ground)

Side D (18:38)

15. After All These Years - 3:10 (Time Takes Time)

16. Rocking Chair in Hawaii - 3:07 (Brainwashed)

17. Take Me Home - 4:26 (Help Yourself)

18. C’Mon People - 5:46 (Off the Ground)

19. Great Day - 2:09 (Flaming Pie)

Imagine being in the Beatles' shoes. You start off as a local band known as the Quarrymen in the late 1950s before you make it big in the 60s, and you singlehandedly transform music from a passing fad into an art form. Then you start to go through some rough patches in the 1970s and start taking longer breaks between albums towards the end of said decade, and by the 1980s, the rough patches become more obvious before you pick yourself up again by the end of said decade, ready to take on the world again for the 1990s and beyond. At this point, most people would pack it in after the final show of the tour, feeling like they have nothing else to prove.

Except this is the Beatles we're talking about. After making it big again with Fab, following their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and then going on a tour to support Fab, shortly following that with an appearance on MTV Unplugged, what can they possibly do next? The answer: whatever the fuck they want to.

With compact discs becoming more commonplace, especially as they could contain more music than vinyl records, the Beatles decided to become ambitious again and take advantage of the new format by stuffing in as much material as they could on their next album, Help Yourself. Although it wasn't released as a single, "Big Boys Bickering" caused controversy by being the Beatles' first song since "Working Class Hero" to contain the word "fucking" in the lyrics. John Lennon and Paul McCartney had co-written the song as a bit of a response to the Parents Music Resource Center and music censorship in general.

Help Yourself, despite selling well, received mixed reviews from critics, calling the album excessive and overindulgent. However, for the first time since Mind Games nearly twenty years earlier, Ringo had three vocal spots on an album, which critics and fans welcomed warmly. Also included in the liner notes was a dedication to Eric Clapton, who had died prior to the album's release; George Harrison had originally given "Run So Far" to Slowhand for his last studio album Journeyman in 1989, and so he recorded it as a tribute to his fallen comrade. 1994 would later see the release of the fourth Beatles "best of" compilation, 1977-1990, otherwise known as The Orange Album.

Singles:

• "Saltwater" / "Don’t Go Where the Road Don’t Go" - April 6, 1992
• "Hope of Deliverance" / "Rebel King" - October 2, 1992
• "Devil’s Radio" / "Calico Skies" - February 22, 1993

"Great Day" and "Calico Skies" were both originally recorded in 1992 during the sessions for Off the Ground. "Run So Far" was written in 1989 and recorded by Eric Clapton that same year for Journeyman. "Rocking Chair in Hawaii" was first written all the way back to the All Things Must Pass sessions in 1970. Help Yourself was probably the most difficult album to put together, due to how much good material there was back then. If I was to reduce the album to fourteen tracks, the songs that I'd remove would be "Open Your Eyes", "Runaways", "That Kind of Woman" and "Winedark Open Sea", with "Off the Ground" being relegated to a B-side.

Album cover art by Auran on Discord.

Real Love (May 2, 1997)

Side A (26:58)

1. The Song We Were Singing - 3:55 (Flaming Pie)

2. Free as a Bird - 4:26 (Anthology 1)

3. Cloud Nine - 3:15 (Cloud Nine)

4. The World Tonight - 4:06 (Flaming Pie)

5. King of Broken Hearts - 4:44 (Vertical Man)

6. P2 Vatican Blues (Last Saturday Night) - 2:38 (Brainwashed)

7. Real Love - 3:54 (Anthology 2)

Side B (27:10)

8. Young Boy - 3:54 (Flaming Pie)

9. Stuck Inside a Cloud - 4:04 (Brainwashed)

10. Somedays - 4:15 (Flaming Pie)

11. I’ll Be Fine Anywhere - 3:39 (Vertical Man)

12. Flaming Pie - 2:30 (Flaming Pie)

13. Rising Sun - 5:27 (Brainwashed)

14. Grow Old with Me - 3:21 (Gimme Some Truth: The Ultimate Mixes)

The period of 1993 to 1995 was relatively quiet for the Beatles. Not because they were taking a hiatus, but rather, because they were being interviewed for a documentary series that would later be known as The Beatles Anthology. In between, John Lennon and his wife Madeline Kahn had provided voiceover work for The Nightmare Before Christmas as Jack Skellington and Sally, respectively, and John's oldest son Julian had begun dating his father's Beetlejuice co-star Winona Ryder, who had originally met John back in 1980, and by 1993, the couple had become engaged, marrying the following year with Julian's younger half-brother Freddie serving as the best man. Julian and Winona's first child, Sean Lennon, was born in 1996.

John and the rest of the Beatles were also recording for their next album based upon three songs he had originally written and demoed in the late 1970s, but had been rediscovered by Madeline in a box. "Free as a Bird", "Real Love" and "Grow Old with Me" served as the backbone for the album, and alongside Jeff Lynne, Real Love was co-produced with George Martin, who contributed strings to the closing track, "Grow Old with Me". This would be his final contribution to a Beatles album of all-new material. The resultant album, Real Love, received universal acclaim from critics and fans, being hailed as the best of their latter-era albums. "Young Boy", "Stuck Inside a Cloud" and "King of Broken Hearts" were also top ten hits, even competing with the Spice Girls' Spiceworld.

Sadly, not all was well in the Beatles' personal lives. Maureen Starkey Tigrett, Ringo's ex-wife, had died at the end of 1994 from leukemia, and Paul had written the B-side "Little Willow" in her memory. A few years later, Maddy had developed ovarian cancer, but she managed to overcome the disease, even starring in Pixar's second film A Bug's Life as Gypsy the moth while John starred as Manny the praying mantis. It would be a few years before Maddy would return to the stages. Around that time, George had also been treated for throat cancer. Many of these personal issues were part of the reason the Beatles did not tour a lot in the 1990s.

2000 saw the release of 1, a compilation album which gathered all forty-five of their #1 hits in both the United States and the United Kingdom, from 1962's "Love Me Do" all the way up to 1997's "Young Boy". It topped the charts worldwide and has since then sold over 31 million copies, becoming the best selling album of the 2000s.

Singles:

• "Free as a Bird" / "Cloud Nine" - December 4, 1995
• "Real Love" / "Little Willow" - March 4, 1996
• "Young Boy" / "Grow Old with Me" - April 28, 1997
• "Stuck Inside a Cloud" / "The World Tonight" - June 16, 1997
• "King of Broken Hearts" / "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" - August 4, 1997

"Last Saturday Night" and "Stuck Inside a Cloud" were written around the mid-1980s and "Rising Sun" around 1991. In TTL, "Young Boy" is a John/Paul duet, as I imagine Steve Miller's vocals being replaced with that of John's.

Album cover art by Auran on Discord.

Freedom (November 18, 2002)

Side A (26:38)

1. Eye to Eye - 3:19 (Ringo Rama)

2. Driving Rain - 3:26 (Driving Rain)

3. I’m Losing You - 4:06 (John Lennon Anthology)

4. Pisces Fish - 4:50 (Brainwashed)

5. Your Loving Flame - 3:43 (Driving Rain)

6. Kiss Beyond the Catcher - 4:00 (Photograph Smile)

7. Rinse the Raindrops - 3:14 (Twin Freaks)

Side B (28:04)

8. Now and Then - 3:02

9. Horse to the Water - 5:01 (Small World, Big Band)

10. Run Devil Run - 2:36 (Run Devil Run)

11. Love First, Ask Questions Later - 4:45 (Ringo Rama)

12. Never Get Over You - 3:26 (Brainwashed)

13. Way to Your Heart - 5:40 (Photograph Smile)

14. Freedom - 3:34 (Driving Rain)

Recording for the follow-up to Real Love had actually started back in 1999, but it had been put on hold due to John caring for his wife Madeline Kahn while she overwent treatment for ovarian cancer. "We'd been together for twenty-something years by that point," John said in an interview around that time, "and I can't really picture what life might be like without her." Although she had survived, that period had taken a bit of a toll on John and his family.

However, it was the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, that re-sparked something in John Lennon as he and Paul McCartney witnessed the attacks from their plane at John F. Kennedy International Airport. The pair co-wrote a new song called "Freedom" and became heavily involved in organizing The Concert for New York City, where they debuted the song with the rest of the Beatles. It was later released as a single with George's "Horse to the Water" as the B-side.

Freedom was finally released in November 2002, fourteen months since the 9/11 attacks, with David Kahne as co-producer alongside Jeff Lynne. Reception towards the album was generally positive, citing the variety of genres present across Freedom, ranging from rockabilly ("Run Devil Run") to hard rock ("I'm Losing You") to electronica ("Rinse the Raindrops") to psychedelic nostalgia ("Love First, Ask Questions Later"). The 2003 Freedom Tour was also well received.

The next few years saw the remixing of Love, a mashup album that was made for the Cirque du Soleil show of the same name, being produced by George Martin and his son Giles, being the former's final album as producer prior to his death in 2016. The premiere was attended by all four Beatles and their families as well as George and Giles. In between, Paul would record a solo album, Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, with Nigel Godrich as producer, and the Beatles would perform at Live 8, opening the London concert with "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". Meanwhile, Alice Lennon would begin a music career of her own with her group the Spyders, with the first three albums being produced by Nirvana front man Kurt Cobain, a close friend of the Lennons.

Singles:

1. "Freedom" / "Horse to the Water" - November 5, 2001
2. "Love First, Ask Questions Later" / "Really Love You" - November 18, 2002
3. "Now and Then" / "Pisces Fish" - February 10, 2003

Let's imagine that for this scenario, George Harrison never got attacked by Michael Abram. That's very much why George continues to live past 2001. There's a kitchen sink feel to Freedom, and it differs a lot from Real Love the same way that Back to the Egg differed from Between the Lines.

Ever Present Past (June 18, 2007)

Side A (28:42)

1. Dance Tonight - 2:54 (Memory Almost Full)

2. Any Road - 3:52 (Brainwashed)

3. I Don’t Wanna Know - 4:04 (Photograph Smile)

4. Fading In Fading Out - 3:55 (Choose Love)

5. Only Mama Knows - 4:17 (Memory Almost Full)

6. How Many Times - 5:51 (Photograph Smile)

7. Looking for My Life - 3:49 (Brainwashed)

Side B (29:10)

8. Day After Day - 4:19 (Photograph Smile)

9. Choose Love - 3:07 (Choose Love)

10. Ever Present Past - 2:57 (Memory Almost Full)

11. Believe - 4:52 (Photograph Smile)

12. Liverpool 8 - 4:51 (Liverpool 8)

13. The End of the End - 2:57 (Memory Almost Full)

14. Brainwashed - 6:07 (Brainwashed)

2007 was the year that George Harrison turned 64 years old. At the celebration, the Beatles played a jam session that included a revised rendition of "When I'm Sixty-Four", titled "We're All Sixty-Four". That same year, Alice Lennon had come out as a lesbian and announced her engagement to Apple Records artist Amy Winehouse, who had just come out of a nasty break-up with her ex-boyfriend Blake Fielder-Civil. The Beatles had begun recording what would turn out to be their final album in March 2006, and finished it in February 2007, coming out on June 18, Paul McCartney's 65th birthday.

Ever Present Past received universal acclaim upon release, with the title track being their final ever single to reach #1 in both the United Kingdom and the United States. Once again co-produced between the Beatles, Jeff Lynne and David Kahne, the group jointly announced that they would be undergoing one final tour after being together for almost fifty years. Later that same year, the Beatles released a live extended play, Amoeba's Secret. Their final ever single, "Liverpool 8", was released on January 7, 2008.

The most notable performances of the Ever Present Past Tour included the Beatles' final performance at the original Shea Stadium on July 18, 2008, immortalized in The Last Play at Shea, and their last performance as a group period at the new Wembley Stadium in November 2009. That September saw the release of Past Masters II, covering all of their non-album tracks from 1977 to 2007, as well as two new tracks - "Lucy" and "Walk with You". These would be the final ever songs recorded by the Beatles, with the former being dedicated to Lucy Vodden, the inspiration behind "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", who later died that same year from autoimmune disease lupus.

Singles:

• "Any Road" / "I Don’t Wanna Know" - March 26, 2007
• "Ever Present Past" / "Some People" - June 18, 2007
• "Day After Day" / "Marwa Blues" - September 10, 2007
• "Liverpool 8" / "Dance Tonight" - January 7, 2008

Originally, the tracks included were going to be a part of two separate albums - Choose Love (2005) and Ever Present Past (2010), the latter of which being a posthumous tribute to George Harrison, who would have died in 2008. However, as you'll soon read, I wanted to have at least one other Beatle surviving into 2020, and so I ended up making Chaos and Creation a Paul solo album instead. I think it's probably better this way.

After the Breakup (2010-present)

The Beatles being photographed for Billboard magazine to mark fifty years since the release of Please Please Me, November 2013.

Less than a year since the Beatles' breakup, there was the release of 1991-2009, otherwise known as The Purple Album, close to John Lennon's 70th birthday. It had also been released alongside The Red (1962-1966), Blue (1967-1970), Green (1971-1976) and Orange (1977-1990) Albums as part of a complete box set called The Best of The Beatles: 1962-2009. Although the Beatles did make occasional reunion performances such as playing on Jimmy Kimmel Live in 2014, they have not recorded new music as a group.

John Lennon had retired from the music scene altogether in early 2010, although he did work on Ringo’s first post-Beatles album, and he made appearances on film and television until his death from complications of a stroke on February 6, 2021, at the age of 80. He lived a private life in New York with his wife of over forty years, Madeline Kahn, who, along with their children and her stepson Julian, jointly hold the rights to his share of the Beatles' catalogue.

George Harrison is semi-retired from the music scene, although he performed a string of charity concerts to have new schools built in India. At one of those schools, a statue of the Beatles had been erected in their honor, and the ceremony was attended by George, his wife Olivia and son Dhani, as well as Ravi Shankar’s daughter’s Norah Jones (also Dhani’s wife) and Anoushka Shankar.

Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr have both carried on with their respective solo careers, although in 2020, they reunited to record an album called Zoom In. It was credited to McCartney/Starr rather than the Beatles due to the lack of involvement from John and George. Paul has been married to Jane Asher since 1968. Ringo has been in good health since the early 1980s and hopes to become the first active centennial rock star.

The Beatles may not have put out new music in over a decade, but their legacy will eventually outlive the four men who were part of the band that is still, to quote a song of theirs from 1973, the greatest. And you’d better believe it, baby!