Beatles '73

Have you ever wondered what a Beatles album would’ve sounded like circa 1973, if they hadn’t broken up? Well, it sure wouldn’t have sounded like this. But it also would’ve, kinda. You see, one day the idea occurred to me that although not many Beatle solo albums are great from beginning to end, each ex-Fab managed to consistently come up with a few good tracks for each solo release. So why not make a mix of these great tracks? Well, sure, you could do that, but why not take it a few steps further and actually construct something that resembles a classic Beatles album, made up of solo Beatle tracks from the same era so that it would reflect an actual Beatles album from say, 1973?

So I did. Looking at singles and albums released by John, Paul, George, and Ringo in the year 1973, I compiled a list of tracks and sequenced them in such a way that the album sounds like a Beatles album. What were the criteria? Well, most Beatles albums kicked off with a rocker, and one that didn’t carry some profound message but was just a fun, rockin’ tune- Back In The USSR on the White Album, Drive My Car on Rubber Soul, Come Together on Abbey Road, etc. So I chose McCartney’s Jet to lead off this one. Next, one would often find a ballad-y number as Track 2. Take the above three albums and you’d get Dear Prudence, Norwegian Wood and Something. So for this one I chose Lennon’s Out The Blue. Moreover, Side One of Beatles albums often ended with some sort of bombastic rock track made up of several distinct parts. Think of I Am The Walrus, She’s So Heavy, Happiness Is A Warm Gun. For this album I chose… what else? Live And Let Die.

Okay, so far so good. Now, obviously there are other features of Beatles albums that would need to be addressed. Ratios. Most Beatles albums were comprised of tunes written by John and Paul, with a couple of tracks by George and one would be sung by Ringo. I guessed that if the Beatles were still together in1973, Lennon and McCartney would have to be a little more generous toward George and Ringo, so I increased the ratios to include 3 Harrisongs and two sung by the drummer boy. (And let’s be honest- when one looks at 1973, George’s Living In The Material World and the self-titled Ringo album are quite better than Lennon’s Mind Games. Paul released two albums, Band On The Run and Red Rose Speedway plus a few singles that year so I had more Maccas to choose from, not to mention Band On The Run was probably the finest solo album of his entire career). Secondly, within the songs the individuals wrote, most Beatles albums would normally feature a spacey. moody piece from the mystical one (think Long Long Long, Blue Jay Way, Within You Without You) so here we have Be Here Now. Likewise, you could always count on at least one mawkish pop ditty penned by Paulie (The White Album alone had Honey Pie, Martha My Dear, I Will, & Obladi Oblada- don’t get me wrong, I like ‘em all but they certainly were fluffy little tunes) so here we have Only One More Kiss. And there were also those goofy Ringo songs (Yellow Submarine, Octopus’ Garden) so here we have the lighthearted I’m The Greatest. Speaking of Ringo, most of the songs on his 1973 self-titled album were written by other non-Beatle folk. After 1965, The Beatles focused almost exclusively on material written by band members so I figured that tradition would’ve continued in 1973 so I selected one written by Ringo himself with a little help from his friend George as well as the aforementioned closing track, which John composed.


Many good songs had to be cut from my final track listing. Other Beatles fans may be distressed to see that Band On The Run and My Love, two massive hits, are absent. As I said, Paul released a lot in 1973 and I just prefer songs like Bluebird and Let Me Roll It to the aforementioned hits. Space considerations meant that several other tracks were pruned because they didn’t have a corresponding spot to fill. I can think of a handful of tracks (i.e. Mamunia, Get On The Right Thing, Try Some Buy Some, Six O’Clock) that I prefer to Live And Let Die but that one fit into its spot perfectly. And I also neglected to consider the majestic No Words from Band On The Run because it was sung and co-written by Denny Laine.

Finally, just so the listener would appreciate that Beatles albums were always delineated into Sides One and Two, I included a track of abut ten seconds of silence so you have an idea where the separation would occur. (And if you want to get technical, fellow nerdy Beatles geeks, I suppose you could think of it as Nutopian International Anthem looped thrice).

BEATLES ’73:

SIDE ONE
Jet (PM, Band on the Run)
Out The Blue (JL, Mind Games)
Bluebird (PM, Band on the Run)
Don’t Let Me Wait Too Long (GH, Material World)
I Know (JL, acoustic version from JL Anthology)
Photograph (RS, Ringo)
Live And Let Die (PM, single)

SIDE TWO
9. Give Me Love (GH, Material World)
10. Mind Games (JL, Mind Games)
11. Let Me Roll It (PM, Band on the Run)
12. Be Here Now (GH, Material World)
13. You Are Here (JL, Mind Games)
14. Only One More Kiss (PM, Red Rose Speedway)
15. I’m The Greatest (RS, Ringo)


By the way, I constructed a similar fake album from tracks circa 1980. This particular album, like The White Album, turned out to be a double LP so I gave it the title "Fantasy Double." Get it?