It is the ultimate Beatle fantasy, the discovery of a lost album, one more roll of the dice for old times sake. But what if they had some time away to live their lives and come together one last time to make music again? What would that sound like, how would that stand up against the rest of their output and what would it tell us about the men these four boys had gone on to become?
Being a second generation Beatle fan and being born in 1981, the Beatles last release was at least 10 years in the past for me then and a further 10 by the time I got my first listen to a full long player. For me the question was always what if, just what if they did one last record, what would that be like and how would we be thinking about it all these years later? So lets just suspend belief for a bit and imagine what that final album would be like, get a chance to listen to it and imagine what the reviewers themselves might say.
If you want to skip straight to the music, you can listen to the album via the Spotify playlist here or visit the same playlist on YouTube
Why now, why get it in the studio together 10 years down the line?
The year is 1980 and during the decade that has passed the four Beatles have been very active in the first part of the decade, making music and headlines and being asked the perennial question, ‘When will you be getting the band back together’. During that time it was remarked by John that the all four of them had to want it at the same time and the timing just never seemed right.
What we do have in 1980, however, is the return of the desire to make music again. John has been watching the wheels with no album since 1975’s covers album ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll’, Paul is back in the studio on his own with Wings on hiatus with no releases since Back to The Egg, George has just released his first album in three years and Ringo is writing again having had the longest break with no album releases since 1974’s ‘Goodnight Vienna’.
The fact that most of the Beatles had gone quiet for so long and were for all intent and purposes ‘retired’ would make this perfect timing for a surprise reunion. Taking the leap back into making music, there would also be comfort in familiar faces and a reassurance that they could guarantee critical success by bringing back in the quality control that is afforded them when only their best songs can make the cut.
The source material
To pull together this album, I drew on their most recent releases around 1980, selecting John and Yoko’s ‘Double Fantasy’, Paul’s ‘McCartney II’, George’s self titled album from 1979 and Ringo’s ‘Stop and Smell the Roses’, released in 1981 but very much formed the year prior.
Double Fantasy (1980) was John coming out of retirement. His 5 years out of the game, a well deserved rest for a man who had been making music non-stop since the late 50’s. Split in two with tracks from Yoko, the album was far from a critical success on first release, with reviewers feeling it lacked the bite expected of John. At a time when punk was peaking, a grown-up album that dealt with themes of marriage, relationships and fatherhood might have seemed like a missed opportunity. The album did give us some real gems though with ‘Beautiful Boy’, ‘I’m Losing you’ and ‘Woman’, the big surprise is that the bite critics wanted comes from Yoko.
McCartney II (1980) was, like John’s comeback, a welcome return for Paul, who went quiet after after the mega-hit ‘Mull of Kintyre’ hit, and stuck, to the charts in 76/77. The record was given a savage review by Rolling Stone which described it as ‘an album of aural doodles designed for the amusement of very young children’, perhaps with the benefit of hindsight they might see that Paul had predicted the electronic sounds that would dominate the decade, without that context it can be too experimental for some. That aside it has some great tracks, not least ‘Coming Up’ which was powerful enough to shock John out of retirement and for that alone deserves praise.
George Harrison (1979) was a return to critical success for George and reflective of a much more settled George, having married Olivia, taking some time away from music and become a father to Dhani too. This self titled album gave George a big hit with ‘Blow Away’ and also featured a left over track from the Beatle days in ‘Not Guilty’. Keeping in line with the shear Beatle-ness of the album it featured strong themes of love, a guest slot for Eric Clapton and a follow-up to one of George’s best know Beatle compositions, ‘Here Comes the Sun’ with a track called (You guessed it) ‘Here Comes the Moon’.
Stop and Smell the Roses (1981) was in the spirit of many of Ringo’s post Beatle releases a truly collaborative album. Among contributors were Stephen Stills, formerly of the Buffalo Springfield and currently of Crosby Stills and Nash, The Rolling Stones Ronnie Wood and even a backing vocal from Linda McCartney. Most notable is that the album featured tracks written by George and Paul in ‘Wrack my Brain’ by Harrison and two tracks from Paul, ‘Attention’ and ‘Private Property’. Lennon too had offered two demos to Ringo in November of 1980 but following the events that would occur just weeks later and the loss of John, Ringo didn’t feel he could record them and the album was understandably delayed.
The formula for a new Beatles album
I debated the formula for a while but eventually settled on 4 songs each for John and Paul, 3 songs for George and 2 for Ringo. With 13 slots available the task was to now select the songs that felt like they belong in the Beatle-cannon but to also put a few surprises in there to keep us on our toes.
From the start I had the feeling that finding four Beatles knocking on, or already through the door of 40, that the album would be sentimental in parts, self-reflective certainly and ultimately their most grown up collection to date.
The fantasy album
One of These Days (1980) is titled after the McCartney penned track of the same name, and becomes a tongue in cheek answer to the question the band members got asked thousands of times, ‘When will the Beatles be getting back together’.
Comprising of 13 tracks and a running time of 49 minutes, the album is a breezy return for the fab four, who could so easily have filled a double-disc set with the new tracks they brought to the table.
You can listen to the album via the Spotify playlist ‘One of These Days’
or if have not got Spotify, you can listen via the playlist on YouTube
The track listing
- Coming Up
- Blow Away
- Watching the Wheels
- Wrack my Brain
- I’m Losing You
- Your Love is Forever
- Waterfalls
- Nice Way
- On the Way
- Woman
- Here Comes the Moon
- Beautiful Boy
- One of These Days
Side A
1 – Coming Up – Taken from McCartney II
Opening the album with this track, feels like a good way to announce the bands return. Coming up has themes of friendship and support which would be the perfect antidote to press talk of rifts among the four. It is also a rarity in that the track drew praise from John and moved him to start writing again. Extending the hand of friendship with public support for Paul is why this is the perfect track to open up an album whose core theme is essentially ‘friends reunited’.
2 – Blow Away – Taken from George Harrison
A song about a leaky roof, Blow Away, is essentially George’s ‘Fixing a hole’. While George was a bit conscious that the subject matter was a bit too obvious, he warmed to the song on recording it. Blow Away became a top 20 hit in the UK and US and its pop stylings were the antidote to the punk dominated charts at the time thanks to George’s insistence on wanting love and happiness in the lyrics being more akin to the Beatle messages of the 60s than the anti-establishment messages of the early 80s.
3 – Watching the wheels – Taken from Double Fantasy
Following a 5-year ‘retirement’ this song answered the critics who asked ‘Where are you, John Lennon?’. John was doing the right thing and spending time with Yoko and Sean, travelling the world and socialising but was not engaging in public life, and who can blame him, in his own words, he just had to let it go. With the punk revolution, which owed him more than a debt, going on without him, John perhaps responded with the ultimate act of rebellion by not joining them and instead giving us records like this that showed he himself had evolved and was no longer the angry young man of his youth but a loving and devoted father.
4 – Wrack my Brain – Taken from Stop and Smell the Roses
Arguably the best track from the album, ‘Wrack my Brain’ was a song penned by George to voice his frustration at the type of songs the record companies wanted from him, upbeat pop. That aside, the decision to gift the song to Ringo was the right move, not only is it in his key but the simplicity of the lyric is Ringo to a tee and bagged him a top 40 hit at a time when the record companies seemed unaware of what to do with him.
5 – I’m Losing You – Taken from Double Fantasy
The only song from Double Fantasy that showcased the acidic side of Lennon, I’m Losing You is a response to a John being ghosted by Yoko when trying to phone her from Bermuda. No strangers to domestic troubles, John’s frustration with Yoko is evident here, open to finding that bliss he craves bur fearful that they might again break-up, this is John at his most vulnerable. Like many of his Beatle songs, this is about him, and we are seeing John airing his wounds in the open, it is classic John and this is what makes it such a compelling track and a must have for the album.
6 – Your Love is Forever – Taken from George Harrison
Christian theologist, Dale Allison saw this track as a typical George song in that it could have been about his love for Olivia or his love for God, with lyrics written in Maui with them waiting to become parents, it could be argued to be the former but it works either way. With its lilting melodies the song is perhaps one of George’s most beautiful songs and is a stand out from his self-titled album.
7 – Waterfalls – Taken from McCartney II
Placing this song next to George’s seems like a perfect fit. Waterfalls despite its visions of polar bears being at odds with Harrisons Maui influenced guitar is a track of similar beauty and features a haunting vocal from Paul, that brings us right back to ‘Long and Winding Road’. In a vinyl release, Choosing Waterfalls shows Paul’s famous versatility, taking him from the synth pop of ‘Coming up’ to open the album to the poetic beauty of Waterfalls to close Side A, McCartney even in 1980 was still a chameleon and still able to add the variety a new Beatles album needs.
Side B
8 – Nice Way – Taken from Stop and Smell the Roses
Choosing to omit ‘Attention’ and ‘Private Property’ written by Paul is favour of ‘Nice Way’ might prove controversial but this track feels a better fit for the Beatle sound we are aiming for. Written by Stephen Stills of Crosby, Stills and Nash, the song elevates Ringo’s unique voice and gives him an opportunity here to demonstrate his own musical growth. Like Coming up which opens side A, the driving beat on ‘Nice Way’ get us into a groove and features some welcome Beatle-esque backing vocals. The bittersweetness of the lyrics shows that Stills certainly considered Ringo’s Beatle persona when writing it feels custom made for the occasion.
9. On the Way – Taken from McCartney II
With its bluesy undertones, On the Way, is another example of Paul indulging his passion for other genres and committing them to record. Imperfect in more than a few places, this soundscape from Paul feels well-placed before the impeccably produced number from John that follows, giving us the ying and yang that made so many Beatle records before them so special.
10. Woman – Taken from Double Fantasy
John himself saw ‘Woman’ as the Beatle-track on Double Fantasy, an update on the Beatles ‘Girl’ and an apology song to Yoko for John being the man he was and not the man he was supposed to become. John said a lot over the years about his own metamorphosis from thug to thoughtful and he said it best with this song, an apology not just to Yoko but all the women in his life.
11. Here Comes the Moon – Taken from George Harrison
It own lyrics describe it as a little brother to the sun and ‘Here Comes the Moon’ was written as a follow up to ‘Here Comes the Sun’, the most popular of George’s Beatle compositions. Critics gave it the thumbs up and loved its dream-like qualities. Reported to be written with Fleetwood Mac’s Steve Nicks, the song provides a perfect nod to the nostalgia for the band that would have helped this fantasy album sell by the bucket load.
12. Beautiful Boy – Taken from Double Fantasy
Selecting this track completes the the rewriting of John on this album from rebel leader of the Beatles to the new-age man who has turned his back on it all to focus on family and the pursuit of happiness. A central theme of John’s later writing was undoing his wrongs, and here he makes a commitment to his new son Sean, that he was not ready to do when Julian had arrived years earlier with Beatlemania at its height.
13. One of These Days – Taken from McCartney II
As the new albums title track, ‘One of These Days’ occupies the same space here as it did on McCartney II, the closing song of the album. The lyrics and melody echo the reflection that dominates this album from all four Beatles and in that sense feels like a chance for them to renew their friendships and tackle the next phase of their lives. A poignant end to the album we never thought we would hear.
The Review
Getting asked to review a Beatles record is something most rock writers would have long thought had passed them by. Since Abbey Road dropped and ‘The love you take is equal to the love you make’ became an epitaph that the band couldn’t apply to their own collective friendship, a full reunion seemed the be a work of fiction. Older and a lot wiser, however, The Beatles surprise us with an unlikely return and an album that is deeply introspective. Full of depth and warmth, this melodic journey through adulthood catches the Beatles taking stock, re-writing wrongs and pointing towards the brighter future we didn’t know how much we needed. As punk dominates the charts and we are witnessing a rise in the sort of anti-establishment fervour that would have been cat-nip to the 28 year old John Lennon, you could expect the Beatles to tap into that angst. Never ones to follow the crowd, they buck the trend here in favour of a mature album that points us back towards the themes so evident in their sixties recordings of love, peace, God and friendship. ‘One of These Days’ finds the Beatles at their most human and vulnerable and asks us to take a look inwards ourselves and rediscover the messages they left us with ten years ago, messages that we thought were lost but we can happily say have been found again.
4/5
Thank you for reading this post.It has been a lot of fun to write and pull together and I would love to hear your thoughts on the fantasy album and what tracks you might have chosen. Please share your choices in the comments below.
Zap! 