Fab Foundations # 44: “What If”

(Personal reflections inspired by Beatles songs)

Song: “Come Together”
Album: Abbey Road
Release Date: September 1969

Back in my comic-reading heyday in the mid-70s, I occasionally tapped into a Marvel Comics series called What If, which presented alternate-world comic scenarios such as “What If Spider Man Had Joined the Fantastic Four” and “What If the Hulk Had the Brain of Bruce Banner”.  It was a hit-or-miss series, and I’m thinking now that What If was probably more fun for the writers than the readers. Afterall, they got to break out of the normal constraints of their storylines with farfetched plots that otherwise would not have made it past the editor’s cutting-room floors.

In this light, I thought I’d have a bit of fun with a “What If” scenario of the Fab variety, that being…. What If the Beatles did not breakup? What would their next album have sounded like? And the one after that? Which of the 3 principle songwriters would have soared the most during their early-70s collaborative efforts? Would they have welcomed more guest musicians into the studio, as the Stones did regularly in the early 70s?  Would they eventually have toured again? Would John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr have ended up agreeing with Paul McCartney that businessman Alan Klein was no good for them? Would they have ever found another personal manager to replace Brian Epstein?

Surely, many of the early-70’s Beatles songs would have been familiar ones, from what we know of their immediate post-Beatle solo works….

After the success of “Something” and “Here Comes the Sun”, I am of the belief that George Harrison would have been given significantly more songwriting latitude had they ventured back into the studio after Abbey Road (which would have been a very important factor in the Beatles staying together). Beatle George had a boatload of material ready for the band, and much of it ended up on his 1970 solo album All Things Must Pass. If it had been on a Beatles album, “What is Life” would have had a George Martin production touch instead of a Phil Spector one. “My Sweet Lord” would have sounded more Beatlesy too, perhaps benefitting from a melodic bass riff from Paul McCartney and/or fancy rhythm guitar chords from John Lennon. Same for “Beware of Darkness” and “All Things Must Pass”.  I’m sure that Harrison would have been open to added instrumental and melodic flavor, if for no other reason than that he knew these bandmates/friends well, and knew they delivered.

John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy” would have likely been on that first 70’s Beatles album too (seeing as the music was originally slated as “Child of Nature” for the White Album, and so it was just a matter of time). Same for “Give Peace a Chance” and “Instant Karma”. Paul McCartney would have likely contributed “Uncle Albert” and “Maybe I’m Amazed” (Beatle Paul, first pulling off a classic Mother’s Day song – “Your Mother Should Know” and then a top notch birthday song – “Birthday” - now hitting it on the head with the penultimate wedding-dance song).

All of this music would have evolved in different ways than how we hear it today. The album title? How about “Beat(les) Poetry”, with the cover a cool artistic rendering of the band working together in the studio (rendered by none other than Klaus Voormann; he of Revolver cover fame, as well as a Beatles “insider”).

Within the context of a continued collaborative effort, all four Beatles would have gotten even better at writing individually, and more importantly, as a group. And so, they decide to release their songs here-forth as “Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, and Starkey”.  Several singles are penned to promote this new song-credit status, including an amazing sequel to “Strawberry Fields Forever” called “Bed Cred”; an entwined experience of each band member’s adolescent years put to music (most prominent Ringo Starr, who spent much of his youth in a hospital bed with a variety of ailments).

The Concert for Bangladesh would have been the real Beatles live-reunion event, trumping the Let It Be Rooftop performance in more ways than one. At that “Biggest Charity Event Of All Time” (which is forced to move from Madison Square Garden to Max Yasgur’s Farm due to intense ticket demand), the band plays mostly songs from their new Beat(les) Poetry album, with Bob Dylan joining the Fab Four for an extended jam on “If Not for You” (which the Beatles had just recently covered on Beat(les) Poetry). Highlights of the show include John Lennon singing “Across the Universe”; a George Harrison lead on “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”; and Paul McCartney tackling “Yesterday”. Ringo Starr gets the crowd on their feet with “Octopuses Garden”.

Along with John and Yoko’s “Bed-Ins” and “Bag-Ins”, the other Beatles would have also put individual and collective efforts into the anti-Vietnam-War peace movement. The highlight of this endeavor?... they somehow pull off a hush-hush live event in front of the Statue of Liberty (in cahoots with several National Park Service staffers). Oh, to be a lucky tourist on Liberty Island that day. A number of celebrity-types are in the know and make it to the island incognito, including Eric Clapton, Coretta Scott King, Marvin Gaye, Harry Belafonte, Eartha Kitt, Joan Baez, Tommy Smothers and Muhammed Ali.  Each of them takes a turn at the microphone as the band runs through an extreme-extended version of “Give Peace a Chance”, with cameras rolling. Another highlight is the entire ensemble singing “All You Need Is Love”, with the cameras at one moment zooming in on the Statue of Liberty quote “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free”. By the time authorities reach the island to address the “disturbance”, the gig is over. Mission accomplished.

A second early-1970’s Beatles album would have included Ringo Starr’s “Photograph” and “It Don’t Come Easy”. Paul McCartney would have contributed “Band on the Run”, “Let Me Roll It” and “Jet”. A cornerstone song would have been John Lennon’s “Imagine”. George Harrison’s “Isn’t It a Pity” and “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)” would be other big-ticket-items on that big-ticket album (all songs, of course, credited to “Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, and Starkey”). The album title would have been either Band on the Run or Imagine. The cover would have been a photo of the band on the beach near Paul McCartney’s Mull of Kintyre estate in Scotland (where the album is recorded).

One thing I contemplated this week was how this alternate-reality of the Beatles staying power (into the 70s) would have affected their contemporaries. Would they have been emboldened or intimidated?  Some of the best Rock music of all time came out within a few years after the Beatles broke up. The Who released Who’s Next and Quadrophenia. The Rolling Stones released Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main Street.  Pink Floyd came out with Dark Side of the Moon.  Neil Young came out with Everybody Knows this is Nowhere and Harvest. David Bowie released The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. Joni Mitchell released Blue. Marvin Gaye unveiled What’s Going On. Most critics would agree that these were the best albums these artists ever produced. Could the vacuum left by the Beatles breakup have had anything to do with it? Would the Beatles alternate-reality staying-power have factored into the results of any of these albums?

If there is a song that may give a hint of what could have been, it is “Come Together”.  This was a new sound for the Beatles and pop music when it was released on their last produced album, Abbey Road, in 1969. Every band member stepped to the plate to make it happen. Paul McCartney’s bass is funky throughout. Same for Ringo’s drumming. The lyrics are as good as any Beatles lyrics to sing along to. And I love the give and take of John Lennon’s lead vocal off George Harrison’s lead guitar at the end of the song.

The Beatles, via Apple Films and other channels, continue to release modern videos of their compositions. A great animated one is “Come Together”, with the Fab Four at their Zen-like best.  I’d like to think this is where the Beatles could have been mentally had they persisted into the 70s. Check it out: ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45cYwDMibGo ).

I have no doubt the Beatles would have further evolved, in similar fashion to the way their contemporaries did. The 70’s were the Fab Four’s oyster (at least up to the point of the Punk movement) if they could have hung in there.  But the reality of what played out is not too shabby either. The Beatles helped to launch a musical revolution. It’s almost as if, at the end of the 60’s, they handed the car keys off to the up-and-comers and subliminally/sublimely said “ok, kid, your turn to drive”.

The kid(s) drove all right. It may not have been perfect. It may have had the Beatles in the passenger seat, slamming on the desperately-wanted break pad at times, or steering the imaginary wheel. But in the end, much of it was REAL, which was what the Beatles were. That early-70s period certainly worked for me. Perhaps there could have been a better scenario, such as the Beatles remaining together. But isn’t that the case for any historical possibility? Isn’t there a “What If” scenario in any grand event? In the end, you just have to accept what played out, and look at the positives for inspiration. It sure can be fun to “imagine” though.

If not for John Lennon’s passing, I think the Beatles would have reunited eventually. They had too much love between them not to do so. We all witnessed it. We all had a sense that it was bound to happen again.

 - Pete