1969

-Albums-
Yellow Submarine
Life With Lions [John]
Electronic Sound [George]
Abbey Road
The Wedding Album [John]
Live Peace in Toronto 1969 [John]
-Non-LP Singles/EPs-
Get Back/Don't Let Me Down
Ballad of John and Yoko/Old Brown Shoe
Give Peace A Chance/Remember Love [John]
Cold Turkey/Don’t Worry Kyoko [John]

The solo projects had both positive and negative repercussions. While each album was well received, when it came time to regroup for a new Beatles project, they found it hard to work together. Each was reluctant to relinquish their new found independence and aside from Paul, showed little enthusiasm for the next project which started out as a film of them rehearsing for and performing a comeback concert but ended up as a film of them recording a new album. After shelving the Get Back project for now, they managed to return to form for the spectacular Abbey Road album.

John was especially busy with outside projects. He released two solo singles and two more avant garde sound pieces. He also released a live album of an inpromptu solo concert from the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival. John's activity outside the band led many to speculate that he had left the group, rumours that would persist through 1970 and into 1971 when the band releases Through Many Years.

1970

-Albums-
Plastic Ono Band [John & Yoko]
All Things Must Pass [George]
Beaucoups of Blues [Ringo]
Let It Be
-Non-LP Singles/EPs-
Instant Karma/Who Has Seen The Wind [John]
Let It Be/You Know My Name

1970 was a year of changes for the band. John's continued quest for artistic satisfaction outside the band left the others feeling a bit left out. After Abbey Road they decide to take a break from each other to explore other projects and recharge. John records an album with Yoko with Phil Spector producing while Paul spends some time alone with his new family and records some home demos on his new tape machine and also oversees the final mixing of the Let It Be album. George hangs out with friends and records All Things Must Pass also with Phil Spector producing. While Ringo waits for the others he records an album of country songs. The band reluctantly releases Let It Be as a film and album as an interim product while John and Paul discuss material for the next album.

1970 - Plastc Ono Band

After three avaunt-garde albums, two Beatles albums, a few singles and a solo live album John wanted to enter the studio with Yoko but this time with more of a focus on songs in contrast to the improvised soundscapes or one-off singles they previously released. Enlisting Ringo and Klaus Voorman as backup John and Yoko recorded a sparse but eclectic album. Clearly influenced by their recent Janov Primal Scream therapy sessions the album is said to be John's best solo effort since 1968.

1. Mother
2. Touch Me
3. I Found Out
4. Greenfield Morning I Pushed An Empty Baby Carriage All Over The City
5. Working Class Hero

6. Well, Well, Well
7. Why
8. God
9. AOS
10. My Mummy's Dead

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Reality Notes:

Because the leftovers from John's Plastic Ono Band album are as good as or better than the ones we took from it for the upcoming Beatles release we will save this album by combining it with the Yoko album of the same name. Both of these albums were recorded at the same time and with the same line-up which gives it a consistent sound and feel. I used the shorter and more accessible Yoko songs to flesh out the leftovers from John's album and arranged them in a way that they play off each other nicely. The album becomes simply known as The Plastic Ono Band and becomes the measuring stick for future solo projects by John and Yoko both together and separate.

I used all released versions with no edits or modifications. I did preface Mother with Something More Abstract which is a 47 second bonus track from Yoko's album. The vinyl album would be split between track 5 and 6 with about 24 minutes per side. The surprise effect is how Yoko's pieces become more listenable when mixed with John's.

1970 - All Things Must Pass

Even after the success of Abbey Road George was glad to have some time away from being what he felt to be a second tier Beatle. After a short tour with buddy Eric Clapton as backup musicians on the recent Bonnie and Delaney tour George was ready to record another solo album. With Phil Spector producing George gathered a long list of friends and studio musicains to help bring the project to life.

1. My Sweet Lord
2. Wah-Wah
3. What Is Life
4. If Not For You
5. Behind That Locked Door
6. Run Of The Mill

7. Apple Scruffs
8. Ballad Of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll)
9. Awaiting On You All
10. I Dig Love
11. Hear Me Lord
12. All Things Must Pass

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Reality Notes:

The original triple album took quite a gouging being robbed of many great songs to be given to three other albums.

We took three songs and one demo/outtake (Art Of Dying, I'd Have You Any Time, Isn't It A Pity and Nowhere To Go) and gave them to the 1968 solo project. We then took two songs and one outtake (Beware Of Darkness, Let It Down and I Live For You) for the 1971 group project. We also assigned the outtake Dehra Dhun to the Anthology 4 album. This left us with twelve songs, a few outtakes and a disc of studio jams.

I left the songs in the order that they appeared on the original album with the exception of All Things Must Pass which was moved to the end of side two.

In the end, like the "White" album, even though we scattered many of the songs, nothing was lost and we actually gained a few songs. We are also going to leave the Apple Jam disc for either a Zapple release or for the bootleggers, either way works for me, the only question concerning a Zapple disc would be when it would be released.

1970 - Let It Be

After two attempts by Glyn Johns and one by Phil Spector to polish the Get Back tapes into something that all four Beatles could agree on Paul decided to take a stab at finishing the project himself. Paul took Phil's version and stripped away the orcestration and choirs but left almost everything else. He also re-inserted Don't Let Me Down back into the track list. When presented to the others the reaction was one of both acceptance and indifference. The general feeling was to just get the thing out and move on to the next project.

1. Two Of Us
2. Dig A Pony
3. Across The Universe
4. I Me Mine
5. Dig It
6. Let It Be
7. Maggie Mae

8. I've Got A Feeling
9. One After 909
10. The Long And Winding Road
11. For You Blue
12. Don't Let Me Down
13. Get Back

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Reality Notes:

What I did was combined the elements I enjoyed of both Let It Be and Let It Be...Naked into one album. I kept the original song order and added Don't Let Me Down towards the end of the disc. I restored the chatter as well as Dig It and Maggie Mae. I used the ...Naked mixes whenever I felt they were an improvement over the originals and used the same take as the original. In all, I tried to preserve the feel of the original with the better sound of the new mixes.

Track 1 - ...Naked version but had to edit in the pre-song chatter as well as edit in the end fade from the original that goes on longer with the extra whistling.

Track 2 - ...Naked version but again had to edit back the pre and post-song chatter.

Track 3 - ...Naked version without any editing.

Track 4 - ...Naked version with no editing needed.

Track 5 - original version as is.

Track 6 - tried to use the ...Naked version but reverted back to the original because I preferred George's other solo and I missed the excessive reverb on the hi-hat cymbal. Then, after hearing a bootleg mix that includes both of George's solos I switched to that. I really like how it sounds like George intended the two solos to interact with each other

Track 7 - original as is.

Track 8 - the ...Naked version uses a completely different take than the original (actually an edit of several takes into one) that has a different feel on the vocals so I went with the original version.

Track 9 - ...Naked version but had to edit the Danny Boy ending back on.

Track 10 - ...Naked version with no edits needed.

Track 11 - ...Naked version but had to edit back the pre-song chatter.

Track 12 - slipped the ...Naked version here.

Track 13 - used the original version which preserves the pre-song chatter and ends with the thank yous and "hope we passed the audition" speech.

1971

-Albums-
Through Many Years
Ram [Paul]
Imagine [John]
Wild Life [Paul]
-Non-LP Singles/EPs-
Another Day/Oh Woman, Oh Why [Paul]
Power To The People/Touch Me [John]
It Don't Come Easy/Early 1970 [Ringo}
God Save Us/Do The Oz [John]
Bangla Desh/Deep Blue [George]
Happy Xmas (War Is Over)/Listen, The Snow Is Falling [John]

1971 saw the reemergence of Paul McCartney into the public spotlight. After lying low the previous year and hot on the heels of a new Beatles album he released Ram, his first solo album since 1968.

John released his critically aclaimed Imagine album. This was his first album since 1968 that did not include Yoko. Although she was involved production wise she did not contribute any songs of her own.

George, moved by a call for help from his friend and teacher Ravi Shankar, puts on his monumental charity concert for Bangla Desh which features appearances by George, Ringo, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Ravi and others.

Paul, still itching to perform with a live band, accepts the fact that he will probably never get his band mates to agree to venture outside the studio for any live gigs. In response to this resolution he forms Wings as a side project to satisfy his need to perform in front of an audience. Over the years Wings will often rival the Beatles in popularity and Paul's attention.

1971 - Through Many Years

After a year apart from each other, John Paul George and Ringo regroup to record another album. Even though Let It Be was released the year before, this is actually the first album of brand new material from the band in almost two years. Let It Be was recorded before Abbey Road with two songs (Get Back/Don't Let Me Down) from those sessions released as a single. This is a fine album worthy of the Beatles name.

1. Maybe I'm Amazed
2. Hold On
3. Beware Of Darkness
4. Look At Me
5. Every Night
6. Oo You
7. Isolation

8. Love
9. Man We Was Lonely
10. Remember
11. I Live For You
12. Early 1970
13. Teddy Boy
14. Let It Down

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Reality Notes:

Track 3 - I used an alternate mix found on the second disc of the Art Of Dying bootleg.

Track 11 - This is an outtake from the All Things Must Pass sessions. It was later released on the anniversary edition CD as a bonus track. This mix comes from the Through Many Years bootleg

Track 13 - This was a tough call knowing George's dislike for the song, but seeing it is essentially a solo recording I kept it in.

Track 14 - this is the acoustic demo version from the Beware Of ABKCO bootleg. My biggest problem with using the official versions of any song from All Things Must Pass was the over the top Spector production, while it sounds great and as much as I love Phil Spector, it's just not Beatley enough. There are early mixes at various stages of overdubs but none of them have the same impact as this demo version. I did tighten the stereo field a bit and added a touch of reverb to smooth it out. After I finished this compilation I found a pre-overdub mix of the album version that would have fit just as nicely, I'm saving that for the last project.

My biggest dilemma with this album was whether or not it was even needed. I really did not want to take apart John's Plastic Ono Band album but if I used his singles instead the time frame shifts and I can no longer use Ringo's single which leaves him with no contributions to the disc. Paul's album was a no-brainer. As good as that album is, with the exception of a few songs, it really lacks a certain amount of polish.

As far as taking apart George's All Things Must Pass, I had less concerns due to the quantity of material available including outtakes and demos. Besides, we already took songs off and used them for his 1968 solo album.

BBI:

This album gets very high marks and is overall a very believable Beatles product. From the opening Maybe I'm Amazed (which I thought was a Beatles song when I was younger) to the closing acoustic Let It Down.

Some of the elements that make this project believable are:

Paul plays all the instruments on his songs, including drums. I've always said that the next best thing to Ringo on drums is Paul.

John is backed by Ringo and Klaus Voorman. I'm also fond of saying that the next best thing to Paul on bass is Klaus.

Ringo is also present on George's songs although due to Phil Spector's pruduction style there is at least one other drummer.

Ringo's song Early 1970 features only George and Ringo and is almost a companion piece to John's Ballad of John and Yoko which features only John and Paul.

The only odd thing is the prominent pedal steel guitar on George's I Live For You played by Peter Drake. Although it was not unusual for a Beatles song to feature an outside musician if the song required it, those parts are usually not placed so prominently in the mix.