The Beatles performed their final show at San Francisco's Candlestick Park, in August 1966. The group decided to call it quits from the touring business after a hectic few years, mostly because they could barely hear themselves because of the screaming girls, and decided to become a studio-only band. Their relief was such, that by the end of that tour (which involved death threats, LPs being burned in bonfires and almost being left for dead in Manila), George sat back on the plane ride home and said "well, I'm not a Beatle anymore", and they all decided to take an extended break. The group spend the next few months each doing their own thing, with Ringo staying at home to take care of his one-year-old kid, George traveling to India to study the sitar, Paul either dying or going on a holiday in Africa (we haven't quite figured that out yet, sorry) and John shooting a movie in Spain. And by the time they regrouped, in November 1966, the rumors that they'd broken up were many, and they were all considerably different than what people last saw them as, four nearly identical moptops. It was with all of this in mind that they went into their familiar grounds of Abbey Road Studios in December 1966 to craft the followup to their latest album, Revolver. And they would only be done in April of the following year.
The first few songs they worked on were "Strawberry Fields Forever", which John had written in Spain while shooting his movie, "Penny Lane", which Paul had been working on for the past few months, and "When I'm Sixty Four", which was written in 1958 and even played at the Cavern Club when the electricity died down. Inspired by Freak Out!, by The Mothers of Invention, the band had intended on making a concept album for a while, and decided that now was the time to do so, since they wouldn't need to tour on such complex material anymore. The first concept they'd thought of, because of the lyrical themes of the three songs, was a concept about working-class life in their hometown of Liverpool, and what growing up there was like. With work on those three songs taking up most of the month of December, the release of an album was put to somewhere in the middle of the following year, and EMI got desperate for material. Considering that back then albums were released every six months, waiting a whole year for a new album was unthinkable, and so they decided to release a compilation and demand a single be released by February. Considering they only had three songs ready, George Martin made "the worst mistake of his recording career" and released "Penny Lane" and "Strawberry Fields Forever" as a single.
Now left without the two songs that defined the album's concept, the band decided to scrap said concept and start anew. And with that, Paul came up with a new concept: a fake old-timey military band, which would serve as an alias to the Beatles themselves. With that in mind, they quickly composed a theme for that band, "Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band", and set on to work on adapting the material they had to fit into the record. And well, the rest is history. Yes, I know it's almost a sin to mess with perfection, but what I'd like to know is: what if they had managed to work with their original concept? If that non-album single hadn't happened, they would be able to make use of the "Liverpool childhood" idea and shape the album around it, with no need for a different idea. Well, to see how such an album would come together, we first need to set up some rules. Only songs from the original Pepper sessions that fit in with the overarching concept of the album will be considered, and even songs written after the album changed concepts will be considered, as there is not much pre-Pepper material to work with. I'll be working with seven songs a side, considering that was the norm back then, and will obviously not include either the title track or its reprise. With all of that in mind, here's what I've come up with:
The first few songs they worked on were "Strawberry Fields Forever", which John had written in Spain while shooting his movie, "Penny Lane", which Paul had been working on for the past few months, and "When I'm Sixty Four", which was written in 1958 and even played at the Cavern Club when the electricity died down. Inspired by Freak Out!, by The Mothers of Invention, the band had intended on making a concept album for a while, and decided that now was the time to do so, since they wouldn't need to tour on such complex material anymore. The first concept they'd thought of, because of the lyrical themes of the three songs, was a concept about working-class life in their hometown of Liverpool, and what growing up there was like. With work on those three songs taking up most of the month of December, the release of an album was put to somewhere in the middle of the following year, and EMI got desperate for material. Considering that back then albums were released every six months, waiting a whole year for a new album was unthinkable, and so they decided to release a compilation and demand a single be released by February. Considering they only had three songs ready, George Martin made "the worst mistake of his recording career" and released "Penny Lane" and "Strawberry Fields Forever" as a single.
Now left without the two songs that defined the album's concept, the band decided to scrap said concept and start anew. And with that, Paul came up with a new concept: a fake old-timey military band, which would serve as an alias to the Beatles themselves. With that in mind, they quickly composed a theme for that band, "Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band", and set on to work on adapting the material they had to fit into the record. And well, the rest is history. Yes, I know it's almost a sin to mess with perfection, but what I'd like to know is: what if they had managed to work with their original concept? If that non-album single hadn't happened, they would be able to make use of the "Liverpool childhood" idea and shape the album around it, with no need for a different idea. Well, to see how such an album would come together, we first need to set up some rules. Only songs from the original Pepper sessions that fit in with the overarching concept of the album will be considered, and even songs written after the album changed concepts will be considered, as there is not much pre-Pepper material to work with. I'll be working with seven songs a side, considering that was the norm back then, and will obviously not include either the title track or its reprise. With all of that in mind, here's what I've come up with:
Strawberry Fields Forever (Magical Mystery Tour)
Getting Better (Sgt. Peppers)
Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! (Sgt. Peppers)
Fixing a Hole (Sgt. Peppers)
Piggies (The White Album)
Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds (Sgt. Peppers)
She's Leaving Home (Sgt. Peppers)
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Penny Lane (Magical Mystery Tour)
Good Morning, Good Morning (Sgt. Peppers)
Lovely Rita (Sgt. Peppers)
When I'm Sixty Four (Sgt. Peppers)
Only a Northern Song (Yellow Submarine)
With a Little Help from My Friends (Sgt. Peppers)
A Day in the Life of... (Sgt. Peppers)
Bonus track:
Isn't it a Pity? (All Things Must Pass)
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| The four Beatles in December 1966, at Abbey Road Studios' doostep |
First of all, we need to figure out which songs work well within the idea of the album. For our luck, most of the songs fit in pretty well, and in an honestly less hamfisted way than they did with Pepper. All of the album songs, minus the title track and "Within You, Without You" (can't see where Indian mysticism fits in with English working-class experiences!) are then included here, although in a different fashion. Also, a different running order is adopted, mostly based on an alternative side A sequence from early 1967 that had "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" as the third track is used. Obviously, we switch the opener for "Strawberry Fields Forever", as its mellotron intro serves for a great, suspenseful start to the record, and pull in "Getting Better" as the second track in the album. Other than that, we follow the alternative sequence to the letter, only adding another song to make up for the latter's absence. Side two is a bit more complicated, as I add "Penny Lane" as the side opener, move "Good Morning Good Morning" up to the second spot, and then shuffle around the remaining tracks, with "With a Little Help from My Friends" repurposed as the track that leads to the finale, which is still "A Day in the Life", also trying not to have more than two songs from the same singer in a row, and to have evenly timed sides.
As for differences in the songs themselves, I don't see much changing. Honestly, the only thing that linked "Little Help" to the Pepper concept was the Billy Shears intro, which can easily be substituted for an instrumental version from the Pepper deluxe edition, making it just a song about how having friends goes a long way in making life better, which fits in 100% with the Childhood concept. "A Day in the Life" has a clean intro, as it doesn't segue from the crowd noises of the reprise, and doesn't have the weird hidden track in the end, as it sounds better that way. And now that we are left without a George track, I decided on adding two: "Only a Northern Song" (with its chorus being a direct reference to Liverpool, even though the lyrics are pretty nonsensical), and the more controversial one, "Piggies". Having been written all the way back in late-1966, but only finished for the White Album, its lyrics deal with capitalism and class struggles in a lighthearted and fable-like way, which certainly fits in with the more child-like songs in the album, and materialistic critique certainly fits in with the working class concept. And considering its lead by a harpsichord and orchestral backing, "Piggies" is certainly psychedelic enough to fit in the album, sound-wise. Ideally, a psychedelic take on "Isn't it a Pity?", also from '66, would be featured there, but as it is, it sticks out like a sore thumb.
With two sides clocking in at about 22 minutes, Liverpool Childhood is a fantastic album, with some of the best Lennon/McCartney compositions ever written. When compared to the album it went on to become, I honestly feel it's superior on a song-by-song level, even though Pepper still takes the lead on consistence. Of course, adding two of the band's greatest songs to the album they belong to is obviously going to improve it, but songs like "Lovely Rita" and "Good Morning, Good Morning" honestly feel much more at home in a concept about everyday Scouse life than in a fictional marching band, which is understandable. As for the album cover, it was created by John Hunt over at I Design Album Covers, depicting what it would look like if Peter Blake designed a cover for this earlier concept. Alongside it came the title of Liverpool Childhood, which is honestly pretty good not to use. And as with Pepper, no singles would be released, to maintain the whole "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts" mythos. Considering we got one of the greatest albums of all time out of it, it's honestly not too bad that this album happened to transform itself into a different concept. However, it's still nice to wonder how things could have been, had fate not decided on having Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band perform on record.
- The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
- The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour
- The Beatles - The Beatles
Interesting, and frankly, pretty cool. When I first saw Piggies, I thought it odd, but it works. One minor thing; I think the cover would look better without the Beatles name on it. It's a cool picture, and works on it's own. I know the Beatles didn't care much for the Yellow Sub project, but the Sgt. Pepper theme would have worked better for that. jmho. Thanks for your cool posts!
ReplyDeleteHey, thanks a lot!
DeleteI agree, a Sgt. Peppers cartoon movie would be a much better idea - and you could even work stuff like Yellow Submarine into the story!
And yeah, having "Piggies" in here is a bit weird but you can get used to it :D
Very nice. Although I think I would use George's "It's All Too Much" as I think it fits better. But that's me. Cheers
ReplyDeleteI should have explained I'd use it instead of "Piggies"
DeleteMy only problem with that one is that it's from after the sessions! Other than that, it's all good :D
DeleteIt's too bad that Rain doesn't fit, sonically or chronologically, because topically I think it would fit in well with the childhood theme.
ReplyDeleteThat one and Eleanor Rigby would make perfect fits theme-wise, that's true!
DeleteThis is great. Piggies works perfect! I substituted Mother Should Know for When I"m 64 as I can't bear to listen to that song. Which "Little Help From Friends" and "Day in the Life" did you use with out the intros and after track thingy? Thanks I love your work !
ReplyDeleteHey, thanks a lot! I used the version of A Day in the Life from the official Beatles youtube page, as it starts cold with no intro. And as for Little Help from My Friends, I took the first few seconds of Take 2 from the Deluxe Sgt. Peppers and put them in instead of the "Billy Shears" version. Try it out yourself, works just fine!
DeleteGreat idea! How about a version of Abbey Road without the medley - just as an interesting alternate?
ReplyDeleteThat's a good one! We'd have to take a look at what songs they had lying around at the time that could've been used instead of the medley, and what parts of the medley work as stand alone songs.
DeleteSongs such as "You Never Give Me Your Money", "Sun King" and "She Came in Through the Bathroom Window" work perfectly fine outside the medley, while something like "Carry that Weight", not so much.
That means our side two would consist of "Here Comes the Sun", "Because", "You Never Give Me Your Money", "Sun King" and "She Came in Through the Bathroom Window". We're at least two songs short if we want to reach about the same length as side one, which means we will have to look at some solo Beatle tracks.
"All Things Must Pass" is the prime candidate here, and in the lack of "The End", the only real album closer in our hands. It was virtually finished by the time of the album's recording, and would fit in beautifully.
"Look at Me", from John's Plastic Ono Band album, was also already a finished product by then, and could easily replace both "Mean Mr. Mustard" and "Polythene Pam" in our sequence.
Another song that was already finished was "Every Night", from Paul's first album. But instead of slotting it into side two, I add it to side one, as a replacement to the lackluster "Maxwell's Silver Hammer". Which leaves us with:
Come Together
Something
Every Night
Octopus' Garden
Oh! Darling
I Want You (She's So Heavy)
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Here Comes the Sun
Because
You Never Give Me Your Money
Sun King
Come and Get it
Look at Me
She Came in Through the Bathroom Window
All Things Must Pass
I imagine "She Came in Through" would be slightly longer in this form, as it's barely two minutes long in its' released form. But other than that, I don't think anything else changes.
Oh wow, thanks! I wasn't expecting anything, let alone something so quickly! :)
Delete