Television - Kingdom Come (1979)

Television released their second album in April 1978, through Elektra Records. Titled Adventure, it came on the heels of the classic Marquee Moon, a critically successful album that established them as one of the premier bands of the burgeoning Punk/New Wave movement. The band toured to promote it for most of 1977, recording their follow-up Adventure very hurriedly later that year. It consisted of a mix of newly written material and older songs which were part of the band's repertoire and were written even before Marquee Moon was released. It even showed some evolution in the band's sound, showing a softer, slower side of the band and giving more focus to ballads such as "Carried Away". Critical reception of the album was more muted than to Marquee Moon, but still positive. "Foxhole" was even a minor hit in the UK, but commercial success still eluded them. Later in 1978, they toured the album, debuted new song "The Grip of Love" during some concerts, and played theatres all over the US. By the end of the Adventure tour in 1978 however, creative differences between Richard Lloyd and Tom Verlaine had come to a breaking point, with infighting between the band members no longer sustainable. And that, allied to Lloyd's worsening drug use, led the band to fold after only two records, going on to have solo careers and become one of the biggest cult bands in rock history.

That leaves us with the question: What if Television had released one more album? Had they done so, I believe they would have followed the Adventure formula pretty closely, a mix of some newly written material and a couple of the band's live staples. At that point, the group had a considerable amount of songs written in 1975/76 that they were yet to release, and there's a good chance some of them would have ended up in this third album. To determine which ones would have, we will only include older songs that were still part of their live roster in 1978, which seems to me to be an indication of whether the band still considered those songs good enough for them by their final year together. That means other unreleased Television songs such as "Double Exposure", "Come on In", "Let Me Out", "Hard on Me" and "Judy" will be left out, as they were dropped a lot earlier than that. One song that very well could be included on this album as it meets all criteria but won't is "Adventure", retroactively added as the final song on the Adventure album for obvious reasons. We're also dealing with very long live takes of songs, which means we'll have to limit ourselves to as little as seven songs on the album, to keep the album under a reasonable length. With all of that out of the way, here's what our album looks like:

The Grip of Love (Live in New York 1978)

Poor Circulation (Live in Portland 1978)

Kingdom Come (Live in New York 1978)

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Fire Engine (Live in New York 1978)

O Mi Amore (Live in Portland 1978)

Last Night (Tom Verlaine)

Breakin' in My Heart (Live in Cleveland 1975)

Bonus tracks:

Piano Song (I Need a New Adventure)

Download link:
Television - Kingdom Come (1979)

Ficca, Lloyd, Verlaine, and Smith backstage, sometime in 1978.

When considering which songs to include, we have our first clue when we consider that Tom said in an interview during the Adventure tour that "Breakin' in My Heart" would be on his next album, be it solo or with Television. So, despite the song not having been played live for a couple of years by that point, it gets included here. Another song that wasn't performed live in '78 was "Last Night", demoed during the sessions for Adventure as the instrumental "Piano Song". We use the Tom Verlaine album version since it's the only one with vocals, and sounds like what a finished version of the song by Television would probably be like. All other songs were in the band's live rotation in 1978, with only "The Grip of Love" being newly written, and performed in an arrangement nearly identical to the one found on Tom's debut album. "Poor Circulation", "Fire Engine", "O Mi Amore" and "Kingdom Come" are all older songs that were still regularly found in the band's setlists during the Adventure tour, with the latter being a completely different song to the one of the same name found on the Tom Verlaine album. All songs, with the exception of the aforementioned "Last Night" and "Breakin' in My Heart" are culled from live versions from 1978, the best possible representation of what this album would sound like, and show a band at the peak of their powers, performance-wise, even if the sound quality isn't great.

The final part of a trilogy, Kingdom Come is a very welcome sequel to Marquee Moon and Adventure. It might not reach the same heights as Marquee Moon but it's a great album, of roughly the same quality as the Adventure album before it, and would most certainly further establish Television as easily one of the greatest bands to come out of the late 70s. Clocking in at 46 minutes, with two roughly equal sides, it would have probably been recorded in the studio sometime in late 1978 and released in early 1979. As for singles, either the poppy "O Mi Amore" or the newly written "The Grip of Love" would be the album's ideal single, both even having the capacity of becoming modest hits and maybe even bringing them the commercial success that so eluded them. I titled this reconstruction Kingdom Come after what I consider to be one of the highlights of the album, a 10+ minute jam that rivals "Marquee Moon" in both length and improvisational guitar awesomeness. For the cover, I made one that could look of a piece with the first two Television records, with the same framing and a third color to drive the point home that this is a trilogy and all three albums are connected. It's really heartbreaking that Television couldn't stick around for at least one more album, to help cement their reputation as one of the most talented and unique bands of all time, and let their own personal problems get in the way.

Sources:

- Tom Verlaine - Tom Verlaine

- Television - I Need a New Adventure [Bootleg]

- Doom and Gloom from the Tomb: Television - Kingdom Come

The Beatles - Get Back (1969)

The Beatles' infamous Get Back sessions ended on January 31st. After a whole month of rehearsals and recording, more than 150 hours of audio and video, more than 400 different songs being played, and the band's first live performance in almost three years, the sessions came to an end with a final day of recording at the basement of Apple Studios. With that, the band was left with the question: what to do with this material? They had already released the "Get Back" b/w "Don't Let Me Down" single, but their own lack of interest in the sessions made it hard for them to decide what to do. By April 1969, it was decided that engineer Glyn Johns, who had overseen the whole thirty days of sessions, would be the one to assemble the album. He came up with a "fly on the wall" approach to the album, using it almost as a portrayal of the band's recording and songwriting process, essentially deconstructing the album into an audio documentary. He had first tried this concept while the sessions were still ongoing, and the band decided to let him try it once again with the full sessions at his disposal. He was left all alone at Olympic Studios with the monumental task of reviewing 150 hours of tape and creating an album out of it. By the following month, he was done with it, and submitted his initial Get Back mix to the band for approval. A cover for the album was shot, liner notes were written, and it seemed that by July 1969 the album would be hitting record stores all over the world.

However, those plans were soon ground to a halt. The LP was delayed because the band wasn't satisfied at all with his mix, considering the album a very unflattering portrayal of the band at times. There was some doubtful song selection, with many superior takes being left in the can for some that weren't release-worthy or even complete, the inclusion of a horrible version of "Teddy Boy" which was played for laughs by Lennon, who later nicknamed Johns' version of the album "the Beatles with their pants down". With all of that, the album was rejected and they were back at square one. And because the documentary had been delayed until early next year, the project was put on hold for the foreseeable future, with the Beatles busying themselves by recording Abbey Road for the time being and seemingly forgetting about the whole Get Back project for now. By January 1970, a rough cut of the movie was finally available and Johns tried again, removing "Teddy Boy" and subbing in two new songs that had been featured in the movie: "Across the Universe" and "I Me Mine". However the main flaws with his original version remained, and it was once again rejected because of its sub-par choices of performance, which remained the same since May. By April 1970, producer Phil Spector, who had already worked with Lennon, was infamously brought in, proceeding to overproduce the album (but mostly choose the right takes), infuriate McCartney, and put the final nail in the Beatles' coffin.

With all of that out of the way, the main question of today's reconstruction is: What if we could improve on the 1969 Get Back concept, using Glyn's mix as a guideline? The rules are as follows: the general structure and tracklist of Johns' album is maintained, with all of the between-song chatter and informal jams kept, as they give his mix the loose, spontaneous, and fun vibe we're looking for. We will try to only use material dating from the December 1968/January 1969 period, writing-wise (with "One After 909" the obvious exception), meaning we'll be avoiding earlier songs such as "Across the Universe" or "Teddy Boy". I took that measure to ensure this album remains consistent and older songs that the band tried to rehash during the sessions don't get thrown in with the actual Get Back material. That might lead to some controversial song choices further down the road too, which will be explained in time. We will also adhere strictly to the "no overdubs!" rule if the songs come from the January 1969 sessions, with only editing and comping of takes being accepted. All we have to do is replace the songs that don't fit in with our restraints with ones that do, and switch out some of the sub-par takes Johns selected with the superior versions, creating a hybrid Johns version of some sort, the album that he should have compiled instead of the one that he did compile, which hopefully would have been approved by the band. With that out of the way, here's what the album looks like:

One After 909 (1969 Glyn Johns Mix)
I'm Ready/Save the Last Dance for Me (1969 Glyn Johns Mix)
Don't Let Me Down (Original Single Version)
Dig a Pony (The Rooftop Performance)

I've Got a Feeling (The Rooftop Performance)

I Me Mine (1970 Glyn Johns Mix)

Get Back (1969 Glyn Johns Mix)

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For You Blue (1969 Glyn Johns Mix)
Two of Us (Let it Be... Naked)

Maggie Mae (1969 Glyn Johns Mix)

Dig It (1969 Glyn Johns Mix)

Let it Be (Take 28)

Oh My Love (Raw Studio Mix)

The Long and Winding Road (Let it Be... Naked)

Get Back [Reprise] (1969 Glyn Johns Mix)

Bonus tracks:
Teddy Boy (1969 Glyn Johns Mix)

Across the Universe (1970 Glyn Johns Mix)

Download link:
The Beatles - Get Back (1969)

Starkey, McCartney, Harrison, Lennon, and Ono in January 1969.

Starting off with side one, the title track "Get Back" and the oldie "One After 909" are maintained as is, as Glyn used the correct versions of both songs, the single version from the 27th and the rooftop take, respectively. The spontaneous jam of 50s oldies "I'm Ready"/"Save the Last Dance for Me", recorded on January 22, is also kept, as it adds a sense of spontaneity to side one. But aside from those three, side one will need a whole lot of changes going forward. We'll start by editing in the single version of "Don't Let Me Down", recorded on the 28th, which we'll use instead of the sluggish take from the 22nd used on the Johns mix. Also included is the unedited rooftop take of "Dig a Pony" with the full "All I want is you" intro not found on any album versions, on the spot of another subpar take from the 22nd of January. Up next is the superior take one of "I've Got a Feeling" found on the complete Rooftop Concert release. It replaces a take that wasn't even complete and broke down during the song's final section, again from the 22nd. Our final addition actually comes from the 1970 Johns mix, his own mix of "I Me Mine", lodged in right before the "Get Back" single. I decided on that as five-and-a-half songs is too little for a side, and Glyn's original side two was much longer than side one, anyway. It's also, due to the way it was recorded after the fact, the only song on the album to feature overdubs, but since the song was written and rehearsed in January 1969, I couldn't help but include it.

As with side one, side two starts with a song we won't need to change: the master take of "For You Blue" from the 25th, minus the overdubbed lead vocal recorded in January 1970. There's also nothing wrong with Glyn's mix of the "Maggie Mae" cover snippet, the four-minute long "Dig It" jam, or the "Get Back" reprise, which might not be the greatest thing in the world but add to the ambiance of the album. However, some changes and a bit of lateral logic will be required going forward. The first few changes are rather easy, replacing the mediocre take of "Two of Us" from the 24th Johns chose with the correct take from the 31st, used by both Spector and the Let it Be... Naked project. Take 28 of "Let it Be" from the 31st, as seen in the original movie, replaces the overdub-ridden single and album versions. The same goes for "The Long and Winding Road", with the take from the 31st used in the movie being edited in. Finally, with both "Teddy Boy" and "Across the Universe" ruled out, and no real Lennon lead vocals on side two, I made the controversial choice of including his solo song "Oh My Love", in between the album's two big ballads. Mostly written at the same time as "Don't Let Me Down" and "Everybody Had a Hard Year" in December 1968, it was inexplicably not worked on during the Get Back sessions, despite the dearth of material John had back then. Considering we have a live-in-the-studio take of it available, and it features George on guitar, it fits in the album like a glove.

Clocking in at a fair 44 minutes with two 22-minute sides, our version of Get Back manages to walk a middle ground between the overproduced, slick, and sometimes even distasteful Let it Be and the undercooked, raw, and spontaneous Glyn Johns mix, providing us with a more accurate portrayal of the sessions than the both of them. This hypothetical album, had it been released a month after the "Get Back" b/w "Don't Let Me Down" single in May 1969, would have certainly been well received, seen as the roots rock fad had been in full swing ever since the release of The Band's Music from Big Pink the previous year. Does it reach the same heights as the White Album or Abbey Road? Most certainly not, but when reviewing the circumstances (write, rehearse, and record an album live in a single month), it's a wonder that they even managed to make something decent, not to mention a really good LP like this one. Considering a single off the album had already been released, I don't think they'd release another one, with the "The Ballad of John and Yoko" b/w "Old Brown Shoe" single still serving as the follow-up to "Get Back" in mid-1969. The cover is the usual photo taken in May 1969 by Angus McBean, as there really isn't any alternative to it. It would've been great to have a version of the album that both faithfully adheres to the main principles of the album and presents the material with quality, ensuring we have the best document possible of the Beatles getting back to their roots.

Sources:
- The Beatles - Let it Be: Special Edition

- The Beatles - Let it Be... Naked

- The Beatles - The Rooftop Performance

- John Lennon - Imagine: Ultimate Collection