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Save the Beatles!: The Rescued Albums: 1970-1982
The Beatles made music within a virtuous circle, together reaching heights that none of them could alone. Then, in a flash, that circle collapsed, and the solo years which followed were patchy, indeed. But a secret has been hiding in plain sight ever John, Paul, George and Ringo still could have elevated each other from afar by recording separately and releasing together. Amazingly, even after all these years, we can reanimate their famous chemistry and catch a glimpse of what they might have released in the 70s. Sure, every Beatles fan has made a playlist of favorite solo tracks, but THAT is not THIS. The trick is to combine the right music – which isn't necessarily the most familiar – then sequence it the way George Martin might have. The result is seven thrilling “new” Beatles albums that you simply must hear to believe. Come along on a joy-filled romp through the classic group albums, to find out how they were fit together. Then consider how to do the same thing to 568 solo recordings from the 70s. That’s how you Save the Beatles!
- GenresMusic
616 pages, Paperback
Published April 10, 2020
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November 21, 2020
Every Beatles fan has speculated at some point about what their albums would have sounded like if they hadn’t split up. Making playlists imagining what a mid-70s Beatles line up would have been like is indeed a great way to pass the time. The book’s author Rick Prescott does this with a keen forensic eye and makes a very noble attempt, even if at times I doubt he gets it 100% right.
The assumption that The Beatles would have made another double LP like ‘The White Album’ in 1970 is somewhat doubtful, for example, and I doubt they would have let Ringo take the lead on the mic as much as he seems to in the mid- to later years in this book. I also think not focusing on ‘non-album singles’ is the book’s fatal flaw really - it doesn’t always feel like history would have played out the way he presupposes it would.
It would also have been nice if Prescott’s hypothesis had opted to continue The Beatles’s tendency to release yearly albums, as this book argues they would have only released material once every two years. Those quibbles aside, this is a very interesting book, and listening to the tracks he’s chosen does flow quite well and has obviously been considered very deeply.
This book is well worth a read if you want to imagine a world where The Beatles were able to set aside their differences and continue making music. One of the most interesting conclusions you can easily draw from this book is that music fans should be careful what they wish for. It’s easy to see how The Beatles would have outstayed their welcome if they had gone on. For instance, I would argue The Rolling Stones would have outcompeted them with ‘Exile on Main Street’ and ‘Some Girls’. The great thing about is it it leaves you appreciating their solo output all the more, which in itself is a great achievement.
The assumption that The Beatles would have made another double LP like ‘The White Album’ in 1970 is somewhat doubtful, for example, and I doubt they would have let Ringo take the lead on the mic as much as he seems to in the mid- to later years in this book. I also think not focusing on ‘non-album singles’ is the book’s fatal flaw really - it doesn’t always feel like history would have played out the way he presupposes it would.
It would also have been nice if Prescott’s hypothesis had opted to continue The Beatles’s tendency to release yearly albums, as this book argues they would have only released material once every two years. Those quibbles aside, this is a very interesting book, and listening to the tracks he’s chosen does flow quite well and has obviously been considered very deeply.
This book is well worth a read if you want to imagine a world where The Beatles were able to set aside their differences and continue making music. One of the most interesting conclusions you can easily draw from this book is that music fans should be careful what they wish for. It’s easy to see how The Beatles would have outstayed their welcome if they had gone on. For instance, I would argue The Rolling Stones would have outcompeted them with ‘Exile on Main Street’ and ‘Some Girls’. The great thing about is it it leaves you appreciating their solo output all the more, which in itself is a great achievement.
Displaying 1 of 1 review