On his Albums That Never Were blog, Soniclovenoize says -
I received numerous requests for this, so I thought I’d actually do it as a ‘thank you’ to everyone who is listening to my crazy reconstructions and supporting my blog Albums That Never Were. Now, if you guys enjoy this one, it can be the first in a series of five albums. I know it’s been done before, but this is my take on it. Let me know if you want me to continue this series, and I most surely will…

This reconstruction — or reimagining, as I’m calling it—asks the question that I think we’ve all asked at one point or another: What if The Beatles didn't break up? This theoretical album attempts to cull the best of The Beatles solo material from 1970 alone to create what could have been the band’s follow-up to Abbey Road (or depending on how you look at it, Let It Be). The songs were carefully chosen to create a unified and cohesive album that would best carry on ‘The Beatles torch’ while still retaining each of the members’ diverging interests. The best and least brickwalled/clipping remasters were chosen for source material, volume levels adjusted for song-to-song balance and all songs are tightly book-ended to make a continuous two sides of music.

The result—an album I call Instant Karma!—is a somber, introspective album, full of contradicting stripped-down John & Paul songs juxtaposed with the massively-produced George & Ringo songs. Sonically, it lies somewhere between The White Album in its stark contrasts and Abbey Road with its epic majesty. All of the songs are from different perspectives, yet hint at the same thing: a desire for understanding the essences of basic human nature and the quest for the soul itself. If I may dare, the songs seem to create a particular narrative: the members of the band themselves engaging in their own dialog with themselves, repairing the bond between them that had slipped over the previous 4 years.

So sit back and imagine, if you will, an alternate timeline… That sometime in 1970: The Beatles fired Allen Klein and somehow came upon an agreement of how to run Apple Records, allowing the band members to separate the music from the business, the chief destruction of the band being averted; with the success of “Here Comes The Sun” and “Something” and an amazing back-catalog of unused and new songs, George successfully campaigns for an equal share of his own songs to be featured alongside the Lennon/McCartney originals (with the compromise that Linda and Yoko are allowed in the Beatles' inner circle if need be); pleased with Phil Spector’s work remixing Let It Be, The Beatles opt to have him produce the bulk of their recordings throughout the 1970s (despite McCartney’s reluctance); John agrees but wants to elaborate on the stripped-down and live-band-sounding arrangements, as revisited in the Get Back sessions from the previous year, but at least for his own compositions written from his Primal Scream therapy sessions; Ringo was, as always, just happy to be there.



Instant Karma! is released to critical and commercial success in late 1970, re-establishing The Beatles as a dominant musical force in the 1970s. Three hit singles were released from this album in 1970 and early 1971: “Instant Karma!” b/w the non-album B-side “That Would Be Something”, “Maybe I’m Amazed” b/w the non-album B-side “Apple Scruffs” and “My Sweet Lord” b/w the non-album B-side “Well Well Well”. The success of Instant Karma! gave a new confidence to the band that was so close to breaking up, especially with a new producer, a stronger leading-role for their lead guitarist as a songwriter and the band's uncertainty of relevance in a new decade. Regrouping in the summer of 1971 with a new set of songs and a new sense of unity, The Beatles attempt to record their second album of the 1970s. Can you... imagine?

~ Soniclovenoize

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If you can't imagine, that's OK. Just ask,then we can let it be for you, subject to the usual fair usage policy.

If you take and enjoy this one, just ask and I'll see what else in this series I can post here for you.
Enjoy!

I thought maybe a bit more info might stimulate some interest in this little bit of magic, so here goes:



The Beatles – Instant Karma! (a soniclovenoize reimagining)



Side A
1. Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)
2. All Things Must Pass
3. Every Night
4. I Found Out
5. Beware of Darkness
6. Working Class Hero
7. Momma Miss America



Side B
8. It Don’t Come Easy
9. Isolation
10. Junk
11. My Sweet Lord
12. Maybe I’m Amazed
13. Love
14. Hear Me Lord



After the murder of Lennon in 1980, Harrison rewrote the lyrics to his song, “All Those Years Ago”:

I’m talking all about how to give
They don’t act with much honesty
But you point the way to the truth when you say
All you need is love.

Living with good and bad
I always look up to you
Now we’re left cold and sad
By someone the devils best friend
Someone who offended all.

We’re living in a bad dream
They’ve forgotten all about mankind
And you were the one they backed up to
The wall
All those years ago
You were the one who imagined it all
All those years ago.



Deep in the darkest night
I send out a prayer to you
Now in the world of light
Where the spirit free of the lies
And all else that we despised.

They’ve forgotten all about God
He’s the only reason we exist
Yet you were the one that they said was
So weird
All those years ago
You said it all though not many had ears
All those years ago
You had control of our smiles and our tears
All those years ago

Steve i'm really enjoying those albums that were not to be!!I've been a big Beatles music fan for many years and the marvellous Sgt Pepper helped point my way to even more psych sounds that at times still amazes me.My fave Beatle is George Harrison,a man who spirituality was more than a fad to him,he seemed to have been a genuinely nice and decent person,not like John Lennon who allegedly was quite an unpleasant human.Lennon and McCartney are fabulous songwriters,but I would loved to have George Harrison to have had more of his songs recorded and released by The Beatles,i genuinely think up to today George Harrisons"All Things Must Pass"solo album is the best solo album ever released by an ex fab,just my opinion of course,but that is a brilliant solo album.The less we mention Ringo Starrs is probably for the best....LOL.....

The sound quality on this guys reimaginings is superb thanks for the heads up steve he has a quality site as well lots of info

Really think George got a raw deal over the song credits on Beatles tracks. You can't tell me he didn't contribute significant ideas, guitar riffs, etc to tracks that were contributed only to Lennon-McCartney.

Re: The Beatles Instant Karma! 1970 (a soniclovenoize reimagining)

"Really think George got a raw deal over the song credits on Beatles tracks. You can't tell me he didn't contribute significant ideas, guitar riffs, etc to tracks that were contributed only to Lennon-McCartney." ~ MR W W

Totally agree. George contributed wonderfully, as did Ringo. [You meant to say ...tracks that were attributed only to Lennon-McCartney.]
Without any one of them, there would never have been 'the fab four'and the alchemistry would not have ocurred. Despite that, John said to us before he was killed

"If people need the Beatles so much, all they have to do is to buy each album and make a track out of it. Put it on tape, track by track, one of me, one of Paul, one of George, one of Ringo, if they really need it that much. Because otherwise, the music is just the same, only on separate albums."

So I gotta say across the ether, thank you John. You are right, as usual. You taught us All You Need Is Love and how to Imagine and we always knew you're not perfect. Who is? But when you gave yourself up to be sacrificed on the Alter of Truth, we, your true fans wept and cheered for you. And we stood by you.
Yes, it's probably as true now as it was then. The Beatles are more popular than Jesus.
You only gave us the truth as you see it. That's why we love you so much, dear John and why you will never die.
Sure, an assassin took the breath from the body of John Lennon but nobody can ever steal your soul, my brother and we all shine on, like the moon and the stars and the sun.



... and on and on and on and on ...