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10.38pm
27 January 2014
Offline11.13pm
10 August 2011
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It makes a big difference if the actual “Let It Be ” and “Get Back ” songs had been released in your hypothetical scenario.
If they were, then the only key song missing would have been “Across The Universe ” – a huge loss though.
If Let It Be , Get Back and Across The Universe hadn’t been released until Anthology, we’d have had a new wave of Beatlemania.
(no disrespect intended for the other songs)
"Into the Sky with Diamonds" (the Beatles and the Race to the Moon – a history)
11.33pm
10 November 2009
Offline 
That’s a question I have wondered at times. 
Like Into the Sky with Diamonds says, it depends also if we are talking about Get Back or Let It Be .
But in either case, we would have missed a good bunch of great songs. Maybe it would haven’t affected much their legacy, they are the best band Now And Then , and Abbey Road was their grand finale as a band and their beginning as legends, as the best band of all time.
It would have been a great discover and pleasure to hear more songs that are really good but didn’t had the chance of a release.
Let me take you down 'cause I'm going to...Strawberry Fields.
2.08am
27 January 2014
Offline I was thinking that the singles would be released, so we would get Get Back /Dpn’t Let Me Down, Let It Be /You Know My Name, and The Long And Winding Road /For You Blue . And we would have the wildlife AtU.
If I seem to act unkind, it isn't me, its just my mind that is confusing things
12.48am
7 February 2014
Offline There are some great songs on the Let It Be album, but IMHO the album itself is a mess. It only sounds half finished to me and cobbled together. From what I have read it seems as though they lost interest halfway through. Spector gets a lot of criticism for his production of the album but I think this is a bit unfair as he wasn’t in the studio producing the sessions, he was just given the tapes after the sessions had taken place to try to salvage something. I wonder why, of all the songs performed during the Get Back sessions, the one they chose to rerecord for Abbey Road was Maxwell’s Silver Hammer ? It was hardly the best song was it? I think Abbey Road would have been a better album if they had replaced Maxwells Silver Hammer with Let It Be for instance. Also, For You Blue is an unremarkable blues – can’t understand why that was released when a much better song like All Things Must Pass was shelved.
12.50am
Reviewers
29 November 2012
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I think the better question would be what if LiB (album) was released before Abbey Road ? I think that would have ended the career on a better note.
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3.24am
18 January 2014
Offline ^ Agreed. Well one thing’s certain… we’d never know whether or not Doris got her oats.
4.50pm
14 December 2009
Offline I would assume that bootleggers would’ve gotten ahold of the stuff somehow. (OTOH, they still haven’t gotten “Carnival Of Light “, have they?)
Paul: Yeah well… first of all, we’re bringing out a ‘Stamp Out Detroit’ campaign.
5.25pm
8 November 2012
Offline Von Bontee said
(OTOH, they still haven’t gotten “Carnival Of Light “, have they?)
Someone should ask Mark Lewisohn if any of the YouTube uploads have ever been correct. 
parlance
10.12am
29 August 2013
Offline This might be an unpopular opinion but I actually think Let it Be is probably their greatest album. It’s down to earth. It was getting back to the sound that they started out with but with touches from their experimental period. There’s only about two songs I don’t like.
"White Album - My joint-fave Beatles album along with Revolver. They show the two sides of Beatles. Revolver's very controlled - even though it's also very innovative. The White Album's playful and almost ramshackle. It's like a scrapbook kept by a genius. Fantastic stuff."
11.55am
19 April 2010
Offline Let’s assume a couple of things:
• The LIB album hadn’t been released until 1995 (at the time of Anthology)
• The movie is never released
• The acrimony of their break up is not make public
If LIB album came out without the surrounding persona/business acrimony, I believe the record would have been hailed as one of their greatest works.
I imagine a review reading: “A delightful mix of unpolished roots music, combining a live energy not seen in 30 years, while still using orchestra and choir to make the ballads soar. The Beatles have returned to what made them the Beatles”.
I think all the personal junk and the movie forever flavored the album. But left to its own I think it would have proved Paul right. I’m nit a huge Macca fan – but let’s admit one thing – when it comes to that period of their career Klein, Apple, touring, Paul was right. He was just too bossy and John too stoned.
"She looks more like him than I do."
12.55pm
Reviewers
16 December 2013
Offline I agree with @LikeASir that Let It Be is one of the greatest Beatles albums. But, I don’t agree that if it wasn’t released until something like Anthology it would have set off another wave of Beatlemania. I believe, as the major reason for it being a great album, is that it was released at the right time.
9.43am
27 February 2019
Offline i know the last thread on this was 5 years old, but i have a thought on this. there are many songs that the beatles wrote and recorded while the band was together that weren’t put on a single or an album which eventually got put out on one of their solo albums and singles. maybe the rest of the band wasn’t into that song in the moment or maybe the song didn’t fit with the tone of the album so they thought “we’ll put it on the next one” and never got to it. i can name a few off the top of my head; teddy boy, Isn’t It A Pity , jelous guy (started off as Child Of Nature ), maybe i’m amazed, What Is Life . i think, if that album was never released (and the singles too) those songs would have been eventually put out on solo albums after. paul loved the title track too much for it to never be released.
hidden under spoiler tab because it’s not very important to the thought. although i will note that i always thought get back/don’t let me down came out as a single with the let it be album. but after looking it up, i see that it came out as a single along a few days before ballad of john and yoko/Old Brown Shoe . which was long after the get back project was shelved. i’m gonna say the release of that single would have happened regardless.
————————————————————————————————————————–
there is a second question in this thread which i think is a cool thought:
DrBeatle said
I think the better question would be what if LiB (album) was released before Abbey Road ? I think that would have ended the career on a better note.
i always thought of let it be as when an author releases an “unreleased chapter” from their book that was out a long time prior. the fans get excited thinking it is going to be “the ultimate good bye” but as the ultimate goodbye it doesn’t bring up to the hype because it’s never what it was intended to be. as a goodbye to the fans, Abbey Road does a better job as a goodbye than let it be because that’s what it was intended to be. if it came out when it was originally planned to, it wouldn’t be “let it be” it would be “get back”. the engineer sent out promotional records of the song to press and DJs of the “get back” album with the cover of the Red Album and text that echoes the “Please Please Me ” album. the track listing was very different. teddy boy was on there, as was a cover of the song “save the last dance for me”. some of those promo versions have gotten out into the wild and if you’re lucky you could find one.
i don’t know if it is a reputable source, but here is my source on that information i found it long before i knew about the beatles bible, so that’s why i’m using it instead of an article on the beatles bible that more than likely exists and has more information: https://www.earcandymag.com/rrcase-getback.htm
i guess i should set up a signature soon? maybe?
9.48am
26 January 2017
Offline Interesting thoughts! I think that most of the songs would probably have been released as singles, or on solo albums with different recordings.
I've been up on the mountain, and I've seen his wondrous grace,
I've sat there on the barstool and I've looked him in the face.
He seemed a little haggard, but it did not slow him down,
he was humming to the neon of the universal sound.
10.03am
27 February 2019
Offline for the most part i agree with you, quarryman.
i was looking at the individual tracks and speculating on what would happen. here’s what i think would have happened:
-i think Paul probably would have released Let It Be and The Long And Winding Road as a single (let it be as the A-side) with I’ve Got A Feeling as an album track (or the b-side with The Long And Winding Road as the album track)
-i think Two Of Us would’ve probably been a track on Ram just because of it being about him and Linda on the farm.
-i think George would have definitely done something with For You Blue and I Me Mine . (if he didn’t use For You Blue , i do not doubt that he would have definitely used I Me Mine )
– John probably would have stuck with Across The Universe for some solo release, and Dig A Pony is 50-50 on whether or not he would stick with it.
–One After 909 still would have gotten a release on Anthology 1 .
–Dig It and Maggie Mae probably would not have ever been released on anything (possibly Anthology 1 but unlikely) after that because they were both ad-libbed or improvised.
i guess i should set up a signature soon? maybe?
10.24am
10 March 2017
Offline This is an interesting idea. For my prediction, i’m going to assume that this decision was made in late 1969 so Abbey Road , Get Back /Don’t Let Me Down , and Across The Universe would’ve been released as planned.
First off, the Hey Jude album would undoubtedly contain the single version of Get Back and the WWF version of Across The Universe in place of Can’t Buy Me Love and I Should Have Known Better .
This also means that The Beatles split up after the release of Abbey Road as opposed to 10 April 1970 so the 1970 sessions never happened meaning no proper recording of I Me Mine , no kick ass solo for Let It Be , For You Blue ‘s vocals would be different, and Phil would’ve never touched their work.
As for what would’ve happened to the songs, it’s likely they would’ve been re-recorded and released as solo songs. Not to mention, John’s What’s The New Mary Jane /You Know My Name (Look Up The Number) would’ve definitely been released.
Then, when Anthology’s released, the May 1969 Glynn John’s version of Let It Be ‘s finally released, similar to Badfinger’s Head First.
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11.24am
26 January 2017
Offline Maybe the rooftop performance would have been issued as a live album.
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50yearslate, RichardI've been up on the mountain, and I've seen his wondrous grace,
I've sat there on the barstool and I've looked him in the face.
He seemed a little haggard, but it did not slow him down,
he was humming to the neon of the universal sound.
12.01pm
27 February 2019
Offline wouldn’t that have been cool? i wish they actually did that. i don’t know how long the performance was, but i know they did multiple takes of each song. i would have to bet they would either have to remove bits or make it a double (or even triple) album
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Richardi guess i should set up a signature soon? maybe?
12.06pm
15 November 2018
Offline joshthenesnerd said
wouldn’t that have been cool? i wish they actually did that. i don’t know how long the performance was, but i know they did multiple takes of each song. i would have to bet they would either have to remove bits or make it a double (or even triple) album
Yeah me too, I’d love to be able to hear the rooftop concert without watching LIB .
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12.18pm
27 February 2019
Offline Dark Overlord said
This is an interesting idea. For my prediction, i’m going to assume that this decision was made in late 1969 so Abbey Road , Get Back /Don’t Let Me Down , and Across The Universe would’ve been released as planned.First off, the Hey Jude album would undoubtedly contain the single version of Get Back and the WWF version of Across The Universe in place of Can’t Buy Me Love and I Should Have Known Better .
i forgot Across The Universe was released on a charity album.
i guess i should set up a signature soon? maybe?
