Cancelled Yellow Submarine EP | Fab Forum | The Beatles Bible

meanmistermustard said
From wiki

An EP containing the new songs had been considered for release in September 1968, but any plan to issue the soundtrack music from Yellow Submarine was then postponed to allow for the White Album ‘s unveiling. Following the delayed release of the soundtrack album, however, Lewisohn writes that the Beatles were “mildly criticised” for having ceded a full LP side to Martin’s music and thereby failing to provide their customary “excellent value-for-money”. As a result, the band considered issuing Yellow Submarine as a five-track mono EP, without the film score but including the then-unreleased “Across The Universe ” as a bonus track. This EP was mastered in March 1969 but never issued. The original running order for the EP was “Only A Northern Song “, “Hey Bulldog ” and “Across The Universe ” on side one, with “All Together Now ” and “It’s All Too Much ” on side two.

Lennon later dismissed Martin’s contributions as “all this terrible shit” and blamed Brian Epstein, the Beatles’ manager, for allowing Martin to participate in the project. According to author and music journalist Peter Doggett, neither the proposed EP format nor an expanded soundtrack album (containing other previously issued Beatles songs that appear in the 1968 film) was possible at the time, since “both options would have denied George Martin his contractual right to appear alongside The Beatles – and robbed him of potentially the largest royalty payment of his career.”

From Lewisohn’s book ‘The Beatles Recording Sessions’

The Beatles was mildly criticised at the time of this LP release for giving less than their usually excellent value-for-money. Lovely though George Martin’s score was, fans of the group were having to buy a full-price album for just four “new” songs by the group (even the most recent was 11 months old), two of the six titles – Yellow Submarine itself and All You Need Is Love – having long been released. The group evidently took the criticism to heart, for there remains in the EMI library a master tape for a seven-inch mono EP, to run at LP speed, 33 1 / 3 rpm, compiled and banded on 13 March 1969 by Abbey Road employee Edward Gadsby-Toni, with the following line-up: Side A: Only A Northern Song ; Hey Bulldog ; Across The Universe . Side B: All Together Now ; It’s All Too Much . (Note the bonus inclusion of Across The Universe , long finished and mixed but, as of March 1969, still awaiting issue on the World Wildlife Fund charity album.)

The EP was never issued. Perhaps the Beatles, never too enamoured with any part of the Yellow Submarine project, felt that they were better off washing their hands of the whole affair.

All five mixes were released on the 2-CD set ‘Mono Masters’ in 2009.  

Thanks meanmistermustard, I sure wish they released the album as an EP (maybe add The Inner Light and call it a double EP). Also, was I right about George playing sitar on Sea Of Time or was it someone else.

meanmistermustard said
Wasn’t the EP market pretty much dead by the time of late 1968? According to wiki

EPs “died out in the late 1960s” and Record Retailer reduced the chart to ten positions on 16 April 1966, publishing the final EP chart on 16 December 1967.

I suppose they would just release it and it would go into the singles chart.

And the EP almost certainly wouldnt have seen a US release as there definitely wasn’t any interest in them (think ‘MMT’) so what would they do for there? Compile another ‘MMT’ this time adding the 1968 a and b sides?

Side 1
1. Hey Bulldog
2. Only A Northern Song
3. Across The Universe
4. All Together Now
5. It’s All Too Much

Side 2

1. Lady Madonna
2. The Inner Light
3. Revolution
4. Hey Jude

Would kill the 1970 ‘Hey Jude ‘ album concept which makes you wonder what Klein would do to generate cash for Apple and himself.  

Good point, though here’s how I’d put it (though they’d me more likely to put it your way):

Side 1: (songs from the film)

1. Only A Northern Song

2. All Together Now

4. Hey Bulldog (even though it would confuse the hell out of us, like I’ll Cry Instead in the US version of A Hard Day’s Night (it was cut at the last minute))

3. It’s All Too Much

Side 2: (previously unreleased songs (remember, they still have to release Hey Jude , so I didn’t put any of those songs in here))

1. The Inner Light

2. From Me To You

3. Misery

4. There’s A Place

5. I’m Down

Bonus 7-inch: (similar to Songs In The Key Of Life by Stevie Wonder)

Side 1. Across The Universe

Side 2. You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)

Also, you’ve got to admit that it was stupid on Capitol’s part to release 2 EP’s called Four By The Beatles.

meanmistermustard said
The Beatles would have to sanction the release so wouldn’t approve tracks like ‘Misery ‘ and ‘From Me To You ‘ as they weren’t their current sound (this was done before by Brian, in late 1964 and in the US market, so there is precedent).

Only the basic tracks of ‘You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)’ had been recorded, all vocals were added in 1969, so the track wasn’t in a releasable state.

‘Hey Jude ‘ b/w ‘Revolution ‘ was released in August 1968, the EP/LP would have been issued in September 1968. Adding the two tracks would surely increase sales and promote the album.  

What they really should have done was replaced Can You Take Me Back, Revolution 9 , and Good Night on The Beatles with Revolution and Hey Jude .