So how precisely were decisions made about what singles to release in later years of the Beatles?

The Beatles wanted to put out an EP out in '69 with the songs from Yellow Submarine and "Across The Universe" included as bait but decided against it.

According to Mark Lewisohn (Recording Sessions, pg. 164), the track list for this was:

Side A
Only A Northern Song
Hey Bulldog
Across The Universe

Side B
All Together Now
It's All Too Much

 

I don't blame Yoko for the way Revolution 1 turned out, it was John's call, and I think it turned out beautifully anyway (much better than the single version).

 

"Get Back" was a huge hit, at least here in the US. 4 or 5 weeks at #1. I'd say they picked the right one there. Definitely worthy of being a single.
I remember "Something" being played on AM a lot more than "Come Together". "Something" was indeed the hit.

I also prefer "Rain" to "Paperback Writer". But "Paperback" is much more commercial and hook-y. I'm afraid it's the better choice in 1966 as an A-side.

 

Nope. "Revolution" was way too radical to be as huge a hit as "Hey Jude" was. This is 1968. Songs like "People Got To Be Free" were hits because they were a calming call for unity. Certainly "Hey Jude" was. And the hypnotic fade out was a kind of campfire singalong. Everyone could be involved. "Revolution" pointed fingers.

"Revolution" rock hard, though! Especially in mono!

 

Hey Jude got twice the airplay. You can't really use chart activity from a B side to prove it shouldn't have been the A side, there's a fallacy in doing that.

How is recording it hot and rockin' supposed to be a detriment ? it was a great performance and still sounds great everytime you get a chance to hear it.

 

How was it any more radical than many other 60s anthems? Sheesh, the main message was 'you know it's gonna be.. alright!"

 

That makes sense, and thanks for the correction about the original Revolution. The faster version is waaay better than the other imo.

 

Get Back and Come Together are still so overplayed I change the channel when either come on, both had a limited go-to life for me. It irked me that for years Paul would drag Get Back out again and again. I even like Ballad of John and Yoko better than either.

 

That is interesting -- especially from a guy who absolutely loved singles. His taste ran to more of the quirky singles though ("Angel Baby" etc.). And I generally like his favorites too.

 

Yep, I saw him do it live earlier this year and the whole arena had a blast.

 

Yeah. It's indicative of something or other that John, when forced, for whatever reason, to make a fundamental change in a record he likes/champions, doesn't get resentful and phone it in, but finds a way to still come up with something he's proud of.

 

George and John had a songwriting session where John added lyrics to 'Taxman' and George, in his own words "said those two bits of songs you've got would be a good middle for that other song" and 'She Said She Said' was complete. George plays acoustic on I Need You, John plays drums, Ringo taps the back of John's acoustic, Paul, bass. If you have to be told about John's spectacular guitar and vocal work on 'If I Needed Someone', maybe you just forgot.

 

Yeah, although the UK version John fell in love with is not the "quirky" record the original, authentic U.S. release was. The Brit company that released it, edited out the
goofy/incompetent sax solo in the middle (as well as the beautiful introductory arpeggios) and remastered it to make it less bright. In doing so,
the singer's voice comes out MUCH less nasal-y/strange. (No point getting in a huff about this, the original, U.S. release (1960) was a total anomaly,
a ful 4 minutes long! It's amazing it was released that way in the U.S. This kind of length was unheard of in the U.S. for pop songs at the time
and would remain so until the late sixties . So it was fairly predictable that the UK release would be edited. And let's face it, personally I love
and adore that horrid solo, but of course that is what they would cut. So although I prefer the solo intact and the otherworldly quality of the
original mastering with the hypernasal singing, I can understand perfectly the revisionism. However, there is no excuse for editing out the
wonderful arpeggio introduction. just stupid!

 

Both Something & Come Together got about equal play here, on Cashbox where they were tracked separately, Come Together was #1 for 3 weeks and Something hit #2.

 

I have noticed (not only here, but elsewhere in BeatleLand) that "Get Back" really gets derided these days. I love it, and always have . I thought it was a great choice for a single.

 

Or... I should stop posting first thing in the morning and just type what I mean . Needless to say, MOST UK and US singles were the same from late 1965 until 1970...with a few notable exceptions. There! Ron

 

Oh I'd say it is a pretty good guide. B-sides that were commercial-sounding often did quite well on Billboard, in fact, some B-sides charted well enough to be considered hits themselves (She's A Woman, Day Tripper, SFF). Songs perhaps not considered as commercial, say The Inner Light, I Am The Walrus, You Know My Name did much more poorly in comparison. This is all US-based of course. Ron

 

Considering the consistent quality of Beatles songs, it would have been kind of difficult for them to choose an inferior song for a "B" side.

 

well the Inner Light and You Know My Name weren't very good. You do know that part of Billboard's formula was airplay, right ? Of course B sides start with a big handicap, you don't get to come back and say they didn't do as well for quality reasons when they started behind the 8 ball to begin with. The fact that Revolution did as well as it did is actually proof that it would've thrived greatly as an A side. It's a way better song than Hello Goodbye, Get Back, Come Together from my vantage point.

 

John does not play drums !! And he had no apparent interest in George's songs towards the end of the Beatles time together

 

Lennon wanted Revolution 1 as the single. Not the fast version.
Revolution 1 is not commercial or potential single material and I highly doubt it would have made as much impact as Hey Jude. Lennon knew when he heard Hey Jude, that it would be a big succes and he worked hard on that track.

It's easy for Lennon to sit in interviews after it all had ended, and say the group should have done this and that. When they were together as a group, he did too want big commercial singles. After all, he could have vetoed Hello Goodbye, but didn't. He knew it would be a hit.

 

Could he have really vetoed it ? How ? Paul seemed to get his way on everything. In the interviews I've read, Lennon didn't specify which Revolution he wanted but his remarks seem to be referring to the B side of Hey Jude, can you link to verification of your statement?

The B side of Hey Jude is amazing, I don't see how anybody could be sure it wouldn't have been a giant hit like Hey Jude.

 

John does play drums on I Need You.

 

btw just to put things in perspective: Revolution 1 (and R9) was finished in June. Hey Jude was recorded in August. They easily could release Revolution 1 (with R9 as a b-side) in early July 1968 (if they have wanted to) and then release Hey Jude (with whatever b-side) at the end of August (as they did) or delay it for a week or two until September. The released single b-side version of Revolution was recorded about a month later than R1 and R9.

And one more point. Lennon was obviously losing power in the band. He lost with Across the Universe as a single in early 1968, then he lost with Revolution 1 (and subsequently with the single version of the song). He also could not push What's the New Mary Jane and You Know My Name for any kind of release. Yes, we need not consider those songs worthy, but he probably did like them. It is no wonder he stoped trying after that.

 

Well, drum. Not sure if he plays anything other than the snare.