Beatles albums with no singles... but what if?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Aar Gal, Dec 3, 2019.

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  1. Aar Gal

    Aar Gal Monkberry Moon Delight Thread Starter

    Location:
    Virginia
    The Beatles did not release any UK singles from the following:

    With The Beatles
    Beatles For Sale
    Rubber Soul
    Sgt Pepper
    The White Album

    But if they did...what should have been the first single from each...

    I’ll go for

    It Won’t Be Long
    Eight Days A Week
    Drive My Car
    Sgt Peppers/ With A Little Help double A side
    Back In The USSR
     
  2. DK Pete

    DK Pete Forum Resident

    Location:
    Levittown. NY
    You didn't give them B-sides! I'll help out:
    -All I've Got To Do
    -What You're Doing
    -Think For Yourself
    -Lovely Rita
    -I'm So Tired

    ...just to add, USSR had been released as a single in one or two countries with While My Guitar gently Weeps on the flip side. The Pepper/Friends track came out in later years on a 45 in the midst of all the single re-issues in the late 70's. I have it as an Italian import with ADITL on the flip. I believe Germany paired it with Within You Without You.
     
  3. Chemguy

    Chemguy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Western Canada
    Nice thread idea.

    It Won't Be Long
    Eight Days...
    Nowhere Man (UK), I've Just Seen a Face (US)
    With a Little Help...
    Ob La Di...
     
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  4. Aar Gal

    Aar Gal Monkberry Moon Delight Thread Starter

    Location:
    Virginia
    Good b sides... I knew about the USSR and Pepper singles which came out later but choose to ignore
     
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  5. Brian Kelly

    Brian Kelly 1964-73 rock's best decade

    Excellent choices, though I would have All My Loving and It Won't Be Long from WITH THE BEATLES. Both are perfect pop singles.
    Eight Days A Week the obvious choice as it was a #1 in the US. Don't really see anything else on BEATLES FOR SALE that comes close to this as a single.
    Drive My Car a good choice. I also like the US hit Nowhere Man.
    Pepper/WALHFMF a good choice. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds another good one.
    Great choice with Back In The USSR. Ended up being a UK hit when ROCK AND ROLL album was released.
     
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  6. Aar Gal

    Aar Gal Monkberry Moon Delight Thread Starter

    Location:
    Virginia
    I think No Reply, Every Little Thing and What You’re Doing would be fine singles from Beatles For Sale...although by that stage everything would have went to number 1 anyway!

    Lots of possibilities from The White Album too..
     
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  7. Detroit Rock Citizen

    Detroit Rock Citizen RetroDawg Digital

    I have a feeling this is going to turn into a love fest for the US albums. I'll pass for now.
     
  8. Celebrated Summer

    Celebrated Summer Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    To my ears, Rubber Soul was the album that had the most singles that never were. Choose one:

    I'm Looking Through You/Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)

    or

    In My Life/If I Needed Someone

    0r

    Michelle/Girl
     
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  9. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    and that's a problem? it's all Beatles great music no matter what UK, US whatever...not a US albums lovefest...but, a Beatles albums Lovefest. ; )
     
  10. Thunderman

    Thunderman Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York
    Great topic:

    "All My Loving" - WITH THE BEATLES
    "No Reply" - BEATLES FOR SALE
    "If I Needed Someone" - RUBBER SOUL
    "Little Help From My Friends" - SGT. PEPPER'S
    "Blackbird" - THE WHITE ALBUM

    "All My Loving" is the way most in America first heard The Beatles. Put it on a 45 and let them buy it.

    "No Reply" would have added more weight to the singles selections which at this point were mostly boy-loves-girl pop.

    One of the greatest Beatle songs of all is the George tune "If I Needed Someone." No Beatle song captures the breezy mid-'60s pop better than that song. Jangle guitar, the boys harmonizing, great lick, unmatched sing-along-feel...it is the boys at the peak of their pop song craftsmanship. George should have been given the single spotlight. Why'd he have to wait until "Something"?

    "Little Help" would have been a fantastic spotlight for Ringo. How can anyone not like that song? It would have been a smash.

    What a great, brave choice "Blackbird" would have been. Extremely turbulent times - war, marches, civil rights, demonstrations, assassinations.. and The Beatles release this folky, bucolic acoustic little ditty. A song to uplift us all.
     
  11. Aar Gal

    Aar Gal Monkberry Moon Delight Thread Starter

    Location:
    Virginia

    Could have given George an early A Side with Think For Yourself
     
  12. wildstar

    wildstar Senior Member

    Location:
    ontario, canada
    Well actually the only time they released a single from an album was in extracting Something/Come Together from Abbey Road. In every other case they included previously (or simultaneously in a couple instances) released singles on a subsequent album.

    But to your main point, I'd say the singles would (like almost all of their UK singles) consist of one strong song each from John and Paul (and on rare occasions George or Ringo subbing for John or Paul). So:

    It Won't Be Long/All My Loving

    Eight Days A Week/Every Little Thing

    Nowhere Man/Michelle - or maybe instead If I Needed Someone given its Byrdsiness at a time the Byrds were at their commercial peak and to give George his first B-Side (Day Tripper could work as the B-side as well).

    Getting Better/Lucy (though the 'beat my woman' line might be problematic for an A-Side, but aside from that its the most single-sounding track on the album).

    Obladi/Weeps (this pairing made #1 in Australia, and whatever you think about the A-side it clearly had hit potential since Marmalade's version hit #1 in the UK in early 1969.
     
  13. jatticus

    jatticus i swear im not emo

    Location:
    U.S.A
    Agree, except I would make lucy the a side and getting better the b side
     
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  14. wildstar

    wildstar Senior Member

    Location:
    ontario, canada
    Release one of the four worst songs on the album as a single A-Side?! :yikes:
     
  15. wildstar

    wildstar Senior Member

    Location:
    ontario, canada
    Getting Better is catchier - but of course given the 'beat my woman' lyric, flipping the sides probably makes more sense. OTOH radio might not like that one either given the LSD rumor about the title.
     
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  16. Man at C&A

    Man at C&A Senior Member

    Location:
    England
    All My Loving
    Baby's In Black
    Nowhere Man
    A Day In The Life (this would have been a real event. One of the longest singles ever and huge sounding. A "we're back and beat this!" statement after Strawberry Fields didn't reach No.1)
    Back in the USSR
     
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  17. Aar Gal

    Aar Gal Monkberry Moon Delight Thread Starter

    Location:
    Virginia
    Or how about going with

    A Day In The Life / When I’m Sixty Four...
     
  18. jatticus

    jatticus i swear im not emo

    Location:
    U.S.A
    I think back in the USSR would be taken weirdly in the U.S., given they were in full communist panic mode.
     
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  19. jatticus

    jatticus i swear im not emo

    Location:
    U.S.A
    That would be a pretty good combo
     
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  20. jatticus

    jatticus i swear im not emo

    Location:
    U.S.A
    I think sgt. peppers would be with a little help from my friends as an a side and lucy in the sky with diamonds as the b side
    I think the white album would be ob-la-di, ob-la-da as the a side and either blackbird or while my guitar gently weeps as the b side.
     
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  21. Aar Gal

    Aar Gal Monkberry Moon Delight Thread Starter

    Location:
    Virginia
    Marvelous choices, and well thought out.
     
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  22. Brian Kelly

    Brian Kelly 1964-73 rock's best decade

    Oh yeah, a lot of their songs would have been hits. I just don't think any of those you mention hit all the "hit single" buttons the way "Eight Days A Week" does. The US got it right on that one.
    I also think "I'm A Loser" could have been a hit.
    Other WHITE ALBUM hit choices (along with Back In The USSR):
    Blackbird, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Obladi Oblada, I Will, Dear Prudence (I first heard this song as a hit for a Maine group called Katfish)
     
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  23. wildstar

    wildstar Senior Member

    Location:
    ontario, canada
    A-Side too weird and B-Side too weak.

    Plus the BBC banned ADITL from airplay due to the "I'd love to turn you on" line. Not a big deal for an album track but for a single?

    Sometimes when a single gets banned, it gets flipped and the B-Side becomes the A-Side for promotion/airplay. How do you imagine that would work out?
     
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  24. jatticus

    jatticus i swear im not emo

    Location:
    U.S.A
    couldnt say it better myself
     
  25. Culpa

    Culpa Forum Resident

    Location:
    Philadelphia, PA
    I'm not a big fan of Eight Days A Week, but I do think it would have been an obvious choice for a single for any other artist. Michelle is another obvious choice, I don't know how Capitol passed it up for an A-side. :)

    All My Loving/All I've Got To Do
    Eight Days A Week/No Reply
    Michelle/Nowhere Man
    Lucy In The Sky/Getting Better
    I Will/Julia
     
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