Rock albums from alternate timelines

ITTL Background: Instead of feeling dismay at hearing the Beatles' Strawberry Fields/Penny Lane release in February 1967 and giving up trying, alternate Brian Wilson decides to wrap-up production on Heroes and Villains and releases a concise, fast-paced and full-blown Americana version in mid-February, with a B-side comprised of the more experimental bits ('Heroes and Villains Pt. 2'). This single becomes The Beach Boys' fourth number-one hit in America. This success motivates Brian to finish SMiLE, which is finally released under heavy promotion by Capitol on 01 April 1967. The album goes on to receive near universal acclaim by fans and critics alike.

Brian suffers his breakdown in late 1967 after the release of Sgt. Peppers, as the pressures of releasing a third consecutive #1 hit catch up with his growing schizophrenia. The rest of the band carries on live appearances in Monterey and in Hawaii (Lei'd in Hawaii), which prove to be modest successes and end up receiving the live album treatment by Capitol that same year.

Early 1968, brothers Carl and Dennis manage to get Brian back into the studio, this time taking a more active role in the writing and production of the songs - a complete turnaround from Pet Sounds and SMiLE. This results in an eponymous double album - Ocean Blue, as it is referred to by fans of the band -, which is seen as democratic attempt by the band to 'bring Brian back', clear a year's worth of demos in their repertoire and attend to Capitol's contractual obligations.

Critics and fans alike praise SMiLE-sounding tracks such as the 7-minute epic finale of 'Can't Wait Too Long' and the melodic 'Time to Get Alone', while casting a blind eye to weaker band compositions. A balance is struck between Brian and the rest of the band, which carries on successfully to present day.

Singles:

1. Darlin' b/w Wild Honey
2. I Can Hear Music + Do It Again double A-side
3. Can't Wait Too Long b/w Tunes


The Beach Boys - The Beach Boys (1968) (The 'Ocean Blue' Album)


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Produced by Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys - Capitol Records

Side 1
1. Do It Again
2. I Can Hear Music
3. We're Together Again
4. Let the Wind Blow
5. Friends
6. Be With Me

Side 2
1. Wild Honey
2. Cotton Fields
3. I Was Made to Love Her
4. Bluebirds Over the Mountain
5. Old Man River
6. Country Air

Side 3
1. Time to Get Alone
2. Wake the World
3. All I Wanna Do
4. Even Steven
5. I Went to Sleep
6. Aren’t You Glad?

Side 4
1. Meant for You
2. Darlin'
3. Tunes (OOC: Tune X from the SMiLE sessions + Tune L from the Wild Honey sessions)
4. Here Comes the Night
5. Diamond Head/Cool Cool Water (SMiLE Reprise)
6. Can't Wait Too Long
 
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ITTL Background: Instead of feeling dismay at hearing the Beatles' Strawberry Fields/Penny Lane release in February 1967 and giving up trying, alternate Brian Wilson decides to wrap-up production on Heroes and Villains and releases a concise, fast-paced and full-blown Americana version in mid-February, with a B-side comprised of the more experimental bits ('Heroes and Villains Pt. 2'). This single becomes The Beach Boys' fourth number-one hit in America. This success motivates Brian to finish SMiLE, which is finally released under heavy promotion by Capitol on 01 April 1967. The album goes on to receive near universal acclaim by fans and critics alike.

Brian suffers his breakdown in late 1967 after the release of Sgt. Peppers, as the pressures of releasing a third consecutive #1 hit catch up with his growing schizophrenia. The rest of the band carries on live appearances in Monterey and in Hawaii (Lei'd in Hawaii), which prove to be modest successes and end up receiving the live album treatment by Capitol that same year.

Early 1968, brothers Carl and Dennis manage to get Brian back into the studio, this time taking a more active role in the writing and production of the songs - a complete turnaround from Pet Sounds and SMiLE. This results in an eponymous double album - Ocean Blue, as it is referred to by fans of the band -, which is seen as democratic attempt by the band to 'bring Brian back', clear a year's worth of demos in their repertoire and attend to Capitol's contractual obligations.

Critics and fans alike praise SMiLE-sounding tracks such as the 7-minute epic finale of 'Can't Wait Too Long' and the melodic 'Time to Get Alone', while casting a blind eye to weaker band compositions. A balance is struck between Brian and the rest of the band, which carries on successfully to present day.

Singles:

1. Darlin' b/w Wild Honey
2. I Can Hear Music + Do It Again double A-side
3. Can't Wait Too Long b/w Tunes


The Beach Boys - The Beach Boys (1968) (The 'Ocean Blue' Album)


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Produced by Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys - Capitol Records

Side 1
1. Do It Again
2. I Can Hear Music
3. We're Together Again
4. Let the Wind Blow
5. Friends
6. Be With Me

Side 2
1. Wild Honey
2. Cotton Fields
3. Rock 'n' Roll Woman
4. Bluebirds Over the Mountain
5. Old Man River
6. Country Air

Side 3
1. Time to Get Alone
2. Wake the World
3. All I Wanna Do
4. Even Steven
5. I Went to Sleep
6. Walk On By

Side 4
1. Meant for You
2. Darlin'
3. Tunes (OOC: Tune X from the SMiLE sessions + Tune L from the Wild Honey sessions)
4. Here Comes the Night
5. Diamond Head/Cool Cool Water (SMiLE Reprise)
6. Can't Wait Too Long
Dunno about the logo, since that was made in the 70s, I'd say reuse the logo used in SMiLE, and like on the bottom corner
 
The producer Tom Dowd has said, "When we recorded At Fillmore East, we ended up with almost a whole other album's worth of good material, and we used [two] tracks on Eat A Peach. Again, there was no overdubbing". So I wondered what it would sound like if that "other album's worth of good material" was released with the "At Fillmore East" album to make it a triple live album, before the Grateful Dead released "Europe '72" the next year. [all tracks taken from the deluxe edition of "At Fillmore East" from 2003].

The Allman Brothers Band - At Fillmore East (1971)


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Side 1
1. Statesboro Blues
2. Trouble No More
3. Don't Keep Me Wonderin'
4. Done Somebody Wrong
5. Stormy Monday

Side 2
6. One Way Out
7. In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed

Side 3
8. You Don't Love Me
9. Midnight Rider

Side 4
10. Hot 'Lanta
11. Whipping Post

Side 5
12. Drunken Hearted Boy (with Elvin Bishop)
13. Mountain Jam

Side 6
14. Mountain Jam (continued)
 
I don't know if it came up yet, but the Yes album "90125" was not originally a Yes album. The band had broken up, and became a band named Cinema, brought on Trevor Horn of the Buggles for their new band and recorded a new album. They then ended up brining former Yes lead singer Jon Anderson back to record vocals, and that album became a new Yes album and almost by happenstance, Yes reformed and album became another Yes album. So for want of a nail, that album is not a Yes album. Bet you wish the Beatles had the same thing happen. "Oh, Ringo is doing a new album and Paul's in town. Ok, we'll all pop in for a song. Oh hell, we just reformed the Beatles, didn't we?"

90125 and Big Generator (although the latter has too much filler IMO) would have a lot greater a legacy (outside of "Owner of a Lonely Heart") if they weren't Yes albums. They're inevitably viewed as "sellout" albums yet they're a bit more than that since they're pretty damn good 80s pop rock!

But there's a lot of interesting Yes PoDs given the huge amount of lineup changes, legal issues with the name (i.e. ABWH), albums like Union, etc. I wonder what the best PoD might be to produce a Yes album fans generally agree is a "return to form" after Going For the One or even Drama. Sure, some fans like Magnification and/or Fly From Here but those aren't usually regarded as such (as much as I like the latter) and the Invention of Knowledge album from Jon Anderson and Roine Stolt a few years back is more Yes than anything since the 70s (when it came out I fooled my father, a Yes fan since the late 70s, that it was the new Yes album and a comeback after the awful Heaven and Earth). A very interesting Yes lineup might have Adam Wakeman taking the forefront on keys and introducing progressive metal aspects into Yes in the style of his later band Headspace. Pendragon, IQ, Arena were well-received prog bands whose 00s/10s output has a prog metal influence and the 90s in general favoured a sort of generic "heaviness" in their rock music so maybe instead of nonsense like Talk or Open Your Eyes or The Ladder you get a more metallic Yes in line with a 90s alt-rock sound. Maybe it would be like 90s Rush and have a dash of Dream Theater (both Oliver and Adam Wakeman IIRC are longtime Dream Theater fans) alongside your typical Yes sound (i.e. continuing in the re-recordings of unreleased material that Keys to Ascension did). So perhaps we have late 90s Yes albums sounding like classic Yes but since its heavier it sounds like the heavier parts of early Flower Kings with some bits of Spock's Beard and 90s Dream Theater in there.

This isn't so much an album, but a theoretical Yes lineup:
Vocals - Jon Anderson
Guitar - Steve Howe
Bass - Chris Squire
Drums - Alan White (or maybe Bill Bruford since King Crimson's heaviness would fit well with this)
Keyboard - Adam Wakeman

Perhaps this lineup produces an album or two at the end of the 90s or early 00s, but even though they likely won't stay together there could be suitable musicians they could replace individual members with, as evidenced by 00s and 10s Yes lineups (maybe Tony Levin as Yes bassist after Chris Squire's death or if needed Roine Stolt replacing Howe?). Benoit David and Jon Davison are suitable replacements for Jon Anderson even if the latter sang on a godawful album (since his work with Glass Hammer was pretty damn good). Oliver Wakeman could take over from his brother if needed or perhaps even have Clive Nolan (Pendragon, Arena) on keys. There's a lot of possibilities for a Yes lineup after all.
 
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Help!
(1964)


Side A
1. Help! (Elvis with The Beatles)
2. Once Is Enough (Elvis)
3. You've Got to Hide Your Love Away (Lennon)
4. I Need You (Harrison)
5. Another Girl (Elvis and McCartney)
6. You're Gonna Lose That Girl (Elvis and Lennon)

Side B
1. It's Only Love (Elvis)
2. Witchcraft (Elvis with The Beatles)
3. You Like Me Too Much (Harrison)
4. Tell Me What You See (Elvis and McCartney)
5. I've Just Seen A Face (Elvis)
6. Yesterday (McCartney)

The Beatles' second film with Elvis would go on to be a big success. Elvis would go on to film Kissing Cousins before he would do the unthinkable...Tour Europe!

Hey, here's an idea, maybe in this universe, Elvis goes with the band on their little ''Country GFGeyaway'' and gets hooked on psychedelics himself. There's at least a 50/50 chance that the more experimental Elvis would have lived a lot longer. Maybe gotten into activism like Lennon.
 
Wow I thought this thread died, well since it’s back I might as well do one of own ideas which is What If The Lost Weekend Era Didn’t End?

And what I mean by that is that John dosen’t come back to Yoko. But it’s at that era before he comes back to Yoko where he’s cut down on his drinking and debauchery with Harry Nilsson.

There were plans for The Beatles to reunite around this time, well not exactly. Their were plans for John to go down to New Orleans to go write with Paul on Venus and Mars. So let’s just say that happens, but it expands from a Wings album, to a planned Beatles reunion album (but George probably wouldn’t want to be involved), to a duo album between John and Paul.

Venus & Mars - The Nerk Twins (1975)

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Produced By The Nerk Twins

*all songs written by The Nerk Twins unless credited*

SIDE 1
1. Venus and Mars/ Rock Show
2. Tennessee
3. Call Me Back Again
4. Sally & Billy
5. Magneto & Titanium Man

SIDE 2
1. Here We Go Again - (Winston Leg- Thigh)
2. Everybody’s Talkin’ - (Winston Leg-Thigh)
3. Letting Go - (Apollo C. Vermouth)
4. Steel and Crossroads
5. Going to New Orleans (My Carnival)

Personnel
Winston Leg-Thigh (John Lennon): Vocals [2] [4] [6] [7] [9] [10], Guitar [1] [4] [6] [7] [8] [9], Piano [2] [3] [10], Backing Vocals [All Tracks]

Apollo C. Vermouth (Paul McCartney): Vocals [1] [3] [5] [8] [9] [10] [11], Bass [All Tracks], Piano [4] [5] [6] [8]

Denny Laine: Guitar [All Tracks]

Ringo Starr: Drums [All Tracks]

Linda McCartney: Keyboard [8], Backing Vocals [All Tracks]

Reception
Venus & Mars was released to critical praise, as The Beatles had gained a resurgence after the 1973 Red and Blue albums. Rolling Stone said of the album “Though it is not a full Beatles reunion, it is still great to see a reunion of the two members who were feuding the most. Their individual styles blending into a almost-1950s rock n roll sound”

With the positive reception to the album, John and Paul even took a couple public appearances in New Orleans going with Paul’s original plan in 1969 with playing in small venues.

JUST SOME THINGS TO CONSIDER
1. The Nerk Twins was a group name that John and Paul used when they would preform as a duo in the early 1960s
2. Winston Leg-Thigh was a pseudonym used by John during the 1968 Rock N Roll Circus when the Dirty Mac preformed.
3. Apollo C. Vermouth was a pseudonym used by Paul when produced the Bonzos “I’m the Urban Spaceman” in 1969.
4. John actually planned to go to New Orleans to write with Paul.
 
Caribou Ranch - The Beach Boys (1975)

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SIDE 1
1. Good Timin’ - (B. Wilson - C. Wilson)
2. It’s O.K. - (B. Wilson - Love)
3. Barnyard Blues - (D. Wilson)
4. We Got Love - (Chaplin - Love - Fataar)
5. Our Life, Our Love, Our Land - (Love)

SIDE 2
1. Don’t Let Me Go - (C. Wilson - Love)
2. You’re Riding High On the Music - (B. Wilson - Kalinich)
3. Earthquake Time - (Love)
4. Carry Me Home - (D. Wilson)
5. California Feelin’ - (B. Wilson - Kalinich)

Personnel
Brian Wilson: Vocals [1], [2], [7], [10], Piano [All Tracks]
Mike Love: Vocals [2], [4], [5], [8]
Carl Wilson: Vocals [1], [6], [10], Guitar [All Tracks], Bass [All Tracks]
Al Jardine: Vocals [7], [10], Guitar: [All Tracks]
Dennis Wilson: Vocals [3], [9], Drums [All Tracks]

Caribou Ranch
was the 21st studio album by The Beach Boys. It was released during a time of increased musical activity from Brian Wilson after 1974’s Sweet Mountain and the departure of members Ricky Fataar and Blondie Chaplin and manager Jack Reiley.

Reception
The album was released to a mostly positive response from critics, mainly praising Brian and Dennis’s contributions to the album. Whereas Love’s contributions were mainly weak compared to them.

California Feelin’ was released as a single backed with Love’s Earthquake Time which gave them their first #1 since Good Vibrations in 1966. The first has since became a fan-favorite and a concert staple since then.

Caribou Ranch shot to #7 on the Billboard 200 chart whereas it charted slightly lower in the UK at #13.

“We were happy to see Brian contributing more again, while songs like California Feelin’ Brian was insecure about, we tried to give him as much encouragement as we could. I guess it paid off as it became a favorite amongst the fans and us”
Dennis Wilson, 1996.

JUST SOME THINGS TO CONSIDER
  • Tracks 5-9 are REAL SONGS, they just haven’t been released
  • California Feelin’ was worked on during these sessions but Brian was insecure about his voice so he didn’t release it
  • They didn’t release any albums from 1973 until 1976 so I’m just trying to fill in that gap
  • They still maintain that progressive sound they had in the early 1970s but just with a more commercialized sound.
 
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The Beatles (feat. Yoko Ono-McCartney, Linda Eastman, Estelle Bennet, Billy Preston and Eric Clapton) - Ghost Stories
1971, Apple Records/EMI/Capitol Records
Prod. George Martin


Side 1.
1. Give It Back (Lennon-McCartney)
2. Water, Water (McCartney)
3. Sick to Death (Lennon)
4. Foxes (Harrison)
5. Several Shades of Blue (Lennon)
6. Pink Paper Shirt (Harrison)
7. Let It Slip (McCartney)


Side 2.
1. Mr. Crowley (Harrison)
2. Set Me On Fire (Starr)
3. Elephant in the Room (McCartney)
4. Blackpool (Lennon)
5. Bitter Crazies (Harrison)
6. Everybody Breaks Up (Everybody Makes Up) (McCartney)
7. That's Reality (Lennon)
 
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The Beatles (feat. Yoko Ono-McCartney, Linda Eastman, Estelle Bennet, Billy Preston and Eric Clapton) - Ghost Stories
1971, Apple Records/EMI/Capitol Records
Prod. George Martin


Side 1.
1. For The First Time In My Life (Lennon)
2. Water, Water (McCartney)
3. Sick to Death (Lennon)
4. She Thinks He's Sophisticated (McCartney)
5. Several Shades of Blue (Lennon)
6. Bitter Crazies (Harrison)
7. Let It Slip (McCartney)


Side 2.
1. Cmon' Mr. Crowley (Harrison)
2. Set Me On Fire (Starr)
3. Elephant in the Room (McCartney)
4. Blackpool (Lennon)
5. Piece of Mind (Harrison)
6. Everybody Breaks Up (Everybody Makes Up) (McCartney)
7. That's Reality (Lennon)
Whats the scenario ITTL, both this and Elastic
 
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POT LUCK WITH ELVIS AND THE BEATLES
(1965)


Side A
1. What You're Doing (Elvis with McCartney)
2. Steppin' Out of Line (Elvis)
3. Word's of Love (Elvis and Lennon)
4. Slowly But Surely (Elvis)
5. Eight Days A Week (Elvis with Lennon)
6. Put The Blame On Me (Elvis)

Side B
1. You'll Be Gone (Elvis with The Beatles)
2. Tell Me What You See (Elvis and McCartney)
3. Bad Boy (Lennon)
4. Shake That Tambourine (Elvis)
5. Yes It Is (Elvis with Harrison and Lennon)
 
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