A more realistic TL is that a third possible new manager besides Klein and Eastman exists ITTL who in OTL died in his crib. This manager is acceptable to McCartney and Lennon, so they don't have the manager fight. Although this doesn't change the fact that Lennon says after Abbey Road, "I want a divorce," it does change the growing dissension between the Beatles, especially if the new manager is able to thread the needle of the Get Back tapes in a way that makes all the band members happy.
This could mean that John's original intent, to not record together as a band anymore but officially remain the Beatles becomes a reality as Paul doesn't feel forced to take legal action. In 1970 a Beatles album is released of material that recording-wise is solo material. This isn't actually new since they'd already done that going back to Yesterday. What's new is the entire album is like that, plus solo albums are released too. Billy Preston, Eric Clapton, Klaus Voorman and Leon Russell all work with them in recording the material and in various solo performances. So the Beatles still exist de jure. John quitting in late 1969 was not a new thing. What was new was the legal problems of the band making that an irreversible reality when Paul sued.
If the band could remain together de jure it leaves open the door for John to later change his mind and be interested in recording with the others again, since he isn't locked into it and still has his freedom to not do so. Meanwhile George's resentment to Paul would be reduced due to no legal feud and due to his being able to release his own solo material. Don't forget that George was as upset with John about being kept down as he was with Paul, but he was able to let that go with John once he had solo success. What was the difference? It can't be that the musical feud with Paul was worse, after all John and George exchange punches during the White Album sessions. The difference was there was an bitter legal feud with Paul. Without that it is likely that George would have gotten past it with Paul as he did with John.
So in this scenario a 1970 album could very well be a compilation of songs that were solo material in OTL in 1970 and 1971. By 1971 the divergence makes it so we can't just take material from later 1971 and figure it would be in a "Beatles" album. It would be unknown whether they'd actually record together by then or not and how this change would affect their creative output. How the 70s would have looked without an official legal breakup but an actual breakup is up for grabs.
By the way, in OTL John once said in the early 70s that if fans wanted a Beatles album they should just take songs from their solo work and put them together on a tape. I liked that idea and in Itunes created my own playlist of 1970 material as a Beatles album I called "Ripe"...the apple is red so it's ripe... and one as a 1971 album I called "Easy"...it has Imagine with it's lyric of "It's easy if you try" and Ringo's (George's) song "It Don't Come Easy." It's actually a lot of fun to listen to these playlists. Somehow the juxtaposition of the songs with other former Beatle's songs does create a "Beatlesque" experience for me.
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I like this scenario, since it allows for there to be a solo album valve. I do not know who this possible manager would be. As you say, it could be someone who died in childhood historically. However, I think finding the manager might be possible. Considering they gave the job of managing Apple Records to Neil Aspinall, maybe he could take on the role? Probably a bad idea of mine, who knows. He's probably a bad pick. A Beatles manager has to be someone loyal to the group, but who also knows how to manage fiances and, to use Lennon's phrasing, deal with suits. I do not know who that might be. Still I think a split would still happen eventually, but here it's probably more amicable, more a matter of the Beatles not making albums together anymore, just as they quit touring. The final split probably happens in 1971, when Lennon moves to New York City. I think that would still happen even here, for various reasons. Once he moves there, for practical reasons the Beatles are done, unless the rest of them feel like flying out to the United States every time they want to record an album with Lennon, which doesn't seem likely.
Assuming another divergence is that Glyn Johns has better instruction on what songs to pick for "Get Back", and that album is released, I disagree on what the first post-Abbey Road album might look like. Leaving aside butterflies, I do not think that Instant Karma would be on it, since the whole point of that song originally was that it was released about as "instantly" as was possible in 1970. If he still writes the song, then the song would be a single, and not part of the next Beatles album. If you could find a ready B-Side you could conceivably use Instant Karma as a Beatles Single though. This might be particularly likely if for example, Cold Turkey is a Beatles single as well. I do not think that "God" is a likely solo album cut, particularly if the song still includes the "I don't believe in Beatles" line. The songs iconoclastic denunciation of the band doesn't make it suitable in my view to a Beatles album. I am not saying the song is bad, just that I cannot see it on a Beatles album.
In estimating what a 1970 Beatles Album might be like, maybe it would make sense to look at the solo album material that was actually worked on or proposed during the Beatles career. Now, most of Harrison's All Things Must Pass album was written while the band was still together, but I think only the title track and Isn't it a Pity were ever seriously proposed to the band. Junk, Teddy Boy, Every Night, and Back Seat of My Car were worked on by the Beatles. "Look at Me" "Oh My Love" "Gimme Some Truth" were all proposed to or worked on by the Beatles. Jealous Guy's melody was originally "child of nature" and was a song intended for the White album. So, if they made it through 1969 without splitting forever the next Beatles Album might look like this:
- It Don't Come Easy
- Every Night
- Gimme Some Truth
- Teddy Boy
- The Back Seat of My Car
- Isn't it a Pity?
- Look at Me
- Oh My Love
- Junk
- Jealous Guy
- All Things Must Pass
Harrison's album might be as follows.
- I'd Have You Anytime
- My Sweet Lord
- What is Life?
- Behind that Locked Door
- Let it Down
- I Live For You
- Beware of Darkness
- Apple Scruffs
- Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let it Roll)
- Awaiting on You All
- Art of Dying
- Here Me Lord
McCartney's album might look something like this:
- Lovely Linda
- Ram On
- That Would Be Something
- Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey
- Smile Away
- Maybe I'm Amazed
- Man We Was Lonely
- Heart of the Country
- OO You
- Momma Miss America
- Monkeberry Moon Delight
- Eat at Home
- Long Haired Lady
- Kreen Akore
- Mother
- Hold On
- I Found Out
- Working Class Hero
- Isolation
- Remember
- Love
- Imagine
- How
- It's So Hard
- Well Well Well
- Crippled Inside
- Oh Yoko.
The scenario I've created might be fantastically unlikely, but sometimes it is fun to create playlists.