u/SheeranisKing

Already have this cover art done, and just listened to Head, so can smash this out, yay! (Still need to do cover art for the next Beatles part, I promise I'll lock in 🙏)

Side One:

1. Opening Ceremony (Head)

2. Ditty Diego War Chant (Head)

3. Circle Sky (Head)

4. Randy Scouse Git (Headquarters)

5. Daddy’s Song (Head)

Side Two:

1. Can You Dig It (Head)

2. We Were Made For Each Other (The Birds, The Bees, And The Monkees)

3. Magnolia Simms (The Birds, The Bees, And The Monkees)

4. Supplicio (Head)

5. Swami-Plus Strings (Head)

I love love LOVE this John and Paul hypothetical, it's probably my favorite collab opportunity outside of Venus and Mars or a 1980 album.

Many people have their own preferences for a what if setlist, but for me, I felt it made sense to do a few Beatles staples, then just rock and roll covers, as that'd make more sense for the out of practice Lennon-McCartney to be able to play proficiently.

Having come across some neat fan mixes, I will also link my YouTube playlist and the versions used.

THE SETLIST

1. Be Bop A Lula (Fan mix combo of John's Rock and Roll and Paul's Unplugged)

2. Across The Universe (Take 6) (White Album SDE)

3. Sweet Little Sixteen (From the Backyard Sessions, bootleg)

4. Twenty Flight Rock (One Hand Clapping/The Backyard)

5. Blackbird (One Hand Clapping/The Backyard)

6. I Saw Her Standing There (Fan mix combo of John's MSG performance, and I think Tripping The Live Fantastic for Paul's vocals?)

Link: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIwzfuDvvFME&si=RqevjlVVLhE5SuqV

Been over a week since my last fan album, both Monkees series are on hold until I listen to Head through Changes.

In the meantime, though, I've been getting obsessed with Lennon demos. Even from that 1980 period alone, there's such great recordings. Whatever Happened To in particular is a tragic reminder of the innovative direction John likely would've taken had he lived.

Below is the tracklist and YouTube playlist. I've taken great pains to avoid AI generated renditions, though some likely use stem separation similar to that used through MAL technology on Get Back and Now and Then.

Side One:

1. Here We Go Again*

2. Real Life

3. Grow Old With Me

4. Mucho Mungo

5. One Of The Boys

6. Whatever Happened To

7. Solitude

Side Two:

1. Free As A Bird

2. Help Me To Help Myself

3. Not For Love Or For Money

4. Serve Yourself

5. India, India

6. Now And Then

7. Dear John

YouTube Playlist

*composed by Lennon-Spector. Is a 1973 demo, unlikely he would use it for various reasons, just liked the song and title.

PART SEVEN OF THE MONKEE BEATLE SWAP SERIES (I'm finally back, this cover was a pain)

Now sans George, the remaining Beatles attempt to put out another straight pop record, after the dismal failure of their Head album and film.

Side One:

1. Instant Karma

2. With A Little Help From My Friends

3. Man We Was Lonely

4. Oh! Darling

5. The Ballad Of John and Yoko

6. Every Night

Side Two:

1. Mean Mr Mustard

2. Polythene Pam

3. She Came In Through The Bathroom Window

4. Golden Slumbers

5. Carry That Weight

6. Maybe I'm Amazed

7. Her Majesty

Note: Minus the lack of George, this is a pretty good alt 1969 album in general.

Only four more albums to go...and two more on the Monkees side...

Art credits: Monkees figures from OfficialDavyJones facebook page (no confirmed artist)

Pepperland art from Marq Spusta

PART FIVE OF THE MONKEE BEATLE SWAP SERIES

With touring officially over, the Monkees take a firm step into psychedelia. This record breaking album came to be regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time, and in contention for the Monkees' best.

Side One:

1. Peter Percival Patterson’s Pet Pig Porky - Pleasant Valley Sunday (Pisces, Capricorn, Aquarius and Jones LTD)

2. The Door Into Summer (Pisces, Capricorn, Aquarius and Jones LTD)

3. Love Is Only Sleeping (Pisces, Capricorn, Aquarius and Jones LTD)

4. Porpoise Song (Pisces, Capricorn, Aquarius and Jones LTD)

5. P.O. Box 9847 (Pisces, Capricorn, Aquarius and Jones LTD)

Side Two:

1. Zor and Zam (The Birds, The Bees, And The Monkees)

2. Cuddly Toy (Pisces, Capricorn, Aquarius and Jones LTD)

3. Daily Nightly (Pisces, Capricorn, Aquarius and Jones LTD)

4. Don’t Call On Me (Pisces, Capricorn, Aquarius and Jones LTD)

5. Writing Wrongs (Pisces, Capricorn, Aquarius and Jones LTD)

White Album cover is done, gonna listen to Head and hopefully get that next one up soon too :)

I am unlikely to do more of these because I don't want tier lists to flood this sub (like many other subs), but this and Marvel 1 are two of the few games I completed to 100% so I thought drop it here.

PART FOUR OF THE MONKEE BEATLE SWAP TIMELINE

Art sourced from here: https://nz.pinterest.com/pin/787355947389740669/

The stress of touring was beginning to get to the Monkees. Their music was getting more and more complex, and the screaming fans meant no one heard any of it!

They recorded their Salesman album as an intentionally more experimental piece, which they never intended to perform live. And, soon after its release, the group officially became a studio band.

Side One:

1. Salesman (Pisces, Capricorn, Aquarius and Jones LTD)

2. Hold On Girl (More Of The Monkees)

3. Your Auntie Grizelda (More Of The Monkees)

4. The Day We Fall In Love (More Of The Monkees)

5. Hard To Believe (Headquarters)

Side Two:

1. Sometime In The Morning (Headquarters)

2. What Am I Doing Hangin' Round? (Pisces, Capricorn, Aquarius and Jones LTD)

3. She Hangs Out (Pisces, Capricorn, Aquarius and Jones LTD)

4. Words (Pisces, Capricorn, Aquarius and Jones LTD)

5. Star Collector (Pisces, Capricorn, Aquarius and Jones LTD)

Continuing the series of the alternate timeline where the Monkees and Beatles swap places, Daydream Believer occupies the position held by Help! and Rubber Soul (topical with the incoming boxsets). It was the Monkees first proper venture into more experimental music than their usual formula.

Side One:

1. Daydream Believer (The Birds, The Bees, And The Monkees)

2. Papa Jean’s Blues (The Monkees)

3. Mary, Mary (More Of The Monkees)

4. This Just Doesn’t Seem To Be My Day (The Monkees)

5. She (More Of The Monkees)

Side Two:

1. You Told Me (Headquarters)

2. Shades of Grey (Headquarters)

3. I’ll Spend My Life With You (Headquarters)

4. I Wanna Be Free (The Monkees)

5. Sweet Young Thing (The Monkees)

To those from r/beatlesfanalbums wondering when my next side of the Beatles installment will be posted, I am obligated to mention that the Instant Replay cover is a pain to edit, and is likely to take a while. Stay tuned, I haven't forgotten about completing that run!

As for this side of the series, next up are my equivalents to Revolver and Pepper, which look to be a blast.

With the monster success of their debut, United Artists snaps them up to star in their first feature film. Its release coincided with their growing global popularity and their first tour of Europe.

Side One:

1. Last Train To Clarksville (The Monkees)

2. I’ll Be True To You (Headquarters)

3. Gonna Buy Me A Dog (More Of The Monkees)

4. Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow) (The Monkees)

5. I Can’t Get Her Off My Mind (Headquarters)

Side Two:

1. For Pete’s Sake (Headquarters)

2. Sunny Girlfriend (Headquarters)

3. Early Morning Blues And Greens (Headquarters)

4. Goin’ Down (Pisces, Capricorn, Aquarius and Jones)

5. No Time (Headquarters)

What if the Beatles and Monkees swapped significance and discographies?

That's basically what I've been trying to work out over on r/beatlesfanalbums, imagining what the Beatles' music would've been like if they were initially crafted as a band to market a TV show.

But that begged the question: what are the Monkees doing?

This is Part 1 of this side of the series. I'll be doing only one album for each year, spanning 1963 to 1969, due to the limited amount of Monkees material in comparison to the Beatles.

Side One:

1. I'm A Believer (More Of The Monkees)

2. I'm Not Your Steppin Stone (The Monkees)

3. Tomorrow's Gonna Be Another Day (The Monkees)

4. Forget That Girl (Headquarters)

5. Take A Giant Step (The Monkees)

Side Two:

1. You May Just Be The One (Headquarters)

2. Laugh (More Of The Monkees)

3. The Kind Of Girl I Could Love (More Of The Monkees)

4. When Love Comes Knockin' At Your Door (More Of The Monkees)

5. Let's Dance On (The Monkees)

But very fun, would recommend

PART SIX OF MY MONKEE BEATLE SWAP SERIES

Admittedly, I haven't listened this far into the Monkees discography yet, but according to Wikipedia, this album incorporates elements of Broadway and music concrete.

I think you can tell where this is going.

Side One:

1. A Beginning (Take 4)/Don’t Pass Me By (Take 7)

2. I’m So Tired

3. Honey Pie

4. Happiness Is A Warm Gun

Side Two:

1. Martha My Dear

2. While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Esher Demo)

3. Long, Long, Long

4. Revolution 9

This will be the last album to feature George Harrison until 1987.

For the first time, the Beatles finally had control of what music they were recording and releasing. Their first album of all originals, Headquarters, unfortunately only reached number two, not quite reaching the heights of the previous two albums for the general public.

Side One:

1. You Won’t See Me

2. Paperback Writer

3. I Need You

4. We Can Work It Out

5. Girl

6. It’s Only Love

Side Two:

1. I Feel Fine

2. Think For Yourself

3. What Goes On

4. Day Tripper

5. You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away

6. Norwegian Wood (The Bird Has Flown)

With the popularity of the TV show swelling, the Beatles embarked on their first tour of America, called "Beatlemania," a humorous title reflecting the wave of Monkeemania that had swept and still consumed the world.

However, their label, RCA Victor, eager to sell more records, compiled a selection of unused outtakes from the previous album's sessions and compiled them into a new album, without the band even knowing!

In a meeting with music execs, John Lennon reportedly slammed his fist through a wall, remarking to studio lawyer John Eastman, "That could've been your face!"

Still, the album was another monster success, though they were critiqued for relying on session musicians and on riding the coattails of the Monkees (whose previous album, Salesman, had broken leagues of revolutionary music conventions).

Side A:

1. Slow Down

2. I’ll Get You

3. Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey

4. Don’t Bother Me

5. Words Of Love

6. Leave My Kitten Alone

Side B:

1. Matchbox (Anthology 4)

2. Please Mr Postman

3. Ooh! My Soul (Live At The BBC)

4. Bad Boy

5. Roll Over Beethoven

6. Money

Filmmaker Richard Lester developed the initial idea for The Beatles in 1962 and tried selling it to Revue Productions, the television division of Universal Pictures, but was unsuccessful. In May 1964, while working at Screen Gems, Lester teamed up with Bert Schneider and ultimately formed Lesbert Productions. The Monkees' films Last Train To Clarksville and Daydream Believer inspired Lester and Schneider to revive Lester’s idea for The Beatles. As "Lesbert Productions", they sold the show to Screen Gems Television on April 16, 1965.

In September 1965, Daily Variety and The Hollywood Reporter ran advertisements to cast the band/cast members for the TV show. The advertisements each read as follows:

Madness!! Auditions. Folk & Roll Musicians-Singers for acting roles in new TV series. Running parts for 4 insane boys, age 17–21. Want spirited Ben Frank's-types. Have courage to work. Must come down for interview.

Four young men from Liverpool were cast as the titular Beatles: John Lennon, Paul McCartney (going by his stage name Paul Ramon), George Harrison, and Ringo Starr.

Their debut self titled album, The Beatles, would begin alongside the TV show. To the frustration of the band members, they contributed very little to the sessions, only being permitted to perform vocals. They recorded only two of their own original songs, the other ten comprising the album being covers.

Side A:

1. Love Me Do (Andy White version)

2. Baby It's You

3. How Do You Do It

4. Boys

5. Chains

6. Long Tall Sally

Side B:

1. Some Other Guy

2. Memphis Tennessee

3. Do You Want To Know A Secret?

4. You Really Got A Hold On Me

5. Till There Was You

I almost forgot about this series lol, thanks u/flaming_p1e. Too many ideas on my master document that I keep forgetting to make art for.

Anyway, here's the Carl Perkins comp. All tracks should be available on streaming except Paul's RARHOF performance. This is unique songs only, so I've avoided double ups except for Blue Suede Shoes.

Side A:

1. Lend Me Your Comb (Live At The BBC)

2. Glad All Over (Live At The BBC)

3. Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby (Beatles For Sale)

4. Honey Don’t (Beatles For Sale)

5. Matchbox (Beatles For Sale)

Side B:

1. Blue Suede Shoes (Live Peace In Toronto 1969)

2. That’s Right (PTTP Live Jam)

3. Your True Love (Thirty Three and ⅓)

4. Sure To Fall (In Love With You) (Stop and Smell The Roses)

5. Movie Magg (Run Devil Run)

6. Blue Suede Shoes (Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame performance, 1999)

While recording the track "The Girl Is Mine" for Thriller, Quincy Jones suggests to Paul and Michael that they instead save it for a collaborative album. So, after the monster success of Thriller (inevitable even missing the aforementioned track), the pair team up on Say Say Say!

Side A:

1. Say Say Say (Pipes of Peace)

2. The Other Me (Pipes of Peace)

3. Girlfriend (Off The Wall)

4. Keep Under Cover (Pipes of Peace)

5. The Girl Is Mine (Thriller)

Side B:

1. Come Together (HIStory Volume 1: Past, Present, Future)

2. Average Person (Pipes of Peace)

3. The Man (Pipes of Peace)

4. Hey Hey (Pipes of Peace)

5. Through Our Love (Pipes of Peace)

Imo, this one meshes great, both as a listening experience and timeline wise.

(This serves as a continuation of my Quarrymen series of albums, but also works well as a standalone).

Back to The Egg lends some cohesion to the group again, but it all falls apart after both John and Paul are caught for marijuana in Japan. After a few days in jail, the pair decide the Quarrymen are done and officially dissolve the group.

They then proceed to go on a boating trip around Bermuda, opening up a new burst of creativity. But what to do with no band to record them?

Simple. Do everything, every instrument, themselves.

Double Fantasy by John Lennon and Paul McCartney is an experimental double album that would've released in November, 1980, featuring material from McCartney II, Tug Of War, Double Fantasy, and Milk and Honey.

Side A:

1. Just Like Starting Over

2. Nobody Knows

3. On The Way

4. Frozen Jap

5. Watching The Wheels

6. I'm Stepping Out

Side B:

1. Woman

2. Wanderlust

3. Beautiful Boy

4. The Pound Is Sinking

5. I'm Losing You

6. Cleanup Time

7. Summer's Day Song

Side C:

1. Coming Up

2. I Don't Want To Face It

3. Dear Yoko

4. Temporary Secretary

5. Forgive Me [My Little Flower Princess]

6. Goodnight Tonight

Side D:

1. Every Man Has A Woman Who Loves Him

2. India, India (plenty of good fan mixes, just avoid AI slop ones)

3. Waterfalls

4. Bogey Music

5. One Of These Days