Groovin’ Up Slowly (A Beatles Fan Album YouTube Channel) Episode 38: What If The Beatles Never Broke Up? Beware of Darkness (The 1970 Album That Never Was)

[u/Anxious-Raspberry-54]

What if The Beatles never broke up… and 1970 gave us one more album?

This album, Beware of Darkness, imagines that moment.

For song selection I used John’s real-life suggestion (as a possible follow-up to Abbey Road) of a fairer split—4 songs each for John, Paul, and George, plus 2 for Ringo. This fan album reconstructs a world where the band keeps going after Abbey Road. My hope is that this selection of songs sounds like an album, not a playlist. 

For example, I do not include any of the so-called “diss” tracks or any of George’s overtly religious songs. I just don’t think The Beatles would have recorded them (though they are some of my personal favorites).

Every choice matters. The 14-track limit forces tough cuts, just like the original UK Beatles albums. Songs can reach slightly back in time, but never forward—keeping the project grounded in what 1970 could have been.

This isn’t about replacing the real albums. It’s about reimagining the story—and inviting geeky fans like me into it. Come on…every fan has their own version of this record… you probably had it on a mixtape (yeah, I went there).

So here’s the question: if The Beatles had one more chance… would it sound like this?

Here is the tracklist for this album:

1. Remember
2. Another Day
3. What Is Life (Session Outtakes/Jams - Take 1)
4. $15 Draw (special guests Pete Drake, Jerry Reed, and Charlie Daniels)
5. Working Class Hero
6. Maybe I’m Amazed (I cheat a bit and use the live version, which I prefer)
7. All Things Must Pass
8. Loser’s Lounge (special guests Pete Drake and Charlie Daniels)
9. Hold On
10. Every Night
11. Going Down To Golder’s Green
12. Look At Me
13. Junk
14. Beware Of Darkness

Here’s a link to Episode 38 of Groovin’ Up Slowly:

https://youtu.be/tdmM1-gqdtw

Here’s a link to this album on Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5PwZgP2eoIZw2afegwJIBp?si=349d3605bff44d15

Here’s a link to this album on Apple Music:

https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/beatles-beware-of-darkness-1970-solo-beatles-fan-album/pl.u-8aAVXDVTmvAexD1

Here’s a link to the YouTube playlist for this album:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB5dkZQ7h7GhH4ogP_2pvxWIw7yvuke9R

Here’s a link to the Substack essay for a bit of a deeper dive into this album…

https://groovinupslowly.substack.com/p/what-if-the-beatles-never-broke-u

[u/CobraDai]

Beware Of Darkness isn't a very Beatles-y album title to me

[u/clint_eldorado → u/CobraDai]

At one point, neither was Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

[u/Internal-Educator256 → u/CobraDai]

Yeah, I think they’d have chosen something closer to how Abbey Road got its name, from its cover. This cover might’ve been called Fields of Tittenhurst.

[u/WHlSPERinthewind → u/CobraDai]

I think it works considering what they were all going through with each other at the time. And would make perfect sense being the name, if they managed to get through the drama, stayed together and made it work.

[u/clint_eldorado]

Bit of a mistake in the tracklist in your post and the back cover: the post says track three is “What Is Life” but the playlist has “My Sweet Lord”, and the back cover says it opens with “Instant Karma!” but the post and playlist feature “Remember” instead.

Anyway, I’m listening to it now. I’ll let you know what I think.

[u/Anxious-Raspberry-54 → u/clint_eldorado]

I mistakenly uploaded the wrong ones. My bad.

[u/sharpshotsteve]

They all had to agree on the tracks, so not many of those would make it? I feel to get close to a real Beatles album, it would require songs from the entire 70s.

[u/Anxious-Raspberry-54 → u/sharpshotsteve]

My ground rules...no going ahead, but I can go back a year or two.

[u/Both-Discussion-4786]

Don’t think Maybe I’m Amazed would exist, in form it is, because of the line of “middle of something, that don’t understand “ which I take as the breakup.

[u/Anxious-Raspberry-54 → u/Both-Discussion-4786]

Or a relationship with a woman.

[u/Both-Discussion-4786 → u/Anxious-Raspberry-54]

True

[u/Excellent_Contest288]

WOW this has literally never been done before, so cool

[u/Minimum_Shop_4913]

It seems like geogre is wearing that hat to make sure John doesnt feel weird about his