 The
understanding was that Apple would first clean out its cache
of unreleased Beatle songs from 1968-1970 supplemented with
outtakes from their solo efforts. This first album would be
an alternate of the White Album appropriately labeled
The Black Album. The White Album’s
evil twin brother”, Lennon would joke later. However,
pressure from the record companies to release new product
after the success of Let it Be resulted first in
a release of Give Peace A Chance, which contained
solo singles including previews of new singles by Ringo, George
and John as well as an album cut of Paul’s since he
did not release a single with McCartney.
Paul insisted that clean versions
of Let it Be and Long and Winding Road be placed
on this album “to set the record straight”. Glyn
Johns had some tunes already mixed from Get Back,
and Apple still had some B-sides that didn’t appear
on Hey Jude.
Although packed with “new” solo singles, the album
only went to #2 in the States and #5 in the UK, while topping
the charts in Canada. The press generally bashed the band
for putting out such a charade. McCartney proceeded with litigation
to dissolve the Beatles legally charging lack of artistic
integrity.
Ironically, Lennon agreed with Paul on this
one issue (although still upset over the litigation) and started
submitting outtakes and alternate versions only “that
he and Ringo had been working together on” for the next
album so we won’t be “double-dipping” the
fans. He promised that the next effort would also contain
brand new songs and was basically not much different than
the White Album where at most sessions were less
than four Beatles in the studio at the same time…
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