John, Paul, George and Ringo - "Soap Opera"

Rock bands ending in acrimony are fairly common. But no band exploded quite so publicly as the biggest band in the world. John, Paul, George and even Ringo expressed their frustrations through song, providing us an album's worth of material that I've collected together under the title Soap Opera.

SIDE A

1. Wah Wah

2. Run of the Mill

3. God

4. Too Many People

5. 3 Legs

6. Early 1970

SIDE B

1. How Do You Sleep?

2. Dear Friend

3. Back Off Boogaloo

4. Sue Me, Sue You Blues

5. Let Me Roll It

6. Beef Jerky

George was first out of the gate with this All Things Must Pass album that included two songs, "Wah Wah" and "Run of the Mill," regarding his overall disillusionment with John, Paul and The Beatles in general. On his John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band album, John declared "the dream is over" with "God" where he disposed of idols, religion, politics and his former band. Paul responded with two songs of his own: one regarding what he saw as John's preachiness in "Too Many People" and his feeling of betrayal by the other three Beatles in "3 Legs." Ringo, often the arbitrator, released a can't-we-all-get-along song in "Early 1970."

The second side kicks off with John's blistering attack on Paul with "How Do You Sleep?" Paul comes back with an olive branch in the form of "Dear Friend." Then Ringo steps in with his own attack on Paul with "Back Off Boogaloo." George expresses weariness regarding all the lawsuits flying about with "Sue Me, Sue You Blues." Paul then returns with possibly the cleverest of the "attack songs," doing a very good John imitation while requesting "Let Me Roll It." And it all comes to an end with a very subtle tip of his hat to Paul by John who incorporates the guitar riff of "Let Me Roll It" in his song "Beef Jerky."

• "Wah Wah" and "Run of the Mill" are from George's All Things Must Pass. 
• "God" is from John's John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. 
• "Too Many People" and "3 Legs" are from Paul's and Linda's Ram. 
• "Early 1970" and "Back Off Boogaloo" can be found on Ringo's Blast from Your Past. 
• "How Do You Sleep" is on John's Imagine. 
• "Dear Friend" is from Wings' Wild Life. 
• "Sue Me, Sue You Blues" is from George's Living in the Material World. 
• "Let Me Roll It" is from Wings' Band on the Run. 
• And "Beef Jerky" is on John's Walls and Bridges.

For the cover, I took photos I found online of the former Beatles as solo artists circa '74, cropped them, and mimicked the Let It Be album cover, using a soap bubble background.