The Ladders

A lot of people have created the “what if?” Beatles album if the band had stayed together. The usual outcome is to take the best songs from each of the four members' solo albums and assemble them into one cohesive album.

I take a different approach here. After the Beatles broke up, the members split into two sides—Paul on one and John, George and Ringo on the other. There were rumors that John, George and Ringo would form a new band with old friend Klaus Voormann taking up bass duties. There was even a name for the band, The Ladders, floating around. The idea didn’t get very far. John, in particular, wasn’t interested in joining another band after departing the Beatles so recently.

However, both John and George utilized the rhythm section of Ringo and Klaus on both their solo albums. There was a lot of uncertainty lingering about what to do next for the band members. The fact that John and George could have used pretty much any musician in the world and still chose Ringo as their drummer speaks volumes, I think. They wanted to leave the Beatles but weren’t quite secure enough to let go completely just yet.

If you take John’s seven songs with Ringo and Klaus, George’s six songs with Ringo and Klaus from their 1970 solo albums, plus one Ringo song with George and Klaus and you get two sides of a potential Ladders album. John gets his side and George gets his. John had even suggested a similar arrangement for the Beatles’ Abbey Road, with his songs on one side and Paul’s on the other. Think of this album as a stop-gap measure before everyone went completely solo. 

SIDE A

1. Mother

2. Hold On

3. I Found Out

4. Isolation

5. Remember

6. Well Well Well

7. God

SIDE B

1. My Sweet Lord

2. Isn’t It a Pity

3. Wah-Wah

4. If Not for You

5. All Things Must Pass

6. I Dig Love

7. It Don't Come Easy

John’s songs are from the album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, George’s are from the album All Things Must Pass, and Ringo's was a single and available later on the Blast from the Past compilation album

There’s also a potential non-album single with “Instant Karma!” (featuring John, George and Klaus) backed with “Beware the Darkness” (featuring George and Ringo).

For the Ladders album cover, I used a picture of an old playing board from the game Snakes and Ladders. I thought the theme would work with the band’s name and might be something John, George and Ringo would be familiar with from their childhood. Plus the game’s Indian roots might especially appeal to George.