The Unreleased Yellow Submarine EP (March 1969) - The Story
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For there remains in the EMI library a master tape for a seven-inch mono EP (recently released on Mono Masters), to run at 331/2 rpm (LP Speed), compiled and banded on 13th March 1969 by Abbey Road employee Edward Gadsby-Toni, with the following line up: Side A 1. Only A Northern Song 2. Hey Bulldog 3. Across The Universe Side B 1. All Together Now 2. Its All Too Much =============================== From Wikipedia: An EP containing the new songs had been considered for release in September 1968, but any plan to issue the soundtrack music from Yellow Submarine was then postponed to allow for the White Album's unveiling.Following the delayed release of the soundtrack album, however, Lewisohn writes that the Beatles were "mildly criticised" for having ceded a full LP side to Martin's music and thereby failing to provide their customary "excellent value-for-money". As a result, the band considered issuing Yellow Submarine as a five-track mono EP, without the film score but including the then-unreleased "Across the Universe" as a bonus track. This EP was mastered in March 1969 but never issued. The original running order for the EP was "Only a Northern Song", "Hey Bulldog" and "Across the Universe" on side one, with "All Together Now" and "It's All Too Much" on side two. Lennon later dismissed Martin's contributions as "all this terrible shit" and blamed Brian Epstein, the Beatles' manager, for allowing Martin to participate in the project. According to author and music journalist Peter Doggett, neither the proposed EP format nor an expanded soundtrack album (containing other previously issued Beatles songs that appear in the 1968 film) was possible at the time, since "both options would have denied George Martin his contractual right to appear alongside The Beatles - and robbed him of potentially the largest royalty payment of his career." =============================== On 17 January 1969 the new Beatles album, Yellow Submarine, was released; but it was only half a Beatles album. There were six Beatles tracks on the A Side and George Martin's score for the film on the B Side. At the time of the album's release The Beatles were mildly criticised for giving less than their excellent value for money. There were only four "new" songs on the album, as both Yellow Submarine and All You Need is Love had been released earlier on singles. This criticism apparently prompted the group to compile an EP featuring not only the four "new" songs but also the previously unreleased Across The Universe. Due to the length of It's All Too Much (6 minutes 26 seconds) and the added bonus track, the EP would run at 33 1/3 rpm rather than the standard 45 rpm for EPs. A mono master tape for the EP was compiled at EMI's Abbey Road on 13 March 1969 by Edward Gadsby-Toni with the following line-up of mono mixes: A Side: Only A Northern Song - 21 April 1967 mix Hey Bulldog - 11 February 1968 mix Across The Universe - 8 February 1968 mix B Side: All Together Now - 12 May 1967 mix It's All Too Much - 16 October 1968 mix The EP was never issued. =========================== Since the aforementioned EP was released within the Mono Masters set in 2009 it would be neat if this EP can finally get its own release. Perhaps a RSD release in 2019 for the 50th would be a neat thing.
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'Yellow Submarine' was the band's 10th studio album. Personally for me, it was a big letdown after The White Album. Some good individual songs, but nothing new & innovative. Martin officially became the 5th Beatle with his contributions to the album. The one innovative aspect of the packaging was having a review of their previous album on the back cover. Only the Beatles could come up with that idea! In hindsight, they should have saved these songs for future albums or as single releases.
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Wasn't a letdown to me because I took it as a soundtrack album from a movie. To me it really wasn't a true Beatles studio album. Anyway, it has one of my favorite Beatles songs on it - Hey Bulldog!
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The Soundtrack of Yellow Submarine was OK. The incidental music by George Martin was not a surprise to American listeners. Both soundtracks to A Hard Day's Night and Help! had incidental music in America, and were no. 1 albums. Though Yellow Sub did not do as well on the heels of the White Album. I do prefer the "Songtrack" album which was finally released in 1999 with a great deal of fanfare when the DVD of the movie was also released. I agree the EP would make a nice Record Store Day release.
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UK fans may not realize that the US version of the LP did not have a review of the White Album on the back. Instead, it had a brief history of England followed by the story of the Yellow Submarine movie, with illustrated footnotes to the characters. Yes, that would be cool for them to put out that EP at last! Funny, I just listened to Mono Masters the other day.
