"The Twelfth Album" is an

alternative history Alternate history (also alternative history, althist, AH) is a genre of speculative fiction of stories in which one or more historical events occur and are resolved differently than in real life. As conjecture based upon historical fact, alte ...

short story by Stephen Baxter, first published in '' Interzone'' in April 1998. It is about an imaginary twelfth album recorded by

the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

, called ''God''. The album features songs that were written and recorded as solo projects by the group's members in reality, but in a parallel universe where the Beatles did not split up following the release of '' Let It Be'', resulting in these songs being recorded by the group. In the universe where it was recorded, the Earth was apparently destroyed by a hail of comets, which shocks the two middle-aged men who find the album in their deceased workmate's room on board the docked

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, Unit ...

Hotel in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

.''Interzone'' no. 130, April 1998 In reality, the Beatles did release twelve albums, thirteen if ''

Magical Mystery Tour ''Magical Mystery Tour'' is a record by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a double EP in the United Kingdom and an LP in the United States. It includes the soundtrack to the 1967 television film of the same name. The EP ...

'' is included. The story ignores one of them, '' Yellow Submarine'', because it is considered by the characters more a

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the " Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the ...

score than a Beatles album, and the other, ''Magical Mystery Tour'' was not an album in the United Kingdom until 1976.

Track listing

;Side 1 # "

Gimme Some Truth "Gimme Some Truth" (originally spelled "Give Me Some Truth") is a protest song written and performed by John Lennon. It was first released on his 1971 album '' Imagine''. "Gimme Some Truth" contains various political references emerging from t ...

", actually released on

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

's ''

Imagine Imagine may refer to: * Imagination Music Albums * ''Imagine'' (Armin van Buuren album), 2008 * ''Imagine'' (Eva Cassidy album), 2002 * ''Imagine'' (Janice Vidal album), 2012 * ''Imagine'' (John Lennon album), 1971 ** ''Imagine: John Lennon' ...

'' album. # "

It Don't Come Easy "It Don't Come Easy" is a song by English rock musician Ringo Starr that was released as a non-album single in April 1971. It was produced by Starr's former Beatles bandmate George Harrison, who also helped write the song, although only Starr ...

", from Ringo Starr's 1971 non-album single # " Every Night", from

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

's album '' McCartney'' # "

All Things Must Pass ''All Things Must Pass'' is the third studio album by English rock musician George Harrison. Released as a triple album in November 1970, it was Harrison's first solo work after the break-up of the Beatles in April that year. It includes the h ...

", from George Harrison's album ''

''. # "Child of Nature", a Lennon song auditioned for ''

The White Album ''The Beatles'', also referred to colloquially as the White Album, is the ninth studio album and only double album by the English Rock music, rock band the Beatles, released on 22 November 1968. Featuring a plain white sleeve, the cover conta ...

'' that later had its lyrics rewritten to become "

Jealous Guy "Jealous Guy" is a song written and originally recorded by English rock musician John Lennon from his 1971 album '' Imagine''. Not released as a single during Lennon's lifetime, it became an international hit in a version by Roxy Music issued ...

" from ''Imagine''. # " The Back Seat of My Car", a McCartney duet with Linda McCartney from their album ''

Ram Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to: Animals * A male sheep * Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish People * Ram (given name) * Ram (surname) * Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director * RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch * ...

''. On the ''God'' album, the song is a traditional Beatles three part harmony. ;Side 2 # "

Instant Karma! "Instant Karma!" (also titled "Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)") is a song by English rock musician John Lennon, released as a single on Apple Records in February 1970. The lyrics focus on a concept in which the consequences of one's actions ...

", the famous Lennon single. # "

Isn't It a Pity "Isn't It a Pity" is a song by English rock musician George Harrison from his 1970 solo album ''All Things Must Pass''. It appears in two variations there: one the well-known, seven-minute version; the other a reprise, titled "Isn't It a Pit ...

", a Harrison song, auditioned during the ''Get Back''/''Let It Be'' sessions, later two versions were recorded and released on ''All Things Must Pass''. # " Junk", a McCartney song auditioned during the ''Get Back/Let It Be'' sessions, later recorded for ''McCartney''. # " Wah-Wah", a Harrison solo song released on ''All Things Must Pass''. # "

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

", a Lennon song from ''

Plastic Ono Band The Plastic Ono Band was a rock band formed by John Lennon and Yoko Ono in 1969 for their collaborative and solo projects based on their 1968 Fluxus conceptual art project of the same name. Lennon and Ono began a personal and artistic relati ...

''. # "

Maybe I'm Amazed "Maybe I'm Amazed" is a song written by English musician Paul McCartney that was first released on his 1970 debut solo album ''McCartney''. Although the original recording has never been released as a single, a live performance by McCartney's l ...

", a McCartney song from ''McCartney''. This version, in the story, is a full Beatles recording, with Lennon providing vocals.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Twelfth Album, The 1998 short stories Alternate history short stories Books about the Beatles Short stories by Stephen Baxter Works originally published in Interzone (magazine) Alternate history fandom

Track listing

See also

References

External links