Like Some Forgotten Dream

What if the Beatles Hadn't Split Up?

By: Daniel Rachel

Narrated by: Daniel Rachel

Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's Summary

This is the story of the great lost Beatles album.

The end of the Beatles wasn't inevitable. It came through miscommunication, misunderstandings and missed opportunities to reconcile.

But what if it didn't end? What if just one of those chances was taken, and the Beatles carried on? What if they made one last great album?

In Like Some Forgotten Dream, Daniel Rachel - winner of the prestigious Penderyn Music Book Prize - looks at what could have been. Drawing on impeccable research, Rachel examines the the Fab Four's untimely demise - and from the ashes compiles a track list for an imagined final album, pulling together unfinished demos, forgotten B-sides, hit solo songs, and arguing that together they form the basis of a lost Beatles masterpiece.

Compelling and convincing, Like Some Forgotten Dream is a daring re-write of Beatles history, and a tantalising glimpse of what might have been.

©2021 Daniel Rachel (P)2021 Octopus Publishing Group

Not Quite What I Had Expected

I was looking forward to this book as it was a new twist on the Beatles' story, however, I was sadly disappointed. The book is in two parts; the first part deals with the break-up of the Beatles, and the second, the "What If" they had carried on and made a final album and what form that would have taken.

Firstly, the narrator's presentation was a little annoying when he impersonates the Beatles with strong Liverpool accents. I don't think the Beatles had strong accents, and his impersonation will annoy the listener, (I think). Secondly, in the first part of the book, covering the break-up, he paints a very depressing picture of the Beatles' situation. I can't remember how many times he used the word "divorce", but it was countless. I know it was a period which was fraught with issues, but the picture presented is the one portrayed in the bleak, Let It Be film. There is nothing new in the retelling of the story. The demise begins with the end of the touring years, the death of Brian Epstein and moves on to the well-known story about the dispute between Paul and the others over Allen Klein.

The "What If" section was disappointing too. The author divides the final album up into sections of music by each individual Beatle. So, there is a John Lennon section of songs, a Paul McCartney one and so on. I think if there was to be another album, it would not have taken that format. Most of the songs are taken from the ashes of the Let It Be sessions. The author doesn't reveal very much about the songs which he picks. For Beatle fans, they will be familiar with the songs and the background to them.

I didn't find the book an enjoyable read, and I didn't really learn anything new from it.