Yellow Submarine

Yellow Submarine is a unique entry in The Beatles' studio discography, released in January 1969 on Apple Records as the soundtrack to the animated film of the same name, a project the band fulfilled contractually with minimal creative investment, as they had limited involvement in the film's production. The Beatles' four new original contributions, Harrison's 'Only a Northern Song' and 'It's All Too Much,' McCartney's 'Hey Bulldog' (a sharp, rhythmically driven rock song often described as one of the most underrated tracks in the catalog), and Lennon's 'All Together Now', were drawn largely from sessions concurrent with Sgt. Pepper's and represent a modest creative offering by Beatles standards. The album's second half consists entirely of George Martin's orchestral film score, with no Beatles songwriting credits whatsoever, making Yellow Submarine the only Beatles studio album to include substantial non-Beatles-written content by the time of its release. 'Yellow Submarine' and 'All You Need Is Love', both previously released in 1966 and 1967 respectively, are included as album tracks, padding the runtime with material written years earlier. Yellow Submarine is historically notable primarily as a contractual document rather than a creative statement, and the Martin orchestral pieces offer a distinct window into his compositional sensibility independent of the Beatles' own voice.