I think everything plays out pretty much the same, only a couple years earlier. No reunion. All Things Must Pass would’ve been an even stronger album. John would’ve dicked around for awhile, not releasing anything of note. Macca would’ve had another solo album or two, but they would’ve been flawed like the rest of his solo stuff.
My favorite rock what-if is:
What if Charlie hadn’t been strung out on smack & Mick and Keith weren’t at each other’s throats & the Stones toured in support of Dirty Work? You can say that the band was in no shape to tour, but I think those shows could’ve rocked really hard. Even if they were a mess, I say:
- Jagger never does his solo tour of the Orient that was a blueprint for the Steel Wheels tour.
- Keith doesn’t agree to follow that blueprint to get the band back together, and
- The Vegas revues of the past 30 years never happen.