'3:47 EST' — the album that one writer thought was The Beatles

Before the death of John Lennon in 1980, there was nothing that Beatles fans wanted more than to see the Fab Four reunite. In early 1977, one writer gave fans a glimmer of hope. What a buffoon!

In September 1976, a band named Klaatu released an album called "3:47 EST," simply called "Klaatu" in the US. The album got mostly good reviews and briefly landed in the Billboard Top 200 before dropping off the charts.

At the Providence Journal, a writer named Steve Smith, who was not a music critic, listened to the record and thought it sounded like The Beatles. He convinced his editor to let him write a piece that was published in February 1977 as “Could Klaatu Be Beatles? Mystery is a Magical Tour,” which resulted in a public frenzy.

DJs began announcing that the record might be The Beatles, and fans, much like they did with the “Paul Is Dead” hoax, started putting together the clues. They pointed to a rising sun on the cover (must be “Here Comes the Sun”), a nod to “The Day the Earth Stood Still” like on Ringo’s “Goodnight Vienna” cover, and a song called “Sub-Rosa Subway,” which kinda sounds like Paul’s “Red Rose Speedway.” And so on.
The album packaging didn’t include any identifying information other than “Written and performed by Klaatu,” and Capitol Records (another Beatles association), which released the album, did nothing to dispel the rumor.

Here’s the thing, though: the album doesn’t sound anything like The Beatles. It sounds like a band influenced by The Beatles, which is very different. And wasn’t almost every band making music in 1976 influenced by the Fabs?

I would think that Beatles fans would be able to identify the voices of John, Paul, George, and Ringo, but those voices are clearly absent from the record. There’s none of George’s distinctive guitar leads or Paul’s melodic basslines. There’s no sign of Ringo’s masterful drum fills, or even Yoko squawking in the background. It’s clearly not The Beatles.

I guess when people want to believe something so badly, and want to feel that certain magic again, they’re more easily led down a path of deception, much like the widow who wants to believe that her deceased husband is speaking to her through the psychic. That’s the only way I can wrap my brain around the madness that led to so many people accepting that Klaatu’s first album was really The Beatles.

The buzz lasted for the better part of 1977 but ended toward the end of the year when the truth finally came out. Klaatu was a Canadian trio consisting of musicians John Woloschuk, Dee Long, and Terry Draper. With the mystery solved, the record-buying public quickly lost interest in the band. And that’s a shame because their first album is quite good — a classic, I dare say.

So, what does Klaatu’s “3:47 EST” sound like? It’s varied. No two songs sound alike. The album includes elements of space-rock, power pop, prog-rock, baroque pop, and psychedelia. It’s whimsical, inventive, and well-executed — and it features some tight harmonies. It’s all over the place, and that’s a sweet thing.

The opening track, “Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft,” is a cult hit and was covered by The Carpenters in ’77. Karen and Richard’s version climbed to #32 on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at #9 in the UK.

“3:47” EST is a delight from beginning to end. It’s not the lads from Liverpool, but it’s a solid pop-rock record that your ears deserve to hear.