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"Abbey Road" has long been known as the project in which The Beatles set aside their differences and intentionally went about making one last strong album in the interest of healing and ending their tenure on a positive note. As the liner notes suggest, however, this assumption may have been too simplistic to be true. While such characterizations make sense in hindsight, the reality is that no one at the time knew exactly what the future would hold. Instead, this release drives home the original intent behind the album: to humble themselves and resume working with George Martin and let him "produce an album like [he] used to" (as Paul requested) because they knew after two attempts that they couldn't successfully do it on their own (any more than they could run a business like Apple). The result was the orchestral-rock synthesis that Martin had hoped for the White Album to be but that quickly evolved into something far different. Thus, "Abbey Road" may be better understood as the Beatles' effort to make amends with their mentor--and, in so doing, they also became able to accept the individuality that grown into (and that George Martin arguably had helped draw out of each of them during the previous seven years).
With two strong 50th anniversary editions issued during the last two years, I have been looking forward to and feeling hopeful for this set. Having read reviews weeks before its release, though, I also went in with a realistic awareness that it may not be quite as robust. In the end, overall, it has not let me down--though, as noted by some other reviewers, it is indeed incomplete and there are a couple of notable flaws.
PROS
In the liner notes, Giles Martin acknowledges that "Abbey Road" already had a solid sound and that, compared to the previous 50th anniversary editions, there was only so much more he could add with this remix. Nonetheless, his venture back to the original 8-track tapes indeed draws out and accentuates some depth, dimensional nuances, and definition in the voices and instruments (especially Ringo's drums, the pianos and Moog synth, and Martin's orchestra) that simply were not available with '69-era technology. In many places, this opens up room for the individual parts to breathe within the context of the greater whole. And though there are relatively few hidden parts and phrases brought to the foreground a la "White Album" remix, there are a few surprises, such as previously-muted organ on "Something" and rhythm guitar work on "You Never Give Me Your Money." Plus, the stereo panning of the round robin guitar soloing on "The End" is a nice touch--sonically portraying the individual personalities of Paul, George, and John as they each uniquely respond to the calling of Ringo's gumptious drumming.
The "Sessions" discs offer a nice glimpse into the generally lighthearted atmosphere of The Beatles working together during spring and summer '69--a far cry from the tension of the "Get Back" sessions that January. Though I could always go for more (see below), and though there is no mention of Marmite (like there was on the White Album "Sessions" discs), there is a reasonable smattering of chatter (and a better chatter-to-music ratio compared to the "Sessions" discs on the previous anniversary releases). Both Paul and John offer playful variations on the lyrics between takes of "Come Together," "You Never Give Me Your 'Coffee,'" and "Mean Mr. Mustard." Before launching into "Sun King," John focuses the group's attention by pointing out that their milling around will not keep the Apple staff fed for another decade. Before "Polythene Pam," he compares the Beatles' sound on that tune to the Dave Clark Five and the Who and then growls the count-off. And before "I Want You," Glyn Johns tactfully asks John to turn down the amps because there has been a noise complaint, to which Lennon retorts, "What are they doing here at this time of night?" before he compromises and motivates the band, "Last chance to be loud!"
Further, the rough mix of the Side 2 medley is essential. It not only offers the inclusion of "Her Majesty" but also introduces several parts that were deleted from the final mix (e.g., harmony vocals on "You Never Give Me Your Money"; an organ segue into "Sun King" that was replaced by field recordings of crickets; Lennon's Scouse monologue at the end of "Polythene Pam"). Also, with some tracks ("Golden Slumbers" through "The End") not yet having key overdubs added, we are able to hear the raw power of the basic tracks and subtleties in the lead vocals.
While Giles Martin has rightfully pointed out that the songs were fairly well-formulated and rehearsed before the Beatles entered the studio, the outtakes nonetheless reveal the organic process by which the songs took shape. For example, Ringo required several runs through the chorus of "Here Comes the Sun" to master his 4/4 counterpart to the Indian-flavored timing (recall his account in the "Living in the Material World" documentary) while George patiently repeated that section several times. Also, we hear that the phrasing of Ringo's drum solo on "The End" and of John's fingerpicked guitar line on "Sun King" required some practice to work up to the final takes.
A facet of the "Sessions" discs that I did not anticipate I would enjoy as much but which have landed in somewhat frequent rotation is the isolated orchestra overdubs from "Something" and "Golden Slumbers" and the instrumental run through "Because" (with Ringo's steady handclapping serving as a click track). Like some of the instrumental-only tracks on the White Album "Sessions" discs, these tracks clearly demonstrate the Beatles' aptitude as composers--beyond just songwriters--and the degree to which their music was conducive to the sensitivity of George Martin's classically-tinged embellishments.
The book offers a sizable stack of previously-unseen Linda McCartney photos from the sessions. Though some may not show the band at their most photogenic, they most certainly match the lighthearted atmosphere conveyed on the "Sessions" discs. Moreover, both Paul's introductory remarks and the liner notes (one of the highlights of the set) offer considerably more detail about the development of the album and its individual songs compared to the previous anniversary editions. For just one example, George's remarks about the Liverpool influence in "Mean Mr. Mustard" and "Polythene Pam" bring home the point that those songs really told stories on their own and were not merely unfinished ditties used to fill up space on the album. Accordingly, they arguably serve as the next logical step in John Lennon's ever-deepening exploration of childhood memories that had begun with "In My Life" and "Strawberry Fields Forever" less than five years earlier and that culminated in the "Plastic Ono Band" album a year later.
CONS
The three greatest cons are (a) Giles' botched remix of "Come Together" and the uneven bass across parts of the album, (b) the construction of the packaging, and (c) the incompleteness of the "Sessions" discs.
I can't help thinking (or at least hoping) that this specific remix of "Come Together" was an early run, that another, better one was made later, that the two files became confused for one another, and that this one was simply released by mistake. First, the layers of guitars during the opening verses are smooshed together and muffled behind the overpowering bass. Second, the volume swell guitar shortly after 3:00 fades in too late each time it appears, which distractingly alters the phrasing. Third, Lennon's "Ahhhhhwwwwwwllllll" that begins just before 4:00, while not removed altogether, is barely audible and probably would go unnoticed if one didn't know to listen for it. (Sorry, Giles, while I appreciate and applaud your efforts overall, these were NOT good editorial decisions if they were indeed intentional.)
Also, Paul's bass feels a bit uneven across the album. In some places, it is overpowering and drowns out the subtleties of the guitar playing (in addition to "Come Together," John's chugga-chugga 12-string rhythm on "Polythene Pam" and "Bathroom Window") while on other songs it is too weak (e.g., "The End," "Maxwell's Silver Hammer"). For me, between the '09 remaster and the '19 remix, while the remix may offer greater depth, dimension, and definition (as noted above), the remaster of the original mix offers more dynamic balance across the sonic spectrum.
Next, as with the "White Album" set, at $60 more than the digital download, I would have expected a bit more from the hard copy set (and its construction makes that of the "White Album" set now seem a lot more appealing). While the content itself is excellent (as noted above), the layout of the book strikes me as an effort to stretch +/-65 pages of material to 100 by blowing up photos (sometimes to the point of making them pixelated), enlarging the font size, and including extraneous content (e.g., do we really need a 2-page spread that replicates the track listing on the back of the slipcover?). Further, the slipcover, though seemingly sturdier than the previous anniversary releases, dents easily with handling; the spine of the hardcover book feels flimsy and the pages inside are thin and nick easily when turned; and the book does not easily slide back into the slipcover without needing to squeeze the two cover panels together.
Moreover, does anyone know how to access the digital download without a subscription to Amazon Unlimited?
Further, with some notable exceptions, several of the "Sessions" tracks strike me as "one time listens" (e.g., false starts of "Octopus' Garden" and "Her Majesty" and a demo of Paul's syrupy "Goodbye" that has long been available on bootlegs/YouTube), and some are repeated from the "Anthology 3" ("Come and Get It" and "Something"--though the latter does reinstate a piano part that had been edited out of the initial release). Meanwhile, MUCH more should have been added. See Deriso's article (on Ultimate Classic Rock, August '19) for a description of key tracks that did not make the cut but which easily could have been worked into the two discs (which currently hold less than 45 minutes each). Plus, the old "Postcard Tape" bootleg included a complete version of the master take of "You Never Give Me Your Money" with a rather zany rockabilly jam at the end, and YouTube offers some "Abbey Road" chatter including John playfully chastising the band ("Stop it, you disgusting middle-aged squares!") between takes of "Come Together." And what of the run through "I Want You" with Paul singing, or the other takes included in the composite master take of that song? While I don't expect to hear every single take, it would have been nice to hear the honing of the songs over time a la the "Sgt. Pepper" set or Dylan's "Cutting Edge" set.
CONCLUSION
All in all, though this set is not quite as robust as its predecessor anniversary editions, the remix is generally rich, the "Sessions" discs include several gems, and the book content is by far the best to date. Accordingly, this set should not be passed over. I just wish it offered more for the price of admission. My hope is that this is a blip on the anniversary set radar and that "Revolver" and "Rubber Soul" will eventually receive the same remix-and-making-of treatment and potentially revive the relative comprehensiveness of the "Sgt. Pepper" and "White Album" anniversary sets.
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j.p.beardmore
The Beatles. Great CD.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 13, 2023
