Topic: Abbey Road 50th

[biggytitbo]

A new release with the usual unreleased tracks and demos - https://www.loudersound.com/news/the-beatles-abbey-road-to-be-released-as-a-50th-anniversary-deluxe-box-set

Probably not quite as revelatory experience as the White Album due to the comparably less unheard material from Abbey Road, it was an ultra tight recording with little in the way of rehearsal ephemera. But hopefully it will show that tracks like Something were as much a result of the usual Beatles group improv rather than George bringing a finished song to the group. Ditto the rest of the albums legendary tracks were essentially classic Beatles collaborations rather than a series of solo songs as often assumed.

One other weird thing is the widespread press coverage of the 50th anniversary of the Abbey Road album cover photo has totally excluded the absolutely startling fact that at the same time as the Beatles were posing for the most famous album cover of all time, the Manson Family were murdering Sharon Tate and her friends supposedly in the name of the Beatles.

[Astronaut Omens]

Has the version of I Want You with Paul singing ever turned up on bootlegs? That was the only thing I really wanted to hear from those sessions. Looking at the tracklists now- i can't imagine anyone listening to those 'strings only' tracks more than once.

[LynnBenfield69]

I've got an Alternative Abbey Road vinyl with Paul singing I Want You. It's ace.

[grassbath]

I'm excited. It really is a very, very, very fucking good album - I can absolutely see the case for it being their best. Production-wise, its certainly the lushest, and compositionally probably the most ambitious. What we might now call 'progressive pop.' Even though Paul should have given 'Come and Get It' a proper recording and swapped it out for Maxwell's.

Things like the 'strings only' tracks may seem like ephemera but sometimes can be pleasant surprises. On the deluxe edition of Sgt Pepper, the isolated orchestral arrangement for 'She's Leaving Home' was stunningly beautiful, much more than I'd ever realised in the context of the song.

[BlodwynPig]

Never knew octopuses garden was on this one. Regressive. Probably right they called it quits after this.

[PinkNoise]

The instrumental-only version of Honey Pie is charming - I really don’t like the smugness of the song, but the instrumental made me appreciate Big George Martin’s arrangement a lot more. It’s a bang-on parody.

The only other great Abbey Road outtake I can think of (off the top of my head) is the version of Something that has an extended instrumental outro - sounds a bit like the solo Lennon song Remember. Unless there are loads of gems that have been hidden away? The “Long Medley” with Her Majesty in its original place in the middle is interesting to hear... once, at least.

I think that Abbey Road was always the best sounding Fabs album (due to it being recorded on eight-track throughout I imagine) so I’m not sure how much Giles Martin can add it it? I’m willing to be proved wrong though - and that picture disc is NICE.

[grassbath]

There's some snippets of studio chatter and rehearsal on YouTube that belie the usual humour and synergy at work in the sessions, despite it commonly being asserted that they all hated each others' guts at this point. Some more of that would be nice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtUYx0FLolA

[Glebe]

There's a demo version of 'Mean Mr. Mustard' where Lennon sings "His sister Shirley...", before it was changed to Pam because Polythene Pam. But y'all already knew that, I suppose.

[purlieu]

There's a demo version of 'Mean Mr. Mustard' where Lennon sings "His sister Shirley...", before it was changed to Pam because Polythene Pam. But y'all already knew that, I suppose.

It's on The Esher Demos that came with the deluxe White Album last year.

I wish they'd have some consistency with these boxsets. This and the Pepper one are 12" boxes, but last year's release was a smaller rectangular one. Given that a lot of buyers are going to be of the 'collector' type, you'd imagine this kind of consistency would be high on their list of priorities.

[SteveDave]

To save £££ just turn the bass up on your existing copy of Abbey Road

[DrGreggles]

We were talking the other night about how bands who get back together rarely hit the heights of before, but Abbey Road was essentially The Beatles doing just that.
Given the conflicts between them during the recordings of The White Album and Let It Be, it's astonishing that Abbey Road exists at all. That it's fucking brilliant is even more incredible.

[Goldentony]

I know it's the 50th of this recent lot so fair enough but what's the word on a deluxe Revolver and Rubber Soul?

[purlieu]

I reckon we'll probably get some sort of expanded Past Masters in 1961 then they'll go round and do 60th versions of the earlier albums.

[mrfridge]

We were talking the other night about how bands who get back together rarely hit the heights of before, but Abbey Road was essentially The Beatles doing just that.
Given the conflicts between them during the recordings of The White Album and Let It Be, it's astonishing that Abbey Road exists at all. That it's fucking brilliant is even more incredible.

Let It Be was their last album, not Abbey Road.

[DrGreggles]

Let It Be was their last album, not Abbey Road.

Recorded before, released after.

[SteveDave]

I reckon we'll probably get some sort of expanded Past Masters in 1961 then they'll go round and do 60th versions of the earlier albums.

This is out for Cmas apparently

https://www.amazon.fr/Beatles-Singles/dp/B07VQ9YLHS/ref=sr_1_22?__mk_fr_FR=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&keywords=the+beatles&qid=1565161989&refinements=p_lbr_music_artists_browse-bin%3AThe+Beatles%2Cp_36%3A389200011&rnid=389192011&s=music&sr=1-22

[Nice Relaxing Poo]

I wonder when the whole gravy train ends? Abbey road 100th anniversary edition including 5 tracks of Paul doing a trouser cough just before a take, 20 takes of John slightly fucking up his guitar part and moaning about it etc etc

[Natnar]

This is out for Cmas apparently

https://www.amazon.fr/Beatles-Singles/dp/B07VQ9YLHS/ref=sr_1_22?__mk_fr_FR=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&keywords=the+beatles&qid=1565161989&refinements=p_lbr_music_artists_browse-bin%3AThe+Beatles%2Cp_36%3A389200011&rnid=389192011&s=music&sr=1-22

I'm baffled why they don't just release a 2 CD comp of the Beatles singles instead, a sort of halfway point in between 1 and the red & blue comps.

[SteveDave]

I'm baffled why they don't just release a 2 CD comp of the Beatles singles instead, a sort of halfway point in between 1 and the red & blue comps.

Or expand the Red and the Blue comps with an extra disc of other songs.

Given that you can fit all the songs from both the Red CDs onto one CD I reckon that could be worth doing.

[Replies From View]

Surely there’s nothing we need from the back catalogue now apart from Carnival of Light.


I’d have some interest in a complete remixing of all the albums and singles if they hadn’t already trotted out “remastered” (= complete swizz) versions as recently as 2009.

[grassbath]

I wonder when the whole gravy train ends? Abbey road 100th anniversary edition including 5 tracks of Paul doing a trouser cough just before a take, 20 takes of John slightly fucking up his guitar part and moaning about it etc etc

When the world ends.

[wosl]

[A]t the same time as the Beatles were posing for the most famous album cover of all time, the Manson Family were murdering Sharon Tate and her friends supposedly in the name of the Beatles.

Intrigued by this, I've had a little nose around.  Pedants might want to know that the two events didn't quite happen at "the same time"; it seems they were spaced apart by almost a whole day, with the Abbey Road cover shoot taking place just before midday on the 8th of August, and the Cielo Drive horribleness starting shortly after midnight, L.A. time, on the 9th* (i.e. just after eight in the morning, BST).  In other words, Sharon Tate and co. were very much alive as the Fabs were busy holding up the traffic in St. John's Wood.

*_{^{According to a timeline posted in a dedicated forum charmingly named 'MurdersOfAugust69'}}

[Rich Uncle Skeleton]

Surely there’s nothing we need from the back catalogue now apart from Carnival of Light.


I’d have some interest in a complete remixing of all the albums and singles if they hadn’t already trotted out “remastered” (= complete swizz) versions as recently as 2009.

How so?

I'm baffled why they don't just release a 2 CD comp of the Beatles singles instead, a sort of halfway point in between 1 and the red & blue comps.

Going back to purlieu's post, it's almost certainly going to happen. They've been leaving out new mixes of the singles on the white album/Abbey Road boxes and just including early takes so presumably there'll be an expanded Past Masters album or something to that effect.

Most of the work could well be done for it already if that remixed 1 compilations anything to go by.

[Glitch King]

Here comes the Glitch King

Quando paramucho mi amore, feliz de ayudar

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Lewisohn has unearthed a tape in which the Beatles, sans Ringo, discuss making a follow-up to Abbey Road.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/sep/11/the-beatles-break-up-mark-lewisohn-abbey-road-hornsey-road

John was up for making another album? An album featuring four songs from George? Fascinating.

[SteveDave]

As the fellow from Something About The Beatles keeps saying it wasn't unknown

https://twitter.com/SATBshow/status/1171786837632921601

But I am looking forward to hearing the tape at the Hornsey Road show.

[grassbath]

I'm intrigued as to why Paul, who supposedly wanted the band to stay together the most, wasnt keen on this idea for a new album. I'm guessing because Klein would preside over the new arrangement, which with the separation of the L/M partnership would give him less financial/creative leverage?

[Satchmo Distel]

Paul would only have four tracks earning him royalties instead of half of the 11-12 the L/M tracks that a Beatles album normally contained. And he'd have to hand over a big chunk to a manager he had not voted for.

[daf]

Right then, it's a month later - October 1969 - Assuming they're not hoarding the best ones for any solo project, What songs would they be likey to push forward for the next album?

John : Cold Turkey  /  Instant Karma  /  Working Class Hero  /  Mother
Paul : Maybe I'm Amazed  /  Junk /  Every Night  /  Man We Was Lonely
George : My Sweet Lord  /  All Things Must Pass  /  What Is Life  /  Isn't It A Pity
Ringo : . . . pfft . . dunno -  Coochy Coochy? / It Don't Come Easy

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
John : First two nailed on - deffo I recknock. Musically, God would be an instant pick - though probably unlikely with the Beatles line in it . . .  (or maybe . .  MORE likely?)

Paul - the first two are sound picks I think - Obviously, Paul is going to want to do Teddy Boy AGAIN, but it's going on a Beatles album over John's dead body, so that's that.

George : Too many to choose from, but excluding the Paul-baiting Wah Wah (or maybe, like Lennon's 'God', he'd include it just for that reason?) - just the three most instant tunes, plus he must have been keen on 'Isn't it a Pity' as he included two versions of it on his album!

Ringo : Not much choice here - but Coochy Coochy was a Ringo written B-side from 1969 (the flip of Beaucoups of Blues), so in it goes!  /   The other one - recorded in May 1970 with George , so might be bubbling around in his nut at this time.

[grassbath]

Paul had 'Another Day' kicking around at this stage, it was fiddled with on the piano at Twickenham. Given he eventually saw fit to release it as his first post-Beatles single, it may have been closer to the front of the Beatles recording chute than, say, 'Man We Was Lonely' (I do like that song though).