Abbey Road (Remastered)
The Beatles
We owe Paul McCartney a huge debt of thanks for getting the Beatles together for one final album. At the time they were at the lowest ebb of morale they had faced as a band: there was almost unbearable tension between Paul and George, John had already announced that he was quitting the band, and Ringo had quit during the White Album sessions, only to be coaxed back. The tension only worsened during the disastrous Get Back sessions (later made into an album and movie with the title changed to "Let It Be"), and their failed attempt to create their own state-of-the-art recording studio in the basement of their Apple headquarters.
Rather than go out on such a low note, Paul McCartney coaxed the group into one last big effort,resulting in one of their best albums. It is also the one that has most improved by remastering. The reasons are pretty simple: it was recorded on the best equipment ever available to them, the Beatles had mastered a wide range of new instruments and techniques, and there seems to have been the feeling of a historic event as they knowingly created their last work as a band.
The unforgettable start to the album demonstrates the whole effect of the remastering . All of the instruments in Come Together are clear yet balanced and well-blended. The warmth is there in the bass, the drums are crisp and clear, and all of the guitars are well articulated. I can't help but think this is as close as we have gotten yet to hearing what they heard in the control room of Abbey Road.
Something is similarly well done. Every instrument is clear and in its own space. The different guitars are clearly separated yet blend well with the whole. The bass sounds less busy and more supportive given its own sonic space and mellow tone quality. George's guitar solo (one of his very best) is clearer than ever - you can hear every little slide and nuance as clearly as if he were playing in the room.
The arrangement of Maxwell's Silver Hammer really sparkles here. Besides the enhanced drums and bass, the beautiful guitar timbres really stand out. Also clearer is the Moog synthesizer, in one of its first ever recorded uses. (Years ago I attended a talk by Robert Moog who said that The Beatles received serial number Two.) You can practically feel the thwack of the hammer on the anvil, and I think this is the first time I've heard the acoustic guitar in the mix.
Oh! Darling has the same clarity and separation of the instruments. Paul's lead vocal has more immediacy and the lead guitar has more grit to it. The background vocals seem to float in their own space well behind the lead vocal, a very nice effect. To return to a point that I made years ago, I think that this version clearly shows that the last six notes are played on the guitar, not on a synthesizer. To briefly recap an email discussion of years ago, I disagree with my friend and colleague Walter Everett who feels that these notes are harmonics through a Leslie speaker. They just do not have the ring of harmonics, and I have reproduced them myself by playing the six strings of my Les Paul BEHIND THE BRIDGE. (Nevertheless, I recommend Walter Everett's fantastic two volumes of The Beatles as Musicians as two of the best books on the Beatles music ever published!)
I have always loved the guitars in Octopus's Garden, and the remastering really brings them out. The wonderful ringing quality of the arpeggiated chords during the verse are matched by the smooth, short riffs of the lead guitar. The vocals are much clearer, especially the harmonies. Even the gurgling sound effects are clearer.
In I Want You (She's So Heavy) the clear separation of the instruments emphasizes how tight the Beatles could be as a band. The guitars are wonderful, especially the arpeggiated section under the word "heavy" and at the fade out. Geoff Emerick talked about George and John sitting in a corner of the studio, overdubbing their guitars again and again to get a huge, massive sound and this comes through loud and clear here. Also, if you have not noticed Paul McCartney daredevil bass playing on this track you are in for a real treat.
Here Comes the Sun has an almost 3D feel with its instruments so clearly separated. The vocals all have their own position, the guitars are differentiated, and the strings sound completely separate from the Moog synthesizer. This track is so much clearer that I find myself wondering if some people would actually prefer the older, "flatter" sound. I would not bet on it. The sound here is superb.
As you might expect, the vocals are the star attraction in Because. They sound richer and fuller, and the harmony just seems to have more impact here. The instruments also have a richer timbre, and when the guitar enters at the start it is almost startling. A very nice surprise is just how well the instruments blend, in particular the Moog with the guitar and electric piano.
For me, You Never Give Me Your Money is the start of the last "piece" of Abbey Road. Yes, there are two medleys and the first is considered to start later. However, the music continues from here to the start of the second medley without interruption. The theme also recurs during the second medley. Finally, I was able to hear an outtake with Paul on piano and John playing the (distorted) lead guitar right through to Polythene Pam - some of John's best lead playing. Again everything here is clearer and richer. The chiming of George's Les Paul is as clear and bright as a bell. The sound effects that seque into Sun King are also much clearer, and this keeps the music moving along.
I have read a lot of bad press for Sun King, which I do not think it deserves. It certainly sets a specific mood, and it has some beautiful guitar sounds, very fine harmony, and inventive drumming. I think that you can hear the influence of Fleetwood Mac's Albatross in the opening as well as the overall feel, Beatlized of course!
Mean Mr. Mustard has been a favourite of mine since I first heard it. The wonderful distorted bass is a big reason, and it sounds just enormous here. The drums are also clearer, and are a good demonstration of how Ringo rarely plays just a straight beat.
Polythene Pam has the instruments so front and center that a lesser singer would be lost in the mix. Fortunately John Lennon had the vocal power and presence to hold up to some of his own finest guitar playing on record.
She Came in Through the Bathroom Window is yet another song that benefits from greater clarity and spacial separation of the instruments. There are some wonderful touches here in the guitar, bass, and percussion, and as usual the harmony vocals are perfect. I find it a bit odd when people write about the medley songs as just being scraps of unfinished ideas. This song is just under two minutes long, about the same running time as Eleanor RIgby, or many other of their earlier songs.
WIth its majestic sweep from a simple piano and voice opening to full orchestra, Golden Slumbers glistens in this new mastering. Again, the proportions are still just right, but everything sounds in a virtual 3D space. We hear Paul playing the bass up front, just behind him he plays piano and sings (OK, maybe it's 4D we're hearing). The orchestra is behind the piano, arranged in a semi-circle, behind the drums and guitar.
The seamless transition into Carry That Weight maintains this sonic space, while opening up yet more space for the harmony vocals. The return of the theme from You Never Give Me Your Money is an inspired reference back to the earlier song that ties both medleys together nicely.
And the end is The End. Could there have been any doubt that this was it for the Beatles as a band? Of course, the split was not announced for quite some time, and in the interim the Let It Be album was belatedly released, having been on tape since well before the Abbey Road sessions started. While the guitar solos are the stars here, the supporting players get more of the spiffing up. The drums are crisper, as are the rhythm guitar and bass that form the background for the solos. The harmonies and orchestra at the very end seem to shimmer. As for the guitar solos, they sound great and even richer than before. I did have a qualm on first hearing them - on headphones - that they seemed to be mixed too low in comparison to the backing instruments. I listened to the track on two very different sets of speakers, one of which confirmed my initial hearing and the second of which (on better speakers) had the balance as in the original recording. I finally brought the CD into my studio and listened to it here, and the balance sounds just fine. All this to say that they did a great job remastering but you will not get the most benefit from it unless you have a fairly decent playback system. Or an iPod. Listening to it on my iPod confirmed that it is well balanced.
So, should you buy this remastered version of Abbey Road?
Yes. If you do not own it, buy it. If you own the earlier version, you will hear a lot more detail and will get much crisper sound in this one. If you are wondering whether to buy the whole set, this is the one to try out. If you cannot hear the difference between this version and the original CD, then don't bother buying the set because none of the others is so clearly improved (although some individual songs are and all are audibly better). So use this CD as your listening test. And if you do decide to buy the whole set, this will make a wonderful gift.
Even for those who are not Beatle fans, if you are interested in recording and in mastering in particular, this is a great lesson in how much improvement in sound can be made at the mastering stage.
You can buy Abbey Road (Remastered) at Amazon.com:
or Amazon.ca in Canada: