Beatles’ ‘Abbey Road’ to Get Deluxe 50-Year Treatment in September
By Chris Willman
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – The bestselling of the Beatles’ original run of albums is about to get the super-deluxe treatment. As rumored, the 50th anniversary of “Abbey Road” will be commemorated with a boxed set that includes a new Giles Martin mix of the album as well as two discs’ worth of outtakes from the 1969 sessions, it was announced by Apple and Universal Music today.
This and several other iterations of “Abbey Road” will be released September 27, one day after the 50th anniversary of the album’s September 26, 1969 bow. There was significance to the timing of the announcement, too: August 8 marks the 50th anniversary of the brief cover shoot that had the soon-to-split traversing a crosswalk in front of London’s EMI Recording Studios, which would later be renamed Abbey Road Studios in deference to the global notoriety created by the Beatles’ album title and iconic stroll.
The amount of newly unearthed archival material is not as vast as that found in last year’s boxed set of “The Beatles (White Album),” or as what exists to be included in the 50th anniversary edition of “Let It Be” that is expected in 2020, since the group more clearly honed in on the batch of material they wanted to record for “Abbey Road.” But the extras still include a wealth of alternate early takes and demos that have mostly never been released or bootlegged before.
Among the tantalizing extras: demos made by Paul McCartney of “Come and Get It” and “Goodbye (songs he gave to Badfinger and Mary Hopkins, respectively) and George Harrison of “Something”; alternative versions of “The Ballad and John and Yoko” and “Old Brown Shoe,’ which were released as an A-side and flip side independent of the “Abbey Road” release; orchestra-only tracks of George Martin’s string arrangements for “Something” and “Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight,” and many more. )The Martinized orchestral take on “Something” goes online as a streaming preview today._
A track titled “The Long One” is an early mix and edit of the Side 2 medley in which the Beatles tried to insert “Her Majesty” into the running order instead of saving it for the album’s denouement. Additionally, individual and presumably longer versions of songs from the medley like “Mean Mr. Mustard” and “Polythene Pam” will be heard.
The original album has been mixed by anew producer (son of George) and mix engineer Sam Okell in stereo — with an audio Blu-Ray in the boxed set including three additional new mixes, in Dlby Atmos, 5.1 surround and high-res stereo.
Besides the super-deluxe box with four discs, there will be a two-disc version that includes the original album and one CD of outtakes, as well as a single disc that only spotlights the new Martin mix. Apple and Universal will also be putting out a three-LP vinyl version and a single-disc picture disc.
Also serving as an attraction in the super-deluxe set is a 100-page hardbound book that includes a forward by McCartney, introduction by Martin, history by author Kevin Howlett, essay on the album’s influence by David Hepworth, previously unreleased photos by Linda McCartney and other, and artifacts like handwritten lyrics.
Giles Martin’s previous remixes of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” and the White Album have generally been well received by fans, although controversy always exists when something fresh is being done with the original masters. In the case of “Abbey Road,” it’s the first of these three instances in which there was not a separate mono release from the 1960s to reconcile with the more familiar studio version, so what Martin will be doing to punch up the original tracks will remain a source of intrigue until late September. “The magic comes from the hands playing the instruments, the blend of The Beatles’ voices, the beauty of the arrangements,” Martin emphasizes in his written introduction for the new release. “Our quest is simply to ensure everything sounds as fresh and hits you as hard as it would have on the day it was recorded.”
New editions of “Let It Be” — an album that was almost entirely recorded before “Abbey Road,” but touched up afterward and released as the group’s final album — are expected in 2020, with much to draw upon from hundreds of hours of tape and dozens of songs touched upon. A documentary about the album by director Peter Jackson, incorporating footage from the 1970 film “Let It Be” as well as its voluminous outtakes, has already been announced for next year.
The full track lists:
SUPER DELUXE [3CD+1Blu-ray set; digital audio collection]
CD ONE: 2019 Stereo Mix
1. Come Together
2. Something
3. Maxwell’s Silver Hammer
4. Oh! Darling
5. Octopus’s Garden
6. I Want You (She’s So Heavy)
7. Here Comes The Sun
8. Because
9. You Never Give Me Your Money
10. Sun King
11. Mean Mr Mustard
12. Polythene Pam
13. She Came In Through The Bathroom Window
14. Golden Slumbers
15. Carry That Weight
16. The End
17. Her Majesty
CD TWO: Sessions
1. I Want You (She’s So Heavy) (Trident Recording Session & Reduction Mix)
2. Goodbye (Home Demo)
3. Something (Studio Demo)
4. The Ballad Of John And Yoko (Take 7)
5. Old Brown Shoe (Take 2)
6. Oh! Darling (Take 4)
7. Octopus’s Garden (Take 9)
8. You Never Give Me Your Money (Take 36)
9. Her Majesty (Takes 1–3)
10. Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight (Takes 1–3 / Medley)
11. Here Comes The Sun (Take 9)
12. Maxwell’s Silver Hammer (Take 12)
CD THREE: Sessions
1. Come Together (Take 5)
2. The End (Take 3)
3. Come And Get It (Studio Demo)
4. Sun King (Take 20)
5. Mean Mr Mustard (Take 20)
6. Polythene Pam (Take 27)
7. She Came In Through The Bathroom Window (Take 27)
8. Because (Take 1 – Instrumental)
9. The Long One (Trial Edit & Mix – 30 July 1969)
(Medley: You Never Give Me Your Money, Sun King, Mean Mr Mustard, Her Majesty, Polythene Pam, She Came In Through The Bathroom Window, Golden Slumbers, Carry That Weight, The End)
10. Something (Take 39 – Instrumental – Strings Only)
11. Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight (Take 17 – Instrumental – Strings & Brass Only)
BLU-RAY: Abbey Road
Audio Features:
– Dolby Atmos
– 96kHz/24 bit DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
– 96kHz/24 bit High Res Stereo (2019 Stereo Mix)
DELUXE 3LP VINYL BOX SET (limited edition)
LP ONE: Side 1 (2019 Stereo Mix)
1. Come Together
2. Something
3. Maxwell’s Silver Hammer
4. Oh! Darling
5. Octopus’s Garden
6. I Want You (She’s So Heavy)
LP ONE: Side 2 (2019 Stereo Mix)
1. Here Comes The Sun
2. Because
3. You Never Give Me Your Money
4. Sun King
5. Mean Mr Mustard
6. Polythene Pam
7. She Came In Through The Bathroom Window
8. Golden Slumbers
9. Carry That Weight
10. The End
11. Her Majesty
LP TWO: Side 1 (Sessions)
1. I Want You (She’s So Heavy) (Trident Recording Session and Reduction Mix)
2. Goodbye (Home Demo)
3. Something (Studio Demo)
4. The Ballad Of John And Yoko (Take 7)
5. Old Brown Shoe (Take 2)
LP TWO: Side 2 (Sessions)
1. Oh! Darling (Take 4)
2. Octopus’s Garden (Take 9)
3. You Never Give Me Your Money (Take 36)
4. Her Majesty (Takes 1–3)
5. Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight (Takes 1–3) / Medley)
6. Here Comes The Sun (Take 9)
7. Maxwell’s Silver Hammer (Take 12)
LP THREE: Side 1 (Sessions)
1. Come Together (Take 5)
2. The End (Take 3)
3. Come and Get It (Studio Demo)
4. Sun King (Take 20)
5. Mean Mr Mustard (Take 20)
6. Polythene Pam (Take 27)
7. She Came In Through The Bathroom Window (Take 27)
8. Because (Take 1 Instrumental)
LP THREE: Side 2 (Sessions)
1. The Long One (Trial Edit & Mix – 30 July 1969)
2. Something (Take 39 – Instrumental – Strings Only)
3. Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight (Take 17 – Instrumental – Strings & Brass Only)
DELUXE 2CD
CD ONE: 2019 Stereo Mix
CD TWO: Sessions
1. Come Together (Take 5)
2. Something (Studio Demo)
3. Maxwell’s Silver Hammer (Take 12)
4. Oh! Darling (Take 4)
5. Octopus’s Garden (Take 9)
6. I Want You (She’s So Heavy) (Trident Recording Session & Reduction Mix)
7. Here Comes The Sun (Take 9)
8. Because (Take 1 Instrumental)
9. You Never Give Me Your Money (Take 36)
10. Sun King (Take 20)
11. Mean Mr Mustard (Take 20)
12. Polythene Pam (Take 27)
13. She Came In Through The Bathroom Window (Take 27)
14. Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight (Takes 1–3 / Medley)
15. The End (Take 3)
16. Her Majesty (Takes 1–3)
