The Beatles – Abbey Road 50th Anniversary Editions //Universal// (Released 27th September)

Description

£65.99 – Limited Edition Deluxe Vinyl 3xLP Boxset

£25.99 – Limited Edition Picture Disc Vinyl LP

£22.99 – Standard LP

It was 50 years ago, on August 8th 1969, that the world’s most famous band stepped out from London’s EMI Recording Studios to stride, single-file, across the black and white stripes of Abbey Road’s nearby zebra crossing. With photographer Iain Macmillan balanced on a stepladder and one policeman stopping the street’s light traffic, The Beatles crossed back and forth three times, led by John Lennon, followed by Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison. Just six photos were taken, with the fifth selected as the cover shot for The Beatles’ penultimate studio album, Abbey Road, named after the tree-lined street in which the studios are located.

Released September 26, 1969, Abbey Road was not The Beatles’ final album, as Let It Be followed in 1970, but it was the last one John, Paul, George, and Ringo recorded together as a band. The Beatles will celebrate Abbey Road’s anniversary with a suite of beautifully presented packages, the album’s seventeen tracks are newly mixed by producer Giles Martin and mix engineer Sam Okell in stereo, accompanied by 23 session recordings and demos, most of which are previously unreleased.

To create Abbey Road’s new stereo, 5.1 surround, and Dolby Atmos mixes, Martin and Okell worked with an expert team of engineers and audio restoration specialists at Abbey Road Studios. All the new Abbey Road releases feature the new stereo album mix, sourced directly from the original eight-track session tapes. To produce the mix, Giles was guided by the album’s original stereo mix supervised by his father, George Martin.

The Limited Edition Deluxe 3xLP Vinyl Boxset features 40 tracks on three 180-gram vinyl LPs. The album’s new stereo mix LP is packaged in a faithfully replicated sleeve, with the two Sessions LPs paired in their own jacket, presented with a four-page insert in a lift-top box; the 23 session and demo recordings are presented in chronological order of their first recording dates.

August 20th 1969 was the last time The Beatles were together as a band at the EMI studios, for an evening session to compile Abbey Road’s master tapes. The album’s sides were sequenced, with “Come Together” opening Side One, and with the medley of “You Never Give Me Your Money”, “Sun King”, “Mean Mr Mustard”, “Polythene Pam”, “She Came In Through The Bathroom Window”, “Golden Slumbers”, “Carry That Weight” and “The End” placed on Side Two. “The Long One”, a different trial edit and mix of the medley, including “Her Majesty” (ultimately placed 14 seconds after “The End” as an unlisted, hidden track) is included in Abbey Road’s new edition.

Millions of Abbey Road LPs were pressed at manufacturing plants around the world. The album was another blockbuster release for The Beatles, holding the No. 1 spot on the U.K. albums chart for a total of 17 weeks and topping Billboard’s U.S. albums chart for 11 weeks. The Beatles’ best-selling studio album, Abbey Road’s universal popularity and influence have continued to grow since its debut. Since Abbey Road’s release, the street’s zebra crossing has been one of the most celebrated and photographed sites in the world, protected as an historic landmark and visited by thousands of Beatles fans each year. Due to the success of The Beatles’ album, EMI Recording Studios was renamed Abbey Road Studios. Owned and operated by Universal Music Group, Abbey Road Studios is the most famous recording studio in the world and a global music icon.

Tracklistings:

Abbey Road 2019 Stereo Mix (All Versions):

A1. Come Together

A2. Something

A3. Maxwell’s Silver Hammer

A4. Oh! Darling

A5. Octopus’s Garden

A6. I Want You (She’s So Heavy)

B1. Here Comes The Sun

B2. Because

B3. You Never Give Me Your Money

B4. Sun King

B5. Mean Mr Mustard

B6. Polythene Pam

B7. She Came In Through The Bathroom Window

B8. Golden Slumbers

B9. Carry That Weight

B10. The End

B11. Her Majesty

Bonus Material (Deluxe Boxset Only):

C1. I Want You (She’s So Heavy) (Trident Recording Session and Reduction Mix)

C2. Goodbye (Home Demo)

C3. Something (Studio Demo)

C4. The Ballad Of John And Yoko (Take 7)

C5. Old Brown Shoe (Take 2)

D1. Oh! Darling (Take 4)

D2. Octopus’s Garden (Take 9)

D3. You Never Give Me Your Money (Take 36)

D4. Her Majesty (Takes 1-3)

D5. Golden Slumbers / Carry That Weight (Takes 1-3) (Medley)

D6. Here Comes The Sun (Take 9)

D7. Maxwell’s Silver Hammer (Take 12)

E1. Come Together (Take 5)

E2. The End (Take 3)

E3. Come and Get It (Studio Demo)

E4. Sun King (Take 20)

E5. Mean Mr Mustard (Take 20)

E6. Polythene Pam (Take 27)

E7. She Came In Through The Bathroom Window (Take 27)

E8. Because (Take 1 Instrumental)

F1. The Long One (Trial Edit & Mix) (30 July 1969)

F2. Something (Take 39 – Instrumental – Strings Only)

F3. Golden Slumbers / Carry That Weight (Take 17 – Instrumental – Strings & Brass Only)