Abbey Road 50th Anniversary Discussion. What Can We Expect?

I know of a version that ends directly with "I will sing a lullaby". No 'Carry That Weight' and things.
Could be one of those runthrough takes or maybe that was a fan mix?

 

I think the box set might have a lenticular cover again.
Having the road, cars and the Fabs in 3D. Maybe the blue dressed lady on the backcover as well.

 

Ask Messrs Carrera, Brainwashed or nikh33. One of them should know......................

 

Actually the version I am thinking of does have the Carry That Weight portion as well. The rock-and-roll improv breakdown seems to come right whereabouts The End would have started. I am pretty sure it is a full studio take and not something made up after the fact. This was available around 1986 or so, before the CDs but during a time when there was a massive influx of high-quality Beatle bootlegs for some reason. It's really terrific, the rock and roll bit at the end sounds like the same basic chord structure at the end of David Bowie's Black Country Rock, if you've heard that. To some people it may sound a little bit like Danny & The Juniors' classic, At The Hop. I know Bowie's song came a little bit later but the parts of these two songs are probably based on some pre-existing rock and roll number, or a basic chord structure that has been used in numerous 1950s rock songs. I am pretty sure that Lewisohn makes some reference to this in his book, I will try to look for it later.

 

For the most part, the songs were recorded as a medley, not edited together, so there would be no longer versions.

 

I’d say it’s almost a certainty now... Pepper, White and Abbey are the three most famous Beatles albums.

 

Why would it not happen? It would sell.

 

Hmm, yes I wasn't sure if that was is in it, too. But I swear I remember the 'Golden Slumbers' part was repeated after 'Weight' and the take ended with the "lullaby" line.
No sudden stop, just 'Slumbers' having something like a proper ending. Maybe that was close to the master take minus the 'You Never Give Me Your Money' reprise and cut to 'The End'.

 

Would be interesting to hear the version of Here Comes The Sun with the guitar solo and Something with the extended coda in high quality.

 

Ringo dropped a strong hint about a year ago that both the White Album and Abbey Road were being worked on, and Paul has recently mentioned a Let It Be reissue. So I think we're good for the next two years. Beyond that we don't know anything for sure, but if the box sets all sell well (which one assumes they will) it's hard to believe they won't continue. And of course the inclusion/exclusion of songs on the box sets so far offer tantalizing clues.

 

Oh you will.

 

A whole CD of Maxwell outakes

 

Then why are they already working on it?

 

Abbey Road is the top selling individual Beatles album of all time that isn't a compilation so of course they will remix it and add sessions with it for a box. Plus it would likely include Ballad of John and Yoko and Old Brown Shoe. Other than giving us a bunch of the material from Anthology 3, hopefully there are some cool things we are unaware of. The longer version of Something with the long coda could be included, or Here Comes The Sun with the lost guitar solo. Backing tracks or acapella tracks would be nice.

 

Maybe we'll get a mix with the discarded guitar solo.

 

Just a joke, friend.

 

Sorry, I misremembered! The part with the rock-and-roll bit at the end is actually on an outtake of You Never Give Me Your Money. The full take is almost six minutes long and can be found on the vinyl boot Return To Abbey Road and on the CD boot The Other Side of Abbey Road. The improv part comes in right about where the "one two three four five six seven, all good children go to heaven" part begins. Other Side of Abbey Road actually refers to the song as You Never Give Me Your Money - At The Hop. It does sound very much like At The Hop. I was unable to locate a reference to this in Lewisohn, but it might be from the initial May 6, 1969 session. The improv at the end is so unusual that I would have thought Lewisohn would have made a note of it.

I was mistaken probably because both of these boots also have an outtake version of Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight (the same version btw) which also includes the return of a verse of YNGMYM, as was heard on the completed Abbey Road album. At any rate, this is an excellent outtake, and would be a great addition to an Abbey Road Deluxe Box if the fates allow.

 

I would think "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" is the track with the most outtake potential on this 50th set....nothing from the song is on Anthology, and the song was recorded at both AR sessions proper (with lots of overdubs) as well as live versions from the LIB sessions. There's a groovy little rehearsal where John and Billy are riffing and both singing it!

Maybe we'll be lucky and get 3-4 outtakes of this one song.

 

There's that 'mysterious session' at Savile Row in early February '69, just few days after the Get Back sessions ended.
Reportedly they did some rehearsal and jams of 'I Want You (She's So Heavy)' there. Maybe this was captured on tape? If yes, would be great to have that in the Abbey Road set.

 

Oh Darling, vocal track, only. Monumental.

 

I don't think there will be any doubt that will be included considering their reaction when they first listened to it.

 

I think for purposes of keeping the Beatles sounding "modern" for YouTube/streaming/younger audiences, Revolver and Rubber Soul will also get remixes, too, even if they don't get deluxe set treatment like Pepper/White/AR. Whether or not the earlier albums are remixed is more of an open question. That said, Abbey Road absolutely does not need a remix, so I question why the **** this exercise needs to continue past "White" at the expense of the terrible mid-60s stereo mixes.

 

If not a remix, at least use the anniversary as an excuse to release some more outtakes!

 

We get outtakes of the ballad of John and Yoko and Old Brown Shoe but not the remixed single.

 

An outtake from Paul and Ringo's session for Mary Hopkin's Que Sera Sera would be nice. It's possible that Paul even did a guide vocal.