Giles Martin: Update the Beatles

What was your take on Abbey Road when it came out? Did they win you back?

 

They didn't have to I never really left But Abbey Road was also a let down, I loved them all and the current one was always better than the last one until the White Album and everything fizzled after that.
I do remember in the fall of 1969 there were a lot of other albums to buy and I went with Abbey Road and man did I catch hell from a buddy of mine for not getting a ??? album, I don't remember which band though. Abbey Road didn't have the conviction coming from the players, at least for me that is.

 

Abbey Road, a let down? Come on!

 

it had it's moments of course and then some, I just think they wasted so much space with Octopus, Maxwell and maybe Oh Darlin even. "The medley" was great but I wanted to hear those songs done fully, man I thought that would have been great

 

I've read this train of thought elsewhere; I can't see why Beatles remixing is any more of a cash grab than all the albums Steven Wilson remixed most of which, have gotten good to great responses. Bottom line: if it's at all possible to make our favorite albums of all time from the 60's and 70's sound better than ever through the use of today's technology (by strictly utilizing the original multi-track tapes with no added "special effects" or instrumentation), then I'm all for it. Some albums need remixing far more than others; and some may sound "fine" as is. But why leave it at "fine" if the textural/atmospheric substance of the album can be brought out more so through a carefully done, tasteful remix? In addition, it makes no difference if one album is iconic while another isn't. If that were the case, Wilson could have simply done Fragile (Yes) and Aqualung (Tull) and called it a day for the albums of those respective bands; I for one, am glad he didn't.

 

As someone born 8 years after it's released that discovered it (as an album) 30 years on I'm jealous of your perspective (and that of my parents). To be coming of age in terms of music it seems like the 20 year span from 1955-1975 was an amazing time.

Discovering The Beatles through my parents record collection at the end of high school led to an obsession. I often pick the White Album as my favorite when someone nails me down to pick one. Rubber Soul/Revolver are always tied for 2nd, and I'd have to put Let It Be third. What I like about the White Album is it's variety. To me it was a definitive turning point in their sound that would determine where they'd finish up as a band and begin their solo careers.

But to have that real-time perspective that you did - man that's awesome!

 

I'll take Let It Be (preferably Naked - there I said it) over Abbey Road any day. To me LIB is much more "genuine" whereas AR always felt a little "forced" as in an "alright boys, one more left to do, put on your happy face" sort of way.

 

The white album was under the Christmas tree for me in 1968. My first Beatles album and my first album ever.

Great way to kick things off!

I hope there is s surround mix and that it really opens things up and let's us sit in the center of this wonderful rock creation.

 

Nothing forced about Here Comes the Sun, Something, I Want You, or Come Together. Or Because.

You just read that they agreed to make one more good one as a send off. And so you were convinced, like you say let's all be happy now.

 

Two things I remember about Christmas 1968 are The Beatles White Album and English Leather cologne. Santa dropped off both. I was 31 days short of my 15th birthday and I thought I had it made.

 

I got the mini bottles. I think it was the three fragrant sampler, a couple years later as I was only 8 years old.

 

No doubt that knowledge plays a part in my retrospective conclusion.

Similar to why I prefer the Naked version of LIB over the Spector version...when you listen to hours upon hours of outtakes it's how LIB should have sounded IMO.

 

I remember the overall sound being very bright and the material being very poppy.
Sun King is my favorite.

 

I also like Let it Be Naked, and have enjoyed all of the incarnations of the Nagra tapes. A big fan of the whole project actually. With the first double album Seeet Apple Trax being a fave.

Other than some fast editing on side two, Abbey Road sounds to me like s relaxed and slightly "heavy" type of album. Come Together is a very stony start to an album. I Want You finishes the side with a stony jam as well.

 

I've noticed over the years/decades that Beatles fans younger than me like the later albums best and fans older than me like the earlier albums best. It's only been the last 15 years that I have really gotten into Please Please Me and With The Beatles.
There must be a time in a person's life when The Beatles were the most relevant and/or when listening to music was more heightened.
My prime time Beatles era was the US albums of Rubber Soul, Revolver, Yesterday And Today then Sgt Pepper's & Magical Mystery Tour. Those 5 albums back-to-back were mind blowing. I thought that they truly were Gods and could do no wrong. And then there were the singles from that era, amazing.
Looking back I am even more impressed, those 5 albums were released between December 1965 and November 1967, to me it dwarfs today's information overload.

 

I hear this all the time, and I don't get it. No, they weren't recorded as well as, say, Steely Dan in the mid-1970s, but for their time they sound excellent. Take any Beatles album and play it next to an album from the same year by one of their peers (the Stones, Who, Kinks, Byrds, etc) and you'll hear how much better the Beatles record sounds. The rest of their peers didn't catch up in recording quality until probably '67/'68. And all that from a studio (Abbey Road) that was supposedly behind the times technology-wise compared to all the others.

 

"Some albums need remixing more than others" -yes, and The White Album and Abbey Road do not cry out for a remix
A "a carefully done, tasteful remix" is not what we got with Pepper, so I have no reason to believe he will change his approach to future projects (I could be wrong here).
Steve Wilson's stereo remixes are a by-product of his 5.1 mixing process. They are not meant to supplant the original stereo mixes, and SW sets almost always include the original stereo mixes. IMO it is a rare SW stereo mix that is more enjoyable than the original mix (there are a few, like Tull's A Passion Play, where the SW stereo mix is my favorite).

 

I agree but I didn't like the drugs or their vibe at this time which I thought was downer drugs (heroin, barbiturates, valium, alcohol).
The marijuana and LSD albums were the best.

 

The thing with the Wilson remixes is that they're almost entirely about the 5.1 experience. Wilson himself has admitted that the stereo remixes are almost secondary, since most of the albums he works on don't absolutely need them. These packages also offer an opportunity to round up some of the bonus material. In the case of the Beatles GM remixes, the surround mix seems secondary to the stereo remix and I would agree with the assertion that The White Albums isn't crying out for a new stereo mix in the same way as Rubber Soul or Revolver. The best thing about these Beatles packages, IMO, is that they allow an opportunity for the demos and alternate takes to get reissued and of course, there are plenty of rare goodies from The White Album sessions in this regard.

 

But nobody really knew it, what kinds of drugs of booze. It was obviously pot, and that's what it sounded like to me. I was not offended of put off by a little grass. The rest of it came out later confirmed I mean.

 

In the states especially- they were not so hot sounding. And today they sound of their time, on other words (sometimes) dated.

Don't believe the SH Forums hype about them being the best sounding albums ever made. Let it Bleed and Sticky Fingers hold their own against late Beatles.

 

Of course I didn't know what they were into or doing but I do know what was going on at the time and downer drugs were coming on strong and big and all though I did not partake (except stealing a beer here and there when I could) I felt the vibe in the music and it didn't work for me as much as the previous ones did.

 

I don't get or agree with this perspective.

John was absent for most of the work (there early on, then the car accident, then back) and this was really a HUGE collaboration for McCartney and Harrison with the added work of Ringo stepping up to add very good backing vocals.

There was definitely a thought that this was probably the last spin on the carousel, but I really feel like everything was put into this album that they could have possibly given. It's a preface to their solo careers with each contributing songs that could have very easily been on each of their solo albums.

Having said that, I don't hold it in as high regard as Revolver as Pepper. I used to, but the whole thought about these songs as they relate to their solo work (and this may be your hang up with this record as well) takes it down a peg for me now. I like the work they did together as a band, working together to put songs into their frame. Revolver, Pepper, and even AHDN are up there, slightly above Abbey Road.

 

I would prefer a remix to be called an alternate album or ____ sessions, if you will. Heck call it an alternate album or give it a different name then remix in part, resequence some of the tracks and maybe change some of the tracks. I sometimes think of my own “alternate” album for some records with a different sequence and some song swaps.

A remix isn’t the same record, at least from a kind of technical or historic perspective. In film we have director’s cuts, uncensored cuts, etc. Why not with some music ?

 

Yeah Abbey Road is just a collection of songs, not simmered and steamed together like previous albums. But the two Harrisongs make it what it is. Then other fan faces on their too, some exceptional tunes. The glorious cover shot / real still but moving life. Still quite iconic cover nobody has topped.

It really is a fun spin of an album.