Craig in Indy
Your cool Uncle
Abbey Road – 1969
The quintessential late-period Beatles album, Abbey Road enjoys the odd distinction of being the last Beatle album recorded, though not the last one released. Let It Be was recorded before AB, but as everyone and their sister knows, its release was delayed due to any combination of disagreements, disputes, bickering and general inability to see it through to a successful conclusion among themselves. And as interesting as LIB is (in its role as a snapshot of a disintegrating band), AB is without question my own personal “desert island” Beatle album. YMMV.
1 – “Come Together”
I’m not hearing a lot of differences between the original CD version and the remaster, save for a little deeper and slightly better-defined bass. It makes for a satisfying, if subtle, improvement, but frankly, the original Abbey Road was such a fine-sounding album to begin with that I think it would be close to miraculous to pull off any major improvements here. For the record, I think that assessment of the original sound extends for the most part to all the versions I’ve heard – the original British LP, the MoFi LP and the initial CD release as well. It was just a stellar-sounding album from the beginning.
2 – “Something”
The only difference I hear on this one is a little more palpable tone to Paul’s bass. Like I said about an earlier recording, the bass is a little “plumier.” Listen to the notes immediately following the words “something in the way she moves” there very first time through the lyrics and you’ll hear a little more texture in the notes, a kind of “roundness” to them.
3 – “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer”
I’ve tried to convince myself that I hear some additional detail here, but very careful A-B’ing between the two brings me back to the same conclusion over and over – there just isn’t a difference here.
4 – “Oh! Darling”
Maybe – maybe – there’s a little additional texture in Paul’s vocal, but if there is, it’s so slight that they might as well be the same recordings.
5 – “Octopus’s Garden”
This one is a little odd. The only differences I’m hearing are in the guitar solo that introduces the song, and I think I might actually prefer the sound in the original, as it seems a little fuller and better fleshed out. But the weird thing about it is the placement of the guitar in the L-R balance. In the original it’s just barely right of center, and in the remaster it’s just barely left of center. Makes you wonder why they felt compelled to make that kind of change, especially in one of the later albums, when they’d already been using stereo for some time. By this point, you’d have expected they’d have their preferences for balance all sorted out, and in fact, I never felt there was anything amiss in their use of stereo in this album to begin with.
6 – “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)”
Again, I’m not hearing any differences in this song.
7 – “Here Comes the Sun”
Very close. The only thing I hear that’s different in any way is a slight bit more depth, clarity and bite in the cellos that come in with George’s voice at the beginning of the song.
8 – “Because”
I can’t hear a difference here.
9 – “You Never Give Me Your Money”
Paul’s gentle, lyrical bass line is more easily heard in the opening bars of the remastered version. Again, it sounds more like a real instrument than a recording of one. Given how close to the original most of the other songs have been, this kind of surprised me. It’s still fairly quiet and doesn’t overpower the piano by any means, but it’s definitely easier to hear clearly. Go back to the original and it sounds anemic.
10 – “Sun King”
The general overall level is higher on the remaster, and there’s a surprising increase in detail. This is one of the most improved songs on the album. It has a real sense of three-dimensional depth that allows you to hear “around” the instruments into the mix. Nicely done.
11 – “Mean Mr Mustard”
Alas, after the improvements of “Sun King” we’re back to very little if any differences.
12 – “Polythene Pam”
No differences here that I can discern.
13 – “She Came In Through the Bathroom Window”
Like the previous songs in this ersatz “suite,” any differences are so small that I can’t hear them.
14 – “Golden Slumbers”
Once more, no differences that I can hear.
15 – “Carry That Weight”
One of my favorite little Beatle songs, I’ve always enjoyed how you can hear all the guys’voices in the chorus (including what I’m sure has to be Ringo), though I’d hoped the remaster would bring a little extra clarity to it. Unfortunately, it doesn’t. It’s still a fun recording, but again, I can’t hear any differences between the two.
16 – “The End”
There’s a little more weight to the bottom end, but beyond that there isn’t much difference. It does add a little more authority to the bass drum and toms in Ringo’s famous solo, though.
17 – “Her Majesty”
One of the first “surprise” songs of the rock era, “Her Majesty” was originally only discovered by those of us too lazy to jump up and take the LP off when it was (or appeared to be) over. I wonder how many people played Abbey Road multiple times before ever knowing this song was even there. After all, it wasn’t until the original CD that the song even appeared in the track listings. Younger fans may not have even known about that, if they only ever heard the CD releases. Anyway, sound-wise this is another one that seems pretty much unchanged, to my ear anyway.
The quintessential late-period Beatles album, Abbey Road enjoys the odd distinction of being the last Beatle album recorded, though not the last one released. Let It Be was recorded before AB, but as everyone and their sister knows, its release was delayed due to any combination of disagreements, disputes, bickering and general inability to see it through to a successful conclusion among themselves. And as interesting as LIB is (in its role as a snapshot of a disintegrating band), AB is without question my own personal “desert island” Beatle album. YMMV.
1 – “Come Together”
I’m not hearing a lot of differences between the original CD version and the remaster, save for a little deeper and slightly better-defined bass. It makes for a satisfying, if subtle, improvement, but frankly, the original Abbey Road was such a fine-sounding album to begin with that I think it would be close to miraculous to pull off any major improvements here. For the record, I think that assessment of the original sound extends for the most part to all the versions I’ve heard – the original British LP, the MoFi LP and the initial CD release as well. It was just a stellar-sounding album from the beginning.
2 – “Something”
The only difference I hear on this one is a little more palpable tone to Paul’s bass. Like I said about an earlier recording, the bass is a little “plumier.” Listen to the notes immediately following the words “something in the way she moves” there very first time through the lyrics and you’ll hear a little more texture in the notes, a kind of “roundness” to them.
3 – “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer”
I’ve tried to convince myself that I hear some additional detail here, but very careful A-B’ing between the two brings me back to the same conclusion over and over – there just isn’t a difference here.
4 – “Oh! Darling”
Maybe – maybe – there’s a little additional texture in Paul’s vocal, but if there is, it’s so slight that they might as well be the same recordings.
5 – “Octopus’s Garden”
This one is a little odd. The only differences I’m hearing are in the guitar solo that introduces the song, and I think I might actually prefer the sound in the original, as it seems a little fuller and better fleshed out. But the weird thing about it is the placement of the guitar in the L-R balance. In the original it’s just barely right of center, and in the remaster it’s just barely left of center. Makes you wonder why they felt compelled to make that kind of change, especially in one of the later albums, when they’d already been using stereo for some time. By this point, you’d have expected they’d have their preferences for balance all sorted out, and in fact, I never felt there was anything amiss in their use of stereo in this album to begin with.
6 – “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)”
Again, I’m not hearing any differences in this song.
7 – “Here Comes the Sun”
Very close. The only thing I hear that’s different in any way is a slight bit more depth, clarity and bite in the cellos that come in with George’s voice at the beginning of the song.
8 – “Because”
I can’t hear a difference here.
9 – “You Never Give Me Your Money”
Paul’s gentle, lyrical bass line is more easily heard in the opening bars of the remastered version. Again, it sounds more like a real instrument than a recording of one. Given how close to the original most of the other songs have been, this kind of surprised me. It’s still fairly quiet and doesn’t overpower the piano by any means, but it’s definitely easier to hear clearly. Go back to the original and it sounds anemic.
10 – “Sun King”
The general overall level is higher on the remaster, and there’s a surprising increase in detail. This is one of the most improved songs on the album. It has a real sense of three-dimensional depth that allows you to hear “around” the instruments into the mix. Nicely done.
11 – “Mean Mr Mustard”
Alas, after the improvements of “Sun King” we’re back to very little if any differences.
12 – “Polythene Pam”
No differences here that I can discern.
13 – “She Came In Through the Bathroom Window”
Like the previous songs in this ersatz “suite,” any differences are so small that I can’t hear them.
14 – “Golden Slumbers”
Once more, no differences that I can hear.
15 – “Carry That Weight”
One of my favorite little Beatle songs, I’ve always enjoyed how you can hear all the guys’voices in the chorus (including what I’m sure has to be Ringo), though I’d hoped the remaster would bring a little extra clarity to it. Unfortunately, it doesn’t. It’s still a fun recording, but again, I can’t hear any differences between the two.
16 – “The End”
There’s a little more weight to the bottom end, but beyond that there isn’t much difference. It does add a little more authority to the bass drum and toms in Ringo’s famous solo, though.
17 – “Her Majesty”
One of the first “surprise” songs of the rock era, “Her Majesty” was originally only discovered by those of us too lazy to jump up and take the LP off when it was (or appeared to be) over. I wonder how many people played Abbey Road multiple times before ever knowing this song was even there. After all, it wasn’t until the original CD that the song even appeared in the track listings. Younger fans may not have even known about that, if they only ever heard the CD releases. Anyway, sound-wise this is another one that seems pretty much unchanged, to my ear anyway.
