1st Music Production Task

Abbey Road Music Production Task

Abbey Road was the eleventh album created by the Beatles; it was released on the 26^th of September 1969 in the United Kingdom and the 1^st of October 1969 in America. Abbey Road is a rock album that mixes with other genres such as blues, pop and progressive rock. A double A-side single (“Something” and ”Come Together”) from the album topped the build board charts. Side two of the album contains parts of song fragments edited together to form a single piece. The album consists of 17 tracks.

The album was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, Richard Stark, George Harrison and produced by George Martin. The band members during the time of the album were Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Ringo Starr and George Harrison. The album was recorded in EMI Studios London and the Olympic and Trident Studios. 

The album contained the following songs:

1.   The first song “Come Together” was written by John Lennon but credited to John Lennon and Paul McCartney (Lennon & McCartney), it was top of the charts in the USA and fourth in the UK charts. It was recorded at EMI Studios in London.

2.   The second song “Something” which was released along side “Come Together” on the 31^st of October 1969 in the UK and on the 6^th of October 1969 in the USA. “Something” was the first Beatles song written by the lead guitarist George Harrison. It was recorded in EMI Studios, London.

3.   “Maxwells Silver Hammer” was sang and written by Paul McCartney, although it was credited to both Paul McCartney and John Lennon. It’s a primarily pop song, which tells the story of a man named Maxwell who kills with a “Silver Hammer”. It was recorded in EMI Studios, London.

4.   “Oh! Darling” was composed by Paul McCartney but credited to Lennon & McCartney. The songs original title was “Oh! Darling (I’ll Never do you any harm)”. It was not released in England or America but it was edited as a single in Central America, Portugal and Japan. It was recorded at Apple Studio in Londons Savile Row.

5.   “Octopus’ Garden” was written by Ringo Starr who was assisted by George Harrison, it was the last song the Beatles released with Starr on the lead vocals. It was recorded at EMI Studios, London.

6.   "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" was written by Paul McCartney but credited to Lennon-McCartney. Many people find this composition by the Beatles unusual compared to their original style, mainly for the length of the song and the lack of lyrics. It was recording at the EMI and Trident Studios.

7.   “Here Comes The Sun” was written by George Harrison. Harrison's understated use of a Moog synthesiser was a key feature of “Here Comes The Sun”. It was recorded at EMI Studios, London.

8.   “Because” was written by John Lennon, which was credit to Lennon-McCartney. The vocal harmonies are one of the most distinctive aspects of the much admired Because. Lennon, McCartney and Harrison sang together, and overdubbed their voices twice more, giving the effect of nine voices. It was recorded at EMI Studios, London.

9.   “You Never Give Me Your Money” was written by Paul McCartney and is credited to Lennon–McCartney. The song was composed in the midst of the break-up of the band, during the Allen Klein phase. It was recorded at EMI Studios and Olympic Studios, London.

10.   “Sun King” was written by John Lennon and although Lennon most likely got the title from The Sun King, Nancy Mitford's 1966 biography of the French King Louis XIV, the song descends into cod-Spanish, Italian and Portuguese nonsense, with the odd English phrase thrown in. it was recorded in EMI Studios, London.

11.   “Mean Mr Mustard” was written by John Lennon but credited to Lennon-McCartney. Recorded as one with Sun King, Mean Mr Mustard was composed in India by John Lennon in spring 1968. It was considered for inclusion on the White Album, but wasn't recorded in the studio until the Abbey Road sessions the following year. It was recorded at EMI Studios, London.

12.   “Polythene Pam” was written by John Lennon but credited to Lennon-McCartney The song is the part of the B-side medley in which Lennon declares that the title heroine "is so good looking but she looks like a man." It was recorded at EMI Studios, London.

13.   “She Came In Through The Bathroom Window” was written by Paul McCartney but credited to Lennon-McCartney. The song is believed to have been based on an incident involving some fans who took a ladder from McCartney's garden, climbed into his house in Cavendish Avenue, London, and stole a precious picture, possibly of his father. It was recorded at EMI Studios, London.

14.   “Golden Slumbers” was written by Paul McCartney but credited to Lennon-McCartney. he song begins the progression that leads to the end of the album and is followed by "Carry That Weight." The two songs were recorded together as a single piece. It was recorded at EMI Studios, London.

15.   “Carry That Weight” was also written by Paul McCartney but credited to Lennon-McCartney. The middle bridge, featuring brass instruments, electric guitar and vocals, reprises the beginning of "You Never Give Me Your Money", but with different lyrics. The ending also reprises the guitar motif from the end of that track. It was recorded at EMI Studios, London.

16.   “The End” was written by Paul McCartney but credited to Lennon-McCartney. It was the last song recorded collectively by all four Beatles. It was recorded at EMI Studios, London.

17.   “Her Majesty” was written by Paul McCartney but credited to Lennon-McCartney. "Her Majesty" is the final track of the album and appears fourteen seconds after the song "The End", but was not listed on the original sleeve. As such, it is considered one of the first examples of a hidden track in rock music.

“Here Comes The Sun”

One of the bonus items on the DVD/Blu-ray release of Martin Scorsese's 2011 documentary George Harrison: Living In The Material World was a studio scene featuring Dhani Harrison, George Martin and Giles Martin listening to the Here Comes The Sun multi-track tapes. The tapes revealed a hitherto unheard guitar solo which was left out of the album mix. It is likely that this was recorded by Harrison on 6 August 1969.

The song has a very calm melody and I think it inspires hope, also I think the songs meaning is about looking forward to the future and it could possibly help anyone who it may feel like life isn’t going so well for them by explaining everything will be alright because “Here comes the sun”.

I personally like the song because its very relaxing and as I stated earlier inspires hope it’s a very reassuring song and could bring troubled people to piece of mind.

“Maxwells Silver Hammer”

Recording began on 9 July 1969. McCartney, Harrison and Starr recorded 21 takes of the basic track (although there were no takes 6-10), and spent over two hours overdubbing guitars.

Take five, recorded on this day, was preserved on the Anthology 3 album, revealing how the song sounded without the various overdubs which were added to take 21. McCartney sings and plays piano, with Harrison on bass and Starr on drums.

This song slightly reminds me of a nursery rhyme but of course a lot more brutal than your typical nursery rhyme, The repetitive lyrics and beat gives me this feel. The song could maybe represent what one of the band writers (most likely Paul McCartney as he wrote the song) fantasises about when someone has annoyed him. In addition similar to “Here comes the sun” there is a instrumental solo which adds a relaxing feel to the song.

I personally don’t like this song due to how similar it is of a nursery rhyme, although it is very catch. I never really enjoyed this genre of music.