Questions about "Abbey Road" album
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JoeySmith:
Scarlett14:
I have been away most of the weekend ....yes, real life intervened...but now I'm back and I am loving the answers to my questions. Everything I've ever wanted to know and even more....fascinating stuff really. Thank you all for your input and please feel free to contribute more comments. Can't get enough. Question: This is a very basic question that I must admit, although I'm ashamed, I don't know the answer to. Who has the ultimate responsibility in deciding what material goes on any one album....the artist(s)...the producer? Is it a different answer because it's "The Beatles" we're talking about? If it's the producer who decides (why?), I try to put myself in that person's shoes after hearing masterpieces like "Something", "Here Comes The Sun", "Oh Darling", 'I Want You (She's So Heavy)" and then I'm asked to listen to "Octopus' Garden" . I'd be saying "Let me think about that for a New York second....uh, NO." I'd be thinking it sounded too silly, too simple, childlike, not up to the standards of the others. And yet I must say I enjoy the song now and always have in a fun sort of way...I mean who could hate that song? It's so darned cute! Are there songs that...dare I say this for fear a lightning bolt will strike me down...The Beatles have created that made you wonder how they ever made the cut?
For Abbey Road, it was a compromise. John had control over Side 1, and wanted more of a "rock" feel. Paul had Side 2, and wanted more of a melodic pop feel, thus the pop symphony. For the rest of their albums, it was much more of a collaborative effort between John, Paul, & George Martin.
For other groups, it can be any number of combinations of who decides. For your average singing competition TV show, their albums are certainly put together mostly by the producer, from the selection of songs, to the selection of musicians, to the sequencing of the songs and the album art and the promotion. Other times, the artist is so particular (Andy Partridge of XTC springs to mind) that they continually clash with the producer and are loath to give up any control of their work, and of course write all their own songs. The Beatles were extremely fortunate to have someone like George Martin, who gave them latitude when it was appropriate but also had the knowledge, expertise, and clout to override them when necessary, and he could play keyboard parts, which was very useful in the early years.
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The Beatles has an unwritten rule that no wives and/or girlfriends were brought into the studio. At some point John, as he couldn't bear to be away from Ono, started bringing her into the studio and broke this rule. It annoyed the other Beatles and the staff at Abbey Road. After the accident, John had Yoko brought into Abbey Road in a bed and mic placed over the bed so she could "contribute" if she wanted to. I don't believe that he was ever directly confronted by the other Beatles regarding Yoko being there, but perhaps someone else can shed some more light. I doubt anyone, but John would have listened to any "advice" she may have had to offer anyway. I think the bottom line is that she was there with John a lot, but I don't think she had any input into anything other than perhaps something John might have been doing. Hopefully someone else will jump in here that is more up on this stuff than I am. I do know that her being there caused a lot of bad feelings and she should have had enough sense to stay the heck out of there.
Scarlett14:
Thank you, Erik and Joey! I was reading about "Abbey Road" in Wikipedia. How accurate is the account there? Lennon's wife, Yoko Ono, had become a permanent presence at Beatles recordings and clashed with other members.[12] Halfway through recording in June, Lennon and Ono were involved in a car accident. A doctor told Ono to rest in bed, so one was installed in the studio so she could supervise the recording process from there.[5] Are they saying that Yoko Ono actually had input in the recording process? If so, why???? I think that even if there had been a female Beatle married to let's say Eric Clapton, there would be no need to invite Eric to recording sessions as he would not have been a Beatle. It doesn't make sense to me. No way would I have stood for it, no way. At that point in time in the Spring of 1969 Paul would have just married Linda Eastman (I shed many tears so I recall this very well).....did he invite her along to the studio for support and companionship? It seems only fair that he would have been able to.
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Thanks, Erik....I have sent you a PM. Anyone else have thoughts on whether Yoko had input?
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You're welcome. I think John started bringing her into the studio around the time of the White Album. She actually can be heard on the song "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill" and of course "Revolution #9." Got your PM and sent you a reply
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I have only scanned the posts here, but saw questions regarding the significant others of John and Paul, Yoko and Linda, in the recording studio at various times. I would just like to mention that Lady Linda did sing back up vocals on "Let It Be." Here is the link: (scan to the bottom for credits.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let_It_Be_(song) I remembered this because it was played at one of Linda's memorials in NYC. I think both John and Paul needed some emotional and physical support during the rough times and Yoko and Linda fulfilled those needs. * know it is not Abbey Road, but read when it WAS recorded! I thought it was in context with their loves being in their professional lives.* Love and Peace!
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Thanks, Kittay....I did not hear that Linda was ever there. Heck, if I had been George and Ringo I would have started bringing in girlfriends/wives, cats, dogs, gerbils, whatever kept me calm and happy.
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Yes, I agree Scarlett.
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Erik in NJ:
You're welcome. I think John started bringing her into the studio around the time of the White Album. She actually can be heard on the song "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill" and of course "Revolution #9." Got your PM and sent you a reply
And she and Patti can be heard on Birthday... Linda was around a fair bit too...thankfully she was there with her camera documenting the sessions for posterity. Formerly most of the studio photography was done by The Beatles Book (Beatles Monthly) crew. The Fabs got jack of that after Pepper. Happily Linda happened to be a photographer, so she got most of the great shots from the White Album and Abbey Road sessions: shots of sessions if it weren't for her, we might never have seen.
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JoeySmith:
"Her Majesty" ending came about quite by accident. It was supposed to be part of the side 2 medley. Paul decided against it after listening to the playback & ordered it cut out. Some of the engineering assistants were unaware of this & were trained never to throw stuff out. So, they just added it to the end of the tape. That's why the song starts on the wrong note. When Paul heard it, he said to leave it on the album. By that time, they didnt have time to add the song title to the album cover, so it was probably rock's 1st "secret" song.
Yes, the crashing first note of Her Majesty is actually off the end of Mean Mr Mustard.
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"takes him out to look at the queen, always shouts out something obscene..." Then into "Her majesty's a pretty nice girl..." I can't see it working with the tempo, I'm glad they scrapped it....was it Paul that pulled it or what?
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Erik in NJ:
"takes him out to look at the queen, always shouts out something obscene..." Then into "Her majesty's a pretty nice girl..." I can't see it working with the tempo, I'm glad they scrapped it....was it Paul that pulled it or what?
Yes, Paul's decision.
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Scarlett14:
Thanks, Kittay....I did not hear that Linda was ever there. Heck, if I had been George and Ringo I would have started bringing in girlfriends/wives, cats, dogs, gerbils, whatever kept me calm and happy.
In the movie Let It Be, there is a segment where Paul comes in with Linda and Heather. Heather goes up to John, who for some reason is at the drum kit (he's a lousy drummer imo) John says "Hi Heather." It's a cute bit. Linda said she used to come in to the studio and would take some photos, but then she'd leave (she knew when to go, unlike Yoko) There are accounts I've read where everyone but Yoko (not sure where John was, but probably with her) was upstairs in the control room and George looked down to see that Yoko was eating some of his biscuits (cookies) and he yelled "That bitch! She's eating my biscuits!" (Apparently they each brought in their own goodies to munch on during the sessions and it was an unwritten rule that nobody takes anybody else's stuff!)
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Just wanted to mention that back in those "hippie" days, it was much more relaxed Peace and Love and basically a lot of mattresses and pillows on the floor with people listening to music together. That was very common. You can see Yoko and John justing sitting down on the floor in the studio in photos and also they had the bed-in's that were just typical of those times. Mattresses were everywhere, instead of chairs. It was just how it was back then. http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/san-francisco-calif-hippies-hanging-everett.jpg How Yoko impressed John in the beginning Lennon particularly liked Yoko?s Ceiling Painting. The work appeared to be a blank canvas flat on the ceiling with just one word written on it in tiny letters. Lennon climbed a step-ladder, and balancing at the top, peered through his little round glasses, and through a larger round magnifying glass that was hanging on a chain next to the canvas, to look at the word. John said, "I went up the ladder and I got the spyglass and there was tiny writing there. . . and you look through and it just says ?YES?."
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But no one else brought a bed into Abbey Road. That wasn't happening everywhere.
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oobu24:
But no one else brought a bed into Abbey Road. That wasn't happening everywhere.
It seems John and Yoko were really in to beds, doesn't it?! John obviously had the ability to pull it off. I guess the story must be true about the accident and bringing the bed in.
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John could yell louder and often got his way (same way he got White Album serial number 0000001 according to Paul...BTW anyone know where this album is today?)
love2travel:
oobu24:
But no one else brought a bed into Abbey Road. That wasn't happening everywhere.
It seems John and Yoko were really in to beds, doesn't it?! John obviously had the ability to pull it off. I guess the story must be true about the accident and bringing the bed in.
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Erik in NJ:
John could yell louder and often got his way (same way he got White Album serial number 0000001 according to Paul...BTW anyone know where this album is today?) I think John cared less about p*ssing people off as the other three seemed to behave in general a bit more "gentlemanly" in the studio.
love2travel:
oobu24:
But no one else brought a bed into Abbey Road. That wasn't happening everywhere.
It seems John and Yoko were really in to beds, doesn't it?! John obviously had the ability to pull it off. I guess the story must be true about the accident and bringing the bed in.
I agree...John & Yoko didn't care what the others thought.
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love2travel:
Just wanted to mention that back in those "hippie" days, it was much more relaxed Peace and Love and basically a lot of mattresses and pillows on the floor with people listening to music together. That was very common. You can see Yoko and John justing sitting down on the floor in the studio in photos and also they had the bed-in's that were just typical of those times. Mattresses were everywhere, instead of chairs. It was just how it was back then. http://www.harisingh.com/Images/hsholymanjam70b.jpg http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/san-francisco-calif-hippies-hanging-everett.jpg How Yoko impressed John in the beginning http://images.artnet.com/images_US/magazine/features/miles/miles1-31-11-3.jpg Lennon particularly liked Yoko?s Ceiling Painting. The work appeared to be a blank canvas flat on the ceiling with just one word written on it in tiny letters. Lennon climbed a step-ladder, and balancing at the top, peered through his little round glasses, and through a larger round magnifying glass that was hanging on a chain next to the canvas, to look at the word. John said, "I went up the ladder and I got the spyglass and there was tiny writing there. . . and you look through and it just says ?YES?."
Yes, those photos remind me of some old hippie dayz. If I had only known what was going on, it would have been so much better.
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Erik in NJ:
The Beatles has an unwritten rule that no wives and/or girlfriends were brought into the studio. At some point John, as he couldn't bear to be away from Ono, started bringing her into the studio and broke this rule. It annoyed the other Beatles and the staff at Abbey Road. After the accident, John had Yoko brought into Abbey Road in a bed and mic placed over the bed so she could "contribute" if she wanted to. I don't believe that he was ever directly confronted by the other Beatles regarding Yoko being there, but perhaps someone else can shed some more light. I doubt anyone, but John would have listened to any "advice" she may have had to offer anyway. I think the bottom line is that she was there with John a lot, but I don't think she had any input into anything other than perhaps something John might have been doing. Hopefully someone else will jump in here that is more up on this stuff than I am. I do know that her being there caused a lot of bad feelings and she should have had enough sense to stay the heck out of there.
I don't think Paul openly criticized her in public or in front of John. George might have been more direct though. John was quoted as saying he should have punched George in the mouth for some of his insults towards her.
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hey_kittay:
love2travel:
Just wanted to mention that back in those "hippie" days, it was much more relaxed Peace and Love and basically a lot of mattresses and pillows on the floor with people listening to music together. That was very common. You can see Yoko and John justing sitting down on the floor in the studio in photos and also they had the bed-in's that were just typical of those times. Mattresses were everywhere, instead of chairs. It was just how it was back then. http://www.harisingh.com/Images/hsholymanjam70b.jpg http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/san-francisco-calif-hippies-hanging-everett.jpg How Yoko impressed John in the beginning http://images.artnet.com/images_US/magazine/features/miles/miles1-31-11-3.jpg Lennon particularly liked Yoko?s Ceiling Painting. The work appeared to be a blank canvas flat on the ceiling with just one word written on it in tiny letters. Lennon climbed a step-ladder, and balancing at the top, peered through his little round glasses, and through a larger round magnifying glass that was hanging on a chain next to the canvas, to look at the word. John said, "I went up the ladder and I got the spyglass and there was tiny writing there. . . and you look through and it just says ?YES?."
Yes, those photos remind me of some old hippie dayz. If I had only known what was going on, it would have been so much better.
Hey Kittay....Yes we should go back to the dayz of Peace and Love and trying to live in harmony All we are saying is give Peace a Chance! Does anyone know, has Paul or Ringo said publicly about this, was the bed there for the accident? I really have always liked Yoko's artistic projects, like the "YES" one. I saw one installation at the group show LOVE, where she had everyone put post-it's up on a board. And by adding a photo of a loved one or a love message on a post it, onto a blank canvas. It was cool to read anonymous love messages. Once completed, the work was entitled ?Secret Piece III. It was a great live art piece. https://www.flickr.com/photos/yokoonoofficial/3001615068/
Erik in NJ:
The Beatles has an unwritten rule that no wives and/or girlfriends were brought into the studio. At some point John, as he couldn't bear to be away from Ono, started bringing her into the studio and broke this rule. It annoyed the other Beatles and the staff at Abbey Road. After the accident, John had Yoko brought into Abbey Road in a bed and mic placed over the bed so she could "contribute" if she wanted to. I don't believe that he was ever directly confronted by the other Beatles regarding Yoko being there, but perhaps someone else can shed some more light. I doubt anyone, but John would have listened to any "advice" she may have had to offer anyway. I think the bottom line is that she was there with John a lot, but I don't think she had any input into anything other than perhaps something John might have been doing. Hopefully someone else will jump in here that is more up on this stuff than I am. I do know that her being there caused a lot of bad feelings and she should have had enough sense to stay the heck out of there.
I guess only Paul and Ringo would know the truth now, but since John seemed to always have Yoko by his side, I'm only guessing here... he probably really wanted her there?! What do you think? Do you think if you were John Lennon's girlfriend and had a chance to be in the studio hearing the Beatles record, you would say ...ah, thanks but no thanks, I'm gonna stay at home John! ? j/k