The secret has been out of the bag for a while, but with last Thursday being the 50th anniversary of The Beatles taking the cover shot for their final album, Abbey Road, we now have the details and a date -- September 27th -- for the 50th anniversary deluxe release.
Now available for pre-order, the album’s 17 tracks are newly mixed by producer Giles Martin and mix engineer Sam Okell in stereo, high res stereo, 5.1 surround, and Dolby Atmos, accompanied by 23 session recordings and demos, most of which are previously unreleased.
To produce the mix, Giles was guided by the album’s original stereo mix supervised by his father, the late George Martin. “Our quest is simply to ensure everything sounds as fresh and hits you as hard as it would have on the day it was recorded,” says Giles.
This is the first time Abbey Road has been remixed and released with additional session recordings and demos. It follows similar 50th anniversary reissues for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and The Beatles(White Album).
In his written foreword for Abbey Road’s anniversary packages,Paul McCartney writes, "The Beatles recording journey had gone through many twists and turns, learning curves and thrilling rides. Here we were – still wondering at the magic of it all.”
Abbey Road’s Super Deluxe box contains 40 tracks – including “The Long One” Trial Edit & Mix for the album’s epic Side 2 medley – on three CDs (stereo) and one Blu-ray disc. Each disc comes in a slip-sleeved 12-by-12-inch 100-page hardbound book, which contains essays, rare and previously unpublished photos, including many taken by Linda McCartney; never before published images of handwritten lyrics, sketches, and a George Martin score; Beatles correspondence, recording sheets, and tape boxes; and reproduced original print ads.
There is also a vinyl box set, a deluxe 2-CD set, and a single CD and single vinyl disc with the new stereo mix.
Released on September 26th, 1969 in the U.K. and October 1st in the U.S.,Abbey Road held the number-one spot on the U.K. album chart for 17 weeks, and the Billboard chart for 11.
It was inducted into the Recording Academy’s Grammy Hall of Fame in 1995.
Super Deluxetrack listing:
CD ONE: 2019 Stereo Mix
- Come Together
- Something
- Maxwell’s Silver Hammer
- Oh! Darling
- Octopus’s Garden
- I Want You (She’s So Heavy)
- Here Comes the Sun
- Because
- You Never Give Me Your Money
- Sun King
- Mean Mr. Mustard
- Polythene Pam
- She Came in Through the Bathroom Window
- Golden Slumbers
- Carry That Weight
- The End
- Her Majesty
CD TWO: Sessions
- I Want You (She’s So Heavy) (Trident Recording Session & Reduction Mix)
- Goodbye (Home Demo)
- Something (Studio Demo)
- The Ballad of John and Yoko (Take 7)
- Old Brown Shoe (Take 2)
- Oh! Darling (Take 4)
- Octopus’s Garden (Take 9)
- You Never Give Me Your Money (Take 36)
- Her Majesty (Takes 1–3)
- Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight (Takes 1–3 / Medley)
- Here Comes the Sun (Take 9)
- Maxwell’s Silver Hammer (Take 12)
CD THREE: Sessions
- Come Together (Take 5)
- The End (Take 3)
- Come and Get It (Studio Demo)
- Sun King (Take 20)
- Mean Mr. Mustard (Take 20)
- Polythene Pam (Take 27)
- She Came in Through the Bathroom Window (Take 27)
- Because (Take 1 – Instrumental)
- The Long One (Trial Edit & Mix – 30 July 1969) (Medley: You Never Give Me Your Money, Sun King, Mean Mr. Mustard, Her Majesty, Polythene Pam, She Came in Through the Bathroom Window, Golden Slumbers, Carry That Weight, The End)
- Something (Take 39 – Instrumental – Strings Only)
- Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight (Take 17 – Instrumental – Strings & Brass Only)