ABBEY ROAD turned 50 today, and Apple celebrated with a remixed release. First, the music is as fresh and interesting now as it was in 1969, imo. The instruments have been rebalanced. The drums are a bit more prominent. The bass is always audible – and the bass lines are great. The guitar work is sensational. The voices are clean and as vivid as ever. The best part as usual is hearing things not audible in the original pressing: ends of phrases, tags on solos, all the little things that make it such a beautiful piece of work. It’s well worth hearing.
The songs have worn well. Mostly great, stand-alone works. And then there’s the medley. It’s hard not to read backwards into The End, which it turned out to be. But first, they had time for memories, regrets, the pain of dissolving and finally the joy of a final jam. It’s as if it was planned that way.
For many, The Beatles were our fairy tale, pulling us out of the gloom of Dallas 1963 and carrying us along on a fantastic musical journey for 7 years. We grew up with and to them, and their music still plays a vital role — at least in my life.
May the love you take be equal to the love you make. At least, give it a shot
Evan Sarzin is the author of Hard Bop Piano and Bud Powell published by Gerard & Sarzin Music Publishing. He writes and publishes Revolted Colonies (http://revoltedcolonies.com).