1969 was one of the golden years for music. There may have been more “classic” albums released 50 years ago than any other year. Just a cursory list from jazz and rock has to include seminal albums by (take a deep breath) Miles Davis (In a Silent Way), Tony Williams (Emergency!), Pharoah Sanders (Karma), Art Ensemble of Chicago (People In Sorrow), Quincy Jones (Walking in Space), Aretha Franklin (Soul ’69), Led Zeppelin (I and II), King Crimson (The Court of the Crimson King), Captain Beefheart (Trout Mask Replica), The Who (Tommy) and Bob Dylan (Nashville Skyline), just to scratch the surface.
Two albums from 50 years ago that represented the Apotheosis of both The Beatles and The Rolling Stones have recently been reissued in exciting new formats. The Beatles’ Abbey Road has been given the same wonderful remastering by producer Giles Martin (who gave us an illumination of The White Album)and is in a handful of formats, Blu-Ray and 3 cds, with 2 cds and in 3LP vinyl. All include a sonic purification that is guaranteed to have your ears take in sounds you never heard before, and there are bonus discs that include home demos, studio demos and various takes. There is also an accompanying booklet that includes insights, session material and rare photos along with “hints” of Paul’s supposed death.
The demos include a “fly on the wall” perspective, as conversations between the Fab Four and producer George Martin are interspersed between pieces like a gorgeous and intimately acoustic read of George Harrison with “Here Comes The Sun” and Paul in a Tin Pan Alley mood for “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer.” RIngo’s drumming on “Come Together” and “The End” is right up front, while John Lennon is in a particularly bluesy mood for “Come Together” and “I Want You” with some instrumental takes of songs like “Because” and a rocking “She Came In Through The Bathroom Window” will warm the cockles of every Beatlemaniac.
The Rolling Stones in 1969 were at their arguably strongest as a team. While they were still putting out albums in answers to the Beatles (Beggars Banquet was their acoustic version of Rubber Soul and ditto Satanic Majesties to Sgt Pepper) the departure of Brian Jones and arrival of blues guitarist Mick Taylor sealed a new sound and direction for the band. Let It Bleed was the result, and it is an incredibly strong album, including their own “Hey Jude” in the operatic “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” replete with the drawn out finale.
The driving “GImme Shelter” included the haunting vocals of Mary Clayton , and the dark blues “Midnight Rambler” featured not only Mick Jagger’s most harrowing vocals, but some wailing harmonica work. An acoustic version of “Honky Tonk Woman” (“Country Honk”) and Keith Richard’s debut on vocals for the Nashville’d “You Got The Silver” fit well with the read of Robert Johnson’s “Love In Vain” while the hard rocking “Live With Me” with Bobby Keys’ searing tenor sax solo was the prototype for later tunes “Brown Sugar” and “Bitch”.
The Limited Deluxe Edition includes an 80 page hardcover book, 2 hybrid SACDs in both stereo and mono, 1 180 gram vinyl LPs, 3 hand numbered replica signed lithograph s, the original poster from the 1969 album and a 7” single of “Honky Tonk Woman/You Can’t Always Get What You Want”. When this album first came out, there was a note on the back that read “THIS RECORD SHOULD BE PLAYED LOUD”. This classic was meant to be both heard and felt, still sounding like a Jumpin’ Jack Flash after half a century