40 LOCATIONS IN A 3 HOUR PERIOD PLAYED DIFFERENT FORMATS OF THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION RELEASE
STORE EVENT REPORT
The master of ceremony is our music curator, Philip O’Hanlon, who hosted this event with the support of around 40 hifi store owners and music lovers in North America. Philip kicked off the party in the middle of the 20th anniversary celebration of Audio Vision San Francisco with it proprietor, Antonio Long. With their curated Gryphon Audio Design’s system, the pair opened up the party at the Holiday Inn across from the store.
We thank all hifi stores for participating and the audience for taking their time to support our efforts to emote with high quality music playback to better our lives.
PRE EVENT PODCAST INTERVIEW
The passion to share the joy of music is shared by many in our industry. The what’s, the why’s and the how’s that drive us are briefly captured here when two music lovers, two generations apart, sat down for a chat at The Studio Corner in the beautiful gallery setting of at Moso Art Gallery. Hosted by Haig Gevorgian, a podcaster, musician, composer, songwriter, singer, producer, Podcast#40 from The Studio Corner (also captured via video (see below)) places viewers as a fly on the wall to listen in (watch) these two discuss how musical experience heightens or tapers musical enjoyment.
Numerous analogies, tips and insights are shared on how we introduce or enhance the positive impact of music has on our lives and on the lives of our loved ones. Tune in to see how so many of us tape into high fidelity music playback and the positive impact it has on our general well-being and our happiness.
PRESS
Stereophile.com
Stereophile.com helped us spread the word for our scheduled event. Art Dudley, Asst. Editor who heard Giles Martin’s 50th Anniversary remix / remaster of Abbey Road at mid-town Manhattan’s Dolby Theater on 19 August shared that “My favorite of the alternate takes was a live-in-the-studio take of “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” that was even scarier and more intense than the version we all know. The alternate lacks the white noise (wind sound effect) added to the original, so Billy Preston’s Hammond organ solos are easier to hear and appreciate. John’s vocal is amazing, as is his guitar playing. The sound is very direct and vibrant. And there’s some great, funny studio chatter at the beginning.” Go HERE to see Stereophile’s announcement.
Positive-Feedback.com
Not only did Positive Feedback help us spread the word on their Industry News section about our event, Editor Dr. David Robinson posted John Mark’s write up on George Benson’s The Other Side of Abbey Road the day after the event and his sentiment, eagerly awaiting. Many thanks.
Enjoythemusic.com
Thank you for making the announcement for us in your Daily News section to your base.
whatsbestforum.com
This moderator monitored forum is where a lot of us would “hang out” and have a discussion online. Facilitated by active audio hobbyists and music lovers, MORMusic.Today’s first party was first announced here where many jumped on board to update their location news. It’s a free member-based site so sign up for a free account to hang out with us.
SELECT ALBUM REVIEWS
Audiophilereview.com
Two-Part review by Mark Smotroff focuses on surround sound in Part I, and the stereo remix in Part II. In many ways, the author feels that the new 5.1 surround sound deserves more attention as the mix opens up the music and listening experience while keeping more or less true to the album’s original sound. He laments that it will however remain a supplementary perspective on The Beatles’ swan song and George Martin’s original mix.
The Tannhauser Gate
John Marks from this fine publication had a 32-minute delight for us in this article by pointing us to a “far and away, the best Abbey Road cover album ever, George Benson’s woefully under-appreciated The Other Side of Abbey Road.
Back at a time when you could buy a near mint LP for $1 from countless used record shops in Los Angeles, we found this gem and took it home to call ours. This is early George Benson when the music was not so commercial. Superb backing musicians and really interesting arrangements, not to mention George Benson sings really well, and of course his superb guitar work. Recommended. Thanks to John Marks for reminding me. Go HERE for more.
SELECT NOTEWORTHY WRITE-UPS RELATING TO THE ALBUM
PBS.org
In the upcoming book, “Recording Analysis: How the Record Shapes the Song”, Professor of Sound Recording Technology and Music in MIT discussed how the recording process can enhance the atistry of songs highlighted Abbey Road as one of the examples. Beginning with 1965’s “Rubber Soul,” The Beatles started exploring new sounds. This quest continued in “Abbey Road,” where the band was able to deftly incorporate emerging recording technology in a way that set the album apart from everything they had previously done. A real great read!
For more, go HERE. To read the original article cited by PBS, go HERE.
Wall Street Journal
Allan Kozinn skillfully titled the article “The Beatles’ Stop Sign…” For decades tourists stop cars on Abbey Road to walk across the infamous zebra crossing in attempt to recreate their memories commending the album cover of Abbey Road. The debate of whether Abbey Road was meant to be the Beatles’ swan song has been widely debated but this new release seems to shed some light to the matter.
The Guardian
“This tape rewires everything we knew about the Beatles’ breakup from Archived tapes. For a long time, there has been an ongoing debate about whether Abbey Road, dubbed as the Beatles’ swan song was actually the result of their intended breakup or did it just happen beyond their control. The Guardian offered the take of Mark Lewisohn, Fab Four’s writer-historian for public consumption. Read more HERE.
Los Angeles Times
“Abbey Road gains impact, clarity and tangibility in a mix that brings the recording presumably that much closer to what the band sounded like in the studio five decades ago. George Harrison’s finger-picked guitar opening pops out of the speakers on “Here Comes the Sun,” and the octave-hopping Moog synthesizer part that doubles the guitar arpeggios in the midsong break now sends deeper vibrations into the floorboards. The exquisite three-part vocal harmonies from Lennon, McCartney and Harrison on “Because” — which were overlaid a second and then a third time to create the rich, nine-layer vocal mix — are that much more visceral.” For the full article, go HERE
