|
Why all the pictures? (You ask.) I don't know. I guess I just didn't have the heart to delete any more of them to cut the selection down. All of these are good in their own way somehow. Anyway, I hope you enjoy them. But before we get to the overload on photos I first put together some interesting of examples of yesterday and today... some views of Abbey Road Studios as it is today as well as how it was way back in the days of the Beatles. Yesterday and TodayViews of Abbey Road Studios Then and Now Walking into Studio 2 of Abbey Road one might not even notice a pair of beat-up-looking small upright pianos standing against the wall. I admit that I've personally never noticed them on any of my previous sessions here. But these two pianos are history itself. These two pianos feature on a number of Beatles recordings, including songs like With A Little Help From My Friends and Lady Madonna (dark brown piano) or Fool On The Hill (light brown piano), plus so many others that it's pointless to try and list them. Two days shy of exactly forty years ago, on 22 February 1967, these two pianos (and a third grand piano) were used to record the final giant E chord at the end of A Day In A Life, the climax of the Sgt Pepper album. And just in case you're sceptical, take note of the curve on the front of the light brown piano (at left) and compare it to the piano that John Lennon is playing in the photograph at the right.  So when you have Beatles pianos in the room, the natural conclusion to come to is that these pianos must have been used to record such songs as Hey Jude or Let It Be. But the truth is, however, that neither of those songs were recorded at Abbey Road so these pianos aren't the ones you hear on those two most famous of Beatles piano songs. And it's probably a good thing anyway, since neither of these pianos has what I'd call a good sound for those songs.  In this one the piano John is seen playing in the photo at the right is the same as the one in the foreground at left, but the grand pianos in the distance in either photo are not the same. Sorry to disappoint you.  No one will ever believe me when I say that it was not my intention to be Paul by parading around Abbey Road in my bare feet. And especially not to be photographed standing in exactly the same spot as Paul once did in bare feet. Ten years ago just down the hall Noel Gallagher of Oasis once mocked my lack of shoes. I am just not a fan of wearing shoes, I guess.  It's weird to me that they stuck Ringo in the corner in those days. The room is the same acoustically as it was then, so why not put him in the middle of the room as I myself always do with my drummers when recording here? It sounds much better there.  The thing to notice in this photo is the famous staircase behind Sebastiaan and Paul's backs in the respective photos.  Once again notice the staircase behind Leo and Paul in these two photos.  As I wait for word from the control room I am unaware that I am sitting in the same spot where John, George and Ringo once sat around.  Just in case you think that these pictures were intentionally taken to match the 1960s ones, I can assure you that they weren't. It's just that the staircase makes such a good place to take photographs from, looking down toward the studio floor.  I wonder if Leo realises that by coincidence he set up his 1960s VOX guitar amplifier in almost exactly the same spot that John Lennon once set up his own 1960s VOX amplifier?  Similar views into the corner of the room. Notice the windows on the giant "doors" at the side of the studio, that can be rolled out to change the acoustics of the room.  Leo plays guitar in the same spot where John, Paul and George once did vocals.  At the right side is the Beatles in one of their first recording sessions at Abbey Road Studio 2. The studio changed a lot in the Beatles early days, but not much since then.  Obscured by the sound screen behind Remco is the emergency exit doors that are visible in the Beatles photo at the right.  Remco pauses between drum takes at the same end of the room where all the Beatles used to cram into to record their early records.  Kent plays guitar in the same spot where Paul once did, forty years ago.  Notice John's Rickenbacker guitar at the right. Leo brought his Rickenbacker as well, pictured at left lying on the floor (not the Strat that is leaning on the amp).  Several of us chat after the live show in the same place where Paul and John once chatted.  Studio 2 might look much the same today as it did when the Beatles recorded here, but the canteen looks completely different. In fact, the canteen has even changed significantly over the ten years that I myself have been coming here to record.  The front steps of Abbey Road as they look today (at centre) and how they looked in the past. Notice the photograph at bottom left, which is of the Beatles relaxing just before the famous Abbey Road crosswalk photo was taken. (Notice what each of them is wearing? Does it look familiar?) Abbey Road Studio 3 It's a lucky day for some of the visitors and they are able to tour the other studios at Abbey Road and have a look around. This is Studio 3, which is where I did my first Abbey Road Session ever. Notice how much the room has changed since the 1960s when the Beatles only occasionally recorded here.  In the top photo George is standing in the same spot that I sat when I recorded the guitar and vocal parts for songs like The Pace Unbreathable and Early Friday Morning. In the photo at right Paul is sitting exactly where I sat when I recorded the piano parts for songs like The Post War Dream and The Elders of Ozone. Abbey Road Studio 1 The Beatles occasionally used the huge Studio 1 at Abbey Road throughout their career for various purposes, but for me the most famous occasion is when their images were broadcast around the world as they sang All You Need Is Love.  Studio 1 has also changed since my first visit here, and certainly since the Beatles recorded here. But the main room is much the same as it was back then while the control room has undergone dramatic changes. Photos from Sessions in Studio 2                                                                                                                                                                                                                                19 February 2007 |
