Solid State

Fair warning: if you are not into The Beatles, you will probably find Solid State, by Kevin Womack, tedious. But if you are a Beatle-maniac, this book will be like manna from heaven. It is a detailed account of how the Beatles recorded their last album, Abbey Road, and how they self-destructed.

The title is kind of odd, as one doesn't associate it with the Beatles, but it refers to the technology used to record the album. "With Abbey Road, as [George] Martin and [Geoff] Emerick deployed solid-state technology in tandem with the group’s virtuosic musical talents, the Beatles succeeded in ending their career in fine style, not only for themselves but for legions of listeners. In this way, “solid state” exists as a metaphor for the technologies that made the album possible and also for the sense of completion, of finality, that the album represents."

Indeed, the first part of the book is very technical, and much of it was over my head. "Plainly and simply, Abbey Road sounded vastly different from the Beatles’ previous studio efforts due to a series of technological upgrades that EMI Studios had undertaken during the late autumn months of 1968—namely, the adoption of a new eight-track mixing desk that afforded the bandmates and their production team with solid-state technology after years of working, for the most part, with tube equipment." The change from four-track to eight-track was huge.

Then the book gets into an almost day-by-day chronicle of what the band was up to from roughly January 1969 to April 1970, when the end was nigh. Many thought that the band was finished after what was called the "Get Back" sessions, when a documentary was filmed and emotions were frayed. The rooftop concert in January '69 was thought to be a swan song (indeed, it was the last time they would play together in public). But, after John and Paul cut a single "The Ballad Of John and Yoko," the band formed to record a new album. Many were doubtful. "Martin harbored understandable doubts about the Beatles’ longevity—even their ability to last through April, much less record a new album’s worth of songs."

Even with many obstacles--the fight over who would manage the group, the bleeding of money at Apple Corps, and Lennon and McCartney's loss of the publishing rights to their own songs--they came together and worked harmoniously, for the most part. This even though Lennon had a serious car accident in Scotland and was on heroin.

We then get the details on the recording of each song--how it came to be, who played what on it, and so forth. Lennon, despite his infirmity, came up with Come Together, which was left over from a song he was writing for the presidential campaign for Timothy Leary. Paul, inspired by the rock operas by The Who, envisioned "the long one," a medley that would end up dominating side two, culminating in "The End," which had a drum solo by Ringo Starr and then the other three Beatles trading off on guitar solos. "Singing “and in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make,” McCartney succeeded in concluding the medley with “a cosmic, philosophical line,” in Lennon’s words. And with that, the Beatles seemed to have brought “The End” to fruition, save for a planned orchestral overdub." “Out of the ashes of all that madness,” said Starr, “that last section is one of the finest pieces we put together.”

For his part, George Harrison contributed two songs that are rightly considered classics, "Something" and "Here Comes The Sun." So long considered a sub-par composer, he was starting to come into his own as a songwriter. He also purchased a Moog, a synthesizer that ended up being used on many of the songs.

There was some acrimony. Paul spent a lot of time on "Maxwell's Silver Hammer," which John considered time wasted. He despised this type of McCartney composition. He called them "granny songs." And that spring the band almost came to the end over the fight over management. John, George, and Ringo wanted Allen Klein, while Paul wanted his father-in-law, John Eastman. In fact, Paul never did sign the paperwork agreeing to Klein's representation.

The cover shoot happened that August, and the resulting photo is one of the most iconic album covers of all time. "Abbey Road’s innovative cover art depicts the bandmates strolling away from the studio where they made their art and into the waiting arms of history." As for the title, the simple use of the name of the studio where they recorded also came late: "Since early summer, the title had been a running issue among the group, with several names being bandied about, including Four in the Bar, All Good Children Go to Heaven, and the absurd Billy’s Left Foot. One of the strongest contenders had been to name the album Everest in honor of the brand of cigarettes that Emerick smoked."

By the end of the recording session, John had already decided he was quitting the band, but had not gone public. Womack writes of a remarkable meeting among three of them, John, Paul, and George (Ringo was on vacation) in October, just after the release of the album,  in which they aired it out. John was for doing another album, with each of them contributing four songs. He voiced his disgust at Paul spending so much time on songs that even Paul didn't think were that good, and George let out his feelings about being considered second-rate. "With the idea of recording an album seemingly off the table, Lennon suggested that they produce a Christmas single instead. After all, he reasoned, their annual holiday fan club record would be due before long. When this was met with silence and indifference, Lennon soberly concluded, “I guess that’s the end of the Beatles.”"

It was. The "Get Back" sessions turned into the album Let It Be, with Phil Spector taking over. The last recording any Beatle did on a Beatle record was Ringo drumming for "The Long And Winding Road," which Spector supplemented with a choir and strings, making everyone angry. "Martin was disgusted, later remarking that “the album credit reads ‘Produced by Phil Spector,’ but I wanted it changed to ‘Produced by George Martin. Overproduced by Phil Spector.’”

John recorded "Cold Turkey," about his trying to kick heroin, but the other Beatles showed no interest in recording it, so he did himself, and for the first time the credit for songwriting was simply John Lennon, not Lennon and McCartney. Paul recorded his own album in secret, simply called McCartney, and when he was asked to push its release date back to avoid conflicting with Let It Be he was livid, throwing Ringo out of his house. In the liner notes for his album, he basically stated the Beatles were over, which was the first public declaration of the end.

And so the Beatles ended. In retrospect it was inevitable, as they were brilliant and headstrong. Unless you're the Rolling Stones, a collaboration like that is bound to reach a natural end, and Womack captures it perfectly. Solid State is a must for any serious Beatles fan.