Abbey Road's Jarring Transition
Sides A & B couldn't be any differrent.
By now, you are probably aware of who The Beatles are, and their 1969 album Abbey Road. If not, then go listen to the album and then read this post. Got it? Great! If you were like many people, you would notice something strange about the album. And it’s not the lyrics of Maxwell’s Silver Hammer, or the many seconds of silence before Her Majesty, but it’s the transition from track 6, I Want You (She’s So Heavy), and track 7, Here Comes the Sun. I Want You (She’s So Heavy) is one of The Beatles’ most interesting and unique songs; culminating in minutes of heavy guitars, pulsing drums, and huge tension. However, the track suddenly ends. There’s no resolution to the noise you just heard. Right after, you are greeted by a warm, lovely guitar, and George Harrison’s Here Comes the Sun plays. Here, take a listen:
Needless to say, it's quite an abrupt and jarring transition. Many modern listeners and critics have had the mistake of thinking that this was how the album was meant to be listened to; no gaps, front to back. From the first drum beat of Come Together to the final note of The End (or Her Majesty, depending on how you view it). However that's not the case. In fact, this moment is what splits the album in two halves. Two very distinct and equally great halves. So, if the album wasn't meant to be heard like this, how was it meant to be heard? Well, the answer is a little black record.
This is my personal vinyl copy of Abbey Road. It is not an original copy of the album, because that would be hard to obtain. Instead, it is the more recent 2019 remaster by the lovely people at Apple Corps. For some context on the mixes of Abbey Road and other Beatles records, in 2009, a huge set of merchandise was released in honor of the 40th anniversary of Abbey Road. Among these were the entire Beatles catalog on streaming, new remasters of every Beatles album and their Past Masters compilation, and The Beatles Rock Band. These masters would come in two sets: the regular set and the Mono Masters set. Of course, not every Beatles album was recorded in mono; Abbey Road was made in stereo. However, the 2009 mixes (which are the widely available releases) have a hard panning on the left and right channels for every album. This makes for a very disorientating and hard listening experience. Thankfully, Apple has chosen to remaster some of The Beatles’ catalog recently, including Abbey Road.
So, Abbey Road releases on vinyl for the first time in 1969, in a lovely stereo format. As you're probably aware, vinyl records have two sides. This made it so artists had to be careful and smart with how they divided their albums. And for Abbey Road, The Beatles had a great answer to this problem. The first half of the record, pictured above, contained tracks that didn't flow together. That is, there was no transition between tracks. Either they faded out or ended conclusively. The second half of Abbey Road contains what is known as The Abbey Road Medley, a collection of various “micro-songs” that flowed one into the other. Now, you may be wondering if Here Comes the Sun is a part of this medley, as it ends with no seeming transition. The answer is no. The first two songs on the second side, Here Comes the Sun and Because, are not part of the medley.
Here is the second half of Abbey Road. The half that opens with Here Comes the Sun. When you listen to a vinyl record, the needle ends and silence fills. Waiting for you to turn over the record and continue. The same can be said with the abrupt and loud ending of I Want You (She's So Heavy). After listening to that tension, you flip over the record, expecting a resolution. Instead, you are greeted with a new beginning. In fact, I can demonstrate this! I own a turntable that's Bluetooth compatible. So, I connected it to my laptop, began recording the audio, and here it is. Abbey Road, as intended; well, the transition from track 6 to 7. I did record the entire album, but I am not uploading it here for obvious reasons. Here you go:
That little fuzz you hear when I Want You (She’s So Heavy) ends and Here Comes the Sun begins is the needle of the vinyl going to a halt and beginning to spin, respectively. Normally, there’s a few moments of silence when the fuzz plays and the beginning of a song. However, once you begin the second half, Here Comes the Sun instantly greets you warmly. Once I Want You (She’s So Heavy) ends, it’s really up to you how much time you want between it and Here Comes the Sun. Of course, there is a minimum, being the human limit of turning the record over and playing it again; however, you can really take as much time as you want to process the first half. Half a minute, a minute, ten minutes; maybe you never want to turn it around.
So, there you have it. If you had any doubts about that transition, there it is. The reason it sounds so harsh and abrupt is because it was meant to be a bridge from one side of the album to another. It also showcases how The Beatles were very attentive to every detail in their albums, making one of the best albums of all time in the process of this seemingly confusing transition. Thank you so much for reading!