Abbey Road Anniversary [LP]
[{'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2019', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-3 review-rating', 'review_body': 'I cant speak for other reviewers comments, but there is definite differences from the 2012 vinyl pressing. I am Not as impressed with this remix. The 2009 Remaster/2012 vinyl pressing is better imo. There are definitely positive changes but enough negative changes to my favorite songs to fail with me. During the best part of the album (Medley), the guitars are put so far to the back that you almost can’t hear the guitar riffs during songs like She Came In Through The Bathroom Window (Those riffs are one of the coolest elements of the song!). George’s guitars are much more present on side 1. The vocals are also way too quiet on Side 2, as if everyone is a backup singer. Paul’s voice all but disappears on Carry That Weight in the beautiful first verse. Paul’s bass and Ringo’s drums seem to be what Giles wanted to be heard above everything else. There are 2 more members that need to be heard as well! Thank God they didn’t move Her Majesty into the middle of the medley on the vinyl version! I was prepared to return my copy because of what I had heard. That was a very bad decision. All of Giles remixes have WAYYY too much bass! PERIOD! My system can certainly handle it but it’s overpowering most of the time and kills the overall sound at times. Overall the record sounds very clean. Sometimes too clean. There are some songs that received solid improvements with better separation but this didn’t happen throughout. Abbey Road has always been the best sounding Beatles record. This remix was totally unnecessary. Trading mine back in for the 2012. I should’ve listened to this version first before selling my 2012 copy. Lesson learned. The best thing I can say about this version is that you can Really hear Ringo’s drum work more clearly. But overall I say, you don’t fix what was never broken'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2019', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'Having heard this album countless times and although liking it, not really being impressed with the sound quality, although a vast improvement over their previous albums, by not it sounded tired to my ears. And then today I got it in the mail. It will be like rediscovering the beauty of the album. The remix makes it sound as it it had been recorded yesterday, not 50 years ago, and it makes me think that - and forgive me Beatles fans - the band was not as well served as they should have been by George Martin, whom I suspect, must have been somewhat deaf. Probably the same reason why he didn\'t pay much attention to George Harrison\'s music through the years and why, once the band split, Harrison used Phil Spector (another mistake) for his debut album "ALl Things Must Pass". I was a little disappointed with "Her Majesty". This remix starts off with Paul and his guitar on one speaker, and slowly drifting to the other as the song plays. Big deal! What I expected was to at least hear the LAST CHORD OF THE SONG INTACT! If Giles Martin had access to all the original component tapes, then he MUST have had "Her Majesty" in its complete form. I know it exists because I had a bootleg record where HM was in MONO and it was complete. VERY disappointed.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2019', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-1 review-rating', 'review_body': 'Sonically, Abbey Road is similar to Gile’s Martin’s other remasters (Sgt. Peppers and the White Album). That is to say, they are major upgrades in clarity, instrumental and voice separation that brings the album alive. However, two negative things I have noticed off the bat. The actual album cover is way more flimsy than I would have expected. It’s very thin and floppy, it feels pretty cheap. More importantly, there is quite a bit of surface noise on the album, something completely absent on the other Beatles remasters. Not exactly sure why, but it’s very noticeable - must be an issue with the actual pressing of the albums. I’m a bit disappointed as the other Giles Martin versions I have are completely quiet. I may sent it back to see if I can get a better copy? There are also a few pops but mostly just surface noise. Otherwise, the improved sonics make it a must listen and if the surface noise wasn’t here I’d say a must purchase!\n\nUPDATE- I sent back this vinyl record and ordered a different copy. The new album came within 2 days but wasn’t even in the normal album cardboard but just placed loosely in a big box?? More importantly, the VERY LOUD surface noise was just as bad if not worse on the 2nd album. This is clearly an issue with the pressing if this album. I just sent the 2nd one back and I am currently listening to it on Amazon music in “Ultra HD” - not nearly as present or dynamic as the vinyl but the surface noise was just unacceptable! Maybe they will repress again later?'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2019', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': "I like it! I have enjoyed the 50th Anniversary issues of Sgt. Pepper and The White Album and this one is just as good. A classic! If you don't have Abbey Road on vinyl already I definitely recommend picking up this one for your music collection."}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2021', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'I was skeptical to buy this because of the bad reviews. Things I saw were, "The cover is Flimsy" "The audio mix sounds awful" "There\'s surface noise on the record"\n\nIn our house we have a really great audio set-up. I took this vinyl down there today after it came in, and it sounded perfect. I couldn\'t even hear any surface noise, and the mix is really perfectly done. Highly recommend.\n\nEDIT: I tested on two other different vinyl players I have in the house. I needed to adjust my treble to eliminate the static, but it sounded damn near perfect on both of the systems. One was a Sony player through a Sony stereo system. The other was a Crosley all in one. The audio set up downstairs is an Oinko system with a high end player. Really great mix. Definitely recommend it to anyone who loves this album.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2021', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': "TBH, out of all The Beatles's albums, Abbey Road was the one that took me the longest to fall in love with. Maybe because after the sonic experiments of Sgt Pepper and White Album, and that this was the last album they recorded together, I was expecting something something grander. It wasn't until I set aside those expectations about what it should be that I heard it for what it is.\n\nThere's a languidness to the whole thing... it's bluesy, rootsy, earthy... with an autumnal feeling to the whole proceeding. Not that there's less experimentation or brilliance of songwriting, it's just that they no longer jump out at you. Instead, the genius is allowed to simmer more elegantly. It's one of those albums that grows on you and once it does, you're just left in awe of the understated brilliance of it all. Aside from Rubber Soul, this is probably the other Beatles album that I listen to the most now.\n\nAs for the Giles Martin and Sam Okell remix, it is more subtle compared to their work on Sgt Pepper and White Album. But they've improved the overall sound of it and I think it sounds better than previous versions. The rhythm section sounds fuller, the arrangements sound more balanced. Definitely the most definitive version thus far."}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2019', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-4 review-rating', 'review_body': "It's Abbey Road by The Beatles so the music is fantastic. However the pressing itself is noisy in spots (You Never Give Me Your Money especially). Hopefully this is not widespread issue but I've now gotten 2."}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2020', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'The new remix is especially nice, as it keeps the good points of the original mix (the rich guitar tones, punchy bass, lovely vocal mixes), but it also adds loads of tone to Ringo\'s drums, which were dampened by tea towels during the original recording, making them sound like dull thuds throughout, save for the drum solo in "The End". Now the cymbals shimmer and ring, the snare sounds real, but never overbearing, and the tom-tom fills have a nice resonance that was sorely missing in the original mix.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2022', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'My eldest grandson received a turntable for Christmas. I got him Abbey Road and Revolver, to start a classics collection, and talked him into trying Abbey Road first. The moment “Come Together” began the grandkids jaws dropped, sitting mesmerized by the music. Something about vinyl makes the music more alive.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2022', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'New disc to replace my worn out original for a good price. If you have never heard this music on a quality stereo turntable system with 15" or bigger woofers, then you really haven\'t heard the sonic beauty of these songs. PS: Paul\'s not dead (yet). RIP John and George. Too bad Amazon does not sell all of the Beatles records at this price.'}]