The Fab Four were famous for knocking out their early albums in a matter of days. Why? Fear that without new songs they’d drop out of the charts; a knowledge that they had to be back on the road ‘real soon, now’ and studio time was scarce and expensive. But those manic days were over: touring was something they had put on hold; they knew The Beatles brand was strong enough to take extended periods of time before the next release and in fact help build the anticipation of something special. And well, Abbey Road became their second home.
As always, the Beatles were evolving rapidly. Their time in India had developed them as individuals, gently pulling apart that tight-knit team shaped in Hamburg bars and hotel bed-rooms. That had been compounded by easier (relatively) schedules and blossoming romantic relationships. This was an album of individual contributions. It was an album of abundance of ideas and concepts. And it was the start start of Paul's ‘back to basics' thinking. The abundance of Sergeant Pepper was over. The cover was to be simple and unadorned: just The Beatles. And not an album-a double album.
Was it any good? Fastest selling album ever; 2 million in 1 week.
That's another reason we love The Beatles.
Reason 1: Story-tellers; 2: Sgt. Pepper; 3: Eternally optimistic; 4: Still cool; 5: George Harrison.; 6: Love Me Do
7: Work Ethic ;8: Synchronicity; 9: The Roof-top Concert; 10: Candlestick Park; 11: Lennon & McCartney
12: I Saw Her Standing There; 13: Liverpool; 14: Black & White; 15: Album Covers; 16: John Lennon
17: Lennon & McCartney; 18: Rock 'n Roll; 19: They Never Made it Easy; 20: Ringo
21: Meditation & Massage; 22: The Back of a Commer Van; 23: George Martin.
24: Simply Different
25: A Time to Think
26: Revolver
27: Yeah, Yeah, Yeah
28: The B Side
29: The Philosophy
30: December 1960: A Turning Point
31: What really, really motivated The Beatles?
32: 1961