The Beatles Abbey Road 50th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition 3CD & Blu-Ray Disc Box Set

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It was 50 years ago, on August 8, 1969, that the world's most famous band stepped out from London's EMI Recording Studios to stride, single-file, across the black and white stripes of Abbey Road's nearby zebra crossing. With photographer Iain Macmillan balanced on a stepladder and one policeman stopping the street's light traffic, The Beatles crossed back and forth three times, led by John Lennon, followed by Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison. Just six photos were taken, with the fifth selected as the cover shot for The Beatles' penultimate studio album, Abbey Road, named after the tree-lined street in which the studios are located. Released September 26, 1969, Abbey Road was not The Beatles' final album, as Let It Be followed in 1970, but it was the last one John, Paul, George, and Ringo recorded together as a band.

This is the first time Abbey Road has been remixed and presented with additional session recordings and demos. To create Abbey Road's new stereo, 5.1 surround, and Dolby Atmos mixes, Martin and Okell worked with an expert team of engineers and audio restoration specialists at Abbey Road Studios. This Super Deluxe Edition of Abbey Road features the new stereo album mix, sourced directly from the original eight-track session tapes. To produce the mix, Giles was guided by the album's original stereo mix supervised by his father, George Martin.

"The magic comes from the hands playing the instruments, the blend of The Beatles' voices, the beauty of the arrangements," Giles Martin explains. "Our quest is simply to ensure everything sounds as fresh and hits you as hard as it would have on the day it was recorded."

Abbey Road's Super Deluxe box set presents 40 tracks - including "The Long One" Trial Edit & Mix for the album's epic Side 2 medley - on three CDs (stereo) and one Blu-Ray disc (Dolby ATMOS, 96kHz/24 bit high resolution stereo, and 96 kHz/24 bit DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1). The four discs are housed in a slip-sleeved 12" by 12" 100-page hardbound book with McCartney's foreword; Martin's introduction; insightful, in-depth chapters written by Beatles historian, author, and radio producer Kevin Howlett covering the months preceding The Beatles' Abbey Road sessions, track-by-track details and session notes, the cover art and photo shoot, and the album's reception upon its release; plus an essay by music journalist and author David Hepworth looking at the album's influence through 50 years. The gorgeous book is illustrated with rare and previously unpublished photographs, including many taken by Linda McCartney; never before published images of handwritten lyrics, sketches, and a George Martin score; Beatles correspondence, recording sheets, and tape boxes; and reproduced original print ads.

Sonically, the track-to-track differences are heard less as a total facelift and more as a brilliant refresh, the new edition eliciting more tonal color, density, and detail. Images are spread more equitably and discretely across the soundspace, with less overlap and smear. Vocals are more engraved in their own ambient space, and bass and drums are more articulate. 'Come Together' provides a weightier, 'heavier' impact, as does the entire side two medley. It's a more balanced mix, as in 'Here Comes The Sun,' where the earlier hard-panning of George's vocal is tweaked and the focus of the instrumentation moves closer to center stage. The 24/96kHz Blu-ray version is even better, as heard on 'You Never Give Me Your Money,' where there is additional ease and purity aroudn the piano intro and greater ambience and dimensionality throughout. The additional session and demos provide a treasure trove of minutiae and curiosities for Beatles enthusiasts... The multichannel Atmos mix is tastefully entertaining, yet careful not to make a roller-coaster ride out of cherished source materials. The center channel intensely focuses vocals, casting them a bit dryer as a result. Atmos' emphasis is on the overhead and immersive, and it redefines and elevates the soundstage. On a track like 'Because,' Atmos is effective since the ethereal nature of the vocal harmonies lends itself to this enveloping format. Super fans will be delighted with the Super Deluxe 3CD + Blu-ray box set. It includes the session recordings and demos, the stereo album, a 24-bit/96kHz stereo version, 5.1 surround, and Dolby Atmos. The slip-cased 100-page hardbound book is lavish, with a McCartney foreword, Giles Martin's introduction, chapters written by Beatles historian Kevin Howlett, track-by-track details and session notes, and an essay by music journalist David Hepworth. The set also contains previously unpublished photographs, handwritten lyrics, sketches, a George Martin score, and much more.