Well researched with so much more information that I didn't know that I could have ever believed. If you think you know everything there is to know about the making of this album then think again and pick up this book by Kenneth Womack.

Solid State is a book that put a laser-focus on the changing technology that came just in time for the last album that The Beatles ever recorded, Abbey Road. The focus lies specifically in the new board that the recording studio finally installed, giving the band the opportunity to have a richer, more vibrant sound as they recorded their songs.

This book is not necessarily for the casual Beatles fan. Although it does a good job of putting the personal and the pop culture events surrounding the time recording the album into perspective, the main focus in on the music, how it was crafted, and how different sounds and instruments were being explored. Beatles fans that like a good deep dive will want to pick this one up, along with the audiophile that likes to learn about recording techniques.

Great book! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
Thanks to the Publisher for giving me the opportunity to read it in advance

This book took me way longer to read than it should have done, because I found it tremendously interesting. Like everyone, I grew up with Beatles songs all around me and of course I knew that they split up due to various personal differences, but I never looked into the how and why.

But before it looks at the end of The Beatles and their reasons for splitting up it takes us on the journey of the ins and outs of the making of the Abbey Road LP. Here the author goes into tremendous detail of what techniques were used and how the individual tracks came to be and how exactly they were recorded. I thought it was a fascinating insight into the world of recording an album at the tail-end of the sixties.

I got taken on a journey that goes deeper than I expected and I really enjoyed the intricate details and getting to know a bit about each individual Beatle at this end stage of the band.

If you have little interest in music, this may be a little dry and geeky for you, but as a person who is a self-confessed music geek, this was just wonderful to read. And if you have no interest in music, you probably would not pick this up anyway…

It's fun reading the inside story behind the Beatles recordings. If you like historical biographies, this is a good one.

Solid State: The Story of Abbey Road and the End of the Beatles by Kenneth Womack is a 2019 Cornell University Press publication.

Come together, right now-
Over me

Beatles fans never pass up an opportunity to read a new book about the group, no matter how many others they have read in the past. The Beatles are endlessly fascinating and even after all these years, when one might wonder what there might be left to talk about that hasn’t already been analyzed to death, it turns out there are always fresh angles to explore and discuss.

Even if you aren’t a diehard fan of The Beatles, this book will still hold your interest, especially if you have any knowledge of recording technology or music history.

While there can be a little confusion about the last Beatles album- Abbey Road was the last official Beatles album all four members worked on together. (Let it Be was released after the group disbanded-and is a story for another day.)

In 1969, the group was coming apart at the seams. While the machine still rolled on, they were in the process of mentally and emotionally divorcing themselves from each other and the group as a whole, having moved on to other planes- at least spiritually, if not bodily.

You're asking me will my love grow
I don't know, I don't know
You stick around, now it may show
I don't know, I don't know

While their frustrations with legal matters, and their palpable burnout simmers within the pages of this book, the forefront of the book is focused on the various recording techniques used in the making of the album and how the songs and music came together to eventually become one of the best albums of all time.

The Moog synthesizer, stereophonic sound, eight track reel to reel, as opposed to 4- track and other studio polish and garnishes used for the first time by The Beatles, which contributes to its historical significance. Oddly enough, at the time, it was this production that led many critics to initially complain about its lack of authenticity.



Of course, the Alan Parsons name drop may also be of interest to those who were not aware of his participation in the making of this album. His most notable claim to fame, besides his own personal projects, was his work on ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ by Pink Floyd- and for his work on the Lord of the Rings movies.

It is amazing how this album came together, considering everything going on behind the scenes. The exciting studio wizardry juxtaposed against the turmoil within the band’s stratosphere, shows the various ways the music is symbolic and a mirror into the lives of the group at that time. While so many things The Beatles did musically inspired people and blazed trails artistically, The Abbey Road album influenced the way music was made and continued to be an example for years to come.

Overall, this is an interesting book, especially for Beatles fans, but also for anyone who enjoys music history.

Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun, and I say
It's all right

4 stars

I am a child of the sixties and a lifelong Beatles fan. I also have a substantial library of Beatles biographies spanning the decades back to 1980. Reading as many Beatles biographies as I have over my lifetime, I have become very discerning when picking up a new one. Redundancy and mediocrity are what I'm hoping to avoid. There must be some new kernels of information to make it all worthwhile, which isn't easy on such a well-trodden subject. My interest was piqued when I noticed that Alan Parsons wrote the forward to this book. I was familiar with his musical outfit "The Alan Parsons Project" and his hit song "Eye in the Sky", but was totally surprised to learn that at the tender age of 19 he worked at EMI Studios and with The Beatles! He was a young, burgeoning second engineer on the "Abbey Road" album. In fact, his first assignment was to go over to 3 Savile Road where The Beatles' offices Apple Corps were located, because they were in the midst of recording tracks for the "Let it Be" project. The Beatles had commissioned John Lennon's Greek friend "Magic Alex" (who fancied himself a brilliant electronics inventor) with creating them a recording studio in Apple's basement, only to discover that it was a total fraud. So, Alan Parsons brought over mobile recording equipment so The Beatles could get back in business recording what would become the "Let it Be" album.

I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of this new book about the making of The Beatles' final album, "Abbey Road". Many people think the "Let it Be" album was their final LP because it was released after "Abbey Road", but that happened because the "Let it Be" tapes sounded so substandard to their normal musical quality that it took many re-mixings to get them into a decent state. It took producer Phil Spector and his "Wall of Sound" techniques to spruce them up. This journey is covered in the book also, as it is crucial to explain The Beatles ultimate demise. This is also a book about the installation of a vital new piece of equipment at EMI Studios, the TG12345 solid-state transistor recording console which provided 8 available tracks (replacing the old REDD.51 4-track console which operated on valve circuitry/vacuum tubes for its power supply). The Abbey Road album was the first Beatles album recorded on this new console.

The Beatles had actually utilized the 8-track console at Trident Studios located in Soho to avail themselves of the latest technology. They were the first recording studio in London to possess this equipment. However, EMI actually had acquired the new 8-track console, but were secretly testing it out before installing it. I didn't understand a lot of the technical details contrasting the old and the new consoles, but came away with a few certainties: Although the board was much bigger, it was 250 pounds lighter. This was due to the absence of the valves, replaced by the solid state circuitry. It also had a much cleaner sound referred to as a "top-end sparkle".

One of the best attributes of this book was the vast amount of minute details regarding the creation of the final album "Abbey Road". Every instrument utilized, which Beatles were on each song (A surprise for me...John Lennon wasn't even on some of the songs!), the mastery of a new piece of musical equipment called The Moog (note the breezy, heavenly arc of music that moves from left to right in your earphones at the beginning of "Hear Comes the Sun"), and so many more. I savored this exquisite book, gleaning some new juicy details all the way through. This book comes at the perfect time, since it is the 50th Anniversary of the Abbey Road album, and it has recently been remastered by Giles Martin (son of Beatles legendary producer the late George Martin). If you are a hard core Beatles fan, you will certainly enjoy this treasure trove of information about one of the most iconic albums in musical history.

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me the chance to read and review, "Solid State" by Kenneth Womack . A very insightful novel about the greatest band and one of the best albums of all time.

A well written book describing the final days of the Beatles. Abbey Road is one of my favorite albums and it’s always wonderful to gain insight on behind the scenes stuff. The writing was well done as well.

Kenneth Womack's book "Solid State" examines the making of the Beatles' final album "Abbey Road" in a detailed account that describes the background and recording process of each song. The "Solid State" of the title refers to the then new TG solid state mixing console that EMI had just installed at Abbey Road that replaced the tube driven analog console and allowed The Beatles and George Martin a lot of new features to work with. After the lackluster "Let It Be" sessions The Beatles wanted George Martin and Engineer Geoff Emerick back to attempt to recover the "Pepper" and "Revolver" type of creative recording. Of course there are a lot of references to these prior recording sessions and songs and the techniques employed. Naturally a lot of space is dedicated to the interpersonal relationships between the various Beatles and George Martin as well as Yoko who attended every session (sometimes in a bed John had installed in the studio.) Womack shows how this record was a brief return to a real collaborative effort for The Beatles. The "White Album" was sometimes described as 4 different solo albums and the "Let It Be" sessions degenerated into outright fighting but the author shows The Beatles managed to return to the cooperative spirit of the earlier albums for this their final recording. Each song and the recording process, as well as who played what, is described in detail. Great for Beatle freaks - perhaps too detailed for casual fans.

Phenomenal. I wish every Beatles album could have a book dedicated to it like this one. Obviously released to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the release of "Abbey Road," this book deliver into every song (often multiple takes of each song) and gives historical context to which each member was going through in his own life during the recording. I definitely learned some things that I did not know about these songs and the Beatles, particularly the awful car accident that John Lennon was in during the recording (and about his and Yoko Ono's subsequent heroin use). The book only touches on the business issues that eventually tore the band apart but that's ok since the focus is rightly placed on the songs and the recordings.

What was it like to watch the Beatles putting together an album, which later turned out to be their last. Womack, who is a professor of English at Monmouth University, is considered to be an expert in the cultural influence of the Beatles. Using archival writings, and multiple interviews, Womack gives the reader the feeling that they are there during the production of "Abbey Road".

Originally their time at the recording studio work was being recorded to produce a movie called "Get Back", but as more and more the band began to disintegrate, with John's increasingly spending all of his time with Yoko (and sinking into drug addiction). Paul was dismayed by the loss of his lifelong writing partner, George who was continuing to find himself in Eastern Religion, and Ringo who was mostly left out of what was going on.

Each song is analyzed as to what brought it to fruition, who's idea it was and how was the musical background determined. This is a must read for any fan of the group.

Zeb Kantrowitz zebsblog@blogspot.com

I have always enjoyed the Beatles music and in particular the album 'Abby Road' so this book was a must read for me personally. 50 years ago the Beatles created their last album and this book tells of the arguments within the band, the use of new technology and most importantly the music. I found this book full of fascinating information as well as allowing me to relive the album. I do not have the background in technology to fully understand much of the details when explaining certain tracks but yet it still hit a chord with me.
I feel that all music lovers would enjoy this book but obviously will appeal to the big fans of the group.
I would like to thank both Net Galley and Cornell University Press for supplying a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a wonderfully detailed account of the making of The Beatles' album "Abbey Road" - in fact, for a layman like myself, the level of detail is perhaps a little over the top at times, but for true fans - which may be the primary target audience of the book - I am sure that all details are welcome or even necessary.
Any reader of the book will get valuable insights into the creative processes around making such an iconic album, where technological progress allows for even more creative additions to the songs, but it also lets the reader into the battle of the egos of especially John Lennon and Paul McCartney that were in a particularly critical - or perhaps destructive - phase around the time of the recording of the "Abbey Road" album.
What struck me as particularly surprising was how much time - and conflict between some band members - that went into making the short "interlude songs" (or medleys in the case of "Abbey Road"), typically about non-sensical stories and/or strange characters. I have always been somewhat annoyed by them when listening to the full albums (primarily the later Beatles albums), and now even more so.
Summing up, I would think that this is a fantastic book for hardcore fans of The Beatles, but readers with a more balanced view of the Fab Four will also appreciate the description of the creative processes of making pop/rock history. The end of the book - the gradual termination of the band and estrangement of the former best friends - is obviously sad, but it should also stand as a cautionary example to future generations of what can happen if one lets one's ego and personal ambitions stand in the way of the good of the entire band.
Four big stars - the fifth got lost in the nerdy details of the recording and mixing processes.

I've been a Beatles fan for a long time and I read quite a number of books about them.
This one is excellent and I learned a lot of new details about the make of Abbey Road.
I liked the style of writing and found this book a pleasant and engrossing read.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

This book sounded interesting to me because I like alternate takes & outtakes of Beatles songs and I enjoy learning trivial things like who-inspired-what song and so forth. I expected it to be a pretty straightforward description of the recording of "Abbey Road." And, to some extent, it is - the title refers to the vacuum tube mixing board being replaced by solid state equipment. But I learned many random things before and after finding that out.

For example - "Octopus's Garden" was inspired by Peter Sellers, "I Want You" is actually 3 different takes joined together, Paul McCartney sang backup and played drums on a Steve Miller album, the sound of Ringo's solo on "The End" (which I already knew he didn't want to do) was inspired by "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida," and Polythene Pam's namesake is actually Polythene Pat - a Cavern Club regular who was really into eating plastic.

I'm sure there are hard-core Beatles fanatics who will roll their eyes at the above because already knew all that...well, I DIDN'T and really enjoyed this book :-) I honestly learned something new on practically every other page - either about lyrical inspirations, or production details, or just little random facts that no one would have missed had they been left out, but I'm very happy they weren't..

So, if you are a fan of the Beatles or just interested in music production - or even songwriting - this is definitely the book for you.

Oh, and Paul had a cab ride in NYC with an off-duty cop whose name plate read "Eugene Quits, New York Police Department" - which explains "So I quit the police department..."

This is the first book I've read that has made me able to say "I cannot recommend this book enough."

Great for fans of The Beatles. Highly recommend to all fans of this amazing band... a definite must read!!

I immensely enjoyed this book. I can't boast a lot of knowledge about the Beatles, apart from having listened to some of their albums, so I wondered if I'd be able to enjoy a book that details the history of making their last album before they broke up. But as it turns out, you literally don't have to know anything - the book is so detailed and engaging that you'll just enjoy it, no matter how much you already know. I can't say for sure about hardcore fans, but I'm almost certain it would appeal to them too. Solid State is a very detailed history of the making of Abbey Road (both the album and the studio), and I mean it goes as deep as telling you about the backstory of every song, how and why it was made and what were the challenges. I have to admit I had never listened to the album before I read this book, so listening along to it as I go was certainly a very unique and very rewarding experience. It made the songs so much more interesting - that's not even considering the fact that Abbey Road is one stunning album.

I can really recommend this book. Whether you are a true fan, or just trying to learn something new about the music of the Beatles, I'm certain you'll enjoy it. I absolutely loved it.

I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook through NetGalley in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.

This was a really good read. It was engrossing to find out so much more about the Beatles and how this album was made. It made me so nostalgic for their music, I've been playing it over and over. This book was really well researched and provides lots of details. This is a must read for anyone who loves music and/or the Beatles.

I so enjoyed reading this memoir! I remember the Beatles very well from back in the day, so it's very insightful, and entertaining, to read about them from an insiders pov! Beatles fans should find this book very informative and fun.