Arachnophonia: George Harrison “All Things Must Pass”

Editor’s note: Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.

All links included in these posts will take you to either the library catalog record for the item in question or to additional relevant information from around the web.

Today’s installment of Arachnophonia is by student manager Danny (class of 2023) and features George Harrison’s 1970 album All Things Must Pass. Thanks, Danny!

All Things Must Pass
George Harrison

George Harrison - All Things Must Pass (1970)

When analyzing each of the Beatles independently, their lives, and their careers, I often always associate each of the members with each other. I find comfort in coming back to their time as the Beatles. I rarely step out of the Beatles discography and engage with the solo art of each of the four. If you are an avid music listener, this is where you can place your condemnation upon me. Because, I must admit, I have missed out on a lot of music by these four. All four Beatles had taken solo careers and were highly successful. Although I knew this to be true, I still could not bring myself to actually listen. I have no doubt heard some of the famous songs written by one of the four, but never chose to immerse myself in their entire discography.

It was only very recently that I had heard a song by Paul McCartney in his solo career that I had never heard that made me want to scour the internet and find as much as I could about these four men and the masterpieces they put together outside of their time with the Beatles. Stylistically, I assumed a lot of their music would end up being similar to the songs they released while together. Going back to my original thought, that song was “Live and Let Die” by Paul and his band Wings, made to be the theme in the James Bond film of the same name. I had heard the song at 5:00 am over spring break on the radio, waiting in the car for my Amtrak to arrive and take me back to the University of Richmond. And afterward, instead of playing the next song, there was a bit of a discussion by the radio DJ about the song. Usually, I am not a fan of these, which is why I typically just connect my Spotify account and play accordingly, but, I am glad I listened. In it, the DJ said that McCartney needed only 15 minutes to come up with the main structure of the song. That absolutely blew me away. If McCartney can create one of the most iconic movie songs in the history of cinematic production in just fifteen minutes, then I could only imagine how many other songs he had the potential to release.

McCartney was fun and I had my short fix on his music with Wings, but I really wanted to then see the works of George Harrison, whose music constantly became underappreciated and one-upped by Paul and John during their tenure with the Beatles. I knew he must have had a lot of pent up music that he wanted to have released with the Beatles that was passed up on. This music surely had to be released during his solo career.

And, if I am being completely honest, although I believed this, I never actually listened to any of his albums. The only non-Beatles engagement I had with him was “Got My Mind Set On You” from his album Cloud Nine, and the songs that were released by The Traveling Wilburys. The Traveling Wilburys are a fascinating story, and probably worthy to have their own post another day. So, I decided randomly that I would pick an album that was earlier in his solo career. The winner was All Things Must Pass, George’s first album after the breakup of the Beatles.

All Things Must Pass, released in 1970, was unapologetically George. As mentioned earlier, a lot of George’s music was not really put into Beatles works and the other members were not 100% sold on his abilities as a writer. His role was ultimately to play the guitar and act as backup vocals. Years of beautiful work were ultimately kept to himself, as he was not going to release these songs alone while in the studio with the Beatles. I for one actually like George’s songs the most. And so, his style and his writing were way more pleasing to my ears than the other songs of the quartet.

The album is a long one, so I will recommend to be ready. It has a run time of 106 minutes long (1 hour and 46 minutes), and features six sides that were later transformed into two discs. One of the more interesting artists that joined forces with George on the album was Eric Clapton. The relationship between the two has generated some extremely powerful and good music. One of my favorite Beatles songs, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” features Eric Clapton’s guitar prominently, creating an elegant sound that creates a weeping noise.

All in all, I do not want to spoil much of the beauty that comes through in this album, and I would advise having a listen. If you want a physical CD copy, come to the Parsons Music Library on the third floor of the Modlin Center (second floor of Booker Hall) and check it out today.

All Things Must Pass poster insert (1970)

George Harrison photographed at Friar Park, 1970 – poster insert for original release of All Things Must Pass

Arachnophonia: The Beatles “Abbey Road”

Editor’s note: Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.

All links included in these posts will take you to either the library catalog record for the item in question or to additional relevant information from around the web.

Today’s installment of Arachnophonia is by student manager Danny (class of 2023) and features the classic 1969 Beatles album Abbey Road. Thanks, Danny!

The Beatles
Abbey Road

The Beatles - Abby Road (album cover)

The question that typically comes up every time and again – a question that I find disrespectful to everyone but one, and yet worthy of the highest praise for that one in question – is one that is hotly debated. I have seen friendships one word away from disaster over the lunch table regarding this one question. I have witnessed other’s whole argument lose its pull as soon as someone had a worthy counterargument. I have seen people argue over the topic on Twitter and Instagram as if their opinion was slated in fact. I have seen people get so emotionally invested in this question that their face begins to get red, their eyes stand on the verge of tears, and every single vein in their body is one more second away from exploding. That question – the one I hate – is who is the best musical group ever?

Where does this question even get its basis from? Are we saying some genres are better than others?

Are we saying we can compare every single artist together despite no two artists being the same – with different vocals, different instruments, different cultures, different pacing, different everything? I get humans have the natural inclination to tier and rank – competition drives the world. But honestly, to me, this is an unanswerable and impossible question. Yea, we may be able to rank albums off charting positions and sales numbers. And then logically, we can say the artist that has the most cumulative sales across their whole discography is the best. That is a LOGICAL WAY to determine it. It still blows for literally every other artist other than number one – BUT – that one artist lives enshrined as the best for forever. And yet, despite me not liking that way to derive who is the “best”, it is logical. But, also, on top of the fact that humans have the natural inclination to tier and rank, humans are not the most intelligent. And instead of deciding who is the best logically, we let emotions, opinions, and our own experiences decide for us! As if it is not obvious enough, that is a one-way ticket to disaster. It brings up some pretty interesting debate, however but humans are also stubborn, and we can only imagine that nothing will ever be accomplished.

For those reasons, and just the idea that music should be appreciated for the piece of art it is and its individuality, not ranked against others because Jeff likes drums more than strings, I think that question is pretty lame.

However, I am going to explain a little bit about one album from one group that typically scores high on America’s meaningless “tier list.” Even better, I so happen to love this band, although they are not one of my everyday listens. But, since they have some of the most gripping and innovative music of the 1960s, I thought it would be a worthy choice to write about. And, even funnier, it leads into an interesting contradiction to say that I agree with the world in this case. I do not know if that now pigeonholes me into the broader term of being “basic,” but in this case, I will put aside that argument and agree with the world.
This leads me to this point: If I were to rank all bands, and put my differences aside with that impossible question, I would put the Beatles up at the very top – maybe not one, but top twenty. More specifically, if we were to rank albums, Abbey Road would be even higher.

Abbey Road album cover outtatke

To begin, Abbey Road is the 11th studio album of the Beatles, their second to last studio album and 11th in just over six years. The group itself is composed of Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, although Ringo was not one of the original members of the band (he replaced Pete Best in 1962). Together, the Beatles shot to worldwide prominence outside of their home country of the UK and more specifically their hometown of Liverpool. Their rise to American prominence began in the early 60s as many British bands were beginning to come to America in what was known as the “British Invasion.” If were to use the LOGICAL approach, the Beatles would be the most popular band of all time, selling 183,000,000 albums throughout their history. The album itself was a bit of a distance from some of the previous albums – they almost reverted back to their beginnings. The album did not contain many psychedelic hits as the majority of their later albums did. However, despite this, the band recorded the album at their breaking point; this was the last album that was released when they were all together, as John Lennon had made his exit from the brand prior to commercial release.

The album, in my opinion, demonstrates complete duality. Although the music is praised for being one of their best, with hit after hit, the band’s health, and the health of each of the members were deteriorating behind the scenes. The members were all annoyed with each other and George Martin played saving grace, trying to get the project to the world and to completion, whilst attempting to reduce the trouble brewing between the members. The wear and tear of fame, constant studio work, and trying to deal with it all took a toll on the Beatles by 1969, which caused a lot of the issues. They had faced adversity, as the band would experiment with cocaine, LSD, and marijuana in the mid to late 60s, followed by a crippling heroin addiction by three of the members. Behind the scenes, the Beatles were at their lowest and were struggling in their personal lives. It is still amazing that despite all the negatives, they somehow put their troubles, their conflicts, and their egos aside and created one of the most iconic songs of all time.

Some of my personal favorites off the album, are “Something,” “Here Comes the Sun,” “Oh Darling”, and “Because.” A large portion of the songs that I like most (in this case “Something” and “Here Comes the Sun”) were written by George Harrison. You could almost immediately tell when Harrison was the writer, with a distinct sound. In the case of Abbey Road, his songs were more melodic and slower, a slight diversion from the rock-infused roots that rose the band to prominence. They make for some of the most beautiful songs in their entire discography, but slightly behind my all-time favorite song from them – “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” In my opinion, that song, with Eric Clapton playing the guitar in the background is the greatest Beatles song. The slower and melodic piece, with the guitar sounding almost as if it really was crying is nothing short of a masterpiece. And so, I consider myself biased in response to my favorites – George’s style and influence was something that resonates with me. That is yet another reason why I dislike ranking. Because in this case, my opinions, and biases seep through heavily.

Finally, as for the most influential and iconic portion of the piece, the Abbey Road album cover has become one the most definitive images of the band. Although an album cover that was very simplistic in nature, the image holds a variety of meaning and captures the Beatles’ spirit and careers all in one image. The image itself features all four Beatles walking along a crosswalk on Abbey Road, which is a street in London where EMI studios, the recording studio of the Beatles was housed. From left to right, there is George Harrison, in a jean shirt, jeans, white boots, long hair and a beard. This encompasses their later years, in which most of the members began to grow their hair out amidst the war years and counter-culture movement. To his right is Paul McCartney in a blueish-grey suit, a cigarette in hand, and a shorter hairstyle that is reminiscent from their pre-fame days. Afterward is Ringo Starr, dressed in a black suit. Finally, John Lennon finishes the image, with his long hair and all white appearance. Although not traditionally associated with the image, John being last in line wearing all white to me symbolizes heaven and the idea that the band is nearing their end. They are looking to the light and waiting for their come to end. The final piece of the album cover that many do not know is that the photographer only took six images of them. The Beatles walked down back and forth along the street three times. This cover image was the fifth image taken, and they were walking away from the studio. If we were to blow up the image, EMI would be on the left. This also foreshadows their immediate exit, as them walking away from EMI hints at their careers together ending.

Abbey Road album cover outtake

Image 3 (of 6) from the Abbey Road album cover shoot. Photo: Iain MacMillan

The everlasting impact of the band and this album is one that will live on forever in the minds and hearts of all music lovers. It is so popular to this date, that in 2019, 246,000 vinyl copies were sold. This comes over fifty years after its initial release. And so, to close, despite saying in the beginning of this piece that I hate rankings and considering a band to be the “best,” if I ever had the chance to make my opinion fact and that that becomes the standard everyone will have to adhere by – I would place Abbey Road in the top 15 albums of all time.

If you are so inclined to relisten to this masterpiece, or grace your ears for the first time, you can check out a copy of Abbey Road at Parsons Music Library today.

Parsons Playlists: Holiday Mix 2

Welcome back to Parsons Playlists! Today we’re featuring a SECOND playlist of holiday music. This one is curated by Music Library student manager Allison (class of 2022).

Christmas playlist

Here is a playlist of Christmas songs I enjoy:

Paul McCartney – “Wonderful Christmastime”

John Lennon & Yoko Ono with the Harlem Community Choir – “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)”

Brenda Lee – “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree”

Mariah Carey – “All I Want For Christmas Is You”

Bobby Helms – “Jingle Bell Rock”

Michael Bublé – “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town”

The Ronettes – “Sleigh Ride”

Mariah Carey – “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”

Chuck Berry – “Run Rudolph Run”

Wham! – “Last Christmas”

Kelly Clarkson – “Underneath The Tree”

Band Aid – “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” (1984 version)

Ariana Grande – “Santa Tell Me”

Justin Bieber – “Mistletoe”

The Beach Boys – “Little Saint Nick” (1991 remix)

Sia – “Sunshine”

Here’s a link to the full playlist on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU94rco57Zez11FS6ssT_lzS1yoJDiRnX

It was 50 years ago today …

The BeatlesSgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album was released on June 1, 1967 in the UK and on June 2, 1967 in the US. It became the soundtrack for the fabled “Summer of Love” both influencing and reflecting the flower powered youth culture of the time, but its appeal has proven to be timeless.

Beatles - Sgt. Pepper album cover

The Beatles stopped touring in August of 1966, and took some time off. The group reconvened in November of that year and spent over 400 hours in the studio between November 1966 and April 1967 completing the album. (This was a far cry from their first foray into EMI Studios to record their first album in 1963 — that entire album was recorded in less than 24 hours!) This studio time led to all sorts of interesting musical experimentation and since the group had decided they were done with touring, there was no need to worry about whether the songs could be produced live on stage. The album as a whole is a fascinating almalgamation of harmonium, harpsichord, brass band, fairground noises, harp, psychedelia, Leslie speaker tweaking, multi-tracking, tape loops, full orchestra, crashing apocalyptic piano chords, dog whistles and more. The Beatles’ musical ideas required lots of technical innovation from producer George Martin and studio engineers.

Sgt. Pepper gatefold

The eclectic mix of songs was loosely held together by the “concept” of a fictional Edwardian alter-ego Sgt. Pepper Band and the songs are wonderfully joyful. From the psychedelic marching band music that introduces us to Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, to the psychedelic imagery of “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” ( title inspired by a drawing by John Lennon’s young son, Julian), to the music hall whimsy of McCartney’s “When I’m Sixty-Four”, to the spiritual tone of Harrison’s sitar-laced “Within You Without You”, to the amazing shifting tones, full orchestral crescendo and avant garde surrealism of “A Day In The Life” (one of the greatest ever Lennon/McCartney collaborations in this author’s opinion), there is much to enjoy, right through to the startling tape loop ending inserted into the run-out groove of the original LPs (and included on CD reissues if you wait for it). The Beatles drew inspiration from varied sources like an 1843 circus poster (“Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite”), a TV cornflakes commercial (“Good Morning, Good Morning”), news stories about runaway teens (“She’s Leaving Home”) or car accidents (“A Day in the Life”).

An alternate take from the Sgt. Pepper cover photo session

An alternate take from the Sgt. Pepper cover photo session

There is just as much to enjoy in a perusal of the album art itself. The cover features a pop art inspired collage of various folks (famous and not so famous) that the Beatles chose as inspirational to them, elaborate gatefold sleeve packaging (with bonus cardboard mustaches and pseudo-military insignia in early pressings) and includes the lyrics to all of the songs printed on the back cover, something that had never been done before with a pop album.

Sgt. Pepper back cover with lyrics

Sgt. Pepper signaled that pop & rock music could also be considered high art or even progressive social expression and more than just disposable entertainment. Musicologists cite Sgt. Pepper as continuing the musical maturation of the Beatles as a group that began with Revolver and Rubber Soul. It was also extremely influential on the development of progressive rock with its emphasis on studio experimentation, elaborate instrumentation and insistence on pushing the boundaries beyond conventional subject matter and track lengths. The album has been an influence on countless others since its release in 1967.

Here’s a sampling of a few of (many) parody takeoffs on the iconic cover:

Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention – We’re Only In It For The Money

Frank Zappa & The Mother's Of Invention

The SimpsonsThe Yellow Album

Simpsons - "The Yellow Album"

The RutlesSgt. Rutter’s Only Darts Club BandRutles - Sgt. Rutter

Golden Throats – a compilation of critically lambasted cover songs

Golden Throats

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band consistently ranks in critics and fans listings of best albums of all time. Among numerous accolades and awards, it is ranked # 1 in Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. It’s included in the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry and is one of the best-selling albums of all time.

Whether Sgt. Pepper is an old favorite or if it’s brand new to you, this classic album / cultural touchstone is well worth a listen!

Sgt. Pepper cut outs insert

Sgt. Pepper cut outs insert

Spider Sounds: The Beatles “Abbey Road”

Editor’s Note: Spider Sounds invites members of the University of Richmond community to share their thoughts about items in the Parsons Music Library’s collection. The links included will take you to the library catalog record for the item in question, or to additional relevant information.
Today’s installment of Spider Sounds comes courtesy of Music Library Student worker Gabriela (class of 2020) and features Abbey Road, the last studio album by the Beatles. Thanks, Gabi!

The Beatles

Abbey Road

The Beatles - Abbey Road (1969)

Abbey Road may have one of the most recognizable album covers in all of rock music.
It is known for depicting the Fab Four walking across the famous London street near the studio where the Beatles did most of their recording. Apart from the iconic artwork, however, Abbey Road’s production quality and track list are undeniably stellar.

The Beatles photographed in 1969

There are several stand out songs, like “Come Together,” “Something,” and “Here Comes the Sun,” which are individually famous and could be enjoyed on their own.
However, if you listen to Abbey Road from start to finish, it is almost as if the entirety of the album is one song. The transitions from track to track are so perfect, that the flow of listening is almost medley-like.

The Beatles - Abbey Road

An out-take from the August 8, 1969 photo session for the album cover.

The album also highlights the talents of all band members, with some of George Harrison’s most beautiful songs (“Something” and “Here Comes the Sun”), Ringo’s quirkiness in “Octopus’s Garden”, and of course, the amazing harmonies between Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison in “Because” — a song that barely needs instruments.

The Beatles - Abbey Road

Another out take from the album cover photo shoot

Abbey Road is my favorite Beatles record because it represents everything I think a record should. Abbey Road was the last album to be recorded by the Beatles, and throughout the last four tracks (especially in “The End Continue reading