Solid State

I went into this book with an already very good knowledge of the making of the Abbey Road album. I'd watched multiple documentaries about The Beatles over the years and even read their ANTHOLOGY book. Abbey Road was discussed thoroughly in all of them, so I was a little concerned that SOLID STATE wasn't going to be telling me much that I hadn't already heard elsewhere.

However, I wasn't too far into the book before I realized that there was actually quite a bit that I didn't know about the making of the album. There's a LOT to be learned within the pages of this book. It's incredibly thorough with great quotes and stories from many people who were there during the making of the album, from the band members themselves and from others who were there in the studio with them. I was especially impressed with the parts that focused on producer George Martin. His talents were a very large part of what made the recordings of The Beatles so magical. It's no wonder that he was often referred to as "The Fifth Beatle."

There's a nice mix here of not only the work that The Beatles and Martin did on the album, but also on the technical side of the making of the album. Honestly, I was a little bit concerned at first that the book was going to be primarily focused on the technical aspects of the production, such as the recording devices and other "solid state"equipment used, rather than on the creative work that the band did during the making of it. While I appreciate that kind of stuff, it's not really "my thing." There is a lot of technical information at the very beginning of SOLID STATE and I briefly wondered if I made a mistake getting the book. However, I was soon very relieved and thankful to see that it wasn't going to be only technical information. The author found a very nice balance between those things and the many other things that went into the making of the album. His obvious research and deep knowledge of the material here is very impressive.

Abbey Road is one of my favorite albums by anyone and I've listened to it countless times over the years. I didn't think I could know the music any better than I already did, but because of reading SOLID STATE, I've learned things about the different instruments, vocals, sound effects, etc., that I was unaware of or had only a tiny knowledge of before. Now I'm listening to the album with sort of newer, better-educated ears and I'm actually hearing things I'd never noticed before. It's made me appreciate the album even more than I already had.

For me, that makes SOLID STATE a very big hit.

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair review.

The story of the final days of the Beatles has been told over and over again, starting almost as soon the group made the split official. Every in depth book on the Beatles repeats much of the same information so the distinction between them, to me, lies in how well the author mines the sources and how little time they spend in speculation rather than fact.
In Solid State, Kenneth Womack keeps it pretty close to the bone as far as the accuracy of his reporting, which is a welcome relief. He pulls his narrative from the most reliable of sources and adds some useful insights into the changes evidenced in the later period Beatle music as a result of changes in their recording equipment and approach.
I have a quibble about the organization of his narrative, which hops around various parts of the Beatle history a bit more than I think is useful, particularly when he does it just to rehash information commonly known and reported in most Beatle books.
However, for those who are unfamiliar with the elements that created the iceberg the Beatles slowly slammed into during which time they also produced some of their finest work, this book is a good start.

Womack's two volumes on George Martin are exemplary - well researched, full of trivia for the devotees and very readable. Solid State follows the pattern in a detailed analysis of the Beatles' recording of Abbey Road - the multicoloured gem that somehow emerged from the drab battleground of the band's death throes. The existence of Abbey Road reassured a generation that somewhere within the court battles and bickering there was a glimmer of band unity and the deep friendship and promise that their image had always projected - bound by a musical glue and complimentary talents.
As expected Womack's research is superb, although the opening chapters are perhaps overly technical. However his understanding of the way that each track emerged in the context of resignations, huffs and dismissals is enlightening as is his recognition of the influence of outside artists, friends and techniques like Harrison's Leslie cabinet and Moog experiments.
Th true test of books like this is whether they send the reader back to the recordings and Womack does it every time - somehow he manages to discover new detail that forensic research has missed.

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.

Well-researched, very detailed account of the making of this classic album. Some of the information here will be of more benefit to fans who care about the more technical aspects: what instruments were used, how the tracks were mixed, etc. since my own interests are more in the nature of studying the dynamics of the group and their relationship, the technical part was less interesting to me. Still, there was plenty of information that was right up my alley.

My takeaways from having spent a happy week with this book are these:

The author presents and, as far as I’m concerned, hands-down triumphs, in selling me on his argument in Solid State: The Story of “Abbey Road” and the End of the Beatles that expounds 1) the Beatles as a group, and 2) Abbey Road as an album is the clear catalyst that moved the entire recording industry forward by leaps and bounds as it relates to Western (and maybe even World?) music.

Kenneth Womack’s knowledge and experience covered this reader with that easy feeling I have when lean back into the IT Guy’s Wealth of Knowledge – I don’t have to think about this because He’s got it covered. There were details and about equipment, details about processes and techniques that were beyond my grey cells. Even when the narrative became more about who did what when, the author’s details were those of an insider, yet I still felt part of the group, listening to what really went down. It was yummy rubbing shoulders with these great people, and eventually shared a little of the fan guilt when it became apparent of that burden "celebrity" imposes. . . .

Ultimately, all good things come to an end, and I was sad to close this book. I am happy to recommend it to anyone who loves and respects the work of the Beatles, together and separate, and to the many invisible, unnamed, millions who strive for their moment in the sun, and those who work the equipment, tote boxes and instruments, and who see very little of the dollars that end producers do. It makes me sad to think that the words and notes, and scraps of lyrics and midnight guitar riffs float up and that often IS as good as it gets for the originators of the art; sad that the treasure bought fancies usually end in locked castles owned by Shakers&Movers who have ears more set to hear the clinking of coins rather than the winsome harmonies.

Lastly – this book really was written for someone much smarter than me. It was written by a technician, and a bright one at that. Like-minded people will enjoy this book even more than I did. Those who are even more passionate about the personalities involved in the industry will also have a deeper grasp on the experiences described, moment by moment having to do with all things related to the making of the Abbey Road album. Helpful in that process will be the impressive and thorough end-of-book materials in the form of acknowledgments, chapter notes, bibliography and index. These justify well-deserved high marks for the author’s attention to detail.

5 Stars from me. Now I’ve got to go calm down my gently weeping guitars. . . . .catch ya later.

A very sincere thank you to Kenneth Womack, Cornell University Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review a copy of this book.

That was such a fun read, I love reading Beatles books and usually have the same information. This book was well written and fun to read, the author is able to tell a very interesting narrative.

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

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."

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.