The Abbey Road E.P. | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
EP by | ||||
Released | May 1988 [1] (UK) | |||
Recorded | 1984–1988 | |||
Genre | Funk rock | |||
Length | 15:35 | |||
Label | EMI, Capitol | |||
Producer | Andrew Gill, George Clinton, Michael Beinhorn | |||
The Red Hot Chili Peppers chronology | ||||
|
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
The Abbey Road E.P. is an EP by Red Hot Chili Peppers, released in the UK in May 1988 through EMI America as a way of introducing UK fans to the band's back catalog as they were touring the UK that year. Out of the five tracks included on this EP, four had already been previously released on the band's first three albums while the other would end up on their fourth album Mother's Milk in tribute to Hillel Slovak, the band's original guitarist who died of a heroin overdose and plays guitar on the track. All songs on the EP were also featured on the band's hits compilation, What Hits!? . [2]
The only "new" track at the time of release was a cover of the song "Fire" by Jimi Hendrix, which was recorded during the sessions for The Uplift Mofo Party Plan and included in a different mix as the B-side to "Fight Like a Brave".
The title and cover were a tribute to The Beatles' famous album Abbey Road . Like the Beatles, the cover depicts the four bandmembers walking across a zebra crossing in single file, the twist being that they are all naked except for white tube socks covering their genitals. Wearing only socks in this manner was something they regularly employed in their stage shows at the time.
British photographer Chris Clunn took the cover photo in February 1988. He had to do the shoot twice over consecutive days, because the first time he realised he'd had no film in his camera. Clunn told Kerrang: "It was the first sleeve picture I'd ever taken and I was a bit nervous. I had two cameras – one black and white, one colour. I could finish a roll of film in about 40 seconds so it should have been very quick. It was only when I got back home that I realised I hadn't put any film in the cameras." Clunn told the band's UK record company EMI, which organised the shoot, that the films had fallen out of his pocket and been run over by a lorry. "I actually got two new films and rode over them on a scooter as 'evidence'. I got a phone call about half six the next morning asking me to do it again... Fortunately, both the band and EMI bought the story." [3]
Clunn said another idea for the shoot was to replicate the cover of Please Please Me , where the Beatles are looking down over the stairwell inside EMI's London headquarters in Manchester Square. "We decided against that because they [the Chili Peppers] couldn't get their todgers out," Clunn said. [4]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Fire" | Jimi Hendrix | 2:02 |
2. | "Backwoods" | Flea, Anthony Kiedis, Jack Irons, Hillel Slovak | 3:06 |
3. | "Catholic School Girls Rule" | Flea, Kiedis, Cliff Martinez | 1:57 |
4. | "Hollywood (Africa)" | The Meters | 5:04 |
5. | "True Men Don't Kill Coyotes" | Flea, Kiedis, Martinez, Jack Sherman | 3:38 |
Total length: | 15:35 |
Some versions of 12" do not include "Fire" while the 7" version does not include "Fire" and "Catholic School Girls Rule"
The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960, comprising John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the development of 1960s counterculture and the recognition of popular music as an art form. Rooted in skiffle, beat, and 1950s rock 'n' roll, their sound incorporated elements of classical music and traditional pop in innovative ways. The band also explored music styles ranging from folk and Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock. As pioneers in recording, songwriting and artistic presentation, the Beatles revolutionised many aspects of the music industry and were often publicised as leaders of the era's youth and sociocultural movements.
Sir George Henry Martin was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the Beatles' original albums. Martin's formal musical expertise and interest in novel recording practices facilitated the group's rudimentary musical education and desire for new musical sounds to record. Most of their orchestral arrangements and instrumentation were written or performed by Martin, and he played piano or keyboards on a number of their records. Their collaborations resulted in popular, highly acclaimed records with innovative sounds, such as the 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band—the first rock album to win a Grammy Award for Album of the Year.
Geoffrey Ernest Emerick was an English sound engineer and record producer who worked with the Beatles on their albums Revolver (1966), Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) and Abbey Road (1969). Beatles producer George Martin credited him with bringing "a new kind of mind to the recordings, always suggesting sonic ideas, different kinds of reverb, what we could do with the voices".
Magical Mystery Tour is a record by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a double EP in the United Kingdom and an LP in the United States. It includes the soundtrack to the 1967 television film of the same name. The EP was issued in the UK on 8 December 1967 on the Parlophone label, while the Capitol Records LP release in the US and Canada occurred on 27 November and features an additional five songs that were originally released as singles that year. In 1976, Parlophone released the eleven-track LP in the UK.
Mother's Milk is the fourth studio album by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on August 16, 1989 by EMI Records. After the death of founding guitarist Hillel Slovak and the subsequent departure of drummer Jack Irons, vocalist Anthony Kiedis and bassist Flea regrouped with the addition of guitarist John Frusciante and drummer Chad Smith. Frusciante's influence altered the band's sound by placing more emphasis on melody than rhythm, which had dominated the band's previous material. Returning producer Michael Beinhorn favored heavy metal guitar riffs as well as overdubbing. Frusciante perceived Beinhorn's taste as excessive, and as a result, the two constantly fought over the album's guitar sound.
A Collection of Beatles Oldies is a compilation album by the English rock band the Beatles. Released in the United Kingdom in December 1966, it features hit singles and other songs issued by the group between 1963 and 1966. The compilation served as a stopgap release to satisfy EMI's demand for product during the Christmas period, since the Beatles had only begun recording Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, the follow-up to their Revolver album, late the previous month. It was the band's first official greatest hits collection, although the Beatles had no involvement in the album.
Abbey Road is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band the Beatles, released on 26 September 1969. It is the last album the group recorded, although Let It Be was the last album completed before the band's break-up in April 1970. It was mostly recorded in April, July, and August 1969, and topped the record charts in both the United States and the United Kingdom. A double A-side single from the album, "Something" / "Come Together", was released in October, which also topped the charts in the US.
Jack Morris Sherman was an American guitarist, best known as the second guitarist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, between Hillel Slovak's departure and return. He played on the band's debut album, and co-wrote much of their second album, Freaky Styley. He went on to collaborate with musicians Bob Dylan, George Clinton, Feargal Sharkey, and Peter Case.
"Come Together" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The song is the opening track on their 1969 album Abbey Road and was also released as a single coupled with "Something". The song reached the top of the charts in the United States and Australia, but peaked at No. 4 in the United Kingdom.
"Under the Bridge" is a song by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers and the eleventh track on their fifth studio album, Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991). Vocalist Anthony Kiedis wrote the lyrics while reflecting on loneliness and the struggles of being clean from drugs, and almost did not share it with the band. Released in March 1992 by Warner Bros. Records, "Under the Bridge" was praised by critics and fans for its emotional weight. The song was a commercial success and the band's highest-charting single, peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, number one on the Cash Box Top 100 and certified platinum. It was also a success in other countries, mostly charting within the top 10. Gus Van Sant directed the song's music video, which was filmed in Los Angeles.
"You Never Give Me Your Money" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. It was written by Paul McCartney, and thematically documents the personal difficulties that were facing the band. The song is the first part of the medley on side two of their 1969 album Abbey Road and was recorded in stages between May and August that year.
"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" is a song written by Paul McCartney, credited to Lennon–McCartney, released in 1967 on the album of the same name by the Beatles. The song appears twice on the album: as the opening track, and as "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)", the penultimate track. As the title song, the lyrics introduce the fictional band that performs on the album.
Yellow Submarine is the tenth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles, released in January 1969. It is the soundtrack to the animated film of the same name, which premiered in London in July 1968. The album contains six songs by the Beatles, including four new songs and the previously released "Yellow Submarine" and "All You Need Is Love". The remainder of the album is a re-recording of the film's orchestral soundtrack by the band's producer, George Martin.
"Fight Like a Brave" is the first and only single from the American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers' third studio album The Uplift Mofo Party Plan (1987). The single also included a cover of the Jimi Hendrix song "Fire" as a B-side, which would later appear on The Abbey Road E.P. and Mother's Milk as a tribute to guitarist Hillel Slovak, who died in 1988.
Ken Townsend MBE, is an English sound engineer who played an important role at Abbey Road Studios. He worked on several Beatles albums, such as Rubber Soul, Revolver and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. In 1966 he invented artificial double tracking (ADT). He spent his whole working career at EMI, and retired as the Chairman of the Studio Group after 42 years of service.
The studio practices of the Beatles evolved during the 1960s and, in some cases, influenced the way popular music was recorded. Some of the effects they employed were sampling, artificial double tracking (ADT) and the elaborate use of multitrack recording machines. They also used classical instruments on their recordings and guitar feedback. The group's attitude towards the recording process was summed up by Paul McCartney: "We would say, 'Try it. Just try it for us. If it sounds crappy, OK, we'll lose it. But it might just sound good.' We were always pushing ahead: Louder, further, longer, more, different."
The Beatles in Mono is a boxed set compilation comprising the remastered monaural recordings by the Beatles. The set was released on compact disc on 9 September 2009, the same day the remastered stereo recordings and companion The Beatles were also released, along with The Beatles: Rock Band video game. The remastering project for both mono and stereo versions was led by EMI senior studio engineers Allan Rouse and Guy Massey.
The Uplift Mofo Party Tour was a concert tour by Red Hot Chili Peppers to support their third studio album The Uplift Mofo Party Plan. Founding drummer, Jack Irons returned to the band the previous year to finish out the band's tour and record the next album, The Uplift Mofo Party Plan, which ended up being the only album and full tour to feature the four founding band members: Anthony Kiedis, Flea, Hillel Slovak and Irons. It was the band's biggest tour at the time and featured their first trip to Europe. Kiedis, who started to develop a major drug problem on the previous tour, started to fall deeper into his addiction and Slovak's addiction to heroin only grew stronger as well. Slovak died of a heroin overdose a few weeks after the end of the tour on June 25, 1988. The surviving three members regrouped for a small boat trip with then manager, Lindy Goetz. It was there that Irons decided he could no longer deal with being in the band and Slovak's death was too hard for him to handle so he decided to quit the band again, this time for good.