About the Book
In Solid State, Kenneth Womack offers the most definitive account of the conception, recording, mixing, and reception of Abbey Road.
In February 1969, the Beatles began working on what became their final album together. Abbey Road introduced a number of new techniques and technologies to the Beatles' sound and included "Come Together," "Something," and "Here Comes the Sun," which all emerged as classics.
Womack's colorful retelling of how this landmark album was written and recorded is a treat for fans of the Beatles. Solid State takes listeners back to 1969 and into EMI's Abbey Road Studios, which boasted an advanced solid state transistor mixing desk. Womack focuses on the dynamics between John, Paul, George, and Ringo and producer George Martin and his team of engineers, who for the most part set aside the tensions and conflicts that had arisen on previous albums to create a work with an innovative--and among some fans and critics, controversial--studio-bound sound that prominently included the new Moog synthesizer, among other novelties.
As Womack shows, Abbey Road was the culmination of the instrumental skills, recording equipment, and artistic vision that the band and George Martin had developed since their early days in the same studio seven years before. A testament to the group's creativity and their producer's ingenuity, Solid State is required reading for all fans of the Beatles and the rock 'n' roll.
About the Author :
Kenneth Womack is one of the world's foremost writers and thinkers about the Beatles. In addition to such titles as Long and Winding Roads: The Evolving Artistry of the Beatles (2007), the Cambridge Companion to the Beatles (2009), and The Beatles Encyclopedia: Everything Fab Four (2014), he is the author of a two-volume biography devoted to the life and work of Beatles producer George Martin, including Maximum Volume (2017) and Sound Pictures (2018). His book, Solid State: The Story of Abbey Road and the End of the Beatles (2019), was feted as the go-to book by the Los Angeles Times for readers interested in learning about the band's swan song. His most recent book, entitled John Lennon 1980: The Last Days in the Life John, was published in September 2020.
Womack serves as the Music Culture critic for Salon, as well as a regular contributor to a host of print and web outlets, including Slate, Billboard, Time, Variety, The Guardian, USA Today, The Independent, NBC News, and The Philadelphia Inquirer. Womack also serves as the Founding Editor of Interdisciplinary Literary Studies: A Journal of Criticism and Theory, published by Penn State University Press, and as Co-Editor of the English Association's Year's Work in English Studies, published by Oxford University Press. Over the years, he has shared his work with public libraries and community organizations across the nation, as well as with audiences at Princeton University, Harvard University, the Smithsonian Institution, the Grammy Museum Experience, and the 92nd Street Y. He has also served as an expert commentator for ABC's 20/20 and NBC's Access Hollywood.
Alan Parsons is a producer and musician who, at the age of eighteen, joined EMI as an assistant engineer and earned his first credit on the Beatles' album Abbey Road.
William Hughes is an AudioFile Earphones Award-winning narrator. A professor of political science at Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Oregon, he received his doctorate in American politics from the University of California at Davis. He has done voice-over work for radio and film and is also an accomplished jazz guitarist.
Review :
"[An] enjoyable deep dive."
-- "Foreword magazine"
"Extremely well-researched and well-written...It is well worth a read for die-hard fans, and even casual fans, who are interested in how this work of art was created."
-- "Spill Magazine"
"If you are a studio nerd or a Beatles aficionado you will love this book."
-- "Aquarian Weekly"
"It is definitive indeed regarding the writing, recording, mixing and reception of Abbey Road."
-- "Criticsatlarge.ca"
"One of the world's foremost Beatle scholars takes a fascinating tour through the band's final masterpiece...[and] the struggle and strife behind 'that magic feeling.'"
-- "Rob Sheffield, author of Dreaming the Beatles"
"Womack takes us on a journey through 1969, providing an engaging chronicle of the recording of this landmark record."
-- "John Covach, Eastman School of Music"
"Womack delivers a fascinating, in-depth look at the creation of Abbey Road...then breaks down the album song by song...Womack displays a detailed and insightful analysis."
-- "Publishers Weekly"
"Solid State takes readers on a memorable walk across Abbey Road and into the hallowed halls of EMI Studios as Beatles expert Kenneth Womack explores the recording of the group's swan song LP. A fab job as always from Womack."
-- "Chris Carter, host of "Breakfast with the Beatles, SiriusXM radio"
