(Credits: Far Out / Alamy)
Sat 20 September 2025 15:15, UK
George Martin was always up for a challenge when making Beatles masterpieces.
Sgt Pepper may have taken a long time to get correct, but listening to the end result is like watching a band trying to rewrite what rock and roll was meant to be. And while Martin was one of the biggest forces in helping the group branch out of their comfort zone, he knew that they were more than capable of making great music without him whenever they needed to.
Then again, the Fab Four never took Martin for granted when working on their classic records. They may have cast him aside every now and again like during the White Album sessions, but even when they regrouped to create a more down-to-Earth album like Let It Be, there was a reason why Martin was always lingering in the background even if he wasn’t the main producer. He had the sixth sense for what those tunes needed, but it’s not like their personal relationships were at their best, either.
Paul McCartney had already started slighting Martin as far back as Sgt Pepper when working on a string arrangement without him, but Abbey Road needed to be the comeback that they wanted. None of them liked the idea of leaving on such a sour note, and even if they had the potential to make great music on their own, they felt they owed it to their fans to create one final bow before they went their separate ways.
And when Martin got back in the producer’s chair, he was able to get the best stuff out of every single member. There were bound to be some cheeky numbers like ‘Maxwell’s Silver Hammer’, but Martin wanted them to start thinking outside the realm of pop songs. Now it wasn’t out of the question for John Lennon to make a classical-sounding piece like ‘Because’ or the entire band turning the second side of the record into a massively long medley of tunes.
It was definitely a step forward, but there were always a few things missing from the sessions. After all, they had spent a lot of time working on Get Back only to leave it on the shelf, and since they had always wanted to go back to their roots, the album opening with ‘Come Together’ helped everyone settle into a groove again.
It wasn’t the most comp;icated tune in the world, but Martin felt there was nothing better than hearing them play together again, saying, “‘Come Together’ is such a simple song but it stands out because of the sheer brilliance of the performers. Paul’s bass riff makes a fantastic foundation for Ringo’s imaginative drumming, and John’s vocal with heavy tape echo has a marvellous effect when he claps his hands and hisses into the microphone. George’s guitar is equally distinctive, and altogether I believe this is one of the Beatles greatest tracks.”
But maybe the reason why it works is that it’s so simple. The song is clearly indebted to the same bluesy structure as their idols like Chuck Berry, but while Berry’s team could sue Lennon all they wanted, no one was going to mistake ‘Come Together’ for anybody else, especially with Macca adding that glorious bassline.
By this point, The Beatles were more interested in experimentation than setting a tone in the studio, but this is one of the few tunes in their catalogue that perfectly embodies a sense of cool. They had gone well past the point of wanting to make pop hits, but even when they were making music only for themselves, they still had that sense of swagger that most bands have the hardest time trying to acquire.
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