Imagine if the Beatles had had a Moog synthesizer to play with? Well, they bought a very large modular system in January of 1969. Later that year, their producer, George Martin (the ‘fifth Beatle’) also bought a large modular system. The Rolling Stones had bought a system a year earlier, and the Monkees were one of the first pop groups to buy a Moog (in 1967).

 

By 1969, synthesizers were all the rage and everybody was trying to jump on the bandwagon. The Beatles were the most famous pop band in the world. This album is interesting for its very understated use of the Moog. It is very interesting that the Beatles had a huge Moog at their disposal, but chose to use it so sparingly.

 

The Moog is most obvious during the middle 8 of the song ‘Because’ which features a very ‘full’ sound that beautifully illustrates what can be accomplished with a large bank of oscillators and the fantastic Moog “transistor ladder” filter.

Abbey Road

The Beatles

1969