The Beatles / Abbey Road (UK, Apple Records, PCS 7088) <September 26, 1969>

The Beatles / Abbey Road (UK, Apple Records, PCS 7088) <September 26, 1969>
(SIDE 1) YEX 749-2
(SIDE 2) YEX 750-1

マトリクス・ナンバーが「749-2/750-1」、ジャケは裏の左下のアップルのロゴ・マークが左にズレたいわゆる「レフト・アップル（英語圏では通用しない言い方で、本来は"Misaligned Apple"といいます）」。要するにこの傑作のファースト・プレスで、更にラベルに"FACTORY SAMPLE NOT FOR SALE"のシール付き、インナーに"Reviewers Copy"のスタンプありというレア盤です。

"FACTORY SAMPLE NOT FOR SALE"のシールを貼ればソレっぽくなりプレミア価格になるので、巷には類似シールを貼ったエセ・サンプル盤が存在すると思います（少なくとも、"FACTORY SAMPLE NOT FOR SALE"の字体やシールの形が異なる「怪しい」盤を見たことがあります）。

このに盤も少し怪しいところがあります。サンプル盤ならかなりの初期盤のはず。また"Her Majesty"は今で言うところの「シークレット・トラック」ですので、ファースト・プレスのジャケ裏の曲リストに掲載されず、また「749-2/750-1」の初期ラベルには印刷されていないはずが、ラベルにしっかり"Her Majesty"が・・・。（ちなみに"Her Majesty"ありの「749-2/750-1」は、他の盤でも見たことがありますが）。

また「インナーは黒」という意見が主流で、実際に僕が何枚か持っている"Misaligned Apple"盤はすべてインナーが黒ですが、このコピーのインナーは白。「黒と白の両方が存在する」という意見も読んだことがありますけど、なんとなく気になります。

この盤っていったい何なんでしょう？？

ちなみに、今朝時間をかけて聴き比べしましたが、音質は「50周年記念リマスター」が僅差で勝ち、との印象でした。

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"Abbey Road" is the eleventh studio album by English rock band the Beatles, released on 26 September 1969 by Apple Records. The recording sessions were the last in which all four Beatles participated. Let It Be was the final album that the Beatles completed and released before the band's dissolution in April 1970, but most of the album had been recorded before the "Abbey Road" sessions began.The two-sided hit single from the album, "Something" backed with "Come Together", was released in October and topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States.

"Abbey Road" incorporates genres such as blues, pop and progressive rock, and makes prominent use of the Moog synthesizer and the Leslie speaker. Side two contains a medley of song fragments edited together to form a single piece. The album was recorded amid a more enjoyable atmosphere than the Get Back/Let It Be sessions earlier in the year, but there were still frequent disagreements within the band. John Lennon had privately left the group by the time that the album was released, and Paul McCartney publicly quit the following year.

"Abbey Road" was an immediate commercial success and reached number one in the UK and US, although it initially received mixed reviews, with some critics describing its music as inauthentic and bemoaning the production's artificial effects. Over time, the album became viewed as among the Beatles' best and many critics have ranked it as one of the greatest albums of all time. In particular, George Harrison's contributions in "Something" and "Here Comes the Sun" are considered to be among the best songs that he wrote for the group. The album's cover features the four band members walking across a zebra crossing outside Abbey Road Studios and has become one of the most famous and imitated images in popular music.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XyuywVao7g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5Tuu6UnEe8

けさ、敬愛する兄貴にがんの再発・転移が見つかりました。
ので、当分は更新やめます。