A Tribute in the Town of Everything, All the Time

Mrs. Sojourner and I, well, sojourned to Lost Wages for a quick trip after realizing for the first time in years we had a short window with no kids, no plans, and a bit of vacation time to burn. It is the town, to quote the Eagles, that is “everything, all the time.”

As we wandered around the wonderful sensory overload of Fremont Street, we stumbled on the El Cortez Hotel that sported the above mural paying homage to the cover of the seminal Abbey Road album by The Beatles. Sadly, it would be the last recorded effort by the band.

I remember taking a quick snap while we were enjoying the Fremont Street sights and fun. However, other than that vague recollection, I couldn’t remember much about the what and the why of it when the image caught my eye in my picture stash this week. So, the Internet came calling with a quick assist.

2019 was the 50th anniversary of my favorite album from the deep well of The Beatles catalog. Giles Martin, son of the famed and supremely talented Sir George Martin, producer, arranger, and occasional artist on of the majority of their recordings, produced a 50th anniversary reissue of the legendary album.

The Hotel Cortez honored the birthday for the iconic album cover with the four boys traversing the zebra stripes just outside what has become known as Abbey Road Studios in painting the crosswalk in front of the hotel a similar but more colorful version than that on the cover.

Here’s a video from the local news affiliate, Fox5, detailing some of the tributes.

Unfortunately, I’ve yet to find the artist responsible for the mural that is pictured here to provide credit where creative credit is due.

While growing up, I was surrounded by The Beatles music. Like most teenagers at the time, my mother was captivated by their landing on American shores, and as a result still years later, their vinyl spun regularly in our house. She was an avid fan and I couldn’t have escaped it if I tried.

For decades, while I enjoyed and respected the musicianship, talent and tunes of group, it was still not my generation’s to own and I dove into my own world of artists, being a musical hack myself.

However, age’s long and winding road led me back to their door, to borrow from McCartney’s tune on the Get Back sessions that culminated in the problematic final Beatles album release, Let It Be. In the last 15 years, I’ve reconsidered the band in a new light as well as the producer, engineers, studios, catalog, and the times that led to capturing their sonic innovations on tape and ultimately mastered to vinyl and distributed to fans worldwide to wear out the grooves and stylus from constant rotation.

There are many reasons why the band, producer, engineers, and studio are the gold standard against which most others are compared. The Beatles caused a seismic shift for listeners and musicians alike in the ensuing decades in leaving their beautiful mark on the universal and eternal melody we call life.

Love: An Immersive Experience Delighting All Senses

Speaking of Giles Martin, he is an extremely creative, talented, and successful producer in his own right. His work with his father to reimagine and remix recordings into a new creation that became the album Love is some of the best my critical, discerning ear has been gifted.

My wife, I, and some friends had the pleasure of catching the beautiful Cirque du Soleil show of the same title at the Mirage while in Las Vegas on a prior trip. The new sonic landscape Sir George Martin and Giles Martin delivered on the album paired with the innovative setup of speakers embedded in each of the audience’s seats, Cirque’s Love served up a captivating and immersive experience that delighted all senses. The show had an incredible 18-year run before ending in 2024.

Bonus Tracks

If you enjoy music, history, and recording, even if you are not a Beatles diehard, you’ll find some good to great in these gems:

Here, There, Everywhere by Geoff Emerick, Howard Massey. Geoff engineered all sessions that delivered the albums Revolver through Abbey Road, with the exception of aforementioned problematic, Let It Be.

Sound Pictures: The Life of Beatles Producer George Martin by Kenneth Womack.

Both offer fascinating insight into the recording process, the studios, the band, the times, and the lives, experiences, and contributions of the individuals who are equally critical in making the band the watermark of excellence by which all other bands would be compared.

Also, Mark Lewishon has authored a number of great histories of all the above that are highly recommended. He is an authority on all things The Beatles and a master of his domain.

I recommend the documentary noted above detailing the making of Love by Sir George Martin and Giles Martin. It’s a favorite for many reasons. You get a glimpse of the relationship of a very accomplished son working with his legendary father to create something vibrant and sonically new.

Peter Jackson’s Get Back 2021 documentary is vivid, visually and sonically, due to his innovative use of machine learning (AI-based) to separate and enhance the original mono tracks. For my dollar, Get Back tells a more holistic and compelling story of this period for all involved than Michael Lindsey-Hogg’s original Let It Be 1970 film—although I enjoyed the latter as well as give much respect here. Michael Lindsey-Hogg was the creative driving force capturing the life and times in real-time. We’re fortunate to have his visual record.

Credits: Fox5 News story via Youtube. Excerpt of the verse from Life in the Fast Lane written by Joe Walsh, Glenn Fry, and Don Henley from the equally seminal 5th studio album by the Eagles, Hotel California (1976). AbbeyRoadLV mural from the El Cortez Hotel and Cirque du Soleil’s Love photos courtesy of One Sojourner.