Maxwell's Silver Hammer

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"Maxwell's Silver Hammer"
Cover of the Northern Songs sheet music
Song by the Beatles
from the album Abbey Road
Released26 September 1969
Recorded9–11 July, 6 August 1969
StudioEMI, London
Genre
Length3:27
LabelApple
Songwriter(s)Lennon–McCartney
Producer(s)George Martin

"Maxwell's Silver Hammer" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1969 album Abbey Road. It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership.[4] The song is about a student named Maxwell Edison who commits murders with a hammer, with the dark lyrics disguised by an upbeat sound.[1] McCartney described the song as symbolic of the downfalls of life, being "my analogy for when something goes wrong out of the blue, as it so often does".[5]

The song was initially rehearsed during the

Get Back sessions in January 1969. During the recording of Abbey Road in July and August, the band devoted four recording sessions to completing the track. These sessions were an acrimonious time for the Beatles, as McCartney pressured the group to work at length on the song. All three of his bandmates were vocal in their dislike of "Maxwell's Silver Hammer". In a 2008 interview, Ringo Starr remembered it as "the worst session ever" and "the worst track we ever had to record".[6][7]

Background

While

Get Back sessions but would not be recorded for another six months.[9]

McCartney's wife Linda said that he had become interested in avant-garde theatre and had immersed himself in the writings of the experimental French author Alfred Jarry. This influence is reflected in the story and tone of "Maxwell's Silver Hammer", and also explains how McCartney came across Jarry's word "pataphysical", which occurs in the lyrics.[10] In 1994, McCartney said that the song epitomises the downfalls of life, being "my analogy for when something goes wrong out of the blue, as it so often does, as I was beginning to find out at that time in my life. I wanted something symbolic of that, so to me it was some fictitious character called Maxwell with a silver hammer. I don't know why it was silver, it just sounded better than Maxwell's hammer."[5]

Recording

The Beatles began recording the song at EMI Studios (later

overdubs.[9] The unused fifth take can be heard on Anthology 3.[citation needed] Over the following two days the group overdubbed vocals, piano, Hammond organ, anvil, and guitar.[9] The song was completed on 6 August, when McCartney recorded a solo on a Moog synthesizer.[14]

The recording process subsequently drew unfavourable comments from Lennon,

better source needed
]

Commentary by band members

In a taped recording of a band meeting conducted in September 1969 (Starr was not present), Lennon raised the possibility of individual songwriting responsibilities being split equally among Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison in the future. In this arrangement, each of the writers would contribute four songs to an album, and Starr would have the opportunity to contribute two. Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn comments on the exchange that proceeded among the three bandmates:

Paul ... responds to the news that George now has equal standing as a composer with John and himself by muttering something mildly provocative. "I thought until this album that George's songs weren't that good," he says, which is a pretty double-edged compliment since the earlier compositions he's implicitly disparaging include Taxman and While My Guitar Gently Weeps. There's a nettled rejoinder from George: "That's a matter of taste. All down the line, people have liked my songs." John reacts by telling Paul that nobody else in the group "dug" his Maxwell's Silver Hammer ... and that it might be a good idea if he gave songs of that kind – which, John suggests, he probably didn't even dig himself – to outside artists in whom he had an interest ... "I recorded it," a drowsy Paul says, "because I liked it."[19]

Contemporary reviews

In his 1969 review of Abbey Road, for Rolling Stone, John Mendelsohn wrote: "Paul McCartney and Ray Davies are the only two writers in rock and roll who could have written 'Maxwell's Silver Hammer', a jaunty vaudevillian/music-hallish celebration wherein Paul, in a rare naughty mood, celebrates the joys of being able to bash in the heads of anyone threatening to bring you down. Paul puts it across perfectly with the coyest imaginable choir-boy innocence."[20] Writing in Oz magazine, Barry Miles described the song as "a complex little piece" and said that, aside from McCartney's casual interest in Jarry's work, "The only British pop group holding any pataphysical honours are The Soft Machine". Miles also said it was "a perfect example of Paul's combination of American Rock with British brass band music".[21]

Derek Jewell of The Sunday Times found the album "refreshingly terse and unpretentious", but lamented the inclusion of "cod-1920s jokes (Maxwell's Silver Hammer)" and "Ringo's obligatory nursery arias (Octopus's Garden)".[22] In 1974, Robert Christgau referred to "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" as "a McCartney crotchet".[23]

Retrospective assessments and legacy

Among Beatles biographers,

schtick.[26]

In 2009, PopMatters editor John Bergstrom concluded his list "the worst of the Beatles" with the song. He said that while McCartney had previously created "some borderline-schmaltzy, music hall-inspired songs", "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" was "where even the secret admirer of 'Rocky Raccoon' must draw the line". Bergstrom described it as "Unnervingly 'cute', unrelentingly obnoxious, too literal-minded by half" and "the single Beatles song out of nearly 200 that is basically unlistenable".[27]

In 2020, author John Tait paired the song with "

murder ballads about serial killers.[28]

Cover versions

Personnel

According to Kevin Howlett,[30] except where noted:

The Beatles

Additional musician

Notes

  1. Get Back sessions in January 1969,[32] but most sources state Starr played it during the sessions for Abbey Road, including Howlett, Walter Everett, Mark Lewisohn, John C. Winn and Kenneth Womack.[33] Ian MacDonald instead says it was played by Evans,[24] as does Emerick in his autobiography.[34] Authors Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon are noncommittal, citing either Evans or Starr as the performer.[35]

References

  1. ^ a b Mulligan 2010, p. 127.
  2. ^ Unterberger, Richie. "Maxwell's Silver Hammer - The Beatles | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
  3. ^ Gould 2007, p. 278. "the song is a preternaturally catchy music-hall number ..."
  4. ^ Sheff 2000, p. 202.
  5. ^ a b Miles 1997, p. 554.
  6. ^ a b "Interview with Ringo Starr". Rolling Stone. January 2008.
  7. ^ Schaal, Eric (19 July 2019). "The Paul McCartney Song the Other Beatles Hated With a Passion". Showbiz Cheat Sheet. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  8. ^ Howlett 2018, p. 21.
  9. ^ a b c d Lewisohn 1988, p. 179.
  10. ^ McCartney, Linda (1992). Linda McCartney's Sixties: Portrait of an Era. Bullfinch Press. p. 153.
  11. ^ "The day John Lennon crashed his car in the Highlands". Press and Journal. 8 December 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  12. ^ Dick, Sandra (25 March 2019). "How the North Coast 500 led a Beatle to near-fatal car crash". The Herald. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  13. ^ Miles and Badman 2003, p. [page needed].
  14. ^ Lewisohn 1988, p. 185.
  15. .
  16. ^ Emerick & Massey 2006, p. 281.
  17. ^ "George Harrison Interview". Crawdaddy Magazine. February 1977. Retrieved 1 July 2009.
  18. ^ "Maxwell's Silver Hammer". The Beatles Bible. 2009. Retrieved 5 November 2009.
  19. ^ Williams, Richard (11 September 2019). "This tape rewrites everything we knew about the Beatles". The Guardian.
  20. ^ Mendelsohn, John (15 November 1969). "The Beatles Abbey Road". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
  21. ^ Miles (November 1969). "Abbey Road: The Beatles Come Together". Oz. Available at Rock's Backpages (subscription required).
  22. ^ Fricke, David (2003). "Abbey Road: Road to Nowhere". Mojo Special Limited Edition: 1000 Days of Revolution (The Beatles' Final Years – Jan 1, 1968 to Sept 27, 1970). London: Emap. p. 112.
  23. ^ Christgau, Robert (1974). "Rock Theater". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  24. ^ a b MacDonald 2007, p. 357.
  25. ^ Gould 2007, pp. 534–36.
  26. ^ Gould 2007, pp. 578–79.
  27. ^ Bergstrom, John (12 November 2009). "The 'Worst' of The Beatles: A Contradiction in Terms?". PopMatters. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  28. .
  29. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 21 October 1972. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  30. ^ Howlett 2019, pp. 30–31.
  31. ^ Everett 1999, p. 252.
  32. ^ Winn 2009, p. 305.
  33. ^ Everett 1999, p. 252; Howlett 2019, p. 30; Lewisohn 1988, p. 179; Winn 2009, p. 305; Womack 2019, p. 121.
  34. ^ Emerick & Massey 2006, p. 283.
  35. ^ Guesdon & Margotin 2013, p. 564.
  36. ^ Everett 1999, p. 252; Winn 2009, p. 305.

Sources

External links