Written by: Lennon-McCartney
Recorded: 9-11 July; 6 August 1969
Producer: George Martin
Engineer: Phil McDonald
Released: 26 September 1969 (UK), 1 October 1969 (US)
Paul McCartney: vocals, backing vocals, piano, guitar, Moog synthesiser
George Harrison: backing vocals, lead guitar, bass
Ringo Starr: backing vocals, drums, anvil
George Martin: Hammond organ
Available on:
Abbey Road
Anthology 3
Maxwell's Silver Hammer, a jaunty McCartney-penned song about a homicidal maniac, was considered by its author to be a potential Beatles single. Instead it ended up as a track on the group's 1969 album Abbey Road.
Maxwell's Silver Hammer was 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. It was needed for scanning. We still use that expression even now when something unexpected happens.
Many Years From Now, Barry Miles
McCartney wrote the song in October 1968, just too late to be recorded for the White Album. The Beatles also rehearsed it at Twickenham Film Studios in January 1969. The Let It Be film shows McCartney teaching the song to the other Beatles, who are clearly less than enthusiastic.
Sometimes Paul would make us do these really fruity songs. I mean, my god, Maxwell's Silver Hammer was so fruity. After a while we did a good job on it, but when Paul got an idea or an arrangement in his head...
Crawdaddy magazine, February 1977
Maxwell's Silver Hammer was particularly derided by John Lennon, who didn't play on it. It was recorded over three days while Lennon and Yoko Ono were recuperating from a car accident sustained in Scotland. However, they both attended the Abbey Road sessions.
That's Paul's. I hate it. 'Cuz all I remember is the track – he made us do it a hundred million times. He did everything to make it into a single and it never was and it never could've been, but he put guitar licks on it and he had somebody hitting iron pieces and we spent more money on that song than any of them in the whole album. I think.
All We Are Saying, David Sheff
Lennon's assessment, however, is somewhat misleading; the song took just three sessions to record, plus a Moog overdub done alone by McCartney some days later. Additionally, it lacked the expensive orchestral overdubs that several other Abbey Road songs were given.
They got annoyed because Maxwell's Silver Hammer took three days to record. Big deal.
Anthology
Lennon was not alone in his distaste for the song. George Harrison generally disliked McCartney's whimsical songs, and in a 2008 interview Ringo Starr backed up Lennon's assessment:
The worst session ever was Maxwell's Silver Hammer. It was the worst track we ever had to record. It went on for fucking weeks. I thought it was mad.
Rolling Stone, January 2008
In the studio
Recording began on 9 July 1969. McCartney, Harrison and Starr recorded 21 takes of the basic track (although there were no takes 6-10), and spent over two hours overdubbing guitars.
Take five, recorded on this day, was preserved on the Anthology 3 album, revealing how the song sounded without the various overdubs which were added to take 21. McCartney sings and plays piano, with Harrison on bass and Starr on drums.
On 10 July McCartney added more piano, George Martin played Hammond organ, Starr banged an anvil and Harrison recorded a guitar part, fed through a rotating Leslie speaker. McCartney also taped more lead vocals, and was joined by Harrison and Starr for backing vocals.
There was a proper blacksmith's anvil brought to the studio for Ringo to hit. They had it rented from a theatrical agency.
The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions, Mark Lewisohn
More guitar and vocals were added on 11 July. Maxwell's Silver Hammer was finally completed on 6 August, when McCartney recorded his Moog synthesiser solo.
We put together quite a nice album, and the only arguments were about things like me spending three days on Maxwell's Silver Hammer. I remember George saying, 'You've taken three days, it's only a song.' – 'Yeah, but I want to get it right. I've got some thoughts on this one.' It was early-days Moog work and it did take a bit of time.
Anthology
Above John states he did not play at all on this song, though Wikipedia states he played Fender Six String Bass. I’m listening to Twickenhan sessions and somebody is playing the Hofner along with Paul on Piano. Doesn’t sound like a Fender. I realize the Twickenham Rehearsals and Abbey Road recording sessions are separate and distinct.
Also, George played the Moog synthesizer part.
George to Playboy, 1969:
“Maxwell’s Silver Hammer is just something of Paul’s which we’ve been trying to record. We spent a hell of a lot of time on it. And it’s one of those instant sort of whistle-along tunes, which some people will hate, and some people will really love it. It’s more like Honey Pie, you know, a fun sort of song. But it’s pretty sick as well though, ‘cuz the guy keeps killing everybody.
It’s good because I have this synthesiser and ‘Maxwell’s Silver Hammer’ was one of the things I used the synthesiser on, which is pretty effective.”
It sounds a lot like McCartney’s playing style and not like George’s. I would be surprised if it really were George. Paul could have overdubbed his own bass over George’s guide. I also agree that it sounds a lot like a Hofner, although it needs be said that some perceived Hofner sounds in those days were actually a Fender jazz (like much of the bass lines on the White Album.)
The thing with George being the bassplayer here is it’s just like Paul supposedly being the drummer on Dear Prudence. It’s hard to believe given that it sounds so much better than George’s usual bass playing and Paul’s usual drumming. Compare the bass sound on Golden Slumbers and Hey Jude to the one on Maxwell. And compare Back in the USSR or Jet to Dear Prudence. Particularly the fills towards the end of Dear Prudence are so spectacularly Ringo-ish and much better than any other drumpart ever recorded by McCartney, I wouldn’t be surprised if it tuned out that Ringo did do those after all. By the way, that’s also a fine example of a bass line that could have been a Hofner, but also a Fender Jazz.
But if the official version is correct then I guess Paul and George must have been incredibly motivated to sound like another Beatle when they recorded those lines.
I’m not sure whether Wikipedia is correct, or where the info comes from. Mark Lewisohn’s Complete Beatles Recording Sessions says that Lennon wasn’t on it. The book isn’t flawless, but it’s a mostly-reliable record of the Abbey Road sessions.
I always knew Ringo was singing backing on this! Whenever all of them sing, Ringo’s voice always sticks out the most, same on Carry That Weight.
It´s a beautiful song. John sometimes was very radical. Love those Yoko´s shit songs. Oh God.
Maxwell’s Silver Hammer and Octopuses Garden, look we have to accept experimentation. The Beatles broke new ground with the White Album and the Let it Be sessions show that they were moving along on the same track.i find McCartney’s comments (above) very interesting about it being ‘early days’ with the moog synthesizer–enter Elton John!
No mention of Mal Evans? He was the first to play the anvil on this song, during the Let It Be sessions.
I agree with albatossursus! I read the article and was expecting to see something related to Mal Evans. We can see him, hitting de anvil, on the Let It Be film.
Joe, you’re the one, man! Great, incredible job of research and compilation. I can only compare your work, on the writing field, to that of Peter Duckett on the audio field, with his masterpices CDs (of the sounds that influenced The Beatles), “Beatles Beginnings – Vols. 1 to 7”!
So Ringo thinks Maxwell was the “worst track ever”..uh, except for every one you wrote man. Octopus’s Garden is far worse. Also, Ringo should be careful to go after Paul…if not for Paul, he never would have had “With a Little Help From My Friends” or “Yellow Submarine” his two high points as a Beatles vocalist.
I think Ringo was talking about the recording when he said “track”, not necessarily dismissing the song.
You’ve got to be kidding! Octopus Garden is musically superior??? George’s lead guitar rocks. The bubbles and electronic sounds are fitting for a song like this. Maxwell’s Silver Hammer is a boring song that irritates the ear. I want to smash Abbey Road every time I hear it but the rest of the album is fantastic!
And Mr Harrison wrote most of Octopus Garden, with a little help from Ringo. No question, Beatles fans liked Octopus Garden a lot more than Maxwell’s Silver Hammer, even though it’s a fruity song as well. Guess George did like some fruity songs if he was the one writing them.
Both songs are pretty good.
I agree with you
In modern Russian there is an analogue tio Maxwell’s Silver hammer. It is Called “Otsos Petrovich”.
LOL. Awesome, comrade.
After hearing from those that disliked Maxwell Silver Hammer, I first listened to it with a bias against it because I was expecting something dreadful. Well it took a couple of hearings before I discovered that I really loved the tune.
It’s a silly, funny little laugh riot of absurdity! The subject matter is extremely dark (nutcase serial killer running amuck) but sung and played in a jaunty, playful, upbeat tune to mask the craziness of Maxwell and plays against type. Paul McCartney is a total genius. It has been said before and bears repeating.
I loved that song the first time I heard it. I was shocked when I read that a lot of people hated it. It wasn’t so bad. It was actually good.
Precisely. I don’t understand why people hate it.
As I’ve said before, I love this little comedy singalong. It’s Heavy, Dark and Light all at the same time. Part of its genius. I also now believe,(because of the clues sprinkled throughout), that it’s a song about The Beatles, who at one time were; The Silver Beatles. And the purpose of a hammer? To beat!
Since Paul wrote the song, he is Maxwell Edison…(ME)…and he gets away with “murder” by making the others rehearse MSH “to death”, and it’s “killling” them to do it (“Again fellas, from the top!”).
Joan/John is his intellectual equal/science rival/songwriting partner.
Teacher/George is the grump who doles out character building punishment.
Judge/Ringo is wise and fair but doesn’t see what’s coming at him.
P.C.31/ are the police security. Screaming Rose & Valerie/ are fans.
Showbiz slang “kill the people” & “killed” means “win over big” & “great success”, and The Beatles had overwhelming success everywhere worldwide. Bang Bang/is the availability and frequency of sex. The absurdity of the song is the craziness that was Beatlemania.
Maxwell…Mac’s well (Macca’s well) and not insane for writing the macabre song. That’s my take on it.
This is insane though.
I don’t get the Maxwell hate. Maxwell’s Silver Hammer is a triumph of bizarro fiction, the crowning glory being the fact that they didn’t strip Maxwell of the murder weapon and he has it at the trial itself. The first time you listen to the song, the first time you hear the chorus, it hits you over the head with surprise: up until then, you think it’s going to be some sort of romancy boy-meets-girl tune. The anvil is really innovative.
When Pauls says “Writing” in the second verse you can hear him laugh. I’ve always wanted to know more about that. Any ideas?
I imagine that this delightful little ditty’s main character with his murderous edge, is a Bart Simpsonlike brat on steroids. I wonder if Paul was remembering an experience he had, as an angelic face boy, caught by his teacher kicking another boy, then pulling that puppy eyed innocent look on her.
The song makes me laugh too, it;s just so oh oh oh……naughty!
I think in Beatles Anthology Paul says that John was making faces at him from behind the window in the mixing room, and that caused him to laugh during this phrase.
I think Paul’s laughing at how clever his lyric is.
Even knowing how much John hated this song, it’s pretty interesting to hear John sing it during let it be sessions (with his mock-voice)
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=u2t2Bdn47rE
It starts about 47:53
this is a nasty song. MAC kills JOAN with a hammer when (s)he’s not looking. the names arent an accident .
have to agree with George hated the song. and it is realllly dark
This is not one of Paul’s best, though it is original, as their songs were. It doesn’t irritate me the way Your Mother Should Know or Honey Pie does.
I remember an old Ed Sullivan special with a tribute to the Beatles in the early 1970s. Of all people, Peggy Lee sang Maxwell with a dancing chorus. Now that was a “fruity” experience.
Ever since I heard the Anthologies, I’ve always dreamed if Abbey Road was released with “Come And Get It”, instead of “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” in it. Paul shouldn’t have to give it to Badfinger.
I’ve got a feeling(!) that ‘Come And Get It’ could easily have made its way to side 2, but that would probably mean replacing one of John’s songs; ‘Because’ or ‘Sun King’ most likely, and that would make McCartney’s dominance on side 2 abnormally…hugely..massive.
‘Come And Get It’ never struck me as being quite as complete as a song as ‘Maxwell’s Silver Hammer’ or ‘Oh! Darling’, as[why are you still saying ‘as’?]it’s quite repetitive in its structure.
But it became a hit for Badfinger, so who am I to argue?
If the other three really hated this song, it could have been vetoed and left for the Anthology album later. All the discards are there. The usual process was in place to knock it down but they didn’t. All talk and no action.
Of course there was Maxwell from MI5 who roughed up the Beatles to keep their traps shut about the death crash and the double, according to the tapes allegedly provided by George. It’s a bloody awful puerile song.
First of all, I really like this song. By no means do I think it’s the best song on Abbey Road, but it’s still better than many others in their catalog in my opinion. Okay, maybe not many others but enough others. I’m just confused about one thing. I know it says that George was the bass player on this song, but then why does it say in Emerick’s book that Paul played the bass and even described how he played it? Also, it really stands out as a bass part (more complex and interesting) which I would think would be more characteristic of Paul and not George. I’m not trying to knock George as a bass player since he was obviously quite competent on bass, but it sounds like Paul. If it is George, that’s totally fine, but I’m thinking that maybe he played it initially and then Paul rerecorded it. Whichever one it is, fantastic bass part!!!!
I agree, I was surprized to find George played bass. It’s really melodic, fluid bass part, perfect for the song. And the tone of the (I’m guessing?) Fender VI he played was sweet
It’s Paul and I think on his Rick. George would have never played it like that.
I like this track. I’ve always liked this track. I really can’t be arsed with all the negative comments made about it as if its just not cool to like it.
It is a superb Song.
I replaced ‘Maxwell’ and ‘Octopuss’ with ‘Ballad of John and Yoko’ and ‘Old Brown Shoe’ on my version of Abbey Road. Now I enjoy it from start to finish. This can be done with every other Beatles album due to their practice of not including many of their iconic singles on the respective album sessions that they were recorded at. Simple!
Really ? You’re replacing Maxwell with the A and
b sides of what has to be the worst Beatles single ever . That would make Abbey Road side one unlistenable.
Love the song… however, it and Octopus’s Garden on the same album AND same side is perhaps a tad much. And I love Octopus’s Garden too. I probably would’ve cut one of these two and added a different song, and saved the one that was cut for a different album…… assuming they didn’t break up.
Having just listened to the version of Maxwell on Anthology 3 I can hear segments which sound similar to Elton John’s Good Bye Yellow Brick Road, but of course Maxwell was written and recorded years earlier. There are just so many notes and chords. Eventually they will be repeated unintentionally or deliberately by someone else. At the time the Abbey Road LP was released I was 13yo and It sounded fine to me, but it isn’t one of the very best Beatles songs. We do hold the Beatles up to higher standards than any other recording group. I have imagined this song would have been perfect for one the groups in the Apple stable of artists, but it is a bone fide Beatles song, which still has a well earned place on their last recorded album.
The synth in this song is wild!
I’ve never had a problem with this song. As for the others’ antipathy towards it, the subtext seems to be Paul’s fussy perfectionism and his rather clear arranging ideas (in short: he told them what to play and to keep at it until they got it just to his satisfaction), which by this point was seriously running them the wrong way.
Sounds a LOT like John singing the high falsetto harmony on “Maxwell must go free”
According to The Beatles Book Monthly George plays acoustic guitar on this song.
I don’t hate this song it is not worth the effort. Skip it like “honey pie” and “your mother should know.
I think the song is pure genius. All the words rhyme, the instrumentation is unbelievable. Paul’s voice on it is so mellow, like he is telling a story. The chorus is so catchy, if you hear the song it will be on your mind all day long. I am a serious Beatles fan, and I think this is one of the most dripping with talent songs Paul ever did. He is under-rated for this song.
Funny how we interpret what artists create. A few years ago my young Beatles fan daughter asked me about Maxwell, and I told her it is a social commentary how rich brats get away with murder, that the silver hammer is like a silver spoon. If you use that analogy and listen again, you will get it. My daughter accepted that explanation and moved on. Finally, IMO, it was worth the three days of work, especially if it was indeed about rich brats and their privilege.
Maybe Paul conciously(or unconsciously or both) was processing his thoughts re:ending the band ,the song symbolically acting as a metaphor for his (or a possible) future reality?
Might then explain the reactions of the other band members to his work.
Maybe at this point they all really knew (or sensed (at this point) that the end was coming(or at least a possability in his own mind) The question is why does it currently resound so strongly in my own mind ? That said I consider it to be a particularly stand out and significant track for whatever reasons and would rate it as one of their best (despite Lennons absence who I might add I’ve always considered to be my fav band member) Again that said in this case ‘hats off to Paul – you are a true genius’ and thanks for sharing the Love!?
I adore all of the Fab Four and respect their opinions, but I don’t think that there is anything wrong with how this song sounds. George and Ringo apparently never liked Paul’s “whimsical” songs, but tbh I think that those songs sound lovely just like all the other songs. But I can definitely understand the whole aspect of it being tedious to record, which John and Ringo made clear.
Hearing all the music garbage put out today, I love all the Beatles songs. Leave it alone. It’s a work of art. It’s like a metaphysical abstract painting. It seems every song the Beatles made is great. I don’t really have a favorite Beatles album because I love them all equally. Just like there is a four way tie of my favorite member of the Beatles.
On an otherwise superb album, Maxwell might be the weakest link. A good little song ,but pales a little by comparison. What makes octopus good is Georges beautiful lead fills