Abbey Road by The Beatles Classic Album Review

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Abbey Road by The Beatles – Classic Album Review

In for a penny, in for a pound! Well, after my nicely received reviews of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and its predecessor Revolver , I decided to tackle another album by the single greatest band ever in the history of popular music.

This is Abbey Road by The Beatles (1969).


This was the last album the Beatles recorded together as a group, even though Let It Be would not be released until 1970. I'm not sure if it's because I know that, but it does sound like they knew they were recording their last album together, and they are relieved. However, there is no doubting that it does not have the tension and separations of The Beatles (The White Album) or especially Let It Be.

Now, why have I chosen Abbey Road? While the two Beatles' albums I have reviewed thus far are two of the greatest albums ever made by any artists ever, this is the album that I listen to most of all. In particular, side two (except the last track). It is a large part of my relaxation technique, the closest I come to meditation (I cannot meditate properly… and don't offer advice how to do it, please – I have had yogis try). To me, this is the definite number three in my pantheon of Beatles albums. Don't get me wrong – there is not a bad Beatles album. I could easily write about all twelve of them for my classic album series. There is a reason the Beatles are regarded as one of the best bands ever, if not the best, why so many other artists feel they have to cover their songs , why, even now, 50 years after they split, they are still spoken of with such reverence. Come on, I was born the year they split officially!

It should be pointed out here that this has to be the most parodied, copied and general-public-mimicked album cover ever in the history of music! Copyright restrictions stop me from posting here a few of them (including from The Rutles and their Shabby Road parody) but do a quick Google search and be stunned by the sheer volume – The Simpsons, the Peanuts gang, Jive Bunny, Dr Who… so, so many.

And finally, I would also like to point out that this was released in 1969. They recorded their first official album in 1962. In 7 years they recorded 11 albums with so few dud songs it's like every release was a greatest hits package. Their output of amazing tracks in such a short period of time is stunning. Plus, they were on constant tour between 1961 and 1966, and then they explored the studio for the next 3 years in ways never before done, plus they made movies and Lennon wrote books! Makes me look at my life and wonder just what on earth I'm doing…

All right, having now depressed myself, let's look at the album so I can relax… as this album is so good at doing to me.

'Come Together' This is a simple song, but its driving beat and great singing make it more than a throwaway. It is yet another Beatles song that is well known, with a cover reaching the charts as recently as 2017! It is not poppy, but heavier than most of their songs and an interesting way to start the album.


'Something' George Harrison wrote this song for Patti Boyd, who also inspired the song 'Layla' by Eric Clapton . This is widely regarded as one of the greatest love songs of the 1960s, if not of all time. You'd be hard-pressed to argue. The smooth guitar, the lyrics of pure love, the singing, that up-beat middle-8. Even Frank Sinatra, who famously hated pop music, called it one of the best modern sings written, and this from a guy who hated a lot of the songs he recorded. This is one of the album highlights, one of the best songs by the Beatles and one of George Harrison's greatest achievements in his musical career. Wow.


'Maxwell's Silver Hammer' And then we go to this. This is the least song on the album and one of the few Beatles songs I really do not like. It's all a little bit twee, really. The use of an anvil to get the beat is a nice touch, but it really is a nursery rhyme.

'Oh! Darling' This track is a slower one, with smooth harmonies almost reminiscent of an earlier 60s style. Not a great song, but certainly not a bad track. I really like the opening "O-oh, darling…" A simple song, but the harmonies of the Beatles really make it.

'Octopus's Garden' This is the first song I learnt by the Beatles, thanks to the now-defunct ABC radio series for schools Singing And Listening. I would have been 7 years old (grade 3) and so this was a song we all liked. It was strange and fed into the innate fantasy stylings children used to have before technology killed imagination. Yes, it's a kids' song, but the lyrics are fun and Ringo's voice suits it amazingly well. It should be pointed out that he also wrote the track, one of the few of his that appeared on a Beatles album.

'I Want You {She's So Heavy)' And, again, we have a swing in style. This is a blues rock number that has some nice guitar work and interesting synthesiser backing. It hints at prog rock, but at almost 8 minutes, it does overstay its welcome a little.

'Here Come The Sun' And we open side two with another glorious Harrison track. The guitar work is understated but still quite intricate and the harmonies are, as usual, simply wonderful. It is a song of hope and is often over-shadowed by other Beatles tracks, but fans of George Harrison recognise it as yet another of his great works. Two of the best tracks on this album were written by George Harrison, showing just how far along his song-writing had come.

'Because' Famously written by Lennon having Yoko Ono play Beethoven's 'Moonlight Sonata' backwards (does it count as a song inspired by classical music then?), this is a beautiful piece of music, where Harrison, Lennon and McCartney triple-tracked their vocals, giving the song a nine-part harmony choral feel. This is a song of vocalisation and it floats like a dream. Just stunning.

The Medley Sort of knowing this was going to be their last album, Lennon and McCartney had a bunch of song fragments left over. Instead of fleshing them all out and making what could have been an intriguing double album, they instead took what they had, arranged them all together in one long medley, and produced a mighty fine piece of work.
'You Never Give Me Your Money' opens proceedings with a gentle piano and vocals before going into a honky-tonk section, then a rock song with guitar solo. At four minutes, it is virtually complete, but it still leads effectively into
'Sun King', which once again showcases the three-part harmonies of Lennon, McCartney and Harrison, with some subdued guitar playing and synthesisers behind it all. The tempo then ups for
'Mean Mr. Mustard', with percussion pushed up and the piano taking over as the instrument of choice. This Goes straight into
'Polythene Pam', heralded by the mention of "Sister Pam" in the previous song. This is more of a rock song with the drums really pushing along, and finishing with a decent guitar solo that goes straight into
'She Came In Through The Bathroom Window'. This slows down only a fraction, but keeps the drums pounding away relentlessly and the guitars punctuating the music track. From that we go into
'Golden Slumbers', which is really Thomas Dekker's poem set to an orchestral piece of music. It slows down a lot from the previous piece, but leads magnificently into
'Carry That Weight'. This track always – always' – sends shivers down my spine as it segues from the previous track. There is a horn stab from the previous track as well, then we have Ringo's only recognised drum solo in the Beatles, and damn if it isn't good (why is he pilloried as a bad drummer? this is really strong), and then (according to McCartney), the guitar solo is done by all three of the guitarists in the band, one at a time, giving it a real cool sound, and this leads into the final
'The End'. Very short, and its only lyrics – "And in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make" – would have been a fantastic way to close this chapter of the Beatles.


But it's not the end. We close with a hidden track, 'Her Majesty' which is… meh. At least it's short. I tend to skip this one.

And that is Abbey Road. The last album recorded by John Lennon, George Harrison, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr together while all four were still alive. Yes, Let It Be was released in 1970 (and, Let It Be… Naked in 2003, which I do prefer, I reckon), and two new tracks were released for the Anthology album series, taken from unreleased Lennon demos, and then Love was a magnificent remixing of a lot of their tracks for the Cirque du Soleil show of the same name in 2006, but this was it. After this, the Beatles were to cease.

Except they weren't. The strength of their recorded output was so incredible and influential that even today, people still talk about them, children still discover them and fall in love with their music, modern artists still cover their songs, their tracks are the staple of live music and bands everywhere, beginning musicians learn their songs as par for the course. The Beatles changed modern music, created the musical landscape in which we now live, and are the basis for so much of what we have. That was my problem with the film Yesterday – if there had not been a Beatles, it would not be simply the songs that were missing, but the whole of modern popular music.

And I have probably rambled about the band for too long. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this album as well. The Beatles are always worth your time.

Happy listening!


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