144. The Beatles - Abbey Road (1969)






















Track Listing

1. Come Together
2. Something
3. Maxwell's Silver Hammer
4. Oh! Darling
5. Octopus's Garden
6. I Want You (She's So Heavy)
7. Here Comes the Sun
8. Because
9. You Never Give Me Your Money
10. Sun King
11. Mean Mr. Mustard
12. Polythene Pam
13. She Came in Through the Bathroom Window
14. Golden Slumbers
15. Carry That Weight
16. End
17. Her Majesty

Review

This is a Beatles album which is strangely overlooked, and always behind the White Album, Revolver or Sgt. Pepper's. Actually I think it is on the level of Sgt. Pepper's and in front of the White Album, not only for its musical quality but also due to its consistency.

The White Album was basically a mish-mash of hit and miss tracks, whose good tracks really compensated for its haphazrdness. Abbey Road is another affair completely, it is a much more consistent and cohesive album. It is not only consistently good, but seems not to be as fragmented as previous Beatles outings. I really, really like it.

It is not as good as Revolver, but very little is, and I would actually prefer listening to it than Sgt. Pepper's... as I have achieved a Sgt. Pepper's saturation point.There is no When I'm Sixty Four or Lovely Rita here to annoy me, I literally love all tracks in Abbey Road, even the more schlamtzy Here Comes The Sun, or Something, or the laughable Starr-penned Octopus's Garden, which does not annoy me, it just makes me smile, in a point and laugh sort of way.

And then this album has a truly great ending stride, the last 9 tracks are a kind of extended suite which works extremely well, with moments of exquisite beauty and even a Ringo Starr (pitiful) solo! Also this is probably the first and last Beatles album to feature synthetizers! Thank Moog! So buy it form Amazon UK or US.

Track Highlights

1. You Never Give Me Your Money
2. Golden Slumbers/ Carry That Weight
3. Come Together
4. The End

Final Grade

9/10

Trivia

Vacuum of cool playing Golden Slumbers/ Carry That Weight/ The End, Phill Collins on Drums, Eric Clapton and Mark Knopfler on guitars and Paul McCartney on vocals, piano and guitar:



At least Phill isn't singing...

The Beatles are no more... last Beatles review. All of them, except for Ringo will be back however...