Abbey Road (50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) [2CD]

ESSENTIAL ALBUM!!! One of rock's greatest albums by the Fab Four. It's one of my personal favorites & it's a rare thing when I don't play it. The album hit #1 on the charts & deservedly so. Without a weak moment, this album flows from beginning to end; the Beatles once again proving their prowess in the studio. This was actually the last album that the Beatles recorded but, due to the untimely disappearance of Phil Spector, Let It Be was the last album released.Abbey Road had two incredible hits released from it, "Come Together" which topped the charts #1 & "Something" which peaked at #3 (what???). Somewhat of a surprise was that wasn't a McCartney penned tune released as a single, though Sir Paul tried everything he could to get "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" released as one. But, let's face it, as light as the song sounds, mass murderers isn't great subject manner for lyrics. "Oh! Darling" was the song that should have released as a single. It's in 6/8 time & is a kind of throwback to old rock 'n' roll. McCartney's vocals on this song are some of the grittiest he ever recorded. "Oh! Darling" was one of the best album tracks on any Beatles album. "Octopus's Garden", written by Ringo, is non-essential. Then, what was side 1 on the vinyl record, closed with Lennon's "I Want You (She's So Heavy)", a great bluesy riff & solid vocals makes this a must-hear song. With it's heavy riff-laden slow fadeout makes it a perfect song ending that side of the record. This part of the album was a concession to Lennon's desires to record a straight ahead rock album.The other side of that coin is that side two was to be McCartney's side with his desire to make a more continuous rock-suite, this didn't quite happen but many of the songs do segue from one to the next. This side began with Harrison's "Here Comes the Sun". It's one of his best songs & could have been released as a single. "Because" is a slow song with a lot of three part harmony. It's some of their best harmony work ever recorded. It's amazing in light of the fact that when each one recorded his vocal, the other two weren't even present. The proper part of the rock suite begins with "You Never Give Me Your Money". This theme would recur on a later song on Abbey Road; this is where McCartney began incorporating this idea into his music, he would use it time & again in his solo recordings. "Sun King" follows next & was originally titled "Here Comes the Sun King", Lennon used some faux foreign language words to give it the feel that he wanted. Two more Lennon fragments follow, "Mean Mr. Mustard" & "Polythene Pam". Both have humorous lyrics, the latter one I found to be very comical. Lennon was a master of lyrics, able to be humorous & insightful at the same time. A McCartney song is next, "She Came in Through the Bathroom Window", it's a nonsensical title but the line "she could steal but she could not rob" is a classic. "Golden Slumbers" is a beautiful McCartney composition though he did nick some of the lyrics from a 400 year old poem by Thomas Dekker. "Carry That Weight" follow & is a great singalong, the musical & lyrical theme from "You Never Give Me Your Money" is repeated here. What was listed as the final song in the initial Abbey Road release is "The End". The title is a prophetical one & one of the most adventurous things they ever did. We get a short drum solo from Ringo, the only one that was recorded, there's an incredible three guitar lead where McCartney, Lennon & Harrison take turns playing their riffs, then we get to the slow ending. Lennon commented on the line written by McCartney, "the love you take is equal to the love you make", Lennon thought that was one of the best lyrics that McCartney ever wrote. This is all followed by "Her Majesty" the shortest Beatles song recorded. It was really a throwaway but was saved by an engineer & spliced on to the end of "The End" because it had been instructed to never throw away anything that had been recorded.Unless you're from somewhere else (say, a galaxy far, far away) then you've heard this album. One of the most creative pieces of music in the annals of rock 'n' roll!

To put it simply, this album is a result of the Get Back sessions, which all the Beatles and producer George Martin were ultimately unhappy with. Lennon was essentially finished with the Beatles, and McCartney was not, but wanted to on his own terms, ultimately getting what he wanted. This IS the Beatles’ final album, and what a wonderful finale. Abbey Road clearly shows a superstar band in their prime, able to write and record at such a high level that many other bands clearly envy. Even after forty seven years, especially on the remastered 2012 vinyl I bought, the album manages to sound fresh. Although it’s easy to argue that it’s a Paul McCartney solo album plus Martin in the style of Brian Wilson’s Pet Sounds plus The Wrecking Crew (see: side b), all four Beatles truly showcased their chops. Sgt. Pepper stretched itself for relevancy, The White Album was all over the place, and Let It Be was a nuisance striped with distinction, Abbey Road clearly lays out its terms and meets them. Admit it: there’s not a low note on this entire LP.This album includes tracks like George Harrison’s lead off “Here Comes the Sun” to John Lennon’s album opener “Come Together” and later track “I Want You (She's So Heavy)”, which showcases incredible repetition and an amazing three minute coda that perfected Lennon’s earlier interest in sharper rock and roll and psychedelic studio experimentation. Both Lennon tracks on the first side of the record are hardcore, straightforward, and unrelenting. Regardless, they are still graces with rich studio production. This makes them sound like actual collaborative Beatle tracks, rather than Lennon’s contributions from The White Album, which could be identified simply as solo tracks. It is an improvement to say the least.Overall, the album sounds honest and deep, even though it isn’t. Closing the album is “The End”, technically the last track all four Beatles recorded together. This song includes alternating guitar solos from Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison, along with a drum solo from Starr, the only one in the entire Beatles catalog. Only a half-decade ago, this band had been writing “amateur” songs as a Scouser boy band with more confidence than skill. Although Let It Be wouldn’t come out until next year, the Fab Four would never record another album together again. They were all still young and in their mid to late 20s. Please Please Me was released almost exactly six and a half years earlier. So if Abbey Road had been released today, Please Please Me would date to September 2009. It’s insane if you think about it: twelve studio albums and a couple of dozen singles, with a sound that went from simple love songs to complex explorers of sound and with so many detours and bends along the way. All of this happened in such a short period of time, and that is truly a weight to carry.(2012 pressing of vinyl arrived new in sealed condition and plays without skips.)

I love this album. It takes me back to my youth.