LindsayBW's Full Review: Abbey Road by The Beatles
The Beatles are the greatest band ever. Even those who aren't fans of their music (all 3 people on the planet) admit that the Fab Four had more musical impact than any other four people on Earth. And in all truth, the Beatles may in fact be bigger than Jesus.
People can argue all day about what the best Beatles album is. Revolver is often seen as the boy's best album, and perhaps the best album of all time. The White Album gets its kudos, and Rubber Soul and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band are undeniably awesome. But the biggest contender is probably the final masterpiece, Abbey Road.
I don't know what the best Beatles album is, but I find myself constantly listening to Abbey Road and marvelling at how good every song on it is. This was the last record John, Paul, George, and Ringo did together, but they sound as if they're having a good time recording this one, even if the tension was high. True to their style, they never pick a specific formula to follow on this disc, they just make it all good.
The first eight tracks of the album were meant to be like any other Beatles album, and have individual songs that stand by themselves. This side offers some of the best songs the Beatles ever did. It starts out with Come Together, a nonsense song John wrote for Timothy Leary's campaign song during a race for governer. John liked the song so much they put it on Abbey Road, and it's pretty obvious why. This became a #1 single for the boys, and everyone and their dog knows that instantly recognizable little "shoo shoo" thing. The lyrics don't make much sense, but the stripped down approach is awesome. It's got high energy on the bridge, and what else is there to say. It's just a classic, awesome song.
That trend keeps up with George's Something, which is undeniably one of the most romantic songs the Beatles ever did. The melody is calm and laid-back, and the lyrics (inspired by a James Taylor song) are sincere and beautiful. "Something in her smile, she knows, that I don't need no other lover..." George sings beautifully. Even though this isn't my favorite of George's songs, it can't be denied that this is a beautiful and heartfelt ballad where you can easily just close your eyes and sail away with that great guitar solo. This is a terrific song.
Next up is one of my favorite Beatles songs, Maxwell's Silver Hammer. A lot of fellow Beatlemaniacs feel that this song... well, it blows, but I love Paul's light hearted ode to a homicidal maniac. It's a quirky, bouncy, sing-song melody with grim lyrics. "Bang! Bang! Maxwell's silver hammer made sure that she was dead!" It's one hilarious romp about a killer with no motive. It doesn't sound like a Beatles song, really, but that's why the Beatles are great. Anything can be a Beatles song. Oh, and the light hearted back up "do do do do doo"s don't hurt the hilarity. I love this song.
Next up is another one of my favorites, Paul's bluesy Oh! Darling. This song is good anyway, with it's catchy verses and melody backed by energetic instruments, most notably a jamming piano, but the thing that makes the song so great is Paul's inhibitionless vocals. He just lets it rip on the chorus, where he basically screams "When you told me! You didn't need me anymore! Don't you know I nearly broke down and diiied!" It rivals John's throaty rendition of Twist And Shout as the song that inspired us all to shred our vocal chords too. This is just another awesome, energetic number.
Abbey Road is one of those albums that is pretty much void of filler, but if anything comes close it's Ringo's Octopus's Garden. Ringo got a sole writing credit for this song, even though George rewrote most of it in the studio. It's kind of like Yellow Submarine part II, but it suits Ringo to have a carefree, mellow sea shanty. It's another melody where you bob your head around. Nothing in the instruments really stands out here, but it's a cute little song, and a standard Ringo song.
If the frothiness of the prior track was a little too much for you, no worries my friend. The next song will make up for it. I Want You (She's So Heavy) is probably my favorite Beatles song. And considering the Beatles have a lot of songs and I've heard all of them, that's saying a lot. This song is lyrically retarded, with the same lyrics repeating over and over. "I want you so bad, it's driving me mad. She's so heavy." It has less words than Why Don't We Do It In The Road?, but it is a jam. This is a gritty, nasty, metal approach the band took, with an epic jam feel. Throughout all nearly 8 minutes of the song, it just feels like you're sitting in on the coolest jam session ever. John takes a carefree vocal, that he occasionally lets go in craziness (most memorably is a rip-roaring "Yeaaaah!" about 4 1/2 minutes into the song). Paul's bass riff is totally recognizable and awesome. George throws in a few fancy guitar riffs sparingly, and Ringo's drums hold the entire thing together for the entire time. The only problem is the way it just cuts off at the end. Otherwise I have mad love for this song.
After almost 8 minutes of awesomeness, we get another three minutes of awesomeness in George's classic Here Comes The Sun. This is one of those songs that's an incredible contrast to all kinds of other things the boy's did, including the two tracks surrounding it. It has a gentle, instantly recognizable guitar riff, and gorgeously simple vocals and lyrics. "Little darling, it's been a long, cold, lonely winter..." Even though it is a musically gentle song, it does build to some energy later in the song, with the lovely bridge of "Sun, sun, sun, here it comes." This is another one of my favorite Beatles songs, and definitely my favorite of George's. Not a bad thing about it.
It's pretty easy to say that the weirdest Beatle was Mr. Lennon, and after hearing his experimental, harmony-heavy Because, it's not hard to see why. This song has 9-part harmony of John, Paul, and George, in a euphoric, simple, far-out, spacy, and to put it simply, weird, arrangement. It's one of those songs where you just kind of want to wave your arms slowly in ambiance. The lyrics make pretty much no sense, but it's okay, because the harmonies floating around in this three minute number are enough to make it interesting.
The first 8 tracks of Abbey Road consisted of, as I stated earlier, a straight forward a bunch of songs as single entities. To mix it up a bit, the boys decided that the second half could be a medley of different songs, and proceeded to record a lot of it straight together.
The medley kicks off with You Never Give Me Your Money, a piano friendly, tempo-switching, ballad-like song of Paul's. This is one of the few songs on the second half which could actually stand by itself. The beginning has a slow, somewhat droning tone, about the boys' current financial situation. It kicks off energetically with a totally different financial situation, and gets just awesome with the later lyrics. "One sweet dream... pick up the bags, get in the limousine. Soon we'll be away from here, step on the gas and wipe that tear away... one sweet dream came true today." This is one of those songs that has a fantastic melody, even if it does switch around a lot, and it's undeniably catchy. It's a nice way to start off the second half.
Next is the absolute nonsense of Sun King, which is a mellow two minute jam. The lyrics consist of made up Spanish words, which don't actually mean anything. Really, the whole song doesn't mean anything at all, and just serves as a means to get into the next track. It does have a good mellow, laid-back feel to it though, so it's not exactly bad, even if it doesn't serve much of a purpose. It does lead into Mean Mr. Mustard, which is a riot. It's got a bouncy feel to it, and the lyrics are about a dirty old man to put it simply. Even if this song is quite silly, I love John and Paul's harmonies in this one. It's just a bobbing little one minute song that leads into Polythene Pam, who apparently is Mr. Mustard's sister. This one is another riot, as you can tell from the first two lyrics: "You should see Polythene Pam, she's so good looking, but she looks like a man." This is a bit of a rowdier number, and lifts the "Yeah yeah yeah" straight out of She Loves You. This one leads right into She Came In Through The Bathroom Window. The lyrics don't make much sense, even though they were inspired by some fans who climbed into Paul's house. It's probably the catchiest piece in this segment, with that jam-worthy chorus: "Didn't anybody tell her? Didn't anybody see? Sundays on the phone to Monday... Tuesdays on the phone to me." All four put together make for one pretty long, and pretty enjoyable song.
The funny, jauntiness comes to an end during the final medley, kicking off with Golden Slumbers. To put it simply, this minute and a half is just beautiful. Paul's vocal is subdued and gorgeous over the gentle piano chords. It has a recurring melody and gorgeous lyrics (Paul ripped these off from Thomas Dekker, actually), and it leads directly into Carry That Weight. Nobody really knows what weight anybody's carrying, but it's still not a bad minute and a half. This one lifts the melody from You Never Give Me Your Money, and brings the energy up to lead into the high-tempo The End. This is pretty much an instrumental, but it does show the boys doing what they do best. It even features a drum solo from Ringo, that actually impressed me! It's a nice groove that will have you bobbing your head along, until it closes in a grandeur way with one of the most poignant lyrics the Beatles had: "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make." It's a phenomenal way to end a phenomenal album...
...but it doesn't. A few seconds later, there comes in a little acoustic diddy that is Paul's Her Majesty, which is a simple little 20 seconds, where Paul's vocals sound very nice, even if it is completely unnecessary.
Overall, Abbey Road is definitely one of those albums that everybody has to own. There are points when it's gentle and gorgeous, times when it's heavy and hard, and times when it's just jubilant fun. Regardless of the tempo and feel, the entire album is good, even at the points when it's not genius. There's really something for everyone here. The Beatles are the greatest band ever, and regardless of which album is their best, this one simply kicks ass. So buy it. Now.
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