After the laborious disorganisation and infighting that characterised early 1969's LET IT BE sessions (as famously captured on film), the fractious four were willing to let George Martin take the reins and to work with him as a cohesive unit for the much more succinct production of their (and the decade's) swan song, ABBEY ROAD. The superb performances make the album an artistic high point for all members of the group. Paul McCartney inspired the suite of songs that begins with "You Never Give Me Your Money". Often thought of as two long medleys, the songs that fill most of the second half of ABBEY ROAD segue seamlessly into one another, but are programmed as separate CD tracks. George Harrison had his first A-side on a Beatles' single ("Something"); John Lennon contributed a pair of heavy rockers ("Come Together" and "I Want You"); and Ringo Starr's "Octopus's Garden" was a favourite with children.

Aug 2006

The first Beatles album I ever heard, and one of rock music's grandest statements, Abbey Road offers something for everyone, from the utterly sublime ("Golden Slumbers") to the enjoyably ridiculous ("Octopus' Garden", “Maxwell's Silver Hammer”). In addition, “Something” and “Here Comes The Sun” set up George Harrison's finest hour, as both songs were remarkably melodic and touching testaments equal to anything that Lennon or McCartney had ever done. While Lennon, not to be outdone, contributed the uniquely catchy “Come Together”, the powerful blues epic “She's So Heavy”, and the simple but beautiful ballad “Because”, yet another showcase for the band's brilliant harmonies. Ultimately, however, this album is Paul McCartney's biggest triumph. Simply put, the 15-minute melody heard on the latter part of the album, features a grandly epic sweep that is as majestic as any popular music that has ever been recorded, and “Oh! Darling”, a piano-based R&B rocker, is also terrific.

Abbey Road was a glorious last gasp of musical genius before the band broke up. My favourite Beatles album, giving "Revolver", one of the Beatles strangest and most beloved albums a run for it's money, as contender for inclusion on any meaningful “greatest albums of all-time” list. Abbey Road was a signature album for the Beatles, not least because of the impact it had on the band's future, ensuring them their place in history, as one of the greatest bands of all time - both lyrically and musically.

Julieanne Hill, HMV Belfast, Donegall Arcade

• Q (6/00, p.78) - Ranked #17 in Q's "100 Greatest British Albums" - "The last Beatles LP to be recorded...it [has] extremely well-drilled and elaborate song structures....the quick-fire 8 track medley starting with 'You Never Give Me Your Money' and ending with 'The End' is unprecedented in rock..."
  Down Beat (1/22/70) - 4 Stars - Very Good - "...What is it that makes the Beatles so likeable? Maybe it's that they never seem to strain for effects yet are meticulous craftsman; that their humor, even when rather gruesome ...is never offensive; that their satire is never malicious; their lyricism never maudlin, but their work still has punch and conviction...genuine musicality and poetic imagination..."

ABBEY ROAD, recorded in the summer of 1969, was the last album recorded by the Beatles (LET IT BE was released in 1970, but recorded in early '69).
The Beatles: Paul McCartney (vocals, guitar, keyboards, bass); John Lennon (vocals, guitar, keyboards); George Harrison (vocals, guitar, synthesizer); Ringo Starr (vocals, drums, percussion).
After the laborious disorganization and infighting that characterized early 1969's LET IT BE sessions (as famously captured on film), the fractious four were willing to let George Martin take the reins and to work with him as a cohesive unit for the much more succinct production of their (and the decade's) swan song, ABBEY ROAD. The superb performances make the album an artistic high point for all members of the group. Paul McCartney inspired the suite of songs that begins with "You Never Give Me Your Money." Often thought of as two long medleys, the songs that fill most of the second half of ABBEY ROAD segue seamlessly into one another, but are programmed as separate CD tracks. George Harrison had his first A-side on a Beatles' single ("Something"); John Lennon contributed a pair of heavy rockers ("Come Together" and "I Want You"); and Ringo Starr's "Octopus's Garden" was a favorite with children.

No other band has had quite the same impact as the four lads from Liverpool. Over the course of eight years and more than a dozen albums, the Beatles changed popular music and culture forever, spearheading the 1960s British Invasion and shaping rock & roll along the way. Along with their amazing musical output and unprecedented world-wide celebrity, John, Paul, George, and Ringo were responsible for many pop music revolutions, major and minor--writing their own material, pushing the limits of the studio, making films of their music, printing song lyrics on albums--that today are taken for granted. Although the Beatles disbanded in 1970, their artistic legacy is permanently ingrained in the entire world's musical vocabulary.