Abbey Road (Vinyl) [Import, Enhanced]

 

 

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Though LET IT BE would reach the public eight months later in spring 1970, ABBEY ROAD is the Beatles' final recorded album. It may not have begun as a self-conscious farewell, but it wound up that way -- in stunning fashion.

ABBEY ROAD is considered one of the Beatles' masterpiece albums, although spoken with less reverence than either REVOLVER or PEPPER. Sure, there is still innovation found amongst these songs: synthesizers and the famous Side Two medley added the vocabulary of rock music. Further, the album presaged the seventies era of album-oriented rock with its seamless flow of songs and its polished production.

However, ABBEY ROAD lacks revelation and ambition. RUBBER SOUL, REVOLVER and PEPPER explored new sounds and its lyrics pushed boundaries. Here, only McCartney was aiming higher. He designed the medley with producer George Martin and helped arranged Lennon's stunning opener, Come Together. ABBEY ROAD is a lopsided effort, with Paul dominating and George shining (Something and Here Comes The Sun are two of his greatest songs). Meanwhile, John is content to let Paul take the lead, and studio accounts note that he contributed little to the others' songs.

The band has set aside its squabbling from the dismal White Album and Get back sessions to unite in the studio one last time. These fleeting moments created brilliant songs: Come Together, driven by Paul's voodoo bass, Ringo's precise drumming and Lennon's sharp vocal; Something, George's shining moment as a Beatle; the simple yet beautiful Here Comes The Sun; and Because which displays the Beatles' harmonies in their glory. I Want You may drag on for some listeners, but I find the groove and dynamics powerful. And again, the famous medley which breathlessly weaves scraps of old songs into a powerful sequence, starting with Paul's bitterwsweet You Never Give Me Your Money (reflecting their financial woes at Apple) and ending with the crunching guitars of The End.

On the down side, Paul's Maxwell Silver Hammer is sickly sweet and should've been replaced by the superior Come and Get It (on Anthology 3). Oh Darling! should have been sung by Lennon, though Paul makes a valiant effort. Octopus' Garden by Ringo would have made a better B-side to a single than an album track, though it's ultimately harmless.

As the only Beatles album recorded on eight-track, ABBEY ROAD would be the first candidate for a modern 5.1 remix. I've heard rumours that Apple is considering this and I urge them to follow through. To do this would further elevate a timeless album.

This is absolutely one of the most amazing things that I have ever heard in my life! Wow! With the exception of Octopus' Garden, this album is absolutely flawless. And it's not just that this album is flawless, this album just has a rare chemistry, spirit, and pulse that pushes it beyond just greatness. In the past eight months I have come to acquire five other Beatles albums because I was so impressed. They are all great, but Abbey Road stands at the top of the pack. I don't see how anyone could love music and not love this album. "Come Together" is an intense hard rocker that gets things off to a dynamic start. "Something" is one of the most perfect songs that I have ever heard. It does such an effective job of setting and projecting just the right mood for the lyrics. This love song is perfectly constructed and really pushes the listener to be wholly submerged in the artist' world while listening. "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" is another great song. The tone of the song is like that of a joyous childlike sing-a-long but the song is about a serial killer who preys on his victims with a silver hammer. This makes for a stark and striking contrast. "Oh! Darling"'s baseline is like some slow classy sophistafunk. This song starts off with an almost doo-wop feel to it, but then the guys crank it up into an intense hard rocker. This once again is extremely effective at drawing the listener into the musician's world and allowing you to completely lose yourself in the experience. "Octopus's Garden" is Ringo's contribution and it could have very well been omitted in my opinion. It's a well put together song but it just sounds out of place on this album. The next song is one of the GREATEST rock songs that I have ever heard. The way the singer sings the same notes that he plays right in tune with the guitar is very Hendrix-like. John Lennon completely pulls you into his world for this one and it makes for quite an intense and ultimatley cathartic experience. "Here Comes the Sun" is a beautiful and sunny song with a really optimistic undertone to it. "Because" will cause you to just zone out and lose yourself in its sonic depths. The lyrics are basically a series of ironic thought provoking plays on words that have a double meaning. They basically use words in both their literal sense and their figurative sense in the same sentence: brilliant and clever! Their voices are like fine tuned instruments that blend perfectly with the other instruments to melt into a wonderful world of bliss; sucking you in until you drown. "You never give me your money" is a great song that is really like four mini songs put together. The begin piano sets the perfect mood to allow you to stay emerged after experiencing "Because". Impeccably great! It then trancsends into a much more uptempo part of the song. This part connects with another part that is also very uptempo which speaks about getting a grip on and rising above your current situation. It then ends with a sing-a-long type chorus with a great guitar solo to go along with it. "Sun King" is like a dreamy spaced out break in a sense, and this is yet another great song. Now the famouse 'suite' begins. Listening to the ending song suite is just a magnificent experience because it just feels so perfect. It feels like timeless musical masters had come up with their grand finale, which is what this is. This album earned my total and complete respect and gratitude. I am greatful that they took the time and the energy out to make this album, and that the technology was around that would allow me to be able to experience it years later. I STRONGLY recommend this album to everyone!

The Beatles' swan song Abbey Road was released in October of 1969. The album was recorded at a time of great turmoil in the band as guitarist John Lennon was fighting a crippling heroin addiction and wanted to make avant-garde music with wife Yoko Ono. As a result, bassist Paul McCartney takes command and the result, arguably the band's greatest triumph. Abbey Road starts with John's Come Together which is a great rocker. Lead guitarist George Harrison's Something follows and was the huge hit from the album and is a classic even today. Paul strikes twice with the humorous Maxwell's Silver Hammer and the ballad Oh Darling. Ringo turns up some comic relief with Octopus' Garden before the first half ends with Lennon's epic I Want You(She's So Heavy). George's classic Here Comes the Sun kicks off the second half before going into the harmony induced Because. Paul's You Never Give Me Your Money follows and is a great rocker. Next is three great short songs from John which were the surreal Sun King, the funny Mean Mr Mustard and Polythene Pam before giving way to Paul's She Came in Through the Bathroom Window. The Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End medley is the greatest album closer ever and was Paul's baby. The Her Majesty was thrown in at album's end as a curveball. Today, this album is the second best selling Beatles disc while The White Album is technically the best seller. Abbey Road went to #1 like every other album. No wonder Paul, George and Ringo love this album while Lennon hated it for reasons I can't fathom why. I have gone through copies of this album since first buying this in May of 1995. Highly recommended!

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5.0 out of 5 stars Beatles Abbey Road Vinyl
Of course one of the best album ever made by Beatles only problem vinyl had bad quality only played half of first side then took it off.Amazon refunded it good service. Read more

Published 4 months ago by Classic Vinyl

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow.
I was looking over the negative reviews for this album, and the one titled "Falls Short" really just made me want to counter it. Read more

Published on May 24 2010 by Kyle Rogers

4.0 out of 5 stars Love it!
Very happy with the transfer to vinyl, the detail is amazing. I don't understand why new music sounds so terrible in comparison, not all but most. Read more

Published on Mar 3 2010 by Jamie Irwin

5.0 out of 5 stars Abbey Road
Simply one of the greatest albums of all time. In a world of I-Pods and shuffles, sometimes we forget that classic albums need to be listned to in their entirety. Read more

Published on Feb 7 2010 by Richard Gilling

4.0 out of 5 stars The Beatles - Abbey road (1969)
Ceci est un autre excellent produit des Beatles...
A obtenir absolument dans votre collection pour les amateurs(es) pure et dure des Beatles!!!

Published on Sep 22 2009 by S. Lacroix

5.0 out of 5 stars of course its good!
so we all spent day one after 9/09 listening to our new Beatles cds. First off I have to applaud EMI for still squeezing every last dollar out of we Beatles fans. Read more

Published on Sep 12 2009 by philip freeman

5.0 out of 5 stars One of their best for a true fan
I see there are a lot of reviews of this album/CD so I won't bother with the details and nitty gritty. Read more

Published on Sep 9 2009 by A. Lovitt

3.0 out of 5 stars Penultimate album/Penultimate Diasappointment
The Beatles second last release is probably their second most disappointing record. They sure have descended from the lofty heights reached on Rubber Soul and Revolver. Read more

Published on Mar 3 2009 by Irishcan

5.0 out of 5 stars simply one of the best!
This CD is amazing. The sound is soo good. Come together starts in a thrilling way, and tuned through a 5.1 system it is heard like the best DVD. Read more

Published on Oct 2 2008 by carminaburana

5.0 out of 5 stars "Another Essential Recording By The Beatles"
In 1969,without really knowing it The Beatles were about to split but before they released two albums "Abbey Road"that same year and "Let It Be" in 1970. Read more

Published on Dec 30 2007 by Tommy Morais

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