Release Date: September 26, 1969
Side One
Come Together (Lennon)
Something (Harrison)
Maxwell’s Silver Hammer (McCartney)
Oh! Darling (McCartney)
Octopus’s Garden (Starkey)
I Want You (She’s So Heavy)
Side Two
Here Comes the Sun (Harrison)
Because (Lennon)
You Never Give Me Your Money (McCartney)
Sun King (Lennon)
Mean Mr. Mustard (Lennon)
Polythene Pam (Lennon)
She Came In Through the Bathroom Window (McCartney)
Golden Slumbers (McCartney/Dekker)
Carry That Weight (McCartney)
The End (McCartney)
Her Majesty (McCartney)
Note On Song Authorship: Credit is given according to the primary writer of the song (even though Lennon and McCartney songs are official credited to both).
Abbey Road was the last album recorded by the Beatles before the group split up (Let It Be was not released until the spring of 1970, but nearly all of it had been recorded in early 1969). While the band was falling apart, they managed to pull together one last time and come up with yet another masterpiece, one that is almost universally ranked among the best albums of all time, along with Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and The Beatles (aka The White Album).
By the time Abbey Road was recorded, John Lennon’s relative apathy toward the group had left Paul McCartney as the group’s de facto leader. Paul asked the group’s long-time producer George Martin, who had distanced himself from the Get Back sessions that would ultimately end up being released as Let It Be, to come back and help them make one more album. McCartney and Martin wanted to link the songs together in a suite, as had been done for some tracks on Sgt. Pepper. Lennon, who was less interested in heavy production and concept albums, disagreed, wanting each track to be separate. In the end a compromise was reached, with side one the way John wanted and side two the way Paul and George Martin wanted it.
While Abbey Road may not be quite as strong song for song as Revolver, have had the historical impact of Sgt. Pepper, or cover as much ground musically as The Beatles, it outdoes even these albums in certain respects. For one thing, the individual Beatles reached a peak in their playing on this album, with all four delivering outstanding performances. The production is seamless; no other Beatles album can quite equal this one in terms of sheer sound quality. The album comes across as a unified effort, even if this was something of an illusion (rarely were all four Beatles together in the studio at the same time). And while the songs might not all reach the almost impossible standard set by those on Revolver, it comes pretty close, with all the songs being good and some among the best the group ever wrote. George Harrison in particular contributed two of the best songs on the album after years of playing second fiddle to John and Paul. The medley on side two was brilliantly conceived and executed, with Paul in particular putting in some brilliant work. Despite having drifted away slightly, John contributed several great tracks, and Ringo (with some uncredited help from George) contributed his second composition for the group and recorded his first drum solo. The album also features the first ever hidden track. Finally, there is the iconic album cover (the basic concept for which was originally sketched out by Paul) that has been imitated countless time by numerous artists, not to mention tourists who can be seen daily trying to replicate it at the crossing on Abbey Road in London outside Abbey Road Studios (which was originally named EMI Studios but was renamed in 1970 after the album).
Producer George Martin supposedly said that Abbey Road was his favorite Beatles album. Both Paul and Ringo spoke positively about it, with Ringo saying he particularly liked the medley on side two and also saying that it and The White Album were his favorites. John, on the other hand, said he liked side one but was dismissive of side two. George said at the time of release that he thought it was very good. For my part, while I might not go as far as George Martin (I would give Revolver the edge by a narrow margin), I certainly regard Abbey Road as one of the very best Beatles albums – maybe even a little better than Sgt. Pepper and The Beatles, or at least equally good – and therefore one of the best popular music albums of all time. Both the separate songs on side one and the suite on side two work great, with even the lesser songs being well done and the medley building to a great climax that served as a fitting "End" (so to speak) to the Beatles’ recording career as a band and an inspiration for numerous artists that came after them.
Abbey Road Song by Song
Come Together: This funky classic from John starts off the album off with a bang. The lyrics may be nonsense but they’re good nonsense, and the song really grooves, with Paul putting in some great bass playing. The song is deservedly one of the best known on the album.
Something: George delivered his first big hit with this much covered love song, his first to be released as the A side of a single. While I personally prefer a few of the other songs he wrote for the group, this was definitely a great one, and was yet more evidence that he could write songs that were as good as those of John and Paul. At the time it came out, Paul said it was his favorite song on the album, and it later became a standard, covered by numerous artists, including Frank Sinatra, who called it “the greatest love song of the past fifty years”.
Maxwell’s Silver Hammer: This song of Paul’s got a mixed reception, not only from critics and fans, but also John and George (in their case partly due to the time Paul made them spend working on it). While it’s far from the best song Paul ever wrote and it is slightly weaker than most other tracks on the album, it’s playful and well performed, so it makes a decent album track.
Oh! Darling: This soulful track from Paul is one that even John praised as “great”, though he thought he could have sung it better. This may be true, because it was more John’s style, but Paul turns in an impressive performance nonetheless. This is possibly my favorite song on the first side.
Octopus’s Garden: This is the second of the two songs Ringo wrote for the Beatles (George seemingly gave him a hand on it, though he wasn’t credited). It’s a pleasant sing-along that works well as a children’s song. I wouldn’t rank it among the better tracks on the album, but it is a solid album track, much like “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer”.
I Want You (She’s So Heavy): This song of John’s is perhaps the heaviest track the Beatles ever recorded, as well as the longest (excluding the sound collage “Revolution 9”). Lyrically it’s an exercise in minimalism, with only twelve words, but musically it is a powerful wall of sound, featuring some great playing by each member of the band. The way it builds up and then cuts off suddenly, bringing side one to the end, is also cleverly done.
Here Comes the Sun: George’s second contribution to the album has also become a classic. A beautiful acoustic guitar based song, it is one of the best songs on the album and one of the best George ever wrote.
Because: This song of John’s has some great harmonies sung by John, Paul and George. George said it was his favorite track on the album and Paul also rated it highly. It’s certainly John’s best song on side two.
You Never Give Me Your Money: An excellent melodic track from Paul combining several different bits. The lyrics refer to the money problems the Beatles and their company Apple were going through. This song, "Here Comes the Sun" and the closing medley are the peaks of side two.
Sun King: The next song in the medley was this one of John’s, which he called “a piece of garbage”. In fact it’s not a bad song and has some interesting bits, though it is probably the weakest track on the album.
Mean Mr. Mustard: John also called this one of his “garbage”, but in fact it’s a good song, though not the greatest thing on the album. It certainly is effective in the medley and leads directly into…
Polythene Pam: Almost like a second part to “Mean Mr. Mustard”, this song of John’s is another short little rocker that may not be much in and of itself, but sounds good in the medley.
She Came In Through the Bathroom Window: Though John’s “Polythene Pam” segues directly into it, this rocker is one of Paul’s, and it’s a very good one. Like in the case of “Come Together”, the lyrics are cool-sounding nonsense. In at least one rehearsal of the song, John did the lead vocals.
Golden Slumbers: This melodic ballad by Paul opens the final medley on the album. Some of the lyrics are taken from a 17th century poem by Thomas Dekker.
Carry That Weight: This next song in Paul’s closing medley has a rousing chorus sung by all four Beatles and a middle section sung by Paul, John, and George that reprises “You Never Give Me Your Money”.
The End: The closing part of the final medley on the last album recorded by the Beatles is appropriately called “The End”. Written by Paul, it features the only drum solo Ringo recorded for the Beatles, followed by Paul, George, and John, in that order, trading guitar solos, and then ends with a final line (praised by John as “a cosmic, philosophical line”) sung by Paul. Taken together, the “Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End” medley is one of the best parts of the album, and a brilliant conclusion to the Beatles’ recording career.
Her Majesty: This 23-second long song, written and performed by Paul on acoustic guitar, is the shortest recorded Beatles song. It was also to my knowledge the first “hidden track” ever, as it was not listed on the album cover and it appeared after 14 seconds of silence that follow “The End”. It’s an amusing little song, though it’s slightly unfortunate that its presence means “The End” isn’t technically the end of Abbey Road (but perhaps as a hidden track "Her Majesty" shouldn’t really count).
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