Second, he was also known to jump headlong into something, & when it didn’t meet his liking, abandon it & jump headlong right into something else (the Maharishi is just one prime example). You have to consider the circumstances, time-frame & mind-set.įirst, John was known to be quick to comment & say things he didn’t necessarily mean. Just because a conversation is captured on tape doesn’t make what was said on it the Gospel. 8, 1969 meeting at Apple discussing a possible post-“Abbey Road” LP is not as revelatory or as “history-changing” as some may think.
On Abbey Road they show that studio tricks aside, they had it, in each and every area. As great as the Beatles were from the start, they obviously improved in some areas. Aside from a couple of Billy Preston and Eric Clapton appearances, these guys did everything. The musicianship on this record is really incredible. McCartney and Lennon’s and Harrison’s bass and lead work on I Want You is incredibly intense. Harrison’s guitar then takes Octopus’s Garden from being something humdrum to meriting inclusion on the Blue Album (questionable though it may be–Ringo needed a credit). At the end where Lennon yells “Yeah, and Harrison starts off with a high pitched discordant twang, that is now his signature, no words. Both are great, but Harrison’s performance here is unearthly. Compare this version, to Lennon’s forgive-me version for not giving Chuck Berry credit on Rock and Roll Songs.
Harrison’s solo on the first song on side one, You Can’t Catch Me is both scary and astonishing. If Revolver was the album where the playing first really started coming together for the Beatles, then Abbey Road was the album that proved that these guys were no mere songwriters or lyricists.įrom Harrison’s incipient slide work throughout, to the amazing solos by all four at the end, the playing (and performances in general) on Abbey Road is hard to top. Abbey Road almost seems to be taken for granted. It is interesting to compare the depth of articles written here for the various albums. Well, thank you Paul! John always said that he hated that second side of half finished tracks thrown together, maybe a little jealousy on his part? Indeed, Paul’s bass playing overpowers almost every track…in a good way! I’ve also read tat Paul was primarily responsible for the second side of segued tracks. Although I do think that it’s Paul’s bass playing that makes the song along with Billy Preston’s playing. If that’s true than he did it right! I dare say that it surpassed anything ever done by any “heavy” band including the great Led Zeppelin. When it slides from “Polythene Pam’ into “She Came in through the Bathroom Window” and kicks back into “You Never Give Me Your Money” during “Carry That Weight” it makes me wish I was a Beatle just so I could claim that level of genius! I’ve read that “I Want You (she’s so heavy)” was written by Lennon to align himself with the new emerging heavy/progressive bands like Led Zeppelin. The second side suite or medley, whatever you wanna call it, is the single most inspiring entity in rock history that there is! It’s like a Beethoven symphony with each movement by a different composer. Even the Ringo track is a masterpiece (probably due to Harrison’s imput) but a masterpiece none-the-less. The greatest album ever recorded, composed, conceptualized, performed and produced! Every track is a jewel. However, the group members denied that they intended to split after its completion, despite a realisation that their time together was drawing to a close. It is commonly thought that The Beatles knew that Abbey Road would be their final album, and wanted to present a fitting farewell to the world. Coming after the difficult Let It Be sessions, the group pulled together for Abbey Road, a final collection of songs that rank among their best. The Beatles’ last-recorded album was a triumph. ‘Come Together’ ‘Something’ ‘Maxwell’s Silver Hammer’ ‘Oh! Darling’ ‘Octopus’s Garden’ ‘I Want You (She’s So Heavy)’ ‘Here Comes The Sun’ ‘Because’ ‘You Never Give Me Your Money’ ‘Sun King’ ‘Mean Mr Mustard’ ‘Polythene Pam’ ‘She Came In Through The Bathroom Window’ ‘Golden Slumbers’ ‘Carry That Weight’ ‘The End’ ‘Her Majesty’