The Beatles - Abbey Road (Album)

While Let It Be was the final Beatles album released (in 1970), Abbey Road was actually the final Beatles album to be recorded (it was recorded and released in 1969.)

This album is considered by many Beatles fans to be their best. It's highly lauded for it's exemplary sound quality (it was the first Beatles album recorded entirely on 8 track rather than 4 track) and the "suite" on side two.

While it's not my personal favorite (I'd have to go with The White Album) I certainly agree that it's a fantastic album and I understand why so many pick it as their favorite. I also think it's absolutely amazing to consider that this stunning album was the last the band recorded. Can any other band make a claim to going out on such an incredible peak?

The band had shelved the Let It Be (originally "Get Back") project in '69 and there didn't seem to be much chance of the band getting back together and recording another great album. 

But Paul McCartney dialed up George Martin and asked him if they could do another album together "like the old days" and after Martin got an assurance that they were serious about this they went to work recording Abbey Road. 

The album features highlights from all of the members of the band from the suite on side two (mostly McCartney's work with the help of Martin) to the two fantastic George Harrison songs ("Something" and "Here Comes The Sun") to John Lennon's "Come Together" and "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" (and his great contributions to side two) to Ringo's finest effort as a songwriter ("Octopus's Garden" with an assist from Harrison.) 

1. "Come Together" - One of The Beatles most popular songs (it's currently their most played song on the Last.FM website where The Beatles are currently the #1 played artist even though they haven't recorded an album in over 40 years!) John's great lyrics and vocal delivery are combined with one of the coolest bass parts in rock history courtesy of Paul McCartney to make a truly memorable track. Ringo's drums sound great on this one too. Oh yeah, and I totally dig George's guitar licks as well. Forgive the stupid pun, but The Beatles really did come together on this one. What a fantastic album opener. 
2. "Something" - George Harrison was always treated as a bit of a second tier guy after the Lennon/McCartney songwriting team but on this album he really brought it with two absolutely glorious songs. This has to be one of the most perfect recordings ever. Just a stunning love song. Another great bass line from Paul too.
3. "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" - This is an easy song to hate, especially considering the brilliance of the two songs it follows but I've always found it quite charming. I think it's great how Paul combined these lyrics about a deranged serial killer with this very upbeat tune. I think to really "get" this song you have to understand how tongue in cheek the whole thing is.
4. "Oh! Darling" - This Paul contribution has always knocked my socks off. What a fantastic vocal. It's got this great smoky night club sound. One of my favorite Beatles songs to sing along with. 
5. "Octopus's Garden" - While a lot of people don't like "Maxwell's..." I'm much more likely to hate on this song. It feels like a rewrite of "Yellow Submarine" to me but, that said, there are enough bits in here to keep it interesting (the guitar leads and the backing vocals.) I do feel bad hating on it, because it's certainly a much better effort than Ringo's first try at songwriting ("Don't Pass Me By" on The White Album.)
6. "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" - I love the many shifts in style throughout and the glorious noise build-up at the end. It really showcases The Beatles as musicians which is a pretty rare thing in their discography. And certainly there is no other song by The Beatles like this one. Which brings me to a delicious point when listening to these first six songs you really can't say that any of them resembles the others in any way. There are so many bands out there where each song sounds just like the last, I think that's a big part of what makes The Beatles albums so endlessly rewarding. The great variety in the styles of music that they contain. 
7. "Here Comes The Sun" - I can't imagine a more perfect song to follow up "I Want You (She's So Heavy.)" I realize that when this album was put together they were thinking about LP sides and this one opens side two, but I actually think it works even better running together with the way the intensity builds up with more and more white noise and suddenly stops on track 6 and then leads into the beautiful intro of this song as track 7. 
8. "Because" - They're at it again with the unique songs. There is no other Beatles song remotely like this one. Actually, I can't think of any pop/rock song by any artist that sounds anything like "Because." The vocal harmonies are heavenly.
9. "You Never Give Me Your Money" - This song begins the "suite" (you hear musical ideas from this song repeated later.) I think it gets overlooked as a song in it's own right because of the way it's fitted into this suite, I think it's one of the band's most underrated songs. 
10. "Sun King" - Another song that I feel is very underrated. And it's another song that doesn't really sound like any other Beatles song (the end of it reminds me of  The Doors a lot.)  I love the dreamy psychedelic quality of it.
11. "Mean Mr. Mustard" - John Lennon was quoted as saying he didn't care much for the suite on side two, but I really love these little "unfinished" sounding songs he wrote that were fitted into it. There's such a great energy to them. 
12. "Polythene Pam" - I love the lyrics ("you should see her in drag dressed in her polythene bag.") I can't really think of Mr. Mustard or Polythene Pam without thinking of the other. It's great that the "suite" idea let these little nuggets be heard. They may not be much as far as a completed song on their own, but within this context they work perfectly. 
13. "She Came In Through The Bathroom Window" - I love singing along with this one. I think it works on it's own (more than the three previous tracks and the four tracks that come after) but it's even better within the context of the suite.
14. "Golden Slumbers" - Another great song to sing. Man, I love this one. 
15. "Carry That Weight" - You can hear the bits from "You Never Give Me Your Money" in this which nicely ties the whole thing together. 
16. "The End" - Excellent way to end an excellent album. I love the guitar solo exchanges between the three guitar playing Beatles (Paul, then George, then John.) The ending lyric is quite beautiful. 
17. "Her Majesty" - This little 23 second track was included by accident originally. Some say it detracts from the poetic end of "The End" but to me it's perfect the way it's tacked on at the end. It shows The Beatles had a sense of humor. That they weren't about taking themselves too seriously. Plus it's a great little tune, I've always loved it. 

While Abbey Road has always been the most "modern" and "smoothest" sounding Beatles album, it sounds even more exquisite in the newly remastered version (released in 2009) included in The Beatles in Stereo Box Set. 

Like Let It Be, this album was never mixed in mono and thus was not included in the mono box set.