Come together right now, over me...

In honor of John Lennon's 72nd birthday, I decided to write another Beatle-y entry, this time about Abbey Road. Even though it is the last Beatles album ever recorded, it's much more optimistic than the earlier recorded Let It Be. I bought Abbey Road during the summer before my senior year in high school and loved the entire album immediately. There's a lot of different kinds of songs featured, jumping around a bit in genres, but still unified and strong.

 

"Come Together" I'm sure is a song I'd heard before I got the album, but I didn't really know the song. It kicks off the album forcefully with the bass riff and drum beat and John's whispered "shoot me." It's got a great, bluesy feel and typical vague, seemingly nonsensical, Lennon lyrics. It's a pretty great rock song and I love the ending with the repeated "Come together, yeah" and George's super-clean guitar. "Something" is, in my opinion, one of George's best songs. There's a fabulous bass line, sweet lyrics, a clean slide guitar solo and intro, lovely sweeping orchestral backing, and a very cool drum part during the middle eight (and love that descending part taken by the bass and piano). And I know I already mentioned it, but I love the guitar solo – and slide guitar does something to me I don't know how to explain! "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" was the song I most remember singing loudly in the car with my friends, driving home from school (the chorus is a bit anthemic, after all). It's kind of a silly song – and not one that John particularly liked – in fact, I don't believe John made any contributions to the recording, aside from making Paul laugh during "writing fifty times". The song tells the tale of a guy who bashes in the heads of anyone who he feels threatened by. I like the piano arpeggios leading up to the last verse. "Oh! Darling" is kind of 1950s R&B throw back. Paul does a pretty amazing scream-y vocal performance. John does a great job on the piano and the lead guitar is fantastic as is the drumming. Pretty cool bass line, too. "Octopus's Garden" is a Ringo composition that's a fun, happy jaunt. There's a pretty awesome lead guitar part, some groovy drumming, and I dig the piano part. "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" is a very bluesy Lennon song about Yoko, with just the same lyric repeated throughout the 7 and a half minutes and has a little bit of a jam session feel. Paul contributes some great bass lines and Billy Preston is featured on organ (and he does an amazing job!). My favorite part is the "She's so heavy" bit. I also kinda dig how it ends, a repeated guitar riff, cool drumming, and then an abrupt cut, ending both the song and side A in sudden silence.
 

The B-side of this album is so fantastic – and I adore it! I think part of what gets me so excited is that I saw a Beatle cover band do the entire B-side, with "fake George" playing all three solos during "The End". It was an awesome performance – but The Beatles do a tremendous performance here. "Here Comes The Sun" is the great George track that opens the B-side of the album. It's got lovely, optimistic lyrics, an exquisite melody, and some very interesting time signatures over the bridge (Dhani mentioned that the bridge is very reminiscent of Indian music). George had really come so far as a composer by this point. There's a pretty orchestral accompaniment – I love the deep, mellow sound of violas and cellos. George Martin played the harpsichord on "Because." The choir of Beatle voices is pretty cool and I love the harmonies – particularly Paul's line. The song was influenced by Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" – worked around the chords reversed. "You Never Give Me Your Money" was instantly one of my favorite songs on the album – and one of my favorite songs to play on the piano. I initially thought it was sung by 2 different people, since I didn't recognize Paul's "Lady Madonna" voice as his. I love how the song shifts through so many styles and moods. My favorite part is when Paul segues into the swingy part – and the bass line… and then proceeding into that fantastic guitar riff – George does an amazing job here! There is so much in this song, it's hard to believe it's only 4 minutes. It's still one of my favorite Beatles tracks. "Sun King" features lush, multi-tracked harmonies and a made-up language reminiscent of Spanish. It fades into a drum fill by Ringo and is suddenly "Mean Mr. Mustard". There's some great John-Paul harmonizing and a pretty great fuzz-bass line. "Polythene Pam" is a fun song with John singing with a prominent Scouse accent. There's a nice guitar solo by George before John's "Oh, look out!" and Paul's "She Came In Through The Bathroom Window." George does some more fabulous lead guitar work and as always, Paul's bass line is exceptional. "Golden Slumbers" is a song that Paul called "Trad-Arranged McCartney" since the lyrics were based on an old lullaby. Paul plays piano, George is featured on bass, and Ringo on drums. There's a very lovely orchestral backing too. "Carry That Weight" is fantastic with its reprise of "You Never Give Me You're Money" and more great orchestra work. "The End" is noteworthy for the featured instrument solos by all 4 members of the band – and Ringo's only drum solo on a Beatles album. Of course, me being the guitar solo whore I am, I'm captivated by the guitar solos. I was so proud of myself when, in 2002 after realizing that the solos weren't played by one person, I could pick out which solo was performed by which Beatle – Paul is first, George is second, and John is last with the distorted guitar. The solos end with piano chords and the infamous line, "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make." "Her Majesty" is the hidden and final track on the album. It was originally placed between "Mean Mr. Mustard" and "Polythene Pam", but didn't work there. That's the reason for the rather abrupt beginning and ending. Paul is the only Beatle featured on this 23 second track.
 

 

All in all, it's a fantastic album that anyone who loves music should own.

 

So until next time.... Happy Birthday, John!