The Beatles’ “Abbey Road” could’ve easily merely been an odds-and-ends collection from a band on its last legs. Instead, history has greeted it as one of the most successful albums by one of the greatest bands of all-time. Highly inventive, at times giddy with joy, and showcasing the talents of all four of its members, “Abbey Road” appears to be the ultimate document of Beatle creativity.
But, does “Abbey Road” merely benefit from good press? Are all the good reviews just the result of the band’s mythology, and was I wrong when I named it the best album by The Beatles when raking their records in a previous article? These are questions that I’m looking to answer today.
The Beatles Get Back and Prepare to Get Gone
By 1969, all was not well in The Beatles’ camp. To be fair, trouble had been brewing for some time. Ever since the death of their manager, Brian Epstein, in 1967, the band, and especially the business around it, had been rather rudderless. At that point, The Beatles had retreated to Rishikesh, India, and delved into mysticism.
The work continued to be great. Indeed, in some ways the group had progressed with each new release. But the heavy work schedule had only helped grow the divide between them.
They weren’t exactly kids anymore either. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison were all married now and preparing to start families of their own. Spouses, Yoko Ono or Linda McCartney, would be routinely present at many of the band’s recording sessions.
However, as the excellent documentary “Get Back,” made by Peter Jackson in 2021, showed, the musicians were in pretty good spirits by the time they returned to Abbey Road Studios in February 1969. It made sense, though. Nothing could’ve been worse than their previous sessions for “Let It Be” in the cold, lonely Twickenham Film Studios.
“Abbey Road” Review
“Abbey Road” should be viewed as something of a miracle, especially knowing now how much the same group of musicians struggled to gel or to find suitable songs for the “Let It Be” sessions.
In contrast, everything flows smoothly on “Abbey Road,” and even shorter tunes, which would’ve been throwaways in other times, find their way excellently onto the Side B suite.
In fact, while half the length as “The White Album,” “Abbey Road” feels just as dense with ideas. Finally, The Beatles had pulled off what they’d wanted to do for years – represent their individual personalities while still being in a band.
There’s plenty of John Lennon on Side A. He’s at his best not overthinking matters. “Come Together” contains surreal lyrics played over a Chuck Berry riff for which he’d soon get sued. “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” is an incredible study of rock minimalism.
Paul McCartney delivers the sweetness and one of his very best vocal performances on “Oh! Darling” and on the unfairly maligned “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer,” an “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” childlike singalong that never quite became the single its author hoped it could be.
Most notably, George Harrison fully comes into his own as a songwriter. In many ways, his talents lead the spotlight away from John and Paul and toward him on the ageless “Something” and “Here Comes the Sun,” which begins Side B.
And, the most charming of The Beatles gets his moment in the Sun as well. “Octopus’s Garden” is Ringo Starr’s first composition and a far more representative tune than “Yellow Submarine” was.
The Side B “Abbey Road” Suite
Side A of the album gave every member what they wanted. But it’s on Side B, after “Here Comes the Sun,” where The Beatles show that, as late as 1969, they were still a band and mighty good one at that.
Left with pieces of songs and unwilling to work them to death, McCartney and the band string them into one musical suite. Progressive-rock bands like Yes or Genesis would take ample inspiration from this approach. But it’s still The Beatles who do it most convincingly.
This is, in a great deal, due to the breadth of their work. “Because,” with its three-part harmonies, is one of the most ethereal, beautiful pieces of music recorded by the band.
But there’s humor too here, such as in Lennon’s surreal character portraits of “Mean Mr. Mustard” and “Polythene Pam.” There’s comedy in McCartney’s “She Came in Through the Bathroom Window” and “You Never Give Your Money,” but also extraordinary musical complexity as Macca zaps through sophisticated piano chord shapes.
“Golden Slumbers” and “Carry the Weight” seem to reference the imminent breakup of the four friends from Liverpool. But “The End,” with the musicians trading guitar solos and singing a mantra of love, is a nice, optimistic line on which to end things.
And, the 23-second hidden track, “Her Majesty” is there to remind us that, after all, The Beatles were four lads with guitar and drums singing songs. The world would go on even after the band was gone.
Legacy of “Abbey Road”
Alt77 called “Abbey Road,” the best Beatles album ever made. I stand by those words. Most other publications will include it on lists of their very best albums.
The album was, predictably, very successful upon its release. It has remained so ever since. “Abbey Road” has sold nearly 20 million copies worldwide. “Here Comes the Sun,” alone, has been streamed nearly 1.5 billion times on Spotify.
It was released as the penultimate studio album by The Beatles but was, for all intents and purposes, the final time that the quartet made music together.
Consequently, the album developed its own strange mythology. The album artwork, featuring the four members walking on the zebra crossing that leads to the studio building, has been replicated many times. Fans recreate the image daily in London and the crossing is streamed online daily.
The artwork also launched the long-lasting rumor that Paul McCartney died in 1968 and was replaced with a stand-in. Conspiracy theorists took apart clues related to the lyrics, and even the license plate of the car on the front cover to substantiate their claims.
And, apart from all the fame, accolades, and controversies, “Abbey Road” remains an incredible example of the creativity of four working-class lads from Liverpool who conquered their world on a message of peace and on the strength of their original songs.
