1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: 165. The Beatles – Abbey Road (1969)

 

This is almost a “posthumous” Beatles Album since Lennon left before it was released (but presumably came back to do their last one, Let It Be). But it’s pretty good, probably the most sophisticated in terms of production. Everything sounds more full and rounded than earlier albums, suggesting not only a maturity in songwriting, but also technology in making and recording music.

The Moog synth features a bit (in the lengthy and almost prog-rock I Want You for example), there are guitar solos, and even a pretty good drum solo from Ringo during The End. Normally he’s the reliable work horse of the rock drummer pantheon. Not as flamboyant as Ginger Baker or John Paul Jones, not as dextrous as Neil Peart, but he usually does a good job by going unnoticed. So it’s nice to hear him get a bit of limelight.

He also has another underwater-themed composition, the optimistic Octopus’s Garden, where all is welcoming and peaceful. And actually, it’s musically pretty good.

Harrison provides a couple of belters – Something, and Here Comes The Sun (the most streamed Beatles song ever). But what stands out is the medley at the end, some parts of which are vignettes of characters like Mister Mustard and Polythene Pam, that would fit on Sergeant Pepper, but really it’s Golden Slumbers/Carry That Load/The End that really showcases the four’s talent.

And I can’t finish without mentioning the iconic cover. Imagine how annoying and persistent the fan speculation about why McCartney is barefoot would get if the Internet had existed back then.

And how many times a day do the residents of Abbey Road get annoyed at tourists recreating the photo?