The Beatles only existed from 1962 to 1970 recording 12 studio albums. Abbey Road, their 11th studio album, is surely their best work and it represents the sum of all their work, from the Cavern Club, touring the US to their many solo side projects. Coming after the Saville Row rooftop ‘Get Back’ concert The Beatles insisted on getting back to basics with George Martin at the helm.  Abbey Road emerged and was released on September 26, 1969, in Great Britain. Lennon left the band shortly after, largely unannounced.

For me, this is an almost perfect album, with a rhythm and love unsurpassed anywhere else. The love is summarised at The End with the lyric;

And in the end
The love you take
Is equal to the love you make.

George Harrison’s, Something finally established him as an artist in the band, paving the way for his first solo album All Things Must Pass, the following year.  By the way, if you can find Seal’s cover of this track, Something, search it out and listen to it, it is mesmerising. I can’t find it online.

The B Side famously features ‘The Long One’, a Medley of 8 tracks from You Never Give Me Your Money to The End.   A bunch of unfinished songs knitted together by George Martin and Paul McCartney.  It is simply beautiful, way more than the sum of its parts, and all the better for leaving Your Majesty out of it, ending the album with a joke about the Queen! The idea that Lennon was less than complimentary about the second side is such a shame.

Last year the Liberty Ships covered the melody in this epic performance.

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Track Listing, Abbey Road

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

The Melody is in bold.

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Album – Abbey Road
Artist – The Beatles
Record Label – Apple
Producer – George Martin
Favourite Tracks – Something, Here Comes the Sun, Because, Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End
Released – September 26, 1969 in Great Britain
My Rating – 9.7
Time – 47m, 20s
Tracks – 17
Genre – Pop Rock
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Source – Giles Martin’s 3LP 50th Anniversary Edition, Vinyl on Cambridge Audio ALVA TT V2, MC fixed line out
Player/Streamers/DAC/Preamplifier – Naim NSC 222 with NPX 300 PSU
Interconnect – Atlas Mavros Interconnect with Grun
Power Amplifier – Moor Amps Angel 6
Loudspeaker Cable – Atlas Mavros with Grun
Loudspeaker – Kudos Titan 505
Next Album – 150 – The Bees Gees, Odessa