The Beatles. Even today, they are one of the most respected bands in the music scenario. Within a mere eight years (from 1962s
Please Please Me to the album in question), the group had managed to radically alter their style, going from sugary love-song boyband to experimentational, hippy-influenced studio group.
Abbey Road, a tribute to their second home, the Abbey Road Studios, was the groups final recorded work (although their real last album was
Let It Be, which had been recorded prior to this one).
As had happened with their last few opuses (say, from
Sgt.Peppers onward), this is an album where the separation between the groups members is clearly evident. John kept his sarcasm running high (
Polythene Pam being a good example), while Paul took care of the poppier songs, like
Maxwells Silver Hammer, and Georgewell, George was doing his thing, although mercifully there are no sitar-driven numbers on this one. Instead, he pens and performs the delightful
Here Comes The Sun and the ballad
Something. As for Ringo, he has his usual upbeat, happy number with the catchy
Octopuss Garden.
However, this is not a particularly happy Beatles album. Many of the song lyrics are sarcastic, and in fact these are the best moments on the album. Take the sequence
Mean Mr.Mustard/Polythene Pam. The first song talks about an old derelict (or, if you will, a mean old man) whose daughter
Quote:
Takes him out to look at the queen
Only place that hes ever been
Always shouts out something obscene
|
In certain ways, this song reminds you of Jethro Tulls
Aqualung, to be released a few years later. As for Polythene Pam, she is, according to John:
Quote:
|
So good looking but she looks like a man
|
Enough said, I think
Another very sarcastic track is
Maxwells Silver Hammer, about a med-school serial killer, who murders in turn a classmate, his teacher and a guard at the museum. The lyrics are hilarious and the music will stick in your head for days, making this one of the high points of this album.
But not all of
Abbey Road was about sarcasm. There were also some precursory signs of what would in a few years become hard rock. Check out
Come Together, for example, or even
I Want You (Shes So Heavy), a dragging, nearly sludgy songat a time when sludge hadnt even been invented yet! And then, of course, there was the gentle farewell call of
The End, which sounds to all the world like a thank you note from the group to their fans. Sort of like we cant carry this through anymore, thanks for everything. Its a very heartfelt, touching piece that should have closed the album, although it is followed by secret track
Her Majesty, which last a mere 23 seconds.
However, and although it definitely had its moments,
Abbey Road was far from the most consistent Beatles album. The good songs were intertwined by dull moments such as the psychedelic
Sun King. When heard as a whole, though, the album truly shines. It may not be the groups best, but its better than most of whats being done by newer groups these days.
Recommended Tracks:
Maxwells Silver Hammer
Octopuss Garden
Here Comes The Sun
Mean Mr.Mustard
Polythene Pam
The End
Final Rating: 4/5.
