The Beatles may still be the most successful Rock and Roll band in the world. The Fab Four are so popular as to have earned the first entry in the Encyclopedia Britannica in more than fifty (50) years. The band composed of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr in fact would have enjoyed the fiftieth anniversary of their iconic Abbey Road album cover photograph, which was taken by photographer Iain Macmillan on August 8th, 1969.
A December of 2010 listing in Rolling Stone magazine revealed the 100 Greatest Artists, with The Beatles earning top billing. The album Abbey Road in fact was voted the second best album by The Beatles in a February 2011 Rolling Stone magazine readers poll, behind Revolver (album by The Beatles).
(The album Abbey Road by The Beatles, as photographed by Iain Macmillan in August 1969).
Abbey Road as an album starts off with “Come Together“, an expansion of “Let’s Get It Together”, a song John Lennon originally wrote for Timothy Leary‘s California gubernatorial campaign against Ronald Reagan. The song has no cohesive message to it, which is well enough as the campaign it was to support ended when Leary was caught with marijuana.
The song leads into “Something,” the first song written by George Harrison to be featured as the “A-side” of a single release of two songs on one release by The Beatles. The song itself is a love song to Harrison‘s first wife, Pattie Boyd.
The album then leads into “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer,” a playful song written by Paul McCartney after the band’s trip to India in 1968. While longtime roadie Mal Evans played the anvil sound in the chorus for a song, which is the playful storytelling, not to be taken literally, of how Maxwell Edison invites a girl named Joan on a date only to strike her dead with his, Maxwell’s, silver hammer.
“Oh! Darling” is a doo-wop style song written by Paul McCartney. While John Lennon felt that he should have sung the song owing to it being more in “Lennon’s style,” though the song largely succeeds for its passion, longing and lyrics about an intense desire to get close with a lady of his, McCartney‘s, fancy.
“Octopus’s Garden” is one of two songs released by the Beatles with Ringo Starr receiving full-writing credit, though Harrison helped write the melody. The song is reportedly inspired by a trip Starr took aboard Peter Sellers‘ yacht while Starr left the band for two weeks during the sessions for The White Album. The song itself inspires feelings on being on a boat at sea.
“I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” is a prime example of what John Lennon meant when indicating that he wanted to sing Oh! Darling. The song itself is an extended take on Lennon’s love for Yoko Ono. The persistence of Progressive Rock is argued for in this New Yorker magazine article, of which I Want You (She’s So Heavy) is sometimes considered a precursor.
“Here Comes The Sun” gives us the opening song for what was the second side of the vinyl release of the Abbey Road album. Written by George Harrison, Harrison is joined by Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr on the song while John Lennon recuperated from a 1969 car crash. The song sings of optimism with themes of rebirth, akin to the early signs of spring following a snow-filled winter.
“Because” is a classically inspired foray by John Lennon, which involved playing Ludwig van Beethoven‘s Moonlight Sonata backwards. George Harrison played the Moog synthesizer while George Martin played the harpsichord at the beginning of the song. The song itself inspires a dreamlike state.
Abbey Road follows with what is considered a medley of eight short songs, starting with “You Never Give Me Your Money“. Songwriter Paul McCartney has said that the band’s disputes with Allen Klein, which per this Billboard magazine article settled in 1977. The lyrics in this meandering story of a song with piano does tell the tale of a relationship slowing coming to an end.
“Sun King” was primarily written by John Lennon, with credit also for Paul McCartney. The song shares a dreamlike quality not unlike Because. Sun King abruptly ends with the drums of Mean Mr Mustard.
“Mean Mr Mustard” grants writing credit to Lennon and McCartney. John Lennon gained inspiration for this while the Beatles traveled in India in 1968. Lennon had seen a newspaper article about a miser hiding his cash so that we wouldn’t be compelled to spend it.
“Polythene Pam” flows directly from Mean Mr Mustard, as the lyrics to Mean Mr Mustard suggest a sibling relationship. John Lennon again wrote the song, with credit shared with Paul McCartney. The feel of this song is much more classically Rock and Roll in composition and arrangement than perhaps any other on the album. Given Pam’s relation to Mr. Mustard, the notion of a polythene bag perhaps makes more sense.
“She Came In Through The Bathroom Window” with lead writing credits for Paul McCartney and credit shared with John Lennon. McCartney has said the song was inspired by people who hung around the Abbey Road studios where the Beatles recorded. Some of these people broke into one of McCartney‘s homes, thus becoming the stuff of a Rock and Roll song.
“Golden Slumbers” with lead writing for Paul McCartney comes from the poem Cradle Song in Thomas Dekker‘s 1603 comedy Patient Grissel. The song reflects a lullaby that might be sung from a mother to a young child, aiming to help the child sleep.
“Carry That Weight” moves into more of a march with horns, and almost feels like Paul McCartney continuing his snippet of You Never Give Me Your Money. Carry That Weight features unison vocals from all four of the Beatles. The song thematically gets into the difficulty the business side of being the Beatles had on all four of its members.
“The End” draws the eight mini-song medley to a close, also reflecting the last recorded song by all four of the Beatles. Naturally flowing from Carry That Weight sequentially, the heartwarming goodbye from the band is evident. Lead songwriting responsibility went to McCartney with writing credits being shared between Lennon and McCartney.
The album closes with “Her Majesty,” which lasts for 25-seconds.
Abbey Road was the last recorded album by The Beatles. Let It Be as an album was the last released. The debate over which album was last is addressed in this Rolling Stone magazine article. Personally, my heart is in Abbey Road being the last. Musically, I find much joy in the album. That there is much joy in the album and the band, empirically, is hard to dispute. Whether for nostalgia or to learn the joy for the first time, I challenge you to take another listen.
Matt – Saturday, August 10, 2019
Matt Lynn Digital 