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382 of 408 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
(2009 Update) The Crown Jewel of The Beatles Catalog, January 4, 2000
For years I accepted on faith that the best album ever made was Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. While that album remains a stunning example of the summer of love, the true trinity of the Beatles oeuvre are Rubber Soul, Revolver and Abbey Road--with the nod going to Abbey Road as the Beatles final studio album.
There is not a false note on this album. It kicks off with a forceful vocal from John Lennon on "Come Together," which is balanced by the tenderness of "Something," one of George Harrison's best songs (and only Beatles A-side single contribution). With "Because" Lennon wrote one of the loveliest melodies of his career. Even the silliness of McCartney's "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" and Ringo Starr's child-like "Octopus's Garden" exude charm and warmth from a band that was on the verge of fragmenting forever and taking some of the innocence of the sixties with them.
And then there's the side-2 suite (tracks 9-16)which still makes for powerful listening thirty years later. Sir Paul McCartney summed it all up in "The End": "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make." And so the curtain rang down on the best rock 'n' roll band in our lifetime. ESSENTIAL
Here's a brief update of the 2009 remastered release of ABBEY ROAD:
THE SONGS: There are no new songs or demos included on this rerelease. It contains only the original tracks from the 1969 release.
THE REMASTERING: This CD has been remastered from the original stereo analogue master tapes. Since this is one of the few Beatles albums to be recorded in stereo (YELLOW SUBMARINE and LET IT BE are the only other two), there is no mono version. The muffled, sometimes muddy sound of the 1987 CD issue has been replaced with a crisp, clean sound that creates an entirely new listening experience.
THE BOOKLET: There is a 16-page booklet with brief "Historical Notes" as well as "Recording Notes," which are serviceable but not overly thorough. A full eleven of the pages are devoted to photos, including three from their final photo shoot on August 22, 1969, at John Lennon's home at Tittenhurst Park. Also, of historical note, are several proofs from the ABBEY ROAD cover shoot.
THE MINI-DOCUMENTARY: First of all, anyone expecting a VH1 Behind the Music-style documentary will be sadly disappointed. The video runs less than four minutes and contains very little actual video. There is some footage used from the "Something" promotional video. Otherwise it is all still photos. [Although there is some clever computerized gimmickry used to make it appear as if the Beatles are actually walking across the pedestrian crossing in front of Abbey Road Studio.] The documentary also includes voice-over commentary from McCartney, Harrison, Starr and producer George Martin. As for the music, there is a snippet of a demo of "Come Together." Otherwise, only samples of final take versions are heard. [Total running time - 3:46. Note: You will need QuickTime to view this on your computer.]
THE CD CASE: The cardboard CD case is not ideal for two reasons: First of all, it's a trifold case so it will not lay flat and it will be more prone to wear. Secondly, the CD is awkward to get out of the slipcase without touching the recorded side of the disc.
THE VERDICT: Ignore the naysayers. Buy this album. It's like hearing the album for the first time!
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500 of 543 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What planet are these guys from?, August 17, 2000
Until recently, the only thing I knew about The Beatles' "Abbey Road" was the goofy album cover where all four band members are crossing the street. Now I consider it one of the best, most innovative rock 'n' roll albums ever released. And I mean innovative and fresh by today's standards, not just the standards of the late 1960s. These guys practically invented the art of making melodic rock music, and they certainly weren't afraid to experiment with sounds and ideas.
"Abbey Road" offers something for everybody; a 90-year-old senior citizen could enjoy this album as easily as a 5-year-old kid. The sounds and tastes of this record are all over the map. For instance, whereas "Come Together" is a serious rock anthem with a heavy message, songs like "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" (Lennon-McCartney) and "Octopus's Garden" (Ringo Starr) are silly pop nuggets. Romance is also present, like on George Harrison's beautiful "Something" (which includes a swooning string section), and on the dramatic "Oh! Darling," where Paul McCartney belts out the lyrics in his most sincere tone. Overall, there's a boyish, innocent quality to these songs, especially lyrically, yet a sophistication to the sound and musical development. In short, the Beatles, as well as their producer, George Martin, possessed the resources, talent, musicality and what must have been a sense of finality to create one of the best records ever.
Though the Beatles were on their way out with "Abbey Road," the seven-minute-plus "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" is reminiscent of another British band on their way in back in 1969, Led Zeppelin. The song features longing lyrics and an indelibly heavy guitar riff in the style of Jimmy Page before he became a household name. Conversely, songs like "Because" and "Sun King" are positively airy and lightweight, unbelievably catchy. The Beatles thrived on hazy, dreamy songs that featured their head-in-the-cloud choruses and melting melodies, making it all seem as easy as a summer breeze.
Beginning at "You Never Give Me Your Money," the album transforms into a hot-potato medley of one sublimely melodic song after another, a shockingly creative assembly line of tracks that magically blend together, thanks mostly to producer George Martin. It's comparable to a movie score with words or a spur-of-the moment "Best of" mixture. McCartney and Lennon deserve the lion's share of credit for creating this 20-minute joyride, on the second side of one album. Despite the inevitable end of the band, the guys sound excited, joyful, happy to be alive, inspiring, a little crazy and willing to experiment on their way out.
As the music on "Abbey Road" mutates from one moment to the next -- sometimes in the space of just one song -- the lustrous sounds and sky-high choruses mix perfectly with the weightless lyrics. As the album winds down and such greats as "Mr. Mustard" and the punk-ish "Polythene Pam" rage on, the band opt to go out on a positive and touching message that truly resonates. Overall, I understand now why many have said that there are the Beatles and then there is everyone else.
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52 of 56 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The love you take, December 10, 2000
After the hardest studio sessions they've ever had to stand ("White Album" and "Get Back/Let It Be"), The Beatles knew the end was coming. So they made the effort of reuniting, despite all their differences and made one of the greatest popular music album ever recorded and listened by the human race.I have said before I prefer "Revolver" because you can get out of it a complete philosophy to your life, and the lyrics and musical experiments were never better than on that album, but I have to recognize that the production and orchestral work made with this CD can be considered as the best music The Beatles made in their whole succesful carrer. It's so removing, you can get deep emotions by the listening experience, you can feel lots of noises, like the constant presence of death and dark perceptions of the world, the optimism, the humour, the social comments, I mean... The Beatles' lyrics here are getting simpler, but more to the point. They are writing rock'n'roll again, the songs with deep and hidden meanings are gone, as are the strange but interesting instrumental arrangements and studio experiments they made in their more psychedelic albums from 1965-1967. They are PLAYING MUSIC again, that's the final gift they gave to the world. The first side of the album is a very hard-to-unify bunch of songs. "Come Together" finds John Lennon at his funkiest mood, laughing at them all, as always, and the rocky guitars (and specially the Fender Rhodes piano solo played by Paul) make the perfect dark environment this acid song needs to have. "Something" has to be the loveliest ballad ever written, its simple structure and lyrics are adorned by the expert orchestral arrangements by George Martin, the guitar solo by the singer/composer George Harrison, is stunning, as is the middle-eight. This particular track also shows The Beatles as a band, with John playing a notorious wah-wah rhythm guitar, Paul playing his bass guitar at his best (hear those chord variations!) and Ringo getting his turn at the drums. Notable. It gets into your subconscious, and it also was a big hit by the Fab-Four in 1969 (you can get a remastered version in the recently released "1" CD). "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" and "Octopus's Garden" are underrated humoristic and ironic songs. Written by Paul and Ringo respectively, they help to make the album a little lighter, and to remember those days where the music and the lyrics were not mean to be something with deep meaning, but most notably something to enjoy the experience of playing music. Plus, Ringo's lead vocal on "Octopus's Garden" is one of his best, his lyrics are intriguing and very psychedelic, making this song a pleasant surprise and one of the high points of the album. "Oh! Darling" is a lovely and heart-breaking ballad with an impressive vocal interpretation by Sir James Paul McCartney (John said he could have done it better!) and a bluesy air that can remove all the hairs in your body... "I Want You (She's So Heavy)", with its weak lyric, is no more than a great jam by the biggest band in the world (but they knew how to make it into a great rock'n'roll moment!) The final noises can REALLY scare you. George Harrison finally gets the chance to show how a good songwriter he was on this album. Apart from "Something", he wrote the best song on "Abbey Road": "Here Comes The Sun" (the opening track for side 2) which also has very good orchestral arrangements (Martin takes care of the production in both Harrisongs, and you can note it!), optimistic lyrics and the brilliant acoustic guitar work that George made by himself. It can really blow your mind. And it's relaxing and lovely. After that, the album gets a spirit of unity and you can't realize where does a song finish or another begins: "Because" is the Lennon version of Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata", and shows the greatest vocal performance ever made by John, Paul and George in 9 voices! The lyrics are intriguing, and the electric harpischord (played by George Martin) with the Moog Synthesiser (played by George Harrison!) make the song sound even more electrifying! "You Never Give Me Your Money" is the first part of a McCartney medley, with a complex structure, brilliant guitar moments, and... ask Paul what he's singing about. Then, there is the medley: "Sun King", "Mean Mr.Mustard" and "Polythene Pam" are John's songs, beautifully arranged and almost always accompanied by Paul on backing vocals. Then there is "She Came In Through The Bathroom Window", a lovely and intriguing acoustic/pop/rock song. All of those songs are unified and glued to each other so you can't really define which is which... And then, they wave goodbye. "Golden Slumbers" sends you to sleep in a quiet but removing mood. "Carry That Weight" is sung by the four of them, and in "The End"... the love you take is equal to the love you made. The drum solo by Ringo and the three guitar solos (by Paul, George and John, in that order) are the oportunity they have to say goodbye to the world. They do it, and it's simply thrilling. I mean, listen to them: they are a BAND again! And when you think it's all over, "Her Majesty", a very strange but simple song by Paul closes the album. They have made it at their best, and they know a door is closed, and a new time begins... So they have made it perfectly. They were capable of give the world the best music, and when they felt the work was finally done (with this masterpiece), they left. And the love they took was equal to the love they made. This album IS pop & rock absolute perfection. Buy it and enjoy it. It's hard to take it off from your stereo. (P.S.: If some fans want to review the album with LONG texts, leave them. Sometimes is necesarry to open your mind and listen to another points of view. Just be patient...)
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