The Beatles - Abbey Road

I don’t think The Beatles need any introduction. They are one of, if not the most famous band there is. Their discography is one of the most recognizable and iconic among any band ever, pretty much. With that statement comes the question that is, not surprisingly, ridiculously hard to answer: What is the quintessential Beatles album? People usually never bring up the first five albums, rightfully so, I might add, as they are the more pop-oriented, commercial projects that can’t really hold a candle to the more creative and experimental second half of their discography. Yellow Submarine is barely a Beatles LP, so let’s not bring that up here. I consider Rubber Soul one of the two transitional albums they had, besides Help! and while it was certainly on the more experimental side, it was still a pop album, nonetheless. Let It Be is a highly inconsistent project and it’s considered as an afterthought in most people’s minds. Their self-titled album is extremely ambitious, super creative, but just like Let It Be, it’s all over the place and the double album format hinders its enjoyability. Magical Mystery Tour, while an excellent collection of songs, is essentially an EP with a bunch of singles attached to it that were already released and had nothing to do with the movie it ties into. That leaves us with three possible answers: Revolver, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Abbey Road. The first one is considered one of the most innovative musical projects that has ever been released, especially when we are talking about songwriting, the themes that appear on the songs and the innovative studio tricks that were used to make the sound itself. The second one is one of the first concept albums ever recorded that captured the emotions of the ‘67 counterculture movement, making it a cultural statement that the rebellious youth could get behind (while also possibly being the first theatercore album ever). And the last one is the glorious swan song of the group (even though it’s not their last album), that showed everyone that even in the biggest turmoil of their careers, they can come together (get it?) and make some of the most creative and moving art that anyone has ever made. I was on the Sgt. Pepper's bandwagon for the longest time, ever since I was a kid. It sounded the most interesting to me and it had the highest amount of replay value. Something happened recently that changed my mind. It was a Saturday night that made Abbey Road not just my favorite Beatles album, but my favorite album period.

So, I want to start by saying this: DON’T DO DRUGS OR IF YOU DO, DO IT RESPONSIBLY! Hard drugs are especially harmful, but even the lighter stuff can be problematic. I say this, because my boyfriend and I smoke weed from time to time, and we like to listen to music while we’re high. You probably shouldn’t smoke weed, BUT if you do, holy hell, please listen to The Beatles. Their stuff was made to be enjoyed while high. I mean, they were probably high themselves when they made the majority of their albums. Sure, they also used LSD and heroin, that’s most definitely not a good thing, but the music is really enjoyable while you’re high on weed, that’s for sure. I was over his place on that faithful Saturday night, and while we were smoking the Devil’s lettuce, we went through The Beatles discography, and it was a really fun time. Then we got to Abbey Road and it freaking clicked for me. I already loved the album, but for some reason, my high ass thought that it was the greatest musical experience that anyone can ever have. My boyfriend didn’t understand my reaction which is an understandable thing to think. My mind was genuinely blown. I mean, Revolver and Sgt. Pepper’s are excellent projects, interesting experiences while stoned, but Abbey Road just hit different. I thought it was the weed that caused me to feel this way, and let’s be honest, it definitely played a part, but when I woke up and relistened to It, I felt the same way. I was genuinely shocked. I couldn’t believe it. I wanted to confirm my suspicions, so I listened to my all-time favorite album ever, Company Flow’s Funcrusher Plus. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, my suspicions were confirmed: I thought Abbey Road was better than Funcrusher Plus. I had a new favorite album after 7 years of constant Company Flow domination. So, kids, if you want to find the project that you’ll love the most, smoke weed and experiment with different albums. But also, read the public service announcement at the start of the paragraph. Now, substance intoxication is not the only reason I think this is the greatest album ever made. In these next paragraphs, I will give background on the album itself and then I’ll give y’all a track by track rundown. So, without further ado, Abbey Road! Enjoy!

Abbey Road was released on 26 September 1969 in the United Kingdom and on 1 October of the same year in the United States, and it went No.1 in both countries. Although, it wasn’t the group’s last album, parts of the album were recorded after the Get Back sessions which later turned into their last project, Let It Be. The actual recording started three weeks after the Get Back sessions and it went much better and more positively than the last time they recorded together. George Martin, The Beatles’ legendary producer, wanted to produce this album the same way he produced their earlier work and he wanted everyone to strictly follow that rule. Obviously, the four of them had their issues, so it wasn’t a completely peaceful situation. The album was made how it was made because of an argument over the structure of the project. Lennon wanted to do a traditional Beatles album, so we got 8 completely unrelated tracks, while McCartney and Martin wanted to do a concept album, like Sgt. Pepper’s, and thus we got the medley on side B. There were disagreements over some of the songs too, I will talk about that when we get there. By the time the album was released, Lennon already left the group, though it was kept a secret. So yeah, it wasn’t a peaceful period at all. It was a very productive one though and the four of them and Martin all had positive memories of the Abbey Road sessions. Of course, if we talk about the background and presentation of the album, we can’t forget about the cover. The Beatles have a few iconic album covers, but Abbey Road’s cover is definitely the most recognizable of them all. It gave birth to the “Paul is dead” conspiracy, you can Google that, I can’t be bothered with that kind of stuff. It’s also an aesthetically pleasing cover, in my opinion. I think that’s adequate as far as background goes. Keep all this in mind as I present the tracks to you on this, possibly not too interesting, rundown.

Side one starts with the Lennon written Come Together. It was originally intended to be a campaign song for psychologist and LSD activist Timothy Leary, who wanted to run for the governorship of California at the time. Nothing came out of that, but Lennon rewrote that track, added other, preexistent parts to it, and that’s how this opener came to be. It borrowed elements from Chuck Berry’s You Can't Catch Me, which later turned into a copyright dispute. As far as my opinion goes, this is one of the best tracks on the album. The Beatles always start their projects with a great intro, like the political banger Taxman, the intro to the fictional Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band or the invitation to the Magical Mystery Tour. This is a bit of an outlier because it’s much more laid back with its groovy bassline and seemingly nonsensical lyrics. I really like McCartney’s backing vocals, they provide a great contrast to Lennon’s more piercing voice. I will mention this a lot during this review, but goddamn, Ringo’s drumming is on another level, it sounds so nice. It’s mixed really well too, although there is one interesting thing about that. When we hear the “Shoot Me” line, McCartney’s bass hits on the “Me” part and because of that, we only hear “Shoot”. I thought that was something worth mentioning.

The second track is the first of the Harrison written songs, Something. This, along with Come Together, were the double A-side singles released for the album, making this the first time Harrison had an A-side single. It is believed to be a love song to his first wife, though other inspirations have been brought up, even by Harrison himself. The lyrics were also inspired by fellow Apple artist James Taylor’s song, Something in the Way She Moves. This track is pretty much loved by everyone, all four of them enjoyed making it and rightfully so. It’s probably my favorite Harrison song on any Beatles album, with its simplistic but heartfelt lyrics and with one of the best guitar solos Harrison has ever done. Around this time, Harrison really started to become a great songwriter, on par with both McCartney and Lennon and this song can rival almost anything made by them on this project. Also, Billy Preston is on this track. Billy freaking Preston. If you know you know and if you don’t then, please Google the man and listen to his music, you won’t be disappointed, I guarantee you.

Up next is the McCartney sung Maxwell’s Silver Hammer. This is probably the most controversial track on the album as it was despised by all members of the group, except for McCartney, of course, and it’s generally considered the weakest song among the non-medley tracks. It’s a novelty song about a murderous student named Maxwell who commits these crimes with a hammer. It’s dark lyrically and bright and upbeat in its sounds. The two main problems that should be mentioned when we are talking about this song are the recording process and the placement of it on the album. Firstly, Paul, for some reason, wanted to perfect this song to the fullest, which pissed off everyone around him, even Ringo didn’t really like it. John hated it so much that he didn’t even appear when it came time to actually record it. Harrison said: "Sometimes Paul would make us do these really fruity songs. I mean, my God, 'Maxwell's Silver Hammer' was so fruity. After a while we did a good job on it, but when Paul got an idea or an arrangement in his head...”. John said that it was "more of Paul's granny music" and he didn’t even show up to the recording of the song. Ringo said: "The worst session ever was 'Maxwell's Silver Hammer.' It was the worst track we ever had to record. It went on for fucking weeks. I thought it was mad." And finally, Paul recalled: "The only arguments were about things like me spending three days on 'Maxwell's Silver Hammer.' I remember George saying, 'You've taken three days, it's only a song.' – 'Yeah, but I want to get it right. I've got some thoughts on this one.” So yeah, let’s just say that it wasn’t the easiest session ever. The second reason is the jarring placement of the song on the album. I mean, it comes after one of the best Lennon and Harrison songs ever made and it’s followed by an absolute banger by McCartney, Ringo’s all-time best song and one of the most innovative track The Beatles ever released. Personally, I really like this song, but even I can admit that it’s probably the worst track on Side one. I don’t really get the hate it sometimes gets, even if I can understand the reasoning behind it. McCartney was always a corny dude, he always had his novelty songs, it was just misplaced on this particular album. It’s still an excellent song, it’s catchy, it’s a fun tune in general. Most albums would love to have as great of a worst track as Maxwell’s Silver Hammer.

Sure, I defended Maxwell’s Silver Hammer, but it does hurt that an infinitely better and, in every way, superior McCartney song follows it in Oh! Darling. Interestingly, it was released as a single in Central America with Maxwell’s Silver Hammer as its B-side. It’s like a 50’s inspired rhythm and blues song with doo-wop influences. It sounded so much like the Louisiana swamp pop it may have drawn inspiration from that many New Orleans artists thought that it was a song from their area. Paul wanted it to sound like he had been performing this song on stage for weeks and he only did one take of it every day. This song was also a matter of dispute, as Lennon wanted to perform it himself saying: "'Oh! Darling' was a great one of Paul's that he didn't sing too well. I always thought I could have done it better – it was more my style than his. He wrote it, so what the hell, he's going to sing it." I really like this track, it’s simple, but very effective. Paul has a great range, and this track proves that completely. It’s a throwback, a great one at that. It’s originally from the Get Back sessions, as a lot of the tracks here are, but it was obviously re-recorded in the Abbey Road sessions. It’s a definite improvement over Maxwell’s Silver Hammer, a track that was already a great one.

For the next paragraph, let’s talk about Ringo Starr. Mr. Richard Starkey is obviously best known for being the drummer of the group, but he also contributed a song on most Beatles albums. Now, I usually dislike his tracks, mainly because they are pretty uninteresting and let’s be honest, he doesn’t have the best voice in the world, but sometimes they do work, because they have a certain charm that is just adorable. I think my three favorites of his are With A Little Help From My Friends, Yellow Submarine and this album’s Ringo track, Octopus’s Garden. They are all really sweet, charming, catchy songs that are very much made for children. Octopus’s Garden came about because of a vacation Ringo had in 1968 in Sardinia, after a boat’s captain told him about how octopuses travel along the sea bed picking up stones and shiny objects with which to build gardens. It’s also possible that it was inspired by his desire to escape the negativity and hostility that the earlier sessions have caused, later admitting: "I just wanted to be under the sea, too". Well, the song itself, just like his most famous songs, is targeted towards children. It was even covered by the Muppets multiple times. Regardless, I love this one. I always go back and forth between this and With A Little Help From My Friends as my favorite Ringo track, but it’s an undeniable hit. It probably doesn’t get as much flak from people as Maxwell’s Silver Hammer, because it was made by him, despite it also being a novelty song. This is Ringo’s best vocal performance as the double-tracked vocals work perfectly on this instrumentation. It’s light, breezy (even though it’s technically underwater) and most importantly, it sounds like a party for all. I’m in, that’s for sure.

Side one closes with I Want You (She's So Heavy), this time with Lennon on lead vocals. While this was recorded first, it was finished last as it was mixed on the last day of the Abbey Road sessions on 20 August 1969, the last time the four Beatles would ever record together. This is the longest track on any Beatles album ever, if we don’t count Revolution 9 which I definitely don’t. It’s intended to be a love song to Yoko Ono and the lyrics are deliberately simplistic and concise. This song also features Billy Preston on the Hammond organ again. This is probably the most innovative track they have done during these sessions as this song is pretty much two songs put together. The I Want You part is a blues inspired piece, very laid back in nature, while the She’s So Heavy part is a much darker piece, with a very heavy bass riff. These two parts alternate multiple times, while the lyrics don’t change at all. It’s very reminiscent of later prog rock and even some heavy metal instrumentation. The song was originally even longer, but it had to be cut because of the time’s limitations on recording tapes thus creating the sudden ending of side one. What can I say about this track that hasn’t been mentioned before? This is so unlike The Beatles, but it works perfectly. I personally don’t mind the fact that it has a hard cut, it never bothered me at all. It’s repetitive, but in a good way. It’s simple, interesting and super creative.

Side two starts with Harrison’s second song, Here Comes The Sun, in complete contrast to the dark sounding I Want You (She's So Heavy). It was written in Eric Clapton's garden in Surrey while he was avoiding to attend a monotonous and stressful band business meeting. The song itself reflects his relief from the stresses of band life and his happiness because of the arrival of spring. Interestingly, while it was never released as a single, it’s probably the most recognizable piece from the whole album. It probably helped that the lyrics captured the feeling of 1969, as it tapped into the hopefulness of the counterculture after the horrors of 1968. This is one of the most beautiful songs Harrison has ever written and it’s rightfully heralded as one of the best songs of the late 60’s. It’s as bright as the title suggests it is. It’s one of my favorite “feel good” songs ever, it’s full of positivity, light and hope. Plus, I really like spring, and this is pretty much a spring anthem. It also changes in tempo multiple times, preventing it from ever going stale or repetitive. At this point, Harrison was just as good as Lennon and McCartney as far as songwriting goes, no arguments about that. No wonder there were a lot of conflicts about the songwriting process around this time. Harrison felt like he could contribute more than the two songs he usually adds to the albums, and he was probably right. Something and Here Comes The Sun are on par with the best written songs the Beatles have ever made, so I don’t think it was unreasonable for George to think that he should have a bigger role in the group. Regardless, of all this drama, George’s contribution to this album is immense and can’t be underestimated.

The last of the non-medley songs is Because with its unique, triple-tracked harmonies of Harrison, Lennon and McCartney which then were recorded three times to make nine vocals in all. Lennon mentioned that the song’s musical resemblance to Ludwig van Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata was not a coincidence as he said: "Yoko was playing Beethoven's 'Moonlight Sonata' on the piano ... I said, 'Can you play those chords backwards?', and wrote 'Because' around them. The lyrics speak for themselves ... No imagery, no obscure references." I quite like this song, it’s pretty short, but I think it works for its benefit. The nine layers of vocals are nice sounding, it creates an ethereal, otherworldly feel that just makes it a perfect ending to this side of the album. And to this side, I obviously mean the songs with no connections to each other. It’s nice to have the three main singers contributing to the song as lead vocalists. Of course, Ringo’s not on the track, but he compensates for that on other tracks.
From here until the very end is what is known as The Long One or the medley. It’s eight tracks, 16 minutes and in my opinion, it’s the best EP that has never been released. As I mentioned before, it was McCartney’s and Martin’s idea to recreate a concept like we heard on Sgt. Pepper’s. Their idea was to make one continuous track from songs and song fragments from the Get Back/Let It Be and the White Album sessions that would appear separately on the album. Obviously, the tracks would then transition from one to another, making it appear as one song. Initially, the idea of the medley was McCartney’s, but the song structures were created by Martin who said: "I wanted to get John and Paul to think more seriously about their music".

The medley itself starts with McCartney’s You Never Give Me Your Money which combines the styles of multiple other tracks, which were recorded in earlier sessions. It can be separated into four sections: it has a piano ballad intro, a boogie-woogie inspired part, a section with arpeggiated guitars and a nursery rhyme inspired outro. The backstory to this is a pretty complicated one. Ever since their manager, Brian Epstein, died in 1967, it was pretty much McCartney’s responsibility to manage the group which was harder and harder as the years went on. The main problem that Paul had with the others was their reliance on manager Allen Klein, who was tasked to fix the group’s financial problems. McCartney later said that the song was definitely with Klein in mind and that "it's basically a song about no faith in the person". Multiple sources are disputing this fact though, as the timelines don’t seem to line up. The track was recorded on 6 May, while the major altercations between Paul and Klein happened much later. Regardless of the drama, it’s a very entertaining song, it never feels like it’s doing too much. All four parts are good individually, and they all make sense together as well. A great way to start the medley.

The next song on the medley is Sun King which has multi-tracked vocal harmonies by Lennon, McCartney and Harrison, just like Because. It also shares similarities with Here Comes The Sun, so much so that the original title of the track was Here Comes the Sun King, but it was later shortened to Sun King to avoid any confusion. As the title suggests, it’s another bright, comforting song, though this is more reminiscent of an autumn sunrise as opposed to Here Comes The Sun’s spring feel. It’s last three lines are a mix of Spanish, Portuguese and Italian that doesn’t make any sense. Lennon described it like this: “We just started joking, you know, singing 'cuando para mucho.' So, we just made up... Paul knew a few Spanish words from school, you know. So, we just strung any Spanish words that sounded vaguely like something. And of course, we got 'chicka ferdy' in. That's a Liverpool expression. Just like sort – it doesn't mean anything to me but (childish taunting) 'na-na, na-na-na!”. Harrison also mentioned in a 1987 interview that they drew heavy inspiration from Fleetwood Mac's Albatross (which is an awesome track, go check it out, if you haven’t already), saying: "At the time, 'Albatross' was out, with all the reverb on guitar. So, we said, 'Let's be Fleetwood Mac doing Albatross, just to get going.' It never really sounded like Fleetwood Mac... but that was the point of origin." The song itself serves as a break from the busy You Never Give Me Your Money and as a bridge between that and the next track.

The album continues with Mean Mr. Mustard, sung by Lennon. It was recorded as a continuous piece with the previous track Sun King and the inspiration came from a newspaper headline titled “A Mean Husband Shaved in the Dark”, which is referenced in the track itself. Lennon was pretty dismissive of the track after it was released calling it "a bit of crap I wrote in India.". It’s probably not one of John’s best, but it fits with the feel of the medley and while it’s not a highlight either, I don’t think it takes anything away from the album. Also, to make the transitions more seamless, Lennon changed Mr. Mustard’s sister’s name from Shirley to Pam as the following track is called Polythene Pam. See, Lennon cared about the medley! Well, not really, but still, it’s at least a decent gesture.

The next song is obviously Polythene Pam, also sung by Lennon. Recorded during the White Album sessions, Lennon also dismisses this song as part of the "a bit of crap I wrote in India" collection. Lennon also said that the song is apparently about: “That was me, remembering a little event with a woman in Jersey, and a man who was England's answer to Allen Ginsberg ... I met him when we were on tour, and he took me back to his apartment and I had a girl and he had one he wanted me to meet. He said she dressed up in polythene, which she did. She didn't wear jack boots and kilts, I just sort of elaborated. Perverted sex in a polythene bag. Just looking for something to write about." What the hell, John? But the song is kinda a banger, so I’ll let it slide. It also has one of my favorite transitions in any song ever when it goes to the next track.
After the perfect transition comes the McCartney written She Came In Through the Bathroom Window. It’s about exactly what you think it’s about. Someone broke in Paul’s house, who was later identified as Diane Ashley, who said: “We were bored, he was out and so we decided to pay him a visit. We found a ladder in his garden and stuck it up at the bathroom window which he'd left slightly open. I was the one who climbed up and got in.” This album is a trip when it comes to backstories, huh? I mean, we have groupies who break in to your house, polythene bag sex and a newspaper headline about a stingy, old man. It’s certainly unique, that’s for sure.

Now, we are in the final stretch of the medley and these remaining three songs are genuinely the best three songs that were ever recorded. Okay, that might be a huge exaggeration, but they are up there. We start off with the absolute beauty that is Golden Slumbers, sung by McCartney. It’s based on the poem "Cradle Song" from the play Patient Grissel, a lullaby by the dramatist Thomas Dekker. It starts off as a soft lullaby-like ballad that then turns into a stronger track thanks to Paul’s excellent vocals. Then it ends the same way it started only to transition into the next song. I mean, this is the best song on the album, hands down. The lyrics are amazing, though I talk about that later, the lines “Sleep pretty darling, do not cry/And I will sing a lullaby” brings tears to my eyes all the time. This is McCartney’s best vocal performance ever. I don’t want to debate that, it’s a fact. I count this and Carry The Weight as one song, as you should too, and it’s easily the best song/songs on the album.
Speaking of Carry That Weight, as I mentioned before, it serves as a continuation of the previous track, and it also serves as a reprise of You Never Give Me Your Money. Its middle bridge, which featuring brass instruments, electric guitar, and vocals, reprises the beginning of the song, albeit with different lyrics. The ending also reprises the arpeggiated guitars from the end of the song. Lennon was in hospital at the time, so he only contributed chorus vocals. This song feels like the outro to a movie. Sure, it’s not the last song of the album, but as I will later explain, it serves as the official ending to The Beatles. It’s an iconic track especially because of the chorus, which is sung by all four members. It makes me really emotional, but it only makes sense to listen to it in context of the medley, which is probably true for most medley tracks, maybe with the exception of You Never Give Me Your Money.

The song then segues into the official outro, The End. It’s the last song ever recorded by all four of them and it’s more of an encore to the ending of Carry That Weight. McCartney said: "I wanted the medley to end with a little meaningful couplet, so I followed the Bard (Shakespeare) and wrote a couplet." Lennon also acknowledged the fact that the song was written by Paul, saying: "That's Paul again ... He had a line in it, 'And in the end, the love you get is equal to the love you give,' which is a very cosmic, philosophical line. Which again proves that if he wants to, he can think." Of course, he misquoted the line from the song, but we get what he was trying to say. It also features the only drum solo Ringo has ever done on a Beatles project. He always disliked drum solos, but because everyone had a solo on this song, Ringo had to do a solo as well. It’s technically not a drum solo, as other instruments were playing while he was drumming, but these instruments were muted during mixing to make it seem like it’s a drum solo. It’s a nice way to end the album, as engineer Geoff Emerick later recalled: "John, Paul and George looked like they had gone back in time, like they were kids again, playing together for the sheer enjoyment of it. More than anything, they reminded me of gunslingers, with their guitars strapped on, looks of steely-eyed resolve, determined to outdo one another. Yet there was no animosity, no tension at all – you could tell they were simply having fun." Each of the three guitarist had a solo, as mentioned before. Paul played the first two bars, George played the second two and John played the third two, each of them with their unique playing styles. Then the piano chords come in, the last lines are sung and just like that, it’s over.

There are seconds of devastating silence at the end of the last track. It’s a great way to end the album. It’s cathartic, it makes you think about everything you just listened to. What a clever way to end... Wait, there’s a 23 second long hidden track called Her Majesty at the end of the album. Goddamn it, guys! Congrats on ruining the ending! This is the only thing I would change about the album. It was originally intended to be between Mean Mr. Mustard and Polythene Pam, and someone remade the medley with Her Majesty between those tracks and Jesus, it sounds awesome! It wasn’t included there, because Paul didn’t like it, he then told the engineer to just destroy the tape, but the recording studio’s policy forbids engineers to destroy anything Beatles related, so he just put it at the end of the album and Paul liked that idea, so it was kept. McCartney is a musical genius, but this decision was not great. I mean, it doesn’t ruin the experience or anything, but it just sounds so much better as a bridge between Mean Mr. Mustard and Polythene Pam. If you want to listen to the medley, and you should, then just go on YouTube where it was fixed, it’s so much better that way. Nevertheless, the album is over, and The Beatles were no more. Except for Let It Be, of course, but as I said a million times before, that was recorded before Abbey Road.
So, I want to dedicate this penultimate paragraph to the question that has been on my mind ever since I first heard the album: Is this a concept album? After reading about this project and after learning the attitudes of the members towards it, I have to say: It’s probably not a concept album, though it has themes that return in multiple tracks. I mean, the first half of the album definitely is unrelated to the medley. I think there are four tracks that kinda tie this whole project together as far as concept goes. Firstly, there’s Come Together, which is, of course based on the campaign slogan of Timothy Leary, but it ties into the attitude the four of them had coming into the sessions. That’s especially true for the chorus which goes: “Come together, right now/Over me”. The rallying cry for the band to unite one last time and to make a meaningful last album. The other three tracks that solidify the theme of the album for me are the last three songs: Golden Slumbers, Carry That Weight and The End. Golden Slumbers, while not directly about the band, is about the demise and deterioration of group, in my opinion. Especially with these lines: “Once there was a way to get back homeward/Once there was a way to get back home”, which I interpret as saying, “We might have been able to save this once upon a time, but it’s unsalvageable at this point”. The next lines “Sleep pretty darling, do not cry/And I will sing a lullaby” is about the fans and maybe about themselves too. Sure, it’s bad now, but it will get better, even if the band is over. The climax of the album is Carry That Weight that perfectly summarizes the theme of the album with the chorus: “Boy, you're gonna carry that weight/Carry that weight a long time”. I think that’s the concept of the album. The band is over, we’re all going to go our separate ways, but will we be able to ever escape the shadow of The Beatles? Will people let us grow as artists or will we have to carry the weight of being in the one of the greatest bands of all time? Will our work be compared to the stuff we did together? It’s interesting to think about. The album poses these questions indirectly, but they are still there, nonetheless. And unfortunately, they had to, and they have to carry the weight of The Beatles. They will be able to escape the shadow. The End is more upbeat than Carry The Weight and its last lines stand for what The Beatles were about during their career, in my opinion: “And in the end/The love you take/Is equal to the love you make”. Beautiful last lines, poetic and most of all, they are very true. It’s a slogan to live by. So, this is my take on the concept as a whole. But hey, that's just a theory, a music theory!

So, kids, what did we learn from all this? That weed can give interesting perspectives on things (again read the PSA!!!)? That great musicians make great music even at their lowest? That human creativity and perseverance can go a long way? That musical opinions can change almost for no reason as it happened to me? Whatever it is you took away from all this, I just hope you understand why I love this album. It’s a testament to their artistic genius, their magnum opus. This album is everyone at their best, except for maybe John, but it’s definitely true for George and Ringo. The medley is a genius idea that probably can never be replicated, but it’s the perfect way to end the band’s career. Most importantly though, the music is timeless, easily replayable and just plain good. Sure, Sgt. Pepper’s might have had a better concept and message and Revolver might have been a more technical and groundbreaking album, but this feels like the one with the most soul, it’s the grandest of them all, in my opinion and it probably helps that it was their last album ever recorded, it gives it more legitimacy that way. I’m biased, of course, we’re all are in some way. I just hope this essay was enough for you to at least check this album out. It’s worth your time. And who knows, it might become your favorite too. Long live, Abbey Road! Long live The Beatles! Thank you for reading!