I spent a good portion of my evening yesterday listening to Abbey Road by The Beatles. I remember listening to this record on vinyl as a child along with Meet The Beatles, this is all in thanks to my Mother. Anyway, I had forgotten how much I really love this record. I consider myself a Beatles fan and I’m probably one of the only people I know that thinks The Magical Mystery Tour album is amazing… Sorry, got off track, back to Abbey Road…
This record makes me appreciate the art of crafty songwriting. As with most of the Beatles work, you can pretty much tell who wrote what song, even though the liner notes always say “Lennon-McCartney”… I think what I love most about this record are the vocal tracks. Songs like “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” and “Because” give me goosebumps. The raw power on one and the sweet creepy harmonies on the other. Un-real. I’ve always loved the short but effective “She Came in Through the Bathroom Window”, love the guitar work and the lyrics. I think musically, “You Never Give Me Your Money” is the best composition on the record. The dynamics, the melody and the instrumentation blows me away.
“Something” by George Harrison is quite possibly one of the sweetest/truthful love songs of our time. He’s often overlooked, and that’s sad.
All in all, The Beatles had a fairly short career, but created one of the most inspiring and beloved catalogue of songs ever to be composed. There is something about Abbey Road that sparks emotion and allows me to close my eyes and listen so intently, that everything else around me ceases to exist. Not many records have been able to do that for me.
If you have a few free minutes, throw on Abbey Road and lose yourself for a little while…