ABBEY ROAD

By the time The Beatles had finished recording Let It Be in early 1969, there had been many conflicts in the band, such as George Harrison's lack of input on albums and John Lennon's very close relationship with activist Yoko Ono. With this tension surrounding the group, they knew for sure that their release in the fall of 1969, Abbey Road, would be the last recordings they would make together. This time (unlike on Let It Be, which he refused to produce due to contract problems), their producer for every album since 1963's Please Please Me George Martin took part in the recordings' production and helped ease the mood in the studio. Now focused on their album ahead, The Beatles were able to write 16 brand new tracks, the two of them from Harrison being his best with the group.

Abbey Road, released September 26, 1969, was released a few months before the band would announce their break- up. It's production is among the smoothest ever in rock history, with the final medley by Lennon and McCartney segueing together beautifully. The album is surprisingly upbeat, considering the extreme pressure put on The Beatles at the time. Tracks such as Ringo Starr's "Octopus's Garden", McCartney's silly personality at work in "Maxwell's Silver Hammer", and Harrison's great, synthesized "Here Comes the Sun" each set a playful, relaxed mood. The band also shows their dark side with songs like Lennon's bluesy "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" (whose brooding, winding end is a thing of sheer amazement) and the melodic, almost sad "Because" that has a revolutionary melody led by a Moog synthesizer, before the instrument had become popular. The two huge hits on the album, Lennon's other blues piece "Come Together" (which has and Harrison's greatest song he would ever pen "Something" each are defining moments in the band's reign as the greatest rock band of the 20th century. But the best part of the album is the medley; an 8-part set of corresponding songs that makes Abbey Road Abbey Road. Taking up most of Side 2, it consists of mostly McCartney numbers, like "You Never Give Me Your Money", "Mean Mr. Mustard" and the wonderful lullaby "Golden Slumbers", but what makes the medley is the Lennon written "She Came in Through the Bathroom Window" and the memorable Lennon-McCartney composed "Carry That Weight" and "The End", a track that would mark their end with possibly their most famous lyric "And in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love you make."5.0 top five albums of all time.

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