Fiftey Years of Abbey Road

Image result for abbey road
The Beatles were "Lads who Shook The World," and shake the world that they did - with some killer records that is. The cover of their 1967 record Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is a signature one and has been replicated countless times.

But its their next-to-last, Abbey Road (technically the last recorded), that is the most iconic of their work. The Lads were clearly saving the best for last.

So why does this one stand out?

 The album includes some of their most iconic songs and is a trip back to the beginning of their careers. After the Beatles were displeased with the outcome of the Get Back session, they talked to George Martin that they wanted to make an album like it was done before, which Martin agreed to.

The album contains several songs reworked from the abandoned Get Back sessions. These are the Lennon-penned Come Together, as well as Maxwell's Silver Hammer. Don't Let me Down had also been considered at the time, but it didn't make the cut on the final album due to fear of overrunning. Not to worry, the Fab Four came up with an exciting medley...

The album features two Harrison contributions, Here Comes The Sun and Something. There also the first Ringo Starr contribution since Yellow Submarine, Octopus's Garden, which he wrote in an attempt to make a cheerful kids' song.

Other notable hits from the first side are the Macca-sung Oh Darling, and I Want You (She's so Heavy) with a memorable and timeless riff.

I said side two is interesting, and it is. The third track on side two starts a memorable medley which has since been referred to as the Abbey Road Medley split in two parts, although most classic rock stations. The first three tracks: Your Never Give me Your Money about the Apple records business, , Sun King, and Mean Mr. Mustard have exerpts in Spanish. After Polytheme Pam comes a McCartney composition, She Came in Through the Bathroom Window about a fan who had being following hime around.

The last three songs: Golden Slumbers, Carry That Weight, and The End recap on earlier parts of the medley and have, on recent tours, been used to close out Macca's solo concerts - most notabely when he played at the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 Summer Ollympics in London. There is a 15-second pause after The End when a short McCartney solo song (with him on acoustic guitar), Her Majesty  is played. This song usually appears as a hidden track but recently has been listed out as a seperate track, albeit still not on the vynl.

The Cover

 If Sgt. Pepper's had an epic cover, Abbey Road's was extraordinary! It shows the Fab Four crossing Abbey Road and is notorious for showing a barefoot McCartney walking out of step.

To take the photo, photographer Ian Macmillian got on a step stool and had a policeman hold up traffic. The photo took only ten mnutes to take. Today, the site of the crossing has become a hot tourist attraction. It was even edit for McCartney's 1993 album Paul is Live - a play on the popular urban legend Paul is Dead.

Overall:

 Being the last album recorded, and the next-to-last released. Abbey Road really captures the band at best. Songs like Here Comes the Sun, and Something really show Beatles' early work highlights. It's definitely worth getting the quadruple album with unrealeased material.

As for covers, Come Together was covered by Aerosmith for the soundtrack to the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band movie in 1978. That soundtrack also features the Earth, Wind, and FIre rendition of their 1966 hit, Got to Get You Into my Life.

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