The Beatles
Abbey Road

THE REVIEW

“Abbey Road”  is an  album that is difficult to judge with balance.  Here's Frank Zappa's acidic review:  “The best album ever heard  for recording and production. But I cannot extend this compliment to the songs”.  Zappa was exaggerating, but it is true that several songs leave a bit to be desired, especially regarding the lyrics.  

Without comment  “Come Together”  (which would not have been so great without the contribution of the other three: George on guitar, Paul with his bass, and Ringo with his brilliant work on the toms, and with that organ Lennon enthusiastically described as  “swampy and smoky”).   The weak point is indeed John's lyrics.  

“Because” is a forgotten masterpiece (stunning the sparkling electronic harpsichord).   The lyrics mix pantheism with one of the simplest and deepest love phrases I know: “Love is all, love is you”.   “Oh! Darling” is certainly a splendid vocal performance. Great “Something”.  Beautiful but overrated “Here Comes the Sun”  (with lyrics about personal resurrection).  Cute and, for me, underrated “Octopus’ Garden” (with symbolic and bitter lyrics).  Beautiful and original “I Want You”.

“You Never Give Your Money” is a masterpiece piano-ballad in the first minute. Then,  Paul,  in an attempt to emulate John in “Happiness is a Warm Gun”,   throws in another two songs.   The mix is certainly a masterpiece of originality,  but,  as far as I'm concerned,  it's a “pastiche” too original and confused. 

“Golden Slumbers”  and  “Carry that Weight”  are sketchy masterpieces. There was no time to complete them, so they were put at the end of the medley.  “Carry that Weight”   is,  in fact,   the development of the first minute of “You Never Give Your Money”. With a particular program, you can attach the first minute of “You Never Give Your Money”   to    “Carry that Weight”   and   you will get a single splendid “piano-guitar ballad”.

Great the lyrics of “The End”  (“In the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make”).  Instead of concluding this adventure called the Beatles in this way,  McCartney thought it would ruin everything with “Her Majesty”.

The songs of the medley (although very pleasant) never thrilled me; they are very well-produced little songs, but with trivial lyrics.  Lennon left them to McCartney to do whatever he wanted.  And John kept “Jealous Guy”  (which he wrote in India in February 1968) and  “Instant Karma!”   –  showing how little he was interested in the “Abbey Road” project.   

George Martin praised this album as the greatest of the group. Obviously, it's a biased opinion, even though it comes from a serious person. Martin considered almost trash the  “White Album”,   and  “a disgrace” “Let It Be” (because the Beatles didn't let him produce them the way he wanted) and celebrated excessively “Abbey Road”  because, here,   Martin  was  protagonist with the first 16-track recorder in history.  Even though the sound is heavenly,  the album must be judged by the songs,  and here the depth of the songs is – I know I’m being sacrilegious –  on average inferior even to  “Let It Be”.   The rating is a 4.5,  which I cannot round up to 5.