Post by henryj on Aug 29, 2015 17:13:19 GMT
The last record the Beatle made as a group, and one of their very best, Along with Rubber Soul, Revolver, and Sgt. Pepper. It is said that knew or sensed that this would be their last album, so they were on their best behavior and made a good record without a bad track.
I wasn’t there, so I wouldn’t know. Only George Martin and the engineers would.
Nice album cover, lots of greenery to go along with the blue sky. One of the proofs that the “Paul is dead” rumor was a hoax was the assertion that the VW license plate with “28IF” means that Paul would have been 28 were he still alive. However, Paul was only 27 at the time, Abbey Road having been released in September 1969 and Paul having been born June 1942. Although one of the trees’ shadows on the back corner did look like a skull.
And supposedly, they bury people barefoot, and Paul was barefoot on the cover. Ringo, in his dark suit, represented the mortician; John, in white, was the holy man conducting the funeral; and George, in denim, was the gravedigger.
I have been to quite a few funerals in my lifetime, and NONE have ever been presided over by anyone in white. And I’m pretty sure that the Paul McCartney I saw in Dallas last fall was the same guy that was a Beatle.
Come Together
Rather spare, but with Billy Preston on electric piano. One side of a two-sided hit single. I would probably like this song better if it had not been a hit single and played all the time, and had instead been an album cut.
Something
George’s most famous Beatle song. Or most famous song, period. Paul’s bass line keeps this from just plodding along, where that kind of moving bass part may have been too busy for any other song.
It’s just an urban legend that Frank Sinatra use to introduce this song as “My favorite Lennon-McCartney song.” Ain’t so. Somebody made it up.
Maxwell’s Silver Hammer—
Where Neil Young and Jimi Hendrix sang of gun violence in “Down By the River” and “Hey Joe,” Paul sings of silver hammer violence. And this is more of a pop ditty rather than a rocker. Some good guitar work by George on this one.
Oh, Darling
A screaming 12/8 ballad by Paul that intensifies as it goes along.
One time I was driving down the road, radio playing, Aerosmith comes on with “What It Takes.” Never been a big Aerosmith, but it occurred to me that if McCartney had sung the Aerosmith song in his blues screamer voice, I would have liked it more. Not knocking Steven Tyler; it’s just that McCartney’s growling scream is so much better.
Octopus’s Garden
The obligatory Ringo tune. It’s credited to Richard Starkey (Ringo), but I’m pretty sure most of the compositional heavy lifting was done by an uncredited George. Some really good guitar work by George on the intro. Since I have the big white Beatles’s scores book, I think I’ll try to work this one out myself. Not a bad song.
The words were inspired by Ringo’s wish to leave the Beatles and just go live under the sea. All four Beatles had wanted to quit the Beatles, but only George (temporarily) and Paul (permanently, causing the group to break up) actually went through with it.
Don’t ask me why, but something about this song reminds me of “Girl” from Rubber Soul.
I Want You (She‘s So Heavy)
This one is rather long and ends abruptly. I think the intention was to get phono listeners on their feet to see what was wrong with the turntable, and while you are up, flip the record over.
Here Comes the Sun
A really good George song. I like it better than “Something.” Following the previous cut, which had overstayed its welcome by a tedious two or three minutes, this comes across as upbeat and optimistic. At least it’s a great way to begin the side of an LP.
2014-2015 was a long, cold winter for me. Lot of darkness. Spring 2015 was very welcome for me, so this song I can relate to now.
The “Sun Sun Sun” is slightly reminiscent of “I Live for the Sun” by the SunRays, from a few years earlier.
Because
Absurdities in the lyrics, but no one’s laughing because they don’t get it. “Because the world is round, it turns me on.” In other words, because the world is shaped like womanly parts, I get turned on. ” Because the wind is high, it blows my mind,” A drug reference, in other words.
“Because the sky is blue, it makes me cry.” Blue meaning sad. Great harmony, perhaps influenced by the Beach Boys, except we don’t get the loud breathing noises heard on Beach Boys records.
John was nuts. And a genius.
After “Because” is a medley or suite of several songs, all joined together musically. However, on the vinyl, the songs making up these were all separated in their own bands. And on the CD, they were all programmed as standalone songs, so if you put them on an iPad or other mp3 player, and go through all your songs alphabetically, it won’t sound quite right. (The latest Apple IOS doesn’t allow for alphabetical playing.) One of the beauties of Abbey Road is the song-to-song flow of these four songs. They don’t all really stand up on their own, but only due to their brevity.
You Never Give Me Your Money
One of my favorite songs. A protest song of sorts, against direct deposit. This was when direct deposit was first being done, and Paul did not appreciate getting “payroll advice” instead of a real negotiable paycheck. That, and other things that were going on that were Allan Klein-related. The song has several parts to it, musically, sort of a micro-suite.
A fragment of the melody was recycled by Paul in his first solo album, the song “Every Night.”
Sun King
More faux-Beach Boys harmony, except this time they left in the loud breathing. This time the absurdity is in the faux-Spanish-Italian gibberish.
“Quando paramucho mi amore de felice carathon
Mundo paparazzi mi amore cicce verdi parasol
Questo abrigado tantamucho que canite carousel”
And people say, oh how sweet, they’re singing in Spanish. Or Italian. Maybe you can’t have your cake and eat it too, but “ Cake and eat it” certainly found its way into the lyrics.
They guys could harmonize very well when they worked on it.
Mean Mr. Mustard
Another John song. “Shaves in the dark, trying to save paper.” Is “shaves” what he really meant?
Polythene Pam
Another John song. After lead –in from Mr. Mustard, the tempo changes. It sort of reminds me of “Uno Mundo,” the Stephen Stills song from the Buffalo Springfield album, Last Time Around. Maybe it’s just me. Connected to Mustard, there is a change in tempo and feel.
She Came in Through the Bathroom Window
Another gear-changer, Paul’s first contribution to the suite. Big hit for Joe Cocker, who sang “PO-leece” instead of the more British-sounding “pleece” as Paul sang it.
Another suite of songs ends the album, "Golden Slumbers", "Carry that Weight", and "The End".
Golden Slumbers
This is actually based on an old song, starts off mellow, but becomes a Paul-screamer later in. Nobody growl-screams rock better than McCartney.
Carry That Weight
Unison vocal by all the boys, and I think you can even hear Ringo in there. Part of it quotes “You Never Give Me Your Money.” Played like an overture, except an ending overture, if there is such a thing.
The End
Mainly know for it’s 3-guitar jam. And it’s really good. Starts with a drum solo, the longest part of any Beatle song that features only Ringo’s drums. Then the guitars come in with the chords, then the 3-way jam. Paul for 2 bars, the George for 2, and then John for 2. This goes on for several measures until John plays his final licks and we hear piano eighth-note chords, followed by the Beatles harmonizing “And in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love you make.”
Anybody remember when Chris Farley was interviewing Paul on Saturday Night Live in the ‘90s? Farley’s part was that of an inept interviewer so star-struck he couldn’t think of any good questions to ask Paul. Farley is beating himself up, but Paul reassures him “You’re doing good, Chris, you’re doing good.” Finally, Chris ask Paul if it’s true that the love you take is equal to the love you make. Paul looks up in thought, as if looking for an exception, finds none, and says “In my experience that’s true.”
Farley got all excited about asking Paul such a great question and getting an appropriately good answer. RIP Chris Farley.
Her Majesty
Brief tune from Paul. Sort of a hidden track, if you got up out of your chair to pick up the needle before it got to the inner groove. There was a certain amount of silence between "The End" and "Her Majesty", which leads you to believe the album is over the first time you listen to it.
According to Wikipedia, "Her Majesty" was originally intended to be after "Mean Mr. Mustard" and before "Polythene Pam", and the beginning chord is the end of "Mean Mr. Mustard."
Great Beatle album. One of my 4 favorites, along with Rubber Soul, Revolver, and Sgt. Pepper. If you take all the Beatles’ vinyl albums and divide up by side 1 and side 2, then side 2 of Abbey Road is the best side they did.
I wasn’t there, so I wouldn’t know. Only George Martin and the engineers would.
Nice album cover, lots of greenery to go along with the blue sky. One of the proofs that the “Paul is dead” rumor was a hoax was the assertion that the VW license plate with “28IF” means that Paul would have been 28 were he still alive. However, Paul was only 27 at the time, Abbey Road having been released in September 1969 and Paul having been born June 1942. Although one of the trees’ shadows on the back corner did look like a skull.
And supposedly, they bury people barefoot, and Paul was barefoot on the cover. Ringo, in his dark suit, represented the mortician; John, in white, was the holy man conducting the funeral; and George, in denim, was the gravedigger.
I have been to quite a few funerals in my lifetime, and NONE have ever been presided over by anyone in white. And I’m pretty sure that the Paul McCartney I saw in Dallas last fall was the same guy that was a Beatle.
Come Together
Rather spare, but with Billy Preston on electric piano. One side of a two-sided hit single. I would probably like this song better if it had not been a hit single and played all the time, and had instead been an album cut.
Something
George’s most famous Beatle song. Or most famous song, period. Paul’s bass line keeps this from just plodding along, where that kind of moving bass part may have been too busy for any other song.
It’s just an urban legend that Frank Sinatra use to introduce this song as “My favorite Lennon-McCartney song.” Ain’t so. Somebody made it up.
Maxwell’s Silver Hammer—
Where Neil Young and Jimi Hendrix sang of gun violence in “Down By the River” and “Hey Joe,” Paul sings of silver hammer violence. And this is more of a pop ditty rather than a rocker. Some good guitar work by George on this one.
Oh, Darling
A screaming 12/8 ballad by Paul that intensifies as it goes along.
One time I was driving down the road, radio playing, Aerosmith comes on with “What It Takes.” Never been a big Aerosmith, but it occurred to me that if McCartney had sung the Aerosmith song in his blues screamer voice, I would have liked it more. Not knocking Steven Tyler; it’s just that McCartney’s growling scream is so much better.
Octopus’s Garden
The obligatory Ringo tune. It’s credited to Richard Starkey (Ringo), but I’m pretty sure most of the compositional heavy lifting was done by an uncredited George. Some really good guitar work by George on the intro. Since I have the big white Beatles’s scores book, I think I’ll try to work this one out myself. Not a bad song.
The words were inspired by Ringo’s wish to leave the Beatles and just go live under the sea. All four Beatles had wanted to quit the Beatles, but only George (temporarily) and Paul (permanently, causing the group to break up) actually went through with it.
Don’t ask me why, but something about this song reminds me of “Girl” from Rubber Soul.
I Want You (She‘s So Heavy)
This one is rather long and ends abruptly. I think the intention was to get phono listeners on their feet to see what was wrong with the turntable, and while you are up, flip the record over.
Here Comes the Sun
A really good George song. I like it better than “Something.” Following the previous cut, which had overstayed its welcome by a tedious two or three minutes, this comes across as upbeat and optimistic. At least it’s a great way to begin the side of an LP.
2014-2015 was a long, cold winter for me. Lot of darkness. Spring 2015 was very welcome for me, so this song I can relate to now.
The “Sun Sun Sun” is slightly reminiscent of “I Live for the Sun” by the SunRays, from a few years earlier.
Because
Absurdities in the lyrics, but no one’s laughing because they don’t get it. “Because the world is round, it turns me on.” In other words, because the world is shaped like womanly parts, I get turned on. ” Because the wind is high, it blows my mind,” A drug reference, in other words.
“Because the sky is blue, it makes me cry.” Blue meaning sad. Great harmony, perhaps influenced by the Beach Boys, except we don’t get the loud breathing noises heard on Beach Boys records.
John was nuts. And a genius.
After “Because” is a medley or suite of several songs, all joined together musically. However, on the vinyl, the songs making up these were all separated in their own bands. And on the CD, they were all programmed as standalone songs, so if you put them on an iPad or other mp3 player, and go through all your songs alphabetically, it won’t sound quite right. (The latest Apple IOS doesn’t allow for alphabetical playing.) One of the beauties of Abbey Road is the song-to-song flow of these four songs. They don’t all really stand up on their own, but only due to their brevity.
You Never Give Me Your Money
One of my favorite songs. A protest song of sorts, against direct deposit. This was when direct deposit was first being done, and Paul did not appreciate getting “payroll advice” instead of a real negotiable paycheck. That, and other things that were going on that were Allan Klein-related. The song has several parts to it, musically, sort of a micro-suite.
A fragment of the melody was recycled by Paul in his first solo album, the song “Every Night.”
Sun King
More faux-Beach Boys harmony, except this time they left in the loud breathing. This time the absurdity is in the faux-Spanish-Italian gibberish.
“Quando paramucho mi amore de felice carathon
Mundo paparazzi mi amore cicce verdi parasol
Questo abrigado tantamucho que canite carousel”
And people say, oh how sweet, they’re singing in Spanish. Or Italian. Maybe you can’t have your cake and eat it too, but “ Cake and eat it” certainly found its way into the lyrics.
They guys could harmonize very well when they worked on it.
Mean Mr. Mustard
Another John song. “Shaves in the dark, trying to save paper.” Is “shaves” what he really meant?
Polythene Pam
Another John song. After lead –in from Mr. Mustard, the tempo changes. It sort of reminds me of “Uno Mundo,” the Stephen Stills song from the Buffalo Springfield album, Last Time Around. Maybe it’s just me. Connected to Mustard, there is a change in tempo and feel.
She Came in Through the Bathroom Window
Another gear-changer, Paul’s first contribution to the suite. Big hit for Joe Cocker, who sang “PO-leece” instead of the more British-sounding “pleece” as Paul sang it.
Another suite of songs ends the album, "Golden Slumbers", "Carry that Weight", and "The End".
Golden Slumbers
This is actually based on an old song, starts off mellow, but becomes a Paul-screamer later in. Nobody growl-screams rock better than McCartney.
Carry That Weight
Unison vocal by all the boys, and I think you can even hear Ringo in there. Part of it quotes “You Never Give Me Your Money.” Played like an overture, except an ending overture, if there is such a thing.
The End
Mainly know for it’s 3-guitar jam. And it’s really good. Starts with a drum solo, the longest part of any Beatle song that features only Ringo’s drums. Then the guitars come in with the chords, then the 3-way jam. Paul for 2 bars, the George for 2, and then John for 2. This goes on for several measures until John plays his final licks and we hear piano eighth-note chords, followed by the Beatles harmonizing “And in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love you make.”
Anybody remember when Chris Farley was interviewing Paul on Saturday Night Live in the ‘90s? Farley’s part was that of an inept interviewer so star-struck he couldn’t think of any good questions to ask Paul. Farley is beating himself up, but Paul reassures him “You’re doing good, Chris, you’re doing good.” Finally, Chris ask Paul if it’s true that the love you take is equal to the love you make. Paul looks up in thought, as if looking for an exception, finds none, and says “In my experience that’s true.”
Farley got all excited about asking Paul such a great question and getting an appropriately good answer. RIP Chris Farley.
Her Majesty
Brief tune from Paul. Sort of a hidden track, if you got up out of your chair to pick up the needle before it got to the inner groove. There was a certain amount of silence between "The End" and "Her Majesty", which leads you to believe the album is over the first time you listen to it.
According to Wikipedia, "Her Majesty" was originally intended to be after "Mean Mr. Mustard" and before "Polythene Pam", and the beginning chord is the end of "Mean Mr. Mustard."
Great Beatle album. One of my 4 favorites, along with Rubber Soul, Revolver, and Sgt. Pepper. If you take all the Beatles’ vinyl albums and divide up by side 1 and side 2, then side 2 of Abbey Road is the best side they did.