Episode 35 – Beatles ’69 pt8

On September 26th, 1969, the final studio album to be recorded by The Beatles was released: Abbey Road. With the tumultuous Get Back sessions still tucked away (more or less) on the shelf, John, Paul, George and Ringo got together one final time to create what would become an innovative, groundbreaking album that many argue sounds as fresh and modern today as it did upon its release. Newer studio techniques and instrumentation were used giving the record this timeless quality, including the moog synthesizer which adorned several of the tracks and would become a prog rock and top 40 staples over the next decade. Also unlike its predecessors, Abbey Road finds itself split in intent between sides A and B - with side A offering more of a traditional collection of songs, and side B expanding outward into a conceptual suite of smaller tracks. The album kicks in the door with the raucous Lennon rocker Come Together, which takes the stripped down lessons of Get Back and places them in a slick, proper recording with enough snap to send chills up the spine. George Harrison’s Something is close behind, proving the the world (and his bandmates) that he was every bit the mast songwriter that Lennon and McCartney were by this point in time. McCartney’s contributions to side A include Maxwell’s Silver Hammer (introduced during the Get Back sessions and famously hated by the rest of the band) and the throwback soul ballad Oh! Darling. Ringo’s second song, Octopus’s Garden, also adorns side A with its playful childlike melody that hints at special things to come for Starr’s songwriting in the future. I Want You (She’s So Heavy) closes the side and takes the blistering straightforward rock of Yer Blues to an entirely new level. Next, we move on to side B...