Abbey Road - Beatles (The)

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Groundbreaking
Lyrics	Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Outstanding
Value for Money	Excellent

Advantages:	One of my favourite Beatles albums, full of life, soul and fantastic vocals
Disadvantages:	There isn't a big McCartney love song (we do get the next best thing though) and Ringo sings !

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

To round off this Beatlemania month, I wanted to try and justify exactly why ‘Abbey Road’ is one of the very best albums that The Beatles ever made. Although, like with most of my favourite albums, such as Placebo’s ‘Without You I’m Nothing’, ‘Abbey Road’ didn’t instantly strike me as outstanding, perhaps because I was too bowled over by the cheery ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ soundtrack, one of the other Beatles albums I received for Christmas last year. However, after a few listens, I couldn’t help but be completely addicted and mesmerised by the unmistakable glory and gusto that ‘Abbey Road’ had to offer and barely a week has past since then when I haven’t had the urge it give it a listen.

In spite of their huge differences, especially in the wake of the ‘Let It Be’ sessions which saw George sporadically leave the band after arguments with both Paul and John, Mr. McCartney desperately wanted the band to go out on a high; even though ‘Abbey Road’ wasn’t the final original studio album released by the band, as ‘Let It Be’ was released shortly after The Beatles officially disbanded in the May of 1970, it was the final album to be recorded by the band. Many of the tracks on ‘Abbey Road’ had been in the works from as early on as 1968’s ‘White Album’ and ‘Let It Be’.

Whilst ‘Let It Be’ is for the most part a morose album, very much personifying the breakup of the band with darker tunes and moments of solitariness, ‘Abbey Road’ is extremely different; colourful and with a fresh, inspired vibe, it’s pretty much the exact opposite of the self-pitying ‘Let It Be’ in every sense of the word. There are some shadier moments on ‘Abbey Road’ too and it would be unfair to disregard them as anything but analytical and reflective of the bands changing status. However, as an album, it doesn’t linger on those darker moments and instead, after listening to ‘Abbey Road’, you seem to get a sense of the Beatles of old; with a warm, playful ambiance mixed with some killer riffs and fantastic storytelling, John, Paul, George and Ringo certainly do go out on a high, even if there are a few slightly dampening tales behind the songs along the way.

The reason for the slightly more upbeat feel of the album could also be credited to the fact that The Beatles long time producer and friend George Martin was back in the mix for ‘Abbey Road’. Frustrated by the events of the White Album, Martin did not produce ‘Let It Be’ largely because he was fed up with the bands constant bickering, not to mention Yoko Ono’s presence in the recording studio. After a conversation with McCartney, who promised that everyone would be on their best behaviour, George Martin agreed to return as ‘the Fifth Beatle’ and the band settled down to work on what would be their final album.

Throughout the 17 tracks on ‘Abbey Road’, there is a good mixture of Lennon, McCartney and Harrison songs which you can identify as being tracks by each of the lads; John, Paul and George really had homed in on their own individual styles for ‘Abbey Road’ and where in the past I’ve mistaken George for John sometimes vocally, here this isn’t an issue. Also, there are several tracks within the first eight of ‘Abbey Road’ when you do stop and really absorb just how far the band developed musically in a matter of years – instead of a million slushy love songs, you get tongue twisters, tales of a homicidal maniac and some dirty rock classics. The final nine tracks on the album are made up of several mini Lennon and McCartney accounts, accumulating into an extended version of the immortal ‘A Day in the Life’, because of how different characters and snapshots merge together so well. The medley towards the end of ‘Abbey Road’ again typifies The Beatles as a group who were exceptionally talented songwriters to create a feeling that ‘Abbey Road’ is every bit as bold and lively as ‘Sgt. Pepper’ was beforehand, even though the albums are incredibly different.

‘ONE THING I CAN TELL YOU IS YOU’VE GOT TO BE FREE’ (Lyrics from ‘Come Together’)
Kicking off the album is one of John’s finest later songs ‘Come Together’, a track which utilises George’s magnificent guitar playing; although the guitar isn’t necessarily the fundamental part of the song, I like the progression of the slightly bluesy riff and how it becomes slightly more aggressive before hitting the chorus and how it lures the listener into the final album very well. A trademark of many Lennon tracks is the use of extravagant wording that he uses as a way to create a metaphor for a drug-fuelled atmosphere and story. ‘I Am The Walrus’ is a key example in the o-so confusing word of John Lennon where he combines really odd imagery so that it’s more-or-less impossible for fans to uncover a songs true meaning and unsurprisingly enough, the famous walrus rears its head again in ‘Come Together’ where someone got ‘walrus gumbled’ and ‘Ono sideboard’. From those lyrics alone, I think it’s fair to say that ‘Come Together’ could well be about the band trying to put their differences aside in order to create a classic final album before splitting up for good. The notion of being ‘Ono sideboard’ could well be a reference to how Lennon’s new Bride Yoko Ono was a fundamental part of the recording sessions in the bands later work.

However, in spite of the kooky lyrics, my favourite thing about ‘Come Together’ is the hushing which launches the track directly before Ringo’s strokes on the cymbals and drums; it makes ‘Come Together’ an interesting opener, thrusting the confused lyrics into the spotlight, without resorting to a necessarily up-beat number like on previous records, such as ‘Sgt. Pepper’s’.

Once dubbed by Frank Sinatra as ‘the greatest Lennon-McCartney song ever written’, I suppose George Harrison should be fairly flattered and impressed with his efforts on the second track on the album! ‘Something’ which was George’s first A-Side single with The Beatles, is a pure love song which almost steals the idea from the bands cover of ‘Baby It’s You’ in sticking with a lover through moments of doubt and insecurity because of being hopelessly in love. During an era when the bands work, especially in the context of ‘Let It Be’, was mainly dealing with the bands demise and sometimes hesitation of moving on, ‘Something’ is a breath of fresh air and has a lovely, relaxed and not overly fussy tone to it which many of the songs on ‘Abbey Road’ seem to lack. As well as being the second most covered Beatles track of all time (only coming second to ‘Yesterday’ has to be a huge honour in anybodies books!) many regard ‘Something’ as being Harrison’s finest track of all time, including Lennon and McCartney. To me, ‘Something’ doesn’t quite compare in terms of uniqueness to ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ from the White Album and isn’t necessarily the greatest love song ever written; to me ‘Here, There and Everywhere’ is the most beautiful of all of the Beatles ballads but there is just, uh, something about ‘Something’ which makes it a gratifying and pleasurable listen time after time.

Although ‘Something’ is often thought of as being Harrison’s ode to his then-wife, the beautiful model Pattie Boyd, George went on to claim that he was thinking of the jazz musician Ray Charles whilst writing the song! No matter which angel you look at it, something is soothing and beautiful, especially with respects to Harrison’s vocals which seem to flutter over the sweet guitar tune.

‘BANG! BANG! MAXWELL’S SILVER HAMMER MADE SURE THAT SHE WAS DEAD’ (Lyrics from ‘Maxwell’s Silver Hammer’)
Shamefully, perhaps my favourite moment from ‘Abbey Road’ is in the form of the cheery McCartney anecdote of ‘Maxwell’s Silver Hammer’, all about a teenager whose life became drastically sadistic to the point where he kills his girlfriend, teacher and the judge who would eventually sentence him! Now, as naff as it is, with anvil type noises to mimic Maxwell’s killing spree and synthesisers to separate the first verse and chorus and second verse and chorus, ‘Maxwell’s Silver Hammer’ is bizarrely addictive. Harrison once described it as a ‘whistle along tune that you will either love or hate’ and I very much agree; I adore the song because of its use of a fictitious character in a scenario that should be vulgar but somehow, Paul manages to make it every bit as charming as his lighter songs, such as ‘Your Mother Should Know’ and ‘Hello Goodbye’. However, I realise I am perhaps in the minority when I proclaim my love for something as fruity as ‘Maxwell’s Silver Hammer’; none of the other band members liked the track, with Lennon deeming it one of the most expensive tracks the group had ever recording and Ringo going on to call it a ‘f***ing nightmare’!

In spite of Lennon’s non-existent contributing on the track (perhaps due to being another example of Paul’s ‘Granny s**t...) ‘Maxwell’s Silver Hammer’ is one of the purely hilarious moments on ‘Abbey Road’ where the band don’t seek to portray an ambiguous message but instead, McCartney basks in the splendour of such a bubbly and delightful melody and his voice sort of springs along with the track effortlessly well. It has a great, slightly sardonic story to it which is juxtaposed drastically with the tune and it reminds me of something the Detroit Duo of The Dresden Dolls would cover because of how sneaky and upbeat it is which again, exemplifies just why I may be in the minority by liking the track.

‘Oh! Darling’ is the second McCartney number on the album and is – regrettably – the closest of any of Paul’s songs to a ballad on here; written in the style of a swamp pop song, a niche genre of music which relies heavily on plonking pianos and screeching vocals to create a tale of a lovelorn soul, ‘Oh! Darling’ is one of those songs which you endear to more and more with each listen. I love how the track ranges in terms of being a full out thrash of angst to a quieter, more brooding song within a couple of seconds, both paces which are aided significantly by McCartney’s as ever wonderful vocal performance. Although Lennon criticised Paul’s singing on ‘Oh! Darling’ as it was more his ‘style’ of song (hmmm, who ever said Lennon wasn’t a ‘Jealous Guy’?) I personally think it’s amazing how McCartney can go from a song like ‘Maxwell’s Silver Hammer’ which is mainly comprised of a lower pitched harmony to ‘Oh! Darling’ which really is such a broad song with higher, falsetto moments required amongst the few octaves to create the metaphor of a self-destructive individual who simply cannot survive without his love. I suppose that it’s almost McCartney’s version of one of John’s White Album tracks, ‘Yer Blues’ which also deals with a person’s anger and confusion amongst their passions in life.

‘Oh! Darling’ is a song that can fail to get you singing along, very much like ‘Maxwell’s Silver Hammer’, which is a testament to McCartney’s talents in terms of writing catchy hooks and pop classics. Well, for the most part anyway...

‘I’D LIKE TO BE UNDER THE SEA IN AN OCTOPUS’S GARDEN IN THE SHADE’ (Lyrics from ‘Octopus’s Garden’)
We pretty much go from the sublime to the ridiculous on the next track in which Ringo decides it’s about time to compete with McCartney in the category of which Beatle could create the corniest under water song. ‘Octopus’s Garden’ really is, with all due respects to Mr. Starkey, a lame rip off of ‘Yellow Submarine’, which at least has an animated film to its name to make it seem worthwhile. Although George apparently helped the hapless Starr out on the middle eight, ‘Octopus’s Garden’ prevails as the albums weakest track by far. I suppose it’s an ok track if you’re drunk or high (coz let’s face it, at least taking some form of illegal substances could help block out memories of Ringo’s tepid vocal effort) but if you’re not, it’s a shameful three minutes of nothing but bizarre fish loving lyrics and a theme that lacked mileage in the first Beatles song about living under the sea. So on the group’s final album, you would have hoped all of the nursery rhymes would have been left behind.

But apparently not...

The only thing going for ‘Octopus’s Garden’ is its tune which again boasts the creative minds of the other Beatles. Using a straw to create the bubble sounds may sound like child’s play but it made the song semi-bearable. Plus, the backing vocals, provided only by George and Paul, were compressed and altered to create a gurgling sound. Pity that the gurgling sound wasn’t the entire Octopus population pegging it before Ringo got the urge to write the song...

Thankfully, Lennon saves the day with ‘I Want You (She’s So Heavy)’, a track which has a very limited amount of lyrics but instead focuses its entire attention on the madness of the tune; with an awe inspiring bass line, which sort of simmers beneath the surface and boils over just before the chorus, and a wicked organ performance from American soul singer Billy Preston, the track lasts nearly eight minutes and ends rather suddenly, just when you are too engrossed in the tune to forget about it. Although it sounds a bit excessive, ‘I Want You’ possesses a kind of rawness that had been rarely exhibited on Beatles records since their debut of ‘Please Please Me’ but had been revisited a couple of times on the White Album, most specifically in the form of ‘Happiness is a Warm Gun’. Although slightly repetitive, you can’t fail to get drawn in by the pure zest of ‘I Want You’; it was never made to rival ‘Yesterday’ or ‘In My Life’ in terms of deep and meaningful song lyrics but the track instead gathers into a sound of legend, very much like a jam session that was never meant to be recorded. The raspiness of the vocals by all three of the singers (sorry Ringo!) is mesmerising, and really creates and off the cuff, elaborate song that gets more aggressive as it progresses to portrays exactly how badly the chronicler wanted his lover, again matching up to the excellent standards of ‘Happiness is a Warm Gun’.

In fact, ‘I Want You (She’s So Heavy)’ could have lasted another eight minutes and I don’t think I would have cared! The ending, which just sort of stops after a fizzling out of guitars and drums, also makes it a curious track; if you look at it metaphorically, it could be a signifier that the joys of being in the band had been over for a while but the end was only just beginning to come into play.

‘THE ICE IS SLOWLY MELTING’ (Lyrics from ‘Here Comes The Sun’)
In contrast to the sixth track is another well known Harrison number, ‘Here Comes The Sun’ which like ‘Something’ is more of a calming, sweet song as opposed to an all out beast of a track. The weakness of having two quite similar songs on the same album and written by the same person is the fact that it does make it seem as if George had a limited scope in terms of musicianship although prior knowledge of his work, particularly on Indian inspired tracks like ‘Within You Without You’ and the mysterious ‘Blue Jay Way’ would make you think otherwise. I like ‘Here Comes The Sun’ because it has a softer sound to it and has a few poignant lyrics to it with respects to where The Beatles were heading at the time of recording but otherwise, it’s a little too similar to ‘Something’ both pace wise and vocally. Said to be written in the company of Eric Clapton, a close friend of George’s, ‘Here Comes The Sun’ is a track which goes with the flow of the album but after something as heavy as ‘I Want You’, it can in retrospect seem a bit feeble, although the tracks are two entirely different genres of music and shouldn’t be really considered in a competitive light. ‘Here Comes The Sun’ simply is a nice little ditty of the beauty of spring and how moving on from the winter months (perhaps away from the darker days of the Fab Four) is something to celebrate.

‘LOVE IS OLD, LOVE IS YOU’ (Lyrics from ‘Because’)
The final non-medley track on ‘Abbey Road’ is another strong Lennon song called ‘Because’, a track which is extremely haunting because of the way it relies solely on a three-part harmony between John, Paul and George against a backdrop of synthesiser sounds and some guitar melodies with no drumming input from Ringo at all. ‘Because’ is one of those tracks that stands alone on the album because of an amazing vocal effort by all three men; their voices all sound so pure and work well together and even for John, the raspy tone of his voice was sort of expelled in this instance to create a record that really is placing all of its attention onto the lyrics. The captivating synthesiser sounds are also a powerful factor as it sort of adds a silent form of imagery to the song and always makes me visualise water and rain drops because of how easily it all surges. It’s one of the most interesting tracks on the album as its lyrics sort of mix the curiosities of a child, between the colour of the sky, to the knowledge of a influenced adult, who renews that influence whilst high. ‘Because’ is brilliant with or without its background music, as it’s proved on the compilation album ‘Love’, and is a tribute to Lennon’s creative and inquisitive mode of storytelling.

‘AND IN THE MIDDLE OF NEGOTIATIONS, I BREAK DOWN’ (Lyrics from ‘You Never Give Me Your Money’)
Beginning the albums medley is one of the most fitting tributes to the bands strain because of the Apple empire, ‘You Never Give Me Your Money’. The Apple company, for those of you who don’t know, was a company that the Beatles ran that produced music and movies and ventured out into the clothing trade but instead of hosting all of the Beatles’ finances under one roof, it pretty much became an uncontrollable nightmare in which some of the band members took more of an interest in than others, particularly McCartney. ‘You Never Give Me Your Money’ sort of examines that struggle and highlights how, in some ways, it would be best if the band dissolved to escape the misery that the company was bringing them. Paul’s introduction to this song couldn’t be more perfect; a classical piano tune invites the listener into the story of woe before merging into an electric guitar sound similar to the riff used at the end of ‘Come Together’. In some ways, it’s easy to identify ‘You Never Give Me Your Money’ as Macca’s first attempt at the Wing’s song ‘Band on the Run’ because of the different layers of sounds and how they merge together before branching out into an entirely different style.

The album moves onto the musical equivalent of a siesta with slow guitars and a steady drum slap which makes me think of ‘Don’t Let Me Down’ before things perk up and into another harmony based beginning. Originally to be called ‘Here Comes The Sun King’, Lennon renamed the track simply as ‘Sun King’ amid fears that fans would confuse this track with Harrison’s earlier song. Inspired by the Fleetwood Mac song ‘Albatross’, ‘Sun King’ is quite a hazy song, combining the three part harmony technique that had been used on ‘Because’ and mixing it with various other languages, including Spanish and Italian, to create something very dopey that bridges the gap rather nicely before the racier parts of the medley; Ringo’s drum fill leads into ‘Mean Mr. Mustard’, a track Lennon referred to as a ‘bit of crap’ he wrote whilst in India with the Maharishi. It’s a short and swift account of a miser who refuses to spend money and who can never keep his manners in check so he doesn’t go anywhere. ‘Mean Mr. Mustard’s’ sole purpose on the album could have been to lead the listener into Lennon’s next song about Mr. Mustard’s sister Pam, a girl who was ‘attractively built’ and could have made the News of the World for her looks alone. ‘Polythene Pam’ picks up the pace a bit by the reintroduction of electric guitars and a speedier melody, with the vocals being sung in a thick, Liverpudlian accent as a tribute to a girl from the bands days at the Cavern who used to eat polythene! Nice.

With its roaring guitars and background swooning, I prefer ‘Polythene Pam’ to ‘Mean Mr. Mustard’ because the medley sort of rejuvenates itself again, after becoming a little bit disjoined because of ‘Sun King’ and its slower tempo.

‘DIDN’T ANYBODY TELL HER? DIDN’T ANYBODY SEE? SUNDAY’S ON THE PHONE TO MONDAY, TUESDAY’S ON THE PHONE TO ME’ (Lyrics from ‘She Came In Through The Bathroom Window’)
After nearly forty attempts at connecting ‘Polythene Pam’ with the next song in the medley, ‘She Came In Through The Bathroom Window’, The Beatles cracked it and track number thirteen triumphs as one of the many highlights of the mix. This is where the medley really seems to come to life again and takes on a guise similar to the one exhibited in ‘A Day In The Life’ in which the narrator is talking all about a girl who paid him a visit and whom works in many clubs a day to earn a living. ‘She Came In Through The Bathroom Window’ actually begins midway through ‘Polythene Pam’ where Harrison steps in with a tune consuming guitar riff as John sort of introduces the song by warning people to ‘watch out’, as if someone is literally coming in through the bathroom window. The reason why ‘She Came In...’ is one of the medley’s best moments is because of its catchy chorus and the way in which the vocals are grouped together to make it sound more pop and less rock.

‘Golden Slumbers’ also seeks to be more dramatic, especially as the sound is sort of cut at the introduction of a piano. After seeing a poem by the Elizabethan writer Thomas Dekker which had the words of a lullaby, Paul decided to create a melody around similar words which are teased by a softer vocal effort before merging into a stronger vocal tone, similar to some moments on ‘Oh! Darling’ as soon as Ringo participates with the drum beat. ‘Golden Slumbers’ is one of those tracks which I love for its epic feel and George Martin’s prowess with conducting an orchestral arrangement only heightens the drama exhibited on the track. The song could be a message from McCartney to himself about keeping calm in times of difficultly, especially with regards to his deteriorating relationships with his three band mates. ‘Carry That Weight’ was recorded in the same take as ‘Golden Slumbers’ which also hosts a sturdy drum opener before merging back into the same piano tune of ‘You Never Give Me Your Money’ to round off the song off in a way that also seeks to subliminally comment on the bands imminent break up; the notion of carrying the weight for a ‘long time’ could be representative of the bands success and how it would be impossible for any member of the group to reach that level of achievement ever again. ‘Carry That Weight’ has all four of The Beatles bellowing out the notion of carrying the weight for a long time to add to that notion and to create a great, stadium anthem feel to the 1.36 minute track.

‘AND IN THE END, THE LOVE YOU TAKE/IS EQUAL TO THE LOVE YOU MAKE’ (Lyrics from ‘The End’)
However, the medley couldn’t end in a more spectacular or metaphorical way than with ‘The End’, a track in which each of the four members get a chance to showcase their own individual styles, with Ringo actually having a drum solo as a way to incorporate him into the final song. Switching between Harrison’s raunchier guitar playing and Lennon’s bluesy riff throughout the song, ‘The End’ began with a stunning burst of energy which has ‘McCartney’ written all over it because of its pure euphoria. ‘The End’ always struck me as being The Beatles short ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’; before the concluding rhyming couple, in which Paul confessed as wanting to be Shakespeare for the day, everything stops except for a single, major piano chord before the grand finale which ends with a similar guitar piece to the way ‘Something’ begins. ‘The End’ couldn’t be a better way for the Beatles to end their days as a band; it epitomises everything the band were said to be about in terms of peace and love and it’s a fitting tribute to their previous tracks which aimed to exhibit similar meanings.

Paul McCartney did in fact lie to the millions of Beatles fans around the world when he said that ‘The End’ was, uh, the end. ‘Her Majesty’ actually wraps up the album but on the original LP sleeves, it was not listed as it was a last minute decision to include it. ‘Her Majesty’ is a short little acoustic track by McCartney about wanting to tell the Queen how much she means to him (I hope this was a metaphorical Queen) and was performed by Macca after a startling drum intro. Originally, ‘Her Majesty’ wasn’t going to be included on ‘Abbey Road’ at all because it just didn’t fit between any of the other songs, especially not between ‘Mean Mr. Mustard’ and ‘Polythene Pam’ where Paul originally wanted to place it. Instead, it was a sort of ‘hidden track’ and the first of its kind on any album, not to mention the shortest song in the group’s discography, so it does have some history behind it!

‘AND IN THE END’, IS ‘ABBEY ROAD’ ONE OF THE FINEST COLLECTIONS OF BEATLES TRACKS OR IS IT NOT?
In spite of its few flaws along the way, I can’t proclaim ‘Abbey Road’ to be anything but a stunning album and mainly of an upbeat nature. Between John, Paul and George there were some incredible, mind bending tracks included on the album which, although don’t all seek to portray messages of love and hope, many do and it fits nicely into the repertoire that the band built for themselves from their first record right until the bitter end (notice how I ‘conveniently’ forgot about ‘Octopus’s Garden’ there?!’)

Although I didn’t instantly ‘get’ all of the songs on the album, with the first couple of listens making me think just how confusing Lennon can be on ‘Because’ and how McCartney can be a bit melodramatic on tracks like ‘Golden Slumbers’, it’s an album that I whole heartedly recommend that you give the benefit of more than a couple of listens, preferably in a room where there isn’t a lot of noise of anything else going on. While the lyrics do have their quirky little stories behind them, the simple meanings shine through and this is mainly as a result (ironically) of the complex set of sounds on offer musically. McCartney, who did for the most part produce ‘Abbey Road’ with the aid of George Marin, really made the tunes bold, ecstatic where need be and extravagant in others so that the band really did go out on the highest of highs.

‘Abbey Road’ is quite a different album to many of the bands previous efforts. Whereas it carries on the tradition of 1966’s ‘Revolver’ where it isn’t an album overflowing with overly-sentimental ballads, other than the magnificent ‘Here, There and Everywhere’, it continues in the footsteps of the ‘White Album’ in the way that it doesn’t just mix the synthesiser sounds of ‘Sgt. Pepper’s’ but instead infuses them with the original, classic rock and roll formula that defined them as a band on their first record, ‘Please Please Me’. ‘Abbey Road’ takes all of the sounds and song writing techniques that initially made the band original and contemporary before creating a fantastic, detailed departure that I find fresh and engaging listen after listen.

If you haven’t guessed by now, I love ‘Abbey Road’; it may subliminally reinforce the world’s worst fear about the Fab Four finally going their separate ways but for some reason, it’s not something you dwell on an awful lot whilst listening to the seventeen songs. Instead, you get so wrapped up in the catchy tunes and impressive harmonies that it’s difficult to think of ‘Abbey Road’ as anything but an incredible album, full of interesting, quirky stories along the way.

It just makes me wonder how good another Beatles album could have been...

QUICK STATS
Year: 1969
Length: 47.23 minutes
Tracks: 17
Buy at: Amazon.co.uk for £9.78 (eligible for free super saver delivery!)

Well, that pretty much concludes this Beatlemania month. A big, big thank you to everyone who has rated these reviews – they’ve been coming out pretty thick and fast so thank you very much to everyone who has managed to keep up with all of them, lol!

In the words of Ringo: Peace & Love!