The Beatles "Abbey Road" CD ~ Can be purchased on Amazon for £8.99

As a Scouser myself, it would surely be considered fairly criminal if I didn't like the cities most famous 4 Brothers. Don't go using that word "criminal" and "Scouser" out of context now! ;-p

When it comes to liking popular music during the Beatles era (60's and early 70's), most people fell into one of two camps … The Rolling Stones or The Beatles. Personally, I have never really given The Rolling Stones a good listen, though I do know I like one or two of their songs, but The Beatles for me where a definite in terms of liking the music. It's strange, but I think people seem to want to either like on or the other and not both, sitting firmly in one camp rather than the other, and not giving the other a chance because of the decision. It's almost like the Brit-Pop wars of the 1990's when it was considered that you either liked Blur or Oasis, and Oasis made a BIG thing of it in the press. All very odd … I liked them both, but did prefer Oasis. Anyway, back to The Beatles … everyone knows about their massive worldwide popularity and their origins, so I won't go into any kind of history lessons on the 4 boys from Liverpool.

I own 8 different albums by The Beatles, and I do find that this is possibly my favourite. It's always difficult to pick a favourite with a group you like so much and every album has it's own individual merits, but I feel that this is probably the best of those that was released during the era and the songs on the album are evidence of the maturity the group had during the mid to late 60's, following the releases of LP's such as "A Hard Days Night" and "Help!", which are - of course - great compilations in their own right, but were more basic and safer in terms of their musical arrangement. I find a lot more of the songs on the likes of "Abbey Road" and "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" a lot more experimental and demonstrating greater depth to the music. I think this point is very evident when comparing the Red and Blue albums, which are both very different in terms of their style. I think this is one of the things that allowed The Beatles such longevity whilst they were still together … the fact that their music evolved and explored new themes, pushing the boundaries of the time.

"Abbey Road" is one of the most famous albums ever produced and covers productions by all 4 of the lads. It's an album I can listen to over and over again, as it has a mix of very different songs from the more dark and moody "I Want You (She's So heavy)" to the uplifting "Here Comes The Sun". The album is almost a work of art, and crosses many different moods. At times it's sombre and moody, but at other times it's uplifting, energetic and melodic. How can one album be so many things? Well, when you have the talent of Lennon, McCartney, Starr, and Harrison, anything was possible!

The final 7 tracks on the album are all relatively short, but 11 to 16 are a sequence of two separate medleys, that do blend very nicely into one another, changing mood and tempo as it progresses.

1) "Come Together" (4:20) ~ A classic by Lennon with a heavy emphasis on Bass Guitar on this particular track, which is evident right from the beginning and all the way through the song.

2) "Something" (3:03) ~ This is the second ever most covered Beatles song and was written by George Harrison. The song is about a woman and the many "something's", which explain why love has grown. A great song with strong vocals and excellent musical arrangement, with specific focus upon percussion and guitars.

3) "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" (3:27) ~ This is a rather fun track produced by McCartney. Maxwell Eddison "Majoring in Medicine" murders people with his "Silver Hammer", and the song features his killing spree, including a girl called Joan, His Teacher, and The Judge !

4) "Oh! Darling" (3:26) ~ Another McCartney track, which also features his - in this instance - rather raw vocal.

5) "Octopus's Garden" (2:51) ~ A fun track written and produced by Ringo Starr. "I'd like to be under the sea … in an Octopus's Garden in the shade!" Again, as you would expect, excellent musical arrangement, with a blend of percussion, guitars, and piano, along with some underwater breathing bubble effects for good effect!

6) "I Want you (She's So Heavy)" (7:47) ~ The longest recorded Beatles record produced by Lennon. This is quite a sombre, dark and moody track.

7) "Here Comes The Sun" (3:05) ~ The ultimate feel good song written by Harrison, which is perfect for this time of year when you wake up after a long dark winter, and the sun is lightly shining onto your face! It is the perfect follow on song from "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" because it moves from a rather sombre mood to a happier joyful mood.

Delightful intro to the song with light strumming of the guitar leads into Lennon singing, "Here Comes The Sun…"

"Little Darling, the smiles retuning to the faces … Little Darling, it seems like years since it's been here…"

8) "Because" (2:45) ~ A fairly sombre track, with wider orchestration, utilising trumpets and more classical orchestral instruments. This song was produced by Lennon and I have read that it was a reversal of the chords of Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" … clever !

9) "You Never Give Me Your Money" (4:02) ~ McCartney produced this very clever track, which changes tone, pitch and tempo throughout, rather like his later production "Band on The Run", a particular favourite of mine. It's almost like 3 or 4 songs in one, with the tone, pitch and tempo changing every minute. It certainly keeps the listener on their toes!

10) "Sun King" (2:26) ~ Another track by Lennon, that also demonstrates his multi-lingual ability, as he sings in Spanish during the middle of the track. Another song that changes in tone and tempo from the start to the middle and then to the end.

11) "Mean Mr. Mustard" (1:06) ~ The first track of a fabulous medley, which changes tone, pitch and tempo from this first track to the last ... "She Came In Through The Bathroom Window".

12) "Polythene Pam" (1:12)

13) "She Came In Through The Bathroom Window" (1:57)

14) "Golden Slumbers" (1:31) ~ I love this particular track, produced by McCartney and the 2nd of the two Medleys finishing the album. Starts with a melodic piano intro, before the vocal harmony of McCartney begins and the orchestration and other band members join as the track progresses and blends perfectly without you knowing into "Carry That Weight", before reaching "The End", the only Beatles track credited to all four members of the band. And incidentally, the only Beatles track ever produced that features a drum solo, which I timed at exactly 15 seconds!

15) "Carry That Weight" (1:36)

16) "The End" (2:19)

17) "Her Majesty" (0:23) ~ A very brief Ditty by McCartney to our current Queen Elizabeth.

Overall, this album must score 10 out of 10.

The album sleeve is also one of the most famous world-wide album sleeves, with the four band members strolling across a zebra crossing outside the Abbey Road studios in London.

Thanks for reading

Newty