“Abbey Road,” by The Beatles is always going to be in my top five favourite records of all time. In fact, this was the very first Beatles record that I discovered, back in the day towards the end of Grade 7! I still remember that first time hearing it, and being amazed how one song flowed right into the other perfectly, it was sort of like experiencing another musical epiphany. One of my former friends had a sort of “show and tell” presentation, and brought his father’s entire Beatles collection on vinyl to school. I mean we were already listening to  Pink Floyd, and Bruce Springsteen, and I remember going through that collection, and when I got to “Abbey Road,” I was amazed. Even before listening to the record, just the cover impressed me. I mean, you’ve got the fab-four, John, Paul, George, and Ringo crossing the road, looking absolutely BADASS! But once I gave that record a listen, it was pure love. Just the productions of the record, where the melodies, the lyrics, how songs segue perfectly from one another,, I mean EVERYTHING WITHIN THE RECORD IS GREAT! It was also the George Martin comeback record, after Phil Spector butchered “Let it Be.” I’m not saying that “Let it Be” is terrible, no, but I prefer the naked version, or even the recent  2021 Giles Martin mix. I find that it captures a true Beatles recording session, but we’ll continue this conversation another time. But what’s interesting is if you’ve gotten the chance to watch The Beatles Get Back documentary series that came out in 2021,where you get a great glimpse on the fab-four not only working on some of the songs for the record, but also for “Let it Be.” 

The record kicks off with this sort of mysterious beat titled “Come Together.” but then followed by this beautiful tune written by George Harrison titled, “Something.” And let me just point out that all of Harrison’s compositions within the record are AMAZING.  “Something,” has such a great soft orchestral melody that’s accompanied with a superb beat. But then, side two of the record kicks off with, “Here Comes the Sun.” Everytime I hear this song, and I see the sun coming on a warm summer day simultaneously, I get goosebumps, it’s the perfect way to kick off any day, TRUST ME! I mean, you’ve got this helluva backbeat, and the melody played on an acoustic guitar just melts into your ears. But, what gets to me is the final four songs at the end of “Abbey Road.”  “Golden Slumbers,” “Carry the Weight,” “The End,” and “Her Majesty.” It’s almost as if The Beatles are telling us that, “Yeah, it’s our final record we’re putting out, but we’ve hoped that you enjoyed this long, great, and strange trip it’s been.” “Golden Slumbers,” is organized beautifully, then you’ve got your vocal harmonies coming out of, “Carry the Weight,” where the fab-four are all singing together for the last time.  Then comes “The End,” an electrifying jam between The Beatles, followed by “Her Majesty,” the shortest song in The Beatles repertoire. But, let me just point something out here. “The End,” leaves us off with this message to remember, something that The Beatles wanted us to keep, and to share with one another.

“And in the end 

The love you take 

Is equal to the love you make.”