Picture 1 of 1


Picture 1 of 1


Abbey Road by The Beatles (CD, Oct-1987, Capitol)

- rarewaves-ca(125595)
- 99% positive feedback
It's exciting to hear the songs that aren't part of the greatest hits compilations because they're not commonly played. The music has been around for well over 50 years but hearing it for the first time is like finding something new. The Beatles were revolutionary musicians and it's fun to experience music from a simpler time. God save The Beatles.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
"Abbey Road offers something for everybody, a 90 year old senior citizen could enjoy this album just as easy as a five year old girl or boy. The sounds and tastes of this record are all over the map. For instance, whereas "Come Together" is a serious rock anthem with a heavy message, songs like "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" (Lennon-McCartney) and "Octopus's Garden" (Ringo Starr) are pure silly pop. The Beatles also tend to get very romantically inclined on "Abbey Road," as on the excellent "Something" (check out the wonderful string section), and on "Oh! Darling," where Paul McCartney belts out the lyrics in his most heartfelt tone. Overall, there's a boyish, innocent quality to these songs, especially lyrically, yet a sophistication in the sound and musical development. In short, The Beatles and their producer, George Martin, had the resources and talent to shine years ahead of their time. Though The Beatles were on their way out with "Abbey Road," the 7 minute plus song "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" is reminiscent of another British band on their way IN in 1969, none other than Led Zeppelin. The song features severely wanting lyrics and an ingraining guitar riff that stays in your head light years after you hear it, definitely Jimmy Page style, before Page became a household name. On the flip side, songs like "Because" and "Sun King" are positively airy and lightweight, yet no less spectacular. The Beatles thrived on hazy and dreamy songs that featured their sky-high choruses and melting melodies. Mere mortals simply can't write music like this, yet The Beatles made it seem as easy as playing hop-scotch on a bright sunny day. Starting at "You Never Give Me Your Money," the album transforms into a hot-potato medley of one inherently melodic song after another, as if the guys went composition-crazy and miraculously melded some of their best songs into one boiling pot and spewed everything out in one shockingly creative assembly line of tracks that just blend together magically. It's like a movie score with words or a spur-of-the moment "best of" mixture. Undoubtedly, Paul McCartney and John Lennon deserve the lion's share of credit for creating some of the best songs in the history of rock and roll in a span of twenty minutes on the second side of one album. The guys sound excited, joyful, happy to be alive, inspiring, crazy, and willing to experiment. As the music on "Abbey Road" mutates from one moment to the next, sometimes in the space of just one song, the lustrous sounds and sky-high choruses mix perfectly with the weightless lyrics, which sometimes refer to strange events or people, or just as easily, sound hazy and dreamy, in their own spacey world. Nonetheless, it's worth mentioning The Beatles blatant attempt at spreading their famous "love is all you need" message throughout the album, especially the back-half of the album. As the album winds down, and we here such greats as "Mr. Mustard" and the punkish "Polythene Pam" (both ahead of their time), it's the understatement of the century to say that it ends dramatically. The Beatles go out with a positive and touching message on one of the last lines of the record, and it's not a reach to say that this is one of the most well thought out albums ever made, a concept album with no real concept. I'm now beginning to understand why many have said over the years it is The Beatles and then everyone else.........Read full review
I have always been a fan of The Beatles. After-all, where would rock n' roll be without this group? I guess we owe a lot to The Beatles, Elvis and all the early musicians who helped bring great music into our lives. It even goes back to the classics such as Chopin, Beethovan, etc. You know, all those are on CDs now too! Look at all that has aspired because of music. There was the old victrola with the big old 78 records, the newer small record players that would play 78s, 45s and 33 albums. Look at how much space it use to take to house the 45 & album collections we use to have! Then, came along the hi-fi system that made music sound even better! Outside speakers were the best! For our personal pleasure, there were the transister radios. Modern technology then brought us the stereo system, followed by taped versions (cassettes) of our favorite music, which sure made take-along music much simpler. Then, we evolved into the CDs. Now, there are stereo systems with surround sound, and even newer: MP3 players, so that we can program our music the way we like it. The list goes on and on...and today we have the greatest music available since the day it all started. Modern technology would not have been worth anything without the musicial talents that brought us tunes to dance, relax, clean house, work on cars, or cruise to. And, none of these inventions would have been worth anything, had it not been for the great musical artists who helped bring us into the era of modern music. Thanks to The Beatles, Elvis, The Rolling Stones, Mamas & Papas, Eagles, Janis Joplin, The Who, ELO, etc...the list is endless. Guess the list depends on your preference...but whatever you like, it all dates back to those who went to work to create the sounds.Read full review
Enjoyable piece of the mop-tops' music history. You can appreciate the ground breaking sound the Beatles developed at this point in the 1960s. If you added this music album with their Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, you manage to get most of the songs the Bee-Gees used in their movie tribute to the Beatles with their Sgt. Pepper's late 70's motion picture. This album, Abbey Road, was also in the midst of the "Paul is Dead" rumors the Beatles created for those folk who always tried to find hidden messages in the music soundtracks. Even the cover photo of Abbey Road holds a visual clue -- with Paul barefoot on the street crossing.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
I had the 1969 LP of this Beatles 1987 CD and just had to have it again. I first thought I was going into a mid-life crisis and teenage regression by buying it! But, as soon as I put this CD into the Kenwood car stereo and played it through Blau Punkt speakers, I realized I'd never really "heard" the truest & clearest sound of the musical talent of the Beatles before that day in 2006. I thought to myself, my gawd they were that good back when? All but for recording technology evolving, the musical quality was lost on an LP & even the cassette. The tracks are all classic and many of them were paid tribute to by the Bee Gees (and even Steve Martin!) in the movie "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." Track listing 1. Come Together 2. Something 3. Maxwell's Silver Hammer 4. Oh! Darling 5. Octopus' Garden 6. I Want You (She's So Heavy) 7. Here Comes the Sun 8. Because 9. You Never Give Me Your Money 10. Sun King 11. Mean Mr. Mustard 12. Polythene Pam 13. She Came in Through the Bathroom Window 14. Golden Slumbers 15. Carry That Weight 16. The End 17. Her Majesty The lesson for me is that this 47 minute CD is (not) new music from 1969-70. And it was by the original Beatles: Paul McCartney 64 now, 27 then! 16yo when some of these songs were composed (vocals, guitar, keyboards, bass--and he's still singing and playing these songs in concerts today--without the rest of the band); John Lennon (murdered in NYC) (vocals, guitar, keyboards); George Harrison (deceased of natural causes) (vocals, guitar, synthesizer); Ringo Starr (alive and kicking, but not with Paul McCartney or in Beatles' style (vocals, drums, percussion). Sir McCartney is the only one of the four who still carries on the Beatles' traditional music that this CD represents. Even though John Lennon became such a high profile martyred Beatle, Paul McCartney inspired the songs for the 1969-70 Abbey Road. George Harrison had his first hit single "Something." John Lennon created the more spacey heavy metal ones, "Come Together" and "I Want You."Ringo Starr made a favorite hit with children in his "Octopus' Garden." McCartney can carry the group's sound without the rest of the original band. This leads me to believe he was the heart of the group. I always presumed that Lennon, who was so radical and out in the media front, carried the sound of the Beatles. I hadn't realized it then like I do now, that this CD has a little something in it for everyone. You've never heard the classic Abbey Road until you've heard the CD!Read full review
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best Selling in CDs
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Save on CDs