Abbey Road Album Review

                             THE ABBEY ROAD ALBUM

INTRODUCTION

The Beatles were a rock band from Liverpool. They where seen as one of the most inspirational rock bands of their time. they also where known for experimenting with different types genres such as; Indian music, hard rock, pop ballads etc. The Beatles were one of the first British bands to be huge worldwide, they had eight number one hits in Zimbabwe and Switzerland, and also had two in Ethiopia. They have also been named among the 20th century most influential people.

                              

                                                                         

                                                                       THE ALBUM      

Abbey Road was The Beatles eleventh studio album,  that was first published on the 26th September 1969. This was the last album that all Beatles produced together as a band. This album is the only Beatles Album that has no album title or any artist name in the front cover.

INSTRUMENTATION

John Lennon : Vocals, Guitar, Piano, Electric piano, Hammond Organ, Moog, White noise generator, Tambourine, and hand claps. 

Paul McCartney : Bass, Guitar, Vocal, Hammond Organ, Moog, Wind chimes tape loops, Harmonium, and Electric Piano.

George Harrison : Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Harmonium, and Moog.

Ringo Starr : Drums, Anvil, Congas, Bongos, Maracas, and Tambourine.

Billy Preston: Hammond Organ.

George Martin: Lower Organ, Hammond Organ, and Electric Harpsichord.

Both John Lennon and Paul McCartney sung more leading vocals, than George Harrison and Ringo Starr. Lennon and McCartney also produced most of the songs on the album. Paul McCartney is the Bass guitarist in most of the song on the album, where as both John Lennon and George Harrison are the are mostly lead guitarist.

PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES

Before The Beatles had arrived at Abbey Road studio, EMI had replaced their ancient mixers with the new TG12345 mixer, which was the first transistorized console in the Abbey Road studio. This mixer gave out much more smoother tones, and restricted any low distortion from traveling through. Because of the low end clarity it allowed the bass to sound more clearer.

LYRICAL MEANINGS

1.Come together : (written by John Lennon) This song was designed for Timothy Leary, who was a psychologist that was well known for his experiment with the drug LSD. Leary decided to sign up for Governor of California, so John Lennon concluded to write a song for his campaign. Leary never had much of a campaign but he did influence the creation of the song come together.

2.Something : (Written by George Harrison) This is the 2nd song of  the album which is a nostalgic, melancholic love song, that is based on a love between a man and his soul mate. Through out the song George asks his loved if their love will ever grow. It is believed that this song was based on his wife at the time ( Patti).

3.Maxwell Silver Hammer :  The song is based on a man named Maxwell who was a medical student, that turns out to be a serial killer. Paul McCartney had once emphasised in a interview that the song was based on the ups downs of life. For an example one minute your on top of the world, until  something unexpected happens.

4. Octopus Garden :(Written by Ringo Starr ) this song is  about how Octopus travel along the sea bed in search of beautiful stones and shiny object, to create a garden under the sea  where they live. Ringo Starr was told about the story of the octopus garden by a captain, so Ringo decide to create a joyful song about an Octopus garden.

REVIEW

1: The introduction of the Come together song is very rough and instant, which I believe is caused by Paul McCartney bass line. John Lennon was vocally very strained in this song, but he sounded clear throughout the whole piece. The melody is simple and catchy, it also has a typical 60s rock rhythm. The song has the simple chords of D minor, A, and G for the verses, the short chorus has the chords B minor and G. In this song both John Lennon  and George Harrison are the Lead guitarist, and Paul McCartney plays the bass guitar and does the riff of the song.  Lastly Ringo Starr plays the Maracas and the Drum kit for this piece.    

2: The song Something sounds very romantic and emotional. In the beginning of this song it is slow and calm, but as the piece carries on it gradually gets louder through the choruses and the Bridge. The melody is an the key C Major  until the bridge which it goes into the key A Major. In the guitar solo the Melody goes back into C Major, as well in the other parts such as the 3rd verse and the outro.  The lead vocals and guitarist is George Harrison, Paul McCartney is the backing vocal and the bass guitarist , Ringo Starr plays the drum and John Lennon plays the backing guitarist. Billy Preston is African American musician that played the piano for this piece. The other instruments that where    played in the song; Violins, violas, cellos, and a one string bass.

3: Maxwell the silver hammer gives out a humorous, quirky, and playful melody. the chords begin with D, B, E Minor, A, D, A for the verses, and the chorus chords are D, E, A, E Minor, A, D. Paul McCartney vocals gives out a more jovial bounce to intentionally give an opposite contrast between the lyrics and the melody of the song. In this piece they used  instruments such as the anvil and the Hammond organ to give out a more unique sound to the song. The lead and backing vocal are both done by Paul McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison also plays the guitar with Paul McCartney. Ringo plays the percussion instrument the anvil and the drum. And lastly The Beatles producer George martin plays the Hammond organ.

4. Octopus Garden is another Joyous song in the album. It has a typical chord structure which makes the tune catchy. The guitar solo makes the piece sound even more soothing and relaxed. This song doesn't sound as forceful and unnatural as some of the other songs in the album. the intro chords are   B, E, B, A, B, E,  C#m, A,  B. the chords for the verses are A minor, C#m, A, And B. Ringo Starr was the drum and lead vocalist, George was the backing vocals and lead guitarist, McCartney was the bass and piano player,  John Lennon was one of the guitar players. 

      

.Overall the lyrics in the Abbey Road album is a variety for example there are romantic, metaphoric, nostalgic, and peace making. You can also see that they had done a lot of experimenting in this album which did benefit them. personally I enjoy this album because of the mixture of different instruments, lyrical meaning, and genres. I would recommend this album to anyone, or to people who are a big fan of music.