As children born of unhappy marriages prove, people don't have to like each other to create something wonderful together. By April of 1969, The Beatles reportedly could not stand each other anymore. There were creative disputes, degrading remarks made at each others' expense and a sense that the band could not even function any more. This album was an attempt to make records “the way they used to,” free of the bickering and tension that had been growing ever since The White Album. Unfortunately, this admirable goal was not met and this album would be the last thing The Beatles recorded together, (though Let It Be would be the final record they released.)
Side one of the record is pretty standard Beatles fare in terms of its construction. Concise, pretty, faultless pop songs full of gorgeous harmonies and wonderful lyrics and vocals. Each member of the band's voice is on top form on side one. Side two is where the magic really begins. It is home to a suite full of amazing musical ideas unlike any The Beatles had done before.
Abbey Road features very little in the way of collaboration between members. Each song serves as a singular extension of the songwriter behind it. This sounds like it could be a detriment but it works in the album's advantage. Each song works as a great “last word” from the Beatle that wrote it. And could there be any greater last word than Come Together? O Darling? Something? Octopus' Garden? Okay well, not everyone's last words are meaningful are poignant.
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