The Beatles - Abbey Road

The recording of Let It Be was miserable, to the point that the Beatles came very close to calling it quits right then and there.  But they decided to do one more album, and I for one appreciate their attempt to go out on a happier note.

1. "Come Together" - Like a lot of others of John's from this period, it's bluesy and it has nonsense lyrics.  But it's probably the best of them.
2. "Something" - George once again shows us that he knows how to write a good song now.  It's a simple love song, but his guitar sound just adds that extra bit to make it special.
3. "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" - In what almost seems like a direct response to all my comments about him writing sweet love songs, Paul writes a song about a serial killer.  The actual hammer hits on the chorus make this one even more irreverent.  It's poppy and bouncy and yet with such wonderfully twisted subject matter.
4. "Oh! Darling" -  Would you call this a bluesy ballad?  Regardless I think it really shows off Paul's vocals well and I like it a lot.
5. "Octopus's Garden" - Poor Ringo.  He was kind of setting himself up for this one, wasn't he?  All I can think of is that moment in Walk Hard where they have him say "I wrote a song about an octopus."  But despite it's rather light hearted and silly subject matter, I think this is a good song for Ringo, definitely the best of his we've heard so far.  If nothing else, it's a strong hint for what his solo career would be like.  I like the song, though I'll admit I don't listen to it regularly.
6. "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" - I like the slow build of this song.  It's  one of their better blues songs.
7. "Here Comes the Sun" - Another strong one from George that really shows off his strengths in both guitar and singing at this point.
8. "Because" - Another hippie song.  Between the subject matter and how little music there is here, I don't care for this one.
9. "You Never Give Me Your Money" - This starts the medley of short songs that finish up this album.  I like this one.
10. "Sun King" - This song is barely enough of a song to comment on.  It's a little too simple.
11. "Mean Mr. Mustard" - The brevity of this one just makes it more fun though.  It paints a great picture of the old man (who is stingy, not necessarily cruel).
12. "Polythene Pam" - Another fun quick portrait of a person, and once again a great beat to accompany it.
13. "She Came In Through the Bathroom Window"  - Another strong one from Paul that I wish was a little bit longer.
14. "Golden Slumbers" - Probably the most interesting thing about this song is that it was written because Paul couldn't read sheet music.  It's good but there's not much to it.
15. "Carry That Weight" - There's not much to this one either.  It makes it hard to talk about songs when they're often not much more than snippets.
16. "The End" - What I like the most about this song is the fact that each Beatle gets a solo on it, and maybe it's just because of how often I listen to their music, but I can easily tell which one is which (granted, Ringo's is a given!).  It's a great climax to the album and their career as a whole.
17. "Her Majesty" - Though we technically have this simple little hidden track right at the end that is such fun to sing along to.