The Beatles - Abbey Road
September 26th, 1969.
Apple
Abbey Road turns 55. The Beatles final stand as a creative entity - creative powerhouse - is a kaleidoscopic and sun-touched batch of ornate songs. Abbey Road, the apotheosis of psychedelically sprinkled pop, would be the last batch of songs that The Beatles would record.
Abbey Road is THE Beatles Record. The debate runs hot - as it should do; as it deserves to - but the train stops here. Say what you will, Abbey Road is the most vibrant, well-arranged and well-sequenced project that the Liverpool lads put together. Sure, Rubber Soul and Sgt. Pepper are just as iconic, the The White Album is 90-minutes of Beatles hysteria, and Revolver sees the lads dip into a psychedelic slumber, but Abbey Road is where it peaks - just in time for the end. The beauty of music - art in general - is that there's an infinite amount of avenues to take - a one-off lane for each of us to step down. Finding others along that path with similar outlooks and work ethics is rare, although it happens from time to time - cherish them, let them know. Some are more natural and suit the necessary essence - The Beatles being the equivalent of pop culture's musical Mother Nature - and some carve and cut their teeth on a more pressured approach, but the process will show you things that can't be discovered on the outside. Turn in and reflect out. Radiate kindly.
The end suite. That is all. The flow. The lush-rawness. The beauty. The many ways the band find their feet in different forms. The sheer joy that arises as the tracks fall off of one another.
And in the end, I'm forever grateful for The Beatles additions to the world of music. Their dedication to the craft. Their devotion to excellence.
