Reprise » My Only and One: Abbey Road
With this month’s release of The Beatles U.S. albums by Capitol Records and my ongoing re-appreciation of the group’s library of songs, I’ve decided to reprise a series arc from the archives. Each a short post of the British albums on The Lads official list.
From these, in the order as they are in 2009’s remastered stereo set (with a key exception), I’ll list their songs from the spotlighted album and pick two:
- the only – if I could only listen to one track, the best song that exemplifies the album, it would be this number
- the one – if I could pick a single tune that doesn’t get either the play or the credit it deserves, it’s this one
Abbey Road
Come Together
Something
Maxwell’s Silver Hammer
Oh! Darling
Octopus’s Garden
I Want You
Here Comes The Sun
Because
You Never Give Me Your Money
Sun King
Mean Mr. Mustard
Polythene Pam
She Came In Through The Bathroom Window
Golden Slumbers
Carry That Weight
The End
Her Majesty
This was the way The Beatles truly brought it all to a close. Abbey Road being their final studio album that arrived 26 September 1969. Perhaps, saving their best for last — even giving Ringo Starr his only drum solo in the Beatles’ catalogue. Vital numbers: The LP topped the British album chart in October and stayed there for a total of seventeen of its 81 weeks initially. On this side of the pond, it spent eleven weeks at #1 during its premiere run of 83 weeks.
My Only: The Medley. There was no way I was not going to select this as my Only, or break up any part of the medley from the climatic side B of this album. This is not a slight of any tune on the A side. In my opinion, and there are many that back me up, this was among their greatest in the Fab Four’s discography. Arguably, Abbey Road was their best album, period. I don’t know if they knew what they were creating, but I do know they put whatever bad feelings behind them to finish with their finest effort. End on a high note. This, they categorically succeeded in doing.
My One: Because. I could say this song has within it some absolutely marvelous harmonies. Or that Because was a magnificent, and one of a kind, final example of Beatles psychedelia shared with fans. “But that sh*t ain’t the truth. The truth is…” it’s because.
What would be your Only and One for this album?
The entire series can be found here.
It Rains... You Get Wet 
12 Responses to “Reprise » My Only and One: Abbey Road”
“Because.” Oh, how I love that one. My preference is for the accapella version on Anthology 3, because the timing and the harmonies are so much clearer.
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It’s marvelous how ‘Because’ plays on the album cut and the acapella version on Anthology 3. They’re great to play back-to-back, too. Many thanks, Naomi! 🙂
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Come Together.
Here Comes the Sun.
Go George!
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Go George, indeed. Another splendid pair, Cindy. Many thanks. 🙂
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Hi Michael, I’m not too familiar w/ the Beatles to be honest, I gotta ask my hubby, ahah. But this morning I heard the German version of I Want To Hold Your Hand which I thought was hilarious: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9zMBj-Uxy4 Somehow the Germans thought the English version wouldn’t sell or something. Of course when the subsequent songs were popular in that country they realized that wasn’t the case. Still I think it’s fun to hear English songs in another language 😀
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That’s a wonderful version that still brings the brilliance of The Lads to the forefront. Thanks for including that, Ruth! 🙂
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For me, it would “Octopus’ Garden”. I just love that song. In second, “Here Comes the Sun”. It’s a fucking perfect album from start to finish.
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Wonderful pairing for a simply stellar album, ninvoid99. Many thanks! 🙂
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I like your choices but I would have to say Here Comes the Sun. My wife walked down the isle to the song at our wedding so it holds a special meaning to me. Great blogging!
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That’s a great one for such an occasion, mummbles! Wow. No wonder it carries a special meaning. You guys have fine tastes. 🙂
Many thanks, my friend.
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[…] For all that, I think he really shined when the legendary group drew to a close. George’s guitar touches are all over Abbey Road: […]
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[…] music from the Abbey Road album reverberating to this day and was initially treated to generally favorable reviews and strong […]
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