Abbey Road Revisited
A Re-examination of One of the Most Celebrated Albums in Pop History
Mar 5, 2009
Making the claim that any Beatles album is underrated or underappreciated would seem to be a difficult row to hoe; making that claim for an album as universally appreciated and critically acclaimed as Abbey Road might appear to be a fool’s errand. This is, after all, the 14th greatest album of all time, according to a 2003 Rolling Stone article.
That claim is, however, precisely what this article will attempt to do: make the case that Abbey Road is, in fact, greatly misunderstood and, in fact, one of the seminal albums of our time.
A Final Message from The Beatles
What makes Abbey Road such an important record is the fact that it is in actuality a highly self-conscious farewell message from arguably the most important, influential bands in history. Much has been made about the role of the Beatles in the development of popular music as we know it today: the use of harmonies, the lyrical genius of each primary songwriting member, the development of the “concept album”; all find unparalleled realization in the collective output of John, Paul, George, and Ringo in the decade they were making music as The Beatles.
Given this exalted role they inhabit in the annals of music history, then, how is it possible to understate the significance of a single historical relic, created by the men themselves, that attempts to tie up their lives together, to offer some sort of closure to the generations of fans who consistently flock to their banner?
Abbey Road as Cultural Relic
This, then, is the way in which Abbey Road could be underappreciated; it is just such a farewell message, a goodbye and good love message from the boys from Liverpool, but its odd placement in the Beatles’ catalog ensures this message is something of a secret, that its true intention is obscured. The simple fact that, although it was the last recorded Beatles’ record, it was not actually the last released record, lends credence to this claim. Let It Be, a famously contentious album, was delayed in its release until 1970, a year after Abbey Road.
To go into the histories of these respective albums is not the intent of this article; instead, the transposition of the two in the chronology is mentioned simply to highlight the fact that Abbey Road was conceived from the very beginning as the final word on and from the Beatles, and contains myriad examples that, when considered in this light, dramatically influence the way in which the album as a whole and some of its specific tracks can be interpreted.
Continue reading this article; in The Beatles Bid Adieu, each member's specific contribution to Abbey Road's farewell message is examined.
