The Beatles - Abbey Road (CD 1988)

I consider this album one of the best, most innovative rock and roll albums ever released. And I'm talking innovative and fresh by today's standards, not just late 60's standards. These guys invented melodicism in rock music, and they certainly weren't afraid to experiment with sounds and ideas.

"Abbey Road offers something for everybody, a 90 year old senior citizen could enjoy this album just as easy as a five year old girl or boy. The sounds and tastes of this record are all over the map. For instance, whereas "Come Together" is a serious rock anthem with a heavy message, songs like "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" (Lennon-McCartney) and "Octopus's Garden" (Ringo Starr) are pure silly pop. The Beatles also tend to get very romantically inclined on "Abbey Road," as on the excellent "Something" (check out the wonderful string section), and on "Oh! Darling," where Paul McCartney belts out the lyrics in his most heartfelt tone. Overall, there's a boyish, innocent quality to these songs, especially lyrically, yet a sophistication in the sound and musical development. In short, The Beatles and their producer, George Martin, had the resources and talent to shine years ahead of their time.

Though The Beatles were on their way out with "Abbey Road," the 7 minute plus song "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" is reminiscent of another British band on their way in, in 1969, none other than Led Zeppelin. The song features severely wanting lyrics and an ingraining guitar riff that stays in your head light years after you hear it, definitely Jimmy Page style, before Page became a household name. On the flip side, songs like "Because" and "Sun King" are positively airy and lightweight, yet no less spectacular. The Beatles thrived on hazy and dreamy songs that featured their sky-high choruses and melting melodies. Mere mortals simply can't write music like this, yet The Beatles made it seem as easy as playing hop-scotch on a bright sunny day.

Starting at "You Never Give Me Your Money," the album transforms into a hot-potato medley of one inherently melodic song after another, as if the guys went composition-crazy and miraculously melded some of their best songs into one boiling pot and spewed everything out in one shockingly creative assembly line of tracks that just blend together magically. It's like a movie score with words or a spur-of-the moment "best of" mixture. Undoubtedly, Paul McCartney and John Lennon deserve the lion's share of credit for creating some of the best songs in the history of rock and roll in a span of twenty minutes on the second side of one album. The guys sound excited, joyful, happy to be alive, inspiring, crazy, and willing to experiment.

If it's the last album you ever purchase, buy "Abbey Road."