Happy 50th birthday to my favorite Beatles album


50 years, how can that be possible? Still sounds amazing… it always will.
Let’s get one thing out of the way, yes this is my personal favorite Beatles album but no, I don’t think this is their best one. That title goes in my opinion to Revolver, just like (IMHO) Sgt. Peppers is their most influential one. But Abbey Road always had a special place in my heart. It’s hard to explain, but in honor of its big 5-0, here’s a quick breakdown of why I love this album so much:

THE COVER
Recently the great Neil Sheasby of Stone Foundation wrote a fascinating series of posts about albums he bought based on how much he liked the cover. Well album covers don’t get much better than this. I am sure that no one bought this album based on the cover, but it’s so iconic that as a kid I remember this image came to my mind when the Beatles were mentioned even before I knew what songs were theirs.
I love how you can see this album cover next to their debut Please Please Me and you can fully appreciate the Beatles musical and stylistic evolution based on the artwork.

IT’S A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT
George started writing great songs around Rubber Soul in my opinion, but in this album he takes center stage as the two best songs on the album are his. That’s not a put down on Lennon and McCartney as their contributions are up to their usual amazing standards, but this is the album were all the members bring out their best game on the songwriting field, with Ringo’s Octopus Garden being another highlight.

SIDE 2
Talk about a collaborative effort, John and Paul had not really co-wrote a song for a while by then. Sure, all songs were credited to Lennon/McCartney, but we all know that Back in the USSR was Paul’s and Sexy Sadie was John’s. But here they decide to merge together what were probably a bunch of unfinished songs and create a medley for the ages in Side 2 of the album. The songs are different but they all fit perfectly together as George Martin’s production works like a charm for one final time.

THEY SAID GOODBYE ON THEIR OWN TERMS
After all the problems that came with the making of Let It Be, it was the wisest decision from the Fab Four to finish their recording career the right way.
Sure, Let It Be was released after Abbey Road, but to us fans, this is their final album.   
The End was the perfect song to close out the greatest run in music history, each member got to say farewell with a solo followed by the greatest closing line ever: "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make".

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