Abbey Road

Charted:
#1 US & UK

Album Notes:
Not the last Beatles album to be released, but the last to be recorded. It marked a return to the happy, upbeat songs the band recorded in its early days, despite the open hostility that had developed between band members.

Album Cover Notes:
One of the most famous album covers ever, it was hastily shot outside London's Abbey Road Studios where this and many other Beatles albums were recorded.

Track List & Song Info:

Side One
1. "Come Together" (Lennon-McCartney)
      ^{Originally written by Lennon for Timothy Leary's campaign for governor in California}
2. "Something" (Harrison)
      ^{First Harrison song to be the A-side of a single release}
3. "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" (Lennon-McCartney)
      ^{A medical student goes on a murder spree, sung to a happy tune}
4. "Oh! Darling" (Lennon-McCartney)
      ^{McCartney rehearsed and recorded the lead vocal for a week before getting the sound he wanted}
5. "Octopus's Garden" (Starkey)
      ^{Inspired by a boat trip on which Ringo was offered a lunch consisting of octopus}
6. "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" (Lennon-McCartney)
      ^{A Lennon experiment in hard rock, with scant lyrics and long stretches of repeated chords}

Side Two
1. "Here Comes the Sun" (Harrison)
      ^{George's best known Beatles song, written in collaboration with Eric Clapton}
2. "Because" (Lennon-McCartney)
      ^{Inspired by Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata," played backwards}
3. "You Never Give Me Your Money" (Lennon-McCartney)
      ^{Slightly comical lyrics set to experimental music}
4. "Sun King" (Lennon-McCartney)
      ^{Inspired by Fleetwood Mac's "Albatross," according to George}
5. "Mean Mr. Mustard" (Lennon-McCartney)
      ^{John was inspired by the story of a man who hid his money rather than spend it}
6. "Polythene Pam" (Lennon-McCartney)
      ^{Lennon limerick about the sex life of a fictional Liverpool girl}
7. "She Came in Through the Bathroom Window" (Lennon-McCartney)
      ^{True story of a fan who broke into Paul's house}
8. "Golden Slumbers" (Lennon-McCartney)
      ^{McCartney's lullaby was based on a poem by Thomas Dekker}
9. "Carry That Weight" (Lennon-McCartney)
      ^{One of the few tracks on which all four Beatles provide vocal harmony}
10. "The End" (Lennon-McCartney)
      ^{Contains Ringo's only recorded drum solo}
11. "Her Majesty" (Lennon-McCartney)
      ^{At 23-seconds, the shortest song in the Beatles catalog}