Abbey Road Songs Ranked
Abbey Road is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band the Beatles, released on 26 September 1969 by Apple Records. Named after the location of EMI Studios in London, the cover features the group walking across the street’s zebra crossing, an image that became one of the most famous and imitated in popular music. The album’s initially mixed reviews were contrasted by its immediate commercial success, topping record charts in the UK and US. The lead single “Something” / “Come Together” was released in October and topped the US charts. Upon release, detractors found Abbey Road to be inauthentic and bemoaning the production’s artificial effects. Since then, many critics have hailed the album as the Beatles’ finest and a contender for the greatest album of all time; in particular, “Something” and “Here Comes the Sun” are considered among the best songs George Harrison wrote for the group. The album has also been ranked as one of the Beatles’ best-selling, including a multi-platinum certification by the RIAA. Shortly after its release, the cover photograph fuelled rumors of McCartney’s purported death. EMI Studios was also renamed Abbey Road Studios in honor of the album. In 2020, it was ranked fifth in Rolling Stone‘s list of the greatest albums of all time. Here are all of Abbey Road’s songs ranked. Here are all of Abbey Road’s songs ranked.
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12. Carry that Weight
“This song never receives enough respect. Perhaps because it is insubstantial on its own. Placed with Golden Slumbers and The End, though, it is a masterpiece. Whatever, Cowboy Bebop forever.”
11. Maxwell’s Silver Hammer
“Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” is the terrifying psychopathic story told in the form of children’s music. It’s smooth, serene and you think about telling your kids until you notice the lyrics that are strong, heavy and ironic. It has an infectious chorus and a fun story.”
10. Oh! Darling
“To complement what I said up there, we have the top 3 McCartney. Excellent bass player (Something), excellent songwriter (Maxwell’s Silver Hammer) and a fucking vocalist (this one). How can someone sing so differently as if they weren’t doing anything great? This guy saw it! The most emotional ‘ballad’ ever written! Pay attention to the small details (in fact the entire record).”
9. Because
“Here we start what I would say is a single track (one day I’ll put them all together just for a taste, laughs). That guitar and keyboard that start together sounds great. And the vocals? All singing together in perfect vocalization. It’s hard for me to write about the record because most of the time I’m singing along (laughs).”
See more: The Beatles Albums Ranked
8. Golden Slumbers
“Fantastic is not enough! What George did with the orchestra here is priceless (take a look at the Love record he just released with collages of the Beatles’ sounds and you’ll understand why the guy is a genius), and once again Paul shows that he is one of the best singers from the rock world (in my opinion The best, even Freddie Mercury, which for me is awesome).”
7. You Never Give Me Your Money
“This piano is divine, another one of Paul’s melodies and the bass from the beginning? Putz! Emotional until I can’t anymore. And to diversify the chorus is full of honky tonk, a kind of sallon. Ringo’s drums are splendid in this part! The lullaby at the end just makes the most sensational thing. Great guitars at the end.”
See more: The Beatles Songs Ranked
6. Octopus’s Garden
“Octopus’s Garden” is the upbeat song that needed to be on the album: “I’d like to be, under the sea, on Octopu’s Garden” is the chorus you sing with your friends after a few hours at the bar. There’s an entire instrumentation behind that, even disguised by the excitement of the singing, is felt with praise.”
5. The End
“This was the peak of their career. Ringo’s very solid drum solo, followed by a rotating guitar solo with three sets of two bars each from by Paul, George, and John, which was recorded on the first take with no overdubs, it truly shows how in tune with each other these musicians were. Then the summation of their entire catalogue, underscored by their most beautiful music: “And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.” Magnificent.”
4. I Want You (She’s So Heavy)
“These are frequently asked questions from people who hear I Want You for the first time. This song alone has influenced half of the prog musicians on the planet (and I would say King Criimson for sure). While John incessantly sings the same phrase throughout virtually the entire song, the guitar accompanies him in perfect tune. And the chorus is one of the most sensational things in the world, relentless, I could keep listening to this song even if it had about 30 minutes (what a delight it would be). The guitar solo is another gem, starting with the song’s melody. And let’s not forget the Hammonds hidden throughout the entire track. More than perfect vocals (hey, we’re talking Beatles here, perfection is redundancy).”
3. Come Together
“Come Together has one of the best known riffs in the rock world (the riff in question is Paul’s bass riff), the song was kind of an anthem for John who played it throughout his solo career. The Beatles sound is unique and all timbres are almost impossible to recreate. There’s a little guitar invoked in the background of the song that’s really hard to hear, Paul’s backing vocals were perfect. And what about this refrain? One of the most exciting and exciting things. Doubt? Do you have a band? So take this song out and play in your shows to see if it’s not true, I can prove it. It has a short keyboard solo that already splices into a guitar solo. Ringo’s drums I love. It has that ‘untuned’ tone of a drummer that few speak but that should be more respected.”
2. Here Comes the Sun
“Well, here we would start the second side, actually I’m sure this track should have been on side 1 of the record since everything else is made up of little pearls all interconnected, it probably just wasn’t included on side 1 for lack of time, and of many excellent songs! As I said up there, Goerge is a fantastic songwriter, in Here Comes The Sun it doesn’t change at all. Everyone knows this song (and please don’t tell me about the version Lulu Santos did for it, and thinking that one day he was already part of a sensational band like Vimana). The guitar from the beginning is beautiful, a genius thing. Fantastic melody. Amazing band! Damn Beatles is awesome. I love these guys, believe me.”
1. Something
“George didn’t compose with the same speed as Lennon and McCartney, but when he did… PQP, when he got his hands dirty he presented us with songs like this, a gem of the world songbook already recorded thousands of times. And special attention to the great Paul McCartney on one of the most sensational bass lines ever recorded. And of course, we have the hand of the 5th Beatle George Martin with beautiful orchestrations and a shy but essential keyboard in the background. The guitar solo? Well, it’s the most melodic solo in the news, it shivers all over the body to speak the truth. Save George wherever you are, the most upstanding of the 4 Fab Four, never got into scandals, his only fault was being too religious and believing in the wrong people (read Indian Gurus and the like).”