When you finish this one, watch the companion video on You Can't Unhear This here for a deep dive into some hidden sounds in the medley: ua-cam.com/video/2zfv7Gl9P3U/v-deo.html
@@farrellmcnulty909 The '69 and '09 versions have the exact same elements, although how they hit your ear may be different - the '09 was just a re-master, not a new mix. The 2019 mix does have different elements - fading and panning vary.
@@FabFourArchivist Proud to own the original Abbey Road vinyl from when it was released. And by that time, the American albums finally matched the British versions track for track. My Rubber Soul vinyl has Its Only Love on it. Does not have Baby You Can Drive My Car, which is a shame cause that's a brilliant album opener. it also doesn't have Nowhere Man, which is one of the coolest songs ever written lyrically, vocally and chord progression wise.
Yeah, like when asking John's opinion about George's Within You Without You. In 1967, he called it ''the indian shit''. In 1980 (last interview), he praised it for George's spiritual lyrics and eclectic melody.
He was only 40 when he was murdered. Think of how bitter someone can be towards what they did in their 20s when they're in their 30s. Especially an artist that at times may not have been too eager to re-hash his past but instead move forward. Had he lived into his 50s, 60s, one can only imagine how he might have softened up on things.
i played in British invasion bands at Hard Rock casinos. I love playing all three parts! I like George's solos the best, but John and Paul were great also on their solos. I've seen many UA-cam vids of Paul on tour. He always does that 'alternating solo' thing with his other guitarists. I think I read that the three Beatules were not in the studio at the same time during each solo recording.
@@2011littleguy Incorrect on them not being in the studio at the same time. On the contrary, they somewhat decided to do the trading solo's at the last moment. They ran through/rehearsed it just a few times, then recorded it right then. I *think* I recall that they even did it facing in other in chairs (versus iso booths).
For me this is The Beatles album I like most. I feel like I’m in heaven every time I hear it again. I was 16 years old in 1970. Now, 50 years later, it still makes me emotional. Indeed, I cried many times hearing this album. This is my life’s album. What else could I say?
You are not alone. The Beatles were the medium through which the Great Spirit chose to let us hear divine music. Why them ? Who knows . They themselves were not aware of it : they always say : the songs just came to them.
It's my life's album too. I was but an infant when it came out, and my mother definitely played the heck out of it. Its music is practically imprinted in my DNA.
Interesting. This album is not my favorite, which is not to say I don't like it. But the end of the Beatles and my general unhappiness in those days as a child, have created a strange love/hate feeling for me. I could not bear to look at what they were saying in the press in those days- it could not possibly have been true. But ultimately it was- the Beatles stopped. They were no more. Defunct. And that phenomenon more than just about anything else, was the hardest reality to live with, to the 10 year old I was at the time. I got over it, of course. But I never trusted that anything so nice would ever last forever. So maybe it was for the better, but I still have those conflicting feelings with this album. For me- I like Rubber Soul and Revolver. The full-tilt energy of moving forward and taking the world as they do it. That energy I like. It always inspires me and I can for a split second feel they are alive and vital. Because they are. Tomorrow truly Never Knows!
@@illadrobici - I undestand that, but I’ve got the same felling only to the song “I want you - she’s so heavy” - after I read on their biography that that song was the very last they were together - recording on EMI studio. It happened in october 69, I guess. I could never hear it after that, ‘cause I feel depressed - always want to cry, so I don’t listen it anymore.
@@fbello18 I wonder if we might be related. My mother's maiden name was Freitas. I know it's a common portuguese name- at least for the few people we have in the us of portuguese descent. Not likely that we're closely related, but - who knows. Are you in Portugal or Brazil or somewhere else? I live in san Francisco.
The End was a culmination of John Paul George & Ringo’s genius as musicians the 3 guitar solos along with Ringos virtuosity on the drums. IMO by far, the Best of The Beatles.
You know, Its frustrating how John was such a great talent, but so small and petty a man. He resented Paul for his abilities which were every bit as good as John's, and the fact that Paul came up with Sgt Pepper concept, which I think was a clever idea. He came up with Mystery tour concept, too. The movie failed as none of them had any real experience in Script writing and directing, But the idea had potential had they sought some professional guidance. The music was great. And the Medley was Paul's too, along with a work ethic the other 3 lacked. I wish John had been a more even tempered person. Hi loose lips have tainted his legacy, which is a considerable one.
Diligence Integrity - Paul in a sense kept them going after Brian's death. While the Magical Mystery Tour movie flopped, the soundtrack was ace. Totally agree: both very talented in their own right.
@@mattyc.9332 I think he kept them together and productive even if they resented it. And I am willing to bet that if you could talk do the powerful Execs of EMI, they probably had a high regard for Paul and his work ethic. He put money in their bank accounts and records on the store shelves. I wonder if they would have put out as much material and LPs as they did had it not been for Paul. He seemed to care more about continuing to make music and money. I know there were money problems early on, but eventually, they all made money. I think there were some professional Jealousies. Paul was stuck between a rock and a hard place and no way to win. I've been there a time or two.
He was super critical of himself and nothing was ever good enough. If he didn't have that attitude, his songs might not have been half as good, who knows?
They did a great job of seaguing the songs together... and the guitar work on the whole medley is fantastic... but, with the exception of "You Never Give Your Money," "Carry that Weight," and "The End," the songs themselves are not among the very greatest Beatles classics, imo.
The Beatles quite often would respond to questions with an opposite view of what one would anticipate. It's part of their charm. They like to mix things up with their innovations and cheekyness!
@S A John Lennon was never satisfied with the final product of his or his band's work. Either what he imagined it would be was more amazing than could be put on record, or his contrarian and often self-loathing nature made his opinions mercurial and unpredictable, especially in interviews. His opinions honestly don't matter that much, other than it would be sad if John died thinking his life was wasted because his Art never lived up to his Ideas.
@Mk. 5II33II4N The Beatles genius came from John and Paul's writing from both ends of the spectrum. Think what it would have been like if it were two John or two Paul personalities writing.
@Mk. 5II33II4N I don't like those songs either but fact is John wrote so much granny shite later on in Double Fantasy, which was a time he was pretty content with life. Who knows maybe that's what he would've gone for later on had he been alive. John might've hated those songs but a lot of his comments did come from bitterness against Paul which he did retract a little bit later on. Gosh I wish he lived longer I really do. Not all granny shit is bad I realize as I grow up.
Yes, certainly. But then again, it really is pretty crappy. Especially his own contributions, Mean Mr. Mustard and Polythene Pam. Those SUCK. And I personally also hate how synthetic, insincere and unelegant Pauls songwriting had become by then. You just smell how his success convinced him, that each fart he farted was a fart of genius. In this album, George Harrison is the only serious musician and songwriter.
Yes, he hated everything about it...until he was in the recording studio and sang like an angel and put all his musical talent into it, even the tracks he didn't like. Why? Because he couldn't not do it. He was a Beatle.
George Martin ( the fifth beatle ) was so instrumental in making the Beatles music what it was, his contributions can never be overlooked nor as an aside.
We take that as a given, likely the suggestor-in-chief since he uttered "why not some harmonica bits?" within the first minute of starting to construct "Love Me Do".
The really sad thing is a lot of people have never heard it and for some reason it seems like there's too much hatred for most people to change, what's really needed now is the second coming of Christ.
I think there was a period of time, maybe most of the time, that John relished his role of contrarian. Most of what he said about the Beatles, particularly in the years right after the break up, was just his hurt speaking I think.
I think also John liked to exaggerate just to increase publicity for his and Yoko's causes. Plus he did resent Paul for causing bad blood between the others and Allen Klein and also Klein was a shtick-stirrer aswell.
Did I mention what a nasty, no talent, coattail-riding individual Yuko is? If it weren’t for John who would ever have heard of her? She is a cartoon character.
I remember hearing the Let It Be album when it first came out and how disappointing it was listening to the funereal dirge as the epitaph to the Beatles career. It wasn’t until some years later that I learned that Let It Be wasn’t the Beatles last album to be recorded but was the last album to be released . The last album recorded was Abbey Road and what a wonderful thing it was to find that out.
Over the years, when I heard the Abbey Road Side 2 medley, I assumed I was listening to a radio station's self-created potpourri consisting of bits of complete Beatles songs. In 2009, I happened to listen to the Abbey Road album from start to finish. I was driving to work. The album ended as I parked. I stayed in my car, speechless. Tears were rolling. I was trembling. The creativity, power, and beauty of the whole album, and especially the medley, made me aware in a new way of how extremely talented and unique are the Beatles. Thanks for creating and posting this great video!
your comment made me well-up. The Beatles (most particularly their later works) always brings me to tears these days. So then I go back and watch old clips of them from their early days and see the pure, unadulterated joy in their faces as they perform live, and I'm back in my happy place again.
ronvk100 The only portion of the "Medley" I like is the "Golden Slumbers" ~ "The End". I've always felt Paul's excellent "You Never Give Me Your Money" should have been a separate track. I've also felt John's embarrassing "throwaways" Sun King, Mean Mr. Mustard & Polythene Pam should have never been allowed to be Included on a Beatles album!!! I just can't believe Lennon wrote this crap and would take credit for it!!!
ronvk100 Correction! The Beatles final recording sessions were on January 3,1970 when Paul, George and Ringo recorded "I Me Mine". On January 4,1970, Paul, George, Ringo and Linda McCartney recorded overdubs for "Let It Be". On January 8, 1970, George Harrison re-recorded his Lead Vocal for "For You Blue".
@@ronvk100 Let It Be was released after Abbey Road, so nobody heard Let It Be until after Abbey Road. For all intents and purposes, Let It Be was heard after Abbey Road and so Let It Be was the final masterpiece.
@@redhotfunkyblues Blasphemy is a concept for all times, not just medieval. God is not an imaginary deity, He is real if not to you He is very real to me. You can't take that from me.
@@hib32 Turn it in mate. John said years before that Beatles were bigger than Jesus Christ. Suitable Lennon mockery for the big book of fairy stories, given the subject at hand.
The 'second side' of Abbey Road has some of the most spectacular segues in music history. Lennon was pretty much rubbishing everything the Beatles did by that time, including his own earlier writing. I felt sorry for the ignominious way the band ended, but they ended on a high, musically. Abbey Road is right up there amongst the best they wrote & recorded. What a gift to the world.
"George's Demos' were the ones recorded at Harrison's home studio after their visit to India. As everyone should be aware, that's where John wrote some of his contributions to the medly. He just didn't do anything with them until this opportunity arose.
@S A Please stop blaming Yoko for everything, he made that statement which means it's his opinion, you people make Yoko out to be a witch possessing John but his life is his, he made the statement. I'm not saying Yoko was a saint or anything but neither was John. So can you please stop using Yoko as a person to push your anger of the Beatles break up or whatever on to, it's a form of denial.
Yoko was something John found as we was already drifting away from The Beatles. He'd had it with Beatlemania and he was growing into his own. Anyway, this conversation is off track. Artstuffs, what's your favorite Beatles album?
To me this is the best album ever made and the main reason I think that is the Medley. I agree "Her Majesty" does not belong in the medley, but might have been better to stick on the end of the First Side. The fact that "And in the End, the love you Take, is equal to the love you make" is their last recorded song is, like you said remarkable. Most bands flame out, they finished with one of the most inspirational lines in musical history!
Whether it's the best is a matter of opinion, I'm not going to argue with anyone, but it's my favourite and you can't argue with that. I even like Maxwell and Octopus. The only track I don't like is Her Majesty, they were right to take it out of the Medley.
True, her singing was embarrassing. Really, she was a shitty artist. She was a hustler. She hustled Lennon with her avant-guard b.s. Just like Allen Klein hustled Lennon, which almost bankrupted his stupid ass. Yoko saved him with her savvy investments. The Beatles, except for Paul, were much poorer than they should have been cause they couldn't be bothered to read the fine print in their contracts.
Absolutely a masterpiece. I remember being blown away by the "B" side of Abby Road when I was in 7th grade. It gave me a sense of continuity -- I no longer experienced life in fragments, instead, I saw the beauty and interrelatedness of all things. It was THAT good.
C. Matthew Hawkins I think John was wrong about side two, and Abby Road in general. It opened the world of Beatles music to me, and I was enthralled. Part of what made the album so great is that sides one and two were unique unto themselves. In some cases, it seems evident to me John’s gift for creating music was much better than any talent he posessed as a critic; after all, he thought a lot of Yoko’s music. And although I have a fondness and respect for her, I have never enjoyed her music.
I feel you, I was in 3rd grade when a stereo playing Abby Road fell on my head in my aunt Reeta's kitchen. From then on, I felt like I lived in a Jell-O submarine. I discovered that I wasn't as fond of the Balad of Jon and Yokko as I was before. I also found out that I thoroughly enjoyed Doctor Rubber although I despised it until then, it was THAT bad.
Good question. Had it just been the '70 Wenner interview (first quote here), I'd say it was just John being disagreeable. But since he held the same sentiment 10 years later, I think he really didn't like it. Maybe some of it was resentment, but in the later years he didn't have many kind words for anything that was headed up by Paul or George Martin.
FabFourArchivist haha! John being john! He loves mixing different songs or takes into one like strawberry fields, A day in the life, happiness is a warm gun, revolution 9 and tomorrow never knows!
Dear john, we always understood that the medley was like six unfinished songs. But guess what, mate, we all love it even more because they were unfinished and put together by you four guyses.
@@rockdrumr2772 Paul was digging deep into avant garde in London while John was stranded in the suburbs. Yoko told John this garbage was genius. This was John's attempt to establish himself as THE avant garde Beatle.
Of course it's a "Masterpiece!" If you're a true Beatles fan, you've got to know this: Don't listen to anything John Lennon had to say about their music! Paul McCartney has said on many occasions that John would always shoot his mouth off, and then regret what he'd said later on. Just listen to some of the things Lennon would say about the Beatles through the years. I personally heard him say once: "We were just a band! Just a band that broke up! There's no great mystery to it. We were just a band, that's all." And then I'd hear him say: "I knew we were the greatest fucking band in the world!" Then there's that famous interview John gave to a reporter about Mick Jagger. John basically said: "Mick said some tarty things about the Beatles! Mick was always jealous of the Beatles. He knew we had more power than the Stones! I mean, I can talk about the Beatles, but don't let Mick talk about them! He always knew that the Beatles were bigger than the Stones. They'd always copy us! Just look at what the Beatles did, and then what the Stones put out six months later! They copied us. We put out "Pepper", and then they put out "The Majesty's Request!" It's fucking bullshit! And I wish just once you people would say something about it! So, that was John folks. Don't ever take him seriously. Trust me, John Lennon knew just how great the Beatles were, and just how good "Abbey Road" was, or he never would have put his name on it!
It absolutely ate them up that they could never draw even with the Beatles, no matter what they did. Not even the staggering musical genius of Brian Jones could bridge the gap. They only started billing themselves as "The Greatest" AFTER the Beatles broke up, to avoid being laughed off the stage.
@@BrendanJSmith He often talked about Paul's music as being "granny music" and especially the medley he called "unrelated junk" or whatever, but Lennon himself has plenty of "granny music" and has songs where he throws a bunch of random ideas or phrases together also. Hypocrite. He just liked bagging on Paul and The Beatles for the sake of it I think.
i think the guitar solo at the end of “you never give me your money” is so underrated in the beatles catalogue. its so perfect and fits amazingly w the song.
And Ironically we do not know who most likely played it, could have been George, but could have been Paul. It is a very Melodic solo, and Paul excelled at melody.
Paul beyond doubt. Doesn’t sound like George’s phrasing or intonation. It is squarely on the beat, uses very neutral/weak notes, is slightly out of tune and bends notes in a way that suggests someone used to heavier strings(overshooting). In spite of that surface negativity, it had a beatiful melodic and musical properties, and making magic with very basic note material is Paul’s game.
@@hepphepps8356 I've just had another listen and I've changed my mind to agree with you. I was thinking of the reprise during Carry That Weight. The guitar work before+during "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, all good children go to heaven" sounds like Paul to me. There's something in the way he does pull offs that's very distinctive - at least if Taxman is representative of his lead work.
If the interviewer like something about the Beatles, John would save it was rubbish, if the interviewer didn't like something about the Beatles, John would defend them.
I loved John but I think he regarded 'The Long One' as junk because he wasn't remotely capable of constructing something like that. He wasn't in the same league as Paul and George Martin when it came to conceptualising. If he had been, he'd have thought this was one of his greatest achievements. Abbey Road remains my favourite album of all-time and as much as Side One is amazing, it's the Side Two medley and how it sits amongst the rest of the album that makes it what it is. Sure, John was raw and rock'n'roll, but he also knew 'produced' greatness when he heard it. This is greatness. His "junk" comment was laced with envy at a time (1971) when he and Paul were at loggerheads.
Following the breakup John always had some resentment for Paul and George Martin. Out of all the Beatles he was the most bitter following the breakup. I'm pretty sure deep down he always admired their work but wished he had collaborated more.
RE : “The End” "The idea for guitar solos was very spontaneous and everybody said, ‘Yes! Definitely’ - well, except for George, who was a little apprehensive at first. But he saw how excited John and Paul were so he went along with it. Truthfully, I think they rather liked the idea of playing together, not really trying to outdo one another per se, but engaging in some real musical bonding. Yoko was about to go into the studio with John - this was commonplace by now - and he actually told her, ‘No, not now. Let me just do this. It’ll just take a minute.’ That surprised me a bit. Maybe he felt like he was returning to his roots with the boys - who knows? The order was Paul first, then George, then John, and they went back and forth. They ran down their ideas a few times and before you knew it, they were ready to go. Their amps were lined up together and we recorded their parts on one track. You could really see the joy in their faces as they played; it was like they were teenagers again. More than anything, they reminded me of gunslingers, with their guitars strapped on, looks of steely-eyed resolve, determined to outdo one another. Yet there was no animosity, no tension at all - you could tell they were simply having fun. One take was all we needed. The musical telepathy between them was mind-boggling." - Geoff Emerick
Holy moly! I'd love to see footage of that. After watching Get Back, I now want a six-hour making-of documentary for each of the Beatles' albums... but especially of Abbey Road and Revolver.
@@hjermsted22 could you imagine!!!! OMG I could die happy after watching films documenting that. It would be incredible to actually watch the creative vision and application that went into Revolver, Sgt.Pepper’s, Rubber Soul et al. It surprises me that The Beatles, being such a media savvy band, didn’t think to document it all. Ah well, a boy can dream…
A masterpiece, one of my favorites even to this day. Just sit down with no distractions and listen to this, it's wonderful. And i still get a little teary eyed after "The End". The Beatles knew this would be their last recording together. But it also signaled the end of an era in music that won't ever happen in the same way ever again.
Cynical, yes, because the feeling of despair was creeping in. After making it big time, the most fab band in the world and super rich, he goes through a divorce. And then Maharishi Mahesh Yogi fooled him, and the psychedelic revolution...wasn't. All disappointments. John probably felt his creative spirits declining, which is a crucial moment in a musicians career. Then subjected to the coaching of his political 2nd wife, who will remain nameless, out of consideration for the readers of this comment. Also, the blues was the essential element to rock music but Paul liked love songs. And with Hendrix and Cream, and Billy Gibbons, Zappa, and John McLaughlin, etc., Lennon was starting to feel played out and lacking in talent compared to what was coming on the scene. He probably felt he needed to rekindle his creative juices. So, he was critical of the Beatles Medley sensing the end of the line, and over time, the Medley lasted the test of time.
I love the long one. I love the sound. I love the playful lyrics. I love the way it’s structured to resolve in The End. I love the poetic close to an historic musical body of work. According to one source, George Martin asked John if there’s anything he’d change in the Beatle’s canon. John reportedly said, “I’d change it all.” OK, but I’m glad you didn’t.
Martin's placement is genius! After side b ends? You sit back and try to catch your breath and process the fact your brain has just been picked clean listening to the white noise of the needle sliding off the grooves in the album and bang! Het majesty snaps you back to whatever is left of your reality.
Me too.First thing I do when I get home at night is pick up my guitar and play mean Mr mustard polythene Pam and she came I'm thru the window.Just recently learned how to play the intro to I am the Walrus properly too.So I hope the neighbors like the Beatles🤣
I’ve often thought that the entirety of the B side is meant as one symphonic composition, including Here Comes the Sun, which ties nicely to the mention of the Sun King just two songs later. We’ve forgotten a lot with digital versions because there’s no break in sides, but when you get to the end of She’s So Heavy, have to take a break and flip the vinyl, it really shows that Here Comes the Sun is the prologue to the rest of the medley. Especially with the sharp cutoff of Heavy, the gentle guitar opening of Sun completely changes the flavor of the album. One of the best complete side concepts of any album.
At some point we all start splitting hairs - was HCTS part of the medley? Certainly not. But the fact that it's on Side 2 indeed says something. And it certainly thrives in that opening spot. I totally agree about flipping the vinyl, by the way, and said so in my short film about HCTS. The intensity of IWY's close has some much-needed breathing room with the physical intermission.
"Here Comes The Sun" works as an overture or prelude to the medley. Your observation about Sun King is spot on. It even says "Here Comes the Sun (King)" in the lyric. "Because" is musically and lyrically linked to Sun King with similarly refined harmonies and idyllic pastoral imagery. The entire side B ebbs and flows through a range of moods in a symphonic way. I can find nothing to criticize.
Ending side one with the winter snowstorm blizzard of white noise at the end of " I Want You" and beginning side two the warmth of the morning sun of "Here Comes The Sun" is just sheer brilliance. I am so glad the Beatles and production crew came to their senses!
One of my favorite things to listen to by The Beatles is the medley side of "Abbey Road". I have always loved it and I still pull out my original 1969 LP and put it on the turntable... 'playing Side 2. Abbey Road is a genuine masterpiece, and even though millions of Beatles fans feel that everything they recorded was a masterpiece... and that's not true, of course... But Abbey Road is an authentic tour de force by a band that probably produced more well crafted music than any ten bands that one might mention... They were perfectionists... and they produced a great amount of musical perfection in their eight years of being together as we knew them... John, Paul, George and Ringo.
John Lennon just liked to be controversial about Beatles’ songs. The Beatles never did anything solo that eclipsed what they did as a band. They all made some great solo stuff but they were never as good as when they were together as this superb unit.
That is true. That is why 50 years on we are still talking about the Beatles. Nobody talks about how the Wings were great. I have a theory that if the Beatles had failed as solo artists, they'd quickly come running back. But fans went ahead and supported them solo.... Rolling Stones and Queen fans did not go that way. Solo records by their members did not sell well at all.
Ernest Barteldes You are quite right. Some of the early solo music was very Beatleesque. Band on the Run especially but overall together they had this wonderful chemistry. I think we have to very grateful to have experienced
@@ebarteldes I saw where you wrote "But fans went ahead and supported them solo.... Rolling Stones and Queen fans did not go that way. Solo records by their members did not sell well at all." Someone forgot to tell me that before I bought the CD with: ua-cam.com/video/FN22X8gsD1g/v-deo.html
I’m willing to bet that George Martin played an even bigger role in the “assemblage” and order of the medley than this video would have you believe. Martin was most definitely the fifth Beatle.
Without George Martin's guidance The Beatles may have been the greatest British band ever but I don't believe they would have become a world wide phenomenon.
@@jaelgeAnd don't forget the recoding personnel such as Hurricane Smith, Geoff Emerick, Richard Lush, Ken Scott and John Kurlander just to name a few. These guys were instrumental in getting and changing the course of sound production. It wasn't all G. Martin.
I am sure Lennon would have mellowed if he had of lived longer concerning The Beatles catalogue. His disrespect to Martin's production is quite frankly churlish and unappreciative. As far as I am concerned Martin should have been given co writer credits for songs like I am the Walrus and Strawberry Fields for without his majestic orchestral arrangement they would have been far far less. One only has to look at Lennon's patchy solo career to see that without a Martin at the helm he floundered. (yes yes I know Specter but yeah.....)
Or even a McCartney at the helm. I always think John must have been going through a particularly jealous patch from mid-73 to '74 hearing him come out with Live And Let Die and Band On The Run and Junior's Farm. Wings' strongest period.
@@Datsunofthebeach I am well aware of the differences of composer and arranger. I feel in these 2 examples Martin did far more than choose certain instruments, his writing of the score borders truly borders on co composer. Look at Lennon's patchy solo 2nd rate material. These could have easily be made a thousand times better and more interesting with Martin at the helm. Many good arrangers do not get the credit they deserve I feel.
I was genuinely disappointed that he regarded And Your Bird Can Sing as nothing but a "throwaway" because I adored that track. Plus, he's the one who wrote it.
I never forget it - when the album was released a respected music critic (Time magazine, or so - I don’t remember anymore) said: “The Side A of Abbey Road is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever heard in my life; but the Side B is simply perfection !” You know I agree with that guy - untill now. John was always unhappy with Paul’s ideas. The things he said shouldn’t be taken into account - ‘cause there was a hurt behind it. Later he probably thought the opposite.
I've always felt, and this is me personally obviously, that side 2 was one of the greatest things the Beatles ever did. It just works for me. Abbey Road, to me, is the best album ever made.
I think most of John Lennon's sneering opinions are junk. Half of what he said should not be taken seriously. In normal life, he was often very careless with his words.
So true! Check out John's last interview given to Playboy Magazine shortly before his demise. He spent much of the interview trashing Paul's work, as well as some of his own. It would appear that anything either of them wrote without Yoko's influence was "trash" or "junk". I love and revere John Lennon, but he was a hyper-critical genius whose opinions must be taken with a huge grain of salt.
One thing about John Lennon he was actually singing songs from the top of his head and not from his heart because if he had a heart he would have left Julian Lennon some money in his inheritance but instead he cut him out completely out of his first son inheritance that says a lot about somebody it shows you that are not really there they're not really what they seem to be the songs that he sung about 4 just poems that came into his mind he didn't believe in what he was singing about he was just a lucky singer made it big but I'm sure that deep down inside is hard he's probably regretting not leaving his first born son Julian Lennon thrown out of his will and Yoko she even tried to Big John Lennon out of his house after John gave his dad a house Yoko try to kick him out of it she is a real number from what I hear a heroin addict and if you're a heroin addict you're out there just goes to show you she didn't leave any money to Julian Lennon and if you listen to any of his interviews and when he talks about his dad you will fully understand what I am talking about look it up and see for yourself but getting past that I did like their music I did like their rhythm but personally all of the John Lennon CDs that I had I threw them all out my car window once I found out he was a deadbeat dad cutting your first sign out of your will when you got like a billion dollars I mean really Yoko I'm sure you're proud of yourself
@@frequencyhealingbracelets2194 how bout McCartney ordering his EX wife heather mills to stop breastfeeding their child because her boobs were his? Maca is not perfect either,neither u sir nobody
I worked at a record shop when Abbey Road was released. When my co-workers and I first heard the album, knowing it was the final Beatles record. When it came to the end of the B side, there was a dreary silence in the shop and many of us had tears in our eyes when we realized that that was the end of the Beatles.
@@panneetantinukul5658 It was pure perfection. Their "last gasp" as a band together soared and still remains my favorite of all their LPs to this day... I love all of them - But Abbey Road still is my all-time favorite... and I suppose that it's somehow fitting that it was their last collaborative release.
He always feared that his position, as leader of the Beatles ( from his days forming the Quarrymen' ) was being usurped. It showed too often for comfort.
You can have rock and roll and pop opera too . The Beatles were great at experimenting in different musical tastes and genres . A highlight of this is the brilliant White Album . As well as so much else .
John saying that “none of the songs had anything to do with each other” is actually testament to just how bloody good they were!!! Because is sounds so perfect - john’s saying “yeah they were all separate but we’re that fucking good that we can do THIS with them....” actually that’s more mind blowing than if they’d intended it to be that way from the start!
The songs may have little to do with each other lyrically (although Mean Mr Mustard and Polythene Pam seem to be closely linked), but the ebb and flow of the mood of the songs is symphonic.
And really, “none of the songs had anything to do with each other” means nothing because going by that logic, every one of their albums before (and most albums in existence) the songs don't directly relate to the next one (except if you maybe sometimes count "love" as a topic). So why does John think they have to be related to be good? Anyway, I read a reviewer's take on wiki that explained how they actually could be related bc the medley starts out about greed/money, etc. but eventually "in the end" they realize love is the important thing... (or something similar i know I'm butchering it but it made sense, I suggest anyone interested check it out). And you're right, the fact that they don't obviously, outright relate to each other, yet are blended so well, is a testament to the genius composition and production of Paul McCartney and George Martin. The Medley sounds amazing start to finish and it's one of my favorite pieces from The Beatles. John was just a little begrudging and resentful after the split I think.
@@juscratchinmaballs It was definitely a time where Lennon criticized a lot of Beatles work including his own, but I do get a little of what John is saying. People have praised it as some kind of amazing masterwork yet John knows that it was a bunch of unfinished songs they pieced together. It came out really well and I love listening to it, but in reality taking a bunch of unfinished songs and piecing them together is not really a work of genius. It can be hard to take a musical idea and finish it as a complete song. Piecing together several unrelated songs is actually kind of a cop out. It's saying I don't know how to finish these songs in a way that makes sense so let's just stick them together. It is actually the easier route to take.
As much as I appreciate John Lennon, I feel he was short sighted when it came to new innovations musically for the band. Partly an ego thing perhaps, but at the end of the day, we sit back, and without reservation enjoy Abby Road from first not to "The End" .. imho ..
John bashed anything and everything Beatles and he later recanted. John was often like that: he’d embrace something and be an advocate, then quickly turn against it.
It wasn't an innovation. As another commenter noted, "Happiness Is Warm Gun" is also multi-sectioned. Before that, there was Absolutely Free by Zappa and the Mothers, and "A Quick One" by The Who.
@@beatmet2355 Yeah John has said the same thing about many of his own songs. Some want to make it about Paul, but Lennon said these kinds of things all the time. Lennon often criticized his own voice and guitar playing. I think he may have the greatest rock 'n roll voice of all time, but he often seemed insecure about even that.
You gotta remember, John Lennon wore leather jackets and a cowboy hat, as did his band. HIS band. They wrote and sang about girls (and almost nothing else) and played their instruments loudly, sloppily, and for fun. That was Hamburg. Their cavern days started to see them become a little tighter (both musically and personally) and then they got a recording contract. As Parlophone's 'The Beatles' they started out doing covers of skiffle standards with some pepperings of original tunes until their first motion picture. Then they tried out all original compositions. Then they met Bob Dylan, who aside from introducing them into the world of the 1960's drug scene, also showed them there was more to songwriting than just women... This meeting really changed them (especially John) who went on to write Nowhere Man in the Beatles, and eventually songs like Imagine and Give Peace a Chance. Beatlemania, several more movies, the death of Brian Epstein, and some personal disagreements later, the band was a completely different beast. In many ways, after Pepper, it was now Paul's band. Jimmy Hendrix, The Doors, The Who, and other up-and-coming acts by the end of that decade served to juxtapose the psych pop the Beatles had become with the rawer, grittier hard rock starting to emerge. It's my opinion that John's disparaging comments post-Beatles were generally his frustrations with what the band became versus what it was/had always been in his mind; Those boys from Hamburg. The Get Back sessions - which turned into Let it Be - was a favorite of John because they were a collective effort by the rest of the band to "get back" to their earlier, all in one take, live sound - albeit while retaining the skills and knowledge they had gained in the decade since. It was a return to form, in a way. But that George Martin scored poppy album? Nah, that was trash. I LOVE Abbey Road, but I can completely see where John was probably coming from. And, while 'the long one' is probably my favorite Beatles experience, John's comments aren't completely foreign. Normally (and with any other band) compiling unfinished song snippets into a large medley would seem cheap and wouldn't work. But the Beatles made it awesome. I only wish John could have seen the band through a fan's eyes or something; rather than the degraded imitation of their earlier, happier days that he saw them as. Even George made similar comments to 'we were better in Hamburg.' I'm just glad we have all the music & albums they made! Love the varied sound the band had over the years. And those two Anthology threetles songs, as well as the Love Album, are just icing on the cake! Looking forward to picking up this Abbey Road remaster. I already have the Sgt. Pepper and White Album ones. :)
The irony here is that Lennon LOVED the Phil Spector “wall of sound” mix of the Let it Be album, while Paul hated it. Paul wanted the Get Back live sound, and finally got a version of that with the approved Let it Be...Naked mix a few years back. So WAS John really dismissive because Paul was doing more artsy and orchestrated stuff?-the original Let it Be mix says “not so fast”. I think it was more that John was just a real contrarian about the Beatles post breakup, especially about Paul’s stuff. A clash of egos more than rock n roll vs silly love songs, etc.
I assume what you meant by “...that George Martin scored poppy album” is Let It Be, but Phil Spector famously added his orchestral “Wall of Sound” when he mixed the record after being given the master tapes by Lennon. John loved what Spector did, while Paul despised it and was quite angry about it, as it was his intent and idea to get back to the basics of being a live band, including in the studio.
@@crusheverything4449 Yes, that's true! Although, conceptually, Abbey Road was always intended as a lush, multi take, album akin to Pepper or Magical Mystery Tour while Let it Be/Get Back was intended as a live album. And John didn't like Get Back. (Thought it was too non-Beatles or something, I don't know...) That's why he loved Phil Spector's coming in and 'fixing' of the album, while he despised George Martin's 'from the beginning' additions and alterations. Seems like John was just getting fed up with the others (George Martin's involvement, Paul's songs, George Harrison's budding contributions - which he and Paul often rejected) and the direction the band had gone. Bringing in Phil Spector to fix 'that album the others were messing up' seems like the motivation behind that to me. Plus, John worked with Spector for the rest of his career (and never again with Martin) while Paul, George, and Ringo all worked with Martin in some capacity again.
@Nicefisher I'd love a mono mix of Blue Jay Way with the added backwards chorus part during the verses. And, hearing a true 5.1 I Am The Walrus without the little Love album lead in's and outs... would be astonishing! MMT is probably my favorite Beatles album! :D
I was 22 when Abbey Road came out. The medley is the greatest grouping of songs that I remember and the one most often played by Beatles tribute bands for a reason, it is a memorable compilation of rock and orchestral combination that I believe influenced Jeff Lynn of ELO fame and others. Thanks for the video!
Given John's own insecurities and jealous nature, I feel his statement was directed more toward Paul(who was a major architect in the arrangement) than it was meant for the medley itself.
I love the medley at the end of Abbey Road. I've always wanted 9 minute extended version of each of the song. I've also always thought of the white album as about 8 real songs strung together with medley's. They really show how versatile these four guys were.
John was an insecure guy and most of his criticisms stem from that. I'd like to think he'd have mellowed over time and accepted his and the Beatles greatness without worrying about what other people thought.
@@santiagoibarra2385 He was certainly heading that way, IMHO. It's sad that his life was cut short. I seem to recall he was quoted as calling some of Paul McCartney's songs "Silly Love Songs," but when questioned about the love songs he wrote for his & Yoko's comeback album "Double Fantasy," he simply said, "I changed me mind."
The 'pop opera' was down to the genius of George Martin who made something out of a handful of unfinished songs. The Beatles were too busy bickering amongst themselves to properly finish the album. George Martin finished it for them IMHO.
Lennon said himself he was always up and down on everything and super critical of anything mcCartney had a hand in. That medley is fantastic and my favourite the Beatles did. Love it
Why would he like that. Paul became impossible after Brian died. George said the same thing. It would only become Paul's bc john let it become that. Love Paul but not nearly as good as John
Paul was the most talented member. Being a year and a half younger than John was a big difference in their early years because 1 year makes a difference at that age....but once he reached 23, 24 etc the full bloom of Mccartneys talent and drive became apparent . It probably was hard for John and to a lesser extent George to try and keep up with such a songwriting genius. The sum of their parts will always be greater than any one member, but they have been my favorite band for over 40 years (born in 1974) and for my money Paul was the true genius of this band. This is not to diminish the others as I love all the members...I just feel McCartney talent wise was on a level most musicians cannot comprehend.
John probably did resent it-- human nature being what it is. @Micheal Frazia, Paul was the greater musician but John was the greater artist. That might sound like a contradiction, but it's not. Paul is probably the best melodicist in rock history, yet most musicians still say that John was the greater songwriter... because songwriting is far more than just melody. John's work had an edge and unpredictability to it that Paul's music, for all its pretty melodies, simply didn't have.
It never became Paul's band. John started the band, and Paul filed a lawsuit to have the band dissolved when George and Ringo sided with John against Paul in regards to who they wanted as manager.
I think side B is exquisite. John liked to stir things up after the breakup. But he was also critical of his own wonderful work. Geniuses can be contrarian. Fantastic channel, BTW.
he did have a few rows and headbutts with Paul after the breakup... like with RAM, when he thought Paul was mocking him through the lyrics he made his next album himself shaving a pig, near mimicking Paul shearing the sheep in Scotland.
“I liked the A side. I never liked that, sort of, whatever, ‘pop opera’ on the other side. I think it’s junk.” It is a masterpiece and Lennon was bitter because he knew deep down his rock & roll was, while fundamental, also rudimentary. He couldn’t play with McCartney & Martin. Even George & Ringo could, though. Inadequacy, or feeling inadequate, made him sour on ABBEY ROAD and most of the Beatle material.
Anything non-attributable to Lennon was junk as far as he was concerned at the time. Where McCartney et al could pull positivity and productivity out of Lennon's lazy ass Yoko was proficient at pulling out the negativity and self-pity required to obtain the control over him that she wanted. But it's not just Yoko's fault, Lennon was weak for whatever reason. He didn't even have the positive self-image and confidence in himself to pull an attractive and intelligent woman to share his life with but instead gravitated to a guttersnipe con artist witch like Yoko.
@@jaelge John had a lot of hot chicks before that.. He could have had a real hot chick then too for sure..But like you said he was often a negative depressed pissed cat.
When he said that it was the early 1970s and he had moved away from surrealism and abstract lyrics to more direct and simpler songs. He wasn't into word play and cleverness anymore; more direct meaning in his songs. He wanted to be more literal. Check out his first two solo albums and then his political stuff.
50 years ago, I would side with John on most everything. But in retrospect, once Yoko became John's primary interest, Paul was able to take control of the band, and what I once considered lightweight fluff, I now realize was Paul's genius. Turns out, John's disinterest became one of the Beatles' greatest assets in their later years as it allowed Paul to lead the band in directions that John never would have. "Ear candy" isn't a bad thing, John. Abbey Road, side 2 is proof.
John was more of a rocker, no-nonsense performer, which is great, but they decided to put their suitcases in the attic in 1966, about the time Paul subtly took over. No more live performances means studio time, which suited McCartney just fine.
@@davefloyd9443 When I hear "Starting Over" I think of an advertisement for a retirement home or insurance company. John was becoming quite bland at that stage, and had lost his edge. He needed the spur of Paul's input.
Like you said, it is very difficult to reimagine something you’ve known all your life. That said, it is as should be. In my ears, it’s as close to perfection as an album can be, even though it was hodgepodge of songs. It’s so flows so effortlessly, and it makes sense musically. Although John’s contributions to the body of the Beatles work were diminishing, its amazing how such short songs can be so powerful, and it also shows how much his song writing had matured. John was a rock and roller at heart, yet, much of his work was as innovative as any 60s musician, even when he was doing something as a throwaway. That’s just what happens with someone as talented as him, his “crap” is pure genius. There are so many nuances to this album. Obviously, George Martin guided the boys and brought out the best in them. It is, once again, as close to perfection as an album can be, and captures everything that the Beatles were musically, and they went out in the highest note possible for a band.
The best thing they ever did. I was in a band back in the 70's we did a set of Beatles. The best thing we did according to the crowds was the medley. We started off with Mean Mr. Mustard and went to The End. Damn I so loved doing that. Even now when I break out a guitar I'll do that whole medley every time. I love it so.
The part of Medley that gives me the chills every time I hear it is "Carry that Weight" It climaxes Side B with real emotional weight (thanks for showing George Martin's contribution,) and ties all the disparate songs together. It's them at their demise telling us what they've learned and blessing us. "Her Majesty" at the end is perfect. WHen you're recovering from the crescendo of sound and feeling, all of a sudden this slight little ditty pops in to take you down. John Lennon, I always thought, used this idea to devastating effect at the end of his first solo album, the Primal Scream album, with My Mummy's Dead. To me, Lennon's solo albums equaled without eclipsing the band's albums. Isolation, Imagine, Watching the World, Beautiful Boy, and Woman, Woman are masterpieces.
John could be notoriously “pithy” and/sarcastic - not just about Beatles output. Yes, it is a medley of ‘bits’ but what ‘bits’ are - and the final 3 (Slumbers/Weight/End) rank as some of the finest music ever recorded in rock.
I love the Beatles and John but his comments on so many good songs gets to me. I try to think about what he'd have said in later years had he lived. Maybe he'd realize they weren't as bad as he said or that he'd have admitted he was being overly critical or negative because of ill feelings regarding the last years with the band. If I could write songs with 1% of his "junk" songs I'd be proud as hell. I always loved the B side medley. As a parent I look at it as though I'm impressed with their work even if John wasn't. Sometimes the artist doesn't see the beauty everyone else does!
Yeah - it would've been a typical John way to end an album. But as we listened to it in the old days, it was a great way to end Side one. Then we'd have a little break getting up to turn the platter over, and after that apocalyptic ending of side one, we get this delicate acoustic guitar riff to kick off side 2 ... and we get to do it all again. Also - Come Together is the perfect start to the album. But then, i guess Here Comes the Sun would have been as well.
In my humble opinion side 2 of Abbey Road, and especislly the medley, is one of the strongest album sides of all time. Paul McCartney is a genius in making snippets of music into a medley. Think about Admiral Halsey or Band On The Run.
I agree, john had anger issues that impeded the his accomplishments later on. When you listen to songs from the early days like "Ask Me Why", "Girl" and up to about the time of "I'm only Sleeping", he was on a different level and was as melodic as Paul was in those days. I liked John and Paul, but Paul took over the leadership role in the end I think because by then John was tired of it.What other band in history had the ability to have a bunch or really good songs and the rest great songs on a 12 song album. It was unheard of before them and they did that album after album. No one has matched them in that respect. Producers have tried to put all star bands together with great musicians from all over the world, but never came close matching 4 guys that grew up and live in the same small town. What are the odds?
When you finish this one, watch the companion video on You Can't Unhear This here for a deep dive into some hidden sounds in the medley: ua-cam.com/video/2zfv7Gl9P3U/v-deo.html
I guess you could say that it's great to see the world of fellow Beatles UA-cam creators Come Together ;)
I saw that last night. Were these elements left in the 08 remaster, because i don't have an original pressing anymore.
@@farrellmcnulty909 The '69 and '09 versions have the exact same elements, although how they hit your ear may be different - the '09 was just a re-master, not a new mix. The 2019 mix does have different elements - fading and panning vary.
@@FabFourArchivist Proud to own the original Abbey Road vinyl from when it was released. And by that time, the American albums finally matched the British versions track for track. My Rubber Soul vinyl has Its Only Love on it. Does not have Baby You Can Drive My Car, which is a shame cause that's a brilliant album opener. it also doesn't have Nowhere Man, which is one of the coolest songs ever written lyrically, vocally and chord progression wise.
Tony Carney nn
Depending on John’s mood, you would and could get three different answers.
Yeah, like when asking John's opinion about George's Within You Without You. In 1967, he called it ''the indian shit''. In 1980 (last interview), he praised it for George's spiritual lyrics and eclectic melody.
He was only 40 when he was murdered. Think of how bitter someone can be towards what they did in their 20s when they're in their 30s. Especially an artist that at times may not have been too eager to re-hash his past but instead move forward.
Had he lived into his 50s, 60s, one can only imagine how he might have softened up on things.
That’s fact
@@ExileOnDaytonStreet That is a really excellent and well-considered take. Thank you for sharing
Zack Zallie he said it was one of George’s best songs. He never called it “Indian shit”.
The alternating guitar solos in "The End," is just utterly pure genius
i played in British invasion bands at Hard Rock casinos. I love playing all three parts! I like George's solos the best, but John and Paul were great also on their solos. I've seen many UA-cam vids of Paul on tour. He always does that 'alternating solo' thing with his other guitarists.
I think I read that the three Beatules were not in the studio at the same time during each solo recording.
I'm surprised that you appreciate the guitar solos more on the track "The End", rather than Ringo's drum solo.
That piece is so smoking. All the Beatles were on fire in "The End" especially.
YES, YES and YES!
@@2011littleguy Incorrect on them not being in the studio at the same time. On the contrary, they somewhat decided to do the trading solo's at the last moment. They ran through/rehearsed it just a few times, then recorded it right then. I *think* I recall that they even did it facing in other in chairs (versus iso booths).
For me this is The Beatles album I like most. I feel like I’m in heaven every time I hear it again. I was 16 years old in 1970. Now, 50 years later, it still makes me emotional. Indeed, I cried many times hearing this album. This is my life’s album. What else could I say?
You are not alone. The Beatles
were the medium through which
the Great Spirit chose to let us hear divine music. Why them ?
Who knows . They themselves were not aware of it : they always
say : the songs just came to them.
It's my life's album too. I was but an infant when it came out, and my mother definitely played the heck out of it. Its music is practically imprinted in my DNA.
Interesting. This album is not my favorite, which is not to say I don't like it. But the end of the Beatles and my general unhappiness in those days as a child, have created a strange love/hate feeling for me. I could not bear to look at what they were saying in the press in those days- it could not possibly have been true. But ultimately it was- the Beatles stopped. They were no more. Defunct. And that phenomenon more than just about anything else, was the hardest reality to live with, to the 10 year old I was at the time. I got over it, of course. But I never trusted that anything so nice would ever last forever. So maybe it was for the better, but I still have those conflicting feelings with this album. For me- I like Rubber Soul and Revolver. The full-tilt energy of moving forward and taking the world as they do it. That energy I like. It always inspires me and I can for a split second feel they are alive and vital. Because they are. Tomorrow truly Never Knows!
@@illadrobici - I undestand that, but I’ve got the same felling only to the song “I want you - she’s so heavy” - after I read on their biography that that song was the very last they were together - recording on EMI studio. It happened in october 69, I guess. I could never hear it after that, ‘cause I feel depressed - always want to cry, so I don’t listen it anymore.
@@fbello18 I wonder if we might be related. My mother's maiden name was Freitas. I know it's a common portuguese name- at least for the few people we have in the us of portuguese descent. Not likely that we're closely related, but - who knows. Are you in Portugal or Brazil or somewhere else? I live in san Francisco.
The End was a culmination of John Paul George & Ringo’s genius as musicians the 3 guitar solos along with Ringos virtuosity on the drums. IMO by far, the Best of The Beatles.
Give a nod to George Martin too,
He had a little input as well...
I'm only 17 and the first time i listened to Abbey Road was two years ago. The Medley is one of the best things I've heard in my life.
The next generation speaks, and they are listening 👂the love 💕 that you take is equal to the love 💕 that you make! Oh yeah!
Have a great life to equal your great taste Carlo - bless you from N.W. England
good on you Carlo, keep listening to great music
That medley has assisted many rock fans in choosing it as their "Best Rock Album of All Time"..Hello, I am one..
I agree. It’s one of a kind . Would not change a thing on Abby road .plus hey bulldog was so under rated also it’s one of their very best rockers .
"I think it's junk."
Ex-Beatle John Lennon about almost any Beatles song.
You know, Its frustrating how John was such a great talent, but so small and petty a man. He resented Paul for his abilities which were every bit as good as John's, and the fact that Paul came up with Sgt Pepper concept, which I think was a clever idea. He came up with Mystery tour concept, too. The movie failed as none of them had any real experience in Script writing and directing, But the idea had potential had they sought some professional guidance. The music was great.
And the Medley was Paul's too, along with a work ethic the other 3 lacked. I wish John had been a more even tempered person. Hi loose lips have tainted his legacy, which is a considerable one.
Diligence Integrity - Paul in a sense kept them going after Brian's death. While the Magical Mystery Tour movie flopped, the soundtrack was ace. Totally agree: both very talented in their own right.
@@mattyc.9332 I think he kept them together and productive even if they resented it. And I am willing to bet that if you could talk do the powerful Execs of EMI, they probably had a high regard for Paul and his work ethic. He put money in their bank accounts and records on the store shelves. I wonder if they would have put out as much material and LPs as they did had it not been for Paul. He seemed to care more about continuing to make music and money. I know there were money problems early on, but eventually, they all made money. I think there were some professional Jealousies. Paul was stuck between a rock and a hard place and no way to win. I've been there a time or two.
Haha and thank God he had such high expectations!
Diligence Integrity he also praised a lot of Paul’s songs and said how greatly written they were
I never cared for Lennon's opinion regarding his band. Side B was solid gold and it was their crowning moment.
Agree...one of their mastepieces
He was super critical of himself and nothing was ever good enough. If he didn't have that attitude, his songs might not have been half as good, who knows?
@@sharifmahabuba8556 Paul wrote most of the medley. That's not John being critical of himself.
They did a great job of seaguing the songs together... and the guitar work on the whole medley is fantastic... but, with the exception of "You Never Give Your Money," "Carry that Weight," and "The End," the songs themselves are not among the very greatest Beatles classics, imo.
He also was the one to slightly try to integrate Yoko into the band as well..... 😒😒😒
The medley is a masterpiece. Enough said.
The medley gave birth to 10cc...
Shame.
It doesn't go like that with this band does it though..
Come ed...
agreed
Damn Right.!
John could be a real miserable bastard sometimes, haha. The medley's absolutely wonderful, truly the perfect end to the most perfect of bands.
firstname secondname agree
The Beatles quite often would respond to questions with an opposite view of what one would anticipate. It's part of their charm. They like to mix things up with their innovations and cheekyness!
@S A John Lennon was never satisfied with the final product of his or his band's work. Either what he imagined it would be was more amazing than could be put on record, or his contrarian and often self-loathing nature made his opinions mercurial and unpredictable, especially in interviews. His opinions honestly don't matter that much, other than it would be sad if John died thinking his life was wasted because his Art never lived up to his Ideas.
firstname secondname
I’m sure he just said it because it was Pauls idea
Yoko could make anyone unable miserable.
I bet John liked the Medley too, but at the time he was pissed at Paul, and would say anything to hurt Paul (Medley being Paul's idea).
Exactly.
@Mk. 5II33II4N The Beatles genius came from John and Paul's writing from both ends of the spectrum. Think what it would have been like if it were two John or two Paul personalities writing.
@Mk. 5II33II4N I don't like those songs either but fact is John wrote so much granny shite later on in Double Fantasy, which was a time he was pretty content with life. Who knows maybe that's what he would've gone for later on had he been alive. John might've hated those songs but a lot of his comments did come from bitterness against Paul which he did retract a little bit later on. Gosh I wish he lived longer I really do. Not all granny shit is bad I realize as I grow up.
@Mk. 5II33II4N lennon was jealous of McCartney's versatility.
the only Paul song John liked was Here, There and Everywhere
John had some moments of real childishness. I'm almost certain he said it was junk only because it was Paul's.
I read somewere a comment by Paul were he said; John became so jealous in the end.
Yes, certainly. But then again, it really is pretty crappy. Especially his own contributions, Mean Mr. Mustard and Polythene Pam. Those SUCK.
And I personally also hate how synthetic, insincere and unelegant Pauls songwriting had become by then. You just smell how his success convinced him, that each fart he farted was a fart of genius.
In this album, George Harrison is the only serious musician and songwriter.
Yes, he hated everything about it...until he was in the recording studio and sang like an angel and put all his musical talent into it, even the tracks he didn't like. Why? Because he couldn't not do it. He was a Beatle.
They should have got Yoko to shake a tambourine or something then he would have loved it.
There you McCartney fangirls go again, overstating McCartney's accomplishments. The long one wasn't McCartney's; several of the songs were Lennon's.
George Martin ( the fifth beatle ) was so instrumental in making the Beatles music what it was, his contributions can never be overlooked nor as an aside.
Well said and I couldn't agree more.
Paul was always involved with those records with Martin.
We take that as a given, likely the suggestor-in-chief since he uttered "why not some harmonica bits?" within the first minute of starting to construct "Love Me Do".
We all know preston was the fifth Beatle
@@davidmurray2539 the orchestral parts he came up with are just amazing.
The medley was Paul's baby.
John was just having a go at Paul.
he's just a jealous guy.
Totally agree with you
Absolutely right he regretted Paul's input and his lack of. This was one of the best recordings ever.
Proper thing.
it sounds bad in comparison with John's medley, 'Revolution #9'.
"The love you take is equal to the love you make" remains a profound moral and ethical standard for humans to rise to.
You get the point.
The really sad thing is a lot of people have never heard it and for some reason it seems like there's too much hatred for most people to change, what's really needed now is the second coming of Christ.
was it it a borrowed quote, from someone elses poem etc ? or Pauls? if so, brilliant for a working class lad.
@@MrDaiseymay Yes. He is that good. Simple words easy to understand. That's the heart of The Beatles.
If they only would ! HOPEFULLY ONE DAY
I think there was a period of time, maybe most of the time, that John relished his role of contrarian. Most of what he said about the Beatles, particularly in the years right after the break up, was just his hurt speaking I think.
I think also John liked to exaggerate just to increase publicity for his and Yoko's causes. Plus he did resent Paul for causing bad blood between the others and Allen Klein and also Klein was a shtick-stirrer aswell.
@TofAnimation Rutles forever!!!
Spot on.
Abbey Road is a masterpiece. Probably my favourite Beatles album, together with rubber soul and revolver!
Did I mention what a nasty, no talent, coattail-riding individual Yuko is? If it weren’t for John who would ever have heard of her? She is a cartoon character.
I remember hearing the Let It Be album when it first came out and how disappointing it was listening to the funereal dirge as the epitaph to the Beatles career. It wasn’t until some years later that I learned that Let It Be wasn’t the Beatles last album to be recorded but was the last album to be released . The last album recorded was Abbey Road and what a wonderful thing it was to find that out.
👌
Over the years, when I heard the Abbey Road Side 2 medley, I assumed I was listening to a radio station's self-created potpourri consisting of bits of complete Beatles songs. In 2009, I happened to listen to the Abbey Road album from start to finish. I was driving to work. The album ended as I parked. I stayed in my car, speechless. Tears were rolling. I was trembling. The creativity, power, and beauty of the whole album, and especially the medley, made me aware in a new way of how extremely talented and unique are the Beatles. Thanks for creating and posting this great video!
Great testament to the power of music! Thanks for sharing.
your comment made me well-up. The Beatles (most particularly their later works) always brings me to tears these days. So then I go back and watch old clips of them from their early days and see the pure, unadulterated joy in their faces as they perform live, and I'm back in my happy place again.
Those were the days when entire albums were very good. I haven't heard a complete album that was excellent all the way through in years.
@@quailstudios You got that right!:)
Welcome to the club...👍👍🎵.. Abbey Road is a rollercoaster of genius musical expression.
The medley is the Beatles swan song , they went out at the top , they walked away showing their music was and is immortal ……………………………….
ronvk100 The only portion of the "Medley" I like is the "Golden Slumbers" ~ "The End". I've always felt Paul's excellent "You Never Give Me Your Money" should have been a separate track. I've also felt John's embarrassing "throwaways" Sun King, Mean Mr. Mustard & Polythene Pam should have never been allowed to be Included on a Beatles album!!! I just can't believe Lennon wrote this crap and would take credit for it!!!
The single song "Let It Be" was their swansong. It was their final masterpiece.
The last recorded music by the best rock band ever was "Abbey Road" , "Let It Be" was recorded before it. But "Let It Be is a fantastic song.
ronvk100 Correction! The Beatles final recording sessions were on January 3,1970 when Paul, George and Ringo recorded "I Me Mine". On January 4,1970, Paul, George, Ringo and Linda McCartney recorded overdubs for "Let It Be". On January 8, 1970, George Harrison re-recorded his Lead Vocal for "For You Blue".
@@ronvk100 Let It Be was released after Abbey Road, so nobody heard Let It Be until after Abbey Road. For all intents and purposes, Let It Be was heard after Abbey Road and so Let It Be was the final masterpiece.
Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End.............I call it "The Holy Trinity".
@USA#1 !! Blasphemy is a medieval concept about insulting an imaginary deity! It has very little place in the modern world. They made divine music!
@@redhotfunkyblues Blasphemy is a concept for all times, not just medieval. God is not an imaginary deity, He is real if not to you He is very real to me. You can't take that from me.
@@hib32 Turn it in mate. John said years before that Beatles were bigger than Jesus Christ. Suitable Lennon mockery for the big book of fairy stories, given the subject at hand.
@@davefloyd9443 It wasn't a fairy story the price he had to pay for that indiscretion of his!
@@hib32 Lol. Very funny. Mark David Twatman sent by God? Heard it all now.
I've always considered the entire side as a unit, since "Here Comes the Sun" connects contextually with "Sun King".
The 'second side' of Abbey Road has some of the most spectacular segues in music history. Lennon was pretty much rubbishing everything the Beatles did by that time, including his own earlier writing. I felt sorry for the ignominious way the band ended, but they ended on a high, musically. Abbey Road is right up there amongst the best they wrote & recorded. What a gift to the world.
Very well put, J.T. I could not say it better.
"Mean Mr Mustard" and "Polythene Pam" go together so perfectly, I can't imagine them not being segued.
"George's Demos' were the ones recorded at Harrison's home studio after their visit to India. As everyone should be aware, that's where John wrote some of his contributions to the medly. He just didn't do anything with them until this opportunity arose.
Bro I know 😍😍
I had to sit here playing it back in my head for a minute to see if I agree. I do.
Yeah - both musically and lyrically. (Pam is referenced in Mustard). When you hear Her majesty in the middle, the momentum is just crushed.
I’m pretty sure that’s a mini story because “Polythene Pam” is mentioned in “mean mr mustard”
abbey road is probably my 2nd favourite beatles album, but the second side is the best second side on any album ever (in my opinion).
@S A Right. Yoko made Paul sue the three other Beatles. You don't have a clue.
@S A Please stop blaming Yoko for everything, he made that statement which means it's his opinion, you people make Yoko out to be a witch possessing John but his life is his, he made the statement. I'm not saying Yoko was a saint or anything but neither was John. So can you please stop using Yoko as a person to push your anger of the Beatles break up or whatever on to, it's a form of denial.
@@blurenthusiast6568 men do not admit that they are dominated by their wife
Yoko was something John found as we was already drifting away from The Beatles. He'd had it with Beatlemania and he was growing into his own. Anyway, this conversation is off track. Artstuffs, what's your favorite Beatles album?
Better than Dark Side of the Moon?
To me this is the best album ever made and the main reason I think that is the Medley. I agree "Her Majesty" does not belong in the medley, but might have been better to stick on the end of the First Side. The fact that "And in the End, the love you Take, is equal to the love you make" is their last recorded song is, like you said remarkable. Most bands flame out, they finished with one of the most inspirational lines in musical history!
Without a doubt the best Beatles album. Side two is genius
John Dow ah yes “ Maxwells silver hammer & an octopus’s garden “ classics!
Whether it's the best is a matter of opinion, I'm not going to argue with anyone, but it's my favourite and you can't argue with that. I even like Maxwell and Octopus. The only track I don't like is Her Majesty, they were right to take it out of the Medley.
@@mikeprofo2328 maxwell and octopus are the best tracks on the album (along with she's so heavy)
Kadribla Bali : I'd go with Come Together + She's So Heavy with Here Comes the Sun close behind.
@@mikeprofo2328 I love John but never cared for Come Together much.. I don't hate it, it's a good song, but eh
As the final sentiment in the Beatles’ career, what could be more fitting than “in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.” Amen.
So true. Actually, Paul distilled the very meaning of life into one simple sentence. Amazing.
And then followed with a silly little joke song lasting 20 seconds. Perfect.
Crush Everything Paul's incredible genius.
And Lennon loved that last line , praised McCartney for it .
Amen!
I'll tell you what's junk, Yoko's voice. My vote is, MASTERPIECE.
Stop with the hate.
@@permonjackson9696 You misspelled 'truth'.
True, her singing was embarrassing. Really, she was a shitty artist. She was a hustler. She hustled Lennon with her avant-guard b.s. Just like Allen Klein hustled Lennon, which almost bankrupted his stupid ass. Yoko saved him with her savvy investments. The Beatles, except for Paul, were much poorer than they should have been cause they couldn't be bothered to read the fine print in their contracts.
Her backing vocals on "Birthday" are the finest moment of her career, IMHO.
@@permonjackson9696 No.
"Abbey Road medley is junk! Now I'm going to go play all feedback guitar while Yoko shrieks."
Hahahah! really good.
😂😅😰
hilarious...
Too true
I love John & Yoko (and the Side 2 Medley), but this comment is priceless! 🤣
~ Lily Villon
Absolutely a masterpiece. I remember being blown away by the "B" side of Abby Road when I was in 7th grade. It gave me a sense of continuity -- I no longer experienced life in fragments, instead, I saw the beauty and interrelatedness of all things. It was THAT good.
C. Matthew Hawkins lol what a poseur
C. Matthew Hawkins
I think John was wrong about side two, and Abby Road in general. It opened the world of Beatles music to me, and I was enthralled.
Part of what made the album so great is that sides one and two were unique unto themselves. In some cases, it seems evident to me John’s gift for creating music was much better than any talent he posessed as a critic; after all, he thought a lot of Yoko’s music. And although I have a fondness and respect for her, I have never enjoyed her music.
I feel you, I was in 3rd grade when a stereo playing Abby Road fell on my head in my aunt Reeta's kitchen. From then on, I felt like I lived in a Jell-O submarine. I discovered that I wasn't as fond of the Balad of Jon and Yokko as I was before. I also found out that I thoroughly enjoyed Doctor Rubber although I despised it until then, it was THAT bad.
Yes Abbey Road great and the wonderful medley too .
@@jamesball5743 actually , it was that funny cigarette someone rolled for him :)
Do you think John really didn’t like it or just wanted to take a shot at Paul?
Good question. Had it just been the '70 Wenner interview (first quote here), I'd say it was just John being disagreeable. But since he held the same sentiment 10 years later, I think he really didn't like it. Maybe some of it was resentment, but in the later years he didn't have many kind words for anything that was headed up by Paul or George Martin.
maybe both, what if he didn’t like it because he wasn’t happy with paul
FabFourArchivist haha! John being john! He loves mixing different songs or takes into one like strawberry fields, A day in the life, happiness is a warm gun, revolution 9 and tomorrow never knows!
@Ben M I believe he took another shot at Paul . Just once I wish he would've kicked his ass.
I reckon too thatJohn just took it as a something personal between himself & Paul by giving such comment on this album's B side.
Dear john, we always understood that the medley was like six unfinished songs. But guess what, mate, we all love it even more because they were unfinished and put together by you four guyses.
Stairway to Heaven is 3 unfinished songs and we like that, too.
@@markbrophy5454 good point, mate.
The guy who put together the pretentious trash called Revolution #9 has a lot of nerve.
@@loosilu lol it was considered "avant guard." At least they didn't fart into a bag. "Turn me on, dead man!" "I buried Paul." lol
@@rockdrumr2772 Paul was digging deep into avant garde in London while John was stranded in the suburbs. Yoko told John this garbage was genius. This was John's attempt to establish himself as THE avant garde Beatle.
Of course it's a "Masterpiece!"
If you're a true Beatles fan, you've got to know this: Don't listen to anything John Lennon had to say about their music! Paul McCartney has said on many occasions that John would always shoot his mouth off, and then regret what he'd said later on. Just listen to some of the things Lennon would say about the Beatles through the years. I personally heard him say once: "We were just a band! Just a band that broke up! There's no great mystery to it. We were just a band, that's all." And then I'd hear him say: "I knew we were the greatest fucking band in the world!" Then there's that famous interview John gave to a reporter about Mick Jagger. John basically said: "Mick said some tarty things about the Beatles! Mick was always jealous of the Beatles. He knew we had more power than the Stones! I mean, I can talk about the Beatles, but don't let Mick talk about them! He always knew that the Beatles were bigger than the Stones. They'd always copy us! Just look at what the Beatles did, and then what the Stones put out six months later! They copied us. We put out "Pepper", and then they put out "The Majesty's Request!" It's fucking bullshit! And I wish just once you people would say something about it! So, that was John folks. Don't ever take him seriously. Trust me, John Lennon knew just how great the Beatles were, and just how good "Abbey Road" was, or he never would have put his name on it!
It absolutely ate them up that they could never draw even with the Beatles, no matter what they did. Not even the staggering musical genius of Brian Jones could bridge the gap. They only started billing themselves as "The Greatest" AFTER the Beatles broke up, to avoid being laughed off the stage.
Can you please provide a source for that quote?
I think you highlight imo John's worst and most obvious character flaw: he's a hypocrite who contradicts himself very often.
@@juscratchinmaballs how though?
@@BrendanJSmith He often talked about Paul's music as being "granny music" and especially the medley he called "unrelated junk" or whatever, but Lennon himself has plenty of "granny music" and has songs where he throws a bunch of random ideas or phrases together also. Hypocrite. He just liked bagging on Paul and The Beatles for the sake of it I think.
i think the guitar solo at the end of “you never give me your money” is so underrated in the beatles catalogue. its so perfect and fits amazingly w the song.
And Ironically we do not know who most likely played it, could have been George, but could have been Paul. It is a very Melodic solo, and Paul excelled at melody.
@@ksharpe10 imo it sounds very george. and i feel like he also excelled at melody too, i mean just listen to the “something” guitar solo
@@daanizafar3792 it had the fluidity of George to my ears.
Paul beyond doubt. Doesn’t sound like George’s phrasing or intonation.
It is squarely on the beat, uses very neutral/weak notes, is slightly out of tune and bends notes in a way that suggests someone used to heavier strings(overshooting). In spite of that surface negativity, it had a beatiful melodic and musical properties, and making magic with very basic note material is Paul’s game.
@@hepphepps8356 I've just had another listen and I've changed my mind to agree with you. I was thinking of the reprise during Carry That Weight. The guitar work before+during "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, all good children go to heaven" sounds like Paul to me. There's something in the way he does pull offs that's very distinctive - at least if Taxman is representative of his lead work.
If the interviewer like something about the Beatles, John would save it was rubbish, if the interviewer didn't like something about the Beatles, John would defend them.
I loved John but I think he regarded 'The Long One' as junk because he wasn't remotely capable of constructing something like that. He wasn't in the same league as Paul and George Martin when it came to conceptualising. If he had been, he'd have thought this was one of his greatest achievements. Abbey Road remains my favourite album of all-time and as much as Side One is amazing, it's the Side Two medley and how it sits amongst the rest of the album that makes it what it is. Sure, John was raw and rock'n'roll, but he also knew 'produced' greatness when he heard it. This is greatness. His "junk" comment was laced with envy at a time (1971) when he and Paul were at loggerheads.
Following the breakup John always had some resentment for Paul and George Martin. Out of all the Beatles he was the most bitter following the breakup. I'm pretty sure deep down he always admired their work but wished he had collaborated more.
Mark Cunningham z
Or maybe he just doesn't like it.
Like John said gimme some truth
I think you did
Making a medley? Is that what you call conceptualising?
RE : “The End”
"The idea for guitar solos was very spontaneous and everybody said, ‘Yes! Definitely’ - well, except for George, who was a little apprehensive at first. But he saw how excited John and Paul were so he went along with it. Truthfully, I think they rather liked the idea of playing together, not really trying to outdo one another per se, but engaging in some real musical bonding. Yoko was about to go into the studio with John - this was commonplace by now - and he actually told her, ‘No, not now. Let me just do this. It’ll just take a minute.’ That surprised me a bit. Maybe he felt like he was returning to his roots with the boys - who knows? The order was Paul first, then George, then John, and they went back and forth. They ran down their ideas a few times and before you knew it, they were ready to go. Their amps were lined up together and we recorded their parts on one track. You could really see the joy in their faces as they played; it was like they were teenagers again. More than anything, they reminded me of gunslingers, with their guitars strapped on, looks of steely-eyed resolve, determined to outdo one another. Yet there was no animosity, no tension at all - you could tell they were simply having fun. One take was all we needed. The musical telepathy between them was mind-boggling." - Geoff Emerick
Holy moly! I'd love to see footage of that.
After watching Get Back, I now want a six-hour making-of documentary for each of the Beatles' albums... but especially of Abbey Road and Revolver.
@@hjermsted22 could you imagine!!!! OMG I could die happy after watching films documenting that. It would be incredible to actually watch the creative vision and application that went into Revolver, Sgt.Pepper’s, Rubber Soul et al. It surprises me that The Beatles, being such a media savvy band, didn’t think to document it all.
Ah well, a boy can dream…
great post, thank you
A masterpiece, one of my favorites even to this day. Just sit down with no distractions and listen to this, it's wonderful. And i still get a little teary eyed after "The End". The Beatles knew this would be their last recording together. But it also signaled the end of an era in music that won't ever happen in the same way ever again.
John was cynical about virtually everything.....It was his nature.
Shame he wasnt so cynical about Yoko's avant garde bollocks.
Not sure it makes him cynical because he criticized a collection of songs....
Cynical, yes, because the feeling of despair was creeping in.
After making it big time, the most fab band in the world and super rich, he goes through a divorce.
And then Maharishi Mahesh Yogi fooled him, and the psychedelic revolution...wasn't. All
disappointments. John probably felt his creative spirits declining, which is a crucial moment
in a musicians career. Then subjected to the coaching of his political 2nd wife, who will remain nameless,
out of consideration for the readers of this comment. Also, the blues was the essential element to rock
music but Paul liked love songs. And with Hendrix and Cream, and Billy Gibbons, Zappa, and John McLaughlin,
etc., Lennon was starting to feel played out and lacking in talent compared to what was coming on
the scene. He probably felt he needed to rekindle his creative juices. So, he was critical of the
Beatles Medley sensing the end of the line, and over time, the Medley lasted the test of time.
Joan was quizzical
Best band the world has ever known.
and will ever know.
Love them or hate them, there will never be another musical act in impact.
@@robertmasina4610 Not an act. A band.
I totally agree 👍
Robert Masina there might be
I love the long one. I love the sound. I love the playful lyrics. I love the way it’s structured to resolve in The End. I love the poetic close to an historic musical body of work. According to one source, George Martin asked John if there’s anything he’d change in the Beatle’s canon. John reportedly said, “I’d change it all.” OK, but I’m glad you didn’t.
@red_array facts
The Long One is a fun one. Definitely one of the best pieces of music in the best album of all time. Great upload, my guy.
I completely agree. Thanks Vince!
Abbey Road is a MASTERPIECE!
Martin's placement is genius! After side b ends? You sit back and try to catch your breath and process the fact your brain has just been picked clean listening to the white noise of the needle sliding off the grooves in the album and bang! Het majesty snaps you back to whatever is left of your reality.
My favorite Beatles album...as a musician, I have played this medley a thousand times...never gets old!
Me too.First thing I do when I get home at night is pick up my guitar and play mean Mr mustard polythene Pam and she came I'm thru the window.Just recently learned how to play the intro to I am the Walrus properly too.So I hope the neighbors like the Beatles🤣
That medley deserves its own induction into the rock hall of fame. Absolute genius.
I’ve often thought that the entirety of the B side is meant as one symphonic composition, including Here Comes the Sun, which ties nicely to the mention of the Sun King just two songs later. We’ve forgotten a lot with digital versions because there’s no break in sides, but when you get to the end of She’s So Heavy, have to take a break and flip the vinyl, it really shows that Here Comes the Sun is the prologue to the rest of the medley. Especially with the sharp cutoff of Heavy, the gentle guitar opening of Sun completely changes the flavor of the album. One of the best complete side concepts of any album.
At some point we all start splitting hairs - was HCTS part of the medley? Certainly not. But the fact that it's on Side 2 indeed says something. And it certainly thrives in that opening spot.
I totally agree about flipping the vinyl, by the way, and said so in my short film about HCTS. The intensity of IWY's close has some much-needed breathing room with the physical intermission.
@@FabFourArchivist "indeed says SOMETHING"... I see what you did there!
"Here Comes The Sun" works as an overture or prelude to the medley. Your observation about Sun King is spot on. It even says "Here Comes the Sun (King)" in the lyric. "Because" is musically and lyrically linked to Sun King with similarly refined harmonies and idyllic pastoral imagery. The entire side B ebbs and flows through a range of moods in a symphonic way. I can find nothing to criticize.
Ending side one with the winter snowstorm blizzard of white noise at the end of " I Want You" and beginning side two the warmth of the morning sun of "Here Comes The Sun" is just sheer brilliance. I am so glad the Beatles and production crew came to their senses!
mountart2 I agree
One of my favorite things to listen to by The Beatles is the medley side of "Abbey Road". I have always loved it and I still pull out my original 1969 LP and put it on the turntable... 'playing Side 2.
Abbey Road is a genuine masterpiece, and even though millions of Beatles fans feel that everything they recorded was a masterpiece... and that's not true, of course...
But Abbey Road is an authentic tour de force by a band that probably produced more well crafted music than any ten bands that one might mention... They were perfectionists... and they produced a great amount of musical perfection in their eight years of being together as we knew them... John, Paul, George and Ringo.
Playing the medley on the guitar is a kick
@@daleeloph6888 playing along to this album taught me so much about the guitar and music in general!
@@tomoverton2138 when people ask me who taught me to play guitar I always tell them John Lennon and Paul McCartney
I learned to appreciate the medley more over time. I think it’s a masterpiece.
John Lennon just liked to be controversial about Beatles’ songs. The Beatles never did anything solo that eclipsed what they did as a band. They all made some great solo stuff but they were never as good as when they were together as this superb unit.
That is true. That is why 50 years on we are still talking about the Beatles. Nobody talks about how the Wings were great. I have a theory that if the Beatles had failed as solo artists, they'd quickly come running back. But fans went ahead and supported them solo.... Rolling Stones and Queen fans did not go that way. Solo records by their members did not sell well at all.
Ernest Barteldes You are quite right. Some of the early solo music was very Beatleesque. Band on the Run especially but overall together they had this wonderful chemistry. I think we have to very grateful to have experienced
Brian Musson As they say, “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
I second that, it is so true.
@@ebarteldes I saw where you wrote "But fans went ahead and supported them solo.... Rolling Stones and Queen fans did not go that way. Solo records by their members did not sell well at all."
Someone forgot to tell me that before I bought the CD with: ua-cam.com/video/FN22X8gsD1g/v-deo.html
I’m willing to bet that George Martin played an even bigger role in the “assemblage” and order of the medley than this video would have you believe. Martin was most definitely the fifth Beatle.
Without George Martin's guidance The Beatles may have been the greatest British band ever but I don't believe they would have become a world wide phenomenon.
@@JackTheSkunk I agree.
No Epstein, no Martin would = no Beatles. They busted their asses pulling the Lads along to fame and fortune.
@@jaelge I agree. 100%
@@jaelgeAnd don't forget the recoding personnel such as Hurricane Smith, Geoff Emerick, Richard Lush, Ken Scott and John Kurlander just to name a few. These guys were instrumental in getting and changing the course of sound production. It wasn't all G. Martin.
I am sure Lennon would have mellowed if he had of lived longer concerning The Beatles catalogue. His disrespect to Martin's production is quite frankly churlish and unappreciative. As far as I am concerned Martin should have been given co writer credits for songs like I am the Walrus and Strawberry Fields for without his majestic orchestral arrangement they would have been far far less. One only has to look at Lennon's patchy solo career to see that without a Martin at the helm he floundered. (yes yes I know Specter but yeah.....)
Or even a McCartney at the helm. I always think John must have been going through a particularly jealous patch from mid-73 to '74 hearing him come out with Live And Let Die and Band On The Run and Junior's Farm. Wings' strongest period.
@@mbvideoselection "Wings strongest period" lol. Wings, only the band the Beatles could have been.
Arranging is not writing. Some arrangers are brilliant, no doubt, but deciding if the part should be a cello or an Oboe is not writing the song.
@@Datsunofthebeach I am well aware of the differences of composer and arranger. I feel in these 2 examples Martin did far more than choose certain instruments, his writing of the score borders truly borders on co composer. Look at Lennon's patchy solo 2nd rate material. These could have easily be made a thousand times better and more interesting with Martin at the helm. Many good arrangers do not get the credit they deserve I feel.
Neil Aspinall I agree Neil.
The medley: a masterpiece. Without a doubt.
C’mon John, the B side was incredible, and your contributions were phenomenal.
I was genuinely disappointed that he regarded And Your Bird Can Sing as nothing but a "throwaway" because I adored that track. Plus, he's the one who wrote it.
I've always loved the medley , particularly "She came in through the bathroom window"
My opinion is "IT'S PURE GENIUS" Rock n Roll at its greatness
I never forget it - when the album was released a respected music critic (Time magazine, or so - I don’t remember anymore) said: “The Side A of Abbey Road is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever heard in my life; but the Side B is simply perfection !”
You know I agree with that guy - untill now. John was always unhappy with Paul’s ideas. The things he said shouldn’t be taken into account - ‘cause there was a hurt behind it. Later he probably thought the opposite.
That's actually the last chord of Mean Mr Mustard at 9:31. It was simply left on the Her Majesty tape when it was cut.
Sorry, John was wrong on this one. "The long one" is an absolute masterpiece.
Agreed, played a lot. Play the remix one.
That's true.. typical John dismissive comment
Hans Jonassen bloody idiots. Takes all types I suppose
I concur.
Everyone agrees with you i think.
I've always felt, and this is me personally obviously, that side 2 was one of the greatest things the Beatles ever did. It just works for me. Abbey Road, to me, is the best album ever made.
To me the second side of Abbey Road is and always will be a masterpiece!
I think most of John Lennon's sneering opinions are junk. Half of what he said should not be taken seriously. In normal life, he was often very careless with his words.
So true! Check out John's last interview given to Playboy Magazine shortly before his demise. He spent much of the interview trashing Paul's work, as well as some of his own. It would appear that anything either of them wrote without Yoko's influence was "trash" or "junk". I love and revere John Lennon, but he was a hyper-critical genius whose opinions must be taken with a huge grain of salt.
Your sexual life is junk
One thing about John Lennon he was actually singing songs from the top of his head and not from his heart because if he had a heart he would have left Julian Lennon some money in his inheritance but instead he cut him out completely out of his first son inheritance that says a lot about somebody it shows you that are not really there they're not really what they seem to be the songs that he sung about 4 just poems that came into his mind he didn't believe in what he was singing about he was just a lucky singer made it big but I'm sure that deep down inside is hard he's probably regretting not leaving his first born son Julian Lennon thrown out of his will and Yoko she even tried to Big John Lennon out of his house after John gave his dad a house Yoko try to kick him out of it she is a real number from what I hear a heroin addict and if you're a heroin addict you're out there just goes to show you she didn't leave any money to Julian Lennon and if you listen to any of his interviews and when he talks about his dad you will fully understand what I am talking about look it up and see for yourself but getting past that I did like their music I did like their rhythm but personally all of the John Lennon CDs that I had I threw them all out my car window once I found out he was a deadbeat dad cutting your first sign out of your will when you got like a billion dollars I mean really Yoko I'm sure you're proud of yourself
@@frequencyhealingbracelets2194 how bout McCartney ordering his EX wife heather mills to stop breastfeeding their child because her boobs were his?
Maca is not perfect either,neither u sir nobody
@@jellyfish3333 maca is all about money.the true artist was Lennon
U just an ignorant peasent
It was/is a masterpiece. John was just being John.
I think "The End" is perfect, because it was "The End" for The Beatles as a band. It's also Beautiful.
I worked at a record shop when Abbey Road was released. When my co-workers and I first heard the album, knowing it was the final Beatles record. When it came to the end of the B side, there was a dreary silence in the shop and many of us had tears in our eyes when we realized that that was the end of the Beatles.
George Martin said that The Beatles knew it's the last.They did perfectly one more time and the sun shone for one last time.
@@panneetantinukul5658 It was pure perfection. Their "last gasp" as a band together soared and still remains my favorite of all their LPs to this day... I love all of them - But Abbey Road still is my all-time favorite... and I suppose that it's somehow fitting that it was their last collaborative release.
@@Snoopy7666 Mine too. It's so beautiful instruments too. Never get tired. Even 50 years later.
Diego Terneus You couldn’t have known that it was their last album, it was released in September 69 and they broke up in the spring of 70.
One of my favorite Beatles compilations, a masterpiece!
John’s music was great, but he talked a lot of rubbish.
He always feared that his position, as leader of the Beatles ( from his days forming the Quarrymen' ) was being usurped. It showed too often for comfort.
You can have rock and roll and pop opera too . The Beatles were great at experimenting in different musical tastes and genres . A highlight of this is the brilliant White Album . As well as so much else .
Agreed. Hard drugs can do that to you! He went through a post-Beatles phase of just talking crap.
Agreed. He even shit talked some of his own songs.
His music was excellent, but he was a dark man. There are rumours he beat his wife
Of course the medley is a masterpiece. It still blows my mind.
John saying that “none of the songs had anything to do with each other” is actually testament to just how bloody good they were!!! Because is sounds so perfect - john’s saying “yeah they were all separate but we’re that fucking good that we can do THIS with them....” actually that’s more mind blowing than if they’d intended it to be that way from the start!
The songs may have little to do with each other lyrically (although Mean Mr Mustard and Polythene Pam seem to be closely linked), but the ebb and flow of the mood of the songs is symphonic.
Neither did the two separate songs in A Day in the Life. He never said that was junk
And really, “none of the songs had anything to do with each other” means nothing because going by that logic, every one of their albums before (and most albums in existence) the songs don't directly relate to the next one (except if you maybe sometimes count "love" as a topic). So why does John think they have to be related to be good?
Anyway, I read a reviewer's take on wiki that explained how they actually could be related bc the medley starts out about greed/money, etc. but eventually "in the end" they realize love is the important thing... (or something similar i know I'm butchering it but it made sense, I suggest anyone interested check it out).
And you're right, the fact that they don't obviously, outright relate to each other, yet are blended so well, is a testament to the genius composition and production of Paul McCartney and George Martin. The Medley sounds amazing start to finish and it's one of my favorite pieces from The Beatles. John was just a little begrudging and resentful after the split I think.
@@juscratchinmaballs It was definitely a time where Lennon criticized a lot of Beatles work including his own, but I do get a little of what John is saying. People have praised it as some kind of amazing masterwork yet John knows that it was a bunch of unfinished songs they pieced together. It came out really well and I love listening to it, but in reality taking a bunch of unfinished songs and piecing them together is not really a work of genius. It can be hard to take a musical idea and finish it as a complete song. Piecing together several unrelated songs is actually kind of a cop out. It's saying I don't know how to finish these songs in a way that makes sense so let's just stick them together. It is actually the easier route to take.
As much as I appreciate John Lennon, I feel he was short sighted when it came to new innovations musically for the band. Partly an ego thing perhaps, but at the end of the day, we sit back, and without reservation enjoy Abby Road from first not to "The End" .. imho ..
He fancied himself to be the edgy one. Of course he couldn't admit Paul was pushing them forward,
John bashed anything and everything Beatles and he later recanted. John was often like that: he’d embrace something and be an advocate, then quickly turn against it.
It wasn't an innovation. As another commenter noted, "Happiness Is Warm Gun" is also multi-sectioned. Before that, there was Absolutely Free by Zappa and the Mothers, and "A Quick One" by The Who.
@@beatmet2355 Yeah John has said the same thing about many of his own songs. Some want to make it about Paul, but Lennon said these kinds of things all the time. Lennon often criticized his own voice and guitar playing. I think he may have the greatest rock 'n roll voice of all time, but he often seemed insecure about even that.
You gotta remember, John Lennon wore leather jackets and a cowboy hat, as did his band. HIS band. They wrote and sang about girls (and almost nothing else) and played their instruments loudly, sloppily, and for fun. That was Hamburg. Their cavern days started to see them become a little tighter (both musically and personally) and then they got a recording contract. As Parlophone's 'The Beatles' they started out doing covers of skiffle standards with some pepperings of original tunes until their first motion picture. Then they tried out all original compositions.
Then they met Bob Dylan, who aside from introducing them into the world of the 1960's drug scene, also showed them there was more to songwriting than just women... This meeting really changed them (especially John) who went on to write Nowhere Man in the Beatles, and eventually songs like Imagine and Give Peace a Chance.
Beatlemania, several more movies, the death of Brian Epstein, and some personal disagreements later, the band was a completely different beast. In many ways, after Pepper, it was now Paul's band. Jimmy Hendrix, The Doors, The Who, and other up-and-coming acts by the end of that decade served to juxtapose the psych pop the Beatles had become with the rawer, grittier hard rock starting to emerge.
It's my opinion that John's disparaging comments post-Beatles were generally his frustrations with what the band became versus what it was/had always been in his mind; Those boys from Hamburg. The Get Back sessions - which turned into Let it Be - was a favorite of John because they were a collective effort by the rest of the band to "get back" to their earlier, all in one take, live sound - albeit while retaining the skills and knowledge they had gained in the decade since. It was a return to form, in a way. But that George Martin scored poppy album? Nah, that was trash.
I LOVE Abbey Road, but I can completely see where John was probably coming from. And, while 'the long one' is probably my favorite Beatles experience, John's comments aren't completely foreign. Normally (and with any other band) compiling unfinished song snippets into a large medley would seem cheap and wouldn't work. But the Beatles made it awesome. I only wish John could have seen the band through a fan's eyes or something; rather than the degraded imitation of their earlier, happier days that he saw them as. Even George made similar comments to 'we were better in Hamburg.'
I'm just glad we have all the music & albums they made! Love the varied sound the band had over the years. And those two Anthology threetles songs, as well as the Love Album, are just icing on the cake! Looking forward to picking up this Abbey Road remaster. I already have the Sgt. Pepper and White Album ones. :)
The irony here is that Lennon LOVED the Phil Spector “wall of sound” mix of the Let it Be album, while Paul hated it. Paul wanted the Get Back live sound, and finally got a version of that with the approved Let it Be...Naked mix a few years back.
So WAS John really dismissive because Paul was doing more artsy and orchestrated stuff?-the original Let it Be mix says “not so fast”. I think it was more that John was just a real contrarian about the Beatles post breakup, especially about Paul’s stuff. A clash of egos more than rock n roll vs silly love songs, etc.
I assume what you meant by “...that George Martin scored poppy album” is Let It Be, but Phil Spector famously added his orchestral “Wall of Sound” when he mixed the record after being given the master tapes by Lennon. John loved what Spector did, while Paul despised it and was quite angry about it, as it was his intent and idea to get back to the basics of being a live band, including in the studio.
@@crusheverything4449 Yes, that's true! Although, conceptually, Abbey Road was always intended as a lush, multi take, album akin to Pepper or Magical Mystery Tour while Let it Be/Get Back was intended as a live album.
And John didn't like Get Back. (Thought it was too non-Beatles or something, I don't know...) That's why he loved Phil Spector's coming in and 'fixing' of the album, while he despised George Martin's 'from the beginning' additions and alterations.
Seems like John was just getting fed up with the others (George Martin's involvement, Paul's songs, George Harrison's budding contributions - which he and Paul often rejected) and the direction the band had gone. Bringing in Phil Spector to fix 'that album the others were messing up' seems like the motivation behind that to me.
Plus, John worked with Spector for the rest of his career (and never again with Martin) while Paul, George, and Ringo all worked with Martin in some capacity again.
@Nicefisher I'd love a mono mix of Blue Jay Way with the added backwards chorus part during the verses. And, hearing a true 5.1 I Am The Walrus without the little Love album lead in's and outs... would be astonishing!
MMT is probably my favorite Beatles album! :D
Great comment! I had never thought about it that way.
I’m with Paul, George, Ringo, and George Martin on this one. The medley is a masterpiece.
I was 22 when Abbey Road came out. The medley is the greatest grouping of songs that I remember and the one most often played by Beatles tribute bands for a reason, it is a memorable compilation of rock and orchestral combination that I believe influenced Jeff Lynn of ELO fame and others. Thanks for the video!
Good catch on the influence on Jeff Lynne and ELO. No question about it.
Given John's own insecurities and jealous nature, I feel his statement was directed more toward Paul(who was a major architect in the arrangement) than it was meant for the medley itself.
When I'm on my deathbed, taking my last breaths of life, I want the long one playing.
Dylan Hydes the long one or the original?
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. All good children go to heaven.
John's bitterness overpowered his common sense. Abbey Road is one of the top 5albums of all time!
This album, for sure, a MASTERPIECE.
I love the medley at the end of Abbey Road. I've always wanted 9 minute extended version of each of the song. I've also always thought of the white album as about 8 real songs strung together with medley's. They really show how versatile these four guys were.
John was an insecure guy and most of his criticisms stem from that. I'd like to think he'd have mellowed over time and accepted his and the Beatles greatness without worrying about what other people thought.
Same, I like to think he would have been a happy old man
@@santiagoibarra2385 He was certainly heading that way, IMHO. It's sad that his life was cut short. I seem to recall he was quoted as calling some of Paul McCartney's songs "Silly Love Songs," but when questioned about the love songs he wrote for his & Yoko's comeback album "Double Fantasy," he simply said, "I changed me mind."
I don't take ANYTHING that John ever said seriously. And much of the time, neither did he.
The 'pop opera' was down to the genius of George Martin who made something out of a handful of unfinished songs. The Beatles were too busy bickering amongst themselves to properly finish the album. George Martin finished it for them IMHO.
Lennon said himself he was always up and down on everything and super critical of anything mcCartney had a hand in.
That medley is fantastic and my favourite the Beatles did. Love it
John strikes me as having not liked the fact that “his band” became Paul’s.
Why would he like that. Paul became impossible after Brian died. George said the same thing. It would only become Paul's bc john let it become that. Love Paul but not nearly as good as John
Paul was the most talented member. Being a year and a half younger than John was a big difference in their early years because 1 year makes a difference at that age....but once he reached 23, 24 etc the full bloom of Mccartneys talent and drive became apparent . It probably was hard for John and to a lesser extent George to try and keep up with such a songwriting genius. The sum of their parts will always be greater than any one member, but they have been my favorite band for over 40 years (born in 1974) and for my money Paul was the true genius of this band. This is not to diminish the others as I love all the members...I just feel McCartney talent wise was on a level most musicians cannot comprehend.
@@michaelfrazia4569 i agree 100%
John probably did resent it-- human nature being what it is.
@Micheal Frazia, Paul was the greater musician but John was the greater artist. That might sound like a contradiction, but it's not. Paul is probably the best melodicist in rock history, yet most musicians still say that John was the greater songwriter... because songwriting is far more than just melody. John's work had an edge and unpredictability to it that Paul's music, for all its pretty melodies, simply didn't have.
It never became Paul's band. John started the band, and Paul filed a lawsuit to have the band dissolved when George and Ringo sided with John against Paul in regards to who they wanted as manager.
I think side B is exquisite. John liked to stir things up after the breakup. But he was also critical of his own wonderful work. Geniuses can be contrarian.
Fantastic channel, BTW.
he did have a few rows and headbutts with Paul after the breakup... like with RAM, when he thought Paul was mocking him through the lyrics he made his next album himself shaving a pig, near mimicking Paul shearing the sheep in Scotland.
“I liked the A side. I never liked that, sort of, whatever, ‘pop opera’ on the other side. I think it’s junk.”
It is a masterpiece and Lennon was bitter because he knew deep down his rock & roll was, while fundamental, also rudimentary. He couldn’t play with McCartney & Martin. Even George & Ringo could, though. Inadequacy, or feeling inadequate, made him sour on ABBEY ROAD and most of the Beatle material.
Anything non-attributable to Lennon was junk as far as he was concerned at the time. Where McCartney et al could pull positivity and productivity out of Lennon's lazy ass Yoko was proficient at pulling out the negativity and self-pity required to obtain the control over him that she wanted. But it's not just Yoko's fault, Lennon was weak for whatever reason. He didn't even have the positive self-image and confidence in himself to pull an attractive and intelligent woman to share his life with but instead gravitated to a guttersnipe con artist witch like Yoko.
@@jaelge John had a lot of hot chicks before that.. He could have had a real hot chick then too for sure..But like you said he was often a negative depressed pissed cat.
Insightful, and well-put.
When he said that it was the early 1970s and he had moved away from surrealism and abstract lyrics to more direct and simpler songs.
He wasn't into word play and cleverness anymore; more direct meaning in his songs.
He wanted to be more literal.
Check out his first two solo albums and then his political stuff.
@@jaelge lol. As Lennon once said, he had 2 geniuses for partners. Yoko's songs on Double Fantasy are awesome!
The best songs on Abbey Road is Here Comes the Sun and Something, written by George Harrison
Damn straight.
Both of them are sure to be among the most covered songs in all of pop music.
George Harrison was their best songwriter, but he just did not work as hard as the others to write songs. He was more laid back.
Agreed
Nah I want you and You Never Give Me Your Money far more complex and dynamic
50 years ago, I would side with John on most everything. But in retrospect, once Yoko became John's primary interest, Paul was able to take control of the band, and what I once considered lightweight fluff, I now realize was Paul's genius. Turns out, John's disinterest became one of the Beatles' greatest assets in their later years as it allowed Paul to lead the band in directions that John never would have. "Ear candy" isn't a bad thing, John. Abbey Road, side 2 is proof.
Paul has knocked out some guff alongside the masterpieces though.
@@davefloyd9443 every artist does
John was more of a rocker, no-nonsense performer, which is great, but they decided to put their suitcases in the attic in 1966, about the time Paul subtly took over. No more live performances means studio time, which suited McCartney just fine.
@@davefloyd9443 When I hear "Starting Over" I think of an advertisement for a retirement home or insurance company. John was becoming quite bland at that stage, and had lost his edge. He needed the spur of Paul's input.
@@One.Zero.One101 The new Get Back documentary confirms this
Like you said, it is very difficult to reimagine something you’ve known all your life. That said, it is as should be.
In my ears, it’s as close to perfection as an album can be, even though it was hodgepodge of songs.
It’s so flows so effortlessly, and it makes sense musically.
Although John’s contributions to the body of the Beatles work were diminishing, its amazing how such short songs can be so powerful, and it also shows how much his song writing had matured.
John was a rock and roller at heart, yet, much of his work was as innovative as any 60s musician, even when he was doing something as a throwaway.
That’s just what happens with someone as talented as him, his “crap” is pure genius.
There are so many nuances to this album. Obviously, George Martin guided the boys and brought out the best in them.
It is, once again, as close to perfection as an album can be, and captures everything that the Beatles were musically, and they went out in the highest note possible for a band.
Sometimes John could be a jerk. Paul was the one who mostly cared about their music.
Disagree after Brian died yes. Before no comparison john was the soul. Paul became a dictator..
@Your Momma I never made wine but I can judge it. Asshole comment.
Paul mostly cared about Paul
John was rock and roll Paul was and is pop
@ Spot on.
The best thing they ever did. I was in a band back in the 70's we did a set of Beatles. The best thing we did according to the crowds was the medley. We started off with Mean Mr. Mustard and went to The End. Damn I so loved doing that. Even now when I break out a guitar I'll do that whole medley every time. I love it so.
The part of Medley that gives me the chills every time I hear it is "Carry that Weight" It climaxes Side B with real emotional weight (thanks for showing George Martin's contribution,) and ties all the disparate songs together. It's them at their demise telling us what they've learned and blessing us.
"Her Majesty" at the end is perfect. WHen you're recovering from the crescendo of sound and feeling, all of a sudden this slight little ditty pops in to take you down.
John Lennon, I always thought, used this idea to devastating effect at the end of his first solo album, the Primal Scream album, with My Mummy's Dead.
To me, Lennon's solo albums equaled without eclipsing the band's albums. Isolation, Imagine, Watching the World, Beautiful Boy, and Woman, Woman are masterpieces.
John could be notoriously “pithy” and/sarcastic - not just about Beatles output. Yes, it is a medley of ‘bits’ but what ‘bits’ are - and the final 3 (Slumbers/Weight/End) rank as some of the finest music ever recorded in rock.
I love the Beatles and John but his comments on so many good songs gets to me. I try to think about what he'd have said in later years had he lived. Maybe he'd realize they weren't as bad as he said or that he'd have admitted he was being overly critical or negative because of ill feelings regarding the last years with the band. If I could write songs with 1% of his "junk" songs I'd be proud as hell. I always loved the B side medley. As a parent I look at it as though I'm impressed with their work even if John wasn't. Sometimes the artist doesn't see the beauty everyone else does!
An undoubted Masterpiece. Thanks.
The song "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" has an interesting abrupt end, which would have been an interesting way to end the album.
Yeah - it would've been a typical John way to end an album. But as we listened to it in the old days, it was a great way to end Side one. Then we'd have a little break getting up to turn the platter over, and after that apocalyptic ending of side one, we get this delicate acoustic guitar riff to kick off side 2 ... and we get to do it all again.
Also - Come Together is the perfect start to the album. But then, i guess Here Comes the Sun would have been as well.
@@Fuzcapp but then The End wouldnt have been the end........ a philosophical full stop, followed by a daft ditty about 'Our Liz', how very Beatles.
I read that Lennon literally cut the master tape with a pair of scissors about where he got bored with the fade out.
Lol. That would have been awesome.
That's the first thing I thought of, I can imagine fans in England being aghast at such an ending lol
The b-side medley is without a doubt a masterpiece in my eyes. It’s one of my go to pieces of music
In my humble opinion side 2 of Abbey Road, and especislly the medley, is one of the strongest album sides of all time.
Paul McCartney is a genius in making snippets of music into a medley.
Think about Admiral Halsey or Band On The Run.
I agree paul is as genius as john in making medley just like A day in the life song sung by John medley of songs melody but one title if a song
@@mikopaulperez9612 .. McCartney's genius was lightyears beyond Lennon
And John was made the first attempt at this with "Happiness is a Warm Gun" on the White Album.
I agree, john had anger issues that impeded the his accomplishments later on. When you listen to songs from the early days like "Ask Me Why", "Girl" and up to about the time of "I'm only Sleeping", he was on a different level and was as melodic as Paul was in those days.
I liked John and Paul, but Paul took over the leadership role in the end I think because by then John was tired of it.What other band in history had the ability to have a bunch or really good songs and the rest great songs on a 12 song album. It was unheard of before them and they did that album after album. No one has matched them in that respect. Producers have tried to put all star bands together with great musicians from all over the world, but never came close matching 4 guys that grew up and live in the same small town. What are the odds?
Joe Miles Well said Joe.
John Lennon just likes good old Rock and Roll. Hmm. Then what the heck was "Revolution 9"?
exactly...plus the three Beatles alternating guitar solos in the long one. If that's not Rock N Roll, what is?
I absolutely love The Long One and have become obsessed with this masterpiece. To me, it’s unrivalled in the world of pop music.
This was a life-changing album for me; reversing sides A and B seems, and sounds, wrong.
Abbey Road is my favorite Beatles album. A masterpiece. Ringo said much the same.