it's the end... Listen to my MUSIC! • MUSIC by CAZZA / sweetcaroline_93 open.spotify.c... Follow me on: / cazzamusicofficial / cazzamusicofficial / cazza_music
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey, without you this series wouldn’t be what it is. An encore for you ⬇️ th-cam.com/video/Tkx9lwOLBOU/w-d-xo.html
Actually, the Beatles released in the early 90s two new songs, with the Beatles Anthology. That was "Free as a bird" and "Real love", two unfinished Lennon-Songs they finished. Without them, is the Beatles journey really over? O.o
Hi Caroline, it has been a joy to comment on your videos in real time as they arrived here on TH-cam. Your final comments at the end were very touching and heart felt. One thing I might add if I may? All four Beatles were still under 30 years of age when Abbey Road was released. George was only 26. So what we're seeing here in The Beatles was almost a gift from God in a funny kind of way. Combined with George Martin their body of work was astonishing for musicians so young
The Beatles also wrote and recorded If You've Got Trouble, Come and Get It, That Means a Lot, and You Know What To Do. These weren't released until 1996. I think you might enjoy them
Go on Caroline get stuck into The Beatles Live At The BBC , The Decca auditions , The Anthologies , Love and all the other bits and pieces on the internet and film ! 🤠 ENJOY YOURSELF !!! 🎱
None of The Beatles could read and write music, they didn't know music theory, yet they wrote 229+ songs that we could sing and hum along. They released 13 albums in 7 years. Geniuses.
I've read and watched a few commenters on this, and it seems the general consensus is, though they weren't trained in music theory, they followed the concepts and rules (which, remember, are always made for breaking!) pretty well. What I take away from that is that, if music theory hadn't been described through centuries of work by many geniuses, these four would have done it all on their own.
I wonder why so much is made about this with regard to the Beatles. I doubt if half of pop and jazz musicians bother to learn notation. What about being able to play music without being able to read it is such a wonder? Nobody is surprised that people can talk without knowing how to read.
@@Leafsdude_ Of course because everyone in all subjects stands on the shoulders of the giants before them. Paul notes his Dad's playing and family singlalongs to very broad 'education' in different musical styles growing up. Without formal training your brain is still processing all of the musical information it receives and connecting it together & recognising & laying down patterns as learning. So all music you hear is training, but some say - including Paul - and it sounds extremely plausible to me - that formal music education can inhibit creativity because you are told a lot of rules that you have to follow. Without the rules you are free to create anything that feels right.
@@Kermit_T_Frog Agreed, but when people say this about the Beatles, I'd say it is another way to measure their feelings about the sheer beauty, genius and volume of their output. If a band had one average hit and they had no formal training there wouldn't be much of a point to be made. I also think you would be surprised how many seemingly 'cool' rock and jazz musicians are actually pretty middle class and did lots of music lessons Mummy pushed them into.
Absolutely not true. Watch Get Back documentary - they weren't any kind of illiterate, they got music theory perfectly learned, and they read music like mad after years in Hamburg playing standards for money night and day for months.
This is incidentally where the medley is supposed to begin. (But I'm sure people will argue with this!) So there were no worries stopping after "Here Comes the Sun" or "Because"...
@@kenttheaker7904 Decades ago a radio show ran a special on the Beatles and asked for requests. I rang, got on air and requested "You never give me your money". They had no idea what I was on about. However, someone in their library knew and it ended up being played. As it should have. It is brilliant.
I've always thought it makes me feel like I'm driving back to London at 2 in the morning. In a light rain, with the streets dark and almost empty. In 1969. I live in CA, but I have driven all night in Britain.
I've watched quite a few of these videos from different sites over the last few months and every reviewer is stunned when "I Want You" comes to a sudden halt.
The great thing about Abbey Road, specifically the songs that Paul didn't write, is the way it showcases Paul's skills as a world class session musician. We all know what a great singer and songwriter he is, but I've always loved his work as a backing musician on John and George's songs on this album. The production is stellar, the hi fidelity is stellar, the orchestral arrangements are stellar, the vocal harmonies are stellar. Abbey Road is easily in the Top 3 albums ever made in music history.
Paul's bass playing is always killer on John or George songs. It's like he's got to be the centre of attention so steps up wherever he gets the opportunity.
I agree, and even George's best songwriting AND guitar work is on this album. It has Ringo's best song. It has my favourite John song (Because), it has everything. It's just a masterpiece.
That's really one of the saddest aspects of the Beatles' break-up. Their songs, especially John's and George's, would never again have this formidable backing. Sure, ATMP has a lot of... sounds on it, and some of them are really good, but it's not the same, and soon it was bland LA session guys all the way, at least until C9. As for John, he seemed to revel in being the anti-Beatles for a while on POB, until he changed his mind but the records never sounded very good. Elephant's Memory? You've got to be kidding.
As a guy who HAD to learn bass after hearing Something, I have to agree. And as a bass player, I know how hard it is to play complex bass lines and sing at the same time. So it makes sense that Paul saved his best bass playing for the other guy's songs. My favourite example is "Don't Let Me Down". A more cynical way of looking at it is that Paul was really competitive (a true statement), and wanted to inject himself in John and George's great songs so that listeners would still be in awe of how great McCartney was. Maybe there's a little of that. George apparently didn't want Paul overplaying on Something, but Paul did it anyway.
It always brings a tear to my eyes as the last note from "The End" drifts away. The last time the Beatles would ever play together. So sad. The End of an era.
McCartney's vocals on "Golden Slumbers"...beautiful! An amazing silky-smooth voice - then he is able to sing a song like "Oh Darlin" with such power. This man's talent is other-worldly....
It’s been a long and winding road Caroline. Remember when you started you were trying to decide between comparing the first and last Beatles albums or going through each one in order. I’m confident that I can speak for most here and say we’re so glad you chose the latter option. Thanks so much!
Even more impressive when you consider that between the first and last years, it was only 8 years..... The Beatles collectively learned and grew SO much together.... The change, the growth, and influence that they created was just IMMENSE!! From simple beginnings, they helped push the recording techniques of the future - along with of course their engineers and George Martin.... and the band's legacy has gone on to inspire countless artists ever since! 👍
Golden Slumbers through The End makes me tear up every time I listen to this album. These recordings were the last times all four Beatles ever played music together (The End, specifically). And they got to all sing together one last time in Carry That Weight. They permanently disbanded within two months of completing the album, and right around then was also the last time all four were together at once again in their lives. With the end of Abbey Road, you are literally hearing the last recorded music of pop's greatest band ever.
That part of the album is very emotional for that reason. It was the last time they all made magic together and you tell the bullshit was shelved for just a bit and they gave it everything they had for one last time.
@@gusmercado6704 Totally agree, especially when the brass plays the melody of You Never Give Me Your Money and then does that one punch just before the band goes back into Carry That Weight. Always gives me goosebumps, no matter how many times I hear it.
Man, your comments make me feel pretty emotional; just realising that what you're saying is spot on. "These recordings were the last times all four Beatles ever played music together (The End, specifically). And they got to all sing together one last time in Carry That Weight. They permanently disbanded within two months of completing the album ...." Can't say anymore. It's like a death. Things would never be the same again and something would always be missing from our lives.
Yet John Lennon called the Medley "Junk"... yet he put Yoko scratching..screeching..and screaming on one of HIS whole album sides..sided... go figure..
The fact that you have to wipe away a tear during "The End" says it all. Any true Beatles' fan gets emotional during the "Golden Slumbers / Carry That Weight / The End" portion of the medley.
"The End" is the grand finale of the Beatles. Such a fitting track to end their career together. Ringo's drum solo. Paul, George and John trading off lead guitars almost like a contest. Then the final message from the best band of all time: and in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.
LASTING LEGENDS July 6th 1957 became a special date John Lennon met Paul McCartney at a Liverpool church fete John liked what he saw in Paul then So Paul joined his band called the Quarrymen From that point on history was made The birth of the Beatles, our lives they would invade The early years in Hamburg with drummer Pete Best Showing that unique talent of which they were blessed Love Me Do was released in 1962 Then came Please Please Me and From Me To You Leaving the Cavern with their rise to fame Knowing their lives would never be the same Hit after hit, MBE’s from the Queen Number 1 with Eleanor Rigby & Yellow Submarine Changing their sound as time went by With a little help from their friends & Lucy in the Sky When John met Yoko we could see the sign That last performance on the roof in 1969 The dream was over so Let It Be But their music will live on I think we all agree.
"the love you take is equal to the love you make". I know. It's a bloody epic finish. Couldn't sum them up better. Wow. They really ended - full stop - like that - without absolutely knowing this was the end. The universe was involved in all of this and I speak as a rationalist scientific type who doesn't do mumbo jumbo. I can't explain it all in any other way!
That was the best Beatles songs reaction series on TH-cam. You kept us fans enthralled the whole way, eagerly awaiting the next album reaction. Your engaging personality and your natural musical ability helped immensely. You showed your audience why the Beatles classic songs hypnotized an entire generation. You didn't just say "I like it" but explained why by breaking down the chord progressions, harmonies, instrumentation and their out-of-this world melodies. You are unique just like the 4 lads from Liverpool.
I agree. I have watched lots of reaction videos and nothing has surpassed this series. Every time I watched one of your videos, I went back and listened to the albums again and heard new things I had never noticed before after listening to these songs for more than 40 years. Quite an achievement!
@@CallMeCaroline There is another young woman, Crystal Shannon who made almost the same trip as you, at almost the same time, and you both did a wonderful job. You should really get in contact. There is still the Get back documentary put together by Peter Jackson to enjoy.
The fact that The End features Ringo's first and only drum solo, and 3 alternating guitar solos from Paul, George, and John makes this the perfect Beatles song imo. Plus those ending lines from Paul and that last solo from George are spectacular. Thank you for this series!
@@franciscody9201 Birthday also has a short drum beat interlude that's *sorta* like a solo. But @nzapa21 is right, the bit in "The End" is Ringo's only TRUE drum solo on a Beatles record.
In your opinion, of course. Personally, it's my LEAST favourite example of Paul rocking out. It seems forced at times and often puts me on edge. His singing was a lot more natural and inspired in the exuberant Long Tall Sally. I'm Down drops my jaw every time. Sheez...have you not heard Monkberry Moon Delight? Paul's voice was great in the Beatles, but his vocal abilities continued to develop so by the mid 70's...sheer gold, just incredible.
@@uberbeast113 I would say he's Far better on "maybe I'm amazed." I can't think why he didn't sing like that on helter-skelter, though but went for a more clean cut voice, when it could have been an epic heavy metal song, with more rasp and grit. I would say that on this particular album "I want you, she's so heavy." is a better vocal from John. Lennon McCartney Harmonies from Earlier Are More impressive than a Oh darling, but the song is amazing. As for vocals, it would have been prreferable if John hadd given Paul dear Prudence, as Johns capability of singing ballads Deteriorated in the late sixties. Likewise, Paul should have given helter-skelter to John to sing, then that would have been even more amazing
@@Rowlph8888 wow lots of food for thought for me to get my teeth into there. OK...better on Maybe I'm Amazed and why didn't Paul sing like that on Helter-skelter. ... umm..well..firstly...Maybe I'm Amazed is a tender ballad devoted to Linda. Helter-skelter is a kind of...contrivance really I suppose...Paul read a review for The Who's latest 45 which stated this was the hardest meanest most rock n roll thing ever...and Paul was like uh oh and wrote Helter-skelter. Also, Paul's voice just kept improving well into the 70's. You reckon John's ballad voice deteriorated? Really? Sun King...Julia...Cry Baby Cry..I love Dear Prudence and cannot imagine it without John's idiosyncratic vulnerabilities.
@@TonysMusic1974 Ha ha. I listened again to Oh Darling very recently and loved it. There's a relentless forward momentum to it that caught me off guard. I've been listening to Beatles since 1982, fanatically during my teenage years, living on a boat in the Med with very little pocket money from mum and dad, the Balearic life was wonderful but not much access to new music so Beatles was all I had. Still, after forty years they surprise me. Blessings from UK
It's mind blowing to know within a span of eight years together, they created all that great music and they didn't even turn 30. John and Ringo were 29, Paul and George were 27.
@@ArbeiterInnenliederthe bundle of music they released in a little over 7 year period is greater than any catalog of music released by any other group or artist ever, including many with careers spanning several decades.
Caroline, much like The Beatles, you've captured lightning in a bottle here with what you've done. Your reactions are unparalleled and it's such a joy to see someone so knowledgeable discover inarguably the greatest pop cultural sensation of any of our lifetimes. The Beatles aren't just the best thing to happen to 60s music, or even to music in general. They're the biggest cultural force for good in the past century and that's no overstatement. Watch their movies and interviews, read their books, watch a few more documentaries and I'm sure your love for the music will only continue to grow!
Bang on, there will never be anything that will come close to them. Had the pressure within them been more bearable and judging by the solo songs they did till the end of 1971 we could of had at least 2 more albums of the same quality to follow Abbey Road.
Yes, Caroline, now that you know the music you should introduce yourself to the people. Start with A Hard Day's Night, it's a wildly entertaining movie and shows their personalities (or at least their personas), their irreverent sense of humour, and their charisma. You can see why the world fell in love with these guys.
If you can - check out the “Get Back” movie - they are actually creating both the Let It Be and Abbey Road music - plus a lot of goofing off. Watching them bring in rough song is really cool. They occasionally break into their old stuff as well as oldies. You even get to see John on drums and George on bass (or was it drums as well) for brief bits. My personal favorite is John saying we need another person to do keyboards in order to play live….and Billy Preston shows up 😀.
Even better, at the beginning of the movie, George was talking about how much he admired Billy Preston. They first met in 1962 in Hamburg. Back then, Billy was opening for Ray Charles/Little Richard. The Beatles were a small band just starting out, and Ray/Richard were already established. Billy was a young wunderkind on the keyboard who would play with Ray, but then when he got on the piano and did his stuff, they liked it better than Ray (or so said George). Irony that George was talking about how much he admired Billy at the beginning and later Billy joined them.
It is WELL worth watching the entire movie just for the scene of Paul pulling Get Back out of thin air. It's one of the most thrilling moments I have ever seen on film.
@@richardkhchang The Get Back edit was kind to Yoko. George absolutely could not stand her and didn't bother hiding it. You can find the full, uncut audio here on TH-cam, it has been available on bootlegs for years. That bit in Get Back where Yoko was screaming John's name over and over actually went on for 20 minutes. John was screaming back at her and muttering that she's mad. Paul was playing piano progressively louder and did not say one single word. It's absolutely excruciating to listen to.
0:32 Come Together 3:23 Something 5:09 Maxwell's Silver Hammer 7:33 Oh Darling 9:51 Octopus's Garden 12:21 I want you (she's so heavy) 15:09 Here Comes The Sun 16:42 Because 19:00 You Never Give Me Your Money 19:58 Sun King 21:47 Polythene Pam 23:27 Golden Slumbers 24:22 Carry That Weight 25:03 The End
Fun fact, in the song The End, Harrison, Lennon and McCartney are taking turns with the solo, playing (in order) McCartney - Harrison - Lennon three times. Their playing styles are also very clear.
Time Stamps Come Together - 0:35 Something - 3:27 Maxwell's Silver Hammer - 5:15 Oh! Darling - 7:34 Octopus's Garden - 9:56 I Want You (She's So Heavy) - 12:23 Here Comes the Sun - 15:25 Because - 16:47 You Never Give Me Your Money - 19:00 Sun King - 19:56 Mean Mr. Mustard - 20:43 Polythene Pam - 21:49 She Came In Through the Bathroom Window - 22:20 Golden Slumbers - 23:25 Carry That Weight - 24:23 The End - 25:00 Her Majesty - 25:58
No, it's not just you. It does feel sad because it's been such a joy to see the music that has been near and dear to me being enjoyed by young hearts today. The entirety of their work will offer new discoveries even years after hearing them for the first time as new nuances or elements make themselves known. It really has been a treat to see you appreciate and many times become moved by those extraordinarily talented humans gifted to the world.
I have heard every Beatles song a thousand times and more, still it has been so great to listen to them with you. Thanks so much for everything you have said about them it has made me enjoy and appreciate them all over again. I always thought the Beatles were the greatest, now I think they are even greater. It still surprises me, after all these years, that the power of their compositions still makes me laugh and cry, mourn and elate. They truly are unsurpassed. Thanks so so much. You have brought serious joy to a whole lot of people. …and in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love you make.
I Believe The Beatles compositions hold some kind of record for the Greatest NUMBER of Original Melodies for song writing.. The GREATEST Indeed...!!! -cheers
@@jarichards99utube We can thank McCartney for that. His brain is a melody MACHINE, soi many melodies he doesn't have enough places to put them all. He has to do medleys, like Band on the Run and Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey. In Get Back we heard some absolutely gorgeous snippets that never made it into songs. Can you even imagine what else is in there? If you want to know what I'm talking about, one of the snippets is called The Castle of the King of the Birds. It's on bootleg tapes of the Get back sessions, McCartney only ever used it for the never released Rupert the Bear animation, and even then it was just background music. It has been going around on bootleg tapes for YEARS and it was ripped off for the Top Gun theme, among other works. You can easily find it on TH-cam. It pops up on Get Back.
The Beatles were a true "one-off". In trillions of possible universes and times, we all are here experiencing their vibrations and their chance meetings as four young lads from Liverpool. It really is amazing, and I love your genuine interpretation of it.
Hi Caroline, My name is Neal. I am a 62 year old Beatles fan and a fellow musician. I have been following you throughout your journey with The Beatles and have enjoyed your sincere reactions and analysis of their music. I too love all of their music and each of their albums. But, as you pointed out, Abbey Road is in a class all its own. I have listened to Abbey Road countless times and each and every time, after "The End", my eyes well up with tears. Is it because of the beauty of the music or the fact that I know that that was the final time they would make music as The Beatles? I don't know. My hope for you is that you continue to enjoy and value the music of The Beatles for the rest of you life as I have during mine. The world is full of beautiful music, but The Beatles are in a category all of their own. Best wishes, Neal Tampa, Florida, USA
51 here. I'm always in tears long before 'The End'! " Is it because of the beauty of the music or the fact that I know that that was the final time they would make music as The Beatles? I don't know." - I could have written that myself :)
You are not alone, Neal! I first heard them in Christmas of 1963. I also got my first guitar then and became a professional musician for fifty years. I get verklempt when I hear the opening chords of Golden Slumbers because it's the beginning of the end. Thanks for the memories!
Neal, I guess most of the Beatles fans would agree with you. Abbey Road is the most mature record of all the Beatles records. As a teenager, I also loved their older records but none of their records I have listened to so many times as I did Abbey Road. It simply a masterpiece. All the different moods and incredible harmonies.
Just think about todays biggest hitters. Beyonce has had 6 albums in 19 years. Adele has had 4 in 14 years. Ed Sheeran has taken 11 years to bring us 5 albums and Rihanna has had 8 albums in 17 years. The Beatles squeezed 13 GAME-CHANGING albums into 7 years.
@@celt67 personally I think the only game changers were from rubber soul all the way to abbey road. Well maybe the early ones were game changing but I don’t listen to them as full albums I just pick the couple of songs I like from them onto my playlist. But rubber soul all the way to abbey road will never matched in my opinion from Sheer innovation and just strength of the songs and albums.
@@celt67 Game changing? The only ones that were game changing were AHDN, Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper, The Beatles and Abbey Road. Thats 6. I could add PPM I suppose. But its not 13. MMT doesnt even count as side 2 is all singles, so not a proper studio album. Dont exaggerate.
Please please me was an awesome song-groundbreaking. Think for a moment what else you heard at that time, what else was coming out of 1963 radio. They broke new ground…then kept on doing it 7 more fantastical years.
The solo of something is really something. It’s not just beautiful, but George uses a lot of modal interchanges, and the expression of each phrase is just biblical. It’s got such a high level feeling, it’s simple yet complicated. Such a genius guitar player and song writer.
27:00 It's not about reaching "their level", that's not what they would want you to aspire to. They were simply four lads from Liverpool who just loved to create music together and if this journey has inspired you to continue to create more yourself, they would be 'chuffed' with that alone. With all the hatred in this world right now, we need more people who just want to create happiness as you have by sharing your experience of hearing these beautiful pieces of art for the first time. I do hope you took the time to go back and just listen to the album again off camera and uninterrupted for it needs to be enjoyed that way - it's the best thing the Fab Four ever did. Thank you Caroline.
I just hope that she has been inspired enough to listen to their catalogue again and again, to really appreciate their journey of creativity. They endured plenty of criticism in their time but just ploughed ahead and followed their vision. I can't help but think that some of the Beatles confidence in their own talent could only benefit her own career and that she should follow her heart, as they did.
It's unclear whether the Beatles really were aware that this would be their final album, but they couldn't have gone out on a higher note, building song by song towards that beautiful dénouement, "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make…" A perfect capstone to their career and their ethos. And because they're the Beatles (and through sheer serendipity, as it turns out), they take the piss out of it with "Her Majesty" tacked at the end.
Most of the stories seem to indicate that it took a massive amount of convincing by George Martin to get them back together for one last studio album after the Get Back sessions. And Lennon REALLY didn't want to use Come Together as he had it pegged for his first solo outing. I'm pretty sure they were aware it was their last time in their initial run. Now maybe they thought they might all work together again at some (much) later date but that was not to be.
@@snowdenwyatt6276 That's about right. George Martin, the diplomat, somehow got them to suspend their differences for AR. Abbey Road was released while Let it Be was being remixed in parts and appeared 'out of sequence'. Lennon's first reaction to AR was unflattering and had he had his way he would have pulled the album apart with his tracks on one side and McCartney's on the other. The originality of the medley didn't at first strike him.
Firstly, yes, the Beatles knew it would be their final album. Almost every book or document about the band will tell you that. But, for business reasons, and because none of them had the courage to say it, nobody wanted to tell the press that it was over. Secondly, this album and the events surrounding it tell you all you need to know about Paul McCartney. It was he who pleaded with George Martin to produce one last album with the band 'like we used to.' Less than a year later, and without telling anyone else connected with the band, he issues a statement in the form of a fake interview telling the world that the band is over. As for the Abbey Road album, it's astounding. I've been listening to it for forty years and I STILL find it amazing. Not just good, not just, oh that bit's nice, but all out, proper ASTOUNDING. It's the standard to which all recording artists should aspire. x
@@snowdenwyatt6276 your wrong about them being pretty sure it was going to be there last album. There is a verified tape recording made after abbey road in which they discussed their next album. John though he, Paul, and George should each have four songs each on the next one and said that Ringo could have one or two as well if he wanted. Paul refused and said that would be the wrong balance, I,e he wanted more tracks than George. You say Lennon wanted come together for his own album. That is flatly untrue. Please cite your source. . If you have one it's wrong. And I am in a position to know.
"Oh! Darling" is my favorite McCartney vocal performance of all time. I have to say its been fun re-living the Beatles catalog through your reactions. And as a former music major I really enjoyed your interpretations and demonstrations of the musicality of the songs. Thanks so much.
And people say..."oh, the Beatles, they're overrated". THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE... YOU CAN'T OVERRATE THE BEATLES! Not only is their music so ... so everything (really, EVERY genre there is in music).. but they have influenced countless other musicians, and touched the hearts and souls of so many people WORLD WIDE! People who say they're overrated have probably only heard a few of their big hits. I would tell them to listen to all their music in the way you did, Caroline... or watch your video series here. Oh, and a big shout out to the "fifth Beatle" George Martin ... I think the main reason this album is so different from Let it Be. Thank you for bringing us on this journey, it was a blast! You're SO HEAVY!! (nothing to do with weight...)..PEACE and LOVE!
The way you can overrate the Beatles is by thinking they stood alone in the 60s. There are countless other legendary bands from that period, and to state that all of them were behind the Beatles is just ignorant of music history. Just look up the best albums of 1967.
@@futurereflections4097 not even close. No other band influenced music, art and our culture like the Beatles. The other British groups had tried to come to the US but didn’t do well. The Beatles made it possible for all the others. They jump started a whole generation of singer songwriters. No other band has put out as much quality music in such a short time, and it still resonates with people today. You’re right, lots of good music in the 60’s. But the Beatles stand alone.
The Beatles themselves said that they were overrated. Well, John and George did, at least. It got utterly insane. People were bringing crippled kids to them hoping that the magical Beatles could cure them. That was the point John was trying to make when he said that they were bigger than Jesus. He thought the whole thing was ridiculous. They were just a rock and roll band, albeit a very good one.
@@f6was9 The 1960s was a musical revolution involved tons of bands. Were The Beatles the most influential? Probably. But the idea of them being leagues ahead is just flat out wrong. You should check out more music from the 60s.
@@futurereflections4097 I know all about 60’s music . You should look deeper into the Beatles . I’m not arguing about it. You are a minority, but entitled to your opinion.
The best album ever made by anyone. Its truly and album, not just a few decent songs and fillers like most artists do. Also they merge beautifully. Repeated listens give repeated pleasure. I purposely try not to over listen to the Beatles, because I want their magic to last forever.
"I want you" is probably the heaviest track they made, everytime I hear the song i just stop and enjoy the ride, that organ solo gets me, the harmony on HEAVYYYYY sends chills down my spine.
@@chilledtorsion hha ha yeh i was gonna say that. And hey you ever heard Everybody's Got Something To Hide? Yer Blues? How "heavy" you feel a song is, is defined by your perception IN THE MOMENT. Something will resonate one day, and pass by you the next without affecting you. I remember listening to Ticket To Ride once, and I disappeared through a hole in time. This song was speaking to me. And it was laying it on heavy, as you call it. The multi layered guitar textures. The drums. The driving momentum of the song rolling along in A major (yes a major key...yet the moment it breaks out of a major chord sequence it's to a sublime and yearning Bm resolving to the finality of that E major. EPIC! Man, it blew me away. Hey, Ticket To Ride is probably the heaviest track they made. See how when you make the quantum jump into the realm of true understanding of music (and it's more about the silence inside the notes than the notes themselves, you dig) you realise that calling things "the best", "the heaviest"...it's like trying to impose a ranking system. You want to be a judge, or you want to be like a child, open and awe struck by everything, in the precious moment.
I want you… is heavier because of the layering of the distorted guitars Helter Skelter is more noisy than heavy. It’s more a punk song, than heavy metal.
@@beatmet2355 and then Pretty Vacant is also heavy because of multi layered distorted guitars and yet people call it punk. Have we truly succeeded in clarifying anything at all? 😁
@@uberbeast113 it’s more than just distortion, it’s also got to have some bottom end to make it heavy. HS sounds like the Ramones slowed down and I Want You… sounds like Black Sabbath at the end, to my ears.
To be fair, the Beatles were musical geniuses in their own right, however, a good bit of credit has to be given to Sir George Martin who was their producer and who had a big hand in guiding them in the crafting of their albums. Just my opinion, but as good as many other groups have been (and there are many bands and artists that I love), there will never again be any that can hold a candle to what the Beatles accomplished in a relatively short period of time. None like them before and no one close after.
This ☝ And it's especially highlighted with this record, because through the White Album and Let it Be, they had really pushed George Martin aside and taken control for themselves. Still fantastic albums, but they are largely missing that George Martin magic. After they deemed the "Get Back" project a failure they decided they wanted him back, and he did it on the condition that they do things the way they used to and really let him produce it, and bam...We get Abbey Road 🙂
Could not agree more. George knew music composition and theory, and was a virtual encyclopedia of music up to that time. He could do a baroque piano solo, e.g., In My Life, organize strings for Yesterday and Eleanor Rigby, get the LSO guy to play trumpet on Penny Lane, and help the guys string together the Abbey Road medley. Paul said they would not have been as good without him. I that's an understatement.
Although not planned that way "The End" was the last song that all four Beatles recorded together, and featured a solo from each member. I find that rather cool. Thanks for the wild trip Carolyn.
Even more cool I think is that "Carry that weight", which started out as a pub knees-up back during Get Back in January, now seems downright prophetic. They did have to carry the weight, and two of them do to this day, even if it has gotten considerably lighter over the years.
I still consider Let It Be to be their final album, which it is officially, and the title is rather fitting also. And as for the final song, Get Back, thats also appropriate as its saying these were four ordinary guys inspired by early rock and roll which the song is about. It could also be interpreted as "it doesnt matter that its over. Go back and listen to all that great music again".
To me, "She Came in Through the Bathroom Window" is lowkey one of the best melodies in their late career. It could have easily been a #1 single (as many of their songs could, really!)
Caroline, it was enough to watch your face as you absorbed this overwhelming masterpiece. You can spend the rest of your life trying to break it down - many people actually have. I honestly think it can't be done. This is one of the greatest musical works of all time. To think that this was made by four kids from Liverpool who dropped out of school is mind bending. It is a actual miracle. Thank you for taking us through it with fresh ears. It's been a joy.
I don't remember that I've ever seen anything about John, Paul and George dropping out of school before. I know that Ringo did at an early age due to very lengthy chronic illness, but the other three ... really? Do you mean dropping out of Art College?
@@dggydddy59 Paul and George both dropped out of high school. John dropped out of art college after maybe one year. Ringo left school after 8th grade. Follow up: Paul purchased the building of his high school and turned it into a music school, now called LIPA. He teaches a songwriting class there.
@@dggydddy59 It's an actual miracle. Paul and John lived only about 1 mile away from each other. If you look up their street addresses (easily available) you can go on google street view and see for yourself the path to each other's houses. It involved crossing the Allerton Golf course. I did it and it's honestly an amazing experience to take that walk on Google street view.
It's not over. the last Beatles song ever recorded was "Real Love". Recorded in 1995 from a demo John made in the 70's, the lads got together and finished in. released on Anthology 2 in 1996. along with "Free as a Bird" another John demo they finished. Would be great to hear your reaction to them as well as maybe their solo albums. The Esher demos from the White Album released in 2018 are really something special as well. Cheers!
Oh gawd why did you have to mention those 90's singles. We don't like to talk about them let's pretend they don't exist lol. Do you really seriously consider them Beatles tracks? Jeff Lynne's personality swamping the mix with his pristinely recorded stereo acoustic guitars panned hard left and right. That huge flatulent snare drum sound (some kind of gated reverb or slight echo effect). Just leave the Beatles memory alone. Abbey Road was great. Then the Beatles died. Weren't they awesome. What a great catalogue. Don't spoil it with something that sounds like Travelling Wilberries please please please oh no oh godammit....
@@lancep4164 Man I wish they hadn't done it like that. I was surprised...especially that they went ahead and called it Beatles. They were all, in the early 70's, very keen to close the Beatles book and forge new identities inc Paul who organised the first Wings gigs making sure none of the public knew it was Paul McCartney, in fact he'd abandon the gig if word got out. They could have released it as a John Lennon solo single. They could have called it "John, Paul, George and Ringo". It's not like they need the extra publicity. Unless I'm mistaken and something happened we don't know about and they all suddenly needed the extra cash. Anyway I feel like I'm moaning again, and really it doesn't bother me that much. Yes, it was quite nice hearing their voices together again. I like the fact that in FAAB (lol...it spells faab) Paul takes a middle 8 then George takes it. These days it pisses me off because hearing George on it makes me think of how he should have had more years, maybe lived to be a hundred year old yogi, if that psycho hadn't got into their home and attacked him.
They wouldn’t have seen the light of day with the Beatles recordings. These songs were poor John Lennon songs that he would had no doubt rejected himself. Love Jeff Lynne, but he made an ELO record from them. These songs need to be rejected as Beatles songs as John wasn’t there. The main record that needs to be looked at is Let it Be ‘Naked,’ as this was the Beatles without the Phil Spector treatment, which had got Pauls back up for decades before he was able to put the album right (in his eyes). For me the Naked version definitely improved the album, but understand if anyone feels otherwise. The nice thing is we have two to choose from.
As others have noted, I would recommend and encourage you to continue into their early solo albums, the origins of which were begun whilst The Beatles were still together. Plastic Ono Band, All Things Must Pass, Imagine and Band On The Run are also "top notch" and easily comparable to the Beatles best work. Thank you for your enthusiasm and almost childlike wonder of songs I've loved and heard thousands of times over the past 40 odd years. The journey doesn't end here for you, young lady..!
I’m going to go on a limb and say to start Paul’s journey with McCartney. It’s not as good as Ram or Band on the Run, but it’s still worth hearing just to see how Paul broke away from The Beatles. It has very few complete songs. Junk and Teddy Boy date back to 1968, and Teddy Boy was even included on Glyn Johns’ mix of Get Back. Maybe I’m Amazed became a huge hit for Paul later on when he recorded a live version with Wings. Other than that, McCartney plays more like a home demo of Paul just noodling around in the studio. Literally, he plays every instrument (except some small contributions from Linda). So it’s pretty easy to overlook this album. But I don’t think it should be skipped. It’s important to see the full picture of how Paul broke away from The Beatles and rebuilt his image from the bottom.
I agree. Call Me Caroline, definitely check out All Things Must Pass. I'd love to see your reaction and analysis if you have the time. That album changed my life.
Really Beatles solo careers aren't really worth doing something like this for. However another encore could be done with the 2 singles they made from John Lennon's demos Free as a Bird/Real Love.
You should know that there were three huge hits from this album: Come Together, Something, and Here Comes the Sun. They were played non-stop on pop radio for months and months. Then all the other songs got constant airplay on FM radio, where the playlists veered from the Top-40 format. For months, anyone who turned on a radio was beamed Abbey Road. It was injected into our DNA - it was an overwhelming cultural experience.
Here Comes the Sun was never a single and was therefore not a hit. It was actually not played that often. It has become much more popular over time, deservedly so!!!
And to continue that line, I remember right into the mid 70s on FM radio you could tune through the dial and always -I mean always- come across a Beatles song. I could do it on a dare!
@@loosilu You are correct that it wasn’t a single and not a hit, but it was a radio staple like other Beatles album cuts like “A Day in the Life”, “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”, “Norwegian Wood”, “In My Life”, etc…
I believe Something is second only to Yesterday in the number of covers it has had. Famously (though possibly apocryphally), Frank Sinatra called it his favorite “Lennon/McCartney song.” I’m sure George Harrison wasn’t too happy to hear that.
I really enjoyed your Beatles journey! I've listened to their music for almost my whole life ( I was born in 1955), but you still had an objective view that only made me see new things in their work. Making me appreciate the Beatles even more. Thank you Caroline!
Here's a mind-blower: when The Beatles split up in 1970, their ages ranged from George, 27, to Ringo, 29. All that amazing work before any of them reached 30.
I always thought of this album as, "We're out of here, but, oh, you want us to do it again, and even better, one more?" "Well, you know we are the Beatles right?" Be careful what you ask for....
Old dude here. This album was the first later Beatles album that I listened to. I was TRANSFIXED. I have been a huge Beatles fan ever since. So thank you for taking me on your journey of discovery. It brings back so many memories. My Dad had a high end stereo and I was able to lift and listen to just the bass track. Totally blown away by the bass on Something. I feel that this is their greatest album. The quality of the song writing and most importantly the musicianship was never better.
When measuring yourself against the Beatles "Abbey Road" remember - it was also way out of the Beatles league 8 years earlier. Their musical growth was astounding and can be inspiring.
Caroline, this is the only 'reaction' series on TH-cam that I've had the patience or interest to watch for more than 30 seconds. Your reactions seem authentic and your musical commentary was often fascinating, Well done! There is, perhaps, one more thing you might add to your series. I'd love to see a video where you answer some questions about your experience: - How did your opinion of the Beatles change as you went through their catalog? - What did you think you knew before you started that turned out to be wrong? - What preconceptions turned out to be pretty much correct? - Did you develop a sense of the personality of each member of the band and can you share what that might be? - The Beatles used their popularity to stretch the musical horizons of their fans -- do you see parallels in any current or recent bands? - Who do you think is closest to them in this regard? I, for one, would be fascinated to hear your answers. Throw in a few comments on your favorite moments and I think you'll keep your Beatles fans hooked to your channel for months more!
@@Turtledove2009 Thanks. I also want to hear her answers! But in re-reading it today, don't you think it sounds a little bossy? Anyway, bossy is *not* what I intended. I'd be happy if she freeforms it and talks about whatever's on her mind after listening to so many songs.
When I got the 2009 remastered box set, I had to decide which cd to listen to first. Didn't take long to choose Abbey Road. It's my favorite and so fitting they went out on top of their game. The Beatles were a force of musical nature which I don't think we or future generations will see again.
Time for the 2nd listen! "This song is out of my league" - yep, I'm sure their contemporaries said as such at the time and musicians probably still do.. "Abbey Road" might just be the most perfect album. Lennon didn't "buy into" the whole medley/"pop opera or whatever you call it" 2nd side at first, but he loved the first side and George's songs. I imagine Paul and Ringo understand that it's a masterpiece. Goose bumps during "Something" should tell you something. It's widely viewed as one of the greatest love songs ever written. Even Sinatra said it was his favorite "Lennon-McCartney" song (he didn't know that George had written it). A few tidbits I'm sure others have shared with you: 1) the music to "Because" is approximately Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" backwards. 2) the end of "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" went on a little bit longer, but John wanted them to snip the tape at that very second. Not sure if it was just an "avant garde thing to do," as he was into Yoko and the avant garde at the time. 3) there is another take of Paul singing "Oh, Darling" on a deluxe set of Abbey Road - and, by comparison, it's just not that good. I mean, it's good, but you come to realize that THIS was the take. He would perform the song at the beginning of the day and at the end of the day in order to get a different take on it, and I imagine he did this a number of times. THIS is an incredible vocal performance. 4) "The End" has John, Paul and George trading guitar solos. According to Wikipedia: McCartney, George Harrison and Lennon perform a rotating sequence of three, two-bar guitar solos. The first two bars are played by McCartney, the second two by Harrison, and the third two by Lennon, then the sequence repeats twice. It would be interesting to hear what your favorite songs are - not just from this album, but everything that you've heard after "Help!" I'm sure they'll change/evolve through the years.
My understanding for the reasoning behind the snip point was that it was partially necessitated by the record's first side running out of needle groove space, and the cut-off point was selected to be precisely at the last second before the runout groove, as if to imply that the song goes for eternity.
The order of the guitar solos is Paul, John, George. It's pretty clear the second one is John from the sound. John goes last and George does not get a solo in the last round.
I looked it up, and it's definitely Paul, George, John, in equal amounts, especially when listening closely. They're styles are apparent in each. Paul's is straightforward and deliberate, George's is boisterous and stylish, and John's is rugged and intense.
Fun facts: on The End, the guitar solos is the three guitarists trading off. Paul, George then John. Her Majesty wasn’t supposed to be on the album. EMI staff was told to never throw anything away. This was a snippet that was dropped from the medley. The worker took and spliced it onto the end of the master. When you listen on vinyl it takes a bit of time after the End to hear it come up.
This is my favorite Ringo album, Octopus's Garden is his best Beatle song, not to mention his drumming, especially that fantastic fill where he finally shows off in the end and his playing in Come Together in general, is just phenomenal.
The guitar work on OG alone is so incredible, that not even the best gutarists in the All Starr Band were ever able to do it justice, which is why Ringo doesn't play this song anymore.
I can easily nominate OH DARLING as McCartney's finest vocals - he goes from sweet and gorgeous into a real screamer. It's also a most difficult song to cover because there just aren't many McCartney-matching vocalists in human history, and if the vocalist can't deliver, well the instrumentation can't carry the song. MAXWELLS and OH DARLING are two incredible songs following the overplayed two intro's.
I am glad you GAVE US your sense of listening to Side 2 all jammed together as THEY intended it to be, and how millions of fans listened to it, the first time. Side 2 simply cannot be parceled out like groceries in so many bags. This is an album after all, and I think parsing the songs out - losing the impact of transitions and changes - robs the listener of so much.
He would go into Abbey Road every morning, hoping he would have the voice to climb that mountain. The Macca of 1969 wasn't the Macca of 1963. Though his persistence paid off!
Lennon is on record saying that he should have sung lead on "Darling" because it was his kind of thing. I agree. But, of course, that's not the way that this band worked, except with Ringo songs.
Your analysis on this particular album was spectacularly on target, so many times. This has been a beautiful thing to behold. This album (and reaction) was the cherry on top of it all. Watching your face on this one, after all you've come through, all those albums and singles......it was very satisfying, and only now can you truly understand why people wanted you to do the whole discography, in order. PS: It's not goodbye, keep making videos, keep making music, and by all means react to more albums, be they Beatles related or not. Paul, then George, then John put out three very different solo albums the year they broke up, all three are classics. (John also had put out some singles). And Paul and John's albums from 1971 ("Ram" and "Imagine") are also worth doing. And of course there are tons of bands, singers, composers, musicians....where ever your muse takes you, it will be interesting to see! THANK YOU, CAROLINE!
Doing there individual works would be a step down. I find it strange they were so great together and so relatively poor when they were apart. I don't think they ever realized how great they were. They were afraid they couldn't do it again is the real reason they never got back together and they still don't. And of course when John was murdered it became impossible. Some miracles only happen once.
@@docsavage8640 It has some good tracks on it; it also has some real turgid stuff on it. I'd call that one an ok LP, especially when compared with other stuff that came out in '73. ("Band On The Run" being one example). It's better than "Extra Texture", I"ll give it that much!
@@annapierson3290 They were very good apart, especially when you compare them to every other band that broke up: all four members went on to have successful solo careers, all four had strings of hits through the 70s and even beyond. It shouldn't surprise you since a band is the sum of it's parts. I wouldn't say "Plastic Ono Band", "Imagine" or "Band On The Run" were negligible. I wouldn't even say that about "McCartney", or even lots of tracks they all did over the years. Every band breaks up.
Caroline - just seeing your speechless reaction to these songs is very honouring of the incredible talent in this band. This music is timeless - to think this was created OVER 50 YEARS AGO! It dies my head in. I was 8 y.o. When my Dad brought home Abbey Road on vinyl and in some way their music has influenced my life and passion. Every time I sit down and write a song, ‘there’s a shadow hanging over me’, andI mean that in a positive sense. I do hope that, like you, many coming generations will listen to their music and go ‘Bloody hell!’ In an inspired and awe-filled sense. Your reactions have been pure joy to watch. Well done!
Caroline, I will second pretty much every comment here - we are all really touched and delighted you walked with us down this path so many of us cherish. I think we're also enjoying seeing one another reacting! You've made a lot of friends in this exercise, and all of us have connected with each other too! Sad as it is to no longer have the Beatles in our world, there is great joy and hope in what we DO have: one another. I think the Beatles would be delighted that their music is still bringing people together. Now, let's NOT have this be a goodbye. There's a lot more to come from you, musically and in other creative endeavors, and we all look forward to walking down more paths. For now, as Ringo still says, "peace, and love"!
I Want You (She's So Heavy) is my personal favorite Beatles song. It has a groove to it that is irresistible. And the outro is epic and sinister! A great band performance as well. Proof that the Beatles can make a song great and epic with only 12 different words.
When the Beatles made Abbey Road they knew there was a chance it could be the last one for them, but they didn't know for sure it'd be their last project. They just knew they needed a break from each other and the pressure of being in the biggest band in the world. They were all open to the idea of reuniting at different times throughout the 70's, but never enough to fully consider it. When John was murdered in 1980, that was it
Best scenario, of course, is that John lived and they made the occasional Beatles album off and on over the years, but the way it is now, it's just nice to know they sometimes wanted to get back together.
I just imagined if John had lived they would have worked together for the Beatles Anthology only. I doubt they ever would have recorded entire albums of new material because they wouldn’t have wanted to harm their own legacy or face the impossible task of meeting expectations.
The saddest part of the "Get Back" movie is when (with Paul not there) George suggests he do a solo album for all his extra songs, but they can still be the Beatles. And John heartily agrees. Why couldn't it have played out like that?
@@aquamarine99911 Peter Jackson said Paul McCartney was stunned when he saw that scene. Said it would have made a difference to how he approached the break-up. I think the break-up was inevitable: the financial mess and the fight over management ((Klein vs the Eastmans) saw to that.
"And in the end, The love you take, Is equal to the love you make". Surely the most fitting end to the journey the Beatles were on in the '60s and the one you have now experienced for the first time. I have loved every minute of this series. Your reactions, analysis, singing along and joy (and sometimes confusion) shown have enhanced the experience of listening to Beatles music for me. I look forward to more of you own music and whatever reactions you decide to try next !
I've been watching the MusiCares tribute to Sir Paul from 2012 and felt the need to chime in again briefly and say that as a lifelong Beatles fan I still can't quite grasp and believe that a group this consistently good actually existed and put out 13 original studio albums and enough singles to fill 2 additional albums, none of them even remotely clunkers. They're just so good, it almost seems impossible. Thankfully, it's not, and they really did exist, and still do, through their works, which will outlive them and the rest of us.
I literally teared up at Golden Slumbers man. What a journey this has been Caroline, thank you for this series, and thank Christ for those 4 Liverpudlian musical mutants.
I hope you enjoyed this journey as much as we did. The Beatles surely didn't fizzle out. They just kept getting better and better as songwriters, musicians, arrangers, collaborators,... Even though the second side was largely remnants of songs pieced together, it's still all killer, no filler. Many fans consider this their best and/or favorite album. Thank you for sharing your understanding of music theory and explaining how "mathematically' chord progressions and melodies, scales, rhythms etc work together.
That was a great freaking time! You did exactly what I always wanted a reactor to do. Thank you. The Beatles are my favorite artists of all time and it was truly powerful watching and hearing them again through your eyes and ears. Thanks for doing this. What a gift.
Fun Fact: I believe the drum solo in 'The End' is the only drum solo done by Ringo, he hated them. They tricked him into doing it, thinking there would be other tracks added to cover it.
You made me cry before you even started this album. It's been a joy to watch you experience for the first time songs I've known my entire life. If you follow the history of The Beatles, this album came after the rather difficult Let It Be album/film recording which you can see on Peter Jackson's Get Back. It was never stated for certain that Abbey Road would be their last album, but all four Beatles were pursuing solo side-projects by 1969 and I'm sure they all knew it might be the last band album - even if just for a while. To me, it feel like they all bought their very best to each other's songs - it is truly their very best album and that last line (excluding Her Maj!) is just too perfect. And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make. Thank you, Caroline x
Carolyn, please don't stop your journey here. All of these guys went on to make their own stuff and were bloody fantastic! Ringo actually made these guys get together and record with him. It became a bit of a love-fest for all of them.
Yoko Ono was once playing Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata on the piano. Hearing this, John Lennon asked her to play the chords of this classical piece backwards and what followed was the birth of Because. I absolutely loved this series and I hope The Beatles have inspired you not only in music, but in life as they have inspired me.
This has genuinely felt like experiencing something I love with a lovely, intelligent friend. So thanks for that, it's been a pleasure in a year which... hasn't always been? Let's go with that :p Does this really have to be the end though? There's such a huge body of work I don't know if I'd recommend doing the solo albums (outside of the uncontroversial highlights like All Things Must Pass or Band On The Run), but maybe an album ranking video & a top 10/top 20 songs video could be in order?
Just spent the last half hour crying and smiling - often at the same time - as you took us through Abbey Road, Caroline. Thank you, more than I can say! This was truly the Beatles' masterwork, and you did it full justice. You're a wonderful musician, analyst - person! - with remarkable insights and enthusiasm; and while I'm sad this series is over, I look forward to watching more of your videos in the months to come. Again, thank you, and my very best wishes to you!
My dear Caroline, I have no words to thank you for the incredible journey you've undertaken and shared with all of us. You know, I was born in 1966, in a middle class home in Mexico City, and all my elder brothers and sisters were huge fans of the Beatles, so their music, for me, has always been as natural as the air I breathe, so I've always loved it, but never really had the chance to marvel at the process of knowing them and being amazed and surprised every time they brought out a new album, or a new song. Now I have had the unique opportunity of witnessing the astonishment, the awe, the hapiness of listening to such wonderful music for the first time. And this has all been thanks to you. I've totally enjoyed every second of your videos, and savoured each one of your profound and knowledgeable comments about the Beatles music. A million thanks.
Let's not forget that incredible album cover that's been imitated countless times. The Beatles didn't just change music as we know it, but also the visual aspects of how it was presented
A wonderful set of vlogs on the greatest band to ever walk this earth. Watching new ears listen to these Albums at times bought tears to my eyes. I was bought up on the Beatles by my Scouse Dad so it’s very sentimental. Thank you for your time doing this ❤️
Since you wondered about how it must feel for them to look back at their work, I'd recommend you to watch "The Beatles Anthology" documentary series, which goes through their whole career with interviews with the four of them back in 1995 (John had already died at that point, but they used a bunch of excerpts from radio interviews he gave throughout the years), George Martin (their producer) and many others. It's probably the most comprehensive documentary on the beatles history alongside the recent "Get Back" series, though the later focus solely on the Let It Be days.
I'm really glad you liked it and I have to say, Abbey Road is by far my favorite album of The Beatles. I have nothing but good memories of it and that's mostly because of my Dad. You see, I was 17 at the time and we were on vacation in... somewhere I can't really remember and my Dad brought the CD and we were listening to it in the car as we drove around and I just remember being in awe over every single track on the album. A few years later I was talking with my Dad about it and he told me that Abbey Road was actually the first record he ever bought for himself so it held a very special place in his heart and when I started to buy Vinyl for myself I decided this had to be the first one. I love it so much and it's a great thing that I share with my Dad and one day I hope to share it with my own kids.
So fun watching you encounter Abbey Road for the first time. I want you to imagine what it was like listening to this on an LP for the first time, when that abrupt ending occurs on "She's So Heavy" and the tone arm just lifts up and goes away. Even after you've heard it a jillion times it still like somebody waking you from a dream, you're just pulled out of the music so hard. In "The End" everybody takes a solo and it's recorded live. John's is the very punkish, highly distorted guitar.
1) I definitely felt like I was rediscovering this album just by watching you listen to it for the first time. 2) The bass and drums on this entire album are just so good. 3) The abrupt way "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" ends and then "Here Comes the Sun" begins is such an amazing juxtaposition of songs. I know in the vinyl days, you would have had to get up and flip the record to get that sonic transition, but in our digital age, you just have to wait a couple second and then side 2 plays immediately. For me I visualize it going dark on the abrupt cutting of the first song & then the Sun peeking over the horizon at the start of the second song. It's a new day and side 2's medley is going to take us on a journey. 4) Don't fret about comparing yourself to The Beatles. After all, it took them around 10 years of making music to get to that point in their careers where they could write and compose Abby Road. I'm sure if a 1961-era Beatle had time traveled to 1969 he would have been blown away with the music. And it wasn't just one person composing the songs, they had a collaboration between each other. If you watch the "Get Back" documentary by Peter Jackson (which I highly recommend) you'll see George help Ringo with the writing of "Octopus's Garden." And then there's George Martin in the studio also helping with extra arrangements to the songs. I do hope this album inspires you more than gets you defeated. 5) You specifically added so much to this video series, Caroline. The way you used your musical knowledge to breakdown these songs (and previous Beatles songs) not only gave us a better understanding of the music, but is also something that most TH-cam reaction channels don't offer. So please take the compliment that what you offer in that particular TH-cam niche is a cut above.
The harmonies on Because are incredible. There are versions of the song where they've isolated the voices and it's still haunting and lovely. Abbey Road was the first Beatles album I bought.
i knew i would get sad watching this, but the way i was sobbing at the end surprised even myself. abbey road is my favorite album in this world and ending on it was such a great idea. oh, caroline, this journey was such a joy to witness, your videos brought me so much happiness and really helped me through a very rough time of my life. witnessing someone experience this band that means the entire world and a half to me for the first time with such an open heart and experienced mind was something i didn't expect to love so much. it made me fall in love with their music all over again and gave me something to look forward to during the past few months. thank you so much for these videos, for the joy and the good feelings you've brought me and everything else. i'm sure i'll keep coming back to this series many times in the future, and i'll stick around here too if i can. anyway, thank you again and i really wish you all the best.
Thank you Caroline for your perceptive and clearly genuine reactions to this album as well as the others. I'm impressed that you could appreciate so many songs the first time hearing them. You've clearly appreciated the journey. Now see if you can put yourself in the shoes of someone like me who was 7 when the Beatles first appeared on Ed Sullivan and 13 when they broke up. They took us on an incredible journey and shaped so much of the 60s culture. They were bigger than life. Can you appreciate the impact they had on us? Thanks again
Caroline, me reconforta ver a la gente joven como tu tan entusiasmada con la música de los Beatles y como haces un análisis alegre y espontáneo de su música, que demuestras conoces a fondo. Cuando Abbey Road se grabó yo tenía 18 años y lo disfrute tanto como veo lo haces tu ahora. Soy de Uruguay, and I'll send all my loving to you !!
So many things to say, but the biggest is.....You absolutely fucking crushed it with this series. I feel like this has been the gold-standard of Beatles reaction videos on TH-cam. Your background, your personality, and your sense of humor were a perfect combination for this.
You summed it up so well, as a Gen-X listener you help re-establish my love for these songs. And your love of music and these songs made it a journey of re-discovery and your analysis added so much I missed. I will re-watch these videos just to share the joy you experience on first time listening and how well you articulate that. You’ve become one of the best Beatles musical historians by just listening well.
Interesting point about Here Comes the Sun. The one note going downward at the transition from intro to the first "here comes the sun" lyric line, was made with one of the first ever Moog synthesizers. George Harrison had bought one in the US (iirc, it was one of four in existence), and had it set up at Abbey Road to play around with and use on this album. The note was not supposed to drop down like that. It was supposed to be a sustained note, but the synth (for some reason), kept dropping the setting downward, giving it that high-to-low effect. George and the others loved it, and used it. And there you have it - the first Moog synthesizer use in a popular mainstream song!
Not only was it one of the first Moog synths, Mr. Moog himself was AT EMI studios while they were doing the recording! He personally set it up. I don't think it was George playing it, I think it was most likely Paul.
It really is hard to imagine that they could have ended their journey together in any way better than the Abbey Road album. They truly were four individuals whose lives intersected in an almost supernatural way to create something never before heard, and never to be heard again in such a magnificent way. You are musical and very smart, and I truly appreciate that a person of your high caliber understands and appreciates just what a wonder they were, thereby confirming my own feelings about The Beatles. I am the bass player in The EggMen.
“She’s so heavy,” is actually a high compliment for 1969. “Heavy,” in the ‘60s vernacular, meaning deep, intense, and introspective. As in, “That’s so heavy, man.” He’s singing about Yoko, of course.
Believe it or not, even after Abbey Road, there's still plenty of Beatles content to be had. I saw someone else in the comments mention Real Love and Free As A Bird, which are touching tributes to John recorded by the remaining three Beatles in the 90s for the Anthology Project. They're genuinely heartwarming songs, and you should definitely give them a listen. Also, my personal favorite Beatles project is Love, a mashup album produced by their producer, George Martin, and his son, Giles Martin, for a Cirque Du Soleil show featuring the Beatles music. The album is genuinely amazing, and it's mindblowing the things they came up with. I think you should definitely check those out.
Great series, Caroline. Really loved watching all your insightful reactions. Now that you know the music, I hope you take the time to watch the 8-hour series "Get Back" on Disney plus. To really put personalities to the creation of the music is wonderful and I think you'll find watching them as they develop new material and eventually perform it live to be very inspiring. Also might want to give "Free As a Bird" and "Real Love" a listen. Thanks for your good work here!
This was a fun journey to go on. This band has been in my life since my teens (I'm in my 40s now) and I honestly can't even begin to express how much their music has meant to me. Their lyrics were so loaded with love, peace, empathy, and whimsy, but the accompanying music is otherworldly melodic, bouncy, fun, and richly textured. As far as this album goes, this is, for me, such a bittersweet experience listening to it. This was it. It's over after this for them as a foursome. That it works at all, considering how checked out of the Beatles they all seemed to be, is kind of miraculous and a testament to their immense talents and synergies.
There are actually two more original Beatles songs you have not heard yet: Free As a Bird and Real Love, both recorded in the early 90s. The surviving Beatles took a rough demo recording by John Lennon and built two complete songs around them for release with a film biography of the band called The Beatles Anthology. The new recordings were engineered by Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra and they are in and of themselves an amazing technical feat since John’s demos were really, really rough (recorded on a simple mono home recorder).
Listening to those two songs now, the AI technology that exists now (even as used in the Get Back movie), they could really give those songs a proper redo and get John sounding better than they were able to edit in the 90's.
Caroline you are a breath of fresh air, and I have really enjoyed the journey with you. It is always a pleasure to see young people appreciate what real musicianship and true talent. From an older Australian to a young Australian I wish you well in your endeavours, your personality is one of your greatest assets. Thank you for evaluations and expressing your emotions in all your reactions
I vaguely remember reading somewhere that Maxwell's silver hammer is a metaphore for how things can totally go bad in a blink of an eye. Citation is definitely needed, but I like that point of view anyway - the melody is so happy and theeeeen it all goes to heck while keeping the cheery tone. Also - the crazy thing about this whole journey through all the albums is how much the Beatles developed over a very short time. They started to record their first album in 1962 and finnished this one in 1969. Every time I think about that, I am in awe.
Everyone except Paul absolutely hated recording MSH. John called it one of Paul's "Granny songs" and Paul was such a perfectionist they got so tired of it... It's probably one of the factors that broke up the band.
I thought it was a spoof on nursery rhymes, a happy-sounding simple tune with lyrics about a serial killer. Sounds like all nursery rhymes that weren't about kings and queens.
@@jasonremy1627 Although John was completely wrong! He was just too close to all the work they had to do on it. It really is a great pop song. A throwback to pop in the face of 'rock'.
Abbey Road gives us a taste of what we’ve missed in the massive heights The Beatles would have reached had they stayed together. The scary thing is how this album was created just seven years after Please Please Me and when the oldest member of the band (Ringo) was just 30 years old and Goerge was only 26. There are some bands that stay together 40+ years and never reach such musical perfection in an album.
I dont think there has ever been a band that progressed so much in so short a time. Plus the technology, Sgt Pepper was created from four track masters, Abbey Road on eight track, imagine what they would have done with todays technology! Try "Revolution in the Head" by Ian McDonald.
@@z0n0ph0ne with modern tech, they'd have taken forever, recorded separately, used Autotune. McCartney says how it was, in many ways, easier then because you had to make it memorable so you could play it the next day and you had to finish a song instead of having thousands of ideas on a phone
@@cuebj Absolutely true. Also, add to the fact that the Beatles in 69 were not 'poor'...but they weren't super-wealthy either. The royalties hadn't really began to kick in yet (thanks Alan Klein)..and it was the same for most 'legends' back in the day.. Elvis died with only $5 million in the bank..Rolling Stones once had their power cut off in their French chalet in 1968 because they couldn't afford an electric bill. I saw an interview with Alice Cooper talking about this and he stated that older rock stars were better for longer because they HAD to be. If they didnt play, they didn't eat. Now compare to todays tik-tok generation who sign $100 million deals when they're barely 20 years old... whats their motivation to improve ? It's hard to 'keep it real for the masses' when you're sitting in your Hollywood mansion.
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey, without you this series wouldn’t be what it is.
An encore for you ⬇️
th-cam.com/video/Tkx9lwOLBOU/w-d-xo.html
Actually, the Beatles released in the early 90s two new songs, with the Beatles Anthology.
That was "Free as a bird" and "Real love", two unfinished Lennon-Songs they finished.
Without them, is the Beatles journey really over? O.o
Hi Caroline, it has been a joy to comment on your videos in real time as they arrived here on TH-cam. Your final comments at the end were very touching and heart felt. One thing I might add if I may? All four Beatles were still under 30 years of age when Abbey Road was released. George was only 26. So what we're seeing here in The Beatles was almost a gift from God in a funny kind of way. Combined with George Martin their body of work was astonishing for musicians so young
The Beatles also wrote and recorded If You've Got Trouble, Come and Get It, That Means a Lot, and You Know What To Do. These weren't released until 1996. I think you might enjoy them
@@bluepeng8895 together with free as s bird and real love
Go on Caroline get stuck into The Beatles Live At The BBC , The Decca auditions , The Anthologies , Love and all the other bits and pieces on the internet and film ! 🤠 ENJOY YOURSELF !!! 🎱
None of The Beatles could read and write music, they didn't know music theory, yet they wrote 229+ songs that we could sing and hum along. They released 13 albums in 7 years. Geniuses.
I've read and watched a few commenters on this, and it seems the general consensus is, though they weren't trained in music theory, they followed the concepts and rules (which, remember, are always made for breaking!) pretty well. What I take away from that is that, if music theory hadn't been described through centuries of work by many geniuses, these four would have done it all on their own.
I wonder why so much is made about this with regard to the Beatles. I doubt if half of pop and jazz musicians bother to learn notation. What about being able to play music without being able to read it is such a wonder? Nobody is surprised that people can talk without knowing how to read.
@@Leafsdude_ Of course because everyone in all subjects stands on the shoulders of the giants before them. Paul notes his Dad's playing and family singlalongs to very broad 'education' in different musical styles growing up. Without formal training your brain is still processing all of the musical information it receives and connecting it together & recognising & laying down patterns as learning. So all music you hear is training, but some say - including Paul - and it sounds extremely plausible to me - that formal music education can inhibit creativity because you are told a lot of rules that you have to follow. Without the rules you are free to create anything that feels right.
@@Kermit_T_Frog Agreed, but when people say this about the Beatles, I'd say it is another way to measure their feelings about the sheer beauty, genius and volume of their output. If a band had one average hit and they had no formal training there wouldn't be much of a point to be made. I also think you would be surprised how many seemingly 'cool' rock and jazz musicians are actually pretty middle class and did lots of music lessons Mummy pushed them into.
Absolutely not true. Watch Get Back documentary - they weren't any kind of illiterate, they got music theory perfectly learned, and they read music like mad after years in Hamburg playing standards for money night and day for months.
You Never Give Me Your Money is possibly Paul’s most underrated track. When the horns reprise it in Carry That Weight, I get goosebumps every time.
This is incidentally where the medley is supposed to begin. (But I'm sure people will argue with this!) So there were no worries stopping after "Here Comes the Sun" or "Because"...
@@kenttheaker7904 Decades ago a radio show ran a special on the Beatles and asked for requests. I rang, got on air and requested "You never give me your money". They had no idea what I was on about. However, someone in their library knew and it ended up being played. As it should have. It is brilliant.
Me too 👍
I heard those horns live and cried my eyes out
Same my fav song right now on abbey road
“I want you” is severely under appreciated. Some of McCartney’s best bass work. I highly suggest it next time your driving by yourself at night.
I've always thought it makes me feel like I'm driving back to London at 2 in the morning. In a light rain, with the streets dark and almost empty. In 1969. I live in CA, but I have driven all night in Britain.
The whole album has some of McCartney's best bass work😉😃
I've watched quite a few of these videos from different sites over the last few months and every reviewer is stunned when "I Want You" comes to a sudden halt.
The great thing about Abbey Road, specifically the songs that Paul didn't write, is the way it showcases Paul's skills as a world class session musician. We all know what a great singer and songwriter he is, but I've always loved his work as a backing musician on John and George's songs on this album. The production is stellar, the hi fidelity is stellar, the orchestral arrangements are stellar, the vocal harmonies are stellar. Abbey Road is easily in the Top 3 albums ever made in music history.
Paul's bass playing is always killer on John or George songs. It's like he's got to be the centre of attention so steps up wherever he gets the opportunity.
I agree, and even George's best songwriting AND guitar work is on this album. It has Ringo's best song. It has my favourite John song (Because), it has everything. It's just a masterpiece.
The bass line on Here Comes the Sun could be its own song.
That's really one of the saddest aspects of the Beatles' break-up. Their songs, especially John's and George's, would never again have this formidable backing. Sure, ATMP has a lot of... sounds on it, and some of them are really good, but it's not the same, and soon it was bland LA session guys all the way, at least until C9. As for John, he seemed to revel in being the anti-Beatles for a while on POB, until he changed his mind but the records never sounded very good. Elephant's Memory? You've got to be kidding.
As a guy who HAD to learn bass after hearing Something, I have to agree. And as a bass player, I know how hard it is to play complex bass lines and sing at the same time. So it makes sense that Paul saved his best bass playing for the other guy's songs. My favourite example is "Don't Let Me Down".
A more cynical way of looking at it is that Paul was really competitive (a true statement), and wanted to inject himself in John and George's great songs so that listeners would still be in awe of how great McCartney was. Maybe there's a little of that. George apparently didn't want Paul overplaying on Something, but Paul did it anyway.
It always brings a tear to my eyes as the last note from "The End" drifts away. The last time the Beatles would ever play together. So sad. The End of an era.
Literally, that song was the last thing they recorded with all 4 of them in the studio at the same time.
For real, the greatest to ever do it
Never the end ! Eternal album ! ❤
McCartney's vocals on "Golden Slumbers"...beautiful! An amazing silky-smooth voice - then he is able to sing a song like "Oh Darlin" with such power. This man's talent is other-worldly....
one thousand voices man
It’s been a long and winding road Caroline. Remember when you started you were trying to decide between comparing the first and last Beatles albums or going through each one in order. I’m confident that I can speak for most here and say we’re so glad you chose the latter option. Thanks so much!
Even more impressive when you consider that between the first and last years, it was only 8 years..... The Beatles collectively learned and grew SO much together.... The change, the growth, and influence that they created was just IMMENSE!!
From simple beginnings, they helped push the recording techniques of the future - along with of course their engineers and George Martin.... and the band's legacy has gone on to inspire countless artists ever since! 👍
I second that!
@@stevesstuff1450 well said!!!😃👍☮️♥️
The long and winding road…
It is amazing how much one band evolved so quickly and influenced the world!
Golden Slumbers through The End makes me tear up every time I listen to this album. These recordings were the last times all four Beatles ever played music together (The End, specifically). And they got to all sing together one last time in Carry That Weight. They permanently disbanded within two months of completing the album, and right around then was also the last time all four were together at once again in their lives. With the end of Abbey Road, you are literally hearing the last recorded music of pop's greatest band ever.
The brass on Carry That Weight always gets me
That part of the album is very emotional for that reason. It was the last time they all made magic together and you tell the bullshit was shelved for just a bit and they gave it everything they had for one last time.
@@gusmercado6704 Totally agree, especially when the brass plays the melody of You Never Give Me Your Money and then does that one punch just before the band goes back into Carry That Weight. Always gives me goosebumps, no matter how many times I hear it.
Man, your comments make me feel pretty emotional; just realising that what you're saying is spot on.
"These recordings were the last times all four Beatles ever played music together (The End, specifically). And they got to all sing together one last time in Carry That Weight. They permanently disbanded within two months of completing the album ...."
Can't say anymore. It's like a death. Things would never be the same again and something would always be missing from our lives.
Yet John Lennon called the Medley "Junk"... yet he put Yoko scratching..screeching..and screaming on one of HIS whole album sides..sided... go figure..
The fact that you have to wipe away a tear during "The End" says it all. Any true Beatles' fan gets emotional during the "Golden Slumbers / Carry That Weight / The End" portion of the medley.
I always cry for the entire album.
"The End" is the grand finale of the Beatles. Such a fitting track to end their career together. Ringo's drum solo. Paul, George and John trading off lead guitars almost like a contest. Then the final message from the best band of all time: and in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.
I was hoping she would catch the 3 X 3 solos in The End.
Her majesty should not of been there. The End works so well then Her Majesty?
@@troybaker8113 Think of it as an encore.
LASTING LEGENDS
July 6th 1957 became a special date
John Lennon met Paul McCartney at a Liverpool church fete
John liked what he saw in Paul then
So Paul joined his band called the Quarrymen
From that point on history was made
The birth of the Beatles, our lives they would invade
The early years in Hamburg with drummer Pete Best
Showing that unique talent of which they were blessed
Love Me Do was released in 1962
Then came Please Please Me and From Me To You
Leaving the Cavern with their rise to fame
Knowing their lives would never be the same
Hit after hit, MBE’s from the Queen
Number 1 with Eleanor Rigby & Yellow Submarine
Changing their sound as time went by
With a little help from their friends & Lucy in the Sky
When John met Yoko we could see the sign
That last performance on the roof in 1969
The dream was over so Let It Be
But their music will live on I think we all agree.
"the love you take is equal to the love you make". I know. It's a bloody epic finish. Couldn't sum them up better. Wow. They really ended - full stop - like that - without absolutely knowing this was the end. The universe was involved in all of this and I speak as a rationalist scientific type who doesn't do mumbo jumbo. I can't explain it all in any other way!
That was the best Beatles songs reaction series on TH-cam. You kept us fans enthralled the whole way, eagerly awaiting the next album reaction. Your engaging personality and your natural musical ability helped immensely. You showed your audience why the Beatles classic songs hypnotized an entire generation. You didn't just say "I like it" but explained why by breaking down the chord progressions, harmonies, instrumentation and their out-of-this world melodies. You are unique just like the 4 lads from Liverpool.
Yes, Caroline has been a dream and musically, quite educational for me.
AMEN! She pulled out elements that I never even noticed. What a joy to experience my beloved music this way!
I agree. I have watched lots of reaction videos and nothing has surpassed this series. Every time I watched one of your videos, I went back and listened to the albums again and heard new things I had never noticed before after listening to these songs for more than 40 years. Quite an achievement!
This is so kind of you to say, Thankyou 😊
@@CallMeCaroline There is another young woman, Crystal Shannon who made almost the same trip as you, at almost the same time, and you both did a wonderful job. You should really get in contact. There is still the Get back documentary put together by Peter Jackson to enjoy.
Caroline: "This is out of my league."
M: "It's out of everyone's league. The Beatles are in their own league!"
did McCartney really say that?
@@Talisman09 Sorry, M = "Me," not "McCartney"
The fact that The End features Ringo's first and only drum solo, and 3 alternating guitar solos from Paul, George, and John makes this the perfect Beatles song imo. Plus those ending lines from Paul and that last solo from George are spectacular. Thank you for this series!
If you think about it, there is also a short (ish ) Ringo drum solo on "Thank You Girl ".
@@franciscody9201 And "What you're doing", but it's more a "drum riff" than a drum solo
@@franciscody9201 Birthday also has a short drum beat interlude that's *sorta* like a solo. But @nzapa21 is right, the bit in "The End" is Ringo's only TRUE drum solo on a Beatles record.
McCartney's distorted vocal in "Oh Darling" is some of the best rock vocals in history.
In your opinion, of course. Personally, it's my LEAST favourite example of Paul rocking out. It seems forced at times and often puts me on edge. His singing was a lot more natural and inspired in the exuberant Long Tall Sally. I'm Down drops my jaw every time. Sheez...have you not heard Monkberry Moon Delight? Paul's voice was great in the Beatles, but his vocal abilities continued to develop so by the mid 70's...sheer gold, just incredible.
@@uberbeast113 I would say he's Far better on "maybe I'm amazed." I can't think why he didn't sing like that on helter-skelter, though but went for a more clean cut voice, when it could have been an epic heavy metal song, with more rasp and grit. I would say that on this particular album "I want you, she's so heavy." is a better vocal from John.
Lennon McCartney Harmonies from Earlier Are More impressive than a Oh darling, but the song is amazing. As for vocals, it would have been prreferable if John hadd given Paul dear Prudence, as Johns capability of singing ballads Deteriorated in the late sixties. Likewise, Paul should have given helter-skelter to John to sing, then that would have been even more amazing
@@Rowlph8888 wow lots of food for thought for me to get my teeth into there. OK...better on Maybe I'm Amazed and why didn't Paul sing like that on Helter-skelter. ... umm..well..firstly...Maybe I'm Amazed is a tender ballad devoted to Linda. Helter-skelter is a kind of...contrivance really I suppose...Paul read a review for The Who's latest 45 which stated this was the hardest meanest most rock n roll thing ever...and Paul was like uh oh and wrote Helter-skelter. Also, Paul's voice just kept improving well into the 70's.
You reckon John's ballad voice deteriorated? Really? Sun King...Julia...Cry Baby Cry..I love Dear Prudence and cannot imagine it without John's idiosyncratic vulnerabilities.
@Uberbeast you like Monkberry but not Oh darling? Something wrong there bruh.
@@TonysMusic1974 Ha ha. I listened again to Oh Darling very recently and loved it. There's a relentless forward momentum to it that caught me off guard. I've been listening to Beatles since 1982, fanatically during my teenage years, living on a boat in the Med with very little pocket money from mum and dad, the Balearic life was wonderful but not much access to new music so Beatles was all I had. Still, after forty years they surprise me.
Blessings from UK
It's mind blowing to know within a span of eight years together, they created all that great music and they didn't even turn 30. John and Ringo were 29, Paul and George were 27.
That’s incredible
It's like they lived life backwards of what it is really supposed to be. Then throw in genius in there of course. Amazing. A one in a lifetime group.
George was 26 when he recorded Abbey Rd. Amazing-all that history and all those songs behind him, yet still so young
In reality it's even only around 7 years. September 62 to September 69
@@ArbeiterInnenliederthe bundle of music they released in a little over 7 year period is greater than any catalog of music released by any other group or artist ever, including many with careers spanning several decades.
Caroline, much like The Beatles, you've captured lightning in a bottle here with what you've done. Your reactions are unparalleled and it's such a joy to see someone so knowledgeable discover inarguably the greatest pop cultural sensation of any of our lifetimes. The Beatles aren't just the best thing to happen to 60s music, or even to music in general. They're the biggest cultural force for good in the past century and that's no overstatement. Watch their movies and interviews, read their books, watch a few more documentaries and I'm sure your love for the music will only continue to grow!
If she really caught the Beatles "bug", then I'm sure she will.
Bang on, there will never be anything that will come close to them.
Had the pressure within them been more bearable and judging by the solo songs they did till the end of 1971 we could of had at least 2 more albums of the same quality to follow Abbey Road.
P.S. Suggested track listings apply within!
Yes, Caroline, now that you know the music you should introduce yourself to the people. Start with A Hard Day's Night, it's a wildly entertaining movie and shows their personalities (or at least their personas), their irreverent sense of humour, and their charisma. You can see why the world fell in love with these guys.
my wife and i watched (again!) "Hard Day's Night" .....nostalgia is such a hard drug. But that movie captured Beatlemania . IT was amazing.
If you can - check out the “Get Back” movie - they are actually creating both the Let It Be and Abbey Road music - plus a lot of goofing off. Watching them bring in rough song is really cool. They occasionally break into their old stuff as well as oldies. You even get to see John on drums and George on bass (or was it drums as well) for brief bits. My personal favorite is John saying we need another person to do keyboards in order to play live….and Billy Preston shows up 😀.
Loved hanging out with them, through endless iterations developing classics, and all their goofing around and silliness, friends and artists together.
Even better, at the beginning of the movie, George was talking about how much he admired Billy Preston. They first met in 1962 in Hamburg. Back then, Billy was opening for Ray Charles/Little Richard. The Beatles were a small band just starting out, and Ray/Richard were already established. Billy was a young wunderkind on the keyboard who would play with Ray, but then when he got on the piano and did his stuff, they liked it better than Ray (or so said George).
Irony that George was talking about how much he admired Billy at the beginning and later Billy joined them.
It is WELL worth watching the entire movie just for the scene of Paul pulling Get Back out of thin air. It's one of the most thrilling moments I have ever seen on film.
@@richardkhchang it was her fault though, she sat on an amp.
@@richardkhchang The Get Back edit was kind to Yoko. George absolutely could not stand her and didn't bother hiding it. You can find the full, uncut audio here on TH-cam, it has been available on bootlegs for years. That bit in Get Back where Yoko was screaming John's name over and over actually went on for 20 minutes. John was screaming back at her and muttering that she's mad. Paul was playing piano progressively louder and did not say one single word. It's absolutely excruciating to listen to.
This album is a masterpiece.
♥
Agreed
0:32 Come Together
3:23 Something
5:09 Maxwell's Silver Hammer
7:33 Oh Darling
9:51 Octopus's Garden
12:21 I want you (she's so heavy)
15:09 Here Comes The Sun
16:42 Because
19:00 You Never Give Me Your Money
19:58 Sun King
21:47 Polythene Pam
23:27 Golden Slumbers
24:22 Carry That Weight
25:03 The End
22:26 She came in trough the bathroom window
20:41 Mean Mr Mustard
25:59 Her Majesty
Oh I m sorry , I accidentally skipped 3 songs xD
How the hell is the length of You Never Give Me Your Money only 58 seconds long ???! 🤡
Fun fact, in the song The End, Harrison, Lennon and McCartney are taking turns with the solo, playing (in order) McCartney - Harrison - Lennon three times. Their playing styles are also very clear.
Time Stamps
Come Together - 0:35
Something - 3:27
Maxwell's Silver Hammer - 5:15
Oh! Darling - 7:34
Octopus's Garden - 9:56
I Want You (She's So Heavy) - 12:23
Here Comes the Sun - 15:25
Because - 16:47
You Never Give Me Your Money - 19:00
Sun King - 19:56
Mean Mr. Mustard - 20:43
Polythene Pam - 21:49
She Came In Through the Bathroom Window - 22:20
Golden Slumbers - 23:25
Carry That Weight - 24:23
The End - 25:00
Her Majesty - 25:58
No, it's not just you. It does feel sad because it's been such a joy to see the music that has been near and dear to me being enjoyed by young hearts today. The entirety of their work will offer new discoveries even years after hearing them for the first time as new nuances or elements make themselves known. It really has been a treat to see you appreciate and many times become moved by those extraordinarily talented humans gifted to the world.
I have heard every Beatles song a thousand times and more, still it has been so great to listen to them with you. Thanks so much for everything you have said about them it has made me enjoy and appreciate them all over again. I always thought the Beatles were the greatest, now I think they are even greater. It still surprises me, after all these years, that the power of their compositions still makes me laugh and cry, mourn and elate. They truly are unsurpassed. Thanks so so much. You have brought serious joy to a whole lot of people. …and in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love you make.
Well said !!
I Believe The Beatles compositions hold some kind of record for the Greatest NUMBER of Original Melodies for song writing.. The GREATEST Indeed...!!! -cheers
@@jarichards99utube We can thank McCartney for that. His brain is a melody MACHINE, soi many melodies he doesn't have enough places to put them all. He has to do medleys, like Band on the Run and Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey. In Get Back we heard some absolutely gorgeous snippets that never made it into songs. Can you even imagine what else is in there? If you want to know what I'm talking about, one of the snippets is called The Castle of the King of the Birds. It's on bootleg tapes of the Get back sessions, McCartney only ever used it for the never released Rupert the Bear animation, and even then it was just background music. It has been going around on bootleg tapes for YEARS and it was ripped off for the Top Gun theme, among other works. You can easily find it on TH-cam. It pops up on Get Back.
Right on.
I'm a complete metal-head and the ending to I Want You made my jaw drop to the floor first time I heard. It has such a proto-metal sound to me..!
You're right. It does.
1000000%
It is funny because i am more Goth and this song has a goth feel to me instead at times, funny how one gets different feels from it.
A prog rock too
The Beatles were a true "one-off". In trillions of possible universes and times, we all are here experiencing their vibrations and their chance meetings as four young lads from Liverpool. It really is amazing, and I love your genuine interpretation of it.
they may be a constant throughout all time and space. can you imagine a universe without this album?
@@mercurywoodrose
The movie YESTERDAY tried, with mixed critical reviews (I liked it)
@@mercurywoodrose I can remember when that universe existed!
Impossible to not shed a tear when Golden Slumbers comes up.
It's criminal to make songs this good.
Hi Caroline,
My name is Neal. I am a 62 year old Beatles fan and a fellow musician. I have been following you throughout your journey with The Beatles and have enjoyed your sincere reactions and analysis of their music. I too love all of their music and each of their albums. But, as you pointed out, Abbey Road is in a class all its own. I have listened to Abbey Road countless times and each and every time, after "The End", my eyes well up with tears. Is it because of the beauty of the music or the fact that I know that that was the final time they would make music as The Beatles? I don't know.
My hope for you is that you continue to enjoy and value the music of The Beatles for the rest of you life as I have during mine.
The world is full of beautiful music, but The Beatles are in a category all of their own.
Best wishes,
Neal
Tampa, Florida, USA
well said Neal
Oh man this comment made me cry, as does listening to Abbey road too
51 here. I'm always in tears long before 'The End'! " Is it because of the beauty of the music or the fact that I know that that was the final time they would make music as The Beatles? I don't know." - I could have written that myself :)
You are not alone, Neal! I first heard them in Christmas of 1963. I also got my first guitar then and became a professional musician for fifty years. I get verklempt when I hear the opening chords of Golden Slumbers because it's the beginning of the end. Thanks for the memories!
Neal, I guess most of the Beatles fans would agree with you. Abbey Road is the most mature record of all the Beatles records. As a teenager, I also loved their older records but none of their records I have listened to so many times as I did Abbey Road. It simply a masterpiece. All the different moods and incredible harmonies.
It is amazing that the Beatles created this musical journey from Please Please Me to Abbey Road in the span of about 7 years. Timeless stuff.
Such a fast an incredible evolution
Just think about todays biggest hitters. Beyonce has had 6 albums in 19 years. Adele has had 4 in 14 years. Ed Sheeran has taken 11 years to bring us 5 albums and Rihanna has had 8 albums in 17 years. The Beatles squeezed 13 GAME-CHANGING albums into 7 years.
@@celt67 personally I think the only game changers were from rubber soul all the way to abbey road. Well maybe the early ones were game changing but I don’t listen to them as full albums I just pick the couple of songs I like from them onto my playlist. But rubber soul all the way to abbey road will never matched in my opinion from Sheer innovation and just strength of the songs and albums.
@@celt67 Game changing? The only ones that were game changing were AHDN, Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper, The Beatles and Abbey Road. Thats 6. I could add PPM I suppose. But its not 13. MMT doesnt even count as side 2 is all singles, so not a proper studio album. Dont exaggerate.
Please please me was an awesome song-groundbreaking. Think for a moment what else you heard at that time, what else was coming out of 1963 radio. They broke new ground…then kept on doing it 7 more fantastical years.
Caroline’s album is out in two weeks time 👍 keep an eye on her social channels. Looking forward to it.
Thanks so much Paul!
@@CallMeCaroline you are welcome
Oh my gosh... Youe presence is off the charts in the graph of life. I am smitten with you and your beauty..
The solo of something is really something. It’s not just beautiful, but George uses a lot of modal interchanges, and the expression of each phrase is just biblical. It’s got such a high level feeling, it’s simple yet complicated. Such a genius guitar player and song writer.
It still gives me goosebumps to this day, which is astonishing because I've been listening and playing along to it on the regular for most of my life.
According to Frank Sinatra "Something" is the greates love song of the last 50 years...so there's that as well
27:00 It's not about reaching "their level", that's not what they would want you to aspire to. They were simply four lads from Liverpool who just loved to create music together and if this journey has inspired you to continue to create more yourself, they would be 'chuffed' with that alone. With all the hatred in this world right now, we need more people who just want to create happiness as you have by sharing your experience of hearing these beautiful pieces of art for the first time. I do hope you took the time to go back and just listen to the album again off camera and uninterrupted for it needs to be enjoyed that way - it's the best thing the Fab Four ever did. Thank you Caroline.
I just hope that she has been inspired enough to listen to their catalogue again and again, to really appreciate their journey of creativity. They endured plenty of criticism in their time but just ploughed ahead and followed their vision. I can't help but think that some of the Beatles confidence in their own talent could only benefit her own career and that she should follow her heart, as they did.
It's unclear whether the Beatles really were aware that this would be their final album, but they couldn't have gone out on a higher note, building song by song towards that beautiful dénouement, "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make…" A perfect capstone to their career and their ethos.
And because they're the Beatles (and through sheer serendipity, as it turns out), they take the piss out of it with "Her Majesty" tacked at the end.
It's not really an album....
Most of the stories seem to indicate that it took a massive amount of convincing by George Martin to get them back together for one last studio album after the Get Back sessions. And Lennon REALLY didn't want to use Come Together as he had it pegged for his first solo outing. I'm pretty sure they were aware it was their last time in their initial run. Now maybe they thought they might all work together again at some (much) later date but that was not to be.
@@snowdenwyatt6276 That's about right. George Martin, the diplomat, somehow got them to suspend their differences for AR. Abbey Road was released while Let it Be was being remixed in parts and appeared 'out of sequence'. Lennon's first reaction to AR was unflattering and had he had his way he would have pulled the album apart with his tracks on one side and McCartney's on the other. The originality of the medley didn't at first strike him.
Firstly, yes, the Beatles knew it would be their final album. Almost every book or document about the band will tell you that. But, for business reasons, and because none of them had the courage to say it, nobody wanted to tell the press that it was over. Secondly, this album and the events surrounding it tell you all you need to know about Paul McCartney. It was he who pleaded with George Martin to produce one last album with the band 'like we used to.' Less than a year later, and without telling anyone else connected with the band, he issues a statement in the form of a fake interview telling the world that the band is over. As for the Abbey Road album, it's astounding. I've been listening to it for forty years and I STILL find it amazing. Not just good, not just, oh that bit's nice, but all out, proper ASTOUNDING. It's the standard to which all recording artists should aspire. x
@@snowdenwyatt6276 your wrong about them being pretty sure it was going to be there last album. There is a verified tape recording made after abbey road in which they discussed their next album. John though he, Paul, and George should each have four songs each on the next one and said that Ringo could have one or two as well if he wanted. Paul refused and said that would be the wrong balance, I,e he wanted more tracks than George.
You say Lennon wanted come together for his own album. That is flatly untrue. Please cite your source. . If you have one it's wrong. And I am in a position to know.
"Oh! Darling" is my favorite McCartney vocal performance of all time. I have to say its been fun re-living the Beatles catalog through your reactions. And as a former music major I really enjoyed your interpretations and demonstrations of the musicality of the songs. Thanks so much.
Same. It was the song that got me into The Beatles at the ripe age of 28. He nearly killed his voice to make that track. That's dedication.
"Oh Darling" is a KILLER blues song.
And it’s one of the only McCartney songs Lennon wishes he wrote
@@kdizzle901 He wanted to sing it as well. He said that the song was more suited for his vocals, and implied that he could have sung it better.
Listen to Monkberry Moon Delight
And people say..."oh, the Beatles, they're overrated". THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE... YOU CAN'T OVERRATE THE BEATLES! Not only is their music so ... so everything (really, EVERY genre there is in music).. but they have influenced countless other musicians, and touched the hearts and souls of so many people WORLD WIDE! People who say they're overrated have probably only heard a few of their big hits. I would tell them to listen to all their music in the way you did, Caroline... or watch your video series here. Oh, and a big shout out to the "fifth Beatle" George Martin ... I think the main reason this album is so different from Let it Be. Thank you for bringing us on this journey, it was a blast! You're SO HEAVY!! (nothing to do with weight...)..PEACE and LOVE!
The way you can overrate the Beatles is by thinking they stood alone in the 60s. There are countless other legendary bands from that period, and to state that all of them were behind the Beatles is just ignorant of music history. Just look up the best albums of 1967.
@@futurereflections4097 not even close. No other band influenced music, art and our culture like the Beatles. The other British groups had tried to come to the US but didn’t do well. The Beatles made it possible for all the others. They jump started a whole generation of singer songwriters. No other band has put out as much quality music in such a short time, and it still resonates with people today. You’re right, lots of good music in the 60’s. But the Beatles stand alone.
The Beatles themselves said that they were overrated. Well, John and George did, at least. It got utterly insane. People were bringing crippled kids to them hoping that the magical Beatles could cure them. That was the point John was trying to make when he said that they were bigger than Jesus. He thought the whole thing was ridiculous. They were just a rock and roll band, albeit a very good one.
@@f6was9 The 1960s was a musical revolution involved tons of bands. Were The Beatles the most influential? Probably. But the idea of them being leagues ahead is just flat out wrong. You should check out more music from the 60s.
@@futurereflections4097 I know all about 60’s music . You should look deeper into the Beatles . I’m not arguing about it. You are a minority, but entitled to your opinion.
The best album ever made by anyone. Its truly and album, not just a few decent songs and fillers like most artists do. Also they merge beautifully.
Repeated listens give repeated pleasure.
I purposely try not to over listen to the Beatles, because I want their magic to last forever.
"I want you" is probably the heaviest track they made, everytime I hear the song i just stop and enjoy the ride, that organ solo gets me, the harmony on HEAVYYYYY sends chills down my spine.
helter skelter?
@@chilledtorsion hha ha yeh i was gonna say that. And hey you ever heard Everybody's Got Something To Hide? Yer Blues? How "heavy" you feel a song is, is defined by your perception IN THE MOMENT. Something will resonate one day, and pass by you the next without affecting you. I remember listening to Ticket To Ride once, and I disappeared through a hole in time. This song was speaking to me. And it was laying it on heavy, as you call it. The multi layered guitar textures. The drums. The driving momentum of the song rolling along in A major (yes a major key...yet the moment it breaks out of a major chord sequence it's to a sublime and yearning Bm resolving to the finality of that E major. EPIC! Man, it blew me away.
Hey, Ticket To Ride is probably the heaviest track they made.
See how when you make the quantum jump into the realm of true understanding of music (and it's more about the silence inside the notes than the notes themselves, you dig) you realise that calling things "the best", "the heaviest"...it's like trying to impose a ranking system. You want to be a judge, or you want to be like a child, open and awe struck by everything, in the precious moment.
I want you… is heavier because of the layering of the distorted guitars
Helter Skelter is more noisy than heavy. It’s more a punk song, than heavy metal.
@@beatmet2355 and then Pretty Vacant is also heavy because of multi layered distorted guitars and yet people call it punk. Have we truly succeeded in clarifying anything at all? 😁
@@uberbeast113 it’s more than just distortion, it’s also got to have some bottom end to make it heavy.
HS sounds like the Ramones slowed down and I Want You… sounds like Black Sabbath at the end, to my ears.
To be fair, the Beatles were musical geniuses in their own right, however, a good bit of credit has to be given to Sir George Martin who was their producer and who had a big hand in guiding them in the crafting of their albums. Just my opinion, but as good as many other groups have been (and there are many bands and artists that I love), there will never again be any that can hold a candle to what the Beatles accomplished in a relatively short period of time. None like them before and no one close after.
George Martin was definitely recognized for his genius - that's why he was knighted!
He's the proverbial "fifth Beatle"!
No, you are right. No one else deserves to be called he fifth Beatle except Sir George Martin.
This ☝ And it's especially highlighted with this record, because through the White Album and Let it Be, they had really pushed George Martin aside and taken control for themselves. Still fantastic albums, but they are largely missing that George Martin magic. After they deemed the "Get Back" project a failure they decided they wanted him back, and he did it on the condition that they do things the way they used to and really let him produce it, and bam...We get Abbey Road 🙂
Could not agree more. George knew music composition and theory, and was a virtual encyclopedia of music up to that time. He could do a baroque piano solo, e.g., In My Life, organize strings for Yesterday and Eleanor Rigby, get the LSO guy to play trumpet on Penny Lane, and help the guys string together the Abbey Road medley. Paul said they would not have been as good without him. I that's an understatement.
Although not planned that way "The End" was the last song that all four Beatles recorded together, and featured a solo from each member. I find that rather cool. Thanks for the wild trip Carolyn.
Even more cool I think is that "Carry that weight", which started out as a pub knees-up back during Get Back in January, now seems downright prophetic. They did have to carry the weight, and two of them do to this day, even if it has gotten considerably lighter over the years.
that is cool
I still consider Let It Be to be their final album, which it is officially, and the title is rather fitting also. And as for the final song, Get Back, thats also appropriate as its saying these were four ordinary guys inspired by early rock and roll which the song is about. It could also be interpreted as "it doesnt matter that its over. Go back and listen to all that great music again".
Even got Ringo to do a solo - he had said he thought drum solos were boring!
@@izzonj His only durn solo right?
The thing about being awed by their songwriting ability is to consider that when this album was written, none of the Beatles were 30 years old yet.
And i don't think one of them could read a music score, Paul has openly admitted it thousands of times ... it was all done with feeling and love
No one is "On their level". It's my belief that no band will ever be "on their level". They were a gift from God to the world.
probably true yeah
Summed up perfectly Ray.
No one, I think, is in their tree.
THE GOAT!
radiohead surpassed them musically and lyrically a long time ago
McCartney's vocals...on "Oh Darling"...is probably, the most amazing vocals...in all of rock history. Incredible.
His vocals on Why Don't We Do it in the Road might be even better. There's basically nothing to that song except for his vocals.
@@sumnerhayes3411 his vocals on Helter Skelter are my favourite.
Actually John wanted to sing that song, as far as I heard.
@@johnnyrosenberg9522
He’d have been a more natural fit and would have killed it, but Paul did a fantastic job anyway.
@@johnnyrosenberg9522 He did. Don’t think he could have done much better in the high end.
To me, "She Came in Through the Bathroom Window" is lowkey one of the best melodies in their late career. It could have easily been a #1 single (as many of their songs could, really!)
I agree! The transition of Polythene Pam into Bathroom Window is just perfect.
I agree, and the version on Anthology is even better IMHO
That whole medley is all around sick.
White Album Tier
@@mlawson84 literally flawless
Caroline, it was enough to watch your face as you absorbed this overwhelming masterpiece. You can spend the rest of your life trying to break it down - many people actually have. I honestly think it can't be done. This is one of the greatest musical works of all time. To think that this was made by four kids from Liverpool who dropped out of school is mind bending. It is a actual miracle. Thank you for taking us through it with fresh ears. It's been a joy.
I don't remember that I've ever seen anything about John, Paul and George dropping out of school before. I know that Ringo did at an early age due to very lengthy chronic illness, but the other three ... really? Do you mean dropping out of Art College?
@@dggydddy59 Paul and George both dropped out of high school. John dropped out of art college after maybe one year. Ringo left school after 8th grade. Follow up: Paul purchased the building of his high school and turned it into a music school, now called LIPA. He teaches a songwriting class there.
Yes, John was the only Beatle who graduated high school.
@@loosilu Wow!! All these years and I never knew! Actually I never thought about it either though! Thank you! Cheers!
@@dggydddy59 It's an actual miracle. Paul and John lived only about 1 mile away from each other. If you look up their street addresses (easily available) you can go on google street view and see for yourself the path to each other's houses. It involved crossing the Allerton Golf course. I did it and it's honestly an amazing experience to take that walk on Google street view.
It's not over. the last Beatles song ever recorded was "Real Love". Recorded in 1995 from a demo John made in the 70's, the lads got together and finished in. released on Anthology 2 in 1996. along with "Free as a Bird" another John demo they finished. Would be great to hear your reaction to them as well as maybe their solo albums. The Esher demos from the White Album released in 2018 are really something special as well. Cheers!
WEEN!!!
Oh gawd why did you have to mention those 90's singles. We don't like to talk about them let's pretend they don't exist lol. Do you really seriously consider them Beatles tracks? Jeff Lynne's personality swamping the mix with his pristinely recorded stereo acoustic guitars panned hard left and right. That huge flatulent snare drum sound (some kind of gated reverb or slight echo effect). Just leave the Beatles memory alone. Abbey Road was great. Then the Beatles died. Weren't they awesome. What a great catalogue. Don't spoil it with something that sounds like Travelling Wilberries please please please oh no oh godammit....
@@uberbeast113 You have a point but It was wonderful to hear those voices together again.
@@lancep4164 Man I wish they hadn't done it like that. I was surprised...especially that they went ahead and called it Beatles. They were all, in the early 70's, very keen to close the Beatles book and forge new identities inc Paul who organised the first Wings gigs making sure none of the public knew it was Paul McCartney, in fact he'd abandon the gig if word got out.
They could have released it as a John Lennon solo single. They could have called it "John, Paul, George and Ringo". It's not like they need the extra publicity. Unless I'm mistaken and something happened we don't know about and they all suddenly needed the extra cash.
Anyway I feel like I'm moaning again, and really it doesn't bother me that much. Yes, it was quite nice hearing their voices together again. I like the fact that in FAAB (lol...it spells faab) Paul takes a middle 8 then George takes it. These days it pisses me off because hearing George on it makes me think of how he should have had more years, maybe lived to be a hundred year old yogi, if that psycho hadn't got into their home and attacked him.
They wouldn’t have seen the light of day with the Beatles recordings. These songs were poor John Lennon songs that he would had no doubt rejected himself.
Love Jeff Lynne, but he made an ELO record from them.
These songs need to be rejected as Beatles songs as John wasn’t there.
The main record that needs to be looked at is Let it Be ‘Naked,’ as this was the Beatles without the Phil Spector treatment, which had got Pauls back up for decades before he was able to put the album right (in his eyes). For me the Naked version definitely improved the album, but understand if anyone feels otherwise.
The nice thing is we have two to choose from.
As others have noted, I would recommend and encourage you to continue into their early solo albums, the origins of which were begun whilst The Beatles were still together. Plastic Ono Band, All Things Must Pass, Imagine and Band On The Run are also "top notch" and easily comparable to the Beatles best work. Thank you for your enthusiasm and almost childlike wonder of songs I've loved and heard thousands of times over the past 40 odd years. The journey doesn't end here for you, young lady..!
Yes, Ram is my favorite solo album from Paul
I’m going to go on a limb and say to start Paul’s journey with McCartney. It’s not as good as Ram or Band on the Run, but it’s still worth hearing just to see how Paul broke away from The Beatles. It has very few complete songs. Junk and Teddy Boy date back to 1968, and Teddy Boy was even included on Glyn Johns’ mix of Get Back. Maybe I’m Amazed became a huge hit for Paul later on when he recorded a live version with Wings.
Other than that, McCartney plays more like a home demo of Paul just noodling around in the studio. Literally, he plays every instrument (except some small contributions from Linda). So it’s pretty easy to overlook this album. But I don’t think it should be skipped. It’s important to see the full picture of how Paul broke away from The Beatles and rebuilt his image from the bottom.
I think Caroline would really enjoy parts of Ram, especially Dear Boy, Admiral Halsey and The Back Seat of My Car.
I agree. Call Me Caroline, definitely check out All Things Must Pass. I'd love to see your reaction and analysis if you have the time. That album changed my life.
Really Beatles solo careers aren't really worth doing something like this for. However another encore could be done with the 2 singles they made from John Lennon's demos Free as a Bird/Real Love.
You should know that there were three huge hits from this album: Come Together, Something, and Here Comes the Sun. They were played non-stop on pop radio for months and months. Then all the other songs got constant airplay on FM radio, where the playlists veered from the Top-40 format. For months, anyone who turned on a radio was beamed Abbey Road. It was injected into our DNA - it was an overwhelming cultural experience.
Here Comes the Sun was never a single and was therefore not a hit. It was actually not played that often. It has become much more popular over time, deservedly so!!!
And to continue that line, I remember right into the mid 70s on FM radio you could tune through the dial and always -I mean always- come across a Beatles song. I could do it on a dare!
@@loosilu You are correct that it wasn’t a single and not a hit, but it was a radio staple like other Beatles album cuts like “A Day in the Life”, “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”, “Norwegian Wood”, “In My Life”, etc…
@@BadfingerBoogieBarb Yep, they all were! What an insane catalogue of work!
I believe Something is second only to Yesterday in the number of covers it has had. Famously (though possibly apocryphally), Frank Sinatra called it his favorite “Lennon/McCartney song.” I’m sure George Harrison wasn’t too happy to hear that.
I really enjoyed your Beatles journey! I've listened to their music for almost my whole life ( I was born in 1955), but you still had an objective view that only made me see new things in their work. Making me appreciate the Beatles even more. Thank you Caroline!
Here's a mind-blower: when The Beatles split up in 1970, their ages ranged from George, 27, to Ringo, 29. All that amazing work before any of them reached 30.
“We’re just going to deliver all the best songs on one album.” That’s exactly how I feel about Abbey Road.
I always thought of this album as, "We're out of here, but, oh, you want us to do it again, and even better, one more?" "Well, you know we are the Beatles right?" Be careful what you ask for....
Old dude here. This album was the first later Beatles album that I listened to. I was TRANSFIXED. I have been a huge Beatles fan ever since. So thank you for taking me on your journey of discovery. It brings back so many memories. My Dad had a high end stereo and I was able to lift and listen to just the bass track. Totally blown away by the bass on Something. I feel that this is their greatest album. The quality of the song writing and most importantly the musicianship was never better.
When measuring yourself against the Beatles "Abbey Road" remember - it was also way out of the Beatles league 8 years earlier. Their musical growth was astounding and can be inspiring.
Caroline, this is the only 'reaction' series on TH-cam that I've had the patience or interest to watch for more than 30 seconds. Your reactions seem authentic and your musical commentary was often fascinating, Well done! There is, perhaps, one more thing you might add to your series. I'd love to see a video where you answer some questions about your experience:
- How did your opinion of the Beatles change as you went through their catalog?
- What did you think you knew before you started that turned out to be wrong?
- What preconceptions turned out to be pretty much correct?
- Did you develop a sense of the personality of each member of the band and can you share what that might be?
- The Beatles used their popularity to stretch the musical horizons of their fans -- do you see parallels in any current or recent bands?
- Who do you think is closest to them in this regard?
I, for one, would be fascinated to hear your answers. Throw in a few comments on your favorite moments and I think you'll keep your Beatles fans hooked to your channel for months more!
Well I concur with your intelligent commentary and hope she responds though I doubt she'll scan this far so late. 🤡
@@johnbyrnes7912 True enough. I don't live for TH-cam so my comments are always down at the bottom of the pile.
I hope Carolyn would consider doing that too. All of what you mentioned above would be very interesting.
@@Turtledove2009 Thanks. I also want to hear her answers! But in re-reading it today, don't you think it sounds a little bossy? Anyway, bossy is *not* what I intended. I'd be happy if she freeforms it and talks about whatever's on her mind after listening to so many songs.
She's a real darling. It warms the heart of this old fart seeing another generation appreciating the greatness that was the Beatles.
Abbey Road, to me, is easily the BEST Beatles album. Them at the apex of their creativity.
When I got the 2009 remastered box set, I had to decide which cd to listen to first. Didn't take long to choose Abbey Road. It's my favorite and so fitting they went out on top of their game. The Beatles were a force of musical nature which I don't think we or future generations will see again.
* the Best album :D
In all seriousness, this was the Beatles at their best and they made something that from start to finish was amazing.
Abbey Rd and Sgt Pepper are best
Time for the 2nd listen!
"This song is out of my league" - yep, I'm sure their contemporaries said as such at the time and musicians probably still do.. "Abbey Road" might just be the most perfect album. Lennon didn't "buy into" the whole medley/"pop opera or whatever you call it" 2nd side at first, but he loved the first side and George's songs. I imagine Paul and Ringo understand that it's a masterpiece.
Goose bumps during "Something" should tell you something. It's widely viewed as one of the greatest love songs ever written. Even Sinatra said it was his favorite "Lennon-McCartney" song (he didn't know that George had written it).
A few tidbits I'm sure others have shared with you:
1) the music to "Because" is approximately Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" backwards.
2) the end of "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" went on a little bit longer, but John wanted them to snip the tape at that very second. Not sure if it was just an "avant garde thing to do," as he was into Yoko and the avant garde at the time.
3) there is another take of Paul singing "Oh, Darling" on a deluxe set of Abbey Road - and, by comparison, it's just not that good. I mean, it's good, but you come to realize that THIS was the take. He would perform the song at the beginning of the day and at the end of the day in order to get a different take on it, and I imagine he did this a number of times. THIS is an incredible vocal performance.
4) "The End" has John, Paul and George trading guitar solos. According to Wikipedia: McCartney, George Harrison and Lennon perform a rotating sequence of three, two-bar guitar solos. The first two bars are played by McCartney, the second two by Harrison, and the third two by Lennon, then the sequence repeats twice.
It would be interesting to hear what your favorite songs are - not just from this album, but everything that you've heard after "Help!" I'm sure they'll change/evolve through the years.
My understanding for the reasoning behind the snip point was that it was partially necessitated by the record's first side running out of needle groove space, and the cut-off point was selected to be precisely at the last second before the runout groove, as if to imply that the song goes for eternity.
The order of the guitar solos is Paul, John, George. It's pretty clear the second one is John from the sound. John goes last and George does not get a solo in the last round.
I looked it up, and it's definitely Paul, George, John, in equal amounts, especially when listening closely. They're styles are apparent in each. Paul's is straightforward and deliberate, George's is boisterous and stylish, and John's is rugged and intense.
Fun facts: on The End, the guitar solos is the three guitarists trading off. Paul, George then John.
Her Majesty wasn’t supposed to be on the album. EMI staff was told to never throw anything away. This was a snippet that was dropped from the medley. The worker took and spliced it onto the end of the master. When you listen on vinyl it takes a bit of time after the End to hear it come up.
Thank God tape operator John Kurlander noted the EMI order as he was originally instructed by Paul McCartney to destroy the edited out tape snippet.
This is my favorite Ringo album, Octopus's Garden is his best Beatle song, not to mention his drumming, especially that fantastic fill where he finally shows off in the end and his playing in Come Together in general, is just phenomenal.
The guitar work on OG alone is so incredible, that not even the best gutarists in the All Starr Band were ever able to do it justice, which is why Ringo doesn't play this song anymore.
Hands down his best drumming work. It's unreal
I can easily nominate OH DARLING as McCartney's finest vocals - he goes from sweet and gorgeous into a real screamer. It's also a most difficult song to cover because there just aren't many McCartney-matching vocalists in human history, and if the vocalist can't deliver, well the instrumentation can't carry the song. MAXWELLS and OH DARLING are two incredible songs following the overplayed two intro's.
I am glad you GAVE US your sense of listening to Side 2 all jammed together as THEY intended it to be, and how millions of fans listened to it, the first time. Side 2 simply cannot be parceled out like groceries in so many bags. This is an album after all, and I think parsing the songs out - losing the impact of transitions and changes - robs the listener of so much.
He would go into Abbey Road every morning, hoping he would have the voice to climb that mountain. The Macca of 1969 wasn't the Macca of 1963. Though his persistence paid off!
Maybe I'm Amazed proves you wrong
Lennon is on record saying that he should have sung lead on "Darling" because it was his kind of thing. I agree. But, of course, that's not the way that this band worked, except with Ringo songs.
I'm 70 and I've seen many concerts by many artists. McCartney has the greatest rock and roll voice ever.
Your analysis on this particular album was spectacularly on target, so many times. This has been a beautiful thing to behold. This album (and reaction) was the cherry on top of it all. Watching your face on this one, after all you've come through, all those albums and singles......it was very satisfying, and only now can you truly understand why people wanted you to do the whole discography, in order. PS: It's not goodbye, keep making videos, keep making music, and by all means react to more albums, be they Beatles related or not. Paul, then George, then John put out three very different solo albums the year they broke up, all three are classics. (John also had put out some singles). And Paul and John's albums from 1971 ("Ram" and "Imagine") are also worth doing. And of course there are tons of bands, singers, composers, musicians....where ever your muse takes you, it will be interesting to see! THANK YOU, CAROLINE!
Living in the Material World is also a great LP by George.
Doing there individual works would be a step down. I find it strange they were so great together and so relatively poor when they were apart.
I don't think they ever realized how great they were. They were afraid they couldn't do it again is the real reason they never got back together and they still don't.
And of course when John was murdered it became impossible. Some miracles only happen once.
@@docsavage8640 It has some good tracks on it; it also has some real turgid stuff on it. I'd call that one an ok LP, especially when compared with other stuff that came out in '73. ("Band On The Run" being one example). It's better than "Extra Texture", I"ll give it that much!
@@annapierson3290 They were very good apart, especially when you compare them to every other band that broke up: all four members went on to have successful solo careers, all four had strings of hits through the 70s and even beyond. It shouldn't surprise you since a band is the sum of it's parts. I wouldn't say "Plastic Ono Band", "Imagine" or "Band On The Run" were negligible. I wouldn't even say that about "McCartney", or even lots of tracks they all did over the years. Every band breaks up.
I love her face when "Golden Slumbers" is playing, and Paul sings "Smiles awake you when you rise". Pure Joy!
Caroline - just seeing your speechless reaction to these songs is very honouring of the incredible talent in this band. This music is timeless - to think this was created OVER 50 YEARS AGO! It dies my head in. I was 8 y.o. When my Dad brought home Abbey Road on vinyl and in some way their music has influenced my life and passion. Every time I sit down and write a song, ‘there’s a shadow hanging over me’, andI mean that in a positive sense. I do hope that, like you, many coming generations will listen to their music and go ‘Bloody hell!’ In an inspired and awe-filled sense.
Your reactions have been pure joy to watch. Well done!
Caroline, I will second pretty much every comment here - we are all really touched and delighted you walked with us down this path so many of us cherish. I think we're also enjoying seeing one another reacting! You've made a lot of friends in this exercise, and all of us have connected with each other too! Sad as it is to no longer have the Beatles in our world, there is great joy and hope in what we DO have: one another. I think the Beatles would be delighted that their music is still bringing people together. Now, let's NOT have this be a goodbye. There's a lot more to come from you, musically and in other creative endeavors, and we all look forward to walking down more paths. For now, as Ringo still says, "peace, and love"!
I Want You (She's So Heavy) is my personal favorite Beatles song. It has a groove to it that is irresistible. And the outro is epic and sinister! A great band performance as well. Proof that the Beatles can make a song great and epic with only 12 different words.
My favorite as well!
When the Beatles made Abbey Road they knew there was a chance it could be the last one for them, but they didn't know for sure it'd be their last project. They just knew they needed a break from each other and the pressure of being in the biggest band in the world. They were all open to the idea of reuniting at different times throughout the 70's, but never enough to fully consider it. When John was murdered in 1980, that was it
Best scenario, of course, is that John lived and they made the occasional Beatles album off and on over the years, but the way it is now, it's just nice to know they sometimes wanted to get back together.
I just imagined if John had lived they would have worked together for the Beatles Anthology only. I doubt they ever would have recorded entire albums of new material because they wouldn’t have wanted to harm their own legacy or face the impossible task of meeting expectations.
The saddest part of the "Get Back" movie is when (with Paul not there) George suggests he do a solo album for all his extra songs, but they can still be the Beatles. And John heartily agrees. Why couldn't it have played out like that?
@@aquamarine99911 Because Allen Klein was an evil git.
@@aquamarine99911 Peter Jackson said Paul McCartney was stunned when he saw that scene. Said it would have made a difference to how he approached the break-up. I think the break-up was inevitable: the financial mess and the fight over management ((Klein vs the Eastmans) saw to that.
"And in the end, The love you take, Is equal to the love you make". Surely the most fitting end to the journey the Beatles were on in the '60s and the one you have now experienced for the first time. I have loved every minute of this series. Your reactions, analysis, singing along and joy (and sometimes confusion) shown have enhanced the experience of listening to Beatles music for me. I look forward to more of you own music and whatever reactions you decide to try next !
I've been watching the MusiCares tribute to Sir Paul from 2012 and felt the need to chime in again briefly and say that as a lifelong Beatles fan I still can't quite grasp and believe that a group this consistently good actually existed and put out 13 original studio albums and enough singles to fill 2 additional albums, none of them even remotely clunkers. They're just so good, it almost seems impossible. Thankfully, it's not, and they really did exist, and still do, through their works, which will outlive them and the rest of us.
I literally teared up at Golden Slumbers man. What a journey this has been Caroline, thank you for this series, and thank Christ for those 4 Liverpudlian musical mutants.
I hope you enjoyed this journey as much as we did. The Beatles surely didn't fizzle out. They just kept getting better and better as songwriters, musicians, arrangers, collaborators,... Even though the second side was largely remnants of songs pieced together, it's still all killer, no filler. Many fans consider this their best and/or favorite album. Thank you for sharing your understanding of music theory and explaining how "mathematically' chord progressions and melodies, scales, rhythms etc work together.
That was a great freaking time! You did exactly what I always wanted a reactor to do. Thank you. The Beatles are my favorite artists of all time and it was truly powerful watching and hearing them again through your eyes and ears. Thanks for doing this. What a gift.
Fun Fact: I believe
the drum solo in 'The End' is the only drum solo done by Ringo, he hated them. They tricked him into doing it, thinking there would be other tracks added to cover it.
When Phil Collins covered the last 3 songs of the medley, his version featured an extended drum solo (since Phil was also a drummer).
You made me cry before you even started this album. It's been a joy to watch you experience for the first time songs I've known my entire life. If you follow the history of The Beatles, this album came after the rather difficult Let It Be album/film recording which you can see on Peter Jackson's Get Back. It was never stated for certain that Abbey Road would be their last album, but all four Beatles were pursuing solo side-projects by 1969 and I'm sure they all knew it might be the last band album - even if just for a while. To me, it feel like they all bought their very best to each other's songs - it is truly their very best album and that last line (excluding Her Maj!) is just too perfect.
And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.
Thank you, Caroline x
Carolyn, please don't stop your journey here. All of these guys went on to make their own stuff and were bloody fantastic! Ringo actually made these guys get together and record with him. It became a bit of a love-fest for all of them.
So true. George & Ringo were each other's biggest supporters. 'Photograph' is a great example and tugs at my heart as much today as it did in '73.
Yoko Ono was once playing Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata on the piano. Hearing this, John Lennon asked her to play the chords of this classical piece backwards and what followed was the birth of Because. I absolutely loved this series and I hope The Beatles have inspired you not only in music, but in life as they have inspired me.
That’s the story John told but it’s clearly not MS backwards, but I think it was his way of capturing the spirit.
This has genuinely felt like experiencing something I love with a lovely, intelligent friend. So thanks for that, it's been a pleasure in a year which... hasn't always been? Let's go with that :p
Does this really have to be the end though? There's such a huge body of work I don't know if I'd recommend doing the solo albums (outside of the uncontroversial highlights like All Things Must Pass or Band On The Run), but maybe an album ranking video & a top 10/top 20 songs video could be in order?
Just spent the last half hour crying and smiling - often at the same time - as you took us through Abbey Road, Caroline. Thank you, more than I can say! This was truly the Beatles' masterwork, and you did it full justice. You're a wonderful musician, analyst - person! - with remarkable insights and enthusiasm; and while I'm sad this series is over, I look forward to watching more of your videos in the months to come. Again, thank you, and my very best wishes to you!
My dear Caroline, I have no words to thank you for the incredible journey you've undertaken and shared with all of us. You know, I was born in 1966, in a middle class home in Mexico City, and all my elder brothers and sisters were huge fans of the Beatles, so their music, for me, has always been as natural as the air I breathe, so I've always loved it, but never really had the chance to marvel at the process of knowing them and being amazed and surprised every time they brought out a new album, or a new song. Now I have had the unique opportunity of witnessing the astonishment, the awe, the hapiness of listening to such wonderful music for the first time. And this has all been thanks to you. I've totally enjoyed every second of your videos, and savoured each one of your profound and knowledgeable comments about the Beatles music. A million thanks.
Let's not forget that incredible album cover that's been imitated countless times. The Beatles didn't just change music as we know it, but also the visual aspects of how it was presented
_Beatles For Sale_ looks like it came out yesterday.
A wonderful set of vlogs on the greatest band to ever walk this earth. Watching new ears listen to these Albums at times bought tears to my eyes. I was bought up on the Beatles by my Scouse Dad so it’s very sentimental. Thank you for your time doing this ❤️
The journey isn't over. So much incredible music from their solo careers to explore.. This made me cry. Thank you
Since you wondered about how it must feel for them to look back at their work, I'd recommend you to watch "The Beatles Anthology" documentary series, which goes through their whole career with interviews with the four of them back in 1995 (John had already died at that point, but they used a bunch of excerpts from radio interviews he gave throughout the years), George Martin (their producer) and many others. It's probably the most comprehensive documentary on the beatles history alongside the recent "Get Back" series, though the later focus solely on the Let It Be days.
Yes I recommend she watch the Anthology
I hope the Anthology gets a recut or re-edit in the near future.
I'm really glad you liked it and I have to say, Abbey Road is by far my favorite album of The Beatles. I have nothing but good memories of it and that's mostly because of my Dad. You see, I was 17 at the time and we were on vacation in... somewhere I can't really remember and my Dad brought the CD and we were listening to it in the car as we drove around and I just remember being in awe over every single track on the album. A few years later I was talking with my Dad about it and he told me that Abbey Road was actually the first record he ever bought for himself so it held a very special place in his heart and when I started to buy Vinyl for myself I decided this had to be the first one. I love it so much and it's a great thing that I share with my Dad and one day I hope to share it with my own kids.
So fun watching you encounter Abbey Road for the first time.
I want you to imagine what it was like listening to this on an LP for the first time, when that abrupt ending occurs on "She's So Heavy" and the tone arm just lifts up and goes away. Even after you've heard it a jillion times it still like somebody waking you from a dream, you're just pulled out of the music so hard.
In "The End" everybody takes a solo and it's recorded live. John's is the very punkish, highly distorted guitar.
1) I definitely felt like I was rediscovering this album just by watching you listen to it for the first time.
2) The bass and drums on this entire album are just so good.
3) The abrupt way "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" ends and then "Here Comes the Sun" begins is such an amazing juxtaposition of songs. I know in the vinyl days, you would have had to get up and flip the record to get that sonic transition, but in our digital age, you just have to wait a couple second and then side 2 plays immediately. For me I visualize it going dark on the abrupt cutting of the first song & then the Sun peeking over the horizon at the start of the second song. It's a new day and side 2's medley is going to take us on a journey.
4) Don't fret about comparing yourself to The Beatles. After all, it took them around 10 years of making music to get to that point in their careers where they could write and compose Abby Road. I'm sure if a 1961-era Beatle had time traveled to 1969 he would have been blown away with the music. And it wasn't just one person composing the songs, they had a collaboration between each other. If you watch the "Get Back" documentary by Peter Jackson (which I highly recommend) you'll see George help Ringo with the writing of "Octopus's Garden." And then there's George Martin in the studio also helping with extra arrangements to the songs. I do hope this album inspires you more than gets you defeated.
5) You specifically added so much to this video series, Caroline. The way you used your musical knowledge to breakdown these songs (and previous Beatles songs) not only gave us a better understanding of the music, but is also something that most TH-cam reaction channels don't offer. So please take the compliment that what you offer in that particular TH-cam niche is a cut above.
Legit brought tears to my eyes seeing you listen to "Something". In my opinion, the most beautiful love song of all time. Along with "God Only Knows"
The harmonies on Because are incredible. There are versions of the song where they've isolated the voices and it's still haunting and lovely.
Abbey Road was the first Beatles album I bought.
Yup. The "Love" album (which is just great in its own right as a mesh up done quite right) opens with it.
i knew i would get sad watching this, but the way i was sobbing at the end surprised even myself. abbey road is my favorite album in this world and ending on it was such a great idea. oh, caroline, this journey was such a joy to witness, your videos brought me so much happiness and really helped me through a very rough time of my life. witnessing someone experience this band that means the entire world and a half to me for the first time with such an open heart and experienced mind was something i didn't expect to love so much. it made me fall in love with their music all over again and gave me something to look forward to during the past few months. thank you so much for these videos, for the joy and the good feelings you've brought me and everything else. i'm sure i'll keep coming back to this series many times in the future, and i'll stick around here too if i can. anyway, thank you again and i really wish you all the best.
Thank you Caroline for your perceptive and clearly genuine reactions to this album as well as the others. I'm impressed that you could appreciate so many songs the first time hearing them. You've clearly appreciated the journey. Now see if you can put yourself in the shoes of someone like me who was 7 when the Beatles first appeared on Ed Sullivan and 13 when they broke up. They took us on an incredible journey and shaped so much of the 60s culture. They were bigger than life. Can you appreciate the impact they had on us? Thanks again
Caroline, me reconforta ver a la gente joven como tu tan entusiasmada con la música de los Beatles y como haces un análisis alegre y espontáneo de su música, que demuestras conoces a fondo. Cuando Abbey Road se grabó yo tenía 18 años y lo disfrute tanto como veo lo haces tu ahora. Soy de Uruguay, and I'll send all my loving to you !!
Primer comentario que encuentro en castellano jeje. Pues yo recien tengo 21 y sigo descubriendo cosas de esta excelente banda 🤩🙌🏻
So many things to say, but the biggest is.....You absolutely fucking crushed it with this series. I feel like this has been the gold-standard of Beatles reaction videos on TH-cam. Your background, your personality, and your sense of humor were a perfect combination for this.
You summed it up so well, as a Gen-X listener you help re-establish my love for these songs. And your love of music and these songs made it a journey of re-discovery and your analysis added so much I missed. I will re-watch these videos just to share the joy you experience on first time listening and how well you articulate that. You’ve become one of the best Beatles musical historians by just listening well.
Interesting point about Here Comes the Sun. The one note going downward at the transition from intro to the first "here comes the sun" lyric line, was made with one of the first ever Moog synthesizers. George Harrison had bought one in the US (iirc, it was one of four in existence), and had it set up at Abbey Road to play around with and use on this album. The note was not supposed to drop down like that. It was supposed to be a sustained note, but the synth (for some reason), kept dropping the setting downward, giving it that high-to-low effect. George and the others loved it, and used it. And there you have it - the first Moog synthesizer use in a popular mainstream song!
I once read that they did try to fix it, but the tech was so new, that nobody could figure out how to fix it. So they just kept it in.
Not only was it one of the first Moog synths, Mr. Moog himself was AT EMI studios while they were doing the recording! He personally set it up. I don't think it was George playing it, I think it was most likely Paul.
@@loosilu , No, it is well documented that it's George playing the moog on Here Comes the Sun. However, Paul played it on Maxwell's Silver Hammer.
@@mrbungalowwillie thanks!!
It really is hard to imagine that they could have ended their journey together in any way better than the Abbey Road album. They truly were four individuals whose lives intersected in an almost supernatural way to create something never before heard, and never to be heard again in such a magnificent way. You are musical and very smart, and I truly appreciate that a person of your high caliber understands and appreciates just what a wonder they were, thereby confirming my own feelings about The Beatles. I am the bass player in The EggMen.
“She’s so heavy,” is actually a high compliment for 1969. “Heavy,” in the ‘60s vernacular, meaning deep, intense, and introspective. As in, “That’s so heavy, man.” He’s singing about Yoko, of course.
Lol, I bet he was talking about heroin instead... The song fits perfectly fine with it..
Believe it or not, even after Abbey Road, there's still plenty of Beatles content to be had. I saw someone else in the comments mention Real Love and Free As A Bird, which are touching tributes to John recorded by the remaining three Beatles in the 90s for the Anthology Project. They're genuinely heartwarming songs, and you should definitely give them a listen.
Also, my personal favorite Beatles project is Love, a mashup album produced by their producer, George Martin, and his son, Giles Martin, for a Cirque Du Soleil show featuring the Beatles music. The album is genuinely amazing, and it's mindblowing the things they came up with.
I think you should definitely check those out.
Great series, Caroline. Really loved watching all your insightful reactions. Now that you know the music, I hope you take the time to watch the 8-hour series "Get Back" on Disney plus. To really put personalities to the creation of the music is wonderful and I think you'll find watching them as they develop new material and eventually perform it live to be very inspiring. Also might want to give "Free As a Bird" and "Real Love" a listen. Thanks for your good work here!
This was a fun journey to go on. This band has been in my life since my teens (I'm in my 40s now) and I honestly can't even begin to express how much their music has meant to me. Their lyrics were so loaded with love, peace, empathy, and whimsy, but the accompanying music is otherworldly melodic, bouncy, fun, and richly textured.
As far as this album goes, this is, for me, such a bittersweet experience listening to it. This was it. It's over after this for them as a foursome. That it works at all, considering how checked out of the Beatles they all seemed to be, is kind of miraculous and a testament to their immense talents and synergies.
There are actually two more original Beatles songs you have not heard yet: Free As a Bird and Real Love, both recorded in the early 90s. The surviving Beatles took a rough demo recording by John Lennon and built two complete songs around them for release with a film biography of the band called The Beatles Anthology. The new recordings were engineered by Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra and they are in and of themselves an amazing technical feat since John’s demos were really, really rough (recorded on a simple mono home recorder).
I agree, those two songs deserve the same level of recognition as the rest of their catalogue... :)
@@mikesmithz someone told me if the Beatles carried on in the 70s they would have sounded like ELO. What do you think
Listening to those two songs now, the AI technology that exists now (even as used in the Get Back movie), they could really give those songs a proper redo and get John sounding better than they were able to edit in the 90's.
Caroline you are a breath of fresh air, and I have really enjoyed the journey with you. It is always a pleasure to see young people appreciate what real musicianship and true talent. From an older Australian to a young Australian I wish you well in your endeavours, your personality is one of your greatest assets. Thank you for evaluations and expressing your emotions in all your reactions
I vaguely remember reading somewhere that Maxwell's silver hammer is a metaphore for how things can totally go bad in a blink of an eye. Citation is definitely needed, but I like that point of view anyway - the melody is so happy and theeeeen it all goes to heck while keeping the cheery tone.
Also - the crazy thing about this whole journey through all the albums is how much the Beatles developed over a very short time. They started to record their first album in 1962 and finnished this one in 1969. Every time I think about that, I am in awe.
Everyone except Paul absolutely hated recording MSH. John called it one of Paul's "Granny songs" and Paul was such a perfectionist they got so tired of it... It's probably one of the factors that broke up the band.
And all finished up before any of them were 30 yrs old. Yow...
I thought it was a spoof on nursery rhymes, a happy-sounding simple tune with lyrics about a serial killer. Sounds like all nursery rhymes that weren't about kings and queens.
@@jasonremy1627 I'm with John, George and Ringo, it's one of the worst Beatle's songs.
@@jasonremy1627 Although John was completely wrong! He was just too close to all the work they had to do on it. It really is a great pop song. A throwback to pop in the face of 'rock'.
Abbey Road gives us a taste of what we’ve missed in the massive heights The Beatles would have reached had they stayed together. The scary thing is how this album was created just seven years after Please Please Me and when the oldest member of the band (Ringo) was just 30 years old and Goerge was only 26. There are some bands that stay together 40+ years and never reach such musical perfection in an album.
I dont think there has ever been a band that progressed so much in so short a time. Plus the technology, Sgt Pepper was created from four track masters, Abbey Road on eight track, imagine what they would have done with todays technology!
Try "Revolution in the Head" by Ian McDonald.
@@z0n0ph0ne with modern tech, they'd have taken forever, recorded separately, used Autotune. McCartney says how it was, in many ways, easier then because you had to make it memorable so you could play it the next day and you had to finish a song instead of having thousands of ideas on a phone
@@cuebj True, in fact the old tech with tape loops etc forced them to be more ingenious and creative
@@cuebj Absolutely true. Also, add to the fact that the Beatles in 69 were not 'poor'...but they weren't super-wealthy either. The royalties hadn't really began to kick in yet (thanks Alan Klein)..and it was the same for most 'legends' back in the day.. Elvis died with only $5 million in the bank..Rolling Stones once had their power cut off in their French chalet in 1968 because they couldn't afford an electric bill. I saw an interview with Alice Cooper talking about this and he stated that older rock stars were better for longer because they HAD to be. If they didnt play, they didn't eat. Now compare to todays tik-tok generation who sign $100 million deals when they're barely 20 years old... whats their motivation to improve ? It's hard to 'keep it real for the masses' when you're sitting in your Hollywood mansion.
I know. Look at Cliff and the Shads 🙄