The Beatles Rule
I'm going to pop some Beatles in now that I've read Charles's latest post:
It's official. The Beatles' Abbey Road is the best LP ever produced.
Something captures George at his most magnificent. Maxwell's Silver Hammer harnesses Paul's twee-ness into something greater. Come Together and I Want You (She's So Heavy) show John in his raw, blistering majesty. Even Octopus's Garden grasps of Ringo's silliness as a musical counterpoint.
And then side two... The whimsical Because... Because, where John takes Moonlight Sonata, plays it backwards, and transports us to another plane. And the whole medley from You Never Give Me Your Money right up to The End. snippets of brilliiance woven into a tapestry that none have ever since matched. Even Polythene Pam, the weakest song on the album, can be credited as the ideal bridge into She Came In Through the Bathroom Window, which segues so perfectly into the sublime Golden Slumbers.
Excellence. I feel privileged to be able to listen to it.
I am totally with you on this. There are numerous ways that the Beatles have given me enjoyment over the years, and their universal popularity means that Ana and I both know their songs (and I can explain what they mean to her now). My brother and his wife saw Paul in concert in LA and said it was great - I got them the CD for Christmas.
I've got about 1/2 of my CD collection ripped now, I'm going to have to make sure all the Beatles are on one MP3CD for listening later.
-Russ