Ranking of all tunes on Abbey Road | Page 7 | Fab Forum | The Beatles Bible

As always the Medley would be first on any list of songs I could possibly make but Ill do a ranking track for track despite being insistent on never breaking it apart. 

She Came In Through The Bathroom Window - The final cadence of The End is one of the best snippets of music ever recorded, but I think the drop into SCITtBW tops it. The shift into Ringo's mammoth sized pocket, the "oohs" and "ahhs," George's guitar fills are probably the finest playing of his Beatles career. Paul and John on the middle eight is one of their best duets. This song moves like a well oiled machine, effortlessly gliding between sections. In the context of the Medley its genuinely spiritual. 

Sun King - My favorite guitar riff ever. The instrumental alone makes in the most psychedelic song ever, but the lyrics are so subtly masterful. Glorious harmonies slowly unveil the Sun King ; and despite saying very little, you cling tightly to every word until you are led into a puddle of nonesense, that still carries and air of coolness and mystery. George Martin on the organ, such an underrated keys player, I always figured it was Billy Preston. The combination of the creative and prominent vocal arrangement with his organ part is the ultimate blaket for the swirling guitar part to lie in. 

Here Comes The Sun - what else can you say about this song. The synth part is so clean, it fits the song so well you barely notice that it is there. Of course its just another thing they were way ahead on. The song would be one of the greatest ever recorded with nothing but George and his acoustic guitar, instead its ornamented to perfection and we are better for it. 

You Never Give Me Your Money - Paul sits down in front of me at the piano and asks me what song to play. He's got some good ones, Id choose this. Georgous piano part paired with really psychedelic vocal inflections that shift ahd evolve throughout the song. Of course Ringo's drumming is a standout, Abbey Road is probably his strongest overal album. "Oh that magic feeling, nowhere to go" into the "ahhs" is so signature Beatles. Thats the best part of the song and up there with any moment from the Medley, or any Beatles song for that matter. 

I Want You (She's So Heavy) - John's vocal and George's guitar break are the standouts. The breakdown before "she's so" is actually pretty heavy, especially as the song progresses they start absolutely laying it down. Billy Preston and Paul both demolishing throughout.

Golden Slumbers - another Paul piano classic. Just an achingly beautiful song. Its a testament to his songwriting ability that this song sounds like its 1000 years old. 

Oh! Darling - to play karaoke on the hardest possible difficulty choose this song. One of a kind vocal performance, I think if you're ranking it based on that its probably the top choice of Paul's entire career. In a word: Spectacular. 

Something - George Harrison being in the Beatles is a full blown miracle. And while George has one of the finest moments of his career in every aspect, the most outstanding aspect of Something is the chemistry between the four of them as musicians. Pristine performances all around paired with immaculate production. 

Come Together - Despite being universally known and loved, its one of the most bizarre songs I've ever heard. Its so incredibly psychedelic, yet due to its popularity it almost defines the genre of "classic rock" even though there is very little that sounds like this before or after it. (And yes I know John ripped off Chuck Berry here.)

Octopus Garden - Over the years people have been trying to make their music sound 'watery'using any kind of gear you can imagine. I think George nails it here, ripping off one of his greatest riffs into a leslie. Its a great mix of rhythm and lead, harmony and melody, sound and silence. The guitar part alone elevates thisnsong really high on the list but I also just like the song. Its really great. 

The End - ok, I had to mention the final cadence as the very first thing because I knew the song as a whole wouldn't land at the top. The "oh yeah," the drum solo, and the guitar battle do very little for me to be honest. I don't think thats an unpopular opinion. Of course I embrace the comfort of hearing those sections again and again, becoming deeply familiar with them through the years. But its the ending of this song that I have to drop everything and let the song surround me. That single lyric is so legendary, and then the playout is such a great George moment. This is the best example of how he's able to puch so far above his technical weight as a guitarist. Every note chosen and placed perfectly. The definition of good phrasing. Don't care what anybody says about George, I think any other guitar player in history would fall short of the bar George set with that take. 

Because - I have to be in the right mood for this song because sometimes it feels a little bit too self indulgent. In rare instances the lyrics come across as shallow and insignificant while the harmonies feel meandering and tiresome. When it connects in the right moment though, it opens up a cosmic canvas the likes of which I've seldom heard. And the synth part is always awesome. 

Carry That Weight - this one has the YNGMYM reprise that is so so good followed by and incredible guitar interlude. The main section of the song is fine. 

Polythene Pam - This one is a lot of fun, my favorite part is probably the ad libs on the outro, along with, and I'll keep repeating it because its true of every song on this album, great drum work from Ringo, great bass work from Paul and great guitar work from George. 

Maxwell' Silver Hammer - A trend in this list is elevating songs based on single moments. I think its more fair for Carry That Weight ot The End because they are a part of the Medley, and each of those moments carry so much more context than just the song that it is a part of, although those two songs do set the stage well for the grand moments. Maxwell's has the "Silver Hammer" breaks. The one with the synth and the one with the 3 part harmony are both oustanding. The context for it however, is several meandering verses. Paul just doesn't have quite enough of an edge here to pull off the juxtaposition between cheerful instrumental and dark lyrics, something that he accomplishes so well in so many songs, contrasting moods between his music and lyrics. Zevon does the cheerful killing song better with Excitable Boy. 

Mean Mr. Mustard - I honestly like this song better than everything above it until Octopus, so I don't know why I'm putting it so low, but I think its because it doesn't have any one moment that stands up to the ones mentioned above. Its a reliable, high floor low ceiling tune and Abbey Road is all about bursting through the ceiling into the stars. 

Her Majesty - Its nice. Paul has better acoustic demos from so many other periods, its place in Beatles lore is iconic but its placement on Abbey Road is a blemish. It adds to the story and intrigue of the album but takes away some of the magic. 

sigh butterfly said
Hey @sir walter raleigh Nice AR ranking and song reviews. You Never Give Me Your Money has always been a standout for me as well. When I climbed off the ship in Liverpool and saw the Liver Bird, I was quietly singing One sweet dream came true today (yes it did).  

I see you have dropped a new album. I'll be checking out NowThen this weekend...

  

Now Then and Is This Thing On? If you like what you hear there's 2 new albums for you to check out.