After the laborious disorganization and infighting that characterized early 1969's LET IT BE sessions (as famously captured on film), the fractious four were willing to let George Martin take the reins and to work with him as a cohesive unit for the much more succinct production of their (and the decade's) swan song, ABBEY ROAD. The superb performances make the album an artistic high point for all members of the group. Paul McCartney inspired the suite of songs that begins with "You Never Give Me Your Money." Often thought of as two long medleys, the songs that fill most of the second half of ABBEY ROAD segue seamlessly into one another, but are programmed as separate CD tracks. George Harrison had his first A-side on a Beatles' single ("Something"); John Lennon contributed a pair of heavy rockers ("Come Together" and "I Want You"); and Ringo Starr's "Octopus's Garden" was a favorite with children.

The Beatles: Paul McCartney (vocals, guitar, keyboards, bass); John Lennon (vocals, guitar, keyboards); George Harrison (vocals, guitar, synthesizer); Ringo Starr (vocals, drums, percussion).Rolling Stone (12/11/03, p.94) - Ranked #14 in Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums Of All Time" - "...Superb songs cut with an attention to refined detail, then segued together with conceptual force..." Q (6/00, p.78) - Ranked #17 in Q's "100 Greatest British Albums" - "The last Beatles LP to be recorded...it [has] extremely well-drilled and elaborate song structures....the quick-fire 8 track medley starting with 'You Never Give Me Your Money' and ending with 'The End' is unprecedented in rock..."

ABBEY ROAD, recorded in the summer of 1969, was the last album recorded by the Beatles (LET IT BE was released in 1970, but recorded in early '69).


Greatest Hits CD
  by Jay & The Americans
Our Price: $7.75
Usually ships in 1-2 days

Nice price 10 track collection from Collectables featuring top selling hits like 'She Cried' & 'Only In America'. 2003.

Greatest Hits is a budget-priced, ten-track selection of some of Jay & the Americans' hits, and while there are plenty of essential items missing, it still functions as a good, affordable sampler, featuring such hits as "She Cried," "Come a Little Bit Closer," "Think of the Good Times," "Crying," "This Magic Moment," and "Walkin' in the Rain." The 2003 Collectables reissue has the same track list as the 1992 CEMA Special Markets release but sports different packaging.~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

As far as it goes, this 26-minute CD is pretty good, as a sort of bite-sized account of the group's chart hits -- about the same length and ten songs that an oldies station might program in a "special" on the group's history. The mastering is better than decent, which is a surprise, as this release pre-dates the general upgrade that began in the mid-'90s -- the group's tracks always translated well to CD, in any era of the format, and only "She Cried" doesn't quite measure up to the quality of the rest. There are no notes at all, not a surprise considering the seven dollar list price, but if this material isn't reasonably self-explanatory, then there's no '60s rock music that is. ~ Bruce Eder

Greatest Hits is a budget-priced, ten-track selection of some of Jay & the Americans' hits, and while there are plenty of essential items missing, it still functions as a good, affordable sampler, featuring such hits as "She Cried," "Come a Little Bit Closer," "Think of the Good Times," "Crying," "This Magic Moment," and "Walkin' in the Rain." The 2003 Collectables reissue has the same track list as the 1992 CEMA Special Markets release but sports different packaging.~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine


  Music by the decades: [50's] [60's] [70's]  [80's] [90's]