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Topic ClosedAbbey Road: A fantastic progressive rock album.

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The Switch Blade View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Topic: Abbey Road: A fantastic progressive rock album.
    Posted: August 28 2009 at 13:57
Discuss.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 28 2009 at 13:59
sucky troll is sucky troll. At least tell us why you think so. Not that I disagree, but if you want to get reactions out of people at least open with a better line than "Discuss"
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 28 2009 at 14:04
Word.

Edited by Slartibartfast - August 28 2009 at 19:18
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 28 2009 at 14:09

What if he say just: "Behold, Abbey Road. Repent sinners and worship this mighty record". 

No offence AR, I want to give you 5 star rating and hundreds of words, but this is not kind.

There's a point where "avant-garde" and "experimental" becomes "terrible" and "pointless,"

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 28 2009 at 14:15
"Come Together" starts off the album with an odd bass/drum riff, unorthodox lyrics, and irregularly recorded vocals. Completely unique to anything the public had heard at the time. Very experimental while staying within the realms of verse/chorus. That's crossover prog.

"I Want You (She's So Heavy)" has unusual length and structure and uses a moog synthesizer to make white noise. It also ends suddenly.

"Because" supposedly plays the chord progression to "Moonlight Sonata" backwards. It also has somewhat odd instrumentation and overdubbed vocals for large harmonies.

Then comes a sixteen minute Abbey Road Medley that takes you on a journey all over the place. The Sun King, Mean Mr. Mustard, Polythene Pam? They destroy the verse/chorus structure (the hallmark of progressive music) and hit eight different movements. If this track was released by anyone but the Beatles it would be praised as a brilliant opus of progressive rock.

"Her Majesty" was cut straight from the middle and tacked on the end, with a crash starting the song and an abrupt ending. Oh boy!

There are (obviously) a few tracks on the album that aren't progressive in nature. However, "Wish You Were Here" and "Have a Cigar" are hardly progressive, and they make up more of progarchives' favorite progressive rock album than these songs do on Abbey Road.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 28 2009 at 14:28
Originally posted by The Switch Blade The Switch Blade wrote:


There are (obviously) a few tracks on the album that aren't progressive in nature. However, "Wish You Were Here" and "Have a Cigar" are hardly progressive, and they make up more of progarchives' favorite progressive rock album than these songs do on Abbey Road.

True, but all the Shine On.. parts together make up 26 minutes, added together with Welcome to the Machine that comes to 33 minutes of a 44 minute album. I would add up the songs on Abbey Road but I don't know what constitutes as not progressive.

I do love Abbey Road though.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 28 2009 at 14:32
Good post above, TSB.

It's, imo, the Beatle's greatest album, and has progressive qualities, but be warned that this topic will be moved to the Proto-Prog and Prog-Related Lounge since this forum is intended for bands that are included in prog categories whether we think certain albums Prog or not (of course, it would have been moved to a different Prog forum if The Beatles were in a Prog category -- the featured albums one).

Incidentally, bing progressive (adjective), or even progressive rock is not necessarily enough to be deemed Progressive Rock (noun).


Edited by Logan - August 28 2009 at 14:36
Two tracks per many of my fave acts: A Youtube Playlist
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 28 2009 at 14:47
Golden Slumbers/Carry that Weight/The End.  Nuff' said.  
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 28 2009 at 16:14
Yes it's progressive and it's a damn fantastic album!
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 28 2009 at 19:03
The Abbey Road medley is archetypal of one of the primary qualities of progressive rock, its rapid progression of themes in an extended song.  However, it may be the Beatles relative lack of technical skill on the instruments (on average as Ringo Starr does tend to lower the average a bit) which makes the Beatles seem less than a full on progressive band.
 
But there is no doubt that the Abbey Road medley is a primary inspiration for what was to become progressive rock in short order.
 
After the creative exercise that was the White Album, the Abbey Road medley was a kind of distillation of the White Album's experimentation with styles into a highly concentrated musical form. 
 
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 28 2009 at 19:18
I really like all Beatles albums from Rubber Soul onward.  Regard the rest as ok but I am not a completionist.
Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 28 2009 at 19:32
Abbey Road is a masterpiece, my favorite 1969 album (great prog year), and a full blown prog album. The 17-minute closing medley/epic is one of my favorite songs, and this shows how much they evolved from early 60's R&R.

This album is part of the reason why I think The Beatles should be in Xover. They basically define it! They have art rock elements, and (later on) had different song structures without epic song-lengths. If they weren't known for their early work, and if they weren't so damn popular (same problem Metallica faces on this site) I'm pretty sure it would be in a different subgenre. If the Moodies are considered Xover, so should the Beatles IMO.

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 28 2009 at 21:00
Definetly a masterpiece of proto prog. The albums structure, instrumentation, and recording techniques are all staples of what would become and is progressive rock. The Beatles are very important to the development of prog, if they didn't experiment as they did, there are many bands that wouldn't have been influenced to follow in that spirit and expand it.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 29 2009 at 03:22
Originally posted by King By-Tor King By-Tor wrote:

sucky troll is sucky troll. At least tell us why you think so. Not that I disagree, but if you want to get reactions out of people at least open with a better line than "Discuss"
 
Fair point, but perhaps a more tactful reaction to a newbee finding his way would have more appropriate. Wink
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 29 2009 at 03:29
I like Her Majesty


...the song I mean


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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 29 2009 at 03:55
Originally posted by Atavachron Atavachron wrote:

I like Her Majesty


...the song I mean


#

yeah yeah....thats what they all say.

I'm listening to it now for the first time in ages.So dam good.I love the vocal performance from McCartney on Oh darling! and his bass playing all round.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 29 2009 at 11:29
"Ringo Starr does tend to lower the average a bit"

Ringo Starr did a fantastic job on Abbey Road. "Come Together," "She Came In Through the Bathroom Window," and "The End" in particular.

I'm pretty sure we wouldn't have "Baba O'Reilly" without "The End." Give the man some credit!
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 29 2009 at 12:23
It's OK, but mostly warmed over left-overs from the Let It Be sessions.  LiB is the true Beatles classic, and I'll go to my grave failing to convince people of that.  The sheer emotion and poignancy of those songs makes crap like Poly Pam and Mr Mustard and Maxwell sound like tripe.  Though Harrison did very well on Abbey, I'll give it that. 
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 29 2009 at 12:51
Originally posted by Finnforest Finnforest wrote:

It's OK, but mostly warmed over left-overs from the Let It Be sessions.  LiB is the true Beatles classic, and I'll go to my grave failing to convince people of that.  The sheer emotion and poignancy of those songs makes crap like Poly Pam and Mr Mustard and Maxwell sound like tripe.  Though Harrison did very well on Abbey, I'll give it that. 


You'll never convince people of that, no, but I can agree that it is their most underrated album. Definitely a GREAT album.

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 29 2009 at 16:25
Originally posted by The Switch Blade The Switch Blade wrote:

"Ringo Starr does tend to lower the average a bit"

Ringo Starr did a fantastic job on Abbey Road. "Come Together," "She Came In Through the Bathroom Window," and "The End" in particular.

I'm pretty sure we wouldn't have "Baba O'Reilly" without "The End." Give the man some credit!
 
I think you are thinking of Moon's solo in Won't Get Fooled Again...? I certainly see similarities... but where Ringo's solo essentially just keeps time, Moon's soars...

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