Abbey Road

Track Listings

1. Come Together

2. Something

3. Maxwell's Silver Hammer

4. Oh! Darling

5. Octopus's Garden

6. I Want You (She's So Heavy)

7. Here Comes the Sun

8. Because

9. You Never Give Me Your Money

10. Sun King

11. Mean Mr. Mustard

12. Polythene Pam

13. She Came in Through the Bathroom Window

14. Golden Slumbers

15. Carry That Weight

16. End

17. Her Majesty

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com essential recording
The Beatles' last days as a band were as productive as any major pop phenomenon that was about to split. After recording the ragged-but-right Let It Be, the group held on for this ambitious effort, an album that was to become their best-selling. Though all four contribute to the first side's writing, John Lennon's hard-rocking, "Come Together" and "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" make the strongest impression. A series of song fragments edited together in suite form dominates side two; its portentous, touching, official close ("Golden Slumbers"/"Carry That Weight"/"The End") is nicely undercut, in typical Beatles fashion, by Paul McCartney's cheeky "Her Majesty," which follows. --Rickey Wright --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Tracks:

Come Together
Something
Maxwell's Silver Hammer
Oh! Darling
Octopus's Garden
I Want You (She's So Heavy)
Here Comes the Sun
Because
You Never Give Me Your Money
Sun King
Mean Mr. Mustard
Polythene Pam
She Came in Through the Bathroom Window
Golden Slumbers
Carry That Weight
End
Her Majesty

Amazon.com essential recording

The Beatles' last days as a band were as productive as any major pop phenomenon that was about to split. After recording the ragged-but-right Let It Be, the group held on for this ambitious effort, an album that was to become their best-selling. Though all four contribute to the first side's writing, John Lennon's hard-rocking, "Come Together" and "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" make the strongest impression. A series of song fragments edited together in suite form dominates side two; its portentous, touching, official close ("Golden Slumbers"/"Carry That Weight"/"The End") is nicely undercut, in typical Beatles fashion, by Paul McCartney's cheeky "Her Majesty," which follows. --Rickey Wright

Customer Reviews:

I am buying a new copy.......2007-07-13

This is my favorite album (well, one of them), so I have wrecked mine by listening to it on the beach.... Number 10 to the end are totally WRECKED. So here I am, buying a new copy. I haven't heard the second half of the album in a loooong time!

Great songwriting and production of Romantic Pop Rock.......2007-07-12

If you are a fan of angry music, this ain't for you (sorry). In the context of the times it had a certain charm and still retains much of the original charm. If you are not a romantic, don't try to understand this album or band. Because the Beatles were, if nothing else, hopeless romantics who used music to find love. On that level Abbey Road works quite well. For the segment of the population that enjoys romantic rock you will find this collection of songs rewarding.

If I could pick only one Beatles CD to play this would be it.......2007-07-08

The Fab Four were at the top of their form and their work was varied and adventurous on "Abbey Road". While murder wasn't a totally unknown topic in rock, "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" with its bright instrumentation blew our minds back in the day.

Odd and sad that "Come Together" opens this CD and it was the last of their big hits together. I've rearranged this one on my iPod so that "Golden Slumbers" and is the last of this offering. Just seemed fitting to me.

My personal favorite.......2007-07-08

I was a college freshman in 1963 when the Beatles burst upon the scene in the United States. For the next 7 years, my friends and I waited with baited breath for each new album release. By 1970, the party was over for the Beatles, but their music lives on and has been embraced by each succeeding generation. What has always amazed me is how their music could be so diverse, innovative and flat-out wonderful and at the same time be so commercially successful. One does not usually associate high artistic quality with mass popularity.

I will avoid the unproveable assertion that "Abbey Road" is the group's best album but will state unequivocably that it is my all-time favorite. The music is truly inspired, particularly the medley on the second side. I am truly grateful that the Beatles stayed together long enough to record this masterpiece.

Fab Four's True Swan Song.......2007-06-28

'Abbey Road' is the last Beatles album, although 'Let It Be' was released afterwards. After all these years and listening to this record on vinyl, I got to say this is one of the best sounding albums of all time. Despite the fact that sound quality technology has been refined over the last 40 years, no one could do it better then the Beatles.
"Come Together" begans this album and always has been one of my Top favorite Beatle songs. Another favorite and beginning side two is "Here Comes the Sun" which I believe is George Harrison's best song out of all of the fab fours catalog. One of his best loved songs.
Sure, there are rather silly songs like Paul's "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" (which I truly enjoyed growing up, still do) and Ringo's "Octopus' Garden" - but I believe these songs add surrealism and fun to one of The Beatles' best.
'Abbey Road' truly is the last Great Beatles album. The band with this release provides a very cohesive sound, working together, although they were on the verge of splitting up.
Ringo Starr's drumming is at his best on this record, especially on tracks like "Oh! Darling" and "The End"
To me, 'Abbey Road' sounds Worlds ahead of 'Let It Be'-which is still a great album. On 'Let It Be' is the album that the Fab Four sound like independent members, rather then what they do best - working together.
- A perfect end to the World's Greatest pop band.

Itzhak Perlman - A la carte / Lawrence Foster

Average customer rating:

An Outstanding Collection
Gorgeous playing, beautiful pieces.

Itzhak Perlman - A la carte / Lawrence Foster
Jules Massenet , Sergey Rachmaninov , Pablo de Sarasate , Alexander Glazunov , Fritz Kreisler , Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky , Henryk Wieniawski , Lawrence Foster , Itzhak Perlman , and The Abbey Road Ensemble
Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000002RVH
Release Date: 1996-03-12

Tracks:

Meditation (Thais)
Mazurka-Obereque: Mazurka - Obereque
Vocalise, Op.34, No.14
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Customer Reviews:

An Outstanding Collection.......2002-02-12

Here is Perlman at the top of his game- performing short Romantic and turn-of-the-century gems. Perlman has always seemed to revel in this specific era in classical music. From Glazunov's fiery Mazurka, to Pablo de Sarasate's virtuosic jaunt, to the simple, romatic charm of Kreisler's "Schon Rosmarin", Itzhak Perlman and the Abbey Road Ensemble deliver with graceful mastery. I've never heard Massenet's Meditations from "Thais" performed with more passion and elegance.
A lot of violinists, myself included, feel that Perlman has had a rather inconsistent recording career, and A La Carte should be impressive and refreshing for his critics. The exceptional sound quality of this recording makes it a very involving experience and great addition to any audiophile's collection. I never tire of this album, and it is a mainstay and a favorite in my collection. I recommend it 100%.

Gorgeous playing, beautiful pieces........1998-10-29

This collection of rarely performed pieces is a fantastic record. Perlman's playing, as usual, is a feast for the ears. The lush accompaniment is equally beautiful. The pieces are accessible to the classical connoisseur as well as the novice. This is the perfect album for a winter afternoon around the house.

Late Orchestration: Live at Abbey Road Studios

Average customer rating:

Impressive
Brilliant, it's that simple.
A Masterpiece

Late Orchestration: Live at Abbey Road Studios
Kanye West
Manufacturer: Umvd Import
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Late Orchestration
Late Orchestration
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ASIN: B000F6ZFDQ
Release Date: 2006-06-06

Tracks:

Diamonds from Sierra Leone [Live]
Touch the Sky [Live]
Crack Music [Live]
Drive Slow [Live]
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Heard 'Em Say [Live]
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Late [Live]
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Album Description

Import only release! Recorded in front of 300 personally invited guests and fans at Abbey Road Studios (the famous Beatles studio) in the UK on September 21st, 2005. Kanye was backed with a 17-piece all-female string orchestra and featured guest appearances by John Legend and Goldie Lookin' Chain. The CD release features the full perfomance (12-tracks) along with an additional bonus track, 'Gold Digger' (Live at AOL). Universal. 2006

Album Details

The Controversial Hip-hop Superstar Follows Up his Second Studio Album "Late Registration" with this Live Recording Taped at London's Legendary Abbey Road Studios Before a Specially Invited Audience of 300 Lucky Fans. The Musicians on Hand Included the Backing of a Full Symphony Orchestra. West Gives it his all for this Performance of his Biggest Hits and his Cerebral Rhymes Get the Benefit of a Huge Soundbed which Completely Alters the Dynamics of the Songs.

Customer Reviews:

Impressive.......2007-05-02

This is really a classic. The orchestrated live versions of the songs just sound incredible. It's a must have for any fan of Ye.

Brilliant, it's that simple. .......2006-05-15

This is the most amazing live hip-hop CD I have ever heard. The fact that it took a beat junkie like Ye to come up with something like this is NOT suprising in the least. It sounds a lot like the Live Portishead album of a while back. The string section does not overpower Ye and the beats, but take the songs to such a different place, it's mind blowing. The subtelty of it is amazing. I'm sure anyone checking this out is familiar with all of these songs, and this might not be up some peoples ally. But damn, It was recorded at Abby Road, you can almost hear John Lennon smile in the strings. This man will single handedly change hip-hop forever. Much like the Beatles changed pop music. Brilliant.

A Masterpiece.......2006-05-12

Once again Kanye returns with another gem...While not an official LP this Live Album recorded in the Abbey Road Studios home of the Beatles, takes Kanye and hip hop music to a whole new dimension...

From Track 1-13 all of Kanye's hits packed into one cd played exceptionally well backed by a 17 piece orchestra (hence "Late Orchestration") and special appearances from G.O.O.D Music including John Legend, GLC, Consequence, and also Lupe Fiasco on the Hit "Touch The Sky"...

Even if your not a hip hop or R&B fan you can still appreciate the music and the production layed out by Kanye...Still not sure why he didn't release this in the U.S. but for you true Ye fans this CD is also available on DVD packed with alot of extra footage of his 5 music videos off Late Registration, interviews, and never before seen footage...

Average customer rating:

I am buying a new copy
Great songwriting and production of Romantic Pop Rock
If I could pick only one Beatles CD to play this would be it
My personal favorite
Fab Four's True Swan Song

Abbey Road
The Beatles
Manufacturer: Toshiba EMI
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00005GL0U
Release Date: 1998-03-11

Tracks:

Come Together
Something
Maxwell's Silver Hammer
Oh! Darling
Octopus's Garden
I Want You (She's So Heavy)
Here Comes the Sun
Because
You Never Give Me Your Money
Sun King
Mean Mr. Mustard
Polythene Pam
She Came in Through the Bathroom Window
Golden Slumbers
Carry That Weight
End
Her Majesty

Amazon.com essential recording

Customer Reviews:

I am buying a new copy.......2007-07-13

Great songwriting and production of Romantic Pop Rock.......2007-07-12

If I could pick only one Beatles CD to play this would be it.......2007-07-08

My personal favorite.......2007-07-08

Fab Four's True Swan Song.......2007-06-28

At Abbey Road 1963-1966/At Abbey Road 1966-1970/At Abbey Road 1973-1989

Average customer rating:

Wow. The best anthology available today for Hollies fans.
At Abbey Road 63 - 1989

At Abbey Road 1963-1966/At Abbey Road 1966-1970/At Abbey Road 1973-1989
The Hollies
Manufacturer: EMI Int'l
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The Hollies/Would You Believe?
At Abbey Road: 1963-1966
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ASIN: B00004W3LE
Release Date: 2000-09-11

Tracks:

(Ain't That) Just Like Me
Hey What's Wrong With Me
Searchin'
Whole World Over
Poison Ivy (With Studio Conversation)
Stay
Now's The Time
Just One Look
Keep Off That Friend Of Mine
Here I Go Again
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Nobody
I'm Alive
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Look Through Any Window
So Lonely
If I Needed Someone
I've Got A Way Of My Own
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Running Through The Night
Bus Stop
Don't Run And Hide
Stop Stop Stop
It's You

Tracks:

Pay You Back With Interest
On A Carousel
All The World Is Love
Schoolgirl
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King Midas In Reverse
Everything Is Sunshine
Dear Eloise
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Man With No Expression
Listen To Me
Do The Best You Can
Blowing In The Wind
Sorry Suzanne
Not That Way At All
He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother
Cos You Like To Love Me
Sign Of The Times
I Can't Tell The Bottom From The Top
Man Professor Blyth
Gasoline Alley Bred
Dandelion Wine
Confessions Of A Mind

Tracks:

The Day That Curly Billy Shot Down Crazy Sam McGee
Transatlantic Westbound Jet
Tip Of The Iceberg
That Air That I Breathe
Give Me Time
Son Of A Rotten Gambler
Layin' To The Music
4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
Come Down To The Shore
I'm Down
Samuel
Crocodile Woman (She Bites)
Harlequin
Say It Ain't So Joe
Lovin' You Ain't Easy
Satellite 3
Take My Love And Run
Too Many Hearts Get Broken
Find Me A Family
No Rules

Album Description

All three of the top British Invasion group's Abbey Road compilations boxed up together at a special low price! As well as giving listeners more bang for the buck, this package gives them a great overview of the band's changes musically & otherwise from their start in the early '60s through their dissolution in the '80s. The first disc, 1963-66, is a 28 track collection including studio chatter, previously unreleased recordings and classics like 'Stop Stop Stop', 'Bus Stop', 'Look Through Any Window' and more. The second, 1966-70 features 24 tracks including hits, rarities, B-sides and the previously unreleased tracks, 'Schoolgirl' and 'Sign Of The Times' 2. The third and final disc spans 1973-1989 and contains 20 tracks, including 'The Air That I Breathe', 'Curly Billy' and four previously unreleased tracks, 'Tip Of The Icebberg', 'Samuel', 'Come Down To The Shore' and 'Lovin' You Ain't Easy'. 72 digitally remastered recordings each digitally

Album Details

Three classic albums in one slipcase presentation.

Customer Reviews:

Wow. The best anthology available today for Hollies fans........2002-10-09

Until the likes of Rhino or Columbia/Legacy get their chnace to put out a definite Hollies anthology, this is the best choice for someone looking to get the full flavor of the best British harmony band, and one of the most reliable 60s hit machines this side of Creedence Clearwater Revival. The Hollies deserve to be mentioned in the same reverential tones reserved for the Who, the Stones, the Kinks and even the Fab Ones, and the At Abbey Road trilogy is ample proof of their deserved place in that pantheon of British Invasion groups. 72 tracks on 3 discs covering three dfecades, and alnost too much good stuff to handle at one sitting.

Disc One has all their earliest singles and B-sides, up to the songs that broke them big in the states -- Bus Stop and Stop! Stop! Stop! The vocal belnd of Alan Clarke, Tony Hicks and Graham Nash, who were also a formidable writing team. Disc Two has the remainder of their US sixties hits (except fro Jennifer Eccles, for some reason), especially their buggest US smash, the anthemic "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother). Disc Three is less comeplete, omitting quite a few singles, possibly because they were not recorded at Abbey Road. You won;t find "Long Cool Woman" on this collection, for example, but you will find "The Air That I Breathe" and their cover of Springsteen's "Sandy" which easily somokjes the Boss's original version.

Throughout, you get ample proof that Tony Hicks, who has been with the group since its first single, is one of the great unbsung guitar heroes of British rock. He has such versatily and such a sense of the right sound to flavor the mix that re really beings up there with the likes of George Harrison, Brian Jones and Pete Townsend.

Buy and savor, firneds, and them explore the rest of this group's oeuvre. You will not be disappointed.

At Abbey Road 63 - 1989.......2001-03-14

This is a box set full of Hollies Rarities. Disc 1 has 28 tracks, disc 2 has 24 tracks, and disc 3 has 20 tracks. This anthology spands their entire career from the Graham Nash years, the Terry Sylvester years, and to their recent lineup with Allan Clarke. On CD for the first time are the songs Schoolgirl,Sign of the Times, Tip Of The Iceberg, Come Down To The Shore, Samuel, and Loving You Ain't Easy. Included are some tracks from the 80s(which most Hollies compilations never include) Too Many Hearts Get Broken, Find Me A Family, and No Rules. From listening to this box set from the first CD to the last, you can tell how the Hollies continue to improve their sound from album to album. A great compilation spanning their entire career.

Average customer rating:

'Psychedelia At Abbey Road: 1965-1969' (EMI) Various Artists
Best of British Psychedelia
Great songs, excellent sound
Psychedelia, British Style!
top notch sound

Psychedelia at Abbey Road: 1965-1969
Various Artists
Manufacturer: EMI Int'l
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Release Date: 1998-09-01

Tracks:

Sunshine Superman - Donovan
My White Bicycle - Tomorrow
Delighted to See You [#]
Sunny South Kensington - Donovan
Circus With a Female Clown - Fingers
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Album Description

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Album Details

Digitally Remastered Psychedelic Era Tracks that Were Recorded at the Famed Studio from the Likes of Donovan (2 New Stereo Mixes Here of Sunshine Superman and Sunny South Kensington), Hollies, Pretty Things, Syd Barrett, Locomotive, the Fingers and M.

Customer Reviews:

'Psychedelia At Abbey Road: 1965-1969' (EMI) Various Artists.......2006-08-28

Total of 22 tracks of some of the really truly great under-rated UK psychedelic bands of the late '60's.A lot of fun to listen to late at night.You get at least one cut by Donovan,Pretty Things,Tomorrow(pre-Yes and Pink Fairies short-lived ensemble)and Syd Barrett(R.I.P.)as well as tunes from some lesser known acts like Nocturnes,Fingers and The Koobas.A must-have,but ONLY if you're a TRUE psych fan.Enjoy.

Best of British Psychedelia.......2004-12-09

An excellent collection of British psychedelia; I own many psychedelic compilations, and this is hands-down one of the best. This disc features artists from the well known, like Donovan and The Hollies; to the somewhat known, like Syd Barrett, The Pretty Things, and Tomorrow; to the relatively unknown (in the U.S.), like The Moles, Fingers, and The Gods (different from The Godz).

There are many excellent tracks on this album, my favorites are Wlking Through My Dreams, and excellent psychedelic offering from the Pretties, and the relatively obscure classic My White Bicycle from Tomorrow (one of the three big "underground" psych. acts, along with Pink Floyd and The Soft Machine). I also enjoyed Tomorrow's cover of Why (originally by The Byrds), The Hollies' clever King Midas In Reverse, Fingers' Circus with a Female Clown (somewhat reminiscient of Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite), The Gods take on The Beatles' Hey Bulldog, and of course Donovan's classic Sunshine Superman.

Overall, a higly recommended compilation for any fan of psychedelia or the British swingin' 60s scene in general.

Great songs, excellent sound.......2002-12-08

A really great anthology including a handful of absolute must-haves....especially the amazing "Circus With A Female Clown" by The Fingers and "We Are The Moles, Part 1" by The Moles. Great notes and sound makes this a really worthwhile package. Get it before it's deleted.....

Psychedelia, British Style!.......2000-10-18

This is a phantasmagorical collection of 60's pyschedelic rock and pop. Either a great way introduce yourself to a fascinating era in music, or an excellent way to get ahold of some hard to find tracks. Of interest also to prog rock fans (prog rock's roots lie in psychedelia) for the tracks by Tomorrow (featuring a 17-year old Steve Howe on guitar before he joined up with Yes) and "Kites" by Simon Dupree and the Big Sound, a precurser to the band Gentle Giant. The CD comes with colourful detailed liner notes too. A must buy for any fan of psychedelic music!

top notch sound.......1999-08-16

If your bag is 60s english psych this is a goodie.The sound quality is superior as of all the "at Abbey Road " series.Some of these bands were unknown in the U.S. but here is your chance for rediscovery of some ace songs. Tommorrow was my fave, but actually they are all good.

Average customer rating:

For a Cover Album, this is very good
How do you make a tribute just months after the original?
Surprisingly Good for a "Beatles Cover CD". Benson at Best.
OK, but it could have been much better
A Bit Bumpy, But Still A Nice Side Trip

The Other Side of Abbey Road
George Benson
Manufacturer: A&M
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Release Date: 1998-03-24

Tracks:

Golden Slumbers/You Never Give Me Your Money
Because/Come Together
Oh! Darling
Here Comes The Sun/I Want You (She's So Heavy)
Something/Octopus's Garden/The End

Customer Reviews:

For a Cover Album, this is very good.......2006-05-14

While most people consider "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" not only the greatest Beatles album of all time, but the greatest album of all time - I tend to think that "Abbey Road" is the superior album. One reason why I think "Abbey Road" stands out is the state of the Beatles as a band during the time of recording. "Abbey Road" was recorded at a time when tensions and emotions were high between the four members of the band. It is when emotions are high that often a band produces their best work. Fleetwood Mac also did their best work under similar circumstances. Tensions and emotions between the members of Fleetwood Mac were running high when they recorded "Rumours" - and it became their most successful album. Great works are often targets to be covered by other artists. "Rumours" was an album that was covered by a variety of artists on a tribute album: "Legacy: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac's Rumours". While there was an admirable job of the covers on this collection, it failed to capture the emotions of the original. When I discovered George Benson's "The Other Side of Abbey Road", my initial fears that surrounded the Fleetwood Mac "Legacy" cover began to surface. My curiosity of seeing a legendary Jazz artist such as Benson cover my favorite album outweighed the fears I was having. While I knew it was going to be impossible for Benson to reach the level of emotion that the Beatles had on "Abbey Road", I was very surprised how close Benson came to hitting the mark, I was surprised how much Benson "got it" when it came to covering "Abbey Road".

George Benson is basically a jazz guitarist and vocalist. In the 1970s Benson suddenly found success as a pop star with such hits as "On Broadway", "Give Me the Night", and "Turn Your Love Around". It was Benson's "This Masquerade" that gave him critical acclaim as he would take the coveted award at the 1977 Grammy Awards for Record of the Year. Many people forget that Benson's musical roots are in jazz. It is a jazz cover of "Abbey Road" that is done on "The Other Side of Abbey Road".

It is important to note that "The Other Side of Abbey Road" is not a full cover of the Beatles' "Abbey Road". There are only 10 songs that are included on "The Other Side of Abbey Road". The songs that are missing are "Maxwell's Silver Hammer", "Sun King", "Mean Mr. Mustard", "Polythene Pam", "She Came in Through the Bathroom Window", "Carry That Weight", and "Her Majesty". This was something that I found disappointing because I have an immediate curiosity about how Benson would have covered these songs.

Benson does not order the remaining songs in the order in which they appear on the original Beatles' "Abbey Road" album. Normally this would be something that disappoints me, however Benson structures the 10 songs included into 5 tracks. Four of the five tracks include combining two or more songs on one track. The five tracks are "Golden Slumbers/You Never Give Me Your Money", "Because/Come Together", "Oh! Darling" (the only 'single' track), "Here Comes The Sun/I Want You (She's So Heavy)", and "Something/Octopus' Garden/The End" (the one track with more than 2 songs). While I didn't feel I would like the way that Benson combined the songs - it works. Benson does a beautiful job at providing the fusion needed on each of these tracks. Benson could have easily found a way to fuse all ten tracks together into a single one - but I do think the way he combined the songs helps to break things up a bit.

Benson also doesn't sing all of the tracks. He uses instrumentals for some of the covers while providing partial vocals on others - and this also hits the mark beautifully. Benson also assembles a terrific orchestra to cover the songs. This includes Strings, Woodwinds, Brass, Percussion, and Piano! Included in this band is Herbie Hancock on piano.

Here is a brief summary of the five tracks:

"Golden Slumbers/You Never Give Me Your Money": Benson "wraps" at the beginning and end a vocalized "Golden Slumbers" around an instrumental "You Don't Give Me Your Money". "Golden Slumbers" has an orchestral feel to it while "You Don't Give Me Your Money" a smooth jazz feel to it (that also has some orchestral qualities to it).

"Because/Come Together": This is one of the album's highlights. "Because" starts out with the orchestral feel to it before the segue into "Come Together". Many say Aerosmith nailed the passion of this song with their cover. I would also subscribe that Benson nails it here with his jazzy cover. I love how Benson will improvise later in the song and make the use of the horns.

"Oh! Darling": Benson provides a supper-club style feel to this cover. This isn't my favorite Beatles song, but Benson does a nice job on this.

"Here Comes the Sun/I Want You (She's So Heavy)": Once again Benson starts out with an orchestral feel ("Here Comes the Sun") and then goes into a jazzy feel of "I Want You". While it doesn't have the same haunting feel of the Beatles original, Benson puts his own haunting spin on "I Want You" (as heard in the instrumentals).

"Something/Octopus's Garden/The End": Benson does an incredible job on this. He starts out with an orchestral feel on "Something" that is mostly instrumental with partial vocals. Benson really captures the passion of "Something". The segue isn't quite smooth into "Octopus's Garden" and "The End", but it works. The latter two songs are instrumental and provide a jazzy feel. These latter songs showcase the talents of the band that Benson assembles.

I wish the liner notes provided some insight into why Benson did what he did. Still, all in all this is a surprising good cover. Jazz and Beatles' fans should enjoy this.

How do you make a tribute just months after the original?.......2004-07-02

I guess this is how to make a tribute just months after the original. It speaks volumes, that so soon after the release of Abbey Road, it so affected the culture, that it demanded this wonderful tribute album. IT truly is the other side of Abbey Road. Abbey Road seen through the eyes of some of the greatest Jazz musicians in history. A wonderuly delightful stop at the side of the Abbey Road. Oh, Darling please believe me this album will never do you no harm!

Surprisingly Good for a "Beatles Cover CD". Benson at Best........2002-08-16

I listened to this as an album about twenty years ago during some times when I was in college and more concerned with getting wasted than passing my classes. Those were fun times, nonetheless, and this little gem is one that I got "turned on" to by a friend and fellow Beatles' fan in my "partying era." I ordered the CD recently after hearing the excellent "I Want You." George Benson is strong as both a musician and a singer throughout. Some of the songs, such as "Here Comes The Sun" are a little overdone for my tastes, but the entire CD flows together like a good album from the 60s/70s is supposed to.

OK, but it could have been much better.......2002-06-04

Creed Taylor uses his heavy hands to nearly murder a bunch of classic songs. Fortunately, George Benson had enough talent to overcome the stifling production.

A Bit Bumpy, But Still A Nice Side Trip.......2000-03-01

George Benson's outstanding "The Other Side of Abbey Road" may be the first time tribute was paid to an actual album, as opposed to the assorted songs of an artist or group (Ramsey Lewis and Benson's mentor, Wes Montgomery, had already hit with Beatles covers before this release).

It says much for the deep, rich melodies on "Abbey Road" that they stood sturdy with the arrangements Benson, producer Creed Taylor, and his stellar CTI backup band created. Notables include present and future jazz stars Herbie Hancock, Hubert Laws, and Freddie Hubbard, who contributes some great trumpet fills on "You Never Give Me Your Money" and "I Want You." Benson's ballad style, which he would rely more on in his later solo recordings, transforms "Golden Slumbers" and "Here Comes The Sun" into comforting lullabies without compromising either song's integrity; they indicate how Nat Cole may have covered those songs had he lived. Don Sebesky's string arrangements are first-rate (working the baroque string arrangements of "Because" around "Come Together" as one example), Benson's guitar rings and chimes where needed, the band finds an appealing jazz-blues groove to lock into the melodies and, with the exception of a short-sell fade out on "The End," this stands with "Chet Atkins Picks On The Beatles" as the finest Fab Four intrumental covers album ever.

Gerry & the Pacemakers at Abbey Road: 1963-1966
Average customer rating:

Comparing compilations

One of the best from this group

More MOR than most Brit Invaders - but still excellent

Under-discussed Mersey Group rediscovered.

Gerry & the Pacemakers at Abbey Road: 1963-1966
Gerry & the Pacemakers
Manufacturer: EMI Gold Imports
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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At Abbey Road: 1963-1966

At Abbey Road 1963-1966/At Abbey Road 1966-1970/At Abbey Road 1973-1989

Very Best of Herman's Hermits

At Abbey Road

Singles

ASIN: B000024UFA
Release Date: 1998-01-26

Tracks:

How Do You Do It?
Away From You
I Like It
You'll Never Walk Alone
Chills
A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues
Hello Little Girl
Summertime
Slow Down
I'm The One
You've Got What I Like
Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying
Show Me That You Care
It's Gonna Be Alright
It's Just Because
Ferry Cross The Mersey
I'll Wait For You
Why Oh Why
I'll Be There
Reelin' And Rockin'
Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On
Rip It Up
You Win Again
It'll Be Me
Walk Hand In Hand
La La La
Girl On A Swing
Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine hine

Album Description

1997 EMI release, a 28 track collection of recordings cut atAbbey Road. Includes 'Summertime', 'Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying', 'Why Oh Why' and more. All tracks are digitallyremastered from the original analog masters.

Customer Reviews:

Comparing compilations.......2006-07-17

There's more to the various Gerry & the Pacemakers `Best of' compilations than a mere variation in track count and/or choice.
The disc `The Best of Gerry & the Pacemakers: The Definitive Collection', released in 1991, offers most of its 25 tracks in stereo. The remastering (and in some cases remixing) has been very carefully done at Abbey Road Studios, where most of the tracks were recorded. The sound is very good, although some may argue it is not the original sound of the hits, as all singles were originally only issued in mono. Some stereo versions are quite primitive, as the tracks were recorded on 2-track: one for the backing track, one for vocals, just like the earliest Beatles recordings, but the people at Abbey Road managed to 'open' the sound. This CD also offers `Hello Little Girl', never before released - probably because The Fourmost had their recording released first (which was a minor hit).
Another good compilation is `Gerry & the Pacemakers at Abbey Road: 1963-1966': this offers 28 tracks (comprising the 25 of the aforementioned CD), but they are all in mono. This CD has been denoised, which, if properly done, will not degenerate the sound, but may affect the way you experience it. I found the sound to be a bit sharper, but not annoying. The booklet is very well done, detailing the band's history, and a bit of the history of Abbey Road studio's. This disc has been re-issued as `Essential', but alas without the informative booklet.
Recently the budget 2CD `The Best Of G&TP' has been released, offering 40 tracks, which is excellent value for money, but it leaves out some of the tracks which are on the other CD's, offering more album tracks like rock'n'roll and oldies covers.
All in all, I think that the choice is yours. If you come across a cheap compilation CD, other than the ones mentioned here, I recommend you listen to them first for sound quality - try before you buy!

One of the best from this group.......2005-07-06

I picked this up years ago in L.A. and I love it. A few songs have some outtakes, and I only wish that there were more outtakes. We've been "Beatled" to death with everything they ever uttered in a studio, but other Brit Invasion bands don't get the same treatment. CD spans the early pop sound of the band to later, mid-60s music. If you're familiar with Gerry and the Pacemakers, but have not heard Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine, you're sure to wonder, as I did, whose idea was it to record this?!

More MOR than most Brit Invaders - but still excellent.......2003-06-19

Gerry Marsden had the perfect reedy voice to front this vintage British Invasion group. It was what really propelled them since their sound didn't include the close harmonies and/or twanging guitars of the Searchers and some of the other early British bands. Their sound was often pretty middle-of-the-road compared with everyone else in the early stable.

Their initial propellant was the absolutely gorgeously written-and-performed "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying", which is high up on the list of greatest ballads of the last 50 years. It fit in well with the slew of mid-tempo tunes by the likes of the Searchers ("Don't Throw Your Love Away"), Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas ("Bad to Me" and "Little Children"), Peter and Gordon ("A World Without Love"), and Chad and Jeremy ("Yesterday's Gone") from mid-spring of '64. These songs really defined the second wave of the 'Invasion'. It was an expressly magical moment for our young mid-sixties' generation.

When Gerry and the P's got bouncy, they ended up with mixed results. "How Do You Do It" was mediocre at best, though it charted relatively high. "I Like It" followed almost immediately in the U. S. and though pretty much a knockoff, nevertheless surpassed its model by a good margin. And "La La La" never received the airplay it deserved - I think I only caught it once - it was possibly 4 out of 5 stars. I'm pretty sure "I'm the One" charted, but I don't think I ever heard it played.

"Ferry 'Cross the Mersey" was the only other of their ballads that fit into the neat compartment of the 'young sound' - in fact it became kind of an anthem, for obvious reasons. Some of the other ballads ("You'll Never Walk Alone", "Give Me All Your Love") seemed more like adult music (even the Beatles did this kind of stuff, but never released any as singles). They didn't sit that well with the teenage audiences who were buying most of the records, though "I'll Be There" was particularly gorgeous.

I myself was always on the lookout for their next great record, which finally came along in the shape of their only genuine rocker "It's Gonna Be Alright", definitely one of the very best songs the year it came out. Their last main chart success was the very groovy "Girl On a Swing", which fit in with the feel of some of the better late Herman's Hermits tunes from around the same time ("Listen People" and "There's a Kind of Hush"). It's definitely on the early edge of music from the 'Love Generation'.

Under-discussed Mersey Group rediscovered........2001-01-01

Gerry Marsden is certainly one of the big names in the development of ROCK [=new, progressive Rock and Roll?]. His remarkable voice is heard on timeless recordings like "Ferry Cross The Mersey", "Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying", and the two songs for which I bought this collection: "I'll Be There" and "You'll Never Walk Alone". It's been said that Elvis Presley could have been influenced by Gerry's "..Alone" cut to cut his own in '67, and it just occurs to me that Big El also did the Darin tune a bit later - yes, it's possible that Presley was influenced by Marsden. And listen to Gerry and group workout on "Whole Lotta Shakin'..." - it's possible that Elvis used this cut as a reference disc. "How Do You Do It" ofcourse was done first by the Beatles, who reportedly did an intentionally tentative version so an original could be released instead. At any rate, G & P's version is stronger. "I Like It" is a similiar catch-phrase offering, another Golden Oldie. "I'm The One" is definitely a U.K.-only Golden Oldie. The music is good on all these Abbey Road tracks, although the half-dozen classics mentioned above greatly overshadow the remainder.

Average customer rating:

Irving Berlin at his best
Get's my vote!
Jazzy and Beautiful
I love it!
Simply Dreadful

Kiri Sings Berlin
Irving Berlin , Jonathan Tunick , Abbey Road Ensemble , and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa
Manufacturer: Angel Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Te Kanawa, Kiri | Divas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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Kiri Te Kanawa - Greatest Hits ~ 14 Favorites of Opera, Popular & Traditional Song
Kiri

ASIN: B000002RYP
Release Date: 1998-01-20

Tracks:

Let's Face The Music And Dance
I Got The Sun In The Morning
How Deep Is The Ocean?
What'll I Do?
Blue Skies
It's A Lovely Day Today
They Say It's Wonderful
Say It Isn't So
Cheek To Cheek
Isn't This A Lovely Day?
Always
The Song Is Ended
I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm
It Only Happens When I Dance With You
Easter Parade

Amazon.com

After several recordings of American popular music, Te Kanawa has become a very effective crooner, phrasing with heretofore missing panache. The easy, jazzy Riddle-like arrangements are bouncy and appealing. But after 15 selections, the mysterious dissatisfaction of eating Chinese food and feeling hungry an hour later remains. Tunick writes in his program notes that "the waltz ballads ... are poignant and moving, but never stray into sentimentality." But why not? A little mushiness would serve this recording well, and also contribute to a desperately lacking variety of interpretation. Still, the voice is consistently gorgeous; it would just be nice to distinguish the happy songs from the sad. --Barbara Eisner Bayer

Customer Reviews:

Irving Berlin at his best.......2007-06-26

Kiri's glorious voice interprets Irving Berlin masterpieces beautifully with expression and respect for these American favorites.

Get's my vote!.......2004-04-03

OK. Full disclosure: I'm one of those helpless souls who is just madly in love with the sounds that emanate from Dame Kiri Te Kanawa's vocal chords. I suppose there are many artists who can interpret Irving Berlin's songs with more, what's the word, authenticity?

And I've heard many of them, and I love their work.

But Kiri Te Kanawa is different. She was given one of the most beautiful instruments in the history of sound recordings. Thank God the recording companies figured out what they had and put her in front of a microphone early and often.

We have had a rare opportunity to experience a great artist from almost the start of her career clear through to what now must be it's final stages.

I, for one, feel privileged.

Thank you, Dame Kiri. The world is a little better place because of you.

Jazzy and Beautiful.......2002-09-01

This album exemplifies Kiri's amazing, vast dose of talent for musical interpretation. Though I tend to enjoy mostly classical music, this album has opened doors to a wonderful world of classical-jazz, which I find quite beautiful! Perhaps for some, it is an aquired taste...yet I was hooked the moment I heard track one...and have since become quite the "modern Kiri" fan!~Brava once again~

I love it!.......2002-05-14

If you like Irving Berlin and Kiri Te Kanawa you'll probably enjoy this album as much as I do!

I can imagine Nick and Nora Charles listening to this at one of Nick's favorite dives! It will transport you to a sophisticated time and place that may have never existed except in literature and debutante coming out parties.

Gatsby would have loved it, and surely would have invited Kiri to all his parties!

Simply Dreadful.......2001-01-17

Just terrible! Although her voice has mellowed and is quite beautiful, Ms Te Kanawa has absolutely no instinct or feel for this distinctly American music. She's just lost in her own peculiar Kiwi wonderland. She is not aided but what have to be some of the worst arrangements of this music ever recorded.

Tracks:

Do You Want To Know A Secret?
I'll Be On My Way
Bad To Me
I Call Your Name
Dance With Me
Sugar Babe
I Know
I'll Keep You Satisfied
Little Children
They Remind Me Of You
Second To None
From A Window
Every Time You Walk In The Room
It's A Mad, Mad World
To Take Her Place
Under The Boardwalk
It's Gotta Last Forever
Sneakin' Around
Trains And Boats And Planes
I Live To Love You
Neon City
That Ain't Good For Me
I'll Be Doggone
Down In The Boondocks
We're Doing Fine
Forgive Me
Listen (Plus Studio Conversation)
Take My Hand

Album Description

1998 EMI release featuring 28 tracks digitally transfered at24 bits resolution, processed using Sonic Solutions NoNoise technology and mastered to 16 bit for CD using Prism SNS Noise Shaping. Includes hits, B-sides, rare tracks and the previously unreleased tunes 'Down In The Boondocks' and 'Listen'.

Customer Reviews:

a few stellar songs, twangy guitars, smooth baritone voice.......2003-06-18

You top 10 reviewers who probably can't sing a note - please give the Beatles' manager Brian Epstein more credit, and give the rest of us a break. Just because the songs the Beatles "threw away" to Peter and Gordon and Billy J. Kramer were not suitable for the Fab 4 doesn't mean they were bad songs, or that the so-called "Beatles spinoffs" didn't do them better than the Beatles themselves could have. We've been hearing this puke from rock journalists for three decades; I wish they'd all just grow up.

Though the truth be told, no one could beat the Beatles at what they did, they themselves wouldn't have beaten the other Merseybeat groups who gave life to those types of songs the Beatles might have flubbed on. Outstanding as they were, the Beatles' particular performing style didn't match what was needed in certain musical situations.

I like the Beatles better than probably any other pop-rock band I've ever heard, and as well as any of the later 'visionary' bands from the late 60's and beyond. Sure I'm still enough in awe of them that I feel somewhat weird about even attempting to review one of their albums. That's because I myself cannot stand knee-jerk, marbles-in-the-mouth journalist/critics, and can't tolerate the thought of me becoming one of them. The very idea is nauseating.

This one top 10 reviewer didn't say one good thing about BJK yet gave the CD a rating of 4 stars. This strikes me as being mightily confused, like maybe while he was mentally composing his text he was simultaneously mooning himself in the mirror.

Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas first big stateside single, "Little Children" (Doc Pomus), wasn't a Lennon-McCartney tune. But it's the one that sounds the most like the Beatles, with the twanging guitar chords and the close harmonies, which coincidentally also sound like one of the Beatles' forebears and heroes, the Everly Brothers. Sure, the story portrayed by the lyrics is a little cutesy, but the Beatles themselves hadn't started evolving out of their teen idol phase, and the absolutely incredible early Rolling Stones singles didn't start denting the U. S. charts until 2-3 months later.

[The Stones' began to split open the music world in mid-late summer with their rollicking remake of Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away", followed closely and passionately by one of rock's greatest underrated songs ["Tell Me"]. They then proceeded to stun listeners even more with a groundbreaking song - "It's All Over Now"]. That one later formed the basis of at least two new styles, acid rock and hard rock. (My 14-year old psyche was barely ready for the honest, tough but tuneful sound of "Tell Me", but somehow I quickly fessed up and loved it entirely. It still took years for me to totally come to terms with "It's All Over Now", but after all, it was light years ahead of its time.)

Though the early Beatles were sugar coated compared with early Stones, the undeniable passion of their earliest singles prepared us for the rawer power of "Tell Me", the Animals' "House of the Rising Sun", as well as the early Kinks and Zombies singles. For me, everything else hard and heavy kind of progressed easily from this, until the first time I heard "Purple Haze" booming through the dorm room walls, propelled from out of my neighbor's 4 x 3½ foot speakers. That was more or less the third and final rock revolution (at least for me).]

But I digress mightily.

"Bad to Me" (Lennon-McCartney) Billy J's second big U. S. hit, was more in the grain of songs like "P. S. I Love You". But it was a little lightweight for Lennon and Harrison to wrap themselves around. One reviewer stated that Garry Lewis and the Playboys founded their sound on things like it. Even if this is accurate (which I doubt) Lewis and Company sanitized their own sound by eliminating the twang and therefore most if not all of its character. As I stated before, BJK & the D's sounded a whole lot more like a Merseybeat version of the Everly Brothers than like GL & the P's. That Mersey bounce, heard frequently in the mid-to-quick tempo tunes of Peter and Gordon, Chad and Jeremy, Gerry and the Pacemakers, as well as the Searchers, at the time served them (and us!) very well. No matter how you slice it, Merseybeat does not map to Garry Lewis's unsyncopated, proto-bubblegum yum.

"Trains and Boats and Plains" (Bacharach and David) awhile before Dionne Warwick's version. Kramer's rather low-key but full voice, mixed with the Dakotas trademark twangy guitar, and orchestral strings, and as is [more often than not] usual for him - no backup singers. The way he gets the Mersey bounce into a slow ballad takes good breath control - very tricky to pull of, and he does it soulfully. On this song he's smoother sounding than a Johnny Cash or Marty Robbins . . . same vocal range, somewhat similar timbre . . . different singing style.

The really nice thing about this collection is that it contains all BJK's singles that I remember from the radio, even when he/they were foundering ("It's Gotta Last Forever"). I never heard his/their first single [until I got their greatest hit collection in the 80's] as the Beatles own superior version quickly and completely eclipsed it ("Do You Want to Know a Secret?"). And it's tough to gauge whether Chad and Jeremy's version of "From a Window" is better, though I think so (Ch & J's two-part harmonies maybe give them the edge).

And Billy J's voice on "I'll Keep you Satisfied" sounds a little bit like a bop version of someone like Matt Monro, or even a less grainy version of Rick Nelson. All in all, his voice is in no way lightweight. But his emergence was ill timed - a year and a half or three before - he might have gone gold all over the place.

The best of Merseybeat singer Billy J. Kramer.......2003-05-24

Billy J. Kramer (born Billy Ashton) was a minor singer but became part of the British Invasion because he happened to have the same manager as the Beatles, namely Brian Epstein. Consequently, Kramer got the change to record several Lennon & McCartney compositions during the first half of the period when he was recording "At Abbey Road: 1963-1966." The result was a short-lived music career of a singer who was an enjoyable example of the Merseybeat sound. This 2001 release collects the best of the songs that Billy J. Kramer recorded with his back up band the Dakotas, including his best Beatles covers, "Do You Want to Know a Secret," "I Call Your Name," and one of his two Top 10 hits on this side of the Pond, "Bad to Me." The other unofficial Beatles songs were "I'll Keep You Satisfied," "From a Window," and "I'll Be One My Way." "Little Children" was Kraemer's other Top 10 American hit, and the other standout songs are "Sugar Babe" and "Trains and Boats and Planes."

Obviously the main attraction for this album is to have recordings of some early Lennon & McCartney compositions that were deemed unworthy of being recorded by the Beatles. The argument is never going to be that the Beatles should have saved these melodic but light-weight songs for themselves, but it is interesting to hear what John & Paul were writing that was being rejected by George Martin. Certainly McCartney was giving better songs to the British pop duo Peter & Gordon. Still, even if you do not know who is writing these songs there is something rather enjoyable about Kramer's singing. He was a lightweight pop singer to be sure, but that is what the Merseybeat sound was all about and he is certainly representative of the genre.

Music Review:

Music Review

Music Review

1. Come Together
2. Something
3. Maxwell's Silver Hammer
4. Oh! Darling
5. Octopus's Garden
6. I Want You (She's So Heavy)
7. Here Comes the Sun
8. Because
9. You Never Give Me Your Money
10. Sun King
11. Mean Mr. Mustard
12. Polythene Pam
13. She Came in Through the Bathroom Window
14. Golden Slumbers
15. Carry That Weight
16. End
17. Her Majesty