Abbey Road

Conventional wisdom holds that the Beatles intended Abbey Road as a grand farewell, a suspicion seemingly confirmed by the elegiac note Paul McCartney strikes at the conclusion of its closing suite. It’s hard not to interpret “And in the end / the love you take / is equal to the love you make” as a summation not only of Abbey Road but perhaps of the group’s entire career, a lovely final sentiment. The truth is perhaps a bit messier than this. The Beatles had tentative plans to move forward after the September 1969 release of Abbey Road, plans that quickly fell apart at the dawn of the new decade, and while the existence of that goal calls into question the intentionality of the album as a finale, it changes not a thing about what a remarkable goodbye the record is.

Conventional wisdom holds that the Beatles intended Abbey Road as a grand farewell, a suspicion seemingly confirmed by the elegiac note Paul McCartney strikes at the conclusion of its closing suite. It's hard not to interpret "And in the end/the love you take/is equal to the love you make" as a summation not only of Abbey Road but perhaps of the group's entire career, a lovely final sentiment…

This six disc anthology features the very best of The Beatles in the studio, on the road and on the airwaves from 1962-'66. It is the perfect illustration of how The Beatles evolved as writers and performers and created a musical phenomenon which has never been equalled.

Mike Westbrook Band - Off Abbey Road (1990) {Enja Records R2 79640}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 448 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 177 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 33 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1990 Enja Records | R2 79640
Jazz / Contemporary Jazz / Progressive Jazz

"Westbrook's faithful and wonderfully good humored rendition of The Beatles' 1969 album 'ABBEY ROAD' underscores its music-hall whimsy and ravishing melodies. The Beatles purists I have played it for are as delighted as I am." Gary Giddins - Village Voice. "John Lennon, the most progressive of The Beatles, would have been delighted … a real adventure on the borderlines between pop and jazz." Manfred Schmidt - Stereo Magazine, Germany 'CD of the Month'. A quirky marriage of rock, vaudeville and jazz improvisation… Westbrook finds unexpected depths in over familiar songs.’ Clive Davis - The Times.

The last Beatles album to be recorded (although Let It Be was the last to be released), Abbey Road was a fitting swan song for the group, echoing some of the faux-conceptual forms of Sgt. Pepper, but featuring stronger compositions and more rock-oriented ensemble work…