The Last Infestation

After recording the behind the scenes disaster that was Abbey Road, The Beatles could tell that the end of an era was quickly approaching.  Yet, even though this was their last album released, many of the tracks on it were recorded in very early 1969 way before Abbey Road was put on the markets (September).  Even with the enlisted help of Phil Spector (session player, songwriter and producer), the Beatles rarely, if ever, rehearsed together.  To add to the problems, Lennon was also deeply immersed in the "heroin life" so to speak, creating a more disjointed and inefficient group. 

Even from this picture you can tell that John looks much older and in worse shape compared to Paul, Ringo, or even George.  

Regardless of physical appearance, John still has an unnatural and awe-inspiring way of making absolute nonsense sounding like something amazing.  For instance in the songs "Dig a Pony," (what does that even mean??) and "Across the Universe."

"Dig a Pony," I feel, is trying to come off as more of a soulful song with the begging guitar riff and the harder rock feel that is portrayed  throughout the whole song, along with a guitar solo about 2:30 in.  The drums are also used very heavily within the piece, accenting Lennon's vocals and the "critical points," during the track.  

(such a strange song...)

John wasn't the only one to have smash hits off of The Beatles last album released, Paul also wrote and sang on some killer tracks.  One of these such songs is "Let it Be," and the slightly more cheesy "The Long and Winding Road." 

I love the guitar and piano mix in this song, especially with Paul's vocals.  

In both of these recordings, all of the band members are spread out throughout the room, only making eye contact for cued entrances.  This is the opposite from when the band first made it really big, where there was nothing but smiles coming from the group.  Also I'm not sure how important or related to anything this is but all of Paul's main features on this album are accompanied with a piano and are slower and more somber than the other tracks.

The band then broke up after this album to go their separate ways musically, all of which producing some singles here and there.  Paul eventually went on to another band, Wings, where he had many successful songs including my personal favorite, "Band on the Run."  The Beatles era was one that will always be remembered for all that they did for the world of Rock and Roll and social culture in general.   

I can remember way back when, when I hated everything about The Beatles.  I now realize how completely ridiculous I was and now fully understand why they are the most popular rock band of all time.

-Brooks Gonzales