Abbey Road is not short of quality, but John Lennon believed one song stood out as a “funky” best for The Beatles.
Lennon would break down the album track by track, years after the Fab Four disbanded, and credited George Harrison with having written the best song on the record. It was high praise from the Imagine hitmaker, who believed his own song, Come Together, was another “funky” best which appeared on the album. Lennon would even defend Something as “good commercial” music, with it and Here Comes the Sun praised by The Beatles member. But it was Something that Lennon felt was the best song on Abbey Road. Lennon would also say the American market was a big factor in Something being a hit, with the United States “red hot” for the Harrison hit.
Lennon said: “You know how they always get our records before there out over there in America, they must have a spy in England that sends them the tapes and they were playing ‘Something’ so much because they had an advanced thing of it and they are red hot for it over there.”
Asked about the commercial reliability of Something and Here Comes the Sun, Lennon would say it was a positive form of commercial value. He said: “Yeah, but they are good commercial, it’s a funky track.”
Lennon would also pile on the praise for another Harrison song, Here Comes the Sun. The hitmaker behind Whatever Gets You Thru the Night would say Harrison’s track had a “Buddy Holly” feeling to it. He said: “It reminds me of Buddy Holly in a way.
“It’s just the way he’s progressing, he’s writing all kinds of songs. Once the floodgates have now opened it becomes an effort to concentrate on writing certain types of songs. I’d prefer just writing non-melodic, straight rock but I can’t help writing other things and that applies to all of us, the songs just come out.”
Lennon would later say he preferred Harrison, his, and Paul McCartney’s solo works to Abbey Road and Let It Be. Speaking in an interview with the NME, Lennon said: “The fact is, The Beatles have left school… and we have to get a job.
“That’s made us work — really work harder. I think we’re much better than we ever were when we were together. Look at us today. I’d sooner have [Paul McCartney’s album] Ram, John Lennon Plastic Ono Band, George’s album, and Ringo’s single and the movies than Let It Be or Abbey Road.”
Lennon would single out Starr, too, saying his writing has improved massively since he first started songwriting. He added: “I think my music’s improved a millionfold lyric-wise and everything. And Ringo’s coming out and writing It Don’t Come Easy and now he’s going to write the title song for this cowboy thing he’s in, and he’s playing a really tough guy and all that. It’s really beautiful.”
