The Beatles
Abbey Road
The Beatles' swansong the critic called a disaster
Released in the UK on 26 September 1969, Abbey Road became The Beatles' final recorded album and a chart-topping swansong. A contemporary hostile review, alongside chart results with their dates.
The verdict at the time
Ward called parts of the record 'a disaster' and wrote it 'tread[s] a rather tenuous line between boredom, Beatledom, and bubblegum,' concluding: 'Surely they must have enough talent and intelligence to do better than this. Or do they? Tune in next time and find out.'
Chart peaks
European positions are listed by country. Later chart entries are labelled separately.
Sources & context
One critic's opinion, summarised from Ed Ward's original Rolling Stone review of late 1969. The album is now ranked #14 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and recognised as The Beatles' definitive studio statement.
