The first half of Abbey Road is full of generally amazing songs that unquestionably rank among The Beatles‘ best-ever material, which is quite an accomplishment. George Harrison’s songs in particular are lovely (“Something,” “Here Comes the Sun”). A few stragglers don’t match up to the rest of the first side’s quality (“Maxwell’s Silver Hammer,” “Octopus’s Garden,” and “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)”) but are still great songs.

However, I find the medley to be very unimpressive relative to the rest. If it weren’t for the fact that a medley is rare for The Beatles, these songs individually wouldn’t be compelling. “Golden Slumbers” is very nice, though.

So, I have to disagree with people claiming the medley is the highlight of this album. It’s definitely the stellar first half, but it’s good enough to make Abbey Road fantastic overall.