--- description: The album was released 45 years ago title: Read TIME's original review of 'Abbey Road' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3e60ab7795eec8e3/6986a3d235ba6f0ca0c03da9/abbey-road.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [History](/section/history/) ## History Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Original _Abbey Road_ Review: Record 'Crammed With Musical Delights'  by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Sep 26, 2014 11:00 AM CUT  The Beatles' Abbey Road album cover The Beatles' Abbey Road album coverEMI  by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Sep 26, 2014 11:00 AM CUT Forty-five years ago, on Sept. 26, 1969, one of the most acclaimed rock albums in history was released: The Beatles’ _Abbey Road._ And, unlike [some cultural behemoths](http://time.com/3269295/star-trek-1966/ "undefined") that take a while to sink in, the grandeur of the album was immediately recognized. As TIME noted in the Oct. 3, 1969, [review of the record](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,901527,00.html "undefined"), there was something special going on: --- > “” --- And, despite a majority of songs bearing the familiar Lennon/McCartney credit, the album was also George Harrison’s time to shine. His song “Something” was already getting radio play, and the time he had recently spent with Bob Dylan was paying off. “This has helped him achieve a new confidence in his own musical personality,” the reviewer noted. “His three colleagues frankly think that Something is the best song in the album” **_Read a 1969 story about the “Paul is dead” urban legend started by the_** **Abbey Road** **_album art,_** **_here_** **_in TIME’s archives:_** [Of Rumor, Myth and a Beatle](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,839108,00.html "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3394132/original-abbey-road-review-1969/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3394132/original-abbey-road-review-1969/"},"headline":"Original Abbey Road Review: Record 'Crammed With Musical Delights'","datePublished":"2014-09-26T11:00:52.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T10:14:51.335Z","description":"The album was released 45 years ago","url":"https://time.com/3394132/original-abbey-road-review-1969/","keywords":["Music","The Beatles","Beatles"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3e60ab7795eec8e3/6986a3d235ba6f0ca0c03da9/abbey-road.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lily Rothman","jobTitle":"Rothman is managing editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3e60ab7795eec8e3/6986a3d235ba6f0ca0c03da9/abbey-road.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Abbey Road","caption":"Abbey Road","creditText":"EMI","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3394132/original-abbey-road-review-1969/","name":"Original Abbey Road Review: Record 'Crammed With Musical Delights'"}}]}] ```