Once there was a way to get back homeward

After last night's brief brush with unsavoriness (if that's not a word, it should be), it's time to revisit beauty, significance and High Art.

I am always one for a good debate on the best album ever made, and my choice changes from week-to-week, or even day-to-day. The choice always rotates around a core group, and last month it was "Exile on Main Street" Next month it might be "Born to Run" or "Moondance" or "Every Picture Tells a Story." Or one of another half dozen or so.

Back when albums and music were better, they were sequenced into sides: Sides A and B, or 1 and 2. "Darkness on the Edge of Town" was (and is) more powerful because the defiance of the music was bolstered by the hope against hope contained on the four corners of the album. The opening and closing song of each side were infused with the mantra of  "I'm not going to give up no matter how tough and ugly things get."

This also forced you to be an active listener; you had to physically get up and turn the record (or tape) over.

And no record ever rewarded a listener more for going to side 2 than "Abbey Road," which contains the single greatest album side in the history of music. Now, the whole thing is spectacular, and easily is part of the greatest album discussion.

But side 2 is positively epochal, a suite of songs so stunning, that fit together so well, that it towers above the rest of everything is the history of rock music.

In fact, here is my claim: The side 2 song suite represents the Greatest Artistic Achievement of the 20th century. I am talking art, music, film, literature. Everything.

It starts with "Here Comes the Sun," which sends shivers down your spine, and then things only get better. One freaking climactic moment after another, highlighted by a medley that contains so much brilliance that it seems unfair to put it all on one album. Paul McCartney does his best work here, but Lennon and Harrison also shine, and Ringo's drum solo says "hey, don't forget about me, either."

Layered voices, astonishing hooks, dreamy mood pieces, balls-out rock and roll, and sonic heights galore, and it all adds up to a work that makes you proud to be a human being. Listen to the remastered version on headphones -- nothing recorded since sounds better.

Also significant is that this project was the last recorded work by the group. Talk about going out on top. If hipster revisionist history throws a claim of overrated at The Beatles, this record alone will refute it. After listening closely, if anyone still makes that claim, you can't trust their judgement. About anything.

"Abbey Road," particularly the final 22 minutes, sets a standard that most likely will never be equaled.