Words by Riley Fitzgerald
Graphic by Press

The music of Tame Impala is often compared to the Beatles.

While it’s a connection Tame’s mastermind Kevin Parker isn’t eager to overplay, he has admitted that the group’s 11th record Abbey Road is his Beatles record of choice.

“‘Abbey Road’ by the Beatles was another one of my favourites,” Parker recalled when Vouge asked him which classic albums had influenced him in a 2012 interview.

He’s no Beatles obsessive though.

“I love the Beatles, but I don’t listen to them at all regularly,” he informed Vulture that same year.

“Most of my friends are bigger Beatles fans than I am,” he continued. ” I respect them and I love them — Abbey Road is probably one of my favorite albums, but I don’t think I’ve ever listened to the White Album the whole way through. I don’t think I’ve ever listened to Sgt. Pepper’s the whole way through. I’d say most of the rest of the world are bigger Beatles fans than me. They’d know more of the songs and more of the lyrics — I don’t really know that stuff. I just respect them.”

When asked about Kevin’s love of Abbey Road in a 2019 conversation with Happy Mag Tame Impala’s Jay Watson echoed Parker’s sentiment. “Well, you know what’s even funny about that?” Jay chuckled. “I’m pretty sure that’s his favorite because he likes one song on it, ‘I Want You (She’s So Heavy)’.”

“He likes the Beatles, but he never smashed them, even when we lived together,” Watson added. “I’ve realised he’s more of a one-off song kind of dude.”

Jay later suggested it Parker favored Abbey Road over the Fab Four’s other records due to its ‘pristine production’.