How does it compare to the artist's other releases
Outstanding
Value for Money
Good
Advantages:
The best Beatles album
Disadvantages:
Contains at least 2 stinkers . Usually costs £30
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
At least 50% of the population like The BEATLES. Maybe 25% of the population are very fond of them. The 25% that love The Beatles will buy up almost everything that ever gets released. I sadly fall into the 'slavish devotion' catagory and must have certain songs by the Beatles in at least 5 or 6 different formats (Records, Tapes, CD's and MP3). With this in mind I think I can say with a degree of knowledge that this is the Beatles most 'Must Have' album... I'm not saying that the music contained here is their most polished or competant... Just that all-in-all it's the best.
I originally had this on tape (missed out on vinyl but couldn't quite afford CD's). I bought it at the local market, took it home, stuck it in the alba, and, after a couple of hours listening completed reassessed my opinion of The Beatles.
Years later a girl I was seeing at the time bought me the album on CD for Christmas. For this one small, quite insignificant gesture (in the scheme of things), she earn't a place in my heart forever.
So what's all the fuss about??? Well what can I tell you that you haven't read in triplicate a thousand times before about The Beatles? They were the biggest band on the planet ever! It's a fact. They sat The Rolling Stones down and showed them how to write songs proper like. The Beatles and Stones arguement just doesn't work. Bless the Stones, they are a great little band (tongue in cheek here) but up there with The Beatles? Are you joking?
1968 (when this album had been released) The Beatles had already changed the world. In the 5 years they had been in the limelight they had released a brace of records that were light years ahead of the field (Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Peppers). They had released films that the Queen watched on boxing day ('Magical Mystery Tour'). They had shared a ciggy with Dylan and practiced with Elvis in his front room. They had succeeded in sending the bible belt of America into a frenzy of hatred by telling the press that, at that moment in time, they were bigger than Jesus. So they were quite a big deal.
Just before this album had was recorded The Beatles had been in India, meditating and contemplating with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi at his hideout in the Himalayan hills. Ringo was first to get bored, being a salt of the earth sort, he couldn't really see the point. Later the others decamped following the sudden death of their manager Brian Epstein and a bit of a fallout with the Yogi (kept nicking their sandwich baskets). But during their time there they had been playing and writing. Many of the songs on The White Album are born from those days in the Himalayas.
THE WHITE ALBUM ---------------------------- An expansive and illuminating view of The Beatles and the 60's. This album is like a compilation of different artists. There are a hell of a lot of different types of song on here. Apart from one or two real stinkers it a great, huge 'thing'. A double album containing 30 pieces. And everyone gets a chance (though as was becoming more evident, Paul was getting a bigger piece of pie than most).
A lot of people knock Paul McCartney. And in recent history (thinking back to some of the Wings albums, the duets with Michael Jackson, The constant bickering about being the least liked Beatle, and rewriting history [wanting McCartney/Lennon instead of Lennon/McCartney on the songs]) he hasn't helped himself. But when the Beatles were nearing the end of the 60's, he was possibly the only one holding it all together, and writing excellent, inventive music (of course Lennon and Harrison were too, but to a lesser degree. Both having an eye on other projects). Possibly without McCartney we wouldn't have this album or the wonderful Abbey Road.
So what's on the album (THIS IS A REVIEW OF THE CD VERSION)?
DISC 1 ---------- 1. BACK IN THE USSR A Beach Boys-alike song. Very entertaining, with some witty lyrics (like a Russian surf song) 2. DEAR PRUDENCE Sweet song, covered by Siouxsie and the Banshees. 3. GLASS ONION One of John's cryptic songs. Not particularly good. But probably wound a lot of conspiracy theorists up. Contains the line, 'The Walrus was Paul', possibly relating to the Lewis Carroll story 'The Walrus and The Carpenter'. 4. OB-LI-DI, OB-LA-DA Everyone knows this one. A guilty pleasure. 5. WILD HONEY PIE I don't like this. A whiney, dull song. 6. THE CONTINUING STORY OF BUNGALOW BILL This was written about some rich git they saw hunting whilst in India. Not very note-worthy. 7. WHILE MY GUITAR GENTLY WEEPS One of George's better songs. Featuring Eric Clapton on lead. 8. HAPPINESS IS A WARM GUN A brilliant, brilliant song. I remember first hearing it played by a grunge band back in the early 90's (The Breeders?) I regard this as one of the top 5 Beatle songs ever. Seems to be a collection of song fragments brought together in spectacular style ('A soap impression of his wife which he ate and donated to the National Trust'). 9. MARTHA MY DEAR A Paul song that is a little bit twee, but nice all the same. 10. I'M SO TIRED Classic John song. Features the immortal line '...curse Sir Walter Raleigh, he was such a stupid get!' (on reaching for a cigarette). 11. BLACKBIRD And a top Paul song. A beautiful acoustic piece. 12. PIGGIES An OK song. Don't tend to listen out for this one. 13. ROCKY RACCOON One of Pauls silly 'Story' songs 14. DON'T PASS ME BY I don't like this at all. Ringo singing a rotten song (Gawd bless him). 15. WHY DON'T WE DO IT IN THE ROAD A bit of a departure for Paul. He played everthing on this one (as would happen more and more in the later years). Great, riotious song. 16. I WILL Reminds me of Shakin' Stevens. You'll know what I mean when you hear the guitar on it. 17 JULIA Quite a beautiful John song. Nice way to end CD1.
DISC 2 ---------- 1. BIRTHDAY I believe that Paul was trying to write a song as universal as 'Happy Birthday To You'. Something that people would sing at birthdays. Didn't quite work out that way! Very good all the same. 2. YER BLUES Rocky, Delta Blues type song. Not bad. 3. MOTHER NATURE'S SON My least favourite on the album apart from Wild Honey Pie. 4. EVERYBODY'S GOT SOMETHING TO HIDE EXCEPT ME & MY MONKEY The drugs obviously had a part in this one. Brilliant! 5. SEXY SADIE A song written about the Yogi in India. A seductive man that turned out to be a bit of a con artist. 6. HELTER SKELTER Great one this. Goes on for ever! ('I've got blisters on my fingers' John shouts at the end - I'm not surprised). Unfortunately Charles Manson saw the lyrics in this song as a call to arms (along with 'Piggies') and went on a merciless killing spree with his Family. 7. LONG LONG LONG Spooky song this. A very good Harrison number. Goes all spooky at the end. 8. REVOLUTION 1 A campfire version of the hit record. Lennon getting political. 9. HONEY PIE People hate this because it's so cheesy. Exactly the reason I love it. Paul captures authentically the sound of the 20's and 30's (did it all start with 'When I'm 64'?). 10. SAVOY TRUFFLE Great Harrison song (his writing had come on leaps and bounds). Great guitar too! 11. CRY BABY CRY A nice song. Slightly creepy. 12. REVOLUTION 9 Possibly the one that everyone remembers the most from the album. Often fast forwarded due to the fact that it just seems like a load of noise that goes on and on... An abstract piece. With snippets of noise and sounds, people talking, babies wailing and some bloke saying 'Number 9...number 9' over and over again. Inspired! 13. GOOD NIGHT A lovely lullaby to close the record. They let Ringo sing a nice one for a change!
CASE AND BOOKLET ------------------------------- The case is workmanlike. Originally when released it was difficult to tell who the record was by because it contained very little information. The packaging lets the music speak. The booklet is nice and contains lyrics for all songs. There are also a good selection of photos in the booklet showing the Beatles larking about and generally looking a lot older and maybe wiser.
SUMMARY --------------- There's so much variety on this album. It's obvious from documented evidence of the time that this was a very trying period for The Beatles. But somehow they managed to produce this. If you like The Beatles (and there are very few that don't) you should at least borrow this release. In my opinion it is their best. It shows The Beatles at there most playful and vunerable. It isn't cheap, but then nothing relating to The Beatles is. I suppose that's the economics of supply and demand. The Beatles are always popular!
songs by British and American blues artists. That was patchy, and so is this. The Beatles' heavy-handed treatment of "Why Don't We Do It in the Road?" was intende...
three years of studio experimentation. Instead, it took them all over the place, continuing to burst the envelope of pop music. Lennon and McCartney were still at t...
three years of studio experimentation. Instead, it took them all over the place, continuing to burst the envelope of pop music. Lennon and McCartney were still at t...
meant to be the record that brought them back to earth after three years of studio experimentation. Instead, it took them all over the place, continuing to burst ...
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