Beatles White Album Review Part 1 of 2

[@benmeltzer]

I'm not saying this to advocate for a single album, but keep in mind that leaving off a song doesn't relegate it to the dustbin. Had they kept some of these songs in their hip pocket, they wouldn't have had to write an entire album on the spot for Let It Be, which in turn may have eased tensions (or by happenstance caused Paul to be around to hear George contemplate doing a solo album with a view toward keeping the Beatles going) and helped keep the group together longer. As for splitting the thing into two albums, one way they could have done it is to make one album of singer/songwriter material (which would have made it one of the very first singer/songwriter albums*) and one album of the other material. *It would have, by my reckoning, been the third after the debut albums of Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchell. (Singer/songwriter is a style of music, not just someone singing self-penned songs with stripped-down acoustic or mostly acoustic instrumentation. It involves subject matter and an introspective POV as well.)

[@ziggypop79]

Great album. My favourite is Dear Prudence. I didn't know about Ringo leaving.

[@reliablebow]

Hi John. I bought this Grand Album back when it came out as an 11year old, thinking Hey Jude was on it ( tracks not listed). Well, that wasn’t the case But what a wondrous surprise. Easily my favorite album of the Lads...Thanks for your efforts😎

[@tonylaughlin6663]

First Beatle song I ever heard was Birthday at a friends house in 5th grade. It scared me at the time. Little did I know the greatness I would discover in the ensuing years. Thanks for posting.

[@Donci-ul2pz]

I am in the process of discovering the White Album. Your video helps a lot, telling who wrote what, where do the album sides end, etc. Txs!

[@UncannyValleyVideos]

I'm ashamed to admit that I too have attempted a single-LP tracklist. I call it "The Off-White Album". Side One: 1. Glass Onion 2. Happiness... 3. While My Guitar... 4. I'm So Tired 5. Blackbird 6. Don't Pass Me By 7. I Will 8. Cry Baby Cry Side Two: 9. Everybody's... 10. Yer Blues 11. Long, Long, Long 12. Dear Prudence 13. Mother Nature's Son 14. Julia As you can see, "The Off-White Album" heavily favors John over Paul, which makes me feel that much more guilty about the whole endeavor. Oh well, it was a fun challenge.

[@benmeltzer]

Good choices.

[@wendyadams8549]

Just listened to this album from start to finish and had to look up your review and leave a comment. It's a work of compleat genius I believe very strongly, even having Revolution 9 followed by Goodnight both written by John leaves you with a sense of amazement that he travelled that musical device so amazingly well showing how he was pushing into new fields still looking for new areas to explore . All the group was on form and all songs had great merit . I think with all they achieved in 1968 this was their Greatest year.

[@johnheaton5667]

Wendy Adams thanks Wendy....i won't disagree...cheers!

[@johndowling5850]

Very interesting review, John. I agree with everything you say apart from 'Why don't we do it in the road.' To me that's one of two tracks I could dispense with, along with wild honey pie. I have a book on this album which says, about Wild Honey pie, "No Beatles were harmed in the making of this track."

[@jean-marieboucherit4716]

The Beatles are so good that we forget how good they were.

[@transcendenttv]

When i'm forced to choose to answer, I usually choose this as my favorite beatles album.... though that's obviously an impossible task.

[@johnheaton5667]

transcendenttv ha! Yes indeed :- )

[@nervo6321]

The Esher demos prove they were still a tight knit unit while rehearsing this album.

[@rudolphguarnacci197]

And Paul deserves a second (even third) beer bought for him every day for writing I Saw Her Standing There.

[@joelbarraud]

WHEN I FIND MYSELF When I find myself lamenting about the power of music, Grandpa Gordon comes to me. Mother Mary lives on never above you. Never below you always beside you. In a recent episode of carpool karaoke on the late late show hosted by James Gordon. Gordon has the privilege of kicking back in a luxurious limousine with a Veteran Rock Star, Paul McCartney. It is easy to write off McCartney as the oldest teenager in the world desperate to recapture his forgotten youth. However, if you take your time to look past that and peel back the layers you will see a man who is highly spiritual and at peace with himself. He works very hard to carry the torch for the Beatles and honour the legacy with a sublime sense of dignity and grace. This segment is a great showcase for this side of Paul which hasn't been revealed for many decades. The chemistry between Gordon and McCartney is second to none. You almost get the feeling they are school mates who are absolutely delighted to catch up, even though James Gordon is not of the Beatles generation he's obviously a fan of the music and seams to have a good understanding of his Message which encapsulates love, positivity and “togetherness.” McCartney and Gordon cruise the streets of Liverpool visiting numerous landmarks of Paul's youth such as the Barber Shop in Penny Lane and his boyhood home where he composed Many famous hits with John and including “She loves you” which would have sounded very different if McCartney's father had his way as he wanted to change the words to “She loves you yes yes yes” to eliminate the Americanisms from the song and make it sound more British. Throughout the journey Paul recounts his song writing process and tells us that many of his iconic songs came to him in a dream such as”Let it be”. McCartney is clearly a full blown Liverpudlian and gets very emotional about returning to his roots and rediscovering old connections, as anyone would. These memories have been forgotten in the midst of time world wide fame. Throughout his amazing ride we see that Paul has remained a humble and down to earth human being. One must remember that Paul was not just a Liverpool kid who was a school drop out, he in fact went to Grammar School where he studied Shakespeare and Chorssa. Hence why he was able to incorporate such poetic writing styles into his songs. The song “Eleanor Rigby” was considered by lots of people including beat poet Allan Ginsburg, to be a great work of literature. The viewer also gets the opportunity to sing along to some much endured songs that we all know and l love. In the last scene in the old pub where McCartney occasionally played gigs at we see that it has all come full circle. May Paul McCartney remain one of the greatest all Grandfathers of Rock n Roll for many years to come.

[@colinbaker3916]

Corden

[@keithrh7599]

I've just been reading Disc music paper of October 1968 and a news item in it says the new Beatles album would contain 24 tracks so a few must have been late additions. I got it as a Christmas present in 1968, still have a soft spot for Wild Honey Pie.

[@benmeltzer]

Let me get this straight. Per Ian MacDonald, John refering to other Beatles songs in "Glass Onion" meaningfully increased Beatles fanaticism to the point of helping to contribute to John's assassination? Absolutely nutty. All else aside, there would have been quite an abundance of Beatles fanaticism with or without the song.

[@johnheaton5667]

yes that was a strange comment indeed!

[@sause123]

The song dear prudence has Jackie lomax and Paul’s cousin John McCartney guesting singing the background harmonies on it

[@lukeshirlaw6731]

I actually quite like the anthology version of While My Guitar Gently Weeps, maybe even more so than the track on the White Album

[@benmeltzer]

They should have included both and omitted Revolution 9.

[@christopher9152]

I would have no problem cutting Honey Pie, Wild Honey Pie, Bungalow Bill, O-Bla Di, Good Night, Revolution 9. That still wouldn't get us to a single album, but I think it would make for a tighter and better album. Because of the aforementioned filler tracks (which imo are among their worst from post Help days), I can't rank this as my favorite Beatles album.

[@benmeltzer]

That's what I say. Other Beatles albums don't have outright bad songs. I like Bungalow Bill and O-Bla Di, but Good Night Revolution 9 and I'd say Revolution 1 are the worst tracks (or among the worst tracks) on any Beatles album. (I consider Wild Honey Pie an interlude, and viewed as such don't have a problem with it.)

[@otisroseboro5613]

My favorite songs from the white album are, Don't Pass me by, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Good Night,Why don't we do it in the Road,Back in The U.S.S.R , Revolution ,Honey Pie & Blackbird, Great song's from this classic Beatles Album

[@robertmaitino5674]

Should have been two albums. The White and the Whiter album!

[@robbiepeterh]

By far my favourite Beatles album.

[@sirronnitram8937]

Dont Pass Me By wasn't the only Ringo track on the album, there's Goodnight as well

[@johnheaton5667]

Sirron Nitram yeah but Goodnight was written by John

[@jean-marieboucherit4716]

I love Bungalow Bill I love the acoustic guitar.

[@benmeltzer]

I like Yoko's contribution. It's a perfect counterpoint.

[@gazzap6776]

Hi John, Seems like we agree on the album. I've tried to make a single album out of it as George Martin has suggested, but it's futile. The eclectic nature of the whole project always deserved being a double album I believe. Anyway, here was my previous 'failed attempt' at cutting it down & 're-jigging' the track listing (in LP format. Keeping in mind the total time available per side): SIDE ONE 1. Back in the USSR 2. Dear Prudence 3. Martha my dear 4. Glass onion 5. I will 6. While my guitar gently weeps 7. Ob-La-Di-Ob-La-Da 8. Happiness is a warm gun SIDE TWO 1. Birthday 2. Mother nature's son 3. Helter skelter 4. I'm so tired 5. Blackbird 6. Yer blues 7. Savoy truffle 8. Why don't we do it in the road? 9. Revolution 9 (cut down in bits to 3 & a half minutes, with first part of Revolution 1 as intro & also last part as ending sequenced in/fading out with Revolution 9 mixed in) Regards, Gary (Melbourne, Australia)

[@johnheaton5667]

Not bad but failed as you say :- )

[@llewellynGS1]

Yes John! I believe one can make it a good single album, as follows: Side one 1/ back in the ussr 2/ glass onion 3/ ob la di ob la da 4/ wild honey pie 5/ blackbird 6/ while my guitar gently weeps 7/ yer blues 8/ Julia Side two 1/ birthday 2/ happiness is a warm gun 3/ I will 4/ I’m so tied 5/ savoy truffle 6/ Helter skelter 7/ long long long I even left on “I will” which I don’t like. I tried to sequence it and I think there are 6 Paul and 5 John songs. On the cd version bonus tracks would be “everybody’s got something to hide” and “cry baby cry”. By the way I don’t often, but I disagree with you about “Martha my dear” I think it’s painful and “don’t pass me by” is number 209 on my beatles list. But this album is like you, 2nd behind abbey road.

[@dexterfranklin5020]

No Dear Prudence?? :D

[@timewarrior5202]

Great review John!!

[@TomCwimpRock]

Excellent review John, I especially like your opinions which debunk the usual cliches - that it would have been better a single album, and that it was just individual Beatles with a backing band etc.. I had never heard that about "Don't Pass Me By" being The Bands favorite track on the album, that's interesting..It also interests me to hear the spoken intro to the Anthology version of "Rocky Raccoon"- apparently it was meant to be a parody of the songs on Dylan's "John Wesley Harding"?, or is that obvious to most people already?...

[@johnheaton5667]

Thanks Thomas. There was no way I could mention everything! Actually I forgot to mention Clapton's contribution to 'While My Guitar' and also Paul's piano intro to that track which is classic. I will research your comments on Rocky Raccoon because I hadn't heard exactly what you said!

[@TomCwimpRock]

Well, I'm referring to Paul speaking in a exaggerated American drawl in his intro about Rocky Raccoon being from a little town in Minnesota (which is not a "western" state, but is where Dylan grew up) and "was a fool onto himself and he would not swallow his foolish pride" which reminds me of the language on "Harding", and then the song itself is a bit of a parable of the American Wild West which ends with turning to Gideon's bible for help with revival (or salvation?) Not the usual sort of McCartney lyric. Of course, the music of "Rocky Raccoon" is not Dylan-ish at all. But I'm wondering if it was originally inspired by his album which had come out a couple of months before the White Album sessions.

[@johnheaton5667]

Good observation. I am sure John Wesley Harding was at the back of his mind somewhere. Also the atmosphere in India I am sure helped inspire a lot of the White Album songs, a lot of which are quite bizarre and magical.

[@llewellynGS1]

hello! My 2 cents: I love "Wild honey Pie" - how creative! But I have to say I don't like "Martha" or "Rocky" - just end up skipping them. On side 3, "everybody got something to hide" is also about maharishi, he had something to hide and would always say "its such a joy". "Long long long" is better on the original than the 2018 version, more slightly hidden vocal more spooky. Also you didn't mention the best Harrison track that should have been on the album "sour milk sea". Having said that, I like the idea of it as a single album, and heres my pics: Side 1 Back in the USSR Glass Onion Ob la di, ob la da Wild Honey Pie Blackbird While my guitar gently weeps yer Blues Julia Side 2 Birthday Happiness is a warm gun I Will I'm so tired Savoy Truffle Helter Skelter Long, long, long Bonus tracks for CD: Cry baby cry Piggies Everbodys got something to hide

[@Chip8224]

Brilliant. Eagerly await round two. Wonder if John and George's alleged distaste for "Ob-La-Di" reflects true dislike or bad memories of Paul dragging them through a million takes? The Beatles gazed upon shores others had no idea existed someone, forget who, said of the White Album. I say, near 50 years on still an unsettling glorious ramshackle I'm no nearer to figuring out than I was on my first listen.

[@johnheaton5667]

I think John secretly liked "Obla Di" but you're right they worked on it endlessly which probably pissed off the other three...but, as with "Maxwell", the efforts paid off.

[@ClarenceFisher]

I prefer the Ob La Di version on "Anthology 3". It's still a little sicky-sweet, but easier to take than....that.

[@johnheaton5667]

I think that version misses John's pounding piano and the groovy bass line (causing John describe the song as reggae semi-semi in 1980)

[@guywilcox389]

Agree with you 100% about Revolution In The Head. MacDonald comes across as very pretentious and arrogant in some of the reviews.

[@Tobingtons]

Hello John. I’ve just been playing my White Album and it’s mono on one side and stereo on the other! Do you know anything about this?

[@johnheaton5667]

Tobingtons no sounds like a collector’s item you have there!

[@John-zg2ze]

The track blackbird Are we 100% sure that the song was inspired or had anything to do with the civil rights movement in 68 I'm sure unless I've imagined it...an interview with mccartney saying it's just a song no meaning behind it other than hearing birdsong in his garden Obviously now he has different recollections like quite a few of his other songs Has anybody else heard him saying that the song had no extra meaning?

[@iancrockert5110]

The Beatles (Triple Album) Side 1 Revolution (Single) Dear Prudence Glass Onion Cry Baby Cry Bungalow Bill Hey Bulldog Side 2 Yer Blues I'm So Tired Sexy Sadie Happiness is a Warm Gun Across The Universe Julia Side 3 Back In The USSR OB La Di Ob La Da I Will Mother Nature's Son Rocky Raccoon Wild Honey Pie Blackbird Side 4 Honey Pie Martha My Dear Why Don't We Do It In The Road? Lady Madonna Hey Jude Side 5 The Inner Light Not Guilty Piggies Savoy Truffle While My Guitar Gently Weeps Long Long Long Side 6 Birthday Everybody's Got Something To ..... Helter Skelter Revolution 9 Goodnight

[@paulhaworth6399]

I seem to remember George Martin saying he thought the album should have been a single disc. I’m sorry John I agree with him

[@beatlejames5745]

Enjoyed the review John. Ian McDonald was a very provocative writer, quite reactionary in many ways. As I remember he was equally scathing about Guitar Gently Weeps and Helter Skelter, for pretty much the same reason (he didn't think the Beatles should attempt to do heavy rock music). While I don't really think you could cut the White Album down to a single album and get away with it, there are a few tracks on it that I get quite impatient with. But I'll save that for when I come to do my own review. Cheers.

[@chatham43]

...while I completely disagree with Ian McDonald's review of WMGGW I do agree with his comments about Helter Skelter......a disappointingly clumsy attempt at heavy rock...

[@timetogo1831]

It is possible to put all the song into a single album we call that 16 rpm!

[@jean-marieboucherit4716]

Concerning Ian Macdonald I understand but I don’t agree. Mac Donald’s point of view is that the best Beatles music is the music that resembles none other: hence walrus, strawberry fields, etc.. it is a valid and interesting point of view. If you follow his lead you might prefer baby you’re a rich man to while my guitar ... and i do love rich man

[@Danjoker.]

My favorite Beatles album :)

[@nervo6321]

Has a quite a few fillers ie George's tracks but any album that includes Blackbird and Julia has to be up there with their best output.

[@lukeshirlaw6731]

I've managed to narrow it down to 15 tracks, though I'm not very proud of the results 1. USSR 2. Dear Prudence 3. While my Guitar Gently Weeps 4. Happiness is a Warm Gun 5. Martha My Dear 6. I'm So Tired (maybe would swap for Why Dont We Do It) 7. Don't Pass Me By 8. I Will 9. Julia 10. Yer Blues 11. Mother Nature's Son 12. Long Long Long 13. Revolution 1 14. Savoy Truffle 15. Cry Baby Cry

[@johnheaton5667]

Not a bad effort but such an exercise is inevitably frustrating (and not something I would even attempt!)

[@lukeshirlaw6731]

Took me a while, i found it quite an enjoyable pseudo album to listen to.

[@lukeshirlaw6731]

Also, i noticed you haven't done an album review of yellow submarine, i hope thats coming soon

[@johnheaton5667]

+Blooshroom Honey Yes Yellow Submarine coming soon i hope!

[@lukeshirlaw6731]

As do i

[@frankgilmartin]

Hi John, Great review of my all-time favourite album. I am interested to hear your view of Revolution No 9. My own view is that this song is the only black mark against the album but some, including Ian McDonald, rate the song very highly. In the era before CDs it was necessary to skip this song on the LP before listening to the beautiful ' Goodnight'.

[@johnheaton5667]

I don't think Ian Macdonald is anymore an authority on The Beatles than your average fan. In fact less so in my opinion. Part 2 is taped and coming soon!

[@ClarenceFisher]

Aside from Honey Pie, I love the sequencing on side 4. Cry Baby Cry has a sort of tense ending, which segues beautifully into "Can You Take Me Back", making it sound like the true ending of the song. Then Revolution 9 sounds like a nice continuation of that tension created by the end of "Cry Baby Cry"...and after all that disturbance in that track, "Good Night" is like a sigh of relief. "Ah...good - the worst is over".

[@jedikiah1541]

Even George Martin said it would have been better as a single album. There was a lot of filler by Beatles standards, although maybe not by the standard of more regular artists. 'Revolution 9' "Birthday' 'Cry Baby Cry' ' 'Goodnight' 'Honey Pie' 'Bungalow Bill' 'Don't Pass Me By' 'Wild Honey Pie' 'Why Don't We Do It In The Road? and Rocky Racoon aren't great. I don't even like Helter Skelter much, which is a horrible noise, and created just so McCartney could boast The Beatles had recorded the loudest ever track up to that point - his competitive side getting the better of him. I don't even like Obla Di Obla Da and Piggies and Savoy Truffle much. The best songs on The White Album, aren't the real whimsical ones, but the acoustic folky type tracks like Mother Natures Son, Julia, Blackbird, and of course Sexy Sadie, Happiness Is A Warm Gun. Dear Prudence and Yer Blues. At least when Lennon went solo, we lost a lot of that whimsical style and we could just focus on him honing his more personal and less superficial lyrics. Song for song The White Album just doesn't compare with Revolver, or even Help, in my opinion. There are many steps forward in what the Beatles were doing in 68, because their success had given them a free reign to do as they please, but there were also disadvantages to that. The album was over indulgent.

[@williamhenderson8371]

Trying to reduce the album to a single disc is a fool’s errand because there are too many good songs to fit on one album. That said, there are not enough good songs to make a solid double album and that is why, like moths to a flame, people are drawn to try.

[@llewellynGS1]

I managed to get it down to 20 songs; still too long for a single. I think there was too much filler or weak (or strange) songs here. Songs I would veto: Wild honey Pie, Bungalow, Martha, Rocky racoon, Don't pass me by, Why don't we do it?, Mother natures son (john denver), Honey pie, Revolution 9, good night. Some of those, like "wild honey pie" I like. I think it would have been better as a single album, more accessible, but I still like the whole as well.

[@johnheaton5667]

Respectfully disagree Glen! I think a double album was brave, ground breaking and wonderfully anti- commercial (yet it still sold like hotcakes). Eclecticism at its peak, besides there was no room for all four Beatles by this stage on a single album really although Abbey Road and Let It Be were both (single album) masterpieces. I think Paul's comment on this in The Beatles Anthology is about the best, in my opinion. I can't really conceive of this as anything less than the sprawling classic that it is. Plus Mother Nature's Son is an all time favourite of mine :- )

[@llewellynGS1]

Good comments John. I can see both sides of this. Like you said it was brave and wonderfully anti-commercial. When you consider albums like "Help" were only 3 years before. But Also I like the idea of a neater more flowing album :).

[@70PaulK]

Great album, although the variety of styles can make it a hard listen at times. Didn't know that John played piano on O-Bla-Di, and always loved that loose feel to the keyboard sound. Agree that Ian MacDonald should be ignored- we can all make our minds up about what's good & what isn't.

[@benmeltzer]

In his book Goeff Emerick writes about John coming up with the piano-driven arrangement and turning around the whole experience of recording the song after the drudgery of innumerable takes going nowhere.

[@jean-marieboucherit4716]

Sorry mistook onion for honey. Apologies

[@PeKe999]

Their best album.

[@moishe43]

I think this is a fabulous album. However, revolution 9 is sheer rubbish. Why? Not because it is a sound collage. I love sound collages. This is a rubbish sound collage. Taking samples from the music library is boring and unimaginative. Why not record things themselves and put a sound collage together with more original, self-made sounds? Anyway, it should not have been on the album. I think this should have been replaced with 'Not guilty', which is a fabulous track.

[@jean-marieboucherit4716]

Dave Moishe i don’t agree. I think Revolution 9 required a lot of work. It is very interesting

[@jean-marieboucherit4716]

John Heaton you should be ashamed of yourself for saying ‘‘this about Wild Honey Pie and Ian Macdonald. In the two or three lines he wrote there isn’t the slightest hint of what you say . It teaches me one thing or two: being a Beatles fan is not a badge of honesty or honor or beauty. T thing: when you love the Beatles you have to try and forget yourself .

[@Gardosunron]

It does have recordings of themselves on it. And bits of studio outakes as well . Plus spoken word from George and John.

[@andylucas1175]

Fantastic album: Always thought that this album should have been made available as two separate single albums, as well as a double, especially for people who couldn't, at that time, afford the full price of the double; it could have been a good marketting ploy too.

[@keithrh7599]

Cream did that around the same time and it worked for me as I couldn't afford the double so bought the disc I preferred although The Beatles were a different matter.

[@andylucas1175]

@@keithrh7599 You're correct Cream's "Wheels of Fire" came out a few months earlier in the same year and you had the option to purchase either of the two albums separately, a marketing trick the Beatles missed.

[@jean-marieboucherit4716]

Reviewing the White album is momentous.

[@babyfir77]

Great album....but I sure hate Why Don't We Do it in the Road. I'm glad that song wasn't any longer.

[@elwin38]

I hated Revolution #9

[@alastairmackay4861]

I love that song!!

[@zackbrand9311]

I love the white album :)

[@johnheaton5667]

Great!

[@simonandrewx]

It's quite the Beatles pass time you know? Creating your single Album version of the white album. I think you should have a crack at it, I've seen some plausible versions in other KZbin videos. Would make a good video John. kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZqqaqWdtn8p2mc0 watch this, Giles talks about it with Pete Mitchell.

[@trevordixon1427]

All good songs.released as 2lps maybe...

[@ClarenceFisher]

I've really tried to get the white album down to a single release and I just couldn't. The only tracks I could live without are Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da, Rocky Raccoon and Honey Pie...and cutting those aren't enough to make it a single album.

[@johnheaton5667]

Thanks Clarence...best left as a double then!

[@richardclark6858]

Bungalow Bills the best..

[@elvispresley285]

Great album. Boring review