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The Beatles The White Album
Double CD, jewel case
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Track Listings
Disc: 1
1 | Back in the U.S.S.R. |
2 | Dear Prudence |
3 | Glass Onion |
4 | Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da |
5 | Wild Honey Pie |
6 | Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill |
7 | While My Guitar Gently Weeps |
8 | Happiness Is a Warm Gun |
9 | Martha My Dear |
10 | I'm So Tired |
11 | Blackbird |
12 | Piggies |
13 | Rocky Raccoon |
14 | Don't Pass Me By |
15 | Why Don't We Do It in the Road? |
16 | I Will |
17 | Julia |
Disc: 2
1 | Birthday |
2 | Yer Blues |
3 | Mother Nature's Son |
4 | Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey |
5 | Sexy Sadie |
6 | Helter Skelter |
7 | Long, Long, Long |
8 | Revolution 1 |
9 | Honey Pie |
10 | Savoy Truffle |
11 | Cry Baby Cry |
12 | Revolution 9 |
13 | Good Night |
Editorial Reviews
Product description
No Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: CD
Artist: BEATLES
Title: BEATLES (WHITE ALBUM)
Street Release Date: 01/01/1987
Domestic
Genre: ROCK/POP
Amazon.com
Better known as the "White Album," this was 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 the envelope of pop music. Lennon and McCartney were still at the height of their powers, with Lennon in particular growing into one of rock's towering figures. But even McCartney could still rock, and the amazement on "Helter Skelter" was that he had vocal cords at the end. From Beach Boys knock-offs to reggae and to the unknown ("Revolution #9"), this has it all. Some records have legend written all over them; this is one. --Chris Nickson
Product details
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
- Package Dimensions : 5.6 x 4.9 x 0.9 inches; 6.4 ounces
- Manufacturer : Capitol
- Date First Available : January 19, 2007
- Label : Capitol
- ASIN : B000002UAX
- Number of discs : 2
- Best Sellers Rank: #28,266 in CDs & Vinyl (See Top 100 in CDs & Vinyl)
- #86 in Classic Rock Supergroups
- #637 in Folk Rock (CDs & Vinyl)
- #1,304 in Album-Oriented Rock (AOR) (CDs & Vinyl)
- Customer Reviews:
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The 'White Album' is the most widely (and wildly) varied of all the Beatles' albums, but, while 'Revolver' is better integrated, the 'White Album' is a worthy treasure hunt worth repeating without getting tiresome. Unlike any other Beatles' album, the 'White Album' showcases fine songs to get lost in; it remains a fresh experience that doesn't get familiar like most of their work. The wildest and quietest songs of their repertoire are presented here. It is in some ways their riskiest effort. After the slickness of '67, the Beatles go back to rock n' roll without compromise this time around. "Back in the USSR," "Helter Skelter," and "Birthday" are great propulsive songs, pay dirt. They are wild in an innovative way that leaves their early years in the dust once again. Then, "I Will," showcases Paul at his tender best. "Julia," in the same vein, is John's haunting, yet quiet magnus opus.
There is also uncompromising social commentary. Musically and lyrically, John is seldom in finer form than on "Happiness Is a Warm Gun," a brilliant barb against the NRA, with stunning commentary, no matter what side you take with the U.S.'s Second Amendment. Then, if the music doesn't pierce the lush mood of 'Sgt. Pepper,' and 1967, et al., "Yer Blues" and "Glass Onion" will. Both show John at his most fearless. (The former mocks the blues craze, especially in England, and the latter faithlessly mocks fans giving too close readings of Beatles' songs.) George Harrison is usually left out of the social commentary praises, but he is most direct with "Piggies," a diatribe against the aristocracy, oddly never presented elsewhere. While spare musically and a bit too simplistic, it is an unflinching piece of criticism. Paul, too, delivers an unusually eloquent ballad with "Blackbird," a timely gesture to the Black community, the alienated--or both.
Musically, the scope is grand with mesmerizing pieces throughout the mix. John's "Dear Prudence" is fascinating how lyrically and musically it wooes its subject matter. Then, "Sexy Sadie" is as hypnotic as it is scathing. "Everybody's Got Something to Hide (Except Me and My Monkey)" also proves that he had a hard time getting the Maharishi off his back. It provides a catchy, multi-layered fast-forward presence, even if the bitter gall continues throughout. Paul's "Mother Nature's Son," and "Martha My Dear" are beautifully engaging. Perhaps the most hypnotic song of all is George's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". Containing great guitar, people either find it mesmerizing or monotonous, but this reviewer considers it a classic.
When there aren't diatribes or love songs, then stories are perennially present. Paul ably gives us a fine Western with "Rocky Racoon," featuring one of the best endings of any Beatles' song. This spirited and fun song is at least musically bettered with "Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da," a spunky tune that skillfully gathers the music and spirit of the Spanish community together. (All done for the best subject matter they ever mastered, love.) Paul gives us another playful story-song with "Honey Pie," arguably his best rendering of the Vaudeville era. It is cutesy, but substantial. In similar fashion, John hasn't lost all his fun-spiritedness as illustrated with "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill," even if it is a barbed assault on another gun-toting character. Also, his "Cry, Baby, Cry" seems like an original piece of Lewis Carroll, meant to chide someone off her pedestal. If playfulness is what you wish from this assortment, then George's "Savoy Truffle" may be your just dessert. With a hip jazz accompaniment, this dancey number provides a spoon full of sugar, even as it metaphorically relates warnings of bad karma.
The variety is stunning, and the production is classic. The sounds are the most modern and least dated of any Beatles' album. It goes back to basics without returning to former destinations. Subjectively, the alleged weaknesses reinforce the album. "Revolution 9" may be dated topically in some ways, but you seldom hear anything like it before or since. This fearless montage is innovative and interesting. Some of the tiny songs are fun, too. "Why Don't We Do It in the Road," "Wild Honey Pie," and "Revolution 1" broaden the already wide scope of the album. They are also irreverent. As if not to take themselves too seriously or the remarkable achievements of this classic album, they close with an overtly sentimental standard: their own original "Good Night," cleverly given to Ringo. (Even he scores his first full-length original composition, "Don't Pass Me By," a likable ditty that reminds us he was a prize acquisition from Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, a country rock group.) Some of the strongest singing performances are also presented on the 'White Album'. Paul delivers some of his strongest singing on "Birthday" and "Helter Skelter". John is seldom better than on "Yer Blues" and "I'm So Tired". George raises hair on the neck on "Long, Long, Long".
Ironically, initial criticism (from even the producer, George Martin, no less) stated the double album was good, but uneven, and could have been condensed into a one-disc masterpiece. (That would have ruined the fun, but produced a lot of mystery and bootlegs.) Oddly, the self-titled Beatles' album has more songs without all four present. Yet, the album is aptly named. Each composer is the maestro with a plethera of support from (willing) and able members of the band or special guest stars as desired or needed. It is a testament to the breakdown of the group: Paul is pop perfect with an encyclopedic splendour; John is ingeniously powerful for not suffering foolishness gladly. The sand of controversy provided this great pearl. Each copy has a new number to accentuate that it is a work of art. This confidence is understandable. Like 'Let It Be,' this album gets back to basics, but instead of being put on the back burner, it is put to the forefront with the Beatles' name prominent like no place else. Even if you don't like all the flavors presented, the experience is always worth repeating.
(Perhaps it is unnecessary, but it seems odd that Charles Manson would grasp subliminal messages of violent overthrow from this album. Certain drugs are particularly dangerous for some, and his rendering of "Helter Skelter," which in context is really about a wild and sexy party, is symptomatic of the occasionally regrettable universality of the Beatles' music. He should have interpreted that John was being literal about guns, and his disdain for knives couldn't be extrapolated differently. No where did George come close to suggesting the French Revolution in "Piggies," but that is the closest Manson gets to hitting the songs right. Well, enough about him.)
This was another #1 album by the guys from Liverpool. There weren't any singles released from the album though there could have been several. The album opens with "Back in the U.S.S.R.", a song that McCartney still performs in his tours. The chorus was a tribute to the Beach Boys. That's Paul playing drums on this one, not Ringo. This is one of the best songs on the album. This song then segues into "Dear Prudence", one of my favorite Lennon songs. John, Paul & George layered about six guitars to get the sound that they wanted. This song was written about Mia Farrow's sister, Prudence, who was on the same retreat to India that the Beatles were. Then comes "Glass Onion", a lot of people like this song but I don't care for it all. Then comes one of McCartney's ditties "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da", a song he wanted very much to be a hit. It's humorous & catchy, another song that fit the Lennon remark, "It's a song your granny would dig." McCartney actually goofed singing th lyrics of the next to last verse & George Martin decided to go with it anyway. Then comes the short throwaway "Wild Honey Pie", fun but filler. Then we get an incredible flamenco-style acoustic guitar opening the song "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill", very acidic & cynical lyrics by Lennon. Yoko Ono actually sings the line "Not when he look so fierce". Then comes the Harrison classic "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". This definitely could have been a single. When Harrison first played this song for Lennon & McCartney, they almost literally turned their noses up at this song. They didn't want any part of it. That's Eric Clapton playing the lead guitar. Lennon & Harrison were actually at immense differences at the time when this album was recorded; Lennon refused to play on the four Harrison compositions on this album. "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" is one of those complex Lennon songs, it has multi-movements & time changes. It's loaded with imagery & is one of my favorite songs from the album.
"Martha My Dear" is an average song, but cute, that Paul wrote about his sheepdog. "I'm So Tired" is a good Lennon song that has some acerbic lyrics. "Blackbird" is a McCartney classic that he still performs. He was the only Beatle to play on this one. "Piggies" is a Harrison song that isn't anywhere near his best. "Rocky Raccoon" is another McCartney classic with a country twist to it; it's some of the best lyrics he has written. "Don't Pass Me By" was the first song on a Beatles album to be solely written by Ringo (the writing credit is actually his real name, Richard Starkey). It's similar to country music & completely dispensable. "Why Don't We Do It in the Road" is completely McCartney. He plays all the instruments on this one. It was recorded late after the scheduled session had ended & all the other Beatles had gone home. This was one of those things that added tension to the sessions & caused the other three to be very resentful toward McCartney. It's one of my favorites. There follow a typical McCartney ballad "I Will" that's average. Disc one closes with the moody Lennon composition "Julia", a song he had written in honor of his mother. Once again Lennon's lyrics are loaded with imagery.
Disc two opens with the rocker "Birthday". Typically inane lyrics by McCartney but the song moves & could have been released as a single. Lennon's "Yer Blues" is next; it's an intense song that goes through different variations of the same riff. "Mother Nature's Son" is an acoustic number written by McCartney, once again he's the only Beatle on it. "Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except for Me and My Monkey" is the longest title in the Beatles canon. It's one of Lennon's best, it rocks hard & has a great bass riff near the end. "Sexy Sady" was written by Lennon & is really about the Maharishi that the Beatles went to see on their Indian retreat. One can tell that Lennon wasn't too crazy about the guy. "Helter Skelter" is one of the hardest rocking songs the Beatles would do; it comes very close to being heavy metal. This song would get some very sinister press because of some famous murders that would occur not long after the release of this album. "Long, Long, Long" is another Harrison composition that's not among his best, it has a very eerie ending. Then comes the original version of "Revolution". This was the way Lennon wanted to do it but George Martin convinced them to do a much speeded up version that became a hit single. I feel this slow version is the better version. "Honey Pie" is another McCartney ditty, a 'granny" song. "Savoy Truffle" is lone of Harrison's best songs; he wrote it about a box of candy. "Cry Baby Cry" is a great Lennon ballad but one he personally thought was garbage. It has unique lyric content & is one of his better efforts. The fragment at the end is a McCartney bit, "Can You Take Me Back" that was spliced on to the end of "Cry Baby Cry". Once again it's McCartney recording by himself after the rest of the band has gone home. There follows the avant-garde "Revolution #9", it's atrocious & is the one song that could & should be deleted. Does anyone really listen to this? Disc two closes with Lennon's "Good Night", vocal done by Ringo. Lennon told Martin to write an arrangement for it making it sound like 'Hollywood'. Ringo is the only Beatle performing on this song.
This isn't actually a Beatles album. It's more like four solos albums with each Beatle playing with the same backing band. It's incredible that they put this album together with all the animosity that was going on between them.The vast majority of these songs were written while they were on their sojourn to India. The diversity of song styles here is incredible; there's big band, pop, rock, country, blues & ballads. That was always one of the best things about Beatles albums; one never knew what to expect of them but it was going to be good. Truly an amzing album!
Some have complained that The Beatles consists of music that is "all over the map". This is certainly the case. There are twenty-seven songs, spread over four LP sides. There are, essentially, four composers and four vocalists. I prefer to applaud the variety of style and sound rather than bemoan the lack of a consistent thread. I have never considered that this album sounds "thrown together" or "dysfunctional" as others have written. For me, The White Album competes with Soul, Revolver, Pepper and Abbey Road for honours as the best Beatles release. Only Revolution #9, which I have being trying to appreciate for almost forty years, and Ob-Le-Di, Ob-La-Da, detract from my enjoyment. George Harrison's Guitar Weeps and Long. Long, Long are stand-outs. Paul shows that he can still rock hard (USSR) and John that he can be a balladeer (Julia).
The Beatles is a magnificent comeback - a stellar way for the band to begin the final stage of its career - and yet another record that earns its five stars with ease.
Top reviews from other countries
It's gargantuan in it's musical ambition and writing spectrum but when you listen to individual tracks as a microcosm of the entire album, the Beatles have never been more poignant in their lyrical and songwriting composition than they achieved here and acoustically with songs like "Julia" - a Lennon self exploration that equals "A Day In The Life" in sheer spine tingling creative excellence, one of the best tracks he ever laid down which exemplifies the use of acoustic guitar by both John and Paul as more pronounce upon this album than any other and the reflective time spent in Rishikesh, India permeates through the songs "I Will", Mother Nature's Son" and "Blackbird" being other near perfect remastering examples of what is so delightful about this edition.
It is also a very memorable album being the one so wide ranging in eclectic scope as to give George Harrison a shot at his proto " All Things Must Pass" phase, having paid third fiddle to a couple of half decent songwriters in Lennon - McCartney for the previous 5 years, what a fantastic outpouring it released "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and "Long, Long, Long" providing material that equalled anything his two prolific mates could produce having been straining at the proverbial creative leash internally for a long, long time. The re- mastering quality at work here is just exquisite in re-defining songs that cried out for better production on the original release.
And boy, do the Beatles rock on this album, "Back In The USSR", "Yer Blues", "Birthday" "Revolution" bring out the old Hamburg spirit despite the direction they were taking as individual artists and getting sucked into the legalities of business reality that must have sapped their cohesion so much in the years following the death of Brian Epstein, when the dream was over and the predators closed in.
Lennon was also at his most creative and imaginative peak at this point, the distillation of songs such as "Dear Prudence", "Sexy Sadie" "Happiness Is A Warm Gun" and "Cry Baby Cry" show where his mind was at that time and these musings could not have been penned by anyone other than JWL. His humour also comes across in abundance on "I'm So Tired" and " Bungalow Bill" in that unique form of expression that he gave voice to.
Also the move away from the overtly psychedelic artwork album covers of "Sgt Pepper's" and " Magical Mystery Tour" to the plain white cover design concept, marked a departure from this period to the clearing of the mind resulting from the Indian meditation sojourn that also gave birth to so many of these songs.
As I stated earlier, there has been so much material written about the phenomenom that has susequently become the Beatles myth that it is virtually a printing industry these days. When I hark back to that little terraced house where this album was given that communal listen by a group of mates back in 1968, some of whom went on to join Bands as diverse as the Specials and UK Subs then this album has a lot to answer for.
It's not only brilliant, it's iconic, it's a national treasure and the sound quality of this re-master means it's indispensable to anyone who cherishes it's creation. Improve the quality of your own life and listening experience and acquire it if you can.Then again if you cannot afford it - see if you can listen to it at one of your Buddies
gaffs! Highly recommended in the absolute.