The Beatles [White Album] [50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition] (1968)

By the time the Beatles reconvened to record the follow-up to Sgt. Pepper, they had already begun to splinter, with each member doggedly pursuing a musical vision that didn't necessarily jibe with the others'. Nor did it jibe with what the group achieved on their groundbreaking 1967 album. If the Beatles were consciously trying to distance themselves from the layered, whimsical sound of Sgt. Pepper, they couldn't have done better than The Beatles, also known as the White Album because of its plain white cover. Although it's ... Read More

By the time the Beatles reconvened to record the follow-up to Sgt. Pepper, they had already begun to splinter, with each member doggedly pursuing a musical vision that didn't necessarily jibe with the others'. Nor did it jibe with what the group achieved on their groundbreaking 1967 album. If the Beatles were consciously trying to distance themselves from the layered, whimsical sound of Sgt. Pepper, they couldn't have done better than The Beatles, also known as the White Album because of its plain white cover. Although it's blessed with the same studio trickery and segued sequencing, none of the songs replicate the sophisticated pop synthesis of that record; in fact, very few of the songs on the long, sprawling double album sound as if they're full-fledged band efforts. Each song is an entity unto itself, trying its own distinct style. There is no internal logic, as there was on Sgt. Pepper -- the White Album simply sprawls forth, touching on anything and everything it can. For some, particularly fans of the seamless Pepper, this makes for a frustratingly scattershot record, but for other listeners, the White Album is a singularly gripping musical experience. There certainly is filler littered throughout the record, but all the filler has a purpose, contributing to the overall feel of the album. Furthermore, the filler isn't so much filler as it is a series of disconnected ideas, all executed brilliantly and elaborately. No idea -- not even the minute-long dissonant rant "Wild Honey Pie" or the simple vamp "Why Don't We Do It in the Road" -- is simply thrown away; instead, it's milked of all its possibilities. Perhaps this is because the four members were so possessive of their own musical ideas that they wanted to devote all their energies to their own tracks. It's certainly the reason why the record became a double album -- no one had the desire to sort through the material to craft a single record. Then again, the White Album needs to spread out, it needs to have its loose ends and detours, because what is interesting about the album is its sprawl. Never before had a rock record been so self-reflective, or so ironic; unlike Zappa, who wore his satire on his sleeve, the Beatles deliver the Beach Boys send-up "Back in the USSR" and the British blooze parody "Yer Blues" straight-faced, so it's never clear if these are affectionate tributes or the wicked satires they really are. Also, it's inherently fascinating to hear McCartney develop the charming domesticated tunesmithery ("I Will," "Blackbird," "Mother Nature's Son") that would come to distinguish his solo work, while Lennon rocks ("Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey") and rants ("Revolution 1," "Happiness Is a Warm Gun," "I'm So Tired") into his own solo style. That's hardly the extent of their contributions, however. Lennon also turns in two of his best ballads with "Dear Prudence" and "Julia"; scours the Abbey Road vaults to create the musique concrète collage "Revolution 9"; pours on the schmaltz for Ringo's closing number, "Good Night"; celebrates the Beatles cult with "Glass Onion"; and, with "Cry Baby Cry," rivals Syd Barrett for British childhood psychedelia. McCartney doesn't reach quite as far with his efforts, simply because he values songcraft too much, but his songs are continually stunning -- from the music-hall romp "Honey Pie" and the mock country of "Rocky Raccoon" to the ska-inflected "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" and the proto-metal roar of "Helter Skelter." Clearly, the Beatles' two main songwriting forces were no longer on the same page, but neither were George and Ringo. Lennon and McCartney stuck to the traditional allotment of two Harrison songs per LP, but it's clear from "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," the canned soul of "Savoy Truffle," the haunting "Long, Long, Long," and even the silly "Piggies" that he had developed into a songwriter who deserved wider exposure. And Ringo, who was allowed to record his first original song... Read Less

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