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My White Album Edit
Reimagining The Beatles White Album as a single album
In November of 1968, The Beatles released a self-titled double-album that came to be known as The White Album. The nickname was due to its all-white cover, with the band’s name embossed on the front.
It was a rambling, eclectic mix of songs and styles. But being The Beatles, it sold extremely well. Many critics gave it favorable reviews, some calling it the greatest album of all time. A bit of hyperbole, perhaps. Other critics were not as kind, saying its satirical and novelty songs were unimportant in the political climate of the times.
With time and perspective, many have argued that it would have been a great single album if only the strongest songs had been chosen. I fall into this camp. There are obviously songs that wouldn’t have made it onto an album had The Beatles not been the most popular band in the world at the time.
For example, John and Yoko’s “song” Revolution 9. While they may have considered themselves avant-garde artists, does anybody really enjoy listening to eight and a half minutes of musical snippets, sound effects, and dialog cobbled together? Maybe if you are on some kind of hallucinogen, but otherwise, I doubt it. That time could have been better used for two (or three) great Beatles songs (in my opinion.)
