Album: White Album
There was something mysterious and illicit about the White Album to me when I was growing up. A friend's Dad owned a copy on LP, but it was so precious he never got it down from the attic nor played it, so when I finally had the money to buy a CD copy in my late teens, it felt like I had access to a forbidden world. Reaction to the album's release in '68, after the band had returned from India, was very mixed, critical even, with many people disappointed it wasn't another psychedelic offering along the lines of Sgt Pepper's. In fact, this is the most reactionary album the Beatles ever made; the cover itself is thumbing its nose at all the elaborate, multi-coloured psych albums of the period, while the music is so diverse and unclassifiable that it defies any genre. Though the album is far from coherent, I still think it contains some of the best Beatles songs, up there with Revolver and Rubber Soul. For me, the whiteness of the White Album is the white heat of a pop supernova exploding, a final burst of creativity before the rot and the divisions set in.
Undoubtedly, there are some truly awful songs on this album, not least Piggies and Don't Pass Me By, but these are more than offset by the many sublime ones. The segue from Back In The U.S.S.R. to Dear Prudence is one of my favourite openings to any album. Indeed, Dear Prudence and Julia are two of the best songs that Lennon ever wrote. McCartney really comes to the fore on Side 2, with Martha My Dear, Blackbird and I Will all magnificent. Harrison chips in with one of his Beatles high points, the harder-rocking While My Guitar Gently Weeps, ably assisted on the axe by Eric Clapton. Sides 3 and 4 aren't perhaps as consistent as the first two, but Mother Nature's Son, Helter Skelter and Revolution 1 are all highly original and compelling. Even Ringo has one of his finest moments as a Beatle, closing the album with Good Night, as though singing a sleepy lullaby to his children. The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced this is my favourite Beatles album. I own the LP with serial number 0418131, and though it's tatty and only has one disc, it's still one of my most treasured possessions.
Artist: Beatles
Born: Liverpool
Released: November 1968
Genre: Rock
Influenced: Neutral Milk Hotel, Stone Roses, Nirvana, The Verve
Undoubtedly, there are some truly awful songs on this album, not least Piggies and Don't Pass Me By, but these are more than offset by the many sublime ones. The segue from Back In The U.S.S.R. to Dear Prudence is one of my favourite openings to any album. Indeed, Dear Prudence and Julia are two of the best songs that Lennon ever wrote. McCartney really comes to the fore on Side 2, with Martha My Dear, Blackbird and I Will all magnificent. Harrison chips in with one of his Beatles high points, the harder-rocking While My Guitar Gently Weeps, ably assisted on the axe by Eric Clapton. Sides 3 and 4 aren't perhaps as consistent as the first two, but Mother Nature's Son, Helter Skelter and Revolution 1 are all highly original and compelling. Even Ringo has one of his finest moments as a Beatle, closing the album with Good Night, as though singing a sleepy lullaby to his children. The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced this is my favourite Beatles album. I own the LP with serial number 0418131, and though it's tatty and only has one disc, it's still one of my most treasured possessions.
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