November 22, 1968 - The Beatles (The White Album)

A year after "Magical Mystery Tour", the Beatles released my final album of 1968, simply titled "The Beatles" on November 22; although many people refer to it as "The White Album" due to the album cover. It is the Beatles only double album, and clocks in at over 90 minutes long. Most of the songs on this album were written during a transcendental meditation retreat in India that all four Beatles attended. This allowed them to escape the fame and  hurry of England, and relax for a bit. While at the retreat, the only western instrument they had was an acoustic guitar, so contrary to the extravagance of their recent work, alot of the songs on this album are less intricate and didn't depend as much on studio effects. Only 16 of the 30 tracks feature all four band members, as these sessions were the beginning of fractured relationships between the Beatles, resulting in John Lennon and Paul McCartney sometimes working in the studio, but in separate rooms with different engineers. The constant presence of Lennon's partner, Yoko Ono, created a lot of tension between the group's two main songwriters. Despite all this, the album was still a huge success. Let's dive in!

Side 1 begins with McCartney singing lead on "Back In The U.S.S.R." He wrote it as somewhat of a Beach Boys parody; loving to be back in the Soviet Union instead of the thousands of songs about the U.S.A. It's a great rock song with some cool piano and a nice guitar solo. Lennon and George Harrison sing backing vocals in their style. Lennon sings the next track "Dear Prudence", a song he wrote about a girl who was at the same Indian retreat as the Beatles, but rarely left her room due to her meditation. It has some cool bass and acoustic guitar leading the slow song. Track 3 has Lennon on lead again with "Glass Onion". Similar to "I Am The Walrus" last year, this song was written because Lennon was annoyed that people claimed to find hidden meanings in their songs. It references several previous Beatles tracks, and they even parody themselves a bit. It's a bass-driven song with some strings at the end. McCartney is back on lead with "Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da", another parody of sorts, this time of ska music. McCartney sure seemed to make fun of other genres by becoming them. It's a very catchy song about a man and woman who meet, fall in love, and have kids. It features some great piano work as well as some horns. Paul is on lead vocals again for a very short track "Wild Honey Pie". It's a twang-y song with some odd singing, a very weird interlude indeed. Lennon wrote the next track, "The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill" about a man who left the retreat in India to go hunt tigers. It has a cool guitar intro, but the chorus is very repetitive and they play it a lot. The slower verses are much better. Harrison writes one song on each side of this double album, starting with "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". It features Cream's Eric Clapton on lead guitar and Harrison on the Hammond organ. This one of my favourite Beatles songs, with a great vocal delivery from Harrison and some cool guitar from Clapton. Side 1 ends with another Lennon tune, "Happiness Is A Warm Gun" one that has some odd time signatures, making it a different and interesting song. Lennon's guitar and singing sound different than anything he's done before and I really like this song as well. The lyrics are a little dark and it's a far cry from their earlier career.

Side 2 kicks off with McCartney's "Martha My Dear", a song on which he's the only Beatle to perform (it does have a brass section as well). It's driven by a decent piano riff and the brass section plays the same riff later in the song. Track 10 is Lennon's "I'm So Tired", which he wrote while having sleeping issues in India. It has some slow bass and acoustic, but it picks up a little during the chorus. Up next is "Blackbird", which has just McCartney on vocals and acoustic guitar. He plays it fairly quickly and the result is a cool little song about flying free. Harrison's track from side 2 is called "Piggies", which he wrote as an attack on western materialism. It's driven by s harpsichord riff, which I think sounds really great actually, and it also has some strings. An interesting song for sure. Track 13 is McCartney's "Rocky Raccoon", which producer George Martin actually called filler. It's a song about a guy who has his girl taken by another man, so he goes after the guy. Another acoustic song, it also has harmonica and some showtunes-like keyboards. "Don't Pass Me By" is the next track, which is the first Beatles song that Ringo Starr wrote himself. It features McCartney on some slow piano and also has some decent violin. It's about not wanting to be left behind. McCartney is on lead vocals again with the short song, "Why Don't We Do It In The Road?", which he was inspired to write after seeing monkeys having sex in the street in India. He plays some slow piano, but Inreally like his vocal style on this song, very rock and roll. Paul is on lead again with "I Will" on track 16. It's about doing anything for the one you love, and it has some cool guitar and some interesting percussion. The final track on the first disc is Lennon's "Julia", a song in which he is the only Beatle to play. Similar to "Blackbird", it has Lennon on vocals and acoustic guitar and is a tribute to his mother. It's a sad, slow song that has some cool guitar in it. 

Disc 2 and side 3 begins with "Birthday", and is a classic rock and roll song with McCartney and Lennon on vocals. It's got a catchy guitar riff and some good piano as well. Lennon wrote the next song "Yer Blues" while on the retreat, as he was still unhappy despite their getaway. It's a really great blues song with solid bass, some cool guitar and even a nice solo. Lennon's blues-style vocals are great as well and I really like the Beatles doing blues. Similar to "Martha My Dear", McCartney and a brass section are the only people to play on the next track, "Mother Nature's Son". It has some soft acoustic guitar and the brass section sounds great. Track 21 on the album evolved from a jam session and is called "Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey", which aside from the monkey part, was a saying that the Maharishi who led the retreat would say. It's a pretty rockin' little song, with some nice licks, and some crazy cowbells and percussion. Lennon wrote it and the next track, "Sexy Sadie", about the Maharishi who was a very central figure for the Beatles. It was a nickname Lennon called him, however the lyrics are most definitely about a woman. It's a slow piano-driven song. McCartney's "Helter Skelter", is about a slide at a playground, but the song has a much heavier feel than the lyrics would suggest. It has some really great guitar throughout, a rumbling bass line and all four members extensively rock out on this tune. I love McCartney's heavy-style yelling vocals on this song. It has a false ending, before fading back in and culminating with Starr's famous yell of "I've got blisters on my fingers!" Side 3 wraps up with Harrison's "Long, Long, Long", which features McCartney on Hammond organ. It's a slow, beautiful song and Harrison has written several great songs off this album.

The final side of this double album starts with "Revolution 1", a Lennon-sung song that was originally meant to be a single, but during the sessions the band slowed it down and gave it a much more relaxed vibe. It is slow for sure, but has some cool guitar and horns. It's about wanting to change the world, but not with violence. The next track is "Honey Pie", which has McCartney on some very high pitch lead vocals, a guitar solo from Lennon as well as saxophone and clarinet. It's about a girl who became an actress in Hollywood, but he misses her back home in England. Harrison's final song off the album is "Savoy Truffle", which features a saxophone sextet, and boy do they sound great. Along with some cool guitar, Harrison just keeps rolling out the hits. Track 28 is Lennon's "Cry Baby Cry" which has producer Martin on harmonium. It's a piano-led song and has some solid bass as well. The next track "Revolution 9" was created from the overdubs of "Revolution 1". It features spoken word from Harrison, Lennon, Martin and Yoko Ono, who would have a particularly large influence on the tape loops that were chosen for this song. All this overdubbing occurred while McCartney was out of England, so he does not feature anywhere on what is the Beatles longest track ever made. Throughout the track "number 9" is repeated and there are so many tape loops that this song is really trippy. It has piano in the background and is definitely the most psychedelic song on this album, though "song" doesn't even quite feel.like the right word for this very weird recording. The album's closer is "Good Night", a song written by Lennon for his son, though he specifically wanted Starr to sing it. It has an orchestral arrangement and it sounds absolutely stunning. A very beautiful score carries the song as Starr's voice does seem to fit the lullaby lyrics. It is a fitting send-off for such a grand album. 

That finally concludes the epic double album "The Beatles". It has quite a few good songs, the Harrison ones in particular I liked, but it does have some songs that are not jumping out and stealing your attention. Some might call them filler, but the Beatles had so many song ideas, I can understand wanting to get them all out there, even if some of them don't wow you. Overall I thought for a 30 song album, it was quite solid and the Beatles explore a variety of different styles. But how does it rank with their other albums I have? I think it was better than their previous effort, "Magical Mystery Tour", but then the question becomes is it better than "Rubber Soul"? I think the better songs on the White Album are good enough to carry it past "Rubber Soul", but I do not think it was better than "Sgt. Pepper's". Therefore, I believe the fifth album I have by them falls in the middle at #3, with "Revolver" remaining as their best effort. This is certainly becoming a long post, as this is also my last album of 1968, and so begins the year-end wrap-up! 4 full albums this year is one less than last year, but it also has one more band, so at least the library is growing that way.

Favourite song of the year: This is a tough decision between two songs that are both called "Voodoo Chile". The 15-minute epic has some great parts in it, but I think the amount of awesomeness that is packed into the "(Slight Return)" takes it to the top. What a phenomenal song, and Hendrix is just legendary. It may come as no surprise then to see which album I think sits at the pinnacle of this year.

Top 3 Albums of the year

1. The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Electric Ladyland

2. Pink Floyd - A Saucerful Of Secrets

3. The Beatles - The Beatles

For the second year in a row, Jimi Hendrix is the king, as Floyd replaces the Beatles with the 2nd best album of the year. However, the Experience are no more, so there is guaranteed to be a new artist atop the rankings next year. 1969 has an explosion of new bands joining my library, so there will be many more contenders vying to make the album of the year. I look forward to hearing an even greater variety of music next year!