Reviews (page 11 of 15)
Sure, 90 minutes of Beatles is a lot. But the front half is full of bangers. The Revolution variants are weird. The rest is fine.
это было долго алкоальбом: 5 шотов текилы и потом пытаешься опохмелиться белым русским
Pretty standard.
It's good, but inevitably I anticipate a way will be found to not STFU about it even come heat death of the universe, which stops it being a 5.
Takes me back to when I first started smoking weed. Lots of really good songs on here although it’s longer than it needs
Already well known to me, great album
4.5 / 5 A Classic. The White Album. Some regard this as their best album, and this would be regarded as a correct answer. For me, it's not, but it's still a gorgeous album including some of their best work. Way beyond their time and pillars in the music world. Although there are some skips. For example 'Back In The USSR' or 'Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da' are filler songs. While they do have some charming aspects they are overshadowed by a lot of songs & not their best stuff. A personal favorite is 'Helter Skelter'. Absolute genius in the highest degree. A pioneer for 'heavier rock' tunes. Just classic Beatles paving the way for other generations to come. Not to mention the Manson controversy makes it more interesting. Pure brilliance, impeccable musicianship, and very catchy lyrics.
7/10 would listen again
If I had a time machine, I would go back to any time when a band or artist was contemplating making a double album and force them at ray gun point (because I assume if I have a time machine I also have a ray gun) to just make a really good single album instead. The only exceptions being Songs in the Key of Life, Exile on Mainstreet, The Basement Tapes and maybe Blonde on Blonde. The White Album is great, but you know what would have been better? Back in the U.S.S.R. Dear Prudence While My Guitar Gently Weeps Happiness Is A Warm Gun I'm So Tired Blackbird I Will Julia Birthday Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey Helter Skelter Long, Long, Long That album would be up there with Abbey Road as a near perfect Beatles album. Instead you've got this giant sprawling mess of a double album that includes a bunch of songs that nobody needs or wants. I get it, they were super famous and nobody could tell them no, they had fried their brains on acid, they had all just had a bad three-month-long weird cult vacation and they weren't getting along. Still, if you watch that Apple TV special where they recorded them for forty-something hours while they made Let it Be, Paul says something about how the band had been off its game since "Mr. Epstein" died because Brian Epstein kept them in line. I have to agree. These chuckleheads needed a grown up. The White Album isn't bad (I know, hot take) but it suffers from the classic double-album curse. It could have been an amazing single album.
post-modern fragments joined. Lyrics don't have to make sense particularly if they have a good sound hook. One finds nonsense, humor, and bits of what are probably political commentary spread throughout. Some beautiful pieces of music. Some bits of showing what you can do with new sound equipment on revolution 9--a pastiche with intent of some sort. To me, this is very much a turning point where art overtakes commercialism but still manages to be commercial. The album cover is interesting in its absence of everything except the band name embossed. In both the world of art and commercialism, the "signature"/band name/branding is, in one sense, more important than any content. And in another sense, the recording is more more important regardless of who created it.
Waar begin je met zo'n megalomaan album die van hot naar her gaat, en het ene naar het andere proto-genre introduceert. Ik heb deze plaat altijd gezien als de speeltuin van één van de creatiefste bands ooit, en dan krijg je als resultaat een onalledaagse wirwar aan ludieke meezingers en songs die de loop van de muziekgeschiedenis voor eeuwig zouden veranderden. Om een beetje grip te krijgen op ''The White Album'', ga ik side 1/2 en side 3/4 beiden apart reviewen, om vervolgens tot een eindoordeel te komen. Een geschikte methode, gezien de absentie van een duidelijke verhaallijn/concept. De eerste helft van het album opent met 'Back In The U.S.S.R.', die de luisteraar enigszins op het verkeerde been zet door terug te grijpen naar de stijl die de band had in de tijd dat ze nog optraden. Het is rock & roll in 'the vein of' Chuck Berry, met Beach Boys-achtige achtergrondvocalen. Het is een lekkere inkomer, maar bereidt je weinig voor op wat komen gaat. 'Dear Prudence' volgt, en geeft een beter kijkje in de wereld waarin de band zich op dat moment van de carrière bevond. De psychedelische ondertoon, en de hypnotiserende progressie die het goed gedaan zou hebben tijdens één van hun meditatiesessies in India, creëren een ambiance die haaks staat op het openingsnummer. Het album staat bol van deze tegenstrijdigheden. Want lang tijd om te bivakkeren in een staat van Nirwana is er niet, gezien de carnavalsnummers 'Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da' en 'The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill' voor de deur staan. Het klinkt alsof Ringo zich bovengemiddeld veel met de nummers op dit album heeft bemoeid, maar hij heeft tot dit moment verrassend genoeg nog geen credits gekregen. Speelse nummers als deze zijn ook toonaangevend in de speeltuin die 'White Album' heet, en geven een onserieuze draai aan een album die wel degelijk serieus genomen dient te worden. 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' herinnert ons daaraan, een hoeksteen in de grandioze discografie van The Beatles, en mijn favoriete nummer uit de pen van George. En dan in combinatie met 'Happiness Is A Warm Gun', veel betere back to back tracks ga je niet vinden in de 60s. Dit is het eerste nummer waar de band echt de experimentele lade opent; ze strooien met onorthodoxe ritmes, extravagante vocalen, en vreemde lyrics. En het werkt fantastisch, verveelt nooit, en verdient voor mij de ietwat problematische titel 'beste song van het album'. Wat bijna niet te voorkomen is, is dat ze daarna een beetje op de rem trappen, en voor hun doen ietwat saai werk afleveren. 'I'm So Tired' verdient nog wel een s/o, typisch werk van John, waarin hij oprecht doodmoe klinkt. 'Rocky Raccoon' is één van de band's weinige pogingen om echt Amerikaans te klinken, en het resultaat is enigszins sullig. Toch moet ik bekennen dat het voor mij echt de 'guilty pleasure' van het album is. Het nummer introduceert de honky-tonk piano die veelvoudig te horen is op de plaat, en symbool staat voor het Beatles-genre 'grandma rock', geopperd door John Lennon. Toch staan er net iets te veel ludieke, en bijna kolderieke, songs op de eerste helft van het album, en had ik wel iets langer in de stroomversnelling van 'Happiness Is A Warm Gun' willen blijven hangen. Alhoewel, 'Julia' de spirituele tegenhanger van 'Dear Prudence', geeft een fijn slotakkoord. 8,5/10 Highlights: While My Guitar Gently Weeps Happiness Is A Warm Gun Rocky Raccoon De tweede helft van de plaat laat de psychedelic-folk invalshoek van de eerste grotendeels achterwege, waarschijnlijk omdat Donovan weer terug naar Schotland was gevlogen. Deze zijde jaagt hun garage rock roots achterna, en het wordt allemaal wat losbandiger. Ringo ontwaakte uit zijn zen, nam een lijntje coke, en molesteerde bij tijd en wijle zijn drumstel. 'Yer Blues' staat symbool voor een belangrijke drijfveer van dit album, de cynische benadering van een tal aan muziekstijlen, en het doel om die genres als parodie neer te zetten. Als er dan toch een rode draad aangewezen moet worden, dan is dat er eentje. Echter is het effect vaak met The Beatles dat de parodie piekfijn wordt uitgevoerd, en nieuwe elementen integreert, dat het juist een verrijking is van het bestaande genre, en bedoeld of onbedoeld een 'ode wordt aan' in plaats van een 'parodie op'. 'Song 2' van Blur, maar dan met een artistieke twist. 'Helter Skelter' sluit de vermakelijkste zijde (side 3) af, en is misschien wel het beste voorbeeld van een nummer die de gek aansteekt met rock muziek, maar vervolgens 'onbedoeld' een moederplaat wordt voor vele hardrock/metal genres. Waanzinnig nummer. Helaas was de heilige energie van de Indiase guru's daarna opgebrand, en vinden we alleen nog het lichtpuntje 'Cry Baby Cry' terug op het laatste kantje. De mannen hebben een creatieve explosie weten om te zetten in één van de belangrijkste albums in de jaren 60, en deze uitspatting komt uiteindelijk tot een implosie op de koortsdroom die 'Revolution 9' heet. Deze bad trip heeft in plaats van een hoop toekomstige bands, vooral Charles Manson beïnvloed. Je krijgt het er gratis bij denk ik.. als je wil genieten van de tomeloze inventiviteit van een band, dan moet je ook af en toe de maniakale episodes slikken. 8/10 Highlights: 'Yer Blues' 'Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey' 'Helter Skelter' Alles in ogenschouw nemend is de dichtheid aan buitengewone songs op dit album ongekend hoog. Iets te vaak levert de ietwat frivole en lichtzinnige insteek van het album nummers op die me weinig kunnen bekoren, maar op het zelfde moment zorgt het ervoor dat weinig albums van ruim anderhalf uur zo snel voorbij vliegen, en na al die jaren nog steeds niet vervelen. De mix aan ruige bangers, introverte psych-folk klassiekers, jolige grandma rock, en meeslepende blues, zorgt er in ieder geval voor dat dit album hoog staat op het compleet nutteloze lijstje 'albums die je mee zou nemen naar een onbewoond eiland'. Eindcijfer: 8,5/10
Ja en dan moet je ineens één van de Beatles albums gaan recenseren. En misschien is the White Album dan nog wel de meest ingewikkelde. Het album begint ijzersterk met U.S.S.R. en Dear Prudence. De serie kinderlijke liedjes daarna vallen altijd een beetje rouw op mijn dak. Ja, McCartney is een koning van simpele melodieën een mee-fluit-liedjes. Maar het is zo lastig schakelen als na Ob-La-Di, Honey Pie en Bungalow Bill ineens While My Guitar Gently Wheeps instart. En zo gaat het de rest van de plaat door. Daarmee lijkt het meer de stapel van alle beschikbare liedjes, zonder na te denken wat nu echt een album maakt. En dat na Sgt. Peppers, waar dát juist zo goed is. Dat zal hier dan waarschijnlijk het idee zijn geweest. Want één ding op the White Album stijgt boven alles uit: het iedje. De liedjes zijn zo ontzettend goed. Ze zijn kort, lijken soms niet eens af en worden daardoor nooit een volledig nummer. Maar in dit alles zijn ze prachtig en ijzersterk. En het zijn er ook veel. Te veel. En een ook dit album is echt te lang. Daardoor wel veel highlights: Back in the U.S.S.R. Dear Prudence Happiness is a Warm Gun Yer Blues Helter Skelter
Det er the beatles det er bra men så kommer obla-di obla da takk skal du faenmeg ha. Den låten kan drite og dra.
Pretty good album. I think these lads are going places.
First half of the album is incredibly polished, the second half is rudder but has some real beautiful moments. One of the Beatles more ambitious works. 4.5/5 Will definitely listen again
Nice
My first beatles album! It was a really interesting listen and there were so many songs I really liked. It was interesting to see how versatile they were, and honestly I can 100% see the influence other bands got from them 3.5 maybe 4/5
This album is influential and iconic enough for 5 stars but it is ultimately a 4.5 due to a few songs that are just downright awful. You have an otherworldy song like While My Guitar Gently Weeps (the bassbline alone is an eargasm) and Helter Skelter (the godfather of hard rock) but then you have Wild Honey Pie (pretty sure this song would be used as elevator music in hell)
I don’t really want to list all my thoughts on the mf white album. Just call me if you want to talk about it
I feel awkward admitting that I am not a super fan of this. Obviously lots of nice songs though.
Uneven, but influential nonetheless. Condense the great songs into a single album and this might have been the Beatles’ greatest LP.
Let's talk about William Babinski's "The Disintegration Loops" album instead for a moment. The Disintegration Loops album https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Disintegration_Loops# (actually 4 albums spanning nearly 300 minutes) are a museum piece, not necessarily music. Babinsky is a sound artist who used tape loops a lot in his work to evoke feelings that traditional recordings do not. The disintegration loops are recordings of some of these sound loops - recordings of voices, old music, found tapes, etc. - literally disintegrating as they pass across the tape heads. Each time they pass through the machine, a little more gets worn off. It's really interesting ambient music. There is a haunting beauty hearing the music itself completely fall apart. The falling apart is the music. The rhythm comes from the loop repeating, the sound changing ever so slightly as it goes on. Certain sections are beautiful, others nasty. When I listened to this, as more and more of it goes away, the more I found myself wanting it to remain in the world even though the whole point was it's own destruction. Listening to something disintegrate works as a museum piece. As a rock album, especially from The Beatles, it just hurts a little. Three stars was a bit harsh - many of these songs are in the "Dark Side of the Moon" range, like Dear Prudence, While My Guitar, and others. What I'm referring to above is that it just doesn't hold together, it's more of a couple solo albums, and Ringo gets short shrift.
fully fine. it was good, yeah, but i listened to sgt peppers lonely hearts club right after and it definitely made the white album less sparkly 5/7
I was never a Beatles fan. But this really is fantastic.
There are a lot of really great songs on this album. Only complaint is some of it seems either disjointed from the rest of the album or just like filler. I'd give it 4 1/2 stars if I could.
•Owned •Massive effort of experimentation in genre and production. The differing voices of a band falling apart are all here: as a result, the album sprawls in emotion, tone. Even still, it's hard to imagine where "Helter Skelter" came from but it still burns as it plays. •4/4
Very diverse and partially ahead of it‘s time
Good album? For sure. One of best of all time? I disagree
Some of the best songs they ever made, along with a bunch more. Revolution 9 is interesting, but isn’t something I would choose to put on. Favorites are While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Black Bird, Happiness Is A Warm Gun, Helter Skelter, and Back In The USSR.
I like it there's alot of songs on here I know and like but had no idea this was the album thay were on so im going to be on the look out for it on vinyl
A classic for a reason. So many great songs, and a few weird ones
This one is hard to rate. It is a 5 in the context of music history, but a 4 when considered with Revolver, Sg. Pepper, and Abby Road. Are The Beatles the greatest band of all? Probably.
The Beatles' eponymous album, also referred to as the White Album, is a legendary piece of work which really needs no review. This album is well regarded as being a critical factor in the development of music across the globe for the past several decades. Songs such as "Back in the U.S.S.R.", "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", "Blackbird", and "Helter Skelter" are incredible and hugely influential in music and pop culture. However, it should also be noted that, while the album has great writing and instrumentation, the tracks are disjointed and do not flow together very well. This is due to the fracturing of the band members and each member writing and recording separately. With this many songwriters, there is an overabundance of songs, some of which really do not fit the bill. This album's greatest weakness may be quantity and great variation in quality - for every success, there's another song which probably should have been left off the album.
Total classic! Nothing else to say
This list must know we are trying to finish this year, that we sped up the queue, because it is throwing classics at us, begging us not to go. Another great Beatles album, one I hadn't listened to prior. Obviously there are singles on hear I have heard, but this is that reminder why I love this list. Not a big Beatles fan but I respect them, and especially this album. 1968? Two LP? And I think this was during their experimentation phase. How cool to get such a unique album at this time in history. I'd have expected this from a lesser band in the 80's. Not every song is a banger, and there's ones I skipped, but overall this was great. I didn't know they were the ones who sang "They say it's your birthday!" that was cool. Keepers: While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Blackbird, Rocky Raccoon, Birthday, Revolution 1
Stoked to get another Beatles album, it seems the list has been rewarding us for making the switch to generate on the weekend. This is number four for us, and it's near the end of the Beatles' catalog, falling between the exceptional Revolver and the excellent (but not quite as tight) Abbey Road. This album is long; it's a double album at least, at 30 songs. As such, there's a lot of what I would describe as filler. Lots of whimsical, experimental little tracks that fall flat for me. No coherent voice, which is actually similar to Abbey Road - my impression is that post-Sgt. Peppers, these guys were just firing on their own cylinders and struggling to weave their styles without just doing their own tracks. So yeah, this one has a lot of one-offs that don't really accomplish much. On the other hand, some really excellent songs, classics like "Blackbird," "Revolution 1," and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," and some deeper cuts I'd never heard. "Revolution 9" is really awesome "plunderphonics" sort of stuff, "Dear Prudence" is really great, and "Good Night" is an absolutely welcome surprise from Ringo. I can't give it more than 4 stars because of how many duds this thing harbored, I shouldn't have to skip my way through a 90 minute album from the Beatles. But overall, and duds aside, it's pretty great. These guys really were once in a lifetime, huh? Favorite tracks: Blackbird, Dear Prudence, Revolution 9, Good Night, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Revolution 1, Everybody's Got Something to Hide, Long Long Long (you got that right). Album art: White. Well, this one's techinically called "The Beatles," so it's self-titled, but guess what: we call it the White Album. That's what it is. White. 4/5
Good but not there best effort.
The highs of this album are so high, but it needed some cuts. I appreciate its importance for the amount of musical experimentation underway, but it lacks cohesion
A little overrated out the Beatles catalog, too long, a lot of good songs but a lot of forgettable songs and some of the Beatles worst songs, Revolution nine should never had been made.
Classic Beatles
Some lovely songs and the scope of song, instrument, and tone is remarkable. But it’s got some pretty forgettable songs too over the 31 songs. It’s hard to even judge albums this seminal, because the ideas have permeated everything we listen to. But I’d listen to 5-10 of these songs before I just put the whole album on.
I enjoyed this album. It's by far NOT their best. But I had fun with it. It's their only double album but I truly think they could've trimmed the fat and made a really long album. And saved the rest for B sides. There are classics on this record that we all know and love. And some under rated songs that perhaps only fans would say are superior than the more popularized songs. I've listened to this record before but never "studied it" - that's a stretch to what I just went through.... But I thought I'd do a play by play, and share my thoughts track by track. If you don't care about that... Stop reading here. This album gets 4 Beatles out of 5. Back in ussr: Beach Boys vibe Dear prudence: guitar sounds dark, nice simple but complimenting bass riff, lyrics and vocal melody over top is great Glass onion: is this where the movie got the name from? Curious to see if there is a deeper meaning or correlation between the two. Lyrics referencing previous songs. Kind of a cool idea. Unsure of timeline for this idea, they probably came up with that idea, as they innovated a lot. - love the string part at the end. ob la di ob la da - is garbage. It's filler to me. I know a lot of people love it... And it's sung at weddings and group functions... It's just not good. Catchy, yes. Bleh? double yes.... Life goes On. Wild Honey Pie is filler and is stupid. Counting story of Buffalo bill: sick guitar intro followed by a mediocre song. Vocals are great. But falls off in the end. the refrain reminds me of work from John Lennon and Yoko ono.. Bad. Sounds like they didn't know how to end the song. While my guitar gently weeps: probably the best song on the record. Harrison was under utilized in the band. Lars and Hetfield ran the show... I mean McCartney and Lennon and it shows that their ego prevented a lot of good work. Happiness Is A Warm Gun - is it Lennon? Is it? How ironic this song tuned out to be. Martha My Dear: piano is great in this. Has a barber shop quartet feel to it. Vocals are on point. Horns and strings are well placed. I'm so tired - great song. Nothing stood out. Blackbird: McCartney doing what McCartney does best. Beautiful, timeless song. Piggies - another stupid filler song. Next. I get it's about greed... But maybe this is why Harrison's songs weren't taken more seriously? I don't know. Rocky Racoon - great story telling and great music to accompany. I quite loved this song. The nickelodeon piano was cool! I love McCartney's piano playing.. Also with his scat abilities. Haha if you want to call it that. Don't pass me by - the repetitive music in the background sounds very familiar... From a more contemporary artist.... Big Sugar. The ending to Turn The Lights On is this same melody. Crazy. Why don't we do it in the road? - repetitive. Good vocal delivery. Reminds me of Little Richard. Old school rock and roll. I will - back to that boy wonder romantic McCartney. Beautiful vocals and guitar work. Simple song. Pleasing to the ear. Julia - sounds like a Lennon written song. Guitar is great. Vocals are haunting. Looks like not a lot of thought put into lyrics. As there's not much substance there. Just a bunch of Julia's... Birthday - not a great song. Guitar work is awesome. Good ol' rock and roll. Lyrics were phoned in. I guess you can't write constant lyrical masterpieces. Yer Blues - this sounds like a cool dive bar hit. Well done. Shows how diverse they can be. To be honest, this whole album is quite diverse. This is one of the better ones for sure. I hear some Jack White in this. Mother Nature's Son - love the guitar work in this song. McCartney is one of the best. I can only imagine how much Lennon hated that these songs of McCartney's made albums. Ego vs ego. Everybody's Got something to hide: I used to love Lennon over McCartney... I guess I can blame his death on that. Lennon's death sort of popularized him.. I hate to say that. I could be wrong but that was sort of my take when I was in high school. It wasn't until I started liking the Beatles that I knew the true talent was Paul. This song backs my claims up. Sexy Sadie is just awful. Sorry John. Next. Helter Skelter: ok, this is my favorite. This is probably the first punk rock or metal songs. I'm probably wrong but it's grit. It's raw. It's in your face. Goodbye pretty boy Paul, and Welcome angry and angsty Paul. Love the I'VE GOT BLISTERS ON MY Fingers! From Ringo. Crazy how this song influenced Charles Manson and drove him even more crazy. Music is powerful. Long, long, long: just like this sad attempt of a track by track review. Harrison at his finest. Quite the change up from Helter Skelter. Revolution 1: great way to start the next side of the record. Classic Beatles song. Timeless. We all love it. Honey pie: at first, I get some sad undertones on this song... And then it's get kind happy with the music.. 1920s style. Savoy Truffle: is this song about chocolate? Cool music. Cry baby cry: loved the harmonium. Pretty good song. Lennon sounds great. Vocal delivery is awesome. One of my favourite Lennon songs. Revolution 9: I personally found it funny when the repeating "number 9. Number... Number ni... Nine" was happening. Some really cool effects and ideas in this song. It's random. Experimental. Quite disconnected from the album. Good night: We made it. The last song. Now it's time to say good night. Sleep tight. Ringo sings us to sleep with this lullaby. String arrangements are pretty.
Not their best work but it’s the Beatles White Album. A piece of art. A collage of songs. Brilliant, mundane, weird, rocking, wild, folky, freaky and unpredictable. The Beatles. White Album.
Première partie de l'album est incroyable, par contre la seconde partie c'est vraiment de la branlette intellectuelle
It was fine
A massive, fraught, fascinating album. Not necessarily any filler, but not all of it is stellar. You can hear that it’s a band going through it.
Some great songs and some absolutely unnecessary songs
There enough grade A songs in this album to make a 5 start album. But there’s also enough general fucking around by the Beatles with songs that sound like they should be on a kids album that it knocks it back just a tiny bit. 4.75
This is definitely tier 2 Beatles IMHO. Many classics with sooooooo much chaff. I've listened to this one plenty of times, but the urge to listen to front to back just isn't there anymore. Still real good though, it'd probably be a 5 if they shaved 20 minutes off.
Great album
This album has some of their best songs and some of their worst. It could have been an easy 5 star record if it was a lot shorter. Favorite song: blackbird
This was a good one. A very good one.
Prefer let it be
Absolute classic. Fascinating follow up to sgt peppers
Too big and bloated but still full of great tunes
Yes I’m giving a Beatles album a 4. And I do love this album and it has some truly excellent songs. While my Guitar Gently Weeps remains one of my all time favorites. But there a quite a few examples where it seems like they felt every thought that crossed their mind had to be committed to song. While Don’t We Do It in the Road remains one of the Beatles worst songs. I would really give it a 4.5 but lean more to the 4 than a 5
Has some great songs and is a classic
Really well produced and innovative, with some of my favourite Beatles tracks. However, it becomes a bit of a chore with to much Lennon-Yoko quirkiness.
Cool stuff
Very disjointed but there are some incredible songs on here. Revolution 9 pretty much depicts the fact this album was cobbled together, but it's definitely a worthy choice for 1001.
The White Album is not a straightforward album to review. There are so many pop-cultural ties to various tracks on this album, and so many classic tracks. Artists who have covered tracks from this album include U2, John Denver, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Alison Krauss, and the King's Singers did a Beatles album that heavily pulled from the White Album. Personally, I have learned half a dozen tracks from this album on the guitar and sung at least a couple more in choral groups. There is a strong cultural imprint from this album, and it is worth listening to. I will most likely come back for a re-listen at some point. There are tracks that I like from each member of the Beatles. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" from George Harrison continues to grow on me over the years. With so much good music, the double album is uneven. You have some fantastic and some of my all-time favorite writing from Paul McCartney ("Blackbird", "I Will", "Mother Nature's Son"), enjoyable versions of McCartney's lighthearted song writing (e.g. "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da") and some tracks from McCartney that interrupt the flow of my listening experience ("Wild Honey Pie", "Honey Pie"). With various harsher sounding tracks, odd songs that I haven't figured out what to do with yet (e.g., "Piggies"), and ending the album with "Revolution 9", and "Good Night" the unevenness cements this album below a full 5 stars. The White Album is a great album, but it would be hard to sit down for a full listen on a regular basis. Dividing the tracks by my ratings I could put together a 5-star album and a 3-star album, so it looks like the overall rating is 4 stars from me.
Ok le classique! Ca fait plaisir de le réécouter pour le coup. Si y'a des trucs à jeter, comme sur beaucoup d'albums des Beatles, faut quand même reconnaitre le putain d'impact qu'a eu cet album, comme Helter Skelter qui reste mon coup de coeur.
its the beatles it was great i love all the songs on the album
This album starts off so strong and I'm like yeah this is easily a 5, good job Beatles. But by the end I'm so over it and the album is back to a 4. I guess considering I like 7-8 of the 30 songs ... if this was a 10 song album ...
Some of the more off the wall Beatles tunes but all pretty enjoyable 4.5
8/10
Not a huge fan of the beatles in general. Solid album though. 3.5.
I've considered this to be my favourite album by The Beatles since very early childhood. Big time nostalgia here. Not every song is amazing, but many are, and those that aren't are still quite good. An absolute landmark of an album, although it does fall off a bit on the back half.
This album is a lot of sounds and some of them are really incredible and some are down right annoying. I understand and fully respect the Beatles legacy and especially the legacy of this album but I'm not just going to give it a 5 because it's The Beatles. Some of the more avant-garde tracks just kind of annoy you till they're over. The highlights have to be George Harrison's guitar playing.
It's an incredibly diverse album, isn't it? It has some absolute classics, and, for the omst part is very enjoyable. I'm not a Beatles superfan however I was pleasantly surprised, particularly with the closer - Good Night - which is such a beautiful song, and sung by Ringo! Blackbird is hte true highlight for me, a stunning song that truly think is gorgeous. Then there are wimsical clangers like Ob La Di.. and all the animal-based songs ((excluding Blackbird, of course). Helter Skelter is awesome. Its a strong album that is clearly a momentus moment in rock adn pop music history. If it had done away with maybe five or six tracks, then it would be a five, but the 'filler' - which it not quite what I mean - reduces it to a 4 star for me.
I haven’t listened to this one front to back in a long time. Some parts are better than I remember, but the stinkers are still stinkers. It would still be a 5, but I need to put Beatles albums on their own scale for this.
White
Ist ok. Beatles einfach nicht so mein Ding ;)
Honestly just a little bloated for me
It's been a long time since I've listened to the entire album. It has some of the most essential Beatles songs on it. The way Dear Prudence swells on the final chorus is incredible. Glass Onion is a fun tongue and cheek song about other Beatles songs with an infectious rhythm. While My Guitar Gently Weeps is maybe the best Beatles song? The instrumentation is perfectly layered. The driving, chunky bass line is on full display. George's solo guitar is iconic, the tone is legendary. It is subdued, but also intense and emotional at the same time. The mono mixing of the track (the whole album actually) is superb. My only gripe with the album is it is extremely bloated. There are a lot of songs that have no reason to be on this album. None of them are necessarily bad by any means, but had they trimmed the album a bit, it could have been one of the greatest albums of all time. I guess it just goes to show the greatness of The Beatles, even their subpar songs would've been a highlight for most other musicians.
As a baseline, any Beatles album is a 4 to me, just out of respect. In that sense, The White Album ranks lower than others because its sheer length makes it hard to really be with it and, of course, it gives more space to songs that do not rise to the overall brilliance of Dear Prudence, Helter Skelter, Black Bird, Happiness Is a Warm Gun, or my personal favorite, WMGGW. Still, it’s unfathomable that so much talent was bestowed upon those four guys and an album such as this, had it been released by a lesser band, would be considered an indisputable masterpiece by me (yes, I know it’s considered a masterpiece as it is).
I used to listen to this a lot when I was a kid. But I feel like the music had lost some of its richness over the years. Like the recording could have had a fuller sound (maybe it was my phone, or the room I was in, or my memory being different).
Twice as long as it needs to be.
Fantastic album, particularly liked Black Bird and quite enjoyed Rock Racoon which I hadn't heard before.
Finally had my turn to this! Well... the first track was impressively vivid but later tracks are...well, just Beatles.
Wauwie
Heerlijk genoten
Classic. Sometimes weird. I dig it.
Goed album, met een paar heel sterke nummers. Maar ik heb al betere van de Beatles gehoord
A lot of quality songs on this album that i really enjoyed, there is a few weird ones in there. The songs "helter skelter" going straight into "long, long, long" has to be the highlight, really reminds me of the white stripes
Next 5 songs played by my Spotify Algorithm: Yusuf / Cat Stevens - Tea for the Tillerman The Beatles - Nowhere Man Steely Dan - Dirty Work Simon & Garfunkel - Feelin' Groovy Led Zeppelin - Tangerine
A lot of great ones and a lot of…ok ones.
Very timeless album, I enjoyed it and "Do it in the Road" is awesome.
If not for “back in the ussr” this would be a 5. That song starts the album and has no business being even in the album.
So much on this album. Love love love some of it. I never really cared for the frivolous silly songs but there is so much brilliant stuff with such diverse influences that this has to be rated well.
Like many of you, I grew up with this album. I always love being reminded of the goofiness and creativity they had in their music that you only really get when listening to their albums in full. When My Guitar Gently Weeps will forever be one of my favorites, and Blackbird will always have a special spot in my mind as the first song I ever learned on guitar. Great job Ringo, keep up the good work! 4.5/5
ngl this was pretty alright, def made me think i should listen to the beatles more but a lot of the tracks didn't hit super hard. Martha and I'm So Tired were some of my favs, most of the rest were pretty good but not amazing imo
she happiness on my warm gun until I bang bang shoot shoot
Really good album on the whole, but feels like it's a bit bloated. Could've trimmed down a few songs and had a much better overall experience
This album is ok. I've never really listened to a full Beatles album but I'm familiar with their popular songs. I've never understood the worship around them. I read some reviews that this is one of their weaker albums because it was near the end of the band. If that's the case maybe I will like some of their other albums and start to "get it". As of now its an ok album with a few stand out songs. I don't expect to be doing a full listen again anytime soon. 4 out of 5.
Day 2: This album is a fuckin classic so idk if I'm going to write any down. Ob-La-Di is the prob my favorite of the album Blackbird holds a special place in the heart <3 Mother Nature's Sun How could I objectively review one of the most well known album of all time. prob gonna give 4/5 cause there is some weird duds in there but still an album deserving its fame.
It's hard to judge the Beatles on anything other than their own merits, because obviously this is better than almost anything else, despite the variance in quality on the record. One of the things that struck me as I listened was that, even though I must be well into the hundreds in terms of number of times I've heard this, you still notice new and enjoyable things in songs. The bass in USSR, the backing vocals on any number of Paul's silly songs. It's just great. Got to feel like Decca would have knocked this down to a single album though. Lovely to have my once-a-decade attempt to listen to Revolution 9 all the way through.
Familiarity: 7/10 Lots of classic songs, but not an album I ever really feel drawn to listen to.
ABSOLUTE STUNNER OF AN ALBUM. Never got into the beatles but I get the mania now.
I love The Beatles. I grew up on them, and there are many nostalgic, iconic individual tracks on this album. But it’s so all over the place. It is not a cohesive album. Some songs can even be annoying or repetitive. For example, I got genuinely irritated listening to Why Don’t We Do It In The Road? I don’t know, Paul, why don’t we? 3.5/5
1001 doing me hecking dirty with the double beatles in the same week.... oh well, we'll give this a shot update: that was VERY NICE 4*
Some great songs, and then there's Revolution 9...
Raw Beatles. Way over my head musically. Beautiful and harsh. I give four stars because I had no idea what most of the songs were about. Maybe I am ignorant. No storyline unless I missed it. Fun to hear them just play together in a band 9/10
It might have been the greatest record of all time if it had been a single LP.
I like the Beatles just gotta be in the right mood for it
I like it but not my favourite Beatles. But too bloated maybe? And maybe less coherent as a result. The standout tracks are fantastic though- While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Glass Onion, Helter Skelter, Happiness is a Warm Gun. Didn't rate (or understand?) the lyrics on a number of them and the faux USA bits are a bit weird.
classic thing with good songs i like birthday
Been a long time since I listened. Surprisingly cohesive given how different many of the songs are
Good Album with some well known songs
-FIRST BEATLES ALBUM -i have listened to the beatles before, but i haven’t listened to any of their albums in full -also this is the first beatles album i have gotten from the random album generator list -great funky start to the album -one of my very favorite songs ever and of the beatles (blackbird) is on this album (im very excited) -lots of these songs feel silly fun which i like -ob la di ob la da was so cute -COOL GUITAR on happiness is a warm gun -god i love blackbird. its SO GOOD! -piggies????????? was that an OINK? -why don’t we do it in the road?? SO FUNNY -i will has got me like 😭😭😭😭 -okay revolution 9 felt very dystopian -i love when the rating is easy because the album is so good (hasn’t happened that often) (this is an easy 4 stars)
Some wonderful moments
Good album, I like Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, While My Guitar Gently Weeps and Blackbird the most. They're all songs I've heard before and loved, they were the highlights of this album. I also enjoyed Martha My Dear which I hadn't heard before.
4.5
All over the place but in a good way. 3.75/5
Given the reputation of this album, I was expecting it to be a no brainer 5 star, but I found it very uneven.
Meh
So many good songs and so many good weird songs. Nice to listen to the whole thing back to back.
What can I say? Near perfect album. 9/10
the beatles had such a strong "losing my mind from acid" vibe at this point in their career that really doesn't sit well with me on this album. I like it on Magical Mystery tour but on this one I feel like I'm being held hostage and fed tabs by Charles Manson's cult. But also it's got shit like while my guitar gently weeps and influential asf stuff so liek it's still a good album just weak for the beatles imo
it's always odd listening to a full Beatles album. There's always some absolute classics that you've known and loved for your entire life ; a few new ones that you've not heard and can be pretty good ; and then a complete load of filler / tosh - which is what you get when you release 2 albums a year I suppose. The White Album is no different - there's an incredible 12-track album in there somewhere, that would be an instant 5/5 if they'd applied some quality control / editing ; but this 30-track double album has just got too many tracks that have me reaching for the skip button
Not my favorite Beatles album, but it still has some absolute gems on it.
I love The Beatles, but this definitely isn't their best work. A ton of bangers, but then a lot of songs that would have been better left on the cutting floor or in some 'extended cuts' album after they broke up.
This is the Beatles' passage to India, popularizing the West's flirtation with the East and all things "exotic". Their spiritual guide in all this? Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who blew their English minds by telling them that “heaven is like electricity—you don’t see it; it is within you”. Such "wisdom" hooked the Fab Four, and they followed the maharishi to northern India, believing that this form of spiritualism offered real answers through meditation, relaxation, and peace after years of fame, fortune, and publicity. Let's just ignore the total irony of this situation--the fact that Lennon was always anti-religious. Could this respite in rural India help the Beatles rise above their worldly concerns and viewpoints? And can this actually be called a respite, since reporters and photographers followed them to the compound? The mere presence of the Beatles in India was enough to popularize Eastern spiritualism in the 1960s West. (Of course, after a few days of nothing happening, the reporters, in boredom, left.) This trip was pretty much inevitable, since it was nothing more than an extension of the drug experience. People were looking for euphoria, looking for god-figures in everything. Harrison actually took it seriously and grew quite devout through meditation. Devoted to what, though? The quiet Beatle wasn't giving away his secrets. Though Lennon, too, tried taking his seclusion seriously, he had trouble concentrating, what with the troubles in his marriage and the fact that Yoko kept sending him letters, with little poems like "I'm a cloud, look for me". Lennon was quickly smitten. McCartney and Starr weren't as keen as their two bandmates on the whole spiritual enlightenment thing, and besides, there was still music to make. Lennon and McCartney learned to fingerpick their acoustic guitars, the former writing "Julia" (a goodbye to his mother and hello to Yoko) and "Dear Prudence", the latter writing "Blackbird". Actually, most of the songs for The White Album and Abbey Road were written during their stay in India. It didn't take long for problems to arise, however. The maharishi started using the Beatles' name to promote himself through spoken-word albums, and he even had the stones to ask the band for 25% of their earnings. Add a bit of sexual predation of the female devotees and the maharishi found himself the subject of an absolute character destruction in the form of "Sexy Sadie". The album itself---hmmm, well the criticism that the double album has too much filler is a valid complaint. Many of the songs are substandard for the band, but I just don't think they cared. They didn't have to prove themselves anymore, and they were working more and more apart all the time. When they were in the studio, Yoko was always there, always interrupting sessions, not happy to just sit in the recording booth, and started giving her opinions as if she was a creative participant in the band. She "helped" Lennon with his songs, and then, as Harrison famously noted, "the rot set in". After India, the Beatles grew ever more insular, wanting to work alone, keeping to themselves, valuing their privacy above any public considerations. Lennon and McCartney continued recording while Harrison & Starr went to America, and Lennon was working on "Revolution 9" alone. McCartney was perfecting "Blackbird" alone. And then Lennon & Harrison completed "Revolution 9" while McCartney was in America. The dynamic of the band was being redefined (falling apart?). "Revolution 9" is the band's most unpopular track ever. McCartney and Starr were straight up pissed off about it, but Lennon's thoughts on it were that this was the music of the future, music without the necessity of instruments. As far as sound experimentation goes, however, this track is definitely the most relevant and enduring. It was influenced by two main sources, the first being social disturbances in England, the second being Yoko herself. Her art show displayed a new type of avant-garde, and Lennon, listening to her spoken word art, wanted to try something new. Naturally, Yoko helped make decisions on which tape loops to use. So what the hell is actually inside "Revolution 9"? About 100 fragments of classical music, opera, Lennon's voice, Yoko's voice, Harrison's voice, applause, gunfire, choir music, football fans, and of course a man saying "number nine". Lennon thought 9 was significant, it being not only in his address but also his birthday. Derp. "Revolution 1" grew out of a jam session of "Revolution 9", wherein all kinds of weird ideas were fielded, like how random sounds can be used to make music, like how fun it would be to sample sound bytes from other previously-recorded sources. "Helter Skelter" was McCartney's response to a criticism saying he was capable of writing only soft ballads, so he tried to create as loud and dirty a sound as he could. I've read critics who maintain this is the first "heavy metal" song. Bollocks! It's an infamous song, though, considering how Charles Manson chose to interpret a song about a carnival ride, a song about the rise and fall of an empire. America's most notorious mass murderer believed "Helter Skelter" contained prophecies about a coming race war between blacks and whites. Other notable tracks (for me) include "Mother Nature’s Son" (inspired by a maharishi lecture), "Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except for Me and My Monkey" (John thought the other Beatles were paranoid about Yoko), "Honey Pie" (an homage to British music-hall style), "Savoy Truffle" (Harrison sniping Clapton for his love of sweets), and "Cry Baby Cry" (where George Martin plays harmonium).
I was prepared to be more critical. I don't consider myself big on the Beatles, despite enjoying Abbey Road, Sgt. Pepper's, and Rubber Soul (I've been thinking of taking a deep dive of their discography for a while to fill out the gaps). When I first heard the White Album years ago, it more or less glazed over me. I thought it was intriguing but was ultimately messy, overblown nonsense. This time, I gave it more of a chance, listened more intently, and found I was beginning to get sucked in and really enjoyed all of it. And not because I felt I was supposed to but legitimately found something worthwhile. It IS a weird and broken mess, but it's also oddly appealing and beautiful in a certain way. Even the goofy Yellow Submarine like stuff has a charm to it. A fun thing I noticed, too was how much of this must have been influential on Bowie, Zeppelin, Jeff Tweedy, Kiss, Elliot Easton, and probably Alex Lifeson. Maybe I am a bigger Beatles fan than I thought or I've grown to appreciate this for what it is: A broken, bleeding collection of songs birthed from exhaustion and inner turmoil. I wonder if this album was helped or hindered by the fact that all the band members at this point were going through serious issues. With this in mind, it is really quite tragic. 4.5
Amazing how diverse the songs are stylistically. Helter Skelter is probably the best smelling salt that the Beatles put out.
Didn’t love it all, but loved most of it. The great songs on here are truly great. Blackbird is an all-timer
shit
Other than being too long and the songs being too loosely coupled to form a cohesive whole, it's wonderful
I didn't think I would actually rate this one so high after a road trip listen, but I guess all it took was a second try, a pair of headphones, and a couple glasses of chocolate liqueur. After listening in the car with my parents yesterday (including my dad who is a Beatles superfan) I was pretty unimpressed, save for the standouts of "Blackbird," "Piggies," and "Mother Nature's Son." There were very few songs that I disliked, but it just felt like a lot of filler. My mom had a rather impassioned review, saying "all these years, I've questioned why everyone loved the Beatles except me and have asked myself 'what's wrong with me?' After this, I'm asking 'what's wrong with them!?'" I was ready to give it a 3 after yesterday for the standouts alone but gave it another attempt today. While those are still by far my three favorites, I found myself smiling along to the goofy lyrics and musical diversity, especially on disk 1. Songs that I thought I disliked, like "Ob-La-Di..." and "Rocky Raccoon" were actually really enjoyable. And of course, that doesn't speak for the great songs like "Dear Prudence" and "Back in the USSR." I'm still not fully convinced to be a Beatles fan, and it may not be my favorite album, but there's definitely something special here.
3-4
Back In The USSR // Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da // The Story of Bungalow Bill // While My Guitar Gently Weeps // Happiness Is A Warm Gun // Blackbird // Rocky Raccoon // Helter Skelter // Revolution 1 // Good Night 4/5
The best Beatles album.
Solid album. Not the Beatles best, but still lots of fun, and better than the early stuff
Classic! Amazing Loving: Back in the U.S.S.R; Dear Prudence, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Blackbird, Julia, Birthday.
I love the swing toward off the wall creativity on the white album. So much lore about the making of this collection. Not all winners, but a delight.
very strong album with many great songs, ranging from random goofy songs like Rocky Raccoon to Back in the U.S.S.R. Strays away from the 'love song' theme in the earlier albums. 9/10
Great Album! Haven't listened to it in years
All over the place. Bangers mixed with absolute dross. 4 stars for lack of coherence and the fact the mix is muddy af. Rocky Raccoon underrated, Helter Skelter still slaps hard, and the album at least inspired some good Simpsons jokes.
I won't be able to say anything that hasn't already been said. Certainly required listening
If Sgt. Pepper was an amazing night out of drinking, drugs, & late night conversations, The White Album is that night's hangover. Cynical, darker, and at times, random, the White Album bends and blends genres. After each song, it turns each corner to a different one. In the span of a few songs, you'll hit a blues song, an acoustic ballad, a cynical rock track and then a happy-go-lucky reggae inspired tune. Most of the orchestra instruments and complicated songscapes have been ditched for more traditional "rock n roll" arrangements. When they do appear, its much more subdued and limited. In order to really appreciate this album, you'll really need to listen to Sgt. Pepper and then get here. All the nonsense make more sense sonically and lyrically.
Even as someone who's not a fan of hour and a half long albums or the Beatles, this was actually like really good, easily the best Beatles record I've heard to date.
I enjoyed this one more than I expected to. Revolution 9 was by far my favorite song.
While this is a well-regarded Beatles album, it doesn't rate as highly for me as their other late-period albums (Rubber Soul through Let It Be). There are so many great songs, yet the album's overall feel is a bit of a miss-mash and has some definite skips. I think basically all of the Beatles albums deserve to be on this list (they had such a huge cultural impact that it seems shortsighted to skip any of their records), but I'm much more likely to reach for Abbey Road or Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Very strong album, almost perfect 4/5
Good album, great tracks a few fillers.
Probablement le meilleur album des Beatles que j'ai eu, même si je l'ai trouvé un peu long. Mais généralement je trouvais la qualité des compositions tellement meilleure, les chansons sonnaient plus originales, le musicianship est meilleur. Définitivement plus fan de cette période des Beatles que leurs premiers trucs. 8/10
TRACK LIST - 0.75x 1. Back in the USSR - 75 2. Dear Prudence - 80 3. Glass Onion - 49 4. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da - 68 5. Wild Honey Pie - 55 6. Story of Bungalow Bill - 36 7. While My Guitar Gently Weeps - 100 8. Happiness is a Warm Gun - 82 9. Matha My Dear - 73 10. I'm so Tired - 68 11. Blackbird - 80 12. Piggies - 37 13. Rocky Raccoon - 75 14. Don't Pass Me By - 63 15. Why Don't We Do It In The Road - 70 16. I Will - 65 17. Julia - 51 18. Birthday - 68 19. Yer Blues - 74 20. Mother Nature's Son - 65 21. OVERALL - 0.25x
Probably a little overrated but still a great pop rock album. They cover a lot of ground here including the experimental Revolution 9 and heavier Helter Skelter. There are also some absolute classics here such as While My Guitar Gently Weeps. The main problem is the sheer number of songs. Because the tracks are shorter there are 30 songs on here so it’s really hard to keep track. There’s also bound to be weaker songs which there certainly is. I get the filler is on purpose but it still doesn’t excuse their quality. Overall this was still a great album and worth seeking out the better songs here.
Tough one to review. I get what the band was going for here. Take the attention off THE BEATLES as an entity, defy expectations and expand creative muscle, and write songs in a bunch of different genres and styles. And there is a lot of great stuff here. But like most double albums, it is overstuffed. Some of it is not all that pleasing to listen to, even though it fits the concept. Some may just call that challenging, and that's valid. I just don't have the patience for an hour-and-a-half challenge that I would for a 40-minute challenge. That being said, when the Beatles do it, it's still better than the average band, which skews the scale.
Gud
Shocked it took me this long to get to a Beatles album. I've listened to the White Album a time or two before, but mostly I've repeatedly listened to the standouts. While the highs are undoubtedly high, there are some real lows and songs that drag down this from a stellar rating. Love how varied it is, but it is uneven. 4/5
Top 6 Songs: 1 - Blackbird (11) 2 - While My Guitar Gently Weeps (7) 3 - Dear Prudence (2) 4 - Julia (17) 5 - Revolution 1 (25) 6 - Happiness is a Warm Gun (8)
Mannnn this deserves a 5 for dear prudence, blackbird while my guitar gently weeps among, Julia… such amazing tunes, but the bad songs are SO bad. Sometimes I feel guilty for not really liking the Beatles and then I hear a song like piggies or wild honey pie and I’m like no way fuck this band. Giving it a 4 but if I could omit a few songs it would be a 5
Even their lesser songs are so good in a cheesy way. Classic Beatles.
I like this album but it is too long
Beatles my wife
Unpopular opinion. There are great things on here. There are not great things on here. It's a hodge hodge. Still, it's a technical marvel, and one more example of how we live in a post-Beatles world.
Great but long
It's got some crackers on it. But there's a bit of dirge too.
Good but i little bit long
As I expected, not as good as Nico. There's a really good album somewhere in here, but it's probably around 45 minutes long rather than an hour and a half. I'd can all the tracks that sound like kids songs on it (Bungalow Bill and Rocky Raccoon at the very least), as well as the weird sounding experiments that don't work (Wild Honey Pie and Piggies the worst examples, Revolution 9 has something to it but not enough...). Ob-La-Di is a bit too janky and twee for me (as are many of the Beatles hits). But, when it does hit, it's amazing - Helter Skelter is my favourite Beatles song by quite some way, While My Guitar Gently Weeps is also a stone cold classic. The album also showcases their range: you've got pure ballads, experimental stuff, proper pop, and a couple of songs that if they were a decade later you'd call punk. That merits a 4, not as high a 4 as Nico got, but a 4 nonetheless.
Not a great album in the sense of having consistently great songs, especially in the way some seventies double albums would. However, there is a loveable, freewheeling energy on this record that brilliantly captures the skills of each member and somehow makes it work greatly as a cohesive piece.
On tämä liian pitkä... mutta miten silti on saatu sellainen meno kuin jokainen kappale ois sinkku? Ja silti tuntuu kokonaisuudelta, kun kappaleissa on tietty sama keveys ja huumorikin osin. Ois ehkä multa kolme puol
Kaikesta venyttämisestä ja ajoittaisesta hupailusta huolimatta tällä LP:llä on niin paljon Hyviä Biisejä, että se ei pelkästään pakota kuuntelemaan, vaan myös jatkuvasti nauttimaan itsestään. On selvää, että Beatles ei ole ihan 100-prosenttisesti Minun Juttuni, mutta jos en anna tälle levylle neljää tähteä, niin mille sitten? Ihan oikeasti, tästä voisi koostaa kokonaisuuden, jonka keskiössä olisivat esim. Back in the U.S.S.R., While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Happiness Is a Warm Gun, Helter Skelter, Revolution 1... Kun tähän lisää pari vähän vähemmän nerokasta onnistumista, esim. Glass Onion, Dear Prudence, Julia jne., on jo melkein viiden tähden lista kasassa. Ehkä minun ei pitäisi olla näin yllättynyt, mutta olenpahan kuitenkin.
It’s a good album but I didn’t feel like it had a lot of continuity throughout… besides them just singing about nonsense… also Revolution 9 should be deemed cruel and unusual punishment
Zelden is er een dubbelalbum verschenen waarop alle nummers geweldig zijn. Dit album is helaas geen uitzondering. Maar ik moet zeggen dat het wel bijzonder veel afwisseling biedt. En het is stukken beter dan de Beatles van de beginjaren. Hoogtepuntjes zijn While my guitar gently weeps van Harrison, Julia van Lennon en Blackbird van McCartney. Eervolle vermelding voor Helter Skelter, waarmee naar men zegt de heavy metal begonnen is. Maar ach, men zegt zoveel
Heyyyyyyyy, so according to my uncle Manuel who I saw about 15-16 yrs ago, this was one of my dads favorite album. Don't think I've ever listened to it front to back though. Excited for this one! oooooh it's a 2 disc set. I didn't know that
Lots of notable songs here, a few curve balls that are a bit jarring and brings the score down a touch but some of my all time favourite Beatles songs on this album but as a whole not one of my favourite Beatles albums.
Several awesome songs, some clunkers, could have used and editor. Extra points for real guitar and drums, and extra points for being the Beatles. Can't give it a 5. Call it 4.5.
Whenever it was someone's birthday in our household, my parents would throw side 3 of the Beatles' 1968 self-titled album on to the turntable, and blast "Birthday." It was a fun tradition, albeit a strange one for a household that was normally full of anger and abuse most days of the year. Even though we had this album on vinyl (my dad would always lament that he had passed up the opportunity to purchase a copy of it on white vinyl for $20), "Birthday" and the first five seconds or so of "Yer Blues" were the only songs I had ever heard off of it until I was an adult. I can't remember when it was, but at some point, my brother was looking at the track listing on this album and pointed out some of the more eclectic titles of "Happiness is a Warm Gun" and "Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except for me and my Monkey" to me, and we were both incredibly confused as to what was going on on this album, but I don't remember our curiosity ever taking us further than that. This is my third Beatles album that I've gotten on this list, and I had really high expectations going into it. This album has some of my favorite Beatles songs on it ("While My Guitar Gently Weeps," "Dear Prudence," "Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da," and "Birthday") but I'm pretty sure this was my first time listening to it from start to finish. Just like the other Beatles albums I've listened to on this list (A Hard Day's Night and With The Beatles), this album is a masterpiece when it comes to the instrumentation. Every note is perfectly placed, and there's all sorts of wonderful things going on in the background that elevate the overall sound of the album. Each member of the band really seems to be at the height of their craft here, with George Harrison's guitar playing on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" as the shining example of this. But as a whole, I don't think my expectations of this album were met. I can appreciate the ambition that went into crafting a record with so many different sounds and genres, but it just feels overblown and and self-indulgent. Hell, the whole band only performed on just over half the songs here, and it kind of shows. And at a total running time just over an hour and a half, it was a lot to get through this album in one sitting. I did enjoy the folk-inspired songs quite a bit though; it was really interesting to hear The Beatles put their own spin on the genre, and I thought they executed those songs really well, both in musical style and in lyrical content. I appreciate how ambitious this album was, how great some of the songs are, and how influential it was on music, but as a whole work it just fell a little bit short for me.
The famous White Album by The Beatles. This album is mildly experimental in nature with multiple styles of music throughout. Having been on a retreat in India and written most of the songs there, it feels like they wanted to just really get into their feels, yet at the same time it seems as though they placed all of the songs written since their last album onto this record. Whilst there are some absolute classic Beatles songs throughout this double album, I wish it was curated a little better. Best: Blackbird Worst: Good Night
Highlights: "Martha My Dear," "Blackbird," "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," "Helter Skelter" I wouldn't call White Album jumping the shark, but it's definitely at the point where they had a right to be up their own ass and have no quality control. The majority of songs on here are like gags or quaint diversions. Some of these try a new direction -- you know, the awful ones, like "Ob-La-Di." The quality songs, some of their best, mainly revisit styles that have worked for them before. A lot of the rockers are the weaker songs: as heavy as "Yer Blues" is, it overstays its welcome; as strong as the riff on "Monkey" is, it's uneven as a song. It's weird how many of these songs are thrown off by awkward counts, *made* un-catchy, and it's weird how many of them are pointedly old-fashioned, pure kitsch. Even the at times spectacular production winds up as a gimick. The main thing that keeps this album afloat is their charismatic vocal performance. Whether this album can get pinpointed as highly influential or excellent rests on "Helter Skelter." And yeah, maybe that's enough.
I think this is good? Honestly it's 90 minutes long and has 30 tracks so it's hard to really get a good grasp on this after just one listen, but I think I enjoyed it. Plenty of iv6 chords and it was fun listening to all the different contexts they're used in.
Det håller fortfarande.
While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Blackbird, and Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da are the standouts for me from this album. Incredibly creative album, sort of the Beatles throwing everything at the wall. I think that brought out some real highs, but as a double album of experimental tracks or things they wrote as challenges to themselves, it does end up feeling a bit bloated and unfocused particularly in the back half.
Some absolute classics on this album. An absolute masterpiece with some psychedelic interludes…
Very long album, but good stuff once again from the Beatles
A Classic with some hits and others with eccentric taste
Classic album. Some genre defining sounds here that I’m sure influenced generations. One off though for me personally because not every one is a winner
Lots of good on this album. And also lots of silly, experimental songs on this album. One can see the creative differences at play between the Beatles, but overall they churn out another album with plenty of classics.
numbah nine numbah nine numbah nine numbah nine numbah nine
3.75/5 some good songs
i'm always kind of conflicted on this album. while it is a definite classic and it does have some of the beatles best songs on it, there are entire sections of the album that i don't return to very often. an example of this is the run from "piggies" to "why don't we do it in the road?", which i think is one of the worst in their entire discography. but at the same time, the variety is what makes this one of my most listened beatles albums behind revolver. and if we're talking about track runs, the run from "everybody's got something to hide except me and my monkey" to "revolution 1" is probably one of the best in their catalogue and possibly best period. so while i can't give this a perfect rating like many others have, i still do consider this to be one of my favorite albums.
Whoo... lots going on here. Lots of good stuff packed in here, but it really does feel like 4 different albums mashed together. Provides some great Wiki reading holes as well...
Great, but not their absolute best. Dear Prudence and While my guitar are 10/10 though.
1/2 5 Star - 1/2 4 Star, with a 3 Star in there... So 4 1/2 stars. Obviously, I don't have to say much about my love for the Beatles. This record is not a fit for every day, or for some activities... but it sure is a great listen when you're into it.
1 - Back in the USSR 2 - Dear Prudence 3 - Ob-la-de, Ob-la-da 4 - While my Guitar Gently Weeps 5 - Happiness is a Warm Gun 6 - Martha my Dear 7 - I’m so Tired 8 - Blackbird 9 - Piggies 10 - I will 11 - Yer Blues 12 - Everybody’s Got Something to Hide 13 - Helter Skelter 14 - Revolution 1 15 - Good Night Chopped it in half and there’s still a few filler tracks. Can’t go lower than a 4 though for the great one on there.
First time fully listening to this overall a great album with a handful of songs that I just can't stand namely wild honey pie. Blackbird and while my guitar gently weeps were highlights. I still am unsure if there's an arc that is trying to be constructed throughout the album here but it ends nicely.
Quality
Was really enjoying this album’s experimental work until John took it too far with NUMBA NINE. Everything else was very good, definitely could have dropped some other songs, like Wild Honey Pie and had it be a single disc. Overall, very enjoyable, will listen again. 4/5
Ive always loved this album hard to ignore the weird amount of total duds here though 4.5
It's the white album
It's the big one. I like it.
as tonally weird as "Tommy" but more accessible to me.
I remember discovering my dads Beatles vinyl back in about 1991 and this album was always a strange curiosity to me. It was really pretty different to everything else. A combination and great tunes (Gently Weeps, Blackbird) and oddities (Piggies, Honey Pie). I was put off by some and instantly loved others. Time has made appreciate it all collectively. A decent album but not anywhere near their best. I’d like to give it 3.5 but I’ll round it up to 4 because… well, because it’s The Beatles White Album.
What can I say that wasn’t said before? Honestly, this albums has really great songs. It production techniques showed a leap forward. It is a great musical milestone. However, I think that they could have cleaned the song list a little bit and come up with a single kick ass record. That would have been an A+
That's good.. but it's too much stuff to be all good and, in fact, it isn't
So longggggg. But definitely some bright points and influential in scope.
The good songs are fantastic and sufficiently outweigh the cringe / mediocrity of the bad to make this a 4.
Not my favorite but there’s an intimacy and a confidence that are really nice. Feels like this is making music especially for themselves, what they had inside wanting out. And it took until this listen to realize I’ve been playing Blackbird wrong.
Lastig, voelt wel alsof het veel invloed heeft gehad, voelt ook meteen een stuk moderner dan hun vorige album. Maar er zitten wel heel wat nummers op die een beetje meh zijn
I feel guilty giving it 4 as such as classic album, but that’s what it felt like.
Beaucoup de chansons sont des 5; par contre, quelques électrons libres me font douter. En même temps, c'est ce que j'apprécie de cet album: la créativité, la prise de risque, le fait que les membres du groupe semblent avoir tellement de plaisir à expérimenter. Tellement d'airs me sont restés dans la tête par la suite aussi!
What a bunch of strange dudes. Top notch.
It's a bloated mess but there's so much great stuff on here, and even the songs I don't like add so much character to the album that I honestly wouldn't change a thing. I can't give it a 5 in good conscience as it can be such a slog to listen to all the way through, but on the whole it's a stunning collection of songs
Amazing how all over the place this album is. Saying that I’m meaning it in the best way possible. Could do anything/any sound as a band and make it sound great. Had to check auto play hadn’t started a new album by a new band for Good Night. Belter Skelter (auto correct changed that and I’m not correcting it) Obla Di, While My Guitar my stand outs, with Blackbird one of my favourite Beatles songs ever
Not particularly of the experimental songs but man this album has some bangers
Ekkert nema dásemd, með dashi af fíflagangi. Elsk ❤️
Interesting musically, didn’t know where we were going one song to the next.
banger
This album is pretty good. There are some good songs, but my god is this album long. It just kept going and going, so it felt like the album had a ton of filler songs between the songs I enjoyed. Favorite song: While My Guitar Gently Weeps Worst song: Birthday Worst 8 minutes of noise: Revolution 9
It's quite strange, very unique (Doubly so back at the time of its release) and certainly not boring. Of course it has a place on this list, no doubt about that. I think I will eventually go back to it to listen through again, because it's certainly a great album, though I don't know if it'll be my favourite Beatles album. Favourite: Back In The U.S.S.R
Var á ferðinni og hlustaði ekki. Samt klassík sem ég geymi til betri tíma.
Good but inconsistent. One of my lower ranked Beatles albums
One of the better Beatles albums in my opinion.
This album is super eclectic! I've listened to it many times over 30 years and do enjoy it because it is ridiculous. Great!
Racist
It’s The Beatles, it’s great… but, I always thought there were too many weak, filler tracks on this. If they cut half the songs it’d have been perhaps the greatest album ever.
7/10. Okay, yeah, I see why this is their only double album. Feels like they stretched themselves a little thin, butter over too much bread and all that. Fortunately, the bread is still pretty good.
A frenetic and dizzying musical tug-o-war between all four Beatles. I enjoyed it, but there was a major lack of cohesion. Lyrically, thematically, musically, it just pushes and pulls every which way. The tension between Paul and John is palpable! Bless George Harrison for being able to get While My Guitar Gently Weeps included. And Paul for writing Blackbird. I know this album is touted as the high watermark of the Beatles career, but it’s just too jarring a listening experience for me. Still a good time, just one that yanks your chain a bit.
p156. 1968. 4 stars. This might sound like heresy, but there is a LOT of filler here. Trim that out and you would have a 5 star album. On the plus side, there is still more inventiveness and melody here than most bands manage in a 10 year career.
timeless classic but dont recommend listening to this at night because the second to last song will make you shit your pants
boy don't you just love the old stereo split the album being split into 4 does mean there's space for quite a few classics in there
Good. A few tracks were a bit meh but overall i liked it. I'm also into weird music so if you don't like that it's probably just an annoying listen half the album.
Otro disco fantástico de uno de los mejores grupos de siempre. Canciones muy básicos, pero muy pegadizas. Muy melódicas y bien construidas. Muchas siguen perdurando en el tiempo
4* Because of Blackbird
Ma okej je ovaj samo ne toliko koliko i ovi drugi.
Ovo je njihov takoreć' eksperimentalniji album. Drugačiji od ostalih - i zato mi se jako sviđa. Imaš svega na ovom albumu - od laganice - rokerice do eksperimentalice. Gdje bih svrstao ovaj album kad bi' rangirao bar nekih top 5? Težak je taj top 5, bar kod njih. Revolver, Rubber Soul, Abbey Road, Sgt. Pepper i The White Album. Ovo nije po redu, zna se to sve izmiksat samo tako. Rubber Soul npr. u posljednje vrijeme najviše slušam, ali mi je baš drago što ću baš ovaj album danas slušati. Ali pazi ti to, toliko nakrcan album, a opet tako dobar. '68 ljudi moji - blueprint za metal (Helter Skelter) i eksperimentalnu glazbu (Revolution 9). 4.5/5 u mojoj knjizi - a to što vamo nema pola zvjezdice još uvijek smatram kriminalnim dijelom.
Why don't we fuck in the street! Little piggies
Brialliant.
Well-written album, great breadth of music. This album showcases what the Beatles are all about, writing catchy and fun songs. But nothing really hits you in a meaningful way.
Niet mijn meest favoriete album van de Fab Four, maar zeker in mijn aanzien gestegen.
It’s not the album I’d play to non-believers to convince them of the Beatles’ genius as there are a lot of songs on here that sound like jokes, or unfinished (both may be true, but usually in a good way). It might be the album that best displays the breadth of what they could do, though. In amongst some stone cold classics like While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Helter Skelter, Blackbird and Back in the U.S.S.R. there are some excellent John Lennon compositions (Happiness Is A Warm Gun, Dear Prudence, Glass Onion, Cry Baby Cry etc), and some genuine oddballs, just because it’s The Beatles and they could do what they liked. I remember being a bit underwhelmed when I first heard the album but now I find something new to enjoy with each listen. There’s some filler of course, but not as much as I first thought (and it’s part of the fun anyway). The first disc is great. 4.5
In 1967, The Beatles were focused on making cohesive albums rather than just focusing on singles. The result was Sgt. Pepper, and even down to the intricate album art, it was clear that The Beatles were putting a lot of time into recording and crafting complete albums. So how do you follow a monster like Sgt. Pepper up? You do the exact opposite! At least that’s what The Beatles thought. The White Album, as it has become known, is a double album released by the Beatles in 1968. The album consisted of many seemingly “loose” songs, thus there is no definite flow throughout the album. This throws a lot of people off. A lot of people also don’t like the “filler” tracks. Personally, I think many of the filler tracks are fun. I really love how the Beatles explored different musical styles throughout the record, such as folk, blues, proto-metal, and even avant-garde. Overall, this was a really fun listen and a great album, even if it isn’t as cohesive as their other efforts.
I fuck with this album hard
I really like that this whole thing is getting me to listen to the Beatles, I feel like I sort of know they're good and am aware of their big hits, bur to really take the time to listen to full albums is nice. Enjoyed this and found it kinda playful :)
Obviously one of the best with some of my fav Beatles on. Why don't we do it in the road is up there
This album shows the clear influence as it's all over the place. Blues, rock, psychedelia, etc While I don't prefer to listen to The Beatles, I can see why this album is so loved by critics
It's great, and I'm enjoyed. There are some classics songs and other new discovered.
It's hardly a hot take to say this is a sprawling masterpiece and that disc 1 is a lot more accessible than the more experimental disc 2. My personal preference tends to be for more concise albums, and there is a single album of pure bangers amongst the 30 tracks here. However, the weirder songs and 'grout tracks' really work here and are an essential part of the piece. Rating: 4.5/5 Playlist track: Back In The U.S.S.R Date listened: 13/09/22
Disc 1 almost perfect album but there’s a lot of misses on the 2nd
Pretty good until after helter skelter then hot garbage
Stórkostleg klassík. Mörg uppáhalds bítlalögin mín.
Some amazing tracks, some random tracks. But on the whole a great album!
It's a pretty long album at 30 tracks but was found it quite enjoyable overall.
Banger after banger
Not my favorite Beatles album but still very good.
The album where Paul is fixated on honey pies - the wild and domestic kinds - for some obscure reason. With 93 minutes this includes a plethora of first class Beatles songs: 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps', 'Happiness Is A Warm Gun', 'Blackbird', 'Revolution' to name some. But in all honesty it does also contain some fillers ('Wild Honey Pie', 'Why Don't We Do It In The Road?'), and I found side three to be actually quite weak. The record would probably have been stronger if Harrison had been allowed to get more songs in the final tracklist. My biggest surprise with this re-listen was that 'Revolution 9' was... not that bad? I actually quite enjoyed it, and they seemed like they were having fun.
What a great collection of songs
Pop, rock, 1968. One of the most famous album in the world by the most famous band ever. It contains huge masterpieces such as "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and "Helter Skelter" and a lot of other great tracks but it is probably not as cohesive like "Abbey Road" or "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". In the end this is in my top 5 Beatles' albums, but not in my top 3.
I totally forgot how blues, americana folksy this album gets at certain songs (and then early heavy metal with Helter Skelter??? Amazing). The fiddle in Don't Pass Me By, the lyrics in ballad of Rocky Raccoon. Besides the fireside tunes, there's so many other catchy, goose-bumping songs on the White Album (While My Guitar Gently Weep, Dear Prudence). I get why it's always quoted as one of the best Beatles albums. I think it is, too. One of my favorite Beatles songs actually, Happiness is a Warm Gun, is on this album. On this listen, my standout song was Martha, My Dear. The White Album to me is like a pizza from your favorite place. It's always amazing, but you forget how so because you've been eating it for so long. Also, like tomatoes on pizza that came to Italy from China, and the pizza from Italy that made its way to the greasified USA version, the Beatles talent was taking the components of something already great (Chuck Berry's guitar, Motown records, etc.) and churning them into popular smashes. The White Album is a hit machine.
87/100: Much more filler than I was expecting listening to it in one go. I think this album gets a lot of praise because of the drama and turmoil going on amongst the Beatles behind the scenes, but I think for all of the groundbreaking songs on this album that possibly benefitted from that turmoil, just as many made their way on the album that probably wouldn’t have made it on earlier Beatles albums. I think this is the struggle in producing a piece of art as innovative as The White Album is, for every novel shot in the dark that lands (“Helter Skelter,” “Happiness is a Warm Gun,” and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”) there are just as many, and sometimes more, that miss the mark entirely (“Revolution 9,” “Piggies,” “Why Don’t We Do It In The Road,” and “Honey Pie”). It might be unfair to hold that against the Beatles because that’s a part of the process of making good art—how can you know what will stick when no one has ever made music like this before—but I can think of many other innovative albums that are better coherent albums than this, hence the less than stellar review.
Very cool album and kind of crazy how many good songs are on the one album, quite enjoyed it but not something I would listen to a lot
i agree that this is an album that belongs on this list. some tracks are skippable, but the album as a whole is iconic. favorite track is good night.
It has good songs but a bit too long with a decent amount of filler. That said, I have listened to this album so many times that even the filler has grown on me a bit.
Can’t believe I never listened to this before. There are some true bangers on here, but they’ve been so overplayed that they sound cliche now. Suffering from success. The terrible terrible song “Revolution 9” keeps this album from being 5 stars.
16/29, 55%
Loved this album, so many iconic songs.
Overall pretty good! Hard to set aside the charles manson mystique around it
im a beetle slut so it's hard for me to rate any of their albums below a 4 but this one has some special tracks but it's also a bit all over the place because the band started having arguments at this point of time but still a solid album👍
Very decent and memorable experience. Classic Beatles album
I know that this album is regarded as one of their best, I didn't know it was a double album. I enjoyed and can see why The White Album is held in such high regard.
It's the Beatles.
A bit too sprawling and uneven to be counted as truly great, but credit where credit is due-the Beatles fearlessly throw everything at the wall to see what sticks, and most of it does. Even ideas that aren’t fully formed contain intriguing lyrics and melodies, showing just how far they’ve come as a band.
Didn't Helter Skelter inspire Charles Manson
It's the famous Beatles White Album. A record I've heard dozens of times during my life, and it's the typical double-album with double-album issues. There are some masterful songs on here, but also some songs I loathe with such a passion I could never rate it as high as some of the Beatles' other works than are just amazing albums start to finish. An album where I start skipping songs is just not worthy of 5*. Still, the album never gets boring and the Beatles play a wide range of songs and styles. Stay for: While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Happiness Is A Warm Gun, I'm So Tired, Julia, Helter Skelter, Long Long Long Skip every time: Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da, The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill, Rocky Raccoon, Honey Pie, Sexy Sadie, Revolution No.9
An extremely easy summary to write. The best songs on The White Album (e.g., Back in the U.S.S.R., Happiness Is a Warm Gun) make the album a firm 4, whereas the worst songs on it (e.g., Wild Hairy Pie, Good Night) prevent it from being a 5. Job done. Okay, I suppose I better look under the bonnet. After Sgt. Pepper cemented them as the most feted longhairs on the planet, the Beatles fled to India to to learn Transcendal Meditation and to try and comprehend their extraordinary position on the world's stage. Ringo returned to Blighty within a fortnight, because he was craving a nice, juicy steak after all that curry malarkey. Macca stayed a bit longer, and John and George longer still. George especially became further entranced with Indian culture, and the stay at Rishikesh saw his blossoming as a capable songwriter. The group wrote songs voluminously whilst in India, but the recording sessions in London proved highly trying. Their recently formed business Apple Corps sapped the Fabs' cash amid a series of failed projects. Along with this, the bandmembers had grown more distinct from each other artistically, fragmenting their previously unified vision of the band's direction. Ringo left for a period, upset at all the bickering and his apparent peripheral status within the band. With egos and hostility percolating in the studio, the bandmembers rejected George Martin's suggestion that they edit the album into a spliffing single album of the best songs from the recording sessions, and so came to pass the Beatles' double album. Oh, and Yoko had begun hanging out around the studio. There's that familiar challenge concerning the White Album, over what 15 songs you'd choose for a single-record edition of the White Album. I suspect that everyone would choose pretty much the same songs. To restate that, the White Album meanders wildly in terms of quality, but a consensus over which tracks are good became established rather swiftly. As such, the supposed innovations of the White Album have faded so much that the contemporary listener struggles to see the invention. Yes, I know that may seem comparable to that dismissal of Hamlet as a ropey old plot strung along with the mouldiest of clichés, yet I think that I not only can defend that position, but also argue that the White Album wasn't that innovative anyway. Take Helter Skelter, for instance. The standard assessment of Helter Skelter is that it's the song that forges heavy metal with Macca's declaration that he wanted to write a song as loud and dirty as possble. I humbly suggest that this is piffle. Jimi Hendrix had released the much louder, much dirtier, much heavier, much better Purple Haze the previous year. But no, fanboys insist that credit must go to the Beatles just because of those murders. Or what about the claim that the White Album is the first postmodern record? Without getting too abstract, one definition of postmodernism that consistently works is that it's the stuff that came after modernism. By that definition, rock n roll itself is a postmodern construction. Or for a more rigorous candidate, you have David Bowie and his band adopting the personae of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars to record The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders of Mars, an album telling the fable of the rise and fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. That's far closer in spirit to If on a winter's night a traveller. The White Album isn't postmodern just because the Fabs were too atomised to enact proper quality assurance. I recognise that I have only named two examples. I have written long enough already, and you don't need me cracking out the microscope to examine every instance of the White Album not being quite as novel as its reputation claims. Why not give it a go yourself? For starters. try tackling the role of pastiche on the album. And console yourself with the thought that innovation is not quite a virtue in itself: your bright idea of an onion milkshake will shock, but not because it's new. You can love the album even if it's not the Nikola Tesla of music. Anyway, in conclusion, just read the first paragraph again. I'm off for a kip.
Probably my favorite Beatles album.
I'll give this album 4 stars because it has some great singles, but I thought it was an incoherent mess that also had some mediocre tracks.
I mean it's Beatles isn't it. I've heard most of these songs before, but was still surprised by some bits, such as Revolution 9... I thought the album ended and I got some random psychedelic band on. Helter Skelter was much 'harder' than I remembered too.
Listened to the remastered 2009 version - some things seemed a little over produced so some sound took over the vocals
i was surprised to realize i had never listened to the white album all the way through. i enjoyed hearing many new songs! i wasn't expecting this amount of experimental music, though. this album recorded and released in 1968 definitely shows the year with its brand of experimental music. some songs were just weird, but others like "piggies" were charming enough to forget any eclectic aspects. this album demonstrates a more grown-up sound, different from the solid pop their beginning--which isn't to say one is better than the other. the hits on this album are unbelievable. memorable, catchy, delightful, beautiful. the album balances itself so nicely. "back in the ussr" starts you off high. the album bounces between sweet, somber, fun. george's "while my guitar gently weeps" is the scene stealer. "glass onion" contains throwbacks delightful for even a casual beatles fan. "blackbird" is a lovely, soft number, worthy of its hit status. "ob-la-di" and "birthday" are plain fun, undeniably. how can you not clap along with "bungalow bill"? the guitar on "helter skelter" goes so hard, and edges this album toward some harder rock. no two songs are alike! we end with "goodnight," a simple and gentle song i wasn't expecting for ringo but provides a perfect end to the album. we all know beatles' songs were not equally distributed through its four members, but george's songs are always delightful; this album is no exception. it's always a treat to listen to new george music. an album i was so excited for, threw me some surprises, and left me so satisfied. an album which its hype is so, so valid.
My 100th album on this project! And what an iconic one! This double album is packed with music! Not only that, but there is so much diversity and variation of styles from song to song. This album is interesting if for no other reason than that it's on the precipice of the 60s ending and the 70s beginning. Sounds from both decades permeate this album, showing just how influential the Beatles were on both decades. Helter Skelter is also a song I personally enjoy a lot, partially for this reason -- I love how McCartney just went full force on this song, his goal to make something loud and raw and "dirty". Not only did he achieve that, but it's obvious that the song would inspire heavy metal sounds of the 70s. Other songs on this album (While My Guitar Gently Weeps) would go on to inform other definitive sounds of the 70s as well. I'll be the first to admit that I am not the biggest Beatles fan, and that a lot of what they do is lost on me. While I found this album to be great, I don't think the entire album is at the same caliber as the best songs off of the album; there was definitely some filler (thanks, Lennon). Nothing on the album is BAD, but not everything is downright great. That said, this is a good album for George Harrison, as it features his best Beatles song ever (and one of the band's best songs in general), While My Guitar Gently Weeps. Savoy Truffle is another easy standout from Harrison's side of the catalog, which also features on this album. An interesting album that, in my opinion, really challenged and pushed the state of music at the time. I would rank this album at about a 3.5, so I'm going to go ahead and round up to 4.
There’s some absolutely epic songs on here but man could the Beatles be weird sometimes
back in the USSR is very beach boy vibes. Each track has its own sound which I love
Wow, this makes me happy. I haven't listened to this album in decades. I used to listen to my dad's vinyl copy over and over as a kid. I still anticipate a skip about 1 min in on "I'm So Tired" where his record was scratched. I wasn't sure if this would hold up for me. In general, I don't love the Beattles. But there is so much to love about this album and it's not all nostalgia. So many of the songs have a heaviness, a gritty, bluesy feeling. Then some are just weird and goofy. It's a really fun album
It’s The Beatles. There’s a certain level of quality there. Too many filler songs hurts a record that has some all time great tracks.
Some of my absolute favorite Beatles tracks on this one. The range of sonic and lyrical experimentation here is astounding, and demonstrates how innovative the band could be once they dropped the pop focus. The use of early distortion tones is a key feature to note - my dad told me how the blown-out intro riff on 'Revolution' floored him at the time because nothing else before it had sounded quite like that. I do think this album falls a bit short of 5 stars as there's no hope of cohesion as a full LP given how many genres and styles exist alongside one another, but the highs are plentiful and represent the most exciting and out-there tracks of the Beatles' long career.
A sprawling epic pop rock adventure. Silly, engaging, rocking, light, heavy and more.
Took forever, nice to finally know what all the songs are.
En klassiker, mere eksperimenterende, stadig simpelt, både poppet og rocket
This album rates pretty high for me because it was one of the first ones I got on CD. That first side is just so strong, back to back to back killer tracks, although "Wild Honey Pie" is a bit of a filler. The second side has "Don't Pass Me By," which isn't bad for a first track by Ringo. Little heavy on the keys, making it feel very calliope-like. The third side doesn't have a real clunker, although Sexy Sadie is probably the one I like least of those, but it's still real good. Then there's side four. First off, I like the single version of "Revolution" that was released. I think it's much better than Revolution 1. I wish they had included it as a bonus on the remaster or something. Then there's "Revolution 9." Look, I get that they were experimenting with all different styles throughout the album. Sgt. Pepper is strictly an album of its time, but it opened up everyone to the possibility of doing more than just "rock and roll." The White Album is more malleable, much looser in form because of the experimentation. Having said that, "Revolution 9" is just... boring. Boring and too long. So I usually skip it. "Good Night" closes ou tthe album, and it's a bit too mich treacle. SO since I've skipped "Revolution 9" I usually skip that too. So there you have it. I've played this album so many times since it was one of my first CDs. But even so, there are still a few tracks I tend to skip, so as much as I have a fondness for it, I can only give 4 out of 5 because of those weak tracks.
There are definitely some lowlights on this album; how could you not have any with 30 songs? But give credit to the sheer vastness of the production - a double album with many good songs. Is it great? TBD. I call BS on those who criticized the lyrics for being too simple. There are a lot of double meanings and songs that you only truly understand if you think through it a lot. Side One is pretty solid though I've never really liked Ob La Di Ob La Da and the next two tracks dip (though I love the underlying meaning of lyrics in Bungalow Bill). Back in the USSR is still fun and Dear Prudence is beautiful. While My Guitar Gently Weeps and Happiness is a Warm Gun are songs that show the musicianship the Beatles lacked when they were younger. Side Two is a bit more of the same - so good to start, including I'm So Tired and Blackbird. And then it gets a little weird with Piggies through to Why Don't We Do it In the Road, though the first has some thought-provoking lyrics and when you know the back story behind the others they're more interesting. But the last two tracks pick it up again with two sweet pieces by Paul and John in I Will and Julia. Side Three is probably my favorite for its energy. Birthday is a joke but kudos to it being mostly improvised. And it is fun! Yer Blues is a solid blues attempt. Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey is a hidden gem for rock lovers or lovers of early Beatles. Helter Skelter, like Yer Blues, shows the Beatles virtuosity in being able to do something heavy, pretty damn well. If they ended after Side Three I'd say it's 5-star. Side Four makes things iffy. Revolution is a great song with the musical arrangement on the eventual single, not with the one on this album (still good because it's lyrics are awesome). Honey Pie and Savoy Truffle grow on you but both are a bit juvenile. Cry Baby Cry is pretty good, but not as good as stuff on the other sides. Revolution 9 is terrible. Good Night sounds like the end to some cute kids movie; it's actually kind of endearing. Maybe I'm overweighting Side Four or some of the other so-so tracks but after an internal struggle I landed on 4-star.
If I had to pick one word to describe The White Album, it would be UNEVEN. The White Album has some of the Beatles' best songs, a bunch of ok but generally uninspiring (and often derivative) songs, and then some songs they should have left on the cutting room floor (e.g., Wild Honey Pie, Piggies, and Revolution 9). Basically, if they were to take the best songs and a few of the ok songs they'd have a great single album. Maybe the Beatles were over-convinced of their greatness, but someone needed to tell them NO on making it a double album (sounds like George Martin tried unsuccessfully). If I were to pick which songs to turn into an amazing single album, this would be the track listing. I added Hey Jude and the single version of Revolution because they were recorded in the same sessions but only released as singles. I kept the order they used, except for adding Hey Jude. I'd probably find a different spot for Julia because it's just too mellow to have Blackbird followed by Julia. Similarly, Helter Skelter is a little stark following Mother Nature's Son: Back in the USSR Dear Prudence Glass Onion Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da (apparently a lot of people hate this, but I like it). While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Amazing song - of course, everyone should hear Prince's solo in the 2004 Rock Hall Tribute to George Harrison) Blackbird Julia (this is one of the ok ones I pulled in to fill up the single album) Birthday Mother Nature's Son (another ok one to fill the album) Helter Skelter Revolution (single version, but Revolution 1 is still good) Hey Jude (not on the album, but recorded during these sessions) Goodnight (always holds a special place for me because my son used to fall asleep listening to Jason Falkner's Bedtime with the Beatles and his version of Goodnight is magical). Total run time = slightly under 46 minutes. One great album, boys.
Some really great songs and some really weird songs.
I've listened to this album 10 000 times and I still can't remember anything about Long, Long, Long.
A wonderful Beatles album with a variety of songs. This album is long but being a fan of the Beatles it’s only appreciated. This album has a little bit of everything that made their other albums great. Obviously that means this one isn’t too cohesive or flowing but it doesn’t necessarily matter if you just want to hear more Beatles. Excellent album. 8.4/10
I've heard this one recently, so I will skip listening to it this time around. I feel like it's one of their least talked about records, despite it being so heavily praised. There's some great songs on here, but it's not all good. There's almost too much material here, so unless you already like The Beatles this won't do much for you. Easily a top 5 Beatles album for me, though.
I always eagerly look forward to this album and finish it disappointed. Some songs are among my favourites (including Blackbird, Martha, Glass Onion, Dear Prudence, while my guitar), others are quite poor. George Martin was right: should have been an amazing 2-sided LP, but we know selecting songs would have broken up The Beatles way before Let it be and Abbey Road. Pick and choose your favourites into a playlist and avoid the mishmash of great, awful, good, weak.
Some great songs, most of which you've already heard a thousand times. Some filler, some stuff that doesn't work. All in all it's decent. Could have been a killer single album.
It’s the white album. Nothing more needs to be said.
Some undeniable classics on here obviously, but there’s also some incredibly weird tracks (what the hell is Revolution 9?). I appreciate The White Album and it’s place in the top whatever albums, and it has some of my favourite Beatles songs, but are the 31 songs each a great listen, would I be listening to it in full regularly? No, probably not.
The Beatles on 'The Beatles' seem to be doing what beetles do best, often working alone, solitary, and independent of the others. You can almost feel them starting to distance themselves from one another. But all species evolve, and in their case they would adapt and move on, successfully. Think of some of this as the molting phase- ‘Glass Onion,’ ‘Helter Skelter,’ and ‘Long, Long, Long’ seem like flashbacks of the LSD influenced, 'The Magical Mystery Tour.' There’s also a splash of early Beatles’ here and there with ‘Back in the U.S.S.R.’ and ‘Birthday.’ But then there’s an awful lot of solo material from both Lennon and McCartney, almost as if they’re feeling their respective ways to wherever the next place is. Between Ringo’s obligatory good-natured but corny tune, ‘Don’t Pass My By,’ and just plain weird shit like ‘Revolution 9,’ 'The Beatles' tends to wander. But its still the Beatles, so its still great. At least the great parts are great. Out of the thirty songs, Lennon scored the best with eleven good ones, McCartney in second place with seven, and Harrison a solid four. However, if you consider Harrison’s average, four of four a winner, that’s batting a thousand my friends, just edging out Lennon, by contrast, with twelve out of thirteen. McCartney, unfortunately, had the same number of songs as Lennon, but five of those stunk (as well as a couple of their shared ones), giving him not much better than a 50% average. Mind you, this is purely my judgement, and adversely affected by offerings like ‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da’ and ‘Honey Pie,’ McCartney numbers that Lennon referred to derisively as ‘granny music.’ So, my scores are admittedly subjective. But I’m going with that, and if you like to come along and wander with me just a bit farther down this path, I’d like to propose my own alternate LP track list, and on just one record, as opposed to the double album set on which we all grew up. Leaving the order untampered with, 'The Beatles': Side One: 1) Back in the U.S.S.R. 2) Dear Prudence 3) Glass Onion 4) While My Guitar Gently Weeps 5) Happiness Is a Warm Gun 6) Martha My Dear 7) I’m So Tired 8) Blackbird 9) Piggies 10) Rocky Raccoon 11) I Will Total Length: 28.41 Side Two: 1) Julia 2) Birthday 3) Yer Blues 4) Mother Nature’s Son 5) Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey 6) Sexy Sadie 7) Long, Long Time 8) Revolution 1 9) Savoy Truffle 10) Cry Baby Cry 11) Good Night Total Length: 32.80 And the songs we left off? Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, Wild Honey Pie, The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill (my only Lennon reject), Don’t Pass Me By, Why Don’t We Do It in the Road?, Helter Skelter, Honey Pie, and Revolution 9. If it were in the name of making a tighter single record LP, are there any amongst these eight that you just couldn’t live without? Finally (drum roll), awards for the best four songs, one on each side, and side one’s pick should be no surprise: George Harrison’s ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps,’ with honorable mention for McCartney’s always unique melodic bass lines, at times playing entire chords and offering counter melodies and such. Side two goes to Sir Paul himself with ‘Rocky Raccoon.’ I remember this playing on the radio practically every time we climbed in my Dad’s big ol’ Pontiac Bonneville for a Sunday afternoon ride to Baskin r’ Robbins. Side three: the Lennon rocker, ‘Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey. Great guitars accompanying Lennon’s biting sarcasm and surreal lyrics. And my pick for side four: Another Harrison work, ‘Savoy Truffle.’ This sounds like something right off 'Revolver.' And special thanks to producer Chris Thomas for his terrific horn arrangement on this and others. I don’t know what this means exactly, but two of the best belonged to George, and along with Lennon’s one, most sound like the complete Beatles playing as a unit. Rocky Raccoon was pretty much all Paul. A shadow of things to come?
High points are obviously very high, there's no real consistency to the album though and some of it is very forgettable.
I mean, what is there to say except it's The Beatles' White Album. While My Guitar Gently Weeps has been among my most loved songs since the first time I heard it as a child. It still provokes emotion now, it's so beautiful. I didn't give this the full 5 because being forced to sing Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da in infant school has left scars. Not so much the singing but listening to 30 other seven year olds reguarly ruin it leaves lasting marks on a person.
Its the beatles. Some cool things but not really for me.
4, lots and lots on this, very long
Yeah it was good. Liked the production. T’was odd. Rocked hard in 68’. I’m really tired. The album was good. I’ve got blisters on my fingers.
Not my favorite but there’s an intimacy and a confidence that are really nice. Feels like this is making music especially for themselves, what they had inside wanting out. And it took until this listen to realize I’ve been playing Blackbird wrong.
Plenty of songs, loads of variety. Some real oddities but enough very good songs. Overall rather sprawling but it is a double album so offers room for experimentation.