When The Beatles & George Martin were sequencing The White Album they were doing so for the double LP. That's how it was originally intended to be listened to. So I think it's quite interesting to look back at that original format and think about how each of the four sides of this amazing album. What are the individual personalities of each of those four sides? I don't want this article to be so much about which side is best or which side is worst because that's sort of a dull way to look at it. This is art.
Side 1 of The White Album is outstanding. In fact if I had to think of just one side of all of the Beatles studio albums to take with me on a deserted island it may very well be this one (or maybe side 1 of Revolver.) The opening sequence of "Back in the USSR" into "Dear Prudence" is amazing and it ends just as amazingly with "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and "Happiness Is a Warm Gun." In between that "Glass Onion" which is a very cool unique track and the very well known sing along tune "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" which does catch a fair amount of hate but I think it's unwarranted. It's a great tune. If the side goes wrong anywhere it's with "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill" but even that one has really grown on me over the years. And yes, I dig "Wild Honey Pie." If it were longer it may get a bit old, but it's the perfect length.
Side 2 features some The Beatles best acoustic guitar based songs such as "I Will," "Julia," & "Blackbird." Along with "Martha My Dear" and "I'm So Tired" it creates more of a laid back sort of thoughtful vibe. If Side 1 was the energy than Side 2 is sort of like the come down or the after glow. That's not to say it's not amazing, it's just another side of the band. That's what's so interesting about looking at the album in this way. There does appear to be a real pattern as to how the track listing is laid out.
Side 3 is a combination of the quiet and pretty ("Long Long Long" and "Mother Nature's Son") with the loud heavy rockers ("Helter Skelter," "Yer Blues," & "Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey.) Like the rest of the sides on this album, it seems to have it's own identity. It's own feeling. In a lot of ways it's the side that keeps on revealing more and more over the years.
Side 4 features the alternative album version of the classic single "Revolution" along with the avante-garde lunacy of "Revolution 9." Unlike many, I love that The Beatles included "Revolution 9" on the album. Sure it's not the kind of track I can listen to often, but I find it quite fascinating in it's own way, and I've really enjoyed the "trip" of listening to it on quite a few occasions. A big highlight of Side 4 for me is "Cry Baby Cry" which seems like one of The Beatles most overlooked songs (even by Lennon himself who seemed to dismiss it in interviews.) I love the "Can You Take Me Back..." bit at the end too. - 15615
Side 1 of The White Album is outstanding. In fact if I had to think of just one side of all of the Beatles studio albums to take with me on a deserted island it may very well be this one (or maybe side 1 of Revolver.) The opening sequence of "Back in the USSR" into "Dear Prudence" is amazing and it ends just as amazingly with "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and "Happiness Is a Warm Gun." In between that "Glass Onion" which is a very cool unique track and the very well known sing along tune "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" which does catch a fair amount of hate but I think it's unwarranted. It's a great tune. If the side goes wrong anywhere it's with "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill" but even that one has really grown on me over the years. And yes, I dig "Wild Honey Pie." If it were longer it may get a bit old, but it's the perfect length.
Side 2 features some The Beatles best acoustic guitar based songs such as "I Will," "Julia," & "Blackbird." Along with "Martha My Dear" and "I'm So Tired" it creates more of a laid back sort of thoughtful vibe. If Side 1 was the energy than Side 2 is sort of like the come down or the after glow. That's not to say it's not amazing, it's just another side of the band. That's what's so interesting about looking at the album in this way. There does appear to be a real pattern as to how the track listing is laid out.
Side 3 is a combination of the quiet and pretty ("Long Long Long" and "Mother Nature's Son") with the loud heavy rockers ("Helter Skelter," "Yer Blues," & "Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey.) Like the rest of the sides on this album, it seems to have it's own identity. It's own feeling. In a lot of ways it's the side that keeps on revealing more and more over the years.
Side 4 features the alternative album version of the classic single "Revolution" along with the avante-garde lunacy of "Revolution 9." Unlike many, I love that The Beatles included "Revolution 9" on the album. Sure it's not the kind of track I can listen to often, but I find it quite fascinating in it's own way, and I've really enjoyed the "trip" of listening to it on quite a few occasions. A big highlight of Side 4 for me is "Cry Baby Cry" which seems like one of The Beatles most overlooked songs (even by Lennon himself who seemed to dismiss it in interviews.) I love the "Can You Take Me Back..." bit at the end too. - 15615
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