Quit Hammering On The White Album, Will Ya?!

We gotta talk a little bit about The White Album...

Since its release more than fifty years ago, The White Album has been certified platinum 24 times, earned 5-star ratings from every reviewer worthy of consideration, and has imprinted itself into the musical consciousness of four generations. It boasts some of The Beatles' most memorable songs and is recognized as one of the most unique and vital albums ever made. 

So why doesn't this album get any respect? The general opinion is along the lines of "Well…sure, it's a great album, but…"

Fair enough. But I'll ask you to consider that both of the following propositions are true:

1) The White Album has a couple of songs that are real stinkers;

2) The White Album is a unique and special work of art, holding a place all its own in The Beatles' catalogue. Its significance has increased over time, and it is certainly one of The Beatles' top three albums.

[NOTE: Before I put some thoughts out there to back up my bullshine, let me say this as a clarification: Yes, I am aware that the proper name of The White Album is The Beatles. But I think we will all acknowledge that nobody--get that? Nobody--calls it anything other than The White Album.]

Now--let's clear some brush…

• Criticism 1: "It lacks a unifying theme--it's no more than a bunch of songs thrown together". 

I'll gladly accept that evaluation, because guess what--NONE of The Beatles' albums had a unifying theme. They didn't do albums that offered an overarching exploration of some aspect present in the human condition. Many artists did this, and some did it well.  Some artists that did were Pink Floyd (The Wall and Dark Side of the Moon, both of which address alienation and isolation), Bob Dylan (Blood on the Tracks, which evaluates the aftermath of a failed marriage), John Lennon (Plastic Ono Band, a straightforward declaration of artistic independence), & c.

Instead of a thematic lyrical unity, the typical Beatles album is defined by things such as unity of sound production (Rubber Soul is the acoustic album, Revolver explores studio techniques) or a sense of time & place (Sgt. Pepper, Magical Mystery Tour). The White Album is no exception.  

It's The Art Gallery. Keep that in mind as we explore…

• Criticism 2: "This is not a Beatles album as such! It's a compilation of solo works, with each member serving as little more than a session musician playing at the direction of another."

There is truth in this statement. Ringo left the band for a few weeks during the sessions because he got sick of Paul telling him how to do his job (Harrison famously did the same during the Let It Be sessions for the same reason, which should tell you all you need to know…), the famous Lennon/McCartney "kinda sorta songwriting partnership" was pretty well defunct, and everybody was apparently following their own artistic true North.

And here's where the Art Gallery analogy comes into play.  Because its not like everybody was operating in a vacuum. Look at it like one would a collaborative of visual artists.  Within the proximity of one another, each was driven by competition yet provided valuable contributions to the works of their fellow artists. To wit:

• Paul's dreamy, perfect piano work on John's masterpiece "Sexy Sadie";
• George's edgy guitar work and assistance with arrangements on John's "Happiness is a Warm Gun";
• Paul's loving instrumental treatments on "Don't Pass Me By", Ringo's English Dance Hall-Meets-Nashville songwriting debut;
• Ringo's powerful and deceptively complex drumming on "Yer Blues";
• George providing aid and comfort to John's "Revolution 9";  
• John gifting Ringo with the vocal honors on the beautiful "Good Night",

Yes, some songs on the album were self-contained works by the individual artists with little or no instrumental, vocal, or other meaningful  contributions from the others.  Guess what--Paul was the only Beatle performing on "Eleanor Rigby" and "Yesterday"; "She's Leaving Home" was Paul with only a minor hockey assist from John; George was the only Beatle actually performing on "Within You Without You".  We could go on, but you get the point.

And The White Album served as the gallery in which these works of such wonderful diversity, individual expression, and group consciousness were displayed for all of us to consider and appreciate in our own way.  

Even the album design suggests the Art Gallery concept.  White. Inside and out. Like the walls of any number of galleries. Adorned only with grey lettering and four black and white individual photos of the artists in the gatefold. About as close to minimalism as something can be and yet retain a physical presence.

PREVIEW OF COMING ATTRACTIONS: The Beatles' album covers are a fascinating topic in and of themselves, one we will get to another day...

The artwork tells us a lot about what's going on within The Beatles collective.  Again--four individual photographs, each individual's hairstyle, clothing, appearance strikingly different from the others.

Included with the album (as they did back in the day) one found separate in-color versions of the aforementioned individual photographs along with something special--a fairly large wall poster festooned with a couple dozen candid snapshots of the band. Actually, that's not right. With the exception of a couple of proofs strips, the photographs were all of individual members, in some cases with another person, but none depict any of The Beatles together, much less a group shot.

OF INTEREST: In the bottom left of the poster one will find a small picture of a dark-haired, mustachioed man wearing glasses. This man is William Campbell, and he's the guy who became "Paul McCartney" after the original McCartney died as a result of that that traffic accident in '65. 

WILLIAM CAMPBELL AKA "PAUL MCCARTNEY"

The loose camaraderie captured in the film A Hard Day's Night had become a loose confederation of independent artists contributing their talents to a common objective. Status as a "Beatle" may describe one aspect of their being, but it no longer defined any of them. And I can imagine it was important to them that you know that. 

Accounts suggest that George Martin was dubious about the idea of releasing a double album and encouraged "the lads" to narrow it down to a traditional two-sided, 14 song album, or release the material as two separate albums.  The Beatles, though clearly growing up and growing apart as a functioning unit, and keen to realize their potential as individual artists, said no. 

This is our gallery. This is our exhibit. We will amuse you, and we will challenge you. We will entertain you, we will inspire you, and we perhaps will infuriate you. But you must judge this work not on its component parts but as a whole.

The "Cut It To One Album" thing is an interesting exercise--I've done it several times over the years, and I always come away with a different combination on my 14-song version--and such an effort I think might help one recognize the true strength of The White Album as an artistic endeavor. What would you cut to get to fourteen?

Certainly not "Back In the USSR" or "Dear Prudence", which together comprise nothing less than the greatest two-song introduction to an album in rock history (and yes, yes…"Sgt. Pepper" and "With A  Little Help From My Friends" is a very close second--save the hate mail). 

You'd chuck out "Revolution 1"? Seriously???

If you'd leave out "Sexy Sadie" I don't want to know you.

I think most people would insist on keeping George's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", no? How about his analysis of social class structure in "Piggies", or the biting guitar solo in "Savoy Truffle"? Me, I can't do without "Long Long Long", which I think is easily one of the ten best songs Harrison ever did, either within The Beatles or without the Beatles.   

Would you cut "Glass Onion", "Happiness Is A Warm Gun", or "I'm So Tired", all part of John's career-long canon of experiments with chord structure, melody, and arrangement? 

Are you beastly enough to deny Ringo's first effort as a songwriter, the buoyant and fun "Don't Pass Me By"? How about his tender and oh-so human vocals on the album's finale "Good Night"? 

You prepared to toss aside any of the acoustic numbers found throughout? "Rocky Raccoon", "Mother Nature's Son", "Julia", "Blackbird"? No love for "Martha My Dear" and "Honey Pie", Paul's two dance-hall knockoffs? Me, I love the horn section in "Honey Pie"--it makes me happy.

"Helter Skelter". "Yer Blues". "Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me & My Monkey". "Birthday". All classic examples of songs that serve as the foundation of the modern rock music form. Which will go? 

Honestly, I don't think people really appreciate how much of this album they really treasure until they are presented with the concept of losing some of it.

Yes yes…there are some songs on here that just ain't up to standard. I always get a negative response from somebody when I say this, but "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" in my opinion is The Beatles' worst song by far, of any they ever recorded, and if not the worst then it most assuredly is the most annoying. I could do just nicely without "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill" and "Why Don't We Do It In the Road". Your Mileage May Vary. But if incorporating these "lesser" songs enabled The White Album to be a double-LP release and thus allowed the inclusion of several other wonderful and important songs that might otherwise have been lost, then that is a very small price to pay.

And truth be told, I never, ever skip over "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" when its proper place arrives in the playing order.

If it happens to come on the radio well, that's another story.

In closing, I must make mention of "Revolution 9", perhaps the most reviled song in the whole Beatles catalogue. Some day, I'll share my thoughts as to why this is an important and vital part of the whole Beatles oeuvre and offer some ideas on how to approach the song, should you have interest in discovering and discerning this strange work that introduced the world at-large to musique concrète. In the meantime, stop skipping over it, just let the sounds drift. Let your mind play with them. 

After all, it is part of the gallery, and I think you owe it to The Beatles to experience their art as they intended it.  Should you disagree, all I can say is "Turn me on, dead man…"

If you know, you know…