The White Album

[nimrod]

So anyway.............

This is not purely a 'should it have been a single album' thread as I know its been discussed before but Ive recently read a couple of comments putting a Paul solo album above sides 3 & 4 of this Beatles masterpiece 

Can we have a general discussion about the merits of this and whether The White Album was a poor effort (with emphasis on those 2 sides) ?

Personally Ive often felt like it SHOULD have been a solo album but there are probably 2 or 3 tracks more than a solo so thats a problem. I think 99% of us agree that Rev # 9 was a bit substandard and maybe too avante garde for your average Beatle fan, but there are tracks on the latter disc that I love (Cry Baby Cry for one)..

What are your thoughts ?

[Toejam]

Well ideally it should have been a single album but then it's much more preferable to be the ridiculous mess that it is. The Beatles could afford to get away with putting an album out with so much scrappy ditty songs on like Julia, WDWDIITR or RR etc. etc.The classy stuff is a bit outweighed by the unclassy stuff. I don't see why side 3 is so bad. It's a lot more consistent than side 2!

[Hombre_de_ningun_lugar]

I find many great songs on sides 3 and 4. I love "Birthday", "Yer Blues", "Mother's Nature's Son", "Everybody's Got Something To Hide", "Helter Skelter", "Long, Long, Long", "Savoy Truffle" and "Cry Baby Cry". Maybe side 4 is the weakest side of the album (and not just because of "Revolution 9"), and though I think that the first disc is better, I still enjoy the second disc pretty much.

[nimrod]

I find many great songs on sides 3 and 4. I love "Birthday", "Yer Blues", "Mother's Nature's Son", "Everybody's Got Something To Hide", "Helter Skelter", "Long, Long, Long", "Savoy Truffle" and "Cry Baby Cry". Maybe side 4 is the weakest side of the album (and not just because of "Revolution 9"), and though I think that the first disc is better, I still enjoy the second disc pretty much.

Yes they are great songs Hombre (except LLL) 

Hell.. I even love Goodnight

but tracks I could do without;

Rev#9
Rocky Raccoon
EBGSTHEFMAMMonkey
Long Long Long
WDWDIITR

and the worst Dont Pass Me By

trouble is thats still too many for a single album  roll:)

[Hombre_de_ningun_lugar]

Yes they are great songs Hombre (except LLL) 

Hell.. I even love Goodnight

but tracks I could do without;

Rev#9
Rocky Raccoon
EBGSTHEFMAMMonkey
Long Long Long
WDWDIITR

and the worst Dont Pass Me By

trouble is thats still too many for a single album  roll:)

"Long, Long, Long" has really grown on me with time.

The White Album may be the Beatles' record with more fillers, but well, it's a double album, so that makes sense. Anyway, I think that the number of great songs is bigger than the number of weak ones.

[Bobber]

I don't care too much for Yer Blues, Long Long Long, Savoy Truffle, Revolutions #1 and #9, Goodnight and Cry Baby Cry. So it was indeed my opinion that I rather listen to Ram than to side 3/4 of the White Album, although there's of course some excellent songs there as well.

[andyec]

Side 3 is great. Wouldn't change a thing. Side 4 is great until Rev 9. I'd rather have heard finished versions of Junk,Not Guilty,and Sour Milk Sea instead. Goodnight is good for a laugh so I'd keep it in.

[Lennon93]

Paul talking little about white album ( " shut up " )

I'm So Tired

[Mr Mustard]

Side three is the only one on which I like every track.

The closing side is surely the weakest of the four, although it does contain two of my very favourite cuts from the entire album in "Savoy Truffle" and "Cry Baby Cry".

However, I can't go along with this idea of "Ram" (fine offering that it is) being preferable to the second White Album disc. For me that's like comparing a luxury apartment (Ram) with the slightly tattier wing of a large four or five star plush hotel (White Album). Side four may well be the one with the store rooms and broom cupboards but it is impossible to see it as less than a part of something much grander.

Versatile as Paul is (and this was certainly showcased on Ram) one fab simply cannot compete with all four.

[Toejam]

Paul talking little about white album ( " shut up " )

I'm So Tired

Paul can be so cool sometime adn then he goes and blows it by accepting a Knighthood!

[KelMar]

Paul talking little about white album ( " shut up " )

At 1:13 (and a few other places) in this video George looks exactly like Dhani.

[Gary910]

This almost seems like a discussion that could go in circles (haw, a pun) (Circles... White Album... George Song. If you don't get it, research it.) forever.

As some comment that the lesser songs are what make the album what it is. The White album was the first true album I bought. I wasn't crazy about it, and I had it on cassette so it wasn't easy to skip songs. I personally love the White Album for the Helter Skelter that it is...(another pun).

The up and down that the album takes you on is exactly what makes it so good, and it took the Beatles a little more than five years to have the license to be able to put something like that out, on two discs no less. If anyone else had of done it, it would be garbage. I think that it kind of tells a story of, hey, we spent some hard years touring, put out some ground breaking psychedelia, and now we are going to indulge ourselves in a album that is all over the place and strangely has a thread running through it.

Some make the argument that it is four solo albums in one. I think the in-cohesiveness is exactly what makes it work, in a backwards way.

[Toejam]

and strangely has a thread running through it.

.

what's the thread running through it?

[nimrod]

what's the thread running through it?

[Gary910]

what's the thread running through it?

I think it is like a movie. It takes many twists and turns. Sure could you leave some parts out and still get the plot? Yeah. I would miss some enjoyable parts though.

This reminds me of watching TV with my wife. She will text, play games on the computer and watch TV all at the same time. I am different. When I watch TV, I like to look for the details. Unless I am dozing, or my mind is distracted, I pay close attention. I think doing so you get so much more out of it. The same goes for listening to The Beatles. It works as background music, but it is, to me, a more enjoyable experience soaking up every drop of it I can.

That being said, where the thread is, is taking the whole experience as a whole. I have to laugh at the criticism of Revolution 9. Does anyone honestly think that John thought Revolution 9 would be easy to listen to? I think that is the point. Does that mean you can't get something out of listening to it. Sometimes we get wonderful things out of unpleasant experiences. Society as a whole has become so pleasure oriented that the benefits of seeing something other has gotten lost. Pain can have benefits. Don't get me wrong though, I am not talking about being masochistic. I don't think listening to Revolution 9 could quite qualify as masochistic. Yeah, I know, you are saying, "Well to me it feels like it..." I have said so many times, listen, no, I mean really listen. Fully engaged listen, no distractions. It is a great experience.