THE BEATLES [AKA: THE WHITE ALBUM]

With' Sgt. Pepper' the legendary Beatles established themselves as the masters of sixties rock development. In '68 the band had already reached it's zenith and 'The white album' is the album that would have been much better if it had been a single lp. Due to the mix of instant classics and material that isn't too interesting spread over 90 minutes I can't really get into this one. Even if it had to be 2lp, why not skip on at least 20 minutes of weaker material?

Whereas former albums had a warm production and sound, this album sound plain silly. There's nothing but treble in the mix and even when I equalize it myself I can't help to be bothered by the sis and shaky sound. Furthermore, '68 would prove to be the year the Beatles would be overthrown on all grounds by bands like The Mothers of Invention, The United States of America, The Doors and The Collectors, to name a few.

Now, let's not get whimsical. The first lp contains a lot of great songs and the Beatles have never been more eclectic and frantic. The band does show it can find new grounds to explore and some of vocals are really good. With the mix of radio-friendly pop and acidic psych tracks it's kind of a wonder this album became a classic, because a lot of people must have really disliked tracks like 'Helter Skelter' and 'Revolution number 9'. For fans of the progressive genre this album had a lot of diversity and frequently shows how things can sometimes work out all right and sometimes completely fail.

Conclusion. An under-produces Beatles album with both of classics, lesser known beauties and misses. Not the first record of the Beatles to get into, but perhaps an adventurous record for fans. Three stars.

Share this THE BEATLES review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to friso
• Report this review (#747510)
• Buy THE BEATLES music online with PA partners
• Show all THE BEATLES MP3/Stream
• Go to THE BEATLES page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to The Beatles [Aka: The White Album] page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for THE BEATLES related discussions