"White Album" - what are the best things about it?
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I have started my journey this week through "The White Album" for the very first time. Yes, I know the "greatest hits" songs but not the others really as I have never been much of an album person. I have listened to the first half of the songs but it was tough because there were ones I really didn't care for. Where is Bruce? I know you said that "Happiness is a Warm Gun" is one of your favorites, right? Please tell me what I'm missing with that song because I just don't see it. Even the words kind of upset me when I think about how John died at the hands of a gunman. But I can't look at this album in the present day, I should judge it solely on its merit from the time it was made, I know this. "Glass Onion"....just didn't like it. "Wild Honey Pie" - what was THAT? "I'm So Tired" made me REALLY tired, couldn't wait for that one to end. "Bungalow Bill" - was that song actually mocking the American student (and his mom) who shot the tiger? "Piggies" I just had to skim through, when I think back on all of the Sharon Tate stuff it's pretty upsetting. Trying to keep my mind back on the time this was made though as I said earlier. So these are my first impressions of side one and two....still have a lot more to go. What strikes me most is how often I need to refer to Wikipedia to see what was going on when these songs were written. I've said this before a few times too many but I'll say it again. If I were a singer/songwriter I'd want my songs to be easily understood by the masses and relate-able without having to have a handbook nearby to translate them. And nothing would be the result of drugs or meditating with the Maharishi either. It would just be about real life. But that's just me. Different strokes for different folks. Please tell me the most positive things to look for in "The White Album". I am not a musician at all so it's possible I'm missing some really creative stuff instrumentally because I'm concentrating on the lyrics too much. On an uplifting note, I really love "Julia" which I had never really paid attention to before. Liked the music to "Bungalow Bill". "Dear Prudence" is getting to be one of my favorites.
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The White Album is my favorite album. A couple things that I love: On Dear Prudence the drumming at the end of the song. Shows how great Paul was on drums. Bungalow Bill- listening to the individual voices singing. You can hear Ringo clearly on the low end. on Happiness, it is like a roller coaster with the little guitar lick right after the first line like a sudden stop. The song goes in so many directions right after that.
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I'll have to listen for the drums on "Dear Prudence". I did notice Ringo's voice on "Bungalow Bill", I liked that about it too. I will need to give "Happiness" another try. Perhaps my dislike of the gun reference did not allow me to see other more appealing aspects. By the way, Taxman, congrats on getting tickets for three upcoming concerts. What particular songs are you hoping for during this tour?
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Thank You!! My biggest hope for Ringo would be Octopus's Garden. (I don't think it is going to happen sadly) However With a Little Help from My friends is one of my favorite Beatles songs so I will be so excited to hear that twice again. As for Paul wow, EVERYTHING, does that sum it up?! lol, I would die if he sings Penny Lane, I got to hear him sing it from outside the venue in DC during sound check (I also could see the screen during sound check from where I was standing.) It is one of my all time favorite songs. However I hope he does Birthday in honor of Ringo's 74th birthday since it will actually be on Ringo's birthday when I see Paul.
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The White Album is a sprawling, incoherent mess -- and to me, that's what's glorious about it. Yeah, not every song is great and some of it is pretty damn weird, but for me that's what makes it wonderful. Just revel in the glory of a band that had obliterated all musical boundaries and was enjoying the ride. And any album with "Blackbird" and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" would land on my best-of list even if the rest of it consisted of the Fabs reading the phone book. Pay attention to George's songs on disc 2 -- they're both great. As for "Happiness is a Warm Gun," John wrote it after Bobby Kennedy was shot, and it was inspired by an ad in a gun magazine. To me, John captured everything that's seductive and twisted and awful about U.S. gun culture. Yes, the song is disturbing. It's supposed to be: John did disturbing better than anyone on the planet. Of course he had no idea that in a way he was foreseeing the means of his own death, but to me that just makes it even more powerful. It's a masterpiece.
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Amen...Awomen...Aeveryone
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It's my favorite Beatles album, and always has been. It's really the Encyclopedia of Music on two slabs of vinyl (or CD). There's about every style of music you can think of which existed at the time, and then they went and invented whole new styles too. Singer-songwriter and Heavy Metal pretty much started here. And it could only be a simple white cover, so you didn't get distracted from the musical journey within. I love it! All of it, even Number 9.
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Scarlett, You haven't mentioned Helter Skelter and I Will. Paul at his polar opposites! I was 13 when this album came out and I loved it. Well, not all of it, mind you. I could do without Revolution #9, but the rest I never skipped.
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#9#9#9#9#9#9#9#9#9#9#9#9#9#9#9#9 #9#9#9#9#9#9#9#9#9#9#9#9#9#9#9#9 #9#9#9#9#9#9#9#9#9#9#9#9#9#9#9#9 The White Album was their ninth UK album not including compilation Oldies.... but Goldies. The album is just a brilliant mix of genres. I know people always dismiss Revolution #9 but the cacophony of sound somehow fits the mood of the album and the mood of the times. The way it merges with the extremely lush Goodnight somehow makes an appropriate end for the album.
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Bruce, I did not realize that John wrote "Happiness" after Bobby Kennedy was killed. I'm going to do a little more reading about this one. And listening. Randy, I have never heard anyone say before that heavy metal started here. I am not much of a heavy metal fan (any time I have heard Helter Skelter in the past I most likely would have turned it off immediately). I just always figured it was bands like Led Zeppelin or Black Sabbath that started it. Or maybe Jimi Hendrix? But The Beatles? That's a pretty strong assertion. Does everyone agree with that here? I must admit, I'm having trouble coming up with a heavy metal song before this one. Nancy, those two polar opposite songs are that way for me in the sense of one being a song I really love ("I Will") and the other a song I've always avoided ("Helter Skelter")! Does Paul do "Helter Skelter" at his concerts now? I've been to two of his shows and I don't recall although I'd think not as the song would be very taxing on his vocal cords. Apollo, I haven't had a chance to really listen to "Revolution #9 yet....I've heard it a bit over the years on Beatles-related radio shows only. Sounds very creepy, other-worldly like some background music they would have used on the old TV show "Twin Peaks". I will give it a try and report back. Taxman, I'd love it if Paul sang "Penny Lane" too. Have always enjoyed that one. What does it mean to you ...above all his other songs I mean? Steven.....Amen!
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I swing between left and right when delivering the response to my favourite Beatle album.... from a condensed POV, a purist album, it is Abbey Road.... But, I think when it is all said and done, I just love the White Album.... Cast me aside, without a boat and oars, alone on an isle (hopefully with Ginger) and this is the Beatle album I want.
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Bruce M.:
The White Album is a sprawling, incoherent mess -- and to me, that's what's glorious about it. Yeah, not every song is great and some of it is pretty damn weird, but for me that's what makes it wonderful. Just revel in the glory of a band that had obliterated all musical boundaries and was enjoying the ride. And any album with "Blackbird" and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" would land on my best-of list even if the rest of it consisted of the Fabs reading the phone book. Pay attention to George's songs on disc 2 -- they're both great. As for "Happiness is a Warm Gun," John wrote it after Bobby Kennedy was shot, and it was inspired by an ad in a gun magazine. To me, John captured everything that's seductive and twisted and awful about U.S. gun culture. Yes, the song is disturbing. It's supposed to be: John did disturbing better than anyone on the planet. Of course he had no idea that in a way he was foreseeing the means of his own death, but to me that just makes it even more powerful. It's a masterpiece.
George's songs on Disc 2.... I agree with you, Bruce... I think, in particular, Long, Long, Long is just an underrated and beautiful song.... One of his best. Builds beautifully. Just a wonderful gem.
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Scarlett14:
Bruce, I did not realize that John wrote "Happiness" after Bobby Kennedy was killed. I'm going to do a little more reading about this one. And listening. *** Nancy, those two polar opposite songs are that way for me in the sense of one being a song I really love ("I Will") and the other a song I've always avoided ("Helter Skelter")! Does Paul do "Helter Skelter" at his concerts now? I've been to two of his shows and I don't recall although I'd think not as the song would be very taxing on his vocal cords.
Paul's been doing Helter Skelter live for 5 or 6 years now -- usually as one of the encores, after he's been singing for two and a half hours -- and generally knocks it outta the park. The version on Good Evening New York City is pretty great. I remember hearing an interview with John in which he talked about having written it "after the second Kennedy was killed," but haven't been able to find it online. But there's lots of stuff online talking about the gun magazine inspiring the song, and John reading the phrase "Happiness is a warm gun" and thinking it was an "insane thing to say... A warm gun means you've just shot something."
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And I read that Paul wrote Helter Skelter in response to The Who supposedly coming out with the "raunchiest, loudest, most ridiculous rock 'n' roll record you've ever heard." (wasn't it "I Can See For Miles?") For the trivia buffs, John & Paul both played bass and lead guitar and George played rhythm guitar. John also played saxophone, and Mal Evans played trumpet! P.S. I LOVE this song!
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toris:
I swing between left and right when delivering the response to my favourite Beatle album.... from a condensed POV, a purist album, it is Abbey Road.... But, I think when it is all said and done, I just love the White Album.... Cast me aside, without a boat and oars, alone on an isle (hopefully with Ginger) and this is the Beatle album I want.
Me too...definitely my Desert Island Disc!
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Nancy R:
And I read that Paul wrote Helter Skelter in response to The Who supposedly coming out with the "raunchiest, loudest, most ridiculous rock 'n' roll record you've ever heard." (wasn't it "I Can See For Miles?") For the trivia buffs, John & Paul both played bass and lead guitar and George played rhythm guitar. John also played saxophone, and Mal Evans played trumpet! P.S. I LOVE this song!
The bass on this song is so not Paul, you can tell it's John and it's a perfect fit. And I love this song too. Really rocking, powerful stuff. Love Paul's raw vocals. It feels like a really great jam session. (a too long one for Ringo's poor blistered fingers.
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Slightly off topic, but has anyone listened to this? This collector/artist accumulated 100 copies of the White Album on vinyl and recorded what they sound like being played in unison. Due to variations in the vinyl and differences in the turntables this creates a very unique result. Back in the USSR sounds normal at first, but by the time you get to side 2 things are getting pretty wacky. There are some really incredible sounds that result from this experiment though. http://gizmodo.com/listen-to-100-white-albums-played-at-once-1469731580
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There is wide variety of classic songs in this double album. All the previous albums are classics but this album has the widest variety of songs. You can consider the other tracks as fillers but I enjoy listening to them.
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This sounds so unlike me but I'm really enjoying "Helter Skelter". It seems like I'm really hearing this one for the first time in my life even though it's a classic. And I know why. If I had heard this on the radio when I was younger I would have switched to another station thinking this was Aerosmith or Led Zeppelin. I just never cared for hard rock as I was growing up. (And yes, I do enjoy some Aerosmith/Led Zeppelin songs now too). 'Honey Pie" is cute. I don't believe I've heard this one before. "Good night"....very sweet. "Revolution 9" still makes me feel like I'm trapped in a Twin Peaks episode. I still have not listened to the whole thing, makes me dizzy. Don't care for "Yer Blues", "Sexy Sadie", "Savoy Truffle".....they do nothing for me. What am I missing? Overall, I can definitely see why someone would take this album on a desert island if they only could take one. That person wouldn't be me but I can see why someone else would feel that way. I must honestly say that I have never experienced (and this album was truly an "experience") such a variety of songs.....each so creatively different than the other. And if it's true that "Helter Skelter" was the beginning of heavy metal then I would give this album a huge award just for that alone. Truly ground-breaking then. I don't know how Paul had a voice (I initially typed "vice" by mistake but that too) left after that one! Thank you for your thoughtful comments and suggestions. Please feel free to continue as I am enjoying your insightful posts.
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Realistically, there's a lot of stuff that could have been left off this album and no one would have missed it (a lot of it created by Lennon--I think he was falling under Yoko's spell at the time and his artistry was really beginning to suffer). E.g.: Wild Honey Pie Bungalow Bill Piggies Don't Pass Me By Why Don't We Do It In The Road Long, Long, Long Honey Pie Revolution 9 Good Night Realistically this should not have been a double album--had it been a single album it would have been a much bigger album, i.e., more accessible to the general public. Most of the big hits were Pauls and of course George contributed some good stuff (While My Guitar & Savoy Truffle), John had a couple nice ballads, but no blockbuster hits on this album which is unusual. I'm surprised you don't like "Savoy Truffle"...great song. Clever lyrics, great melody, very tonge-in-cheek. It's written about the contents of a box of "Good News" chocolates and Eric Clapton eating all of them and having to have his decayed teeth pulled out due to his sweet tooth
