Should The White Album not have been a double album?
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- Опубліковано 24 лис 2021
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Opinions on The Beatles self-titled double album (widely known as "The White Album") have been split even before the album got released. Personally I've always felt the stone cold classics on this album are diluted by the sillier, forgettable tracks. So today I'd like to walk you through which tracks would make my cut for a single White Album.
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The “fillers” give the album the chaotic personality. In a way choosing your own favourite tracks from the album and making it your own is the part of the charm of this album.
That's on point
Yes, is a double album that is a multitude of virtual singular albums.
Whenever I try to whittle it down I can't.
The 'filler' tracks all have a purpose.
Yeah. Great. When the Nachtwacht of Rembrandt didn't fit in an Amsterdam room they decided to cut of two pieces of it.
Who in his right mind would want to cut half a Beatles album?!
The brilliance of the White Album is that everyone thinks it should be a single album, but no one can agree on which songs to keep. So it stays a double album.
That is demonstrably true.
As Paul said “It’s the white album” and it is what it is! I love it all. Yes you could make a super single album….but you’d still leave off some amazing songs.
“It’s great, it sold, it’s the bloody Beatles White Album! Shut up!”
I’m So Tired is EASILY Lennon’s best recorded vocal performance of all time. It just goes through the whole range of his vocal quirks and power. It’s be my first pick for a must-stay on a one album White Album. (And also definitely keep Martha My Dear, Honey Pie, Savoy Truffle, and Sexy
Sadie and cut Mother Nature’s Son and everybody’s got something to Hide and on la di on la da!)
It's a great one
Wow, didn't know chef Kenji likes the beatles too :P this man has great taste in so many diffrent fields. Love i"m so tired" too
cut Mother Natures Son and keep Honey Pie and Savoy Truffle?! ARE YOU MAD??!
I'd keep it just for "and curse Sir Walter Raleigh he was such a a stupid get"
Hey, my favorite UA-cam chef watches also my favorite UA-cam music channel?! We’re in good company here!
“I Will” is one of Paul’s best songs and nobody seems to give it the love it deserves.
I like I Will, one of the best from the White Album🙂
You're so right George! Better than Episode 1 even?
I read an anecdote somewhere once, and I have no idea if it's true or if I'm remembering correctly, so take it with a grain of salt. But for a while in Russia it was illegal to buy Western albums, so people would take the material old X-rays were printed on and make bootleg records with them. They were terrible quality, but they were all that was available. One Russian man had the single of "I Will" and played it over and over again. It was his favourite song. Then, later in life, he moved to the US, and heard the song for the first time from a real record. His copy had been so bad that he hadn't even realized that Paul and John sang harmony for part of it. He thought it was so beautiful he wept.
@@rebeccamaracle2878 sounds correct from what I’ve heard about the Soviet era.
Soviet citizens were very innovative about getting Western goods and music and getting round restrictions. They managed to make alcohol from shoe Polish at one point 😊
@@MsNickybee lol 😆😆😆😆
the chaos and variety across the 30 tracks is what makes it so brilliant
It fit the times.
That's right. The bohemian, sloppy pastiche stood in contrast to Sgt. Pepper. If not for the presence of those less than perfect numbers, it would have not been the White Album - it would occupy a different place in the collective consciousness. As is, the White Album is beloved, an archetype, and a harbinger of experimentation and solo work.
Indeed. They totally could have released a "normal" album like they were "supposed to" (like the one in this video), but the point of the white album is basically that they're the Beatles, so they can do whatever they want.
@@joanneolive7128 Exactly, the White Album is impossible to edit from a 21st century point of view. It is definitely of its time.
Considerations at the time of the album's release would've included not just overall length, but also making the A and B sides of the record approximately equal in length, starting the B side with a good song, and not putting a loud song as the last track on each side, as that would make the inner groove distortion more noticeable. (For that reason, most albums from the vinyl era end with a ballad as the last track on each side.)
Facts! This is the physical programming stuff that people often forget.
Wow thats super interesting. I always assumed that they ended sides with a ballad for the emotional statement. Maybe a bit of both?
@@thomaswidmer2169 by the time it became common practice it became a sort of natural thing to do with arranging the tracklist
On a related note, Techmoan once showed off a record of Ravel's _Boléro_ and _La Valse_ that plays from center to edge (instead of the usual edge-to-center) for that reason. Both pieces start quiet and get louder as they go. So the record has the quiet parts of the music toward the center and the loud parts toward the outside. ua-cam.com/video/5Afikv6k1-c/v-deo.html
Well, not quite. There are dozens of albums from that time period that had loud songs at the ends of sides, regardless of possible sound quality issues. The Beatles' own catalog bears that out. "I'll Be Back," "Michelle" and arguably "A Day in the Life" are really the only ballads that ended Beatles' LP sides pre-1968. In fact most of their album sides ended with "potboilers," as George Martin liked to call them.
It’s a sprawling masterpiece as a double album, an intricate and intimate snapshot of a band trying everything and anything in the studio in the midst of their most prolific period as songwriters. Sexy Sadie, I’m So Tired, Yer Blues, Monkey, and Bungalow Bill are top notch Beatles songs and I’m So Tired is one of my favorite songs of all time of any band ever.
Yep defo. Agree with you on all of those.
Uh, Bungalow Bill sucks.
I'd never throw away "Why don't we do it in the road?", it's one of my favorites!
Sure is. It's my ringtone too
Also, Sexy Sadie being left out, with Ob-la-di in? That wouldn't happen on my watch. Solid choices otherwise, though :)
I could not imagine the album without Birthday. I've woken to it on my own birthday every year for 50 years.
Also, Why Don't We Do It In The Road is important if for no other reason that, when leading into I Will, it showcases the extremes of Paul's formidable vocal range like no other song combo in their catalogue. Hard to believe it's the same person singing both.
I knew what it meant when i first heard it at 11 years old. And THAT made it cool!
❤
Very reasonable list. The only sticky point for me is Birthday. I think it’s an outstanding rocker.
Horrible list of slick songs.
It's great. Much better than Happy Birthday.
One of my friends used to call me up on my birthday, and as soon as I got on the phone he'd start up "Birthday". I think it's good that we have at least *one* rocking song to use as an alternative to "Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday to You".
For me, Piggies is way down the list, certainly Glass Onion is much better.
That middle part where they vamp on I think it’s the E chord - I rate that, along with the short section from Sgt Pepper when they do the Sgt Reprise, as their hardest rocking moments.
This entire album is made up of Paul's George's John's and Ringo's individual composing styles. It's brilliant
I'll probably be alone but The White Album is the best album in muisik(imho)
thats why "The Beatles" is the perfect title for it
Martin was insane for wanting to leave Rocky Raccoon out specifically, such an underrated track
Yessssss
it wouldn't be as good if it wasn't a weird album
I like when things are not as symetrical and clean and crispy
it's my favorite album
you only get a Helter Skelter by experimenting a lot
I actually made for a friend a triple White Album with songs that were later
I remixed the songs with the original demos
1968 was a fertile year for the Beatles
I think so too. And in that vein, I'd add two more songs that would complete this whacky set for me: 'What's the New Mary Jane' and 'Step Inside Love/Los Paranoias' [from Anthology 3]. 😂 Whacky Beatles are the best Beatles.
I agree! My favourite Beatles album BECAUSE of the experimentation, weird and jokey, novelty songs.
I kind of agree, but to be honest: I'm glad that most of the novelty songs are quite short. I definitely would skip a 2-minute version of "Wild Honey Pie" any day. ;-) I think, the White Album contains some of the - in my opinion - best as well as the worst stuff they ever recorded (Revolution #9, Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da), which makes it interesting. I wouldn't weed out as many songs as David did, but I'm sure the Beatles could have replaced some songs with better ones that they had recorded but didn't include (e.g. Not Guilty).
But who am I to say that, it's the Beatles, ffs! ;-)
@@olivermueller1979 and also that not everybody agrees wich songs are the worst. I love Ob-La-Di and hate to death Why Don't We Do It and Don't Pass Me By! other people on this comment section are quite the opposite. that's the beauty of the White Album. the songs are very out there and end up being quite divisive.
@@TheMentalblockrock Me too. I always say I love the White Album BECAUSE of Revolution 9!
I have kind of a "yes and no" answer to this question - would the white album have been a more consistent and high quality album as a single disc? Yes, probably true (and I agree with most of your choices of songs for it!). But I'm not sure I would have enjoyed it as much. A lot of what I love about the white album is the mixture of really good tracks (While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Happiness is a Warm Gun, etc.) with the weird/stupid ones (Why Don't We Do it in the Road, Bungalow Bill, etc.). For me it gives the album a lot of character that I'm not sure it would have had if it only included the "good" songs!
agree 100%
I love Bungalows Bill, but yeah, the sex in the road song is very meh.
Paul's voice is so soulful and powerful on Why Don't We Do It In The Road. It strikes me as iconic and I can't imagine life without it.
@@MarkMikelVideos comic/iconic but anyway it really sets up "I Will" so it stays.
I'd lose piggies , 'monkey & I will for glass onion , yer blues & goodnight ! The White Album was on Rolling Stones top all time albums @10 !
Pretty good selection, but IMO a hypothetical "single record" should be limited to 14 songs to match the rest of their catalog. Also, I personally think it's better as a double album. Because of its length, the "White Album" stood out and established a rich tradition of 70's bands releasing their own uneven but endlessly fascinating double albums. Without that length, it'd just be an average Beatles album rather than one of their most famous.
If it had to be a single album then including the singles Hey Jude and Revolution would have been a must for me. Some of the goofy songs that give it it’s charm would be out. I don’t know how that would’ve made the time run but what a single album that would be.
Having said that I wouldn’t change a thing.
The White Album is my personal favorite Beatles album so trying to reduce this to one disc was very difficult for me, and the runtime ended up still being too long
Oh my gosh mate... "I'm So Tired" might be one of my favorite Lennon tracks of all time. You're missing the boat on that one. The craziness in his voice for falling for this chick (yoko) is so out of control. That's a fantastic song.
I always thought it was about heroin.
@@Homunculas happiness is a warm gun, is about heroin. Maybe I'm so tired is as well. I always just took it as his beginning to fall for Yoko and sort of going crazy over it.
I'm So Tired and Yer Blues are two of my favorites on the album. Can't believe he cut these.
@@mikemclain2998 Ya, this is Lennon maybe at his best. Julia, Everbody's got something to hide. ...and sorry, Rev. #9 is a good addition to the beatles catalog. Like, think of beethoven or whatever, and he did this crazy avant garde end of his days piece... you might not like it but you'd be glad it was part of the story. (I personally like it). Lennon crushed this album. Dear Prudence.... there you go.
@@Homunculas it’s about crippling insomnia during his drugless retreat in India
Should have been a triple album with all those unrecorded Harrison songs and many other songs in the Lennon/McCartney works. And the original album artwork, which they didn't use, by John Byrne was incredible. As it is, it's a phenomenal record.
This is the most typical Beatles fan opinion.
No matter how much there is, more is demanded. 😂
@@fenhen I’m surprised the amount of people that think Yoko actually broke up the band. Even if she did, what more do you want from the Beatles? They had made four or five of some of the most classic albums of the 60’s. They accomplished and given more than anyone could want or ask for!
Yeah, but Piggies, Rocky Raccoon, Ob La Di, Wild Honey Pie, Savoy, Don't Pass Me By - there's some sheer bollocks on it.
@@tonybates7870 I agree about Don't Pass Me By and Wild Honey Pie
John Byrne’s artwork was awful. The white cover is way more iconic imo
I like your choices, David. Martha My Dear is a great example of Paul's magic. It's a sophisticated song with inventive orchestration, but it sounds simple and natural.
It’s in my Top 5 favorite Beatles songs. I like your word: magic. Because it is.
Magick more like it@@thesilvershining
As a thought experiment, it is interesting. As an after-the-fact exercise in choosing one's favourite tracks, it isn't, in my view because the songs chosen for such an 'ideal version' would have been different from what people would now choose. "Helter Skelter", for instance, would definitely not have made it onto the album as no one in 1968 could have known about its significance (or reference point) for heavy metal (and they saw it as a big, elongated form of noise) while "Birthday" would have been included as they thought it might have become the rock version of "Congratulations".
The attempt to reduce the album to a single LP also backgrounds the fact that the importance of the White Album does not lie in it being a collection of 14 perfect pop songs, but in the sheer exuberance of ideas of what pop music could be. So even though I don't like "Revolution 9" or "Wild Honeypie" as songs proper (even though I do enjoy the latter because it creates all kinds of imagery in my head), listening to the White Album would not be the same if there, for instance, wasn't this moment of confusion at the beginning of "Goodnight" about whether the string orchestra was still part of the collage.
I pretty much agree with your choices, except I would’ve had Sexy Sadie in there (not sure instead of what though), and I wouldn’t have hesitated to put in Ob-La-Di.
You have horrible taste imho
Would've changed Sexy Sadie for Longx3 for sure. Honestly don't understand so many people's problem with Savoy Truffle. It's a much stronger song to me than Longx3 or Piggies. I probably would've preferred Honey Pie over Ob La, only because the latter is kind of played out.
@@SelfPropelledDestiny I’m surprised so many people place it as low as they do. I love the booming soul instrumentation and the dirty, shrill tone to it all. Maybe that sounds bad to some people, but I can never get enough!
The White Album is a masterpiece!! I'm with Paul! Leave it alone!
David, I love your down-to-earth genius. I was going on 16 when the White Album was released, and I was mesmerized by it, which of course sticks with me and colors my perspective. But I love your matter-of-fact approach - by now, having watched so many of your videos, I expect no less! - and your curation makes so much sense, especially your reordering of the tracks. Just absolutely brilliant, insightful, and so much fun! Thank you for your awesome work!
This was quite possibly my favorite UA-cam video of all time. I feel like you planned it just for me, so thank you!
With a couple of notable exceptions, most people don’t agree on what the worst tracks are.
Maybe worst 3 or so, but then it might start getting heated. I submit nobody wants Rev9. Wild Honey Pie is so short (though I don't actually hate the weirdness) it can disappear. Do It in The Road has some powerful vocals but you know... I think most would have these 3 in their worst 5 list. To round it out my other two would probably have to be Longx3 and Birthday. How bout your worst 5?
@@SelfPropelledDestiny I love Long Long Long and Birthday. Rev 9 is a mess and a hard listen but worst is comparative, compared to the genius there. I love …Every body has something to hide and Happiness is a Warm Gun the most. The first is just a wild ride, the second just a wild high.
@@SelfPropelledDestiny My worst 5 would be similar to that, and I agree that I wouldn't include any of the 5 songs that you mentioned on a 15 song single disc White Album. I also agree with George Martin that "Rocky Raccoon" isn't one of their better efforts, and with David that "Revolution I" is so inferior to the version on the B-side of "Hey Jude" that I can do without it as well.
@@SelfPropelledDestiny Rev9, Wild Honey Pie, Don’t Pass Me By, Savoy Truffle, Honey Pie.
I actually really like Rocky Racoon. Do it in the Road is catchy and hard to hate, imo.
Songs I can easily live without:
Happiness Is A Warm Gun
Wild Honey Pie
Bungalow Bill
Rocky Raccoon
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Piggies
Do It In The Road
Julia
Sexy Sadie
Helter Skelter
Honey Pie
Revolution 9
There are a few others I can go either way with.
Every real Beatles album must have a song for Ringo to sing.
Also, you can’t have 3 John songs together. The official white album never has more than 2 songs by any Beatle together…
Almost... On paper, John has three songs together, but you could make a solid argument against that. He wrote Cry Baby Cry, Revolution 9, and Good Night. If you count Can You Take Me Back as a separate piece from Cry Baby Cry, then Paul has a mini song between that and Revolution 9. You could also argue that Revolution 9 isn't strictly a Lennon composition, but was John and Yoko with some contributions from George. That leaves Good Night as the only numbered track penned by Lennon alone, yet it's sung by Ringo and has George Martin written all over it.
The end of the White Album is 3 John songs together in a row
Hard days night has no Ringo vocals, but I agree with you. Don’t pass me by should’ve been there :)
I’d keep it a double album, but modified. Here is my modified version:
Dropped songs -
1. Wild Honey Pie
2. Bungalow Bill
3. Revolution 1
4. Revolution no. 9
5. Piggies
I’d make it an EP, called the Addendum or,
as stated, the Whiter Album.
I’d add the following:
1. Anthology version of Junk
2. Anthology version of Not Guilty
3. Revolution (single)
4. The Inner Light
5. * maybe add the New Mary Jane as a avant-garde replacement for Revolution 9
I wouldn't change anything, but I would absolutely not remove Glass Onion and Savoy Truffle. That said, it might have been interesting to insert Hey Jude and Revolution as you (sort of) suggested. Simply replacing Revolution 9 with Hey Jude and Revolution 1 with Revolution, and kept it as a double album, might have been the way to go.
"The Rutles: Archaeology" has a song on it called "Easy Listening", which has what is probably my favourite Rutles line: "Why don't we do it in the middle of the road?"
Fun video but the album is perfect the way it is. It's a hodge podge of styles and ideas thrown at the wall in a way that was counter to the highly considered approach of Sgt Pepper before it, and that's its identity. The fact this album has both Rocky Raccoon and Revolution 9 is exactly why it's so mesmerising and enjoyable to me.
My son's idea for the album - "Clear the Clutter White Album" :). We wrote down 15 songs (before we knew the time constraint). 13 out 15 were on your list! Rocky Racoon just seems to resonate with us (couldn't leave it off!). My wife is mad because you left out good-hearted Ringo (for a little extra flavor to the mix).
I really think revolution 9 gets too many hate of what it really Should. Idk, I have allways seen it as a very amazing and really fun to listen in a technical level
Also, in my opinion, it fits perfectly with the Good Night song at the end, is like a wait you have to go through to enjoy the happy sunrise at the end that actually sounds kind of depressing for the way it was recorded so is really up to your interpretation and thats facinating too imo. One can't exist without the other in my ears, it reminds me of the chemistry between "Sweet Moonchild" and "The Court of the Crimson King" from In The Court of the Crimson King it has the same wait and payoff efect that I really love and appreciate in my music.
Oh man, this is going to be a tough video for me to watch. I love this album. It was the first Beatles album I heard and it was a revelation to me. It became an essential part of the soundtrack of my life for a time. I know it's imperfect, but it's the imperfections that make it so special for me. I love the silliness of it, the humour, as well as all the great songs. I wouldn't change a second of it. Maybe if I'd come to it later in my journey through the Beatles discography, I might feel differently about it, but for me it's my favourite Beatles album, and always will be.
I discovered it a few months ago and have to also agree. I love the weird interludes like wild honey pie. It's the kind of thing blur would always popin their albums. Now I can see the influence
Broke: White Album is too long
Woke: White Album has ups and downs but still builds to be a great piece of art and it's meant to be a journey
Bespoke: White Album should've been a live action movie
Stroke: White Album is their best album
Toke : White Album is the quintessential album to get high to
Pink Floyd: the W(hite album)all
Here’s my idealistic version 01: Back In The USSR 02: Dear Prudence 03: Glass Onion 04: Sour Milk Sea 05: Sexy Sadie 06: EGSTHEMAMM 07: Mother Nature’s Son 08: While My Guitar Gently Weeps 09: Don’t Pass Me By 10: Savouy Truffle ( it slaps ok ) 11: Blackbird 12: I’m So Tired 13: Happiness Is A Warm Gun 14: Julia 15: Birthday 16: Helter Skelter Long, Long, Long 17: Revolution 18: Across The Universe 19: Martha My Dear 20: Hey Jude 21: Goodnight 22: Revolution 123456789 (extended/ alternate version of Revolution 9) ( hidden track - I Will) In my opinion the album being the only double album in their catalog warrants it to stay as a double album, Oh Bla Di Oh Bla Da is released as a single coupled with Not Guilty
great video man, loved seeing your thought process behind your picks and what you ended up on. I had my own White album single disc tracklist figured out before this but you actually got me to reconsider some of my picks lol. Here's what I've landed on after making a few adjustments:
White Album 1 Disc Tracklist
Side 1:
Back in the USSR
Dear Prudence
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Happiness is a Warm Gun
Martha My Dear
Dont Pass Me By
I Will
Julia
Side 2:
Black Bird
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
I'm So Tired
Helter Skelter
Glass Onion
Long, Long, Long
Revolution 1
Here you get a pretty solid spread of McCartney and Lennon songs to satisfy both egos, Ringo gets a track and George gets his standard two tracks, and it flows quite nicely. I really like the end of the second half tbh, the run of helter skelter > Glass Onion > Long Long Long > Revolution 1 is incredible if I do say so myself. If you wanted to make it the standard 14 tracks you could probably cut Martha My Dear since side 1 runs a bit long but I think it's fine. But yeah it's definitely a fun little thought experiment to work out what a single disc version could sound like!
Any album with "Yer Blues", "Sexy Sadie", "Birthday" and "Savoy Truffle" on it is going to be a great album. Funny how tastes differ.
I think you have to keep the Revolution #9 and Good Night closing sequence from the original album, just as you kept USSR and Prudence together on your first album.
Revolution #9 doesn't belong anywhere other than in the garbage bin.
@@bunpeishiratori5849 yeah but the chaos of Revolution 9 makes Good Night so much more impactful
@@oldccd6349 tbh Revolution 9 and Good Night should have been a 12" EP with Piggies, Sexy Sadie, and The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill/Rocky Racoon
My aunt gave me the White Album for Christmas in the early 80' years, when I wasn't a teenager yet. My aunt was a big fan of the Beatles because she was born in 1945 one month before the WW 2 was ended and grew up with the music of the Beatles in the 60'. Her intention was certainly that I would also be enthusiastic about the Beatles. I had to get a little older to recognize the potential of the white album. It is also an interesting fact that I was born the same year as the white album was produced.
Today I am very happy that I still own it and hear it in special life situations or quiet hours because my beloved aunt died of cancer in the mid-90s.
I think many people have these small very personal stories that connect them to certain music or entire albums. This is what makes music so special.
So glad you went back and put I'm So Tired on there. Hands-down great song! Short, moody, and powerful.
Ditching favourite songs is difficult, obviously. My selection includes 9 songs by John, 3 songs by George, and only three songs by Paul. This does not mean that I think that John´s songs are better than Paul's songs generally (I think that Paul's songs will go down in music history to a greater extent than John´s songs), but on the white album I just happen to like these songs better.
Ob-la-di-ob-la-da was easy to skip: along with Yellow Submarine it's more of a joke (perhaps a good sing-along song?).
The reason why I have included three songs written by George is that I think he used to be greatly underestimated as a song writer, always dwarfed by the two giants.
This is my list:
1. Back In the USSR
2. Dear Prudence
3. Glass Onion
4. The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill
5. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
6. Happiness Is a Warm Gun
7. I´m So Tired
8. Blackbird
9. Piggies
10. Julia
11. Yer Blues
12. Sexy Sadie
13. Helter Skelter
14. Savoy Truffle
15. Cry Baby Cry
Total time: 46.39
Agree with you. I’m not as big a fan of McCartney’s sappier songs. Anything by Ringo is filler.
My only change would be removing wild honey pie, having a shorter Rev 9( or use the longer take 18) and putting Not Guilty on it. I love Glass Onion and Sexy Sadie
Yes!!! Take 18 is AWESOME!!! As well as Not Guilty.
and the album NEEDS "Sexy Sadie" to set up "Helter Skelter"
While it’s always nice to reorder/change albums I think it’s important to remember part of what makes an album an album rather than a collection of songs are the tracks that, taken out of that context, may not be as strong as your stone cold classics. That’s why listening to a well sequenced album gives you a different emotional reaction than, say, a greatest hits which, by its very nature is just a group of songs.
Good vid, I like the idea and think you did a great job (though we disagree on Bungalow Bill and Don't Pass Me By, such fun in those songs haha)
David, hello there! You have some good points. I recently just listened to all of the Beatles albums from start to finish and was surprised to find songs I didn’t even know. It’s interesting that Rocky raccoon is one of my favorites and you’re not that keen on it. That’s fine, to each his own!
Though I LOVE Sexy Sadie AND Glass Onion… I don’t disagree much with your choices. Great order of selected tracks on both White Album (prime) and White Album B-sides.
You dont like The Beatles. You like sweet pop, nothing more.
@@marguskiis7711 oh thanks, interesting point of view
@@marguskiis7711 Never knew we were gatekeeping the Beatles now lol
I love both honey pie and birthday. Go figure!
Love these kinds of fun thought-exercises! I'm also glad that we do have a double album, even though there are "skippable" tracks... it really does leave room for people to have personal favorite oddities from The Beatles (that might have otherwise been lost on the cutting room floor).
Hey David, I'm a long time subscriber and this is my first comment! This video caught my attention as I've always thought about this album and what it would of been as a single disc as well! I can't believe you not a fan of 'Truffle' WHA???!!! Anyways I like the order you made and its great as nearly everybody has and could make up a new song list! My order is Side 1 - USSR, Prudence, Weeps, Martha, Monkey, Ob-La-Di, Julia. Side 2 - Helter, Onion, Blackbird, Truffle, Warm Gun, Birthday, Good Night. That's my list! Cheers Threads 'E Says'
A lot of people say the same exact thing about Physical Graffiti, but honestly some of my favorite songs of all time are lesser-known tracks from that album such as "In The Light" and "Ten Years Gone."
Love this album. The variety and degree of moods and eclecticism are enchanting!
1968 was such a confusing year, one that began with high psychedelia then became hard rock. It was (at least in America) the year of the Great Schism, when FM rock radio emerged leaving AM pop and R&B to itself. There was social unrest and assassinations. So, in its confusing, let's just put it all on there, way, The White Album reflected its time. Add the tensions within the group, like Lennon rebelling against the high production values of Sgt. Pepper, and this is what we got. Your list is absolutely great for a tighter album and I could not improve upon it.
Yeah, by the time this album came out (November 1968) everything had happened. This album fit that year.
I can't believe anyone wud prefer piggies over Yer Blues or Glass Onion or for that matter Honey Pie !
Interesting exercise, David. I love your content and analysis. I felt personally offended when you left "Sexy Sadie" and "Yer blues" out, hehe. Thanks for sharing.
Long Long Long it’s one of the most beautiful songs I ever heard in my life.
George's finest Beatles song, imo.
I'm with Paul on this one. The White Album is my favourite Beatles album, even above a more cohesive album like Abbey Road. It's a tapestry of a time and a place, both for the band and the world as a whole - they were, of course, on the verge of collapse, and the album shows that. Yet the songs still have this strange, mosaic-like quality where they form a connective tissue in spite of themselves. Really, Revolution 9 is the thesis statement - The White Album is an enigmatic collage of sounds and styles that contains such an overwhelming range of emotions, tones and textures, it's absurd.
In a way that "strange" quality was always there - certainly after Rubber Soul. It is a strange mystery why we were so enthralled as much of the subject matter concerns alienation, longing, loss or even death . Stuart Maconie has written a very good retrospective review of it - he calls it "Diffuse, sinister, rocking, childlike, funny, unhinged, scary, beautiful. A rambling rickety charming, frightening old house of a record. They wanted to call it A Doll's House which would have been perfect but Kraftwerk beat them to it."
And maybe The Beatles were just echoing back to us the mix of uncertainty, angst and excitement of the times. It certainly felt like that. So I think David is missing a dimension in this exercise - they were always about more than just music.
@@martifingers Totally agreed with your last paragraph. As the Beatles evolved in the 60s from ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand,’ which I listened to live on Ed Sullivan’s Show to “Number nine, number nine, number nine,” which I heard for the first time while stoned, The White Album was part of the times. Although I remember most of the songs on the Albums the only one that I could name off the top of my head is #9, #9, #9, etc.. I forgot the name was really “Revolution Number 9” or that it was being played backwards to hear the secret messages.
Kraftwerk didn't form until 1970 and they never had an album called Dolls House. The prog rock band Family released Music From A Dolls House earlier in 1968 .
@Dennis.
It would have been great if they had done Revolution#9 on Ed Sullivan.
Funny the tastes. I love Birthday and Bungalow Bill and Sexy Sadie is my favourite track on the White Album.
I often find while everyone agrees that The White Album could be one perfect singel album, few agree on what it should actually have.
I feel that it would have left much to be desired if it was a single LP.
@@beatlecristian As perfect I think it could’ve been as a single album, I can’t help but love it as a double. There’s so many great deep cuts and regardless of your opinions on each one, still have strengths that keep them far from forgettable or boring.
I love that you've done this. I did exactly the same over forty years ago. Somewhere, I've still got the notebook I wrote it in. I must dig it out and see if I agreed with you then and if I agree with the teenage me!
Side 1:
Back in the USSR
Dear Prudence
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
While my Guitar gently weeps (acoustic Version)
Martha my Dear
Good Night - blend into:
Helter Skelter
Side 2:
Revolution (Single Version)
Happiness is a warm gun
Julia
Blackbird
A Beginning + Don't Pass Me By
Hey Jude
A few years ago, I thought about what my track list would be if the White Album were a single album. My list:
Side 1
Revolution (the acoustic demo that was recorded at Kinfauns)
Blackbird
Glass Onion
Sexy Sadie
I Will
Julia
Hey Jude (but cut the coda in half)
Side 2
Back in the U.S.S.R.
Dear Prudence
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Happiness Is a Warm Gun
I'm So Tired
Helter Skelter
Revolution (the single version, not 1 or 9)
You'll notice that side 1 is more acoustic and pleasant, while side 2 is more electric and moody. I got rid of some of the bad filler, but I did notice that I seemed to prefer disc 1 of the album. I wanted the album to open and close with Revolution, to show how revolutions come full-circle. I added Hey Jude to close side 1, but I cut it down for the time limit, and because it goes on too long anyway.
I'll make this a playlist
Good stuff, although it feels a little wrong to not have a Ringo tune or Long Long Long, haha.
And a bit John-heavy for my taste. I might swap out “Glass Onion” for “Martha My Dear” and “I’m So Tired” for “Long, Long, Long.”
That makes it 6-6-2 (still no Ringo :[) Could argue for keeping “Hey Jude” as a single and having “Don’t Pass Me By” as the end of the A Side.
@@conner.j.a.wilson I kind of wanted to remove the "granny music" for this one. It was a bit tricky, since there are songs I liked that I had to leave off.
I think Hey Jude would make a great ending. Like common it fades out for 3 minutes and leaves you on a loop. A perfect ending! :D
I really like this track list! The only change I'd make would be to switch Helter Skelter with Hey Jude and put Hey Jude at the end of side two. Keeping the coda just as long and slowly fading out into a secret track, like Sgt. Peppers, or a mini song like Her Majesty on Abbey Road
Edit : I also would like to add that the remaining tracks could easily have been released as a "rare cuts" album of previously unreleased songs. I could see the Beatles being of the cutting edge of this type of marketing as they always seemed to be ahead of their time.
Thanks David - this is an interesting experiment. The truth is that while I much prefer 'Rocky Raccoon' (and 'Bungalow Bill' to a lesser extent) to 'Cry Baby Cry' and 'Piggies', I think the inclusion of the former would be more difficult to justify on a more streamlined and focused single album.
There are no words for how fabulous you are. Thank you for your wonderful content.
This was fun! I thought Sexy Sadie would be a shoo-in, it's one of my favorite tracks on the album. I'd ditch Piggies and Helter Skelter for it. The Anthology versions of both are better than the album cuts. Cheers!
I couldn't believe it when he ditched Sexy Sadie !
I think the white album has such a good flow where I’m okay with hearing all the songs on the album as long as I’m listening to it in order
canyou speak sense plea
I wouldn’t change anything about it, even Revolution 9.
This video came out just as I was starting my Beatles marathon. Not much of marathon since it took me 2 weeks to reach the White Album though… which was my first listen, btw
You’re crazy to leave out Yer Blues David. It’s got to be one of the strongest tracks in the album. I think Good Night is the perfect album closer, but I wouldn’t mind skipping it for the sake of stronger songs.
I'm so glad you didn't choose a ballad as ending track. More records should end with an uplifting song, so you get exited to here the next one! Great chosen list!
Excellent video.
I did the same thing with Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. I wouldn't change the original double album, but I made a playlist of a 13 track album cutting out some of the tracks I wasn't as fond of.
1. Bodies
2. Jellybelly
3. Here Is No Why
4. To Forgive
5. Where Boys Fear to Tread
6. Zero
7. In the Arms of Sleep
8. 1979
9. Love
10. Stumbleine
11. Thru the Eyes of Ruby
12. Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
13. Tonight, Tonight
I much prefer this play order and ending on the Mellon Collie/Tonight, Tonight combo is real nice.
I went and listened to the whole album again after watching this video - thanks! I have to say though that quite a few of the songs that you left out really contain the spirit of this album, the quirkiness and freedom of expression. I also love the sweetness and structure of Blackbird, for instance, but I think this album is really about breaking out. Glass Onion, Honey Pie, I’m So Tired, Revolution 1 all have to be there for me. There is definitely a drop in quality on latter parts of the album, with some notable exceptions. I might post my list tomorrow, just for fun - if we drew a venn diagram though I think we’d overlap on about 71%
1 Back in the USSR
2 Dear Prudence
3 Glass onion
4 Blackbird
5 While my guitar gently weeps
6 Ob la di
7 Happiness is a warm gun
1 Helter skelter
2 Long long long
3 Yeh blues
4 Julia
5 Martha my dear
6 Revolution 1 take 20 with a bit of revolution 9 in there just for the fans of chaos
7 Good night
If Not Guilty could be added then turf out Martha My Dear.
I mixed my own single album version years ago, and loved it. It;s pretty easy to skim this thing down to single album.
Great video man
I kind of like the excess of it, especially considering the vinyl format of the time (and psychedelics etc). You would just put it on and have a meandering journey randomly punctuated by weird moments, pointless moments, and lots of all time classics. It makes less sense with an unlimited digital library always one click away
Thing is the Beatles would never have released an album of "sub standard " material. So these songs would have not been released until Anthology which would have been a great shame.
It was also one of the first double albums and the Beatles liked to be pushing new ground.
It could have been a better single album but I'm glad it was released as it was.
youprobably listen to the beatles
I'd be interested in a similar video in which you could let us know your thoughts on what could've been the Abbey Road follow-up Beatles' album. Selecting songs from their first solo albums and putting them together. As we can see in the movie Get Back, a lot of these songs were written during the Beatles period anyways (e.g. Paul's Another Day and Goerges' All Things Must Past).
I enjoyed this, you should do more, I don't know what your beef is with Revolution 9 though, have you considered doing this with other albums, I've often thought Use your illusions could be one great album with strong b sides, also the reordering of track listings is interesting, I sometimes thing Fitter Happier would've been a more dramatic opening track for Ok Computer
Personally I think it works fine as a double album, gives it variety, and I have grown enjoy some of the more strange tracks after several listens.
Interesting choices that you have made. The one point that I have to make is that if you are trying to make it an album that The Beatles would have actually released back in late 1968... then it absolutely would have had a song that Ringo sang on it. And I'd say that the album would almost surely have ended with the track "Goodnight". My second point is... that their album would definitely had included "Yer Blues". John chose that song to perform live in the "Rock And Roll Circus" just shortly after the White Album was released. It was obviously one of his favorites of that period. Lastly... I would personally include "Birthday" on a single disc version - probably starting side two with it. The one track that I definitely would not have included that you selected - is "Me and My Monkey". Always fun to see others thoughts on this.
I love 'Good night'. I think it's the only song with women's voices on it, and has a neat harmonic structure.
I don't like how little thinking you gave it to leaving out Don't Pass Me By. It's such a great song!
Hey mate recently discovered your channel, great stuff! I can now confirm that I have good taste because your picks and mine were virtually identical! The one difference is I would have put Sexy Sadie on there ;)
There may have been crafty contractual implication of doing a double album. Supposedly their contract with Parlephone/EMI was for a certain number of songs and they were trying to get rid of their contractual obligations as quickly as possible. George Martin mentioned this is an interview. He suspected John and Paul were using it as a way of getting out of their contract. I don't how accurate that is. As usual, Beatles leave us with these tantalising mysteries! Incidentally, a band I was in years ago did "Why don't we do it in the road" as a funk/blues type song and it was real fun and it went down very well.
If you watch the get back episode that premiered today, you can see that they were able to produce these type of “filler” songs, that appear a lot on the white album, pretty much by the minute
I thought the same
they made a lot of throwaway songs on the spot but one of them ended up being Get Back
@@dimitreze yeah there were always sparks of brilliance in the mix of all the throwaway songs. But is only one of probably 10 that were shown in the documentary. Its just an observation tho. They can be playing percussion with spoons and I would still give it a listen just because its them
I'll take ANY Beatles filler song(s) over anything thats on the radio nowadays (or whatever souless popular garbage Auto Tune Pop/ Hip Hop foul 'Shite' thats mass produced)
"Why Don't We Do It in the Road" might be extremely simple and kind of dumb, but it's not a throwaway due to the fact that it's incredibly catchy, Paul's vocals are f**king amazing, and it's just generally awesome and fun.
IMHO.
Also, everyone I know who loves The Beatles loves it. Granted, that's like three people, but still...
Love the channel, but it's so hard to cut a lot of the songs from this album. Particularly Yer Blues, Glass Onion, Savoy Truffle, Why Don't We Do It In The Road?, Don't Pass Me By. I'm surprised those songs don't get more love here. They make the album more fun
So for a boomer's point of view in this thought experiment (I've been listening to this album before you were born!) I would say skip Monkey and put back Birthday - for me that tune was very much part of my generation. I used to sing Good Night to my babies - so I would definitely keep that one as well. I could take or leave Piggies, but I've always enjoyed singing Rocky Raccoon as a sing-along during my University years.
I'm 36 and I've only started to pay REAL attention to the Beatles a week ago (no kidding).
I was kind of surprised when I realized a lot of their hits were not on the albums. But after thinking about it makes sense. The time is limited on a LP, and if Paperback Writer would have been on Revolver, it would have been even more amazing, but then what other song do you remove?
Same with Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever.
Good point!
@@hannahbarrah6312 I know that was another example.
You remove Yellow Submarine
If Paperback Writer and/or it's superior b side Rain were on Revolver then we would have been deprived of the best Beatles single.
Regarding Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever I'm almost with George Martin who when Parlaphone came demanding a single three songs into the Sgt.Pepper's sessions suggested Penny Lane for the a side with When I'm 64 as it's b side. Sgt.Pepper's is great but I think unarguably including Strawberry Fields Forever in place of When I'm 64 would have improved it. It would have deprived us of their second best single (using the original UK pairings anyway) but the Beatles LPs are stuffed with songs that deserved to be singles so no big deal. Also, Only a Northern Song should have been included on Sgt.Pepper's instead of Within You Without You.
Cmon, listen the US issues instead if you want albums filled with hits.
I love visual jump cuts in films (think 2001 when the bone tossed into the air by primitive Man turns into a space ship in 20th century, or Lawrence of Arabia when he blows out the match flame and the scene jumps to the hot red setting sun in the Arabian desert). I so love the audio jump cut from the absurd Bungalow Bill to the sublime While My Guitar Gently Weeps. Lennon's 'ay op!' jump cuts to Clapton's guitar.
Thank God you finally came around to including I'm So Tired. It's probably my favorite song on the entire album and is definitely one of my favorite Lennon songs of all time. I was absolutely raging when you excluded it initially.
Sexy Sadie is not a great song!?!?!?! OMG, that's one the finest songs on the album! And it's sacrilege to omit Honey Pie and Savoy Truffle or Glass Onion. They are all so delicious. Bungalow Bill is also a unique and interesting tune that adds so much colour to the album with it's skipped beats which I figured you would particularly appreciate. I think you have removed 5 of the most defining and awesome songs on the album!! Yikes. I would ALSO keep Why Don't We Do It In the Road OVER Ob-la-di-Ob-la-da or Piggies.
Finally some one who makes sense to me here in the comments. Thank you.
the whole project felt like the auditory equivalent of “quantity over quality”. It has some great highlights, but to me, lacks the kind of finesse shared by albums like Abbey Road.
You, sweet pop fans are so boring.
@@marguskiis7711 Jesus music isn’t a dick measuring contest, at least add something if you’re going to waste time adding nothing to a discussion or comment.
@@marguskiis7711 I never said that I wanted slick production or more accessible pop tracks. Just a better standard of song writing.
@@srirachanoodles6914 Music is not only songwriting
Your take on this is solid! The flow of the tracklist works so well too! I personally do not think it should have been a double album, because that's just how it happened to be known, but it is a fun idea to entertain. I decided to post what mine would be, and consider the flow as well.
1. Helter Skelter
2. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
3. Yer Blues
4. Savoy Truffle
5. Sexy Sadie
6. Happiness is a Warm Gun
7. I'm So Tired
8. Honey Pie
9. Martha My Dear
10. Blackbird
11. Mother Nature's Son
12. Julia
13. I Will
14. Back in the USSR
15. Dear Prudence
Great video, while some people like the chaotic nature of The White Album, I agree it would’ve worked better as one main album and another sorta side album. Also, what sort of website or software did you use to do this, where you could pick the songs and see the time it would take up in the corner?
As silly as “Why Don’t We Do It In The Road” is, I think it’s one of Paul’s best vocal performances.
White Album is such a showcase of Paul’s vocal versatility. I just adore how the album goes “wHy DoNt We Do It In ThE rOaD”
“… Who knows how long I’ve loved you?”
Similar, but I love Paul's vocals in Oh! Darling.
Walter Everett, in his book "The Beatles As Musicians: Revolver Through the Anthology" actually tried to speculate on what George Martin would have went with for a single LP White Album. Based on his knowledge of George Martin's preferences & constraints, this is what Everett guessed Martin's version of the album may have looked like:
Side 1:
Back in the U.S.S.R.
The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill
I Will
Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da
Blackbird
Not Guilty
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Happiness is a Warm Gun
Side 2:
Birthday
Sexy Sadie
Julia
Martha My Dear
Long Long Long
Honey Pie
Goodnight
Admittedly, some things may be a bit unexpected (Bungalow Bill instead of Dear Prudence, for example). This list definitely wouldn't be _my_ top preference. But it's the only list I've found where someone's tried to guess as what _George Martin_ would have done, rather than someone giving _their own_ preference.
Thats very interesting, but Not having Dear Prudence on the track listing is just flat out WRONG!
Sadly for George Martin though choosing track listings was nothing to do with him by this point. John and Paul spent a 24 hour session compiling this album.
Im very glad you put Im So Tired on there at the end leaving that off would've been criminal. The idea of songs like Good Night and The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill not being on the white album also makes me sad lmao so personally I like it better as a double album.
I've had this discussion many times and even tried to cut it to one album. Problem was I still got 30 songs. My favourite album of all time - breathtaking in its diversity. Birthday and Yer Blues rock like hell and I'm So Tired is one of Lennon's greatest vocal takes. Revolution 9 is absolutely an essential part of the album despite its bad press. Always an interesting discussion.
What makes the White Album so good is the lesser songs against the classics.
Yes there are probably 10 songs that would be classed as lesser songs but they bring a charm to the album and why not be there as much as not be there.
It's a great album with tracks that a lot of people would not know and I love it
Nothng charming about crappy , lazy songs. It show their arrogance that the fans will put up with anything regardless of quality. Judging by the comments, they were right. I hold the Beatles to a higher standard. They don’t get a pass on an album that is just okay even in a single version. There is more Beatles charm on Meet the Beatles and Hard Day’s Night.
@@Dex619
Happiness is a Warm Gun
Dear Prudence
Back in the USSR
Blackbird
While my Guitar Gently Weeps
Yer Blues
Mother Nature's Son
Helter Skelter
All the above alone are better than most band careers never mind most bands albums.
To say they White Album is nothing more than a great album is crazy talk.
Most bands albums have fillers
@@michaelzzzzzzzzzzzz it's okay to admit the Beatles weren't at the top of their game. Most of the songs you mentioned were either okay not poorly recorded. It's bores me.
@@Dex619
But they were
That is a poor excuse for putting out inferior material. The Beatles were just people, it's okay to admit they weren't perfect.
The points you make about it being a single disc are valid, but I love how sprawling this double album is and wouldn't change a thing. I've always said that the White album is neck and neck with Abbey Road for me as their best album, but for totally opposite reasons. Abbey Road is their most cohesive album IMO, but I love The White album for its chaos. I love the fact that they spilled out all sorts of weird experiments to make it a journey that takes you every conceivable place it can go. I don't even hate revolution number 9, even if it would be the first to go, were I to make a single disc version.
Without the time constraint, I made a playlist just dropping the tracks I didn't like and it came to 58 minutes. No doubt everybody else would choose differently, but that's one advantage of this digital age, we are not restricted by the vinyl format and can make our own ideal versions.
Up to at least the early nineties listeners could use 60, 90, and 120 min audio tapes although very user unfriendly,. So no problem making an ideal personal playlist of any collection of music. The only fans, or so called fans, who ever were and are preoccupied with the vinyl format time constraint are those who find some pointless pleasure in racking their brains about a commercially ideal single vinyl LP version.. And those who only like half or less of the album to start with needing to vent their frustration. I never cared about it, not much to skip on the vinyls anyway..and had a 80 min playlist that suited a single 90 min audio tape, and later on a single 80min CD-r..
I've heard Why Don't We Do It In the Road covered more often at music festivals than most of the Beatles' catalog. The Grateful Dead played this throw away Beatles song many times and it lives on today in the festival scene. I heard it performed just this past October.
Why don't we do it in the road is one of my favorite songs on the album :(
I was nine when the Fab Four disbanded, and I only started listening seriously around 1972 - but even for a kid it was obvious that the White Album had more the usual number of throwaways. "Do It in the Road", "Revolution 9", "Yer Blues", "Honey Pie", "Don't Pass Me By", "good Night", "Wild Honey Pie". Actually, only seven garbage songs out of 30 is not too bad. Anyhow, in the digital age, none of this matters anymore - it's just a nostalgia thing for us pre-internet dinosaurs...
"Revolution 1" is obviously good but also obviously the single was much better.
""Bungalow Bill", "I'm So Tired", "Sexy Sadie" and "Piggies", "Long, Long, Long" and 'Savoy Truffle" are classic songs though and all make my cut. "Birthday" is one of rock and roll's most classic guitar riffs and also features amazing drumming by Ringo - thousands of garage rock bands have played this.
Hello David, is this some kind of tool you made yourself?
I'd really like it to be uploaded somewhere if that's possible! So great!
I am shocked at the shade thrown at revolution 9! ;p Regardless of whether you enjoy it or not (personally I do, but I am also a fan of noise music and musique concrete), it is such an important piece of pop music history. It brought into the mainstream techniques that were up until then reserved for obscure classical composer. I would very seriously argue that without revolution 9 you don’t get Radiohead…
Absolutely spot on! Well said.