Honestly, I often find myself siding with Paul in most of these Beatles arguments… I don’t think he was being a tyrant or anything like that. I don’t think he was rude to the others based on the hours and hours of footage we have of The Beatles in the studio. He often made the right calls music-wise (like in Hey Jude) and business-wise (like with the whole Allen Klein situation). Maybe that’s what the band really needed at the time, someone pushing a little bit, you know? A little bit of discipline. Some people act like he was acting like a maniac.
I mostly agree, but just hearing George Martin and Geoff Emerick, who really like Paul, say that he was being very domineering during this time, I have to think they know something I don’t.
Giles Martin notably said that the tapes reveal a whole band contributing to the songs and that the sessions weren't quite as dark as previously thought. The session for "I Will" was apparently light hearted as we can hear on the deluxe edition for example.
If you watch this, you'll get a timeline for White Album recording. John was really asserting himself in the early sessions, which were mostly devoted to his songs. Barely any time was made for Paul's songs (let alone George's) initially. But Paul had gotten used to that and knew how to be patient. The thing is, John wasn't much interested in a lot of songs that weren't his own, even once principal recording was done. He'd spend days working on Revolution 9 mixes and ignore tracking sessions for other songs. Paul always gave 110% to John's material, but then again, Paul always had more to add as an accompanist and utility man. ua-cam.com/video/LVj4vhzSvEM/v-deo.htmlsi=r6Fb9YLlaPmtw1n3
I think the problem is that at the height of Beatlemania, John was with Cynthia and Paul was with Jane... each in their relationships with lots of independance until Yoko came along and then it was John and Yoko and Paul being the 3rd wheel. And I don't mean that in the cliché way of saying Yoko broke up the Beatles... I think it's more to do with the fact that Paul just wanted to keep hanging out with John and making music with the boys but John's interests were shifting away at that point. Also by then, they'd been doing it fo 6 years straight that gig of being top band making top money... Not a bad day job really... and actually working at it for 10 years. When George quits in the Get Back movie and John does'nt bother showing up the next day, the look on Paul's face is the same of a 45 year old steel plant worker who's factory just closed and is wondering what he'll do the rest of his life... He had just lost his one and only job! I think Paul was only trying to keep things together and I can't blame him! If you've been working with the same musicians 10+ years straight, they're going to be the best session musicians you'll ever find!! That's what made them sound so good in the first place; the amount of time they spent playing music together!
@@G60syncro totally agree with your comment! When I say something about Yoko everyone thinks im attacking her. When really, all im doing is pointing out the undeniable fact that she had lots to do with the sudden change of personality John had at the time
Yoko was a major factor in the band's deterioration, but not the only factor. George's anger over being treated as a relagively unimportant songwriter in the band ate at him, as did Paul's perfectionism in the studio. George liked to bake his guitar parts, and ended up writing some very good solos. Paul however also played guitar well and wanted to try out his own ideas from time to time. Paul dedicated a lot of effort to George's songs, not just the great ones like While My Guitar Gently Weeps and Something, but also weaker material, such as his efforts in rebuilding I, Me Mine's chord structure. I believe it was also Paul who suggested the hard 6/8 break in that number, which gives the slower waltz feel a refreshing change up. In addition to his own songwriting talents having a multi instrumentalist producer type such as Pul hanging around the studio is a real advantage, one that George seemed to take for granted. There is no question that John became a worse songwriter under Yoko's influence. Pre Yoko John was a hit writing machine. He became much more self indulgent sporadic under her thumb. His material on the White Album is great, but most of those songs were written away from Yoko, in India. I am not a hater of Revolution #9, but it is derivative, rather than revolutionary. Paul was already using better 20th century techniques in songs such as A Day In The Life and Tomorrow Never Knows in order to enhance John's work. R #9 is solid but when compared to what real avant garde composers were doing in the 1960s it's tame and safe. Happiness is a Warm Gun blows it away in terms of complexity. The Beatles are a gigantic musical subject as is Beethoven or Wagner. We'll never stop being fascinated by this "boy band" that became the most important popular art of the 20th century.
Paul was going through a massive breakup with Jane Asher the summer they started the White Album, and he hadn't yet reconnected with Linda until a few months into the sessions. I think Paul isolated himself to some degree because he was depressed and sad about his breakup while also weirded out that Yoko was at John's side constantly. John should have and probably could have added vocals and guitar to Why Don't We Do It in the Road or a harmony to Mother Nature's Son, but maybe he was chilling with Yoko and uninterested in adding to Paul's songs that sounded pretty much done anyway... I think Paul didn't know how to collaborate with John when Yoko was there. So he just didn't try during the White Album. He started trying during Get Back several months later though.... "Take a sad song, and make it better..."
Reflecting back on my years playing in bands, it was always the most musically astute that was the band leader. In the case of the Beatles that was Paul. So after the death of Brian Epstein the band was like a rudderless ship and Paul realized someone had to take up the baton and lead. This caused tensions. Enter the con artist Allen Klein. John, Geroge and Ringo singned three year contracts with Kline. Paul never signed. This drove the biggest wedge into the Beatles and I consider it to be the death knell. The Beatles fired Klein a year later, after their Decca contract ended but the damage was done. I don't think they ever recovered from the Klein contract and the band of brothers was broken forever. RIP Beatles they will forever live in our hearts.
The boys really had no idea what they unleashed when they let Paul play Yesterday by himself. That was the moment when he began to slowly take control of the band.
His sense of control was him trying to pull the band together to work as a team. India and Brian dying made them drift apart into individual selves. Paul lived close by the studio while the others lived in their mansions in the countryside..
@@drc1989 my comment is just a joke. Also, I would have said "the lads" or something, but I'm not a native speaker, so I just use any expression that comes to mind in the moment. Also 2, by 1965 (when they recorded Help) they were still quite young, Paul said one time about their first visit to America that they felt like adults, but they were still just kids.
I think John and George held some resentment towards Paul that he was a talented multi-instrumentalist and was capable of recording a song without their assistance.
John later said in an interview that he was hurt when Paul would go into the studio and record songs w out their help. The White Album is great but there were some songs they missed on. Not Guilty not making the album for songs like Wild Honey Pie was inexcusable IMO. There are some tracks that didn’t need to be there. Great album though especially John’s songs
"Not Guilty" had over 100 takes in the studio, but George wasn't himself satisfied about the results. When Ringo temporarily left the band in August 1968, he thought that he was alone in the band and other three were closer team. What comes to White Album tracks a single "Hey Jude" / "Revolution" should have been on the album instead of "Revolution #9" and "Revolution #1".
To be fair, "Wild Honey Pie" was just a weird little sound experiment that wouldn't have been on the album except that Pattie Boyd really liked it lol. Since it's less than a minute long, I think it's hard to argue that it could have been replaced by a full song.
George himself went to the boys and told them not to include "not guilty" one day before they decided the order of the tracks. Also they didn't do over 100 takes they just started numbering from 100 after some point because it was easier to follow.
Well, McCartney was a workaholic and lived close by the studio. Waiting for the others who were both living in their hippy heads and far away luxury mansions to show up resulted in McCartney working away. Prior to that they indeed had been a band. India and Brian dying you can just see the rift expanding.
Very informative and a great perspective of "The White Album". Well done for your honest view. I FULLY agree. Cheers Rodney (aka MusicMaster) Western Australia.
I mean it makes sense to feel like you want to be in isolation when the people closest to you say you play granny music and whatnot.I love them all but Paul has always been the one i could relate to the most.And good for him,his songs are all timeless.
As of right now...the white album is my favourite record😅👍🏻 glass onion and yet blues are my favourite, while my guitar is defo a masterpiece. George was/'is' my favourite Beatle.
You may paint a dismal picture BUT these four guys were professionals. They created a double album of amazing quality and creativity and PAUL was the one that held them all together.
Totally agree! This is the best album ever. There's plenty of depth and I certainly feel the subtle dark undertones that progressively manifest further through the album. Gotta say, the juxtaposition is vital, but I still think the and songs and and primarily John's tracks make the album shine. I think Paul could've asked for some backing vocals though. He also was out of a breakup and that could've affective his ego.
@@adriangonzalez4877 Yeah, actually he allegedly brought a lady to the studio sometime around the recordings of the album to kinda get back at John for Yoko😂
There was , at principle, no need for Paul to play all the instruments in Why Don't We Do It In The Road, for instance. Paul would get in the studio with all the arrangements details in his mind and didn't open for the other's contributions. It is stated by John, George and even Ringo in several intereviews..
I personally think Paul was just making sure that the album was a good one - no matter what it took. Even though he provided some seriously questionable tracks himself - like "Why Don't We Do It In The Road" & "Wild Honey Pie".
I think Paul was able to take on two roles - musician and businessman. The businessman Paul annoyed the 3 undisciplined Beatles. John, George, and Ringo just wanted to make music. At the same time, George was frustrated with being pushed mostly to the background, and Ringo was just tired of the whole "Beatles" thing altogether, but felt that he was stuck with it. They all had evolved in different directions since their "Beatlemania" days and lost interest in anything but their own compositions. None of this was good for cohesiveness of the band, and was the beginning of the end. The white album is so great because of it's honesty, or some might say, selfishness. John, Paul, and George did what they wanted to do for the most part, and were far less open to the ideas of the others, creating three completely distinct sounds on a single album.
George was also groveling in his insecurities and anger, while John was strung out and lazy half the time and distracted with Yoko. Yeah, all that gets annoying to someone in a real creative space. Granny music? Yeah, Paul likes that Tin Pan Alley vibe at times. So what? That stuff isn't easy to write, and he was probably studying songwriting in general and learning and flexing. It's part of the process for songwriters. So all these things snowball... and everything moved fast in Beatle world. All of these career phases of The Beatles were, like, 6-8 month periods on their own strung together. When things are moving that fast, you snooze, you lose... and it's much easier to look back and see these things in hindsight. I imagine in their minds, they were just all trying to get on with it in their own ways.
I have been With The Beatles since I was 14 in 1964. The White Album is my favourite simply because of the variety of genres and all the quirkiness going on. I hate it when people say so and so songs should have been left out to make it "a great single album". Paul's response to criticism of the Great White was spot on: "It's the bloody Beatles White Album. Shut up!" My feelings exactly. They came back from India with a pile of songs and just laid it on us. There are no disposable songs, even Rev9. People who say Paul's silly granny songs should not have been there are short sighted and miss the point. Rocky Raccoon is a wonderfully playful, humorous ditty penned in India by Paul, John and Donovan with their heads literally together (Donovan, incidentally also contributed "Sky of blue, sea of green" to Yellow Submarine); Why Don't We Do It In The Road - they saw two monkeys copulating in the street in Rishikesh, John was upset that Paul didn't 'wait for him' to record that but John was either with Yoko, working on Rev9, or out of it on acid and heroin. As far as other albums contending for best position, they all had other roles: Rubber Soul was them growing up and making folk music like everyone else in 1966; Revolver was musically the most experimental album; on Sgt Pepper they were the voice of the Baby Boomer generation, it was the hippie manifesto; Abbey Road was them saying this is THE END goodbye in the most astonishing, dramatic and perfect way. I never criticize the Beatles. Their discography is a gift to the world and it will be enjoyed and admired forever, like Beethoven.
The Beatles were so great, instead of criticizing what it would sound like "IF" George echoed the Hey Jude lyrics with guitar riffs, we should assume that any finished alternate take would have been an Anthology great (if it didn't show up on the White Album as Hey Jude 1)... They talked John into doing a faster version of Revolution 1... I think that The Beatles were "great enough" to pull it off... They could take a sad song and make it better...
I think Hey Jude would totally suck had Paul let George apply his idea, 🤷🏻♂️. Although I understand George felt put off by Paul’s decision against it, still, it was way too great of a tune to risk ruining it with such mistake.
I don't know who's fault it was, but, in interviews, John complained about Paul working alone and said he felt hurt and angry about it. You seem to be assuming that the others didn't want to work with Paul, and there may be some truth to that. But I think what you're looking at here is more about Paul's tendency to be a "one-man band." Paul could do it all, and he was quite content to do it all---sing, produce, play all the instruments---just look at his solo career. If John was so dominant on the early WA sessions, it was doubtless because Paul had been so dominant throughout 1967.
Hi, I don't think Paul was lonely. I think all four of them wete growing apart. From the boy, they became men. I have a suggestion for you: Frank - Sinatra Watertown 1970. It's a concept album. Not like most other Sinatra albums. I think it's worth reviewing it. I think it's Frank's best album. Have a Hapyy New Year. And take care.
Some good insight here... but... It was John who suggested the brass band on 'Mother Nature's Son' while listening to Paul record his basic acoustic guitar/vocal track from the control room. "How about a little bit of brass band? A very nice little bit of brass band?" he can be heard saying. So, there you go. John being all in for that aspect of the 'ganny music' he so derided later on.
You seem to forget that the Beatles had been going a good ten years before the white album was recorded. I guess over time they had just had enough of each other
I feel bad for the other three, who were all very good musicians. They had to be in band of equals with Paul McCartney, who wasn’t ‘very good,’ he was an absolute genius. The resentment of the others was fundamentally a product of the fact that they could never keep up with Paul.
Interested and persuasive, but it was a shame you didn’t mention Revolution 9. It takes up maybe 1/6 of the album and Paul isn’t on it anywhere. I think it illustrates that he had no interest in the adventure and discovery of the avant garde, and didn’t see it as Beatle music. Fair enough, it isn’t really music as such. Surely though, Revolution 9 most clearly represents the schism between John and Paul.
He played on the first rehearsal takes ("slow" version). The outtakes and studio chat for the album version point towards Paul playing Fender Jazz Bass on it.
@@seerstone8982 Paul added his bass where? There is no Fender Bass VI on the album version of the song. Listen to Take 17 and studio chat, Paul is giving instructions on how the intro should go by singing a part while simultaneously playing it on bass.
@Luna.reviews I recommend their original run of albums from 1996 to 2003 (which none of are on streaming but they're on UA-cam CD and cassette) Their new albums from the 2020s are good but not nearly as good
I think Lennon's music really shines on this album. His post Beatles style is emerging and nearly all his contributions are top notch or at least unique. McCartney's best songs here are his harder rock attempts and most of his offerings seem to be his 'granny music' pulled out of his trunk, and don't really blend with the rest of the album tonally. Harrison's songs really shine for the first time and he seems to be insisting the band take him seriously. The true standouts to me are Dear Prudence, Julia, Revolution, While My Guitar Gently Weeps and Happiness is a Warm Gun, Helter Skelter and Blackbird. My guilty pleasures here are Sexy Sadie and Savoy Truffle.
@@doctorstreamspunk9996 i love Sexy Sadie but i can’t say the same about Savoy Truffle. I made a ranking on the channel not too long ago and its very low for me
@ savoy truffle has a great arrangement and I’m a sucker for brass. It’s really just that with a lyric celebrating chocolate. Sexy Sadie is actually about something really profound: disillusionment. Lennon cleverly conflates spiritual and sexual seduction because the maharishi's lechery is what revealed him. The song is very deceptively playful and witty in order to avoid accusations of slander. Quite brilliant.
@@knudsandbknielsen7226 Well the thing is. When you go from their melodies in songs like Getting Better or Lucy, to songs like Im So Tired and Long Long Long, its clear that there’s a change in energy there, at lest for me
I agree with you on most of your points. "Ob-ladi Ob-lada" is a big exception in terms of the rest of the band leaving Paul alone with his songs, though. Similarly to "Maxwell's Silver Hammer", they seem to have struggled to play the song exactly like Paul envisioned it but they persisted through a lot of takes and eventually got it right. They definitely resented Paul for that, all of the other three, even if at least Ringo was never mean about it. That aside, I don't rate the white album in such high regards as you do. I'm with George Martin and Paul himself in seeing it as a bit of a jumbled mess lacking structure or cohesion to truly feel like an album as a whole. It has a lot of variety for sure, and it contains a lot of their greatest and most important songs. The highs are sky high and there are more highs than lows. But the lows include some of the worst songs ever released under the Beatles name, and their worst track in "Revolution 9", emphasis on "track" because that's not a song or a piece of music by any stretch of the imagination. It's basically "Tomorrow Never Knows" without the content, just the idea of looping things. The album could have used a good trim. Especially considering how many absolute gems they've released as singles only for almost their whole career! I also love "While My Guitar...", but I'll always wonder how George Harrison managed to keep the title of "lead guitarist" of the band despite the vast majority of their songs having no lead guitar parts to speak of in the first place, and a good deal of the significant guitar solos the band does have were by someone else. Even on songs George himself wrote, like Paul on "Taxman" or indeed "While (Eric Clapton's) Guitar Gently Weeps"... He brought plenty of other things to the table, especially as a lyricist and sporadically as a composer. But this always struck me as pretty weird, and this song on particular given the title and lyrics, him not being the one whose guitar weeps almost feels tongue in cheek to me. Knowing his approach, it might have been, honestly. ^^
Yeah i see what you mean about Ob La Di Ob La Da, but i believe John did it too with Monkey, the recording took 2 days and he wanted more and madness. Paul eventually gave up playing bass and ended up grabbing a cow bell
@@Luna.reviews I can definitely see that too. They were such polar opposites! ^^ With Paul, it was a matter of technical prowess to execute his concrete, exact composition and arrangement up to his expectation. With John, well... Even being as charitable as possible, it was pretty much a matter of composing stuff on his behalf (that he would later claim was solely his own creation) based on the vaguest and most convoluted of non-musical depictions. "I want my voice to sound like it's coming from the top of a mountain with echo and a circular feel" or "play me something groovy" (or "funky" depending on the era, though he never meant what we understand either as musically, these were just synonyms for "cool" in his mouth). "I'm sure you can figure this out, George". At the end of the day, you could bullshit John to a point because he didn't know exactly what he wanted himself, and he could change his mind on the spot. This allowed the other members to contribute much more to "his" songs than they got credit for, and one explanation as to why there are so many of Paul's best ever bass lines or Ringo's best ever drum fills on so-called "John songs". They were really co-composing or at least arranging for him (not to mention George Martin's colossal input). A Paul song or at least a Paul moment in a song already came with clear ideas for every instrument's parts, and it was very musical and specific. You couldn't bullshit Paul in the studio. Maybe George and Ringo tended to prefer working on John's stuff because it was a more creative endeavor for them, albeit uncredited as such. I don't recall any interview where they complained about John taking credit for this or that part they actually came up with, whereas George in particular could come across as rather petty about even small bits of lyrics or arrangement he contributed to Paul's songs. In contrast, neither John nor George seemed to really acknowledge the massive gifts they had from being provided with top-tier custom bass lines, drum parts, not to mention full symphonic arrangements and orchestrations for any basic melody or riff they came up with. They took it for granted, I feel.
Dude!!! You are so right on with your insights and observations! Very cool topic, well presented, and you really know your stuff. I am professional musician, a huge Beatle fan and Paul McCartney disciple. Over the years while learning how to play all the songs on the "White Album" and reading Mark Lewisohn's "Beatles Recording Sessions" book, it became apparent to me, (like you have noticed and pointed out so well), that most of Paul's compositions on that masterpiece were either recorded all by himself, or with little or minimum input and contributions from any other of the Fab's. I think it's an amalgamation of several of the possibilities you mentioned why this occurred..... #1: The other Beatles were simply not interested in playing on his songs. 2: Since Paul was so musically adept, and gifted, he didn't really care, and just recorded them himself. #3: Some of the songs only needed him playing acoustic guitar, with minimal backing. #4: He was so eager to record all the time (remember John was planting acorns for peace, George took time to visit Dylan in the US, Ringo had film commitments) and lived nearby Abbey Road Studio's, he just went and recorded them solo. Like one of the other comments made, the other Beatles had NO idea what they unleashed back in 65' when they let Macca record "Yesterday" on his own. Great video! Keep up the good work! You definitely have caught my attention with your content, subject matters and keen "higher function" Beatle appreciation and comprehension!
@@erichmcmann5337 You’re comments are always great man!! And yes, I think something i forgot to mention is how thirsty for writing Paul McCartney is at all times, he never went for more than 4 years without making any new music until the 90s. So i guess its hard to keel up with such a genius
I think #4 is an interesting observation. It could be that. Remember he wouldn't wait for George Martin to score She's Leaving Home. He had a vision for what he wanted and he had to get it down NOW! So he turned to Mike Leander and it never occurred to him that it might hurt Martin's feelings. In one of the Nagra tapes we hear John complaining about Paul going off to play on his own. I think he may have pretended to dislike Paul's tracks to cover for the fact that he didn't get to play on them. Like a kid going, well I didn't want to anyway, it sucks. Then again, around this time, John stopped showing much interest in playing on George's tracks, too. So perhaps, John was preoccupied with his own stuff and projecting his own lack of interest onto the others. As in, he assumed they didn't want to play with him, because he wasn't as interested in playing with them.
@@Kieop Excellent point/observation! Side note: John did not play on ANY of George's superb late period tracks. ie: While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Savoy Truffle, Long Long Long, Something, Here Comes The Sun. Nothing.... Nada!
I think Paul wanted some distance here. You forgot junk and why don’t we do it…John asked Paul to participate on why don’t we do it…and Paul said no. Before it happened with for no one. Paul started some ego trip that the other ones wouldn’t stand. Probably because he was empty hearted after Jane Asher broke up with him. Add yoko capturing John s attention, the business disagreements and the creation of their own families and you have the seeds for separation. It was during this album that all that happened. It is interesting though that Paul works and it is allowed to work with the other three on this album (he was very angry not to be included in she said she said previously). Oh darling is another example, John asked for more participation and he was denied to do it. The others on occasions will pay with the same coin as in rev number 9 excluding Paul (actually i like it and if you listen the extended demo of rev 1 it has other parts until it reaches this ambience, the 9th part of the suite that survived and hence its name). In summary, John was quite inlove with yoko, left Paul partnership. and Paul wanted to do everything by himself or be the Beatles until he finds Linda. By that time it was too late…he regrets his behavior during this time and that is why he went into alcohol deeply while in scotia. It is amazing that a bunch of songs from this period lasted until 1971 or more being released in their solo albums. Mind games is another example, it was make love not war initially. All completed without each other feedback later on.
I love the "White Album" too-but I also made a version without the bass player's songs. I like it even more. Music comes too easily to Paul so he creates pap
The White Album Is very Unique Compared to "Revolver" , "Sgt Pepper" and "Abbey Road" unlike them Its not a Perfect album but it has So Much diversity that I can Easily Forget The Songs that are not that good because of How many classics we have here
I think by this time Paul knew what he wanted for all of his songs, and the new 8-track multitrack allowed him to do everything himself. But next year, in 1969, there seemed to be more of an impetus for the band to record as a unit - starting on the Get Back sessions and continuing with Abbey Road. THAT'S what broke apart the Beatles. Paul should have recorded a crap song like "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" alone, but he insisted on having his bandmates (except John, who outright refused) play take after take until it was perfect. I love Paul, but his insistence on recording granny songs rather than letting George bring more of his plentiful - and by this time better - songs in are what made a break-up inevitable. The Beatles were first and foremost a rock band, ffs! I've always thought George's guitar solo for "Something" consisted of the licks he wanted to added to "Hey Jude". Probably not in the first verse, but imagine hearing the line "Hey Jude", then the first lick of the Something solo, then the line "Don't be afraid" and then the second lick from the Something solo. That would be ... something!
I definitely think that George could’ve had a few more songs in the last albums, but i also think that Paul’s “granny songs” offer pause in a lot of these albums. I couldn’t imagine Abbey Road without Maxwell’s you know? Is just one of those things where i can agree with you, but i’d still be hesitant to change the way it is
The white album is diverse and chaotic where each song by each Beatles shows their interests and influences but it’s fractured and flow problems imo Where the white album is their best album but Sgt Pepper is their magnus opus where experimentation and collaboration comes together
Pepper is Paul and George Martins project mainly. There’s not a ton of guitar outside of Paul’s solos because George barely showed up to the sessions. John was there but he was in another world at the time so he let Paul and Martin make all the big decisions. Pepper was a production masterpiece but not the Beatles magnum opus, as George was barely there.
Hey Jude.. One of the greatest songs of all time ? No. It's a simple singalong song that uses a very simple chord progression and a basic melody. It could be recognized as on of the best songs for audiences to sing a long with because of it's basic nature (repetitive, too), and emotional content. Michelle, Yesterday, In My life, are just a few songs that have much more interesting chords that make for an interesting interplay between these chords and the melody. Hey Jude is one of the most mediocre songs that Paul wrote during that period. But, most audiences know little about song composition, and thus the popularity of this song. Other than this opinion, I really enjoyed this video. It has some insights in it that any Beatle fan might find to be interesting. Thanks for making this video.
@@KenTeel Yeah, I know its not the most interesting ones but some songs just click you know? That’s my thing with Hey Jude. My whole music journey started with that music video so i have a special place for it. You have a great opinion!! Thanks so much!
Although the White Album, the fourth side is very weak... The only notable songs for me are Revolution 1 and Savoy Truffle... The other songs are either mid or Revolution 9, which is terrible... But the first three sides are very awesome!
I Know Hes litterally the best but I have to say : Honneeeyyyy Piiiiieeee Honnneeeeyyyy Piiiieee I love you honey pie 😅😅😅 I Really like that Paul Likes Experimenting With different Styles Sometimes Doesnt Work like Wild Honey Pie , Honey Pie or maybe Ob La Di(I like it its such a silly fun track but not a Classic) But sometimes we Got some of the best Songs ever Yesterday , Helter Skelter, Blackbird , Eleanor Rigby or even "Maxwells Silvers Hammer"(seriously I love that song)
The thing about the White Album is that Paul was the 3rd best songwriter after John and George on this one. Of course George had the monumental While My Guitar Gently Weeps, not only the best song in the album but probably better than anything Paul ever wrote. On the other hand Lennon with the likes of Dear Prudence and especially Happiness Is A Warm Gun also beat Paul's songwriting efforts by a fair margin. Paul had Blackbird and Back In The USSR of course but the rest (Honey Pie, Obladi Oblada, Birthday) ranks amongst his poorest compositions in the Beatles. l'll give him the credit though that while Martha My Dear was certainly old fashioned, it contains much better music than his other similar songs. Now addressing the issue of his loneliness, l think it was to expected, that's what he always craved for, and in fact that's the first thing he did after the Beatles broke up, an album where he played everything. He wanted a degree of control that is ridiculous for a band of the caliber of the Beatles. l appreciate your effort of trying to paint it like Paul was the misunderstood perfectionist, but the truth is that every other Beatle eventually left being fed up with Paul. You naively try to call it "the tension" when it's very well documented that it was just Paul being.. well, Paul. Lennon on the other hand was quoted claiming that he didn't mind what the others played as long as they were professional.
@@ric8248 Well, the whole “tension” thing was said by The Beatles themselves really. But i do see what you mean with most of the points you make. I personally believe that John is the star in the album songwriting wise, but as a team player, no one matches Paul. Yes, he worked by himself in his songs but when it comes to the others he is seen all over the place. Now when talking about his solo career, yes Paul’s first instinct was to work alone, but immediately regretted it, opting to work with a Beta version of wings in the next album. I believe Paul simply hated the arguments and felt like they were unnecessary, so to avoid them, worked bu himself most of the time.
@Luna.reviews Sure but these tension don't come out of the blue, they are caused by something (or someone). But you know what, l'm actually happy the Beatles broke up when they did instead of dragging the band down. They made great music after they split, it just doesn't have the beatle sound, but it's still great.
@ Wild Honey Pie, The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill, Rocky Raccoon, Everyone’s Got Something To Hide, Sexy Sadie, Goodnight. Revolution 9 is not a song; it’s a mildly interesting soundscape, and the avant-garde composers of the time like Stockhausen, Berio, Varese, and others created far more interesting ones.
Great songs ...at 14... Rocky raccoon ...Honey pie..why don't we do it in the road...Wild honey pie..I will..Mother nature son...Martha my dear...Obladi oblada...bla bla bla.. Silly songs......
Savoy Truffle- a song about candy and tooth decay. Revolution 9 - a cacophony of noise that is unbearable to listen to. I am the Walrus - a melange of meaningless words that ends with "goo-goo g'joob, g'goo goo g'joob Goo goo g'joob, g'goo goo g'joob, g'goo..." Now that is a Silly Song!
It’s the most overrated album of all time. The Beatles disrespected their fans by expecting them to shell out for a double album with about 10 songs being good and a bunch of subpar songs. No, there is nothing charming about a messy, filler saturated album. We should hold the Beatles to a higher standard instead of making excuses for this sloppy collection of lousy songs.
The White Album sucks. I hate that piece of shit. Copy/Pasted crap. There is no way the White Album is better than Abbey Road, Magical Mystery Tour, Beatles For Sale, etc...
Ok just finished your vid and I agree. The White Album isn’t even a Beatles album. It’s 4 solo albums crammed into 1. Also a caveat: I only listen to albums as a whole. From front to back, in one sitting. So I’m also comparing album-sequencing when I’m judging albums. In that regard is why I think the White Album is horrible. Would you still classify the White Album as your favorite Beatles Album if you had to digest them from first track to the last, in one sitting?
@@AudSpgheti 100%! I know its contradictory but i can’t help it, no album has made me feel like the White Album, that’s why its so hard to explain. Maybe because of how broken it sounds from the beginning it works for me idk.
I think you have a BIG, HUMONGOUS Bias about this album & Paul. I feel that Paul was thinking of himself. A lot of the album is him playing by hisself. I'm not saying that that's a bad thing, in fact, it's the album that made me fall in LOVE with The Beatles. But I also think that Paul was also the catalyst that break the band up because he was only thinking about himself and what he could do by himself. I mean truly listen to Back In The U.S.S.R. & Dear Prudence. IF you listen closely, you can hear Paul's drumming (also the drumming on The End on Abbey Road). But this is not why I made this comment. I made this comment for the progressive nature of John. John wrote a song that pushes the whole album forward, too me, and I think that it's "Happiness Is A Warm Gun". I think that Happiness pushed the entire album forward in a art sort-of way. But this is just my opinion...
For Paul to say shut up to the people that have enough taste to recognize that the album is a filler fulled mess is rude, defensive, and lazy. Those people include George Martin.
You realize that reaction video channels attract boomers who like to see young people react to the songs they grew up on. They don't however look for kids to educate them on events that occurred during their lifetime and that they're read about for decades. Presumptuous would be the term. You're just repeating some limited things you've read very recently. You should be asking questions instead of trying to teach.
Who’s teaching? Im just giving my opinion on stuff🧐 im not interested in exaggerating a reaction to please someone. I’ll put my opinion out there and if anyone wants to hear it that’s good for me!
It was actually Paul who withdrew from the others. John has explained in interviews that he felt really hurt when Paul didn’t involve him but sneaked away to record his songs alone. George probably also felt hurt that Paul wouldn’t let him into the creative process. George’s strong reaction regarding ”Hey Jude” was because this had become a pattern with Paul. He always had a clear idea about his songs and wanted the end results to exactly match that vision. This left very little room for George to bring his talents to the table. And Ringo actually left the band as a direct result of how Paul tried to micromanage his drumming!
Yeah, its a bit of a conflict for me. I mean i understand why George would be angry, but then again, i love every Paul song in the album so im not necessarily against the idea of rejecting any suggestions
When you describe Paul as sneaking away, I can't take anything that follows seriously. Watch the Get Back documentary. John is drumming on the wall telling Ringo this is what you are doing and then drummed something different, telling him this is how you should do it. In another part of Get Back, George is leaning over and telling John how to play the part for his song, They all did this, but Paul was the only one who was criticized for it.
Honestly, I often find myself siding with Paul in most of these Beatles arguments… I don’t think he was being a tyrant or anything like that. I don’t think he was rude to the others based on the hours and hours of footage we have of The Beatles in the studio. He often made the right calls music-wise (like in Hey Jude) and business-wise (like with the whole Allen Klein situation). Maybe that’s what the band really needed at the time, someone pushing a little bit, you know? A little bit of discipline. Some people act like he was acting like a maniac.
@@JustAnotherCover yeah! The whole Allen Klein stuff showed that he had more accurate visions for the band
Paul was right about Allen Klein, but trying to make his father-in-law the band's manager was reasonably met with suspicion.
I mostly agree, but just hearing George Martin and Geoff Emerick, who really like Paul, say that he was being very domineering during this time, I have to think they know something I don’t.
@@JimmyNotesnah it rlly wasn’t
@JustAnotherCover totally agree 👍.
Excellent analysis! Thank you so much man
It's cool to see someone of a younger generation with such clear insight into The Beatles.
@@TheB00Man thank you!!
Giles Martin notably said that the tapes reveal a whole band contributing to the songs and that the sessions weren't quite as dark as previously thought. The session for "I Will" was apparently light hearted as we can hear on the deluxe edition for example.
If you watch this, you'll get a timeline for White Album recording. John was really asserting himself in the early sessions, which were mostly devoted to his songs. Barely any time was made for Paul's songs (let alone George's) initially. But Paul had gotten used to that and knew how to be patient. The thing is, John wasn't much interested in a lot of songs that weren't his own, even once principal recording was done. He'd spend days working on Revolution 9 mixes and ignore tracking sessions for other songs. Paul always gave 110% to John's material, but then again, Paul always had more to add as an accompanist and utility man.
ua-cam.com/video/LVj4vhzSvEM/v-deo.htmlsi=r6Fb9YLlaPmtw1n3
Thank you for the link and the amazing comment!!
I think the problem is that at the height of Beatlemania, John was with Cynthia and Paul was with Jane... each in their relationships with lots of independance until Yoko came along and then it was John and Yoko and Paul being the 3rd wheel. And I don't mean that in the cliché way of saying Yoko broke up the Beatles... I think it's more to do with the fact that Paul just wanted to keep hanging out with John and making music with the boys but John's interests were shifting away at that point. Also by then, they'd been doing it fo 6 years straight that gig of being top band making top money... Not a bad day job really... and actually working at it for 10 years. When George quits in the Get Back movie and John does'nt bother showing up the next day, the look on Paul's face is the same of a 45 year old steel plant worker who's factory just closed and is wondering what he'll do the rest of his life... He had just lost his one and only job! I think Paul was only trying to keep things together and I can't blame him! If you've been working with the same musicians 10+ years straight, they're going to be the best session musicians you'll ever find!! That's what made them sound so good in the first place; the amount of time they spent playing music together!
@@G60syncro totally agree with your comment! When I say something about Yoko everyone thinks im attacking her. When really, all im doing is pointing out the undeniable fact that she had lots to do with the sudden change of personality John had at the time
Yoko was a major factor in the band's deterioration, but not the only factor. George's anger over being treated as a relagively unimportant songwriter in the band ate at him, as did Paul's perfectionism in the studio. George liked to bake his guitar parts, and ended up writing some very good solos. Paul however also played guitar well and wanted to try out his own ideas from time to time. Paul dedicated a lot of effort to George's songs, not just the great ones like While My Guitar Gently Weeps and Something, but also weaker material, such as his efforts in rebuilding I, Me Mine's chord structure. I believe it was also Paul who suggested the hard 6/8 break in that number, which gives the slower waltz feel a refreshing change up. In addition to his own songwriting talents having a multi instrumentalist producer type such as Pul hanging around the studio is a real advantage, one that George seemed to take for granted.
There is no question that John became a worse songwriter under Yoko's influence. Pre Yoko John was a hit writing machine. He became much more self indulgent sporadic under her thumb. His material on the White Album is great, but most of those songs were written away from Yoko, in India. I am not a hater of Revolution #9, but it is derivative, rather than revolutionary. Paul was already using better 20th century techniques in songs such as A Day In The Life and Tomorrow Never Knows in order to enhance John's work. R #9 is solid but when compared to what real avant garde composers were doing in the 1960s it's tame and safe. Happiness is a Warm Gun blows it away in terms of complexity.
The Beatles are a gigantic musical subject as is Beethoven or Wagner. We'll never stop being fascinated by this "boy band" that became the most important popular art of the 20th century.
Paul was going through a massive breakup with Jane Asher the summer they started the White Album, and he hadn't yet reconnected with Linda until a few months into the sessions. I think Paul isolated himself to some degree because he was depressed and sad about his breakup while also weirded out that Yoko was at John's side constantly. John should have and probably could have added vocals and guitar to Why Don't We Do It in the Road or a harmony to Mother Nature's Son, but maybe he was chilling with Yoko and uninterested in adding to Paul's songs that sounded pretty much done anyway... I think Paul didn't know how to collaborate with John when Yoko was there. So he just didn't try during the White Album. He started trying during Get Back several months later though.... "Take a sad song, and make it better..."
I thought the headline read “Paul ALONE in the white room”, which would be an interesting psychedelic Cream-Beatles concept.
😂
I love how Paul when he plays guitar he goes in to like a trance and he acts like a little kid learning something
@@tactfulbear5100 Yeah😂😂😂
He was a little kid, that's why his imagination was on a supreme order.
@patbrennan6572 well said the Greatest mind is one open as a child
Reflecting back on my years playing in bands, it was always the most musically astute that was the band leader. In the case of the Beatles that was Paul. So after the death of Brian Epstein the band was like a rudderless ship and Paul realized someone had to take up the baton and lead. This caused tensions. Enter the con artist Allen Klein. John, Geroge and Ringo singned three year contracts with Kline. Paul never signed. This drove the biggest wedge into the Beatles and I consider it to be the death knell. The Beatles fired Klein a year later, after their Decca contract ended but the damage was done. I don't think they ever recovered from the Klein contract and the band of brothers was broken forever. RIP Beatles they will forever live in our hearts.
Probably the most spot - on review I've ever heard of the White Album. You, sir, you get it! Great video.
Thank you so much!!!
The boys really had no idea what they unleashed when they let Paul play Yesterday by himself. That was the moment when he began to slowly take control of the band.
@@ajhhc that’s def one way to look at it
@@Luna.reviewsThe boys? Why do so many refer to them as "the boys?" The fact that they broke up is proof that no one was in control.
His sense of control was him trying to pull the band together to work as a team. India and Brian dying made them drift apart into individual selves. Paul lived close by the studio while the others lived in their mansions in the countryside..
@@drc1989 my comment is just a joke. Also, I would have said "the lads" or something, but I'm not a native speaker, so I just use any expression that comes to mind in the moment. Also 2, by 1965 (when they recorded Help) they were still quite young, Paul said one time about their first visit to America that they felt like adults, but they were still just kids.
@@MrBallynally2 exactly
I think John and George held some resentment towards Paul that he was a talented multi-instrumentalist and was capable of recording a song without their assistance.
@@KatharineShaw-z8u Part of me thinks that too
A better way of putting it is that he wasn't a team player. That's not good for a band.
@@IndyDefense Not as bad as Brian Wilson being in charge of every aspect of the Beach boys music.
Now in 2024 he owns the Beatles and does the same. Poorly
Yes. Very weak songs.
Can you imagine listening to that man saying 'Come on now, chaps' for 10 years?
John later said in an interview that he was hurt when Paul would go into the studio and record songs w out their help. The White Album is great but there were some songs they missed on. Not Guilty not making the album for songs like Wild Honey Pie was inexcusable IMO. There are some tracks that didn’t need to be there. Great album though especially John’s songs
@@aunch3 Yes!! Its a good thing George picked it up again for his self titled album
"Not Guilty" had over 100 takes in the studio, but George wasn't himself satisfied about the results. When Ringo temporarily left the band in August 1968, he thought that he was alone in the band and other three were closer team. What comes to White Album tracks a single "Hey Jude" / "Revolution" should have been on the album instead of "Revolution #9" and "Revolution #1".
Wild Honey Pie needed for reversed clue "I'll Be Paul". also the other "silly" "Paul" tunes on there have backmasking as well
To be fair, "Wild Honey Pie" was just a weird little sound experiment that wouldn't have been on the album except that Pattie Boyd really liked it lol. Since it's less than a minute long, I think it's hard to argue that it could have been replaced by a full song.
George himself went to the boys and told them not to include "not guilty" one day before they decided the order of the tracks. Also they didn't do over 100 takes they just started numbering from 100 after some point because it was easier to follow.
Well, McCartney was a workaholic and lived close by the studio. Waiting for the others who were both living in their hippy heads and far away luxury mansions to show up resulted in McCartney working away. Prior to that they indeed had been a band. India and Brian dying you can just see the rift expanding.
Yeah! Its crazy seeing the transition from Pepper to White Album
Very informative and a great perspective of "The White Album". Well done for your honest view. I FULLY agree.
Cheers
Rodney (aka MusicMaster)
Western Australia.
Thanks a lot man!!! Love to hear it!
I mean it makes sense to feel like you want to be in isolation when the people closest to you say you play granny music and whatnot.I love them all but Paul has always been the one i could relate to the most.And good for him,his songs are all timeless.
@@skywalkersbutido6375 dude i feel the exact same way
As of right now...the white album is my favourite record😅👍🏻 glass onion and yet blues are my favourite, while my guitar is defo a masterpiece. George was/'is' my favourite Beatle.
@@The_whimsickal_artist What do you think about Long Long Long?
Thank you for this. This is one of the most incisive and well argued critiques of The Beatles degenerating songwriting process I've heard
@@gregrea9578 thank you so much!!
You may paint a dismal picture BUT these four guys were professionals. They created a double album of amazing quality and creativity and PAUL was the one that held them all together.
@@P.Galore I wouldn’t say dismal. As i said, this “isolation” is a good thing in my eyes, it allowed them to grow quite a lot
Money was the one holding them together
Totally agree! This is the best album ever. There's plenty of depth and I certainly feel the subtle dark undertones that progressively manifest further through the album.
Gotta say, the juxtaposition is vital, but I still think the and songs and and primarily John's tracks make the album shine. I think Paul could've asked for some backing vocals though. He also was out of a breakup and that could've affective his ego.
@@adriangonzalez4877 Yeah, actually he allegedly brought a lady to the studio sometime around the recordings of the album to kinda get back at John for Yoko😂
There was , at principle, no need for Paul to play all the instruments in Why Don't We Do It In The Road, for instance. Paul would get in the studio with all the arrangements details in his mind and didn't open for the other's contributions. It is stated by John, George and even Ringo in several intereviews..
Thank you so much for saying "Sgt. Pepper" instead of "Sgt. Pepper's." It's a subtle difference but it makes a difference.
If you see a video from a week ago you would hear the S but comments made aware of my sin
I personally think Paul was just making sure that the album was a good one - no matter what it took. Even though he provided some seriously questionable tracks himself - like "Why Don't We Do It In The Road" & "Wild Honey Pie".
Why they decided to include Wild Honey Pie is the biggest mystery of all time
I think Paul was able to take on two roles - musician and businessman. The businessman Paul annoyed the 3 undisciplined Beatles. John, George, and Ringo just wanted to make music.
At the same time, George was frustrated with being pushed mostly to the background, and Ringo was just tired of the whole "Beatles" thing altogether, but felt that he was stuck with it. They all had evolved in different directions since their "Beatlemania" days and lost interest in anything but their own compositions.
None of this was good for cohesiveness of the band, and was the beginning of the end. The white album is so great because of it's honesty, or some might say, selfishness. John, Paul, and George did what they wanted to do for the most part, and were far less open to the ideas of the others, creating three completely distinct sounds on a single album.
George was also groveling in his insecurities and anger, while John was strung out and lazy half the time and distracted with Yoko. Yeah, all that gets annoying to someone in a real creative space.
Granny music? Yeah, Paul likes that Tin Pan Alley vibe at times. So what? That stuff isn't easy to write, and he was probably studying songwriting in general and learning and flexing. It's part of the process for songwriters.
So all these things snowball... and everything moved fast in Beatle world.
All of these career phases of The Beatles were, like, 6-8 month periods on their own strung together. When things are moving that fast, you snooze, you lose... and it's much easier to look back and see these things in hindsight. I imagine in their minds, they were just all trying to get on with it in their own ways.
I have been With The Beatles since I was 14 in 1964. The White Album is my favourite simply because of the variety of genres and all the quirkiness going on. I hate it when people say so and so songs should have been left out to make it "a great single album". Paul's response to criticism of the Great White was spot on: "It's the bloody Beatles White Album. Shut up!" My feelings exactly. They came back from India with a pile of songs and just laid it on us. There are no disposable songs, even Rev9. People who say Paul's silly granny songs should not have been there are short sighted and miss the point. Rocky Raccoon is a wonderfully playful, humorous ditty penned in India by Paul, John and Donovan with their heads literally together (Donovan, incidentally also contributed "Sky of blue, sea of green" to Yellow Submarine); Why Don't We Do It In The Road - they saw two monkeys copulating in the street in Rishikesh, John was upset that Paul didn't 'wait for him' to record that but John was either with Yoko, working on Rev9, or out of it on acid and heroin. As far as other albums contending for best position, they all had other roles: Rubber Soul was them growing up and making folk music like everyone else in 1966; Revolver was musically the most experimental album; on Sgt Pepper they were the voice of the Baby Boomer generation, it was the hippie manifesto; Abbey Road was them saying this is THE END goodbye in the most astonishing, dramatic and perfect way. I never criticize the Beatles. Their discography is a gift to the world and it will be enjoyed and admired forever, like Beethoven.
The Beatles were so great, instead of criticizing what it would sound like "IF" George echoed the Hey Jude lyrics with guitar riffs, we should assume that any finished alternate take would have been an Anthology great (if it didn't show up on the White Album as Hey Jude 1)...
They talked John into doing a faster version of Revolution 1...
I think that The Beatles were "great enough" to pull it off... They could take a sad song and make it better...
I wonder why there’s no covers of anyone on UA-cam trying it out🤔
I think Hey Jude would totally suck had Paul let George apply his idea, 🤷🏻♂️. Although I understand George felt put off by Paul’s decision against it, still, it was way too great of a tune to risk ruining it with such mistake.
Yeah, i simply can’t imagine the song being played like an Eagles tune
In the first 2 verses, no. But i think George could have added something by the 3rd verse - that would've worked.
I have to agree with Paul McCartney as well to be honest Luna have a great weekend also happy holiday season from Canada ❤😊🇺🇸🇨🇦🌲🎄
Happy Holidays
Magical Mystery Tour > The White Album...
HOW DOES THIS ONLY HAVE 24 LIKES??
Well thanks for being the 25th🫡🫡🫡
I don't know who's fault it was, but, in interviews, John complained about Paul working alone and said he felt hurt and angry about it. You seem to be assuming that the others didn't want to work with Paul, and there may be some truth to that. But I think what you're looking at here is more about Paul's tendency to be a "one-man band." Paul could do it all, and he was quite content to do it all---sing, produce, play all the instruments---just look at his solo career.
If John was so dominant on the early WA sessions, it was doubtless because Paul had been so dominant throughout 1967.
8:50 George idea sucks.
Side 4 1. Hey Jude 2. Revolution (take 20) 3. Good Night (guest vocal by Harry Nilsson)
Hi,
I don't think Paul was lonely. I think all four of them wete growing apart. From the boy, they became men.
I have a suggestion for you:
Frank - Sinatra Watertown 1970. It's a concept album. Not like most other Sinatra albums. I think it's worth reviewing it.
I think it's Frank's best album.
Have a Hapyy New Year.
And take care.
Some good insight here... but... It was John who suggested the brass band on 'Mother Nature's Son' while listening to Paul record his basic acoustic guitar/vocal track from the control room. "How about a little bit of brass band? A very nice little bit of brass band?" he can be heard saying. So, there you go. John being all in for that aspect of the 'ganny music' he so derided later on.
That’s so confusing😂
You seem to forget that the Beatles had been going a good ten years before the white album was recorded. I guess over time they had just had enough of each other
Yeah, but there’s other bands who had been doing it for longer you know? And are still going strong
I feel bad for the other three, who were all very good musicians. They had to be in band of equals with Paul McCartney, who wasn’t ‘very good,’ he was an absolute genius. The resentment of the others was fundamentally a product of the fact that they could never keep up with Paul.
Interested and persuasive, but it was a shame you didn’t mention Revolution 9. It takes up maybe 1/6 of the album and Paul isn’t on it anywhere. I think it illustrates that he had no interest in the adventure and discovery of the avant garde, and didn’t see it as Beatle music. Fair enough, it isn’t really music as such. Surely though, Revolution 9 most clearly represents the schism between John and Paul.
Yeah, i mostly focused on Paul being alone in his own recordings, so maybe it went over my head but i definitely agree with you on that!!
John played bass on Helter Skelter
He played on the first rehearsal takes ("slow" version). The outtakes and studio chat for the album version point towards Paul playing Fender Jazz Bass on it.
@@seerstone8982 Paul added his bass where? There is no Fender Bass VI on the album version of the song. Listen to Take 17 and studio chat, Paul is giving instructions on how the intro should go by singing a part while simultaneously playing it on bass.
Honestly I think an artist you should cover is The Szuters because they have a great discography and they are sort of unknown
I think i might’ve heard an album from them🤔 with like, fruit loops in the cover
No it was a bowl of Lucky charms
It also had an ice cream cone in it
@Luna.reviews I recommend their original run of albums from 1996 to 2003 (which none of are on streaming but they're on UA-cam CD and cassette)
Their new albums from the 2020s are good but not nearly as good
@WeAreTheEggmen22 Oh!! Ok yeah cause i looked for them and only those showed up. I’ll give a go for sure
I think Lennon's music really shines on this album. His post Beatles style is emerging and nearly all his contributions are top notch or at least unique. McCartney's best songs here are his harder rock attempts and most of his offerings seem to be his 'granny music' pulled out of his trunk, and don't really blend with the rest of the album tonally. Harrison's songs really shine for the first time and he seems to be insisting the band take him seriously. The true standouts to me are Dear Prudence, Julia, Revolution, While My Guitar Gently Weeps and Happiness is a Warm Gun, Helter Skelter and Blackbird. My guilty pleasures here are Sexy Sadie and Savoy Truffle.
@@doctorstreamspunk9996 i love Sexy Sadie but i can’t say the same about Savoy Truffle. I made a ranking on the channel not too long ago and its very low for me
@ savoy truffle has a great arrangement and I’m a sucker for brass. It’s really just that with a lyric celebrating chocolate. Sexy Sadie is actually about something really profound: disillusionment. Lennon cleverly conflates spiritual and sexual seduction because the maharishi's lechery is what revealed him. The song is very deceptively playful and witty in order to avoid accusations of slander. Quite brilliant.
The White Album also was when the Beatles departed from the psychedelic music since Revolver.
Darkness and isolation? Never noticed that. I projected something else onto this music: Great music. That's all I put into it.
@@knudsandbknielsen7226 Well the thing is. When you go from their melodies in songs like Getting Better or Lucy, to songs like Im So Tired and Long Long Long, its clear that there’s a change in energy there, at lest for me
I agree with you on most of your points. "Ob-ladi Ob-lada" is a big exception in terms of the rest of the band leaving Paul alone with his songs, though. Similarly to "Maxwell's Silver Hammer", they seem to have struggled to play the song exactly like Paul envisioned it but they persisted through a lot of takes and eventually got it right. They definitely resented Paul for that, all of the other three, even if at least Ringo was never mean about it.
That aside, I don't rate the white album in such high regards as you do. I'm with George Martin and Paul himself in seeing it as a bit of a jumbled mess lacking structure or cohesion to truly feel like an album as a whole. It has a lot of variety for sure, and it contains a lot of their greatest and most important songs. The highs are sky high and there are more highs than lows. But the lows include some of the worst songs ever released under the Beatles name, and their worst track in "Revolution 9", emphasis on "track" because that's not a song or a piece of music by any stretch of the imagination. It's basically "Tomorrow Never Knows" without the content, just the idea of looping things. The album could have used a good trim. Especially considering how many absolute gems they've released as singles only for almost their whole career!
I also love "While My Guitar...", but I'll always wonder how George Harrison managed to keep the title of "lead guitarist" of the band despite the vast majority of their songs having no lead guitar parts to speak of in the first place, and a good deal of the significant guitar solos the band does have were by someone else. Even on songs George himself wrote, like Paul on "Taxman" or indeed "While (Eric Clapton's) Guitar Gently Weeps"... He brought plenty of other things to the table, especially as a lyricist and sporadically as a composer. But this always struck me as pretty weird, and this song on particular given the title and lyrics, him not being the one whose guitar weeps almost feels tongue in cheek to me. Knowing his approach, it might have been, honestly. ^^
Yeah i see what you mean about Ob La Di Ob La Da, but i believe John did it too with Monkey, the recording took 2 days and he wanted more and madness. Paul eventually gave up playing bass and ended up grabbing a cow bell
@@Luna.reviews I can definitely see that too. They were such polar opposites! ^^ With Paul, it was a matter of technical prowess to execute his concrete, exact composition and arrangement up to his expectation. With John, well... Even being as charitable as possible, it was pretty much a matter of composing stuff on his behalf (that he would later claim was solely his own creation) based on the vaguest and most convoluted of non-musical depictions. "I want my voice to sound like it's coming from the top of a mountain with echo and a circular feel" or "play me something groovy" (or "funky" depending on the era, though he never meant what we understand either as musically, these were just synonyms for "cool" in his mouth). "I'm sure you can figure this out, George".
At the end of the day, you could bullshit John to a point because he didn't know exactly what he wanted himself, and he could change his mind on the spot. This allowed the other members to contribute much more to "his" songs than they got credit for, and one explanation as to why there are so many of Paul's best ever bass lines or Ringo's best ever drum fills on so-called "John songs". They were really co-composing or at least arranging for him (not to mention George Martin's colossal input). A Paul song or at least a Paul moment in a song already came with clear ideas for every instrument's parts, and it was very musical and specific. You couldn't bullshit Paul in the studio.
Maybe George and Ringo tended to prefer working on John's stuff because it was a more creative endeavor for them, albeit uncredited as such. I don't recall any interview where they complained about John taking credit for this or that part they actually came up with, whereas George in particular could come across as rather petty about even small bits of lyrics or arrangement he contributed to Paul's songs. In contrast, neither John nor George seemed to really acknowledge the massive gifts they had from being provided with top-tier custom bass lines, drum parts, not to mention full symphonic arrangements and orchestrations for any basic melody or riff they came up with. They took it for granted, I feel.
George couldn’t make a guitar weep if his life depended on it. Unless, of course, the guitar was weeping because it wished a better musician owned it.
Now he owns the Beatles
Hell yeah, that publishing money fits the pocket nicely
Do we need anymore Beatles videos?…….
yaaaassss
Dude, I'd love to have you on my show to talk beatles.
Hell yeah dude!
As the Band would sing "take the load off granny and you put the load right on me."
it's actually "take the load off fanny" but w/e
Dude!!! You are so right on with your insights and observations! Very cool topic, well presented, and you really know your stuff. I am professional musician, a huge Beatle fan and Paul McCartney disciple. Over the years while learning how to play all the songs on the "White Album" and reading Mark Lewisohn's "Beatles Recording Sessions" book, it became apparent to me, (like you have noticed and pointed out so well), that most of Paul's compositions on that masterpiece were either recorded all by himself, or with little or minimum input and contributions from any other of the Fab's. I think it's an amalgamation of several of the possibilities you mentioned why this occurred..... #1: The other Beatles were simply not interested in playing on his songs. 2: Since Paul was so musically adept, and gifted, he didn't really care, and just recorded them himself. #3: Some of the songs only needed him playing acoustic guitar, with minimal backing. #4: He was so eager to record all the time (remember John was planting acorns for peace, George took time to visit Dylan in the US, Ringo had film commitments) and lived nearby Abbey Road Studio's, he just went and recorded them solo. Like one of the other comments made, the other Beatles had NO idea what they unleashed back in 65' when they let Macca record "Yesterday" on his own. Great video! Keep up the good work! You definitely have caught my attention with your content, subject matters and keen "higher function" Beatle appreciation and comprehension!
@@erichmcmann5337 You’re comments are always great man!! And yes, I think something i forgot to mention is how thirsty for writing Paul McCartney is at all times, he never went for more than 4 years without making any new music until the 90s. So i guess its hard to keel up with such a genius
I think #4 is an interesting observation. It could be that. Remember he wouldn't wait for George Martin to score She's Leaving Home. He had a vision for what he wanted and he had to get it down NOW! So he turned to Mike Leander and it never occurred to him that it might hurt Martin's feelings. In one of the Nagra tapes we hear John complaining about Paul going off to play on his own. I think he may have pretended to dislike Paul's tracks to cover for the fact that he didn't get to play on them. Like a kid going, well I didn't want to anyway, it sucks. Then again, around this time, John stopped showing much interest in playing on George's tracks, too. So perhaps, John was preoccupied with his own stuff and projecting his own lack of interest onto the others. As in, he assumed they didn't want to play with him, because he wasn't as interested in playing with them.
@@Kieop Excellent point/observation! Side note: John did not play on ANY of George's superb late period tracks. ie: While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Savoy Truffle, Long Long Long, Something, Here Comes The Sun. Nothing.... Nada!
I think Paul wanted some distance here. You forgot junk and why don’t we do it…John asked Paul to participate on why don’t we do it…and Paul said no. Before it happened with for no one. Paul started some ego trip that the other ones wouldn’t stand. Probably because he was empty hearted after Jane Asher broke up with him. Add yoko capturing John s attention, the business disagreements and the creation of their own families and you have the seeds for separation. It was during this album that all that happened. It is interesting though that Paul works and it is allowed to work with the other three on this album (he was very angry not to be included in she said she said previously). Oh darling is another example, John asked for more participation and he was denied to do it. The others on occasions will pay with the same coin as in rev number 9 excluding Paul (actually i like it and if you listen the extended demo of rev 1 it has other parts until it reaches this ambience, the 9th part of the suite that survived and hence its name). In summary, John was quite inlove with yoko, left Paul partnership. and Paul wanted to do everything by himself or be the Beatles until he finds Linda. By that time it was too late…he regrets his behavior during this time and that is why he went into alcohol deeply while in scotia. It is amazing that a bunch of songs from this period lasted until 1971 or more being released in their solo albums. Mind games is another example, it was make love not war initially. All completed without each other feedback later on.
I love the "White Album" too-but I also made a version without the bass player's songs. I like it even more. Music comes too easily to Paul so he creates pap
Holy, imma give it a try
Son of George Harrison songs from the White album sessions actually did end up on on his album all things must pass.
The White Album Is very Unique Compared to "Revolver" , "Sgt Pepper" and "Abbey Road" unlike them Its not a Perfect album but it has So Much diversity that I can Easily Forget The Songs that are not that good because of How many classics we have here
I think by this time Paul knew what he wanted for all of his songs, and the new 8-track multitrack allowed him to do everything himself. But next year, in 1969, there seemed to be more of an impetus for the band to record as a unit - starting on the Get Back sessions and continuing with Abbey Road. THAT'S what broke apart the Beatles. Paul should have recorded a crap song like "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" alone, but he insisted on having his bandmates (except John, who outright refused) play take after take until it was perfect. I love Paul, but his insistence on recording granny songs rather than letting George bring more of his plentiful - and by this time better - songs in are what made a break-up inevitable. The Beatles were first and foremost a rock band, ffs!
I've always thought George's guitar solo for "Something" consisted of the licks he wanted to added to "Hey Jude". Probably not in the first verse, but imagine hearing the line "Hey Jude", then the first lick of the Something solo, then the line "Don't be afraid" and then the second lick from the Something solo. That would be ... something!
I definitely think that George could’ve had a few more songs in the last albums, but i also think that Paul’s “granny songs” offer pause in a lot of these albums. I couldn’t imagine Abbey Road without Maxwell’s you know? Is just one of those things where i can agree with you, but i’d still be hesitant to change the way it is
The white album is diverse and chaotic where each song by each Beatles shows their interests and influences but it’s fractured and flow problems imo
Where the white album is their best album but Sgt Pepper is their magnus opus where experimentation and collaboration comes together
Also magic Alex needs a video 😂
Fr😂 when i read about alexis for the first time I couldn’t believe it was a true story
Pepper is Paul and George Martins project mainly. There’s not a ton of guitar outside of Paul’s solos because George barely showed up to the sessions. John was there but he was in another world at the time so he let Paul and Martin make all the big decisions. Pepper was a production masterpiece but not the Beatles magnum opus, as George was barely there.
Hey Jude.. One of the greatest songs of all time ? No. It's a simple singalong song that uses a very simple chord progression and a basic melody. It could be recognized as on of the best songs for audiences to sing a long with because of it's basic nature (repetitive, too), and emotional content. Michelle, Yesterday, In My life, are just a few songs that have much more interesting chords that make for an interesting interplay between these chords and the melody. Hey Jude is one of the most mediocre songs that Paul wrote during that period. But, most audiences know little about song composition, and thus the popularity of this song. Other than this opinion, I really enjoyed this video. It has some insights in it that any Beatle fan might find to be interesting. Thanks for making this video.
@@KenTeel Yeah, I know its not the most interesting ones but some songs just click you know? That’s my thing with Hey Jude. My whole music journey started with that music video so i have a special place for it. You have a great opinion!! Thanks so much!
Although the White Album, the fourth side is very weak... The only notable songs for me are Revolution 1 and Savoy Truffle... The other songs are either mid or Revolution 9, which is terrible... But the first three sides are very awesome!
I personally love all of em but i see your point!
I love the White Album but definitely that fourth side definitely weighs down the album a bit for me
cry baby cry is a beautiful song
Revolution #9 is a sound collage not a song.
Revolution 9 on there for the clues to deaths of Paul and John
I Know Hes litterally the best but I have to say : Honneeeyyyy Piiiiieeee Honnneeeeyyyy Piiiieee I love you honey pie 😅😅😅
I Really like that Paul Likes Experimenting With different Styles Sometimes Doesnt Work like Wild Honey Pie , Honey Pie or maybe Ob La Di(I like it its such a silly fun track but not a Classic)
But sometimes we Got some of the best Songs ever Yesterday , Helter Skelter, Blackbird , Eleanor Rigby or even "Maxwells Silvers Hammer"(seriously I love that song)
The thing about the White Album is that Paul was the 3rd best songwriter after John and George on this one. Of course George had the monumental While My Guitar Gently Weeps, not only the best song in the album but probably better than anything Paul ever wrote. On the other hand Lennon with the likes of Dear Prudence and especially Happiness Is A Warm Gun also beat Paul's songwriting efforts by a fair margin. Paul had Blackbird and Back In The USSR of course but the rest (Honey Pie, Obladi Oblada, Birthday) ranks amongst his poorest compositions in the Beatles. l'll give him the credit though that while Martha My Dear was certainly old fashioned, it contains much better music than his other similar songs.
Now addressing the issue of his loneliness, l think it was to expected, that's what he always craved for, and in fact that's the first thing he did after the Beatles broke up, an album where he played everything. He wanted a degree of control that is ridiculous for a band of the caliber of the Beatles. l appreciate your effort of trying to paint it like Paul was the misunderstood perfectionist, but the truth is that every other Beatle eventually left being fed up with Paul. You naively try to call it "the tension" when it's very well documented that it was just Paul being.. well, Paul. Lennon on the other hand was quoted claiming that he didn't mind what the others played as long as they were professional.
@@ric8248 Well, the whole “tension” thing was said by The Beatles themselves really. But i do see what you mean with most of the points you make. I personally believe that John is the star in the album songwriting wise, but as a team player, no one matches Paul. Yes, he worked by himself in his songs but when it comes to the others he is seen all over the place.
Now when talking about his solo career, yes Paul’s first instinct was to work alone, but immediately regretted it, opting to work with a Beta version of wings in the next album. I believe Paul simply hated the arguments and felt like they were unnecessary, so to avoid them, worked bu himself most of the time.
@Luna.reviews Sure but these tension don't come out of the blue, they are caused by something (or someone). But you know what, l'm actually happy the Beatles broke up when they did instead of dragging the band down. They made great music after they split, it just doesn't have the beatle sound, but it's still great.
I really don’t understand why so many rave about the White Album. Sure, it’s got some wonderful songs, but it has quite a few crappy ones as well.
Which are the ones you don’t like?
@ Wild Honey Pie, The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill, Rocky Raccoon, Everyone’s Got Something To Hide, Sexy Sadie, Goodnight. Revolution 9 is not a song; it’s a mildly interesting soundscape, and the avant-garde composers of the time like Stockhausen, Berio, Varese, and others created far more interesting ones.
Lots of good songs and lots of bad, jaded tones,
Great songs ...at 14...
Rocky raccoon ...Honey pie..why don't we do it in the road...Wild honey pie..I will..Mother nature son...Martha my dear...Obladi oblada...bla bla bla.. Silly songs......
Savoy Truffle- a song about candy and tooth decay. Revolution 9 - a cacophony of noise that is unbearable to listen to. I am the Walrus - a melange of meaningless words that ends with "goo-goo g'joob, g'goo goo g'joob Goo goo g'joob, g'goo goo g'joob, g'goo..." Now that is a Silly Song!
White album isn't the best album of all time, and isn't even the best Beatles album.
Give the phone back to your mom.
Magical mystery (US version)🏆
Ummm it's a great album ,but hey its no Beatles for sale 😂
@@matthewashman1406 If it ain’t got Kansas City it can’t be the GOAT
John's not wrong, alot of Paul's songs ARE granny music
What does that *mean* ?
@@strathman7501Songs that only your grandma and other menopausal women would like. Ie the majority of Paul McCartney's career since 1970.
@@scottandrewbrass1931 My mistake, I thought I was talking to a sensible grown-up, not a deaf misogynist. Happy Christmas!
that's why the songwriting team of Lennon and McCartney was so great the yin and the yang
Paul's granny music blows most of Lennon's solo career away
It’s the most overrated album of all time. The Beatles disrespected their fans by expecting them to shell out for a double album with about 10 songs being good and a bunch of subpar songs. No, there is nothing charming about a messy, filler saturated album. We should hold the Beatles to a higher standard instead of making excuses for this sloppy collection of lousy songs.
The White Album sucks. I hate that piece of shit. Copy/Pasted crap.
There is no way the White Album is better than Abbey Road, Magical Mystery Tour, Beatles For Sale, etc...
@@AudSpgheti i disagree with you my man!!
Ok just finished your vid and I agree. The White Album isn’t even a Beatles album. It’s 4 solo albums crammed into 1.
Also a caveat: I only listen to albums as a whole. From front to back, in one sitting. So I’m also comparing album-sequencing when I’m judging albums. In that regard is why I think the White Album is horrible.
Would you still classify the White Album as your favorite Beatles Album if you had to digest them from first track to the last, in one sitting?
@@AudSpgheti 100%! I know its contradictory but i can’t help it, no album has made me feel like the White Album, that’s why its so hard to explain. Maybe because of how broken it sounds from the beginning it works for me idk.
I think you have a BIG, HUMONGOUS Bias about this album & Paul. I feel that Paul was thinking of himself. A lot of the album is him playing by hisself. I'm not saying that that's a bad thing, in fact, it's the album that made me fall in LOVE with The Beatles. But I also think that Paul was also the catalyst that break the band up because he was only thinking about himself and what he could do by himself.
I mean truly listen to Back In The U.S.S.R. & Dear Prudence. IF you listen closely, you can hear Paul's drumming (also the drumming on The End on Abbey Road). But this is not why I made this comment. I made this comment for the progressive nature of John. John wrote a song that pushes the whole album forward, too me, and I think that it's "Happiness Is A Warm Gun". I think that Happiness pushed the entire album forward in a art sort-of way. But this is just my opinion...
Abbey Road is better
For Paul to say shut up to the people that have enough taste to recognize that the album is a filler fulled mess is rude, defensive, and lazy. Those people include George Martin.
You realize that reaction video channels attract boomers who like to see young people react to the songs they grew up on. They don't however look for kids to educate them on events that occurred during their lifetime and that they're read about for decades. Presumptuous would be the term. You're just repeating some limited things you've read very recently. You should be asking questions instead of trying to teach.
Who’s teaching? Im just giving my opinion on stuff🧐 im not interested in exaggerating a reaction to please someone. I’ll put my opinion out there and if anyone wants to hear it that’s good for me!
It was actually Paul who withdrew from the others. John has explained in interviews that he felt really hurt when Paul didn’t involve him but sneaked away to record his songs alone. George probably also felt hurt that Paul wouldn’t let him into the creative process. George’s strong reaction regarding ”Hey Jude” was because this had become a pattern with Paul. He always had a clear idea about his songs and wanted the end results to exactly match that vision. This left very little room for George to bring his talents to the table. And Ringo actually left the band as a direct result of how Paul tried to micromanage his drumming!
No. John was the one who never wanted nothing to do with any of those granny Paul songs.
Yeah, its a bit of a conflict for me. I mean i understand why George would be angry, but then again, i love every Paul song in the album so im not necessarily against the idea of rejecting any suggestions
When you describe Paul as sneaking away, I can't take anything that follows seriously.
Watch the Get Back documentary. John is drumming on the wall telling Ringo this is what you are doing and then drummed something different, telling him this is how you should do it. In another part of Get Back, George is leaning over and telling John how to play the part for his song, They all did this, but Paul was the only one who was criticized for it.