Forty years ago tomorrow, The Beatles released The White Album, the effects of which are still felt strongly today. I've written a tribute to it at my blog. Here is a little of what I wrote:



Question: Do you remember the first time you heard The White Album?

Sub-question: Do you prefer disc 1 or disc 2?

I imagine that the first time I heard it was in my dad's car, probably around the age of...seven or eight. Sgt Pepper's had always been in regular rotation (except for "Within You Without You"...my dad hated George's Indian songs and insisted that everyone always skipped over them when Revolver and Sgt Pepper's came out. I didn't realize how important those tracks were until about a year ago.) Anyway, I remember singing along to "Bungalow Bill" despite being supremely creeped out by it, and I have a semi-vague memory of my dad singing "Rocky Raccoon" in a very comical way.

As for me, I didn't really discover it on my own until the summer after my freshman year of college. I think "I'm So Tired" came on on shuffle and I had one of those great "wha?" moments, although it didn't fully register; I remember going to see a friend's band, and when they covered "I'm So Tired," I turned to another friend and said, "Hey, do you know this song? I think it's by Beck." Yikes.

It does seem to be something of a dark horse in the Beatles' catalog, though, which I never truly understood. It's not as economical as Revolver or Rubber Soul, but it's a pretty brilliant collection of songs. And I still can't hear "Glass Onion" without hearing it the way Danger Mouse remixed it for the Grey Album (which I also really dig).

I first listened to the White Album during the Gulf War (February 1991). My cousin had the vinyl and burned it to tape for me, but only the two A-sides (go figure!), and he had a problem with his speakers, since only one worked.

As a result, on "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" (which was my favorite track as early as the first listen, and still is), I only heard Lennon on the final part, without the harmonies behind ("bang-bang-shoot-shoot", you know). And I must have played this final part twenty times in a row. Just Lennon's voice going "guuuuuuuu-uuuuu-uuuuun".

On the following fifteen years, my appreciation of this (full) album varied a lot. Today, I think McCartney's songs aren't that good. It may be the only album where I don't really like any one from him. Lennon saved it (I mean, just forget Bungalow Bill and Revolution 9: all the rest is great!). And of course Harrison with the somptuous "While My Guitar..."

My current opinion anyway...

Gavin Breeden wrote:
: Question: Do you remember the first time you heard The White Album?

Alas, no, not really. I bought a boxed set with ALL of the Beatles' albums in '91 or thereabouts, and this was just one of the many albums that I heard for the first time then. (I knew many of their songs prior to that, of course, but not the original albums on which those songs had appeared.)

: Sub-question: Do you prefer disc 1 or disc 2?

Disc 1 has 'Dear Prudence', which pretty much settles it for me, I think.

And now that I check the track listing, I see that it also has 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' and 'Blackbird', the latter of which I have long wanted to be played at my funeral. The closing duo of 'I Will' and 'Julia' is pretty good, too. Oh, and I quote 'I'm So Tired' far too often for my own good.

Disc 2 has some brilliant songs, but Disc 1 takes the prize, easily.

David Kroll bought the White Album the day it came out. Monday after school was out (junior high) we rushed over to his house and played it all afternoon until I had to go home for supper. We were blown away. Every day for at least two weeks we'd go over to his house and listen to the White album and nothing else. It wasn't just the music but the whole package: The minimalist cover, the inside art and the poster. Oh man!!

I'm fairly sure I first heard The White Album the same place I heard all new Beatles albums; my best friend Jim Sanderson's house. I was thirteen, and had no disposable income to speak of, but Jim's older sister Alice had a steady babysitting gig that afforded her the opportunity to buy albums, and she could be relied upon to purchase new Beatles albums pretty much the day they came out. Since The White Album was a double album it must have been particularly financially egregious, but Alice came through.

I remember loving "Back in the U.S.S.R." and "Rocky Raccoon," being puzzled by "Happiness is a Warm Gun" (although the line about the Mother Superior jumping the gun held a slight titillation during the Catholic days of my youth) and "Yer Blues" (raw rock being far too exotic for my tastes at the time), and being utterly contemptuous of "Revolution Number 9," a view that I still hold for the most part. I thought then, and still think, that The White Album was George Harrison's finest hour. Ringo, as always, was inexplicably allowed to sing.

I'm not certain that I formulated many coherent views at the time, other than it was a new Beatles album, and therefore it was great. Now I tend to view is as a middle-of-the-pack Beatles album, which means that it's merely one of the best 100 rock albums ever. There are weak spots, but the strong songs are astounding. And that poster was very, very cool. I still have it tucked inside the jacket of Disc 2 of the album. It held the record for Biggest Rock Poster Ever for several years, until the band Chicago released their massively bloated 4-album Live at Carnegie Hall set, which contained something like 4 posters, one of which was even bigger than the one in The White Album. Peter Cetera's head was pretty much actual size, as I recall. Peter always did think highly of himself.

A very shaggy hippy that is now a well regarded PhD in Reptile Biology, for some reason took me under his wing. I was 11 , so the White Album was probably 4. He was estranged from his family and renting the studio apartment behind my Aunt and Uncles. I was working on estrangement from my family and eventually moved in after he left. but I digress.

I was trying to figure out how to play guitar. The good Hippy felt that Eric Clapton was what I needed. While My Guitar Gently Weeps was a lesson. It turned into a full listening session. Side 1, Side 2, Side 3, Side 4. Later when I was fully estranged from my parents and living in the back of my Aunt and Uncles, my cousin and I and a couple of groovy stoners fron the neighborhood would spend Friday nights rocking out and playing DJ, the White Album factored pretty heavy for a while. There remains in George Harrisons singing something I connect with. I learned to play almost every song on all 4 sides. I learned an awful lot about vibrato. I understood what great songwriters they were.

"I look at the floor and I see it needs sweeping"...........

I left the Beatles for some reason. For a lot of reasons. The were not angry enough. They were old. I got caught up in all kinds of other nonsense.

About 5 years ago, I was fortunate to be snowed in for a couple days near Lake Chelan in Washington. The White Album was one of the homeowners favorites. I listened to it again, in much the same manner I did as an early teen. Instead of 4 sides it was 2 discs. Headphones, laying on my back. Big difference was that I was sober. What a great collection of songs.

I certainly agree with Andy that this album is George's finest hour. Being able to contribute more than two songs really agrees with him!