The White Album by The Beatles
The Beatles is the ninth studio album by English rock group the Beatles, a double album released on 22 November 1968. It is also commonly known as the White Album, as it has no graphics or text other than the band's name embossed (and, on the early LP and CD releases, a serial number) on its plain white sleeve. The album was written and recorded during a period of turmoil for the group, after visiting the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in India and having a particularly productive songwriting session in early 1968. Returning to the studio, the group recorded from May to October 1968, only to have conflict and dissent drive the group members apart. Ringo Starr quit the band for a brief time, leaving Paul McCartney to play drums on two tracks. Many of the performances were by less than the full group, some of them “solo” recordings, as each individual member began to explore his own talent. Upon its release, the album received mixed reviews from music critics, who criticised its satirical songs as unimportant and apolitical amid a turbulent political and social climate. However, it reached number 1 on the charts in both the United Kingdom and the United States. The album has sold over 9.5 million copies in the United States alone and has since been viewed by critics as one of the greatest albums of all time. In September 2013 after the British Phonographic Industry changed their sales award rules, the album was declared as having gone platinum, meaning sales of at least 300,000 copies.
Beneath the white-on-white cover art, “The White Album” is an eclectic, 30-track album of largely stripped-down material, originally spread across two vinyl records. The album was a stark contrast to <i>Sgt. Pepper</i> in every aspect — from the cover art to the sounds within. The sheer breadth of material as well as the mixture of the loud and the soft is part of what makes “The White Album” so surprising. The heavy sounds of “Helter Skelter” and “Yer Blues” juxtapose with the gentle beauty of “Long, Long, Long” and “Julia”. The cacophony of “Revolution 9” is followed by the orchestral lullaby of “Good Night”. The album’s extended length gave the band room in which they could explore all of their musical influences and multiple forms of popular music, while creating revolutionary sounds in the studio.
