at a glance...

Hometown: Liverpool, England
Formed: 1957

Personnel:
John Lennon -vocals, rhythm guitar, piano
Paul McCartney -vocals, bass, piano
George Harrison -lead guitar, vocals, sitar
Ringo Starr -drums, percussion

Related Bands:
Plastic Ono Band, Wings, The Rolling Stones, Cream, ELO, Ravi Shankar, every musical group, rock or otherwise, since 1964...

George Martin beseeched The Beatles to trim the plentiful fat from "The White Album" and release the excellent record at its center. Had he succeeded, we may have been spared many of the indulgent, tedious double albums released in its 30-year wake. Of course we also would have been cheated out of The Beatles' greatest indulgence, which is anything but tedious.

Essentially a collection of solo tracks, "The White Album" showcases the Fabs at their most absurd ("Wild Honey Pie," "Piggies") and their most incendiary ("Revolution 9," "Why Don't We Do it in the Road?"). You get Lennon's most rousing rocker in "Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except For Me and My Monkey," and the most tender, emotionally honest moment of his career in the maternal ode "Julia."

Seemingly bound by no limits of good taste or good sense, Paul tinkers with 12-bar blues on "Birthday," music hall on "Honey Pie" and folk/country on "Rocky Raccoon." He leads an enthusiastic if confused band through the metallic freak-out of "Helter Skelter," and gets in way over his head on the cod-reggae of "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da."

But this anything-goes spirit also produced some of the high points of Beatledom, including McCartney's exquisite "Blackbird" and Lennon's psychotic symphony "Happiness is a Warm Gun." Forgive them their excesses. They were The Beatles, after all.

If you like The Beatles, check out:
The Beatles Beatles For Sale
The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
The Beatles A Hard Day's Night
The Beatles Help!
The Beatles Abbey Road
The Beatles Revolver
The Beatles Rubber Soul
The Beta Band The Three EPs
King Biscuit Time No Style
The Boo Radleys Giant Steps
Flying Burrito Brothers Hot Burritos!
The Beastie Boys Hello Nasty
The Stone Roses Second Coming

-- jf