I'm not remotely interested in a remix. The original stereo mix is perfect to me with the mono also fine. I hope the bonus tracks are good and many!
Loved all these songs when I first heard them! Man, this was quite a discovery at age 14-15, before the CD's were out. The sheer amount of music was mind-blowing, 30 Beatle tracks all at once! Listening with the headphones on, I was shocked at how sonically different they were from songs on other albums... to me it had quite a "modern" sound for something recorded in 1968. No singles were released from this, but despite that quite a few songs got airplay, esp. in the 1970s. I can clearly remember hearing Martha My Dear, Blackbird, Obla-di Bla-da, Rocky Raccoon, Birthday and Julia. This music seemed to show up randomly sometimes. DJ's would play Birthday on the radio when they were announcing the names of listeners who had sent in birthday song requests. Also, I could have sworn Sesame Street used to show a brief clip of piglets on a farm with the instrumental parts of Piggies playing, but I don't think The Beatles would have lent out the rights to their music like that. But who knows. Favorite songs were Dear Prudence, WMGGW, Glass Onion, Martha, Savoy Truffle, Julia, Helter Skelter and Goodnight. My two favorites were probably Cry Baby Cry (still one of my all-time favorites) and Sexy Sadie. This is one of those albums, along with Sgt. Pepper, that you can really benefit from comparison/contrast of the mono and stereo versions because they are so different. If you are more than just a casual listener, the mono mix can be a great addition to your collection. I didn't "get" #9, though I did listen to it when I played the album through. It took me a while to appreciate Long Long Long and I'm So Tired. I don't really dislike any songs on this album nowadays, but it's been some time since I've listened to #9 all the way through. As far as the remix goes, I'm not sure what the official status of that is. During the summer I think Giles M. made some statement to the effect of "the White album will be next," then he almost immediately walked the statement back and it was "no plans to remix the WA at this time." Maybe Apple told him to pipe down about it. Ringo said he'd like it to be remixed, but that's kind of all he said. MOJO or some similar publication printed something based on Giles' earlier retracted statement, but it would be great if that wound up happening. I would really love a stereo remix, 5.1 remix and 4 to 6 discs of outtakes. The amount of alternate mixes/alternate takes/outtakes that could be compiled for a deluxe box of this is just staggering! For example there is a longer mono mix of Sexy Sadie with more distorted-sounding guitar that just blows the stereo mix away. I would love to see a legitimate release of that, and the Escher demos as well.
One of their best albums. Just a pity that they did the panning on Happiness Is A Warm Gun In stereo.
Being a much bigger fan of all the beautiful Beatle material up to MMT, I've never really liked the white album as a whole, even though there are some great songs in there. The Beatles suddenly sounded stale, shagged out. Epstein's death just tore them apart. Favourite songs: - Back In The USSR - Dear Prudence - Glass Onion - While My Guitar Gently Weeps - Happiness Is A Warm Gun - I'm So Tired - Blackbird - Everybody's Got Something To Hide... - Sexy Sadie - Helter Skelter - Cry Baby Cry The tracks that I don't really like: - Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da - The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill - Martha My Dear - Piggies - Rocky Racoon - Don't Pass Me By - Why Don't We Do It In The Road - Revolution 1 - Honey Pie - Savoy Truffle - Revolution 9 So with 11 tracks that I don't really like, I never play the album, preferring my own compilations of the dreary, depressing 68/69 period.
You're gonna love this. It's "Revolution 1," but unedited and much longer. You can hear the clear connection here between "Revolution 1" and "Revolution 9." Truly, a missing link.
I associate this album with the autumn. Not really evocative of the outdoors, but not the sort of close, intimate feel one might associate with the winter, either. But also of course metaphorically as the autumn of the Beatles time line, getting near the end. The White Album contains much evidence of what eventually ended the band. The songs seemed more the results of individual efforts than of the collaborations that made up so much of what preceded. This in turn colors my feelings about it. We are used to hearing it as a collection of associated songs, but there's little that holds them together. It was also obvious from the get go that the White Album was a conscious statement that the previous period, running from at least as far back as the first Revolver sessions if not before (another debate) through early 68 numbers such as Lady Madonna, was over, and a new one was beginning. Since three of my four favorite Beatles albums were from that period (US Revolver at 4, Pepper's at 1, MMT at 3), that was not something I felt great about, and still don't. That also colors my feelings. Turning to the album itself but in light of those considerations, I think it was and remains by Beatles standards a rather uneven album. By non-Beatles standards a very good to great one, but uneven nonetheless. I may not have been able to squeeze all the good to great songs on it onto one lp, but I do continue to wonder if it would not have been better as a single lp, leaving out the ones that do not measure up. Songs like #9, Bungalow Bill, Obla Di, Piggies, Road, really do not come up to usual Beatles standards. On the other hand I think all of side 3 is excellent. Regarding the mentions above of alternatives found on the Anthology, that version of Don't Pass Me By is superior, imo, especially for the drum track itself. Favorites are Prudence and Guitar. I also love Cry, Baby, Cry, Julia and I'm So Tired. Paul's efforts here tend not to appeal that much except for Helter Skelter, Birthday, and to my mind the excellent but not often mentioned Mother Nature's Son, which I sometimes think belongs in any list of his best for all his work in the Beatles. I've had two lp versions, both stereo, and made a cd copy as a needle drop. That's it. And no, I see no need for a remix. It was, quite clearly, an excellent recording from the get go.
I am not interested in new remixes, mono or stereo. There are so many versions on vinyl and cd that you only need to do a search here. What really interest me is the social context on which this album was made. 1968 was a trully horrific, convulsioned, bloody year (literally). Ian McDonal in his magnificent "Revolution in the head" has an appendix called Chronology, a table with music, literature, records and world affairs. None can be feel safe after reading it. This was the true world where this album wads conceived: it's s reflection of its time.
So ahem...big box 2 LPs ( CDs ? 4) included 5.1 mix /poster /glossy pics(4) Limited ... other stuff,open to surprises. Put 5bucks away a week now and your sorted come December!!!
All of the Beatles albums need a remix for the next generations of listeners IMO. Sgt Pepper was a great start. How about 1 a year until they’re all done? The originals will still be available for the older fans. I hope they remix the White Album this year!
I meant to start doing expanded versions of the catalog. I mean, the Beatles have always been behind the curve on things in the digital age, so it's not surprising.
White Album Rating songs ? Back In The USSR 10/10 Dear Prudence 10/10 Glass Onion 10/10 While My Guitar Gently Weeps 10/10 Happiness Is A Warm Gun 10/10 I'm So Tired 10/10 Blackbird 10/10 Everybody's Got Something To Hide.10 Sexy Sadie 10/10 Savoy Truffle 10/10 Helter Skelter 10/10 Cry Baby Cry 10/10 Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da 9/10 The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill 9/10 Martha My Dear 9/10 Piggies 8/10 Rocky Racoon 8/10 Don't Pass Me By 7/10 Why Don't We Do It In The Road .10 Revolution 1 8/10 Honey Pie 8/10 Revolution 9 10/10 Good Night 8/10
there are nine songs here I can live without, and it so happens there exists the same number of Beatles tracks generally regarded as 'odd-stragglers' (which ended up strewn about, here and there) I feel are better and could have replaced those nine tracks to keep "The Beatles" a double album and make it their best work since Revolver. Lo and behold! ...what an unpopular opinion.... I won't bore you all with the details of my fantasy tracklist, though I will say that instead of two 'Revolutions', or two 'Honey Pies', instead 2 versions of 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps ' - the LP version and the solo acoustic version - would have been a better artistic choice for the 'White Album', imo. And that just for starters.
