When The Beatles White Album was first released back in the late 1960's many said that it should have been a single lp and not a double. So pretend you are george martin and the beatles-pick the 10 songs you would release on a one lp release. Here is the track listing i would choose: Back in the USSR Glass Onion Martha My Dear Yer Blues Julia While My Guitar Gently Weeps Sexy Sadie Piggies Helter Skelter Goodnight So many great tracks-hard to choose only 10.
Wouldn't it have been more like 12-14 tracks had it been only one disc? Your selection is only about 32 minutes long. Sgt. Pepper was almost 40 minutes long.
Good thread! But why stop at 10 tracks - even with the longer song times, couldn't we fit at least 12? I would replace Goodnight with Don't Pass Me By. I'd add I Will (beautiful melody!), since it's so short, it wouldn't mess too much with the limits of time per side of the LP. Happiness is a Warm Gun just HAS to be on there - to me, it combines some of Lennon's best lyrics with unbelievable vocals. Boy, it's hard to keep it even to 12 tracks! Maybe it should have been a single LP with a bonus EP?
I am not good at sequencing, but the following 14 songs should have formed the White Album. If that is too long, take out Mother Nature's Son and maybe Revolution. Back In The USSR Dear Prudence Glass Onion Happiness Is A Warm Gun Martha My Dear Blackbird Julia Birthday Yer Blues Mother Nature's Son Sexy Sadie While My Guitar Gently Weeps Helter Skelter Revolution
I think this was done before, but what hasn't! Here's my 12 track LP! It goes by the old Beatles formula. One track by George on each side, one track by Ringo per album. The rest is divided by John and Paul! Side one: 1) "Back In the U.S.S.R." 2) "Birthday" 3) "Dear Prudence" 4) "Yer Blues" 5) "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" 6) "I Will" Side Two: 1) "Revolution #1" 2) "Don't Pass Me By" 3) "Mother Nature's Son" 4) "Julia" 5) "Rocky Raccoon" 6) "Savoy Truffle"
Well, Joe, I'd buy your version. I'd probably move "Birthday" to the end of side 1, though - partly not to break up the first two tracks, and partly to split the McCartney numbers up. Mart.
My fourteen tracker: Back in the U.S.S.R. Dear Prudence Ob-La-Di; Ob-La-Da While My Guitar Gently Weeps Happiness is a Warm Gun I'm So Tired Don't Pass Me By I Will Julia Birthday Yer Blues Helter Skelter Revolution 1 Goodnight
Is it true, or a rumor - John declared that if it was decided to keep Revoultion 9 off of the White Album, then he would pull all of his songs off as well? If so, then that would leave (probably a little long for an LP, but what the heck): Side One: 1) Back In The USSR 2) Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da 3) Wild Honey Pie 4) While My Guitar Gently Weeps 5) Martha My Dear 6) Piggies 7) Rocky Racoon 8) Blackbird Side Two: 1) Don't Pass Me By 2) Why Don't We Do It In The Road? 3) I Will 4) Birthday (half of it?) 5) Mother Nature's Son 6) Helter Skelter 7) Honey Pie 8) Savoy Truffle 9) Long, Long, Long
Thanks, Mart! I thought of not breaking up "Back in the U.S.S.R." and "Prudence." But then I though, having to good rockers to open the album can't be too bad. I'd just cross-fade the end of "Birthday" into the intro of "Prudence." Works for me anyway... Hell...I might even burn a copy later!
I decided to take the "approx 19-22 minutes a side" route. This is the song selection and order that I would sequence the songs in if I had been given the job to do so back in '68. Yep, I gave "Back In the U.S.S.R." the axe! It would have been left for "Yellow Submarine", which would have contained most of the songs that didn't make the single disc White Album (and would not had George Martin's instrumentals). SIDE A While My Guitar Gently Weeps I Will Happiness is a Warm Gun Mother Nature's Son I'm So Tired Don't Pass Me By Yer Blues SIDE B Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da Savoy Truffle Blackbird Helter Skelter Dear Prudence/Julia (Recorded together as a medley at the same session! A more acoustic version of Dear Prudence with acoustic bass for the famous bass line.) Can You Take Me Back? If I tried again tomorrow, it would probably be a completely different list!
Back in the USSR Dear Prudence Revolution (electric version) Blackbird Happiness Is A Warm Gun Don't Pass Me By Julia Helter Skelter While My Guitar Gently Weeps Birthday I Will Glass Onion So Tired
This has been done so many times! This webpage has all you need, including the results of hundreds of would-be compilers.
Twelve tracks. 36 minutes 52 seconds. Side One: 1/ Back in the U.S.S.R. 2/ Dear Prudence 3/ While My Guitar Gently Weeps 4/ I Will 5/ Revolution 1 6/ Julia Side Two: 1/ Glass Onion 2/ Blackbird 3/ Happiness is a Warm Gun 4/ Long, Long, Long 5/ Sexy Sadie 6/ Mother Nature's Son
It can't be done (and neither can the hypothetical 1971 Beatles album). No one has ever convinced me.
Yeah, we and most of the western world have been over this one, many times over. My old idea went on the theory that the Fabs decide to break up after MMT but get together for one final hurrah: "Hey Jude." But rather than scrap the entire WHITE ALBUM, the solution was simple: Paul and John take all their songs and assemble their own respective albums(each had enough to do so, maybe adding one or two lying around). George had enough for an EP, Ringo enough for a 45.... Once you've put Paulie's and JL's stuff on separate CD-R's, sequenced for the best flow, you get a fair idea of why the Beatles were by then on their way out. Truth is, those two no longer needed each other, and their songs on WHITE prove that beyond any doubt. Oh, they'd never quite recapture the Beatle Magic, but then, that had already just about run its course, right?
I think I would go with this: Side 1 Back In The USSR Dear Prudence Ob-la-di , Ob-la-da Helter Skelter Revolution 1 I will Julia Side 2 Birthday Everybodys Got Something To Hide Mother Natures Son While My Guitar Gently Weeps Blackbird Sexy Sadie Goodnight
OK... here goes.... First time for everything! Side One 1. Back In The U.S.S.R. 2. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da 3. While My Guitar Gently Weeps 4. Happiness Is A Warm Gun 5. Im So Tired 6. I Will 7. Julia Side Two 8. Birthday 9. Revolution 1 10. Martha My Dear 11. Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me & My Monkey 12. Blackbird 13. Sexy Sadie 14. Long Long Long
I would think Revolution 1 would be one of the easiest songs to cut as there is already an arguably superior version of it on the Hey Jude single. Yet nearly everyone includes it.
very interesting observation, Ed. Maybe the Beatle Magic had run it's course for the Fab 4, but for us fans at the time, this release was almost mystical. A double album released between Thanksgiving and Christmas with all sorts of goodies included, and each one was individually numbered. Every radio station was playing some portion of the album, even the songs without "commercial potential". We didn't (at least I didn't) realize that this was not as much of a group effort as previous efforts. I can still remember (department store) S. Klein had stacks and stacks of the album near the register - you didn't even have to go into the record department to find it.
Side One: 1. Back In The U.S.S.R. 2. Dear Prudence 3. Blackbird 4. While My Guitar Gently Weeps 5. Happiness Is A Warm Gun 6. Rocky Raccoon 7. Julia Side Two: 1. Yer Blues 2. Why Don't We Do It In The Road 3. I'm So Tired 4. Sexy Sadie 5. Piggies 6. Helter Skelter 7. Cry Baby Cry
I was thinking of making two versions...the english Lp and then the "american" version..the Uk would have 14 tracks the US would have 10..plus you have to have one Harrison song per side........hmmmm I need to think about this for a while.
I tried but there's to much good stuff. The only thing I'd change is to substitute 'Not Guilty' for 'Piggies' which I've never liked.
Not only do I like "Piggies", the song carried a social message the had to be said. Then, today, & tomorrow. Now, your ADDING!!!;-) Can't believe people leaving out; Yer Blues, Back in the U.S.S.R., & Goodbye?!?!?! And it couldn't/wouldn't be 'The White Album', w/o R9. Too quote a member quoting PM;"It's the bloody Beatles WA..."
I'm the only one who left out "Back In The U.S.S.R." thus far. I just feel a send-up of the Beach Boys doesn't belong on the album. I feel it should've been released as a separate single instead. I did include "Yer Blues" though.
I can't imagine limiting a single disc version of this album to 10, 12 or 14 songs. In the U.S., Sgt Pepper had already been released with the full 14 song arrangement by the time the White album was released, and the original white album had 9 songs on side 2 alone! I would imagine that by 1968 you could fit close to 25 minutes per side, if you had too...
