I "fixed" the White album

I have to mention at this time that McCartney's quote about the White Album being fine as is because it "sold" grates on my nerves. That's like saying that because McDonalds "sold" plenty of hamburgers that they are the best.......nope. Sometimes you wish Macca would put art or principle before commercialism.

 

I'm sure there were thoughts at the time that even the Beatles' record sales would suffer from a 2-record set without any singles, no real concept, and a plain white cover. Turned out the Beatles could sell anything by that point, but the album stands on its own merits, sprawling mess that it is...

 

I think we don't pick at the original poster for what he's done, but for his choice of words ("I fixed the White album"). That's a bloody sacrilege at least here on the forum, to "fix" something the Beatles have put out. Of course I also mess around with my Beatles CDs, but I don't dare to confes it here on the forum

 

Well, yes...the word 'fixed' may be an issue...so is *removing* tracks, I think. I've done custom burns for RUBBER SOUL and AFTERMATH, but made them longer, didn't take anything away from the originals, and kept a relatively stable track order, just added a few things that fit in.

Not sure why, but while "We Can Work It Out" and "Day Tripper" have that RS 'feel' to them, "Hey Jude" and "Revolution" don't have that White Album 'feel' for me, they always seemed separate. Some of the YS stuff is more borderline, since "All Together Now," to name one, seems to fit right in(just not sure where in the sequence...)

But they were wise to discard "Mary Jane" and "Not Guilty," which amounted to nothing, really. And I suppose the fact that I've always played WHITE all the way through has something to do with a reluctance on my part to change one thing(except add bonus tracks, maybe).

 

The author of "Beatles Forever" (Nicholas Schaffer?) called The White Album a crazy quilt of rock 'n roll. Gotta agree. One of my all-time faves. I still listen to it all the time.

 

I like the white album precisely because of it's excessive length and inconsistency. I like the fact that it sprawls. Yes, there are some songs on it that I don't really care for, but I never skip them. In my opinion, editing the album in any way could only highlight its weaknesses, not lessen them. There are many critically acclaimed multi-disc albums out there that are far, far more deserving of trimming than The Beatles (Outkast's Speakerboxxx/The Love Below is the one that comes to mind; dunno why).

But hey, if it helps you enjoy the album more, knock yourself out, you know? Personally, apart from some re-EQing, I wouldn't touch anything on it.

 

Using the word "fixed" certainly could rankle people, but the original poster (white wolf) didn't exactly INVENT the idea of removing tracks from the White Album, so he shouldn't be criticized for it. "Single LP White Album" threads pop up every couple of months, and the exact same debate predictably ensues.

I too wouldn't use the word "fixed" -- the only person who arguably COULD is George Martin, the man who had been responsible for sequencing Beatles albums, and who DID want a single LP "White Album." Other than Sir George, if you lined up 100 Beatles fans, you'd get at least 75 different White Albums, allowing for those who said it was perfect as-is. I've got my own candidates for elimination if I were to make a single-CD version of it -- including "Wild Honey Pie," "Bungalow Bill," "Don't Pass Me By," "Birthday" and "Revolution 1" -- but I would never remove "Revolution 9" (or "Sexy Sadie" or "Do It in The Road" for that matter).

Re-configuring the White Album is a tricky thing. When we debate the UK/US versions of "Rubber Soul" it's a pretty simple matter of "I like these tracks better than those"; part of the magic of the White Album, though, is what a sprawling, sloppy, glorious mess it is. If you remove too much of the "filler" you remove the heart of the album, and you're left with just a collection of tracks -- great tracks, no doubt, but still "heartless." A large part of what makes the White Album special is how it careens from style to style, pausing to perform each one perfectly before abandoning it for something completely different on the very next track. Remove "Revolution 9" and both "Cry Baby Cry" and "Goodnight" are lesser for it.

I could go on and on, but I won't.

 

Amen, that cut is very well done.

 

I second that. The fact that it is a double album is part of what is cool about it.


"It's the bloody Beatles White Album. Enough said." -Paul McCartney

 

It is possible to burn up to 100 minute CD-R's, you know...that'd fix it, too.

Of course, there's no guarantee that they'd play in any player you have.

 

Agreed. He's struck a nerve (even with Mein Host ) for using the word "fixed". Using 80-minute CDR's, I've created two "work-arounds" (and I mean, we are talking about compilations here on cheap CD-R's - no one's "fixing" anything).

1. Single Disc CD-R - I dropped "Don't Pass Me By", "Revolution 9" and "Good Night".

2. Double Disc CD-R - All released tracks remain intact, plus added "bonus tracks": "Hey Jude" and "Revolution", plus from bootlegs (various Esher acoustic tracks, the longer version of "Step Inside Love" / "Can You Take Me Back") and Anthology ("While My Guitar Gently Weeps", "Mother Nature's Son", "Why Don't We Do It In The Road", "I Need A Fix", "Helter Skelter", "Not Guilty").

For Grant, maybe I'll send you that bootleg I have that has about 20 straight takes of "Blackbird" .

Keith

 

This is what I've done - minus Sour Milk Sea

 

I was just visiting this thread to say the same thing! My CD-r version of the White album has each disc expanded with those five songs, AND with Lady Madonna, The Inner Light, Across The Universe, Hey Bulldog, Los Paranoias, Heather, Goodbye, Child of Nature, Circles... I'm sure there's something else I've tagged on, but I don't have the CDRs with me right now.

 

Ain't broke. Don't need fixin'.


Jason

 

I love the Beatles but even I must admit that half of the White Album Is rubbish- Wild Honey Pie, Honey Pie, Don't Pass Me By, Bungalow Bill and the AWFUL Savoy Truffle are always skipped when I listen to the White Album. The only songs I really like on side 2 are I'm So Tired and Blackbird so I suppose the rest of side 2 would get the boot as well.

 

How about fix all of the Beatles and end up with (maybe) one whole disk.
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Just kidding.
There's no real gain in eliminating songs, because the one you ditch might be your next monkey.

 

I would hardly call the white album with three tracks omitted a "mix CD".

 

I have a Squeezebox as well but... For those of you with a vinyl preference do a needle drop at 24 bit (you'll have to work out the max sampling rate that will fit) and then burn a DVD-A.

 

Off the top of my head, Im not as likely to crash my car when I am changing disc one to disc two in my car at 3 AM on my way to work. That's a gain.

 

This thread made me go home and listen to the White Album* while making dinner (well, it stayed on throughout dinner and carried on afterward). So I suppose it had its desired effect.



*that'd be the UK mono needledrop

 

How about take off:

Rocky Raccoon
Honey Pie
Good Night

 

now that's genuinely funny

 

Though I love the White Album as-is, I've often wondered why they couldn't have made it a single LP and used the extra songs on the second side of the Yellow Submarine LP (just as AHDN and Help! had non-soundtrack sides). They both came out at around the same time, and Yellow Sub would have been a much better value that way.

 

Revolution 9
Honey Pie
Good Night
and you have a deal.