The Beatles White album

[hippypants]

Chang just buys the White album: http://www.dustandgrooves.com/ruther...-white-albums/

[trurl]

Ya know, I want to write this guy off as a pretentious art douche but... I get it. It's a cool collection. The trashed covers are kind of beautiful, and the way people have doodled and written on them is fascinating. I love the idea of an entire music store that only racks solid white album covers. (With embossed lettering, yeah, but you don't really see that.)

[Rickenbacker]

I've seen this guy too. Strange idea, but intriguing.

[Progatron]

Interesting. Wouldn't work for me, as I find it a tad 'junky' (I don't do garage sales either). But I must admit a certain fascination with what this guy is doing!

This will likely never happen with Metallica's Black album.

[rcarlberg]

I too was ready to write him off as a pretentious douche with too much disposable income, until I read that he won't pay over $20 a copy, and he "only" has 693 copies in his collection. It's not as obsessive as it sounds.

Of course he also stated he listens to The White Album (technically "The Beatles") every day. Now THAT is excessive, and painful.

[notallwhowander]

It's a pretty cool idea for an art installation, I think.

[ronmac]

I wonder if the place smells like an musty international basement.

Interesting idea. And, I agree, there's something beautiful about the condition of these.

[PeterG]

If it was Revolver, Rubber Soul or Abbey Road I could understand it, but The Beatles? Come on, for being such a patchy and at time poor album it must be the most overhyped classic album ever. I think I've listened to it twice in its entirety, there's way too much filler and junk on it.

[rcarlberg]

If it was Revolver, Rubber Soul or Abbey Road I could understand it, but The Beatles? Come on, for being such a patchy and at time poor album it must be the most overhyped classic album ever. I think I've listened to it twice in its entirety, there's way too much filler and junk on it.

All that is true, but the beauty of collecting The White Album is that the blank canvas aspect of it encouraged many, many teenagers to doodle on it.

Plus, the first edition were numbered. Side note: I wonder how many copies were in the first edition?

The band's name was discreetly embossed slightly below the middle of the album's right side, and the cover also featured a unique stamped serial number, "to create," in Hamilton's words, "the ironic situation of a numbered edition of something like five million copies."[citation needed]

Sometime in 1970 the sequential numbering of the covers was discontinued. The highest numbered copy that the author is aware of is 3116706 (prefixed with an “A”). By 1975, aside from some special commemorative issues, the covers were no longer embossed and “The BEATLES” was printed on them in black or dark gray (see above photos at right).

More details on the sequential numbering
Sample serial numbers for White Albums with various prefixes (described below). Illustration from Bruce Spizer’s The Beatles On Apple Records.
About 12 White Albums with the number 2,000,000 were printed to commemorate the milestone of 2,000,000 sold. These ended up in the hands of Capitol executives. Additionally about 12 were printed with the number A0000001 by the printer (Queens Litho) as souvenirs. All other numbers were only printed once.

If you have a “numbered” White Album or are just curious about variations in how the numbers appear on the jackets, then read below (refer to illustration to the left for sample serial numbers):

■The first 25 White Albums were numbered with an “A” prefix and then a series of zeros preceding the number (e.g. A0000009). There are always seven digits following the “A” so if it was a single digit number it would be preceded by six zeroes or if it was a two digit number it would be preceded by five zeroes. It is not known what the “A” was indicative of (it may mean “printed in America” or “Apple” but neither is confirmed).
■Numbers 26-99 were three digit numbers preceded with a zero and no prefix.
■Numbers 100 through approximately 209,999 were preceded with the correct number of zeroes to make them a seven digit number (no prefix).
■Beginning around 210,000 up to near 590,000, they were preceded by a zero and had an “A” prefix.
■Later copies up to about 1,350,000 remain at seven digits using a leading zero if necessary and are prefixed with a large dot.
■The next batch from 1,350,000 up to some point past 2,000,000 are prefixed with an “A” but it is a thinner “A” than the one previously used.
■From 2,000,000 to around 2,250,000 some are prefixed with a large dot and some with the “A.”
■From 2,250,000 up to 3,000,000 the numbers are prefixed with the abbreviation for number (i.e. “No.”). On some of these the “o” in “No.” is raised with the period below it instead of beside it.
■For the final numbers over 3,000,000 the numbers are prefixed with a wide “A.”
Source

[Zeuhlmate]

"for being such a patchy and at time poor album"

Hmmm. Taste differs - I find there are really great tracks here (like Happiness is a warm gun). Its not very coherent, but I much prefer it to Abbey Road.

[ThomasKDye]

"Revolution 9" drove him to madness, as it would anyone. "When John said 'take this brother, may it serve you well,' I knew he was talking to ME!"

Oddly enough, this album features my all-time favorite Beatles track -- "Glass Onion," a track most people would probably consider pedestrian and peculiar. But maybe it's the cheeky self-awareness and the fact that all four Beatles just play normally on it in a workmanlike manner that makes me like it so.

[Zeuhlmate]

Glass onion is great - for the bass sound alone !

[ronmac]

I just listened to this a few days a go for the first time in a longer period than I'd like to admit.

I love it. Every bit, too.

[Mister Triscuits]

Oddly enough, this album features my all-time favorite Beatles track -- "Glass Onion," a track most people would probably consider pedestrian and peculiar.

I recently saw a poll on a general interest (i.e., not specifically music) message board about cutting the White Album down to a single disc. You had to vote for 15 out of the 30 tracks. In light of the common opinion that the album is full of filler, I thought it was really interesting that there was virtually no agreement as to which tracks were the keepers. With 176 participants, only two songs got more than 150 votes, and only one song got less than 25--and no, it wasn't "Revolution 9"! Not one song was a unanimous choice either to keep or discard. ("While My Guitar Gently Weeps" was the #1 keeper with "Back in the USSR" close behind, "Wild Honey Pie" was the big loser by a wide margin.) "Glass Onion" was right around the middle; I think it ranked #13.

[trurl]

It is what it is. There are songs that I could do without, but I wouldn't change the experience. It's like life. The duff songs make you appreciate the good ones. OK, I lied a little- for me the album is over after Cry Baby Cry

[rcarlberg]

I always thought they should've released it like UmmaGumma, one side solo for each of the Beatles.

[Mister Triscuits]

I always thought they should've released it like UmmaGumma, one side solo for each of the Beatles.

The Ringo side would be pretty short.

[trurl]

The Ringo side would be pretty short.

UmmaGumma was only half a side for each of them. Still, the point holds... and in this case two Ringo songs were two too many. Don't Pass Me By is the music I picture someone stabbing their family in their sleep to.

[Progatron]

Oddly enough, this album features my all-time favorite Beatles track -- "Glass Onion," a track most people would probably consider pedestrian and peculiar.

I *love* "Glass Onion". Always have. All-time favourite? No. But a great track.

[PeterG]

Hmmm. Taste differs - I find there are really great tracks here (like Happiness is a warm gun). Its not very coherent,

I agree with all of that. And I read a review once that said the total disorganised mess of the album was its major appeal for a lot of people. BUT not for me.

[PeterG]

There is enough good stuff on there for one great single album, there are 30 tracks, so here are the 15 I'd pick for the single album:

Back in the USSR
Dear Purdence
Glass Onion
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
While My guitar Gently Weeps
Happiness is a Warm Gun
Martha My Dear
Blackbird
I Will
Julia
Mother Nature's Son
Sexy Sadie
Helter Skelter
Revolution 1
Revolution 9

[Progatron]

Revolution 9

"Revolution 9" detected. Delete? Y/N

[JJ88]

I didn't warm to it as instantly as the albums either side of it, largely due to its sheer artistic breadth and length, and I also think it's by far the 'weirdest' Beatles album so I didn't warm to it when young. But nowadays I think it's as good as any of them...yes, even 'Revolution 9', which as pop/rock bands become increasingly conservative, seems ever more radical IMHO. I also think that it presented a much more 'live' feel...there were still overdubs but much less 'polish' than the previous few albums and few of the songs faded out.

There are certainly weaker tracks but there seems to be little agreement on what they are. I have little love for 'Don't Pass Me By', 'Piggies', 'Savoy Truffle' and 'Honey Pie' but those are at least short, and someone will say those are amongst the best songs on the album (OK, maybe not 'Don't Pass Me By'!).

Not sure what the highlights are, I think 'Happiness Is A Warm Gun', 'While My Guitar...', 'Yer Blues' (particularly that instrumental break...pure rock and roll IMHO), 'Blackbird', 'Julia', 'Helter Skelter' and 'I Will' are particularly dazzling. 'Long Long Long' I've also warmed to over the years, especially that eerie (accidental) ending.

[PeterG]

"Revolution 9" detected. Delete? Y/N

Retain. It is was it is, as someone else said. And a great piece of weird nonsnese to end on and far better IMO than the 15 tracks I omitted.

[Progatron]

Retain.

You have chosen to retain "Revolution 9". Are you sure? Y/N