'The Beatles', also known as 'The Beatles White Album', is the ninth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles, released on 22 November 1968, was their first double-length release. Its plain white sleeve has no graphics or text other than the band's name embossed, which was intended as a direct contrast to the vivid cover artwork of the band's previous LP 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'. Although no singles were issued from 'The Beatles' in Britain and the United States, the songs 'Hey Jude' and 'Revolution' originating from the same recording sessions and were issued on a single in August 1968. The album's songs range in style from British blues and ska to tracks influenced by Chuck Berry and by Karlheinz Stockhausen. Most of the songs on the album were written during March and April 1968 at a Transcendental Meditation course in Rishikesh, India, between February and April 1968. The group returned to EMI's Abbey Road Studios in London at the end of May to commence recording sessions that lasted through to mid-October. During these sessions, arguments broke out among the foursome over creative differences.

The retreat involved long periods of meditation, conceived by the band as a spiritual respite from all worldly endeavours – a chance, in John Lennon's words, to "... get away from everything." Both Lennon and Paul McCartney quickly re-engaged themselves in songwriting, often meeting 'clandestinely in the afternoons in each other's rooms' to review their new work. "Regardless of what I was supposed to be doing," Lennon later recalled, "I did write some of my best songs there." The Beatles took no drugs with them to India aside from marijuana, and their clear minds helped the group with their songwriting. The stay in Rishikesh proved especially fruitful for George Harrison as a songwriter, coinciding with his re-engagement with the guitar after two years studying the sitar. The Beatles left Rishikesh before the end of the course. Ringo Starr was the first to leave, less than two weeks later, as he said he could not stand the food; McCartney departed in mid-March, while Harrison and Lennon were more interested in Indian religion and remained until April.

Collectively, the group wrote around 40 new compositions in Rishikesh, 26 of which would be recorded in very rough form at Kinfauns, Harrison's home in Esher, in May 1968. Lennon wrote the bulk of the new material, contributing 14 songs. Lennon and McCartney brought home-recorded demos to the session, and worked on them together. Some home demos and group sessions at Kinfauns were later released on the 1996 compilation 'Anthology 3', and later on 'The Beatles - 50th Anniversary Edition'. The self-titled collection of 30 songs stands as a majestic cornucopia of styles, born from one of the group's most creative periods, between 30 May and 14 October 1968, largely at Abbey Road Studios in London. 'Hey Jude' and 'Dear Prudence' were recorded at Trident Studios. The master was edited so that songs segued together, via a straight edit, a crossfade, or an incidental piece of music.

Lennon later said, "… the break-up of the Beatles can be heard on that album." Of the album's 30 tracks, only 16 have all four band members performing.

The song styles include rock and roll, blues, folk, country, reggae, avant-garde, hard rock and music hall, every song is faithful to its selected genre. The rock n' roll tracks are purely rock n' roll; the folk songs are purely folk; the surreal pop numbers are purely surreal pop; and the experimental piece is purely experimental, unlike prior Beatles albums where the band was into the habit of mixing several musical genres into a single song.

The album's rare sleeve designed by pop artist Richard Hamilton, in collaboration with McCartney consisted of a plain white sleeve. The band's name, in Helvetica, was crookedly blind 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." In 2008, an original pressing of the album with serial number 0000005 sold for £19,201 on eBay. In 2015, Ringo Starr's personal copy number 0000001 sold for a world record $790,000 at auction. My personal copy bears the serial No. 0622484.

The album bore a gatefold sleeve, which also included a poster designed by Hamilton, with song lyrics on the reverse, and four photographs taken by John Kelly. The UK version also contained black inner sleeves which housed the vinyl discs.

My rare embossed black sleeved UK copy is numbered 0622484

TRACKLISTING

Side One

1. Back in the USSR (2:43)

Recorded: August 22, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England with overdubs added Aug 23, 1968

Master tape: 4-track 2d Generation

Mono-mixed: 23 Aug 1968

Stereo-mixed: 13 Oct 1968

John Lennon – 6-string Fender Bass VI, background vocal

Paul McCartney – lead vocal, lead guitar, piano, drums, background vocal

George Harrison – Fender Jazz bass, background vocal

Notes: This song was written while on Meditation by Paul with help from Mike Love of the Beach Boys. It is a parody of Beach Boys songs such as “Surfin’ USA.” The mention of “Ukraine girls” and “Georgia” was thought by many to be sympathetic to Communism and was denounced. The plane sound effects differ in mono and stereo. Mono has louder piano, a yell after the opening plane sound, and drumbeats under the closing plane sound. Stereo has extra guitar chords at the start of the solo, and shouts and piano during the guitar solo.

2. Dear Prudence (3:57)

Recorded: August 28, 1968 at Trident Studios, London, England with overdubs added August 29-30, 1968

Master tape: 8-track

Stereo-mixed: 13 Oct 1968

Mono-mixed: 13 Oct 1968

John Lennon – lead vocal, lead guitar, tambourine, background vocal

Paul McCartney – lead vocal, bass guitar, piano, drums, flugelhorn, background vocal

George Harrison – acoustic guitar, background vocal

Mal Evans – tambourine

Notes: John wrote “Dear Prudence” for Prudence Farrow, the younger sister of Mia Farrow, who was on the meditation trip with the Beatles. She was much more involved in the meditation process and spent her free time in meditation. John wrote the song as a plea for her to “come out and play”, to interact, with the rest of the group.

3. Glass Onion (2:17)

Recorded: September 11, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England with overdubs added September 12, 13, 16 and October 10, 1968

Master tape: 8-track

Stereo-mixed: 10 Oct 1968

Mono-mixed: 10 Oct 1968

John Lennon – double-tracked lead vocal, acoustic guitar

Paul McCartney – bass guitar, piano, flute

George Harrison – lead guitar

Ringo Starr – drums, tambourine

Session musicians – orchestra

Notes: Much like “I Am The Walrus”, “Glass Onion” was written by John as a sort of joke for people who analyzed Beatles songs looking for meanings. The song is filled with nonsense lyrics and wild images. The title “Glass Onion” came from the name that John wanted The Iveys, a new band on the Apple label, to use. They later used “Badfinger”. The stereo version has slightly more treble and fades to a lower volume at the end.

4. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da (3:09)

Recorded: July 3, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England with overdubs added July 4-5, 1968, a remake July 8, 1968 and more overdubbing July 11, 1968 and July 15, 1968

Master tape: 4-track 3d Generation

Stereo-mixed: 12 Oct 1968

Mono-mixed: 12 Oct 1968

John Lennon – maraccas, background vocal

Paul McCartney – lead vocal, bass guitar, piano

George Harrison – acoustic guitar, background vocal

Ringo Starr – drums

Session musicians – brass

Notes: The phrase “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” is from the Yoruba tribe (Nigerian) and it means “life goes on”, a phrase used frequently by conga player Jimmy Scott, whom Paul had met. After Paul used the phrase Scott wanted a royalty, however Paul insisted that it was a common phrase. “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” is cited as the first white reggae; involving Jamaican people and genre. During the recording sessions the Beatles went through numerous takes with several different sounds until John, who hated the song to begin with, just went up to the piano and banged out the opening notes, which they kept for the master. Paul wanted to use the song as a single, but when John refused the song was rerecorded by the band Marmalade and became a British hit. A derivative of “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” was used in the theme song to the 1980s television show “Life Goes On”. The stereo version is lacking Paul’s added vocal “oh yeah” at the end of the break. The mono-mix unearthed for “Anthology 3″ has various sound effects, of which only the whistle after “fool on the hill” was used in the standard mix. This edit adds the end orchestral piece. The orchestra was added on Oct 10 and used for the standard versions.

5. Wild Honey Pie (1:02)

Recorded: August 20, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England

Master tape: 4-track

Mono-mixed: 20 Aug 1968

Stereo-mixed: 13 Oct 1968

Paul McCartney – vocals, bass guitar, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, drums

Notes: “Wild Honey Pie” was taken from a singalong/jam session while on meditation. Patti Harrison liked the song very much, so it was included on the album. The mono-mix lacks handclaps in the intro, heard in stereo.

6. The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill (3:05)

Recorded: October 9, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England

Master tape: 8-track

Stereo-mixed: 9 Oct 1968

Mono-mixed: 9 Oct 1968

John Lennon – lead vocal, acoustic guitar, organ

Paul McCartney – bass guitar, background vocal

George Harrison – acoustic guitar, background vocal

Ringo Starr – drums, tambourine, background vocal

Yoko Ono – background vocal, harmony vocal (chorus), lead vocal (“not when he looked so fierce”)

Maureen Starkey – harmony vocal (chorus)

Chris Thomas – mellotron

Notes: “Bungalow Bill” was actually an American named Richard Cooke, III, who had met the Beatles and was on a tiger hunt with his mother three hours away from Rishikesh, where the Beatles were meditating. Cooke shot a tiger on the hunt when it jumped at him and his mother. When she started talking about the kill to the Maharishi and some of his followers, the Maharishi became visibly disturbed. It was then that Cooke began to think that maybe it wasn’t such a good idea. Maharishi asked, “You had the desire Rik and now you no longer have the desire?” to which John asked, “Don’t you call that slightly life destructive?” Cooke replied, “Well, John, it was either the tiger or us. The tiger was jumping right where we were.” Those words became, “If looks could kill it would’ve been us instead of him”. Of the two vocal tracks, one is louder in stereo, the other in mono.

7. While My Guitar Gently Weeps (4:45)

Recorded: July 25, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England, remade August 16, 1968 with overdubs Sept 3, 1968, and remade again September 5, 1968 with overdubs September 6, 1968

Master tape: 8 track

Mono-mixed: 14 Oct 1968

Stereo-mixed: 14 Oct 1968

John Lennon – acoustic guitar, organ, harmony vocal

Paul McCartney – bass guitar, piano, harmony vocal

George Harrison – double-tracked lead vocal, acoustic guitar, lead guitar

Ringo Starr – drums, castanets, tambourine

Eric Clapton – Gibson Les Paul lead guitar

Notes: George was reading the Chinese book I Ching (the book of changes) when he decided that his songwriting would start to be written based on chance. He took a book off the shelf intending to write a song based on the first words he read, which were “gently weeps”. This is the first 8 track recording (by anyone) at EMI Abbey Road. The Clapton guitar remains loud in mono after the solo break, not in stereo. Near the end of the fadeout only the stereo has “yeah yeah yeah”, even though it is a few seconds shorter than the mono mix.

8. Happiness Is A Warm Gun (2:44)

Recorded: September 23-24, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England with overdubs added Sept 25, 1968

Master tape: 8-track 2d Generation

Mono-mixed: 26 Sep 1968

Stereo-mixed: 15 Oct 1968

John Lennon – lead vocal, lead guitar, tambourine, background vocal

Paul McCartney – bass guitar, background vocal

George Harrison – lead guitar, background vocal

Ringo Starr – drums

Notes: The 2d generation master is an edit of (copies of) two takes with more material overdubbed. Mono has tapping (organ) on the beat from the start until the drums come in, but it is soft and mixed out 4 beats earlier in stereo. In the “I need a fix” section in stereo, by error, although the first line was mixed out, the last “down” is just audible. Mono has louder bass in the “I need a fix” section. Mono has laughter near the very end, just before the last drumbeat, not heard in stereo. “No, it’s not about heroin. A gun magazine was sitting there with a smoking gun on the cover and an article that I never read inside called “Happiness Is a Warm Gun.” I took it right from there. I took it as the terrible idea of just having shot some animal…it was at the beginning of my relationship with Yoko and I was very sexually oriented then. When we weren’t in the studio, we were in bed…I call Yoko Mother or Madam just in an offhand way. The rest doesn’t mean anything. It’s just images of her.” – John Lennon, Playboy, 1980

Side Two

1. Martha My Dear (2:29)

Recorded: Oct 4, 1968 at Trident Studios, London, England with overdubs added Oct 5, 1968

Master tape: 4-track 2d Generation

Mono-mixed: 23 Aug 1968

Stereo-mixed: 13 Oct 1968

John Lennon – bass guitar

Paul McCartney – double-tracked lead vocal, piano

George Harrison – lead guitar

Ringo Starr – drums

Session musicians – strings, brass

Notes: The recording contains an unusually excessive amount of tape hiss.

2. I’m So Tired (2:03)

Recorded: October 8, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England

Master tape: 8-track

Mono-mixed: 15 Oct 1968

Stereo-mixed: 15 Oct 1968

John Lennon – lead vocal, acoustic guitar, lead guitar, organ

Paul McCartney – bass guitar, harmony vocal

George Harrison – lead guitar, rhythm guitar

Ringo Starr – drums

Notes: Paul’s harmony at the first “You’d say” is louder in mono. The muttering after the song is part of this recording.

3. Blackbird (2:18)

Recorded: June 11, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England

Master tape: 4-track

Stereo-mixed: 13 Oct 1968

Mono-mixed: 13 Oct 1968

Paul McCartney – double-tracked lead vocal, acoustic guitar, percussion

Notes: The tapping song heard throughout the song is Paul tapping his foot on the floor.

4. Piggies (2:05)

Recorded: September 19, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England with overdubs added September 20, 1968 and October 10, 1968

Master tape: 8-track 2d Generation

Mono-mixed: 11 Oct 1968

Stereo-mixed: 11 Oct 1968

John Lennon – tape loops

Paul McCartney – bass guitar

George Harrison – lead vocal, acoustic guitar

Ringo Starr – tambourine

Chris Thomas – harpsichord

Session musicians – strings

Notes: The overdubs of bird sounds were done differently in mono versus stereo, during mixing.

5. Rocky Raccoon (3:41)

Recorded: August 15, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England

Master tape: 4-track 2d Generation

Mono-mixed: 15 Aug 1968

Stereo-mixed: 10 Oct 1968

John Lennon – harmonica, harmonium, background vocal

Paul McCartney – lead vocal, acoustic guitar

George Harrison – bass guitar, background vocal

Ringo Starr – drumsGeorge Martin – honky-tonk piano

6. Don’t Pass Me By (3:42)

Recorded: June 5, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England with overdubs added June 6, 1968 and July 12, 1968 and an edit piece (tinkling piano intro) recorded July 22, 1968

Master tape: 4-track 3d Generation

Mono-mixed: 11 Oct 1968 edited

Stereo-mixed: 11 Oct 1968 edited (Remixed in 1996 for the “Anthology 3″ CD)

John Lennon – acoustic guitar, tambourine

Paul McCartney – bass guitar

George Harrison – lead guitar

Ringo Starr – lead vocal, drums, piano

Jack Fallon – violin

Notes: The Mono version runs faster, and it has more fiddle throughout the song, and different fiddle at the end. The fiddle at the end of stereo seems to a repeat of a bit of the chorus. The edit added the intro. The Anthology mix has only work from 5 and 6 June without the fiddle or intro added in July. It’s at the speed of the stereo mix.

7. Why Don’t We Do It in the Road? (1:41)

Recorded: Oct 9, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England with overdubs added Oct 10, 1968

Master tape: 4-track 2d Generation

Mono-mixed: 16 Oct 1968

Stereo-mixed: 16 Oct 1968

Paul McCartney – double-tracked lead vocal, bass guitar, lead guitar, piano, drumsNotes: The Mono version lacks handclaps in the intro.

8. I Will (1:47)

Recorded: Sept 16, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England with overdubs added Sept 17, 1968

Master tape: 8-track 2d Generation

Mono-mixed: 26 Sep 1968

Stereo-mixed: 14 Oct 1968

Paul McCartney – double-tracked lead vocal, bass guitar, acoustic guitar

Ringo Starr – drums, bongos, maracas

Notes: This started as 4 track and was copied to 8 track, so it’s 2d generation. The “bass” (vocal) starts later in mono, after the first verse. The bass line is actually performed vocally by Paul.

9. Julia (2:45)

Recorded: October 13, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England

Master tape: 4-track

Stereo-mixed: 13 Oct 1968

Mono:mixed: 13 Oct 1968

John Lennon – double-tracked lead vocal, double-tracked acoustic guitar

Notes: “The song is for her – and for Yoko.” – John Lennon, Playboy, 1980

Side Three

1. Birthday (2:43)

Recorded: September 18, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England

Master tape: 8-track 2d Generation

Mono-mixed: 18 Sep 1968

Stereo-mixed: 14 Oct 1968

John Lennon – lead guitar, background and occasional lead vocal

Paul McCartney – lead vocal, piano

George Harrison – bass guitar, tambourine

Ringo Starr – drums

Yoko Ono, Patti Harrison – chorus

Notes: The last “daaaance” starts twice, maybe a double-track error or a leak from a guide vocal, as heard on stereo, but covered up by other sound in mono.

2. Yer Blues (4:01)

Recorded: August 13, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England with overdubs added August 14, 1968 and the ‘counted intro’ added August 20, 1968

Master tape: 4-track 2d generation

Mono-mixed: 14,20 Aug 1968

Stereo-mixed: 20 Oct 1968

John Lennon – lead vocal, lead guitar

Paul McCartney – bass guitar

George Harrison – lead guitar

Ringo Starr – drums

Notes: The 2d generation tape is an edit of two takes, each of the two tapes being itself a mixdown from the original 4-track. The edit causes an abrupt transition at the end of the guitar solos. In stereo, traces of other vocal and guitar parts can be heard throughout the song in the left channel, including something shouted over parts of the vocal and what sounds like another different guitar solo. After the edit, the trace lead vocal suggests we are hearing the first part of the song from the other take. The edit in the mixes added the countdown intro, which is louder in mono. Mono is also 11 seconds longer, long fade.

3. Mother Nature’s Son (2:48)

Recorded: August 9, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England with overdubs added August 20, 1968

Master tape: 4-track 2d Generation

Stereo-mixed: 12 Oct 1968

Mono-mixed: 12 Oct 1968

Paul McCartney – double-tracked lead vocal, acoustic guitar, bongos, timpani

Session musicians – horns

4. Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except for Me and My Monkey (2:55)

Recorded: June 27, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England with overdubs added July 1, 1968 and July 23, 1968

Master tape: 4-track 4th Generation

Stereo-mixed: 12 Oct 1968

Mono-mixed: 12 Oct 1968

John Lennon – lead vocal, lead guitar, maraccas

Paul McCartney – bass guitar, background vocal

George Harrison – rhythm guitar, firebell

Ringo Starr – drums

Notes: The screaming after “come on” in the last verse is different in mono and stereo.

5. Sexy Sadie (3:15)

Recorded: July 19, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England but remade July 24, 1968 and remade again August 13, 1968 with overdubs added August 21, 1968

Master tape: 4-track 4th Generation

Mono-mixed: 21 Aug 1968

Stereo-mixed: 14 Oct 1968

John Lennon – lead vocal, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, organ, background vocal

Paul McCartney – bass guitar, piano, background vocal

George Harrison – lead guitar, background vocal

Ringo Starr – drums, tambourine

Notes: Stereo version has an extra tap at the start. Mono lacks bass until the vocal starts.

6. Helter Skelter (4:30)

Recorded: Sept 9, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England with an overdub added Sept 10, 1968

Master tape: 8-track

Mono-mixed: 17 Sep 1968

Stereo-mixed: 12 Oct 1968

John Lennon – bass guitar, lead guitar, saxophone, background vocal

Paul McCartney – lead vocal, bass guitar, lead guitar

George Harrison – rhythm guitar, background vocal

Ringo Starr– drums

Mal Evans – trumpet

Notes: The basic song runs about 3:10 to a pause shortly after Paul’s distorted vocal, too close to the microphone. Mono then is edited into more of the same take, with sound effects noises, and fades at 3:36. Stereo is edited instead to a different part of the take, fading out and then back in again, with another edit, ending finally at 4:29 after Ringo shouts “I’ve got blisters on my fingers!”

Is the distorted vocal “Can you hear me speaking– woo!” or “My baby is sleeping, ooh! Dreaming?”

7. Long Long Long (3:04)

Recorded: Oct 7, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England with overdubs added Oct 8-9, 1968

Master tape: 8-track

Stereo-mixed: 10 Oct 1968

Mono-mixed: 14 Oct 1968

John Lennon – acoustic guitar

Paul McCartney – bass guitar, piano, Hammond organ

George Harrison – double-tracked lead vocal, acoustic guitar

Ringo Starr – drums

Notes: Double-tracking starts at the first “long” in stereo, the third “long” in mono, and sounds somewhat different thereafter. In mono the rhythm guitar is softer but the lead guitar is louder, especially in the later part of the song.

Side Four

1. Revolution 1 (4:16)
Recorded: May 30, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England with overdubs added May 31, June 4 and June 21, 1968
Master tape: 4-track 4th Generation
Stereo-mixed: 25 Jun 1968
(mono-mixed from the stereo mix)
John Lennon – lead vocal, guitar, harmony vocal
Paul McCartney – bass guitar, piano, harmony vocal
George Harrison – guitar, harmony vocal
Ringo Starr – drums
Session musicians – brass
2. Honey Pie (2:41)
Recorded: October 1, 1968 at Trident Studios, London, England with overdubs added October 2, 1968 and October 4, 1968
Master tape: 8-track
Mono-mixed: 5 Oct 1968 at Trident Studios
Stereo-mixed: 5 Oct 1968 at Trident Studios
John Lennon – lead guitar
Paul McCartney – lead vocal, piano
George Harrison – bass guitar
Ringo Starr – drums
Fifteen session musicians – brass
Notes: Mono version has the full lead guitar break, slightly shortened in stereo.
3. Savoy Truffle (2:55)
Recorded: October 3, 1968 at Trident Studios, London, England with overdubs added October 5, 11 and 14, 1968
Master tape: 8-track
Mono-mixed: 14 Oct 1968
Stereo-mixed: 14 Oct 1968
John Lennon – lead guitar
Paul McCartney – bass guitar
George Harrison – double-tracked lead vocal, lead guitar, organ
Ringo Starr – drums, tambourine
Session musicians – two baritone saxophones, four tenor saxophones
Notes:: Mono version has sound effects during the instrumental break, and the lead guitar continues through the break into the refrain after it. The organ is missing from the last verse in mono.
4. Cry Baby Cry (3:11)
Recorded: July 16, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England with overdubs added July 18, 1968
Master tape: 4-track 2d Generation
Stereo-mixed: 15 Oct 1968
Mono-mixed: 15 Oct 1968
John Lennon – lead vocal, acoustic guitar, piano, organ
Paul McCartney – bass guitar
George Harrison – lead guitar
Ringo Starr – drums, tambourine
George Martin – harmonium
Notes: The US Apple release has a drop in sound level during “by the children” in the last verse, probably a tape problem.
(Can You Take Me Back)
Recorded: Basic Recording: 16 Sep 1968
Additional Recording: None
Master Tape: 4-track
Mono-mixed: 16 Oct 1968
Stereo-mixed: 17 Oct 1968
Notes: Revolution 9 is preceded on the white album by a short song not listed on the album, Can You Take Me Back, which was recorded after Revolution 9 was mixed. A segment of this improvisation was placed between Cry Baby Cry and Revolution 9; it was recorded as a take of I Will.
5. Revolution 9 (8:13)
Recorded: May 30, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England with effects added June 6, 10, 11, 20 and 21, 1968
Master tape: 4-track
Stereo-mixed: 21, 25 Jun 1968
(mono-mixed from the stereo mix in 1968)
John Lennon – voice, tape loops
Paul McCartney – piano (at the beginning)
George Harrison – voice
Ringo Starr – voice
Notes: Tape loops prepared on June 6-11 were fed into the master on Jun 20-25. The basic track was the end of Revolution 1 (see above). Editing shortened the piece by almost a minute. Although the mono was made from the stereo, the opening lines are more clear in mono: “I would’ve gotten claret for you but I’ve realized I’ve forgotten all about it, George, I’m sorry. Will you forgive me?” This is evidently a separate piece of tape added during mixing.
6. Good Night (3:12)
Recorded: July 22, 1968 at Abbey Road, London, England
Master tape: 4-track
Mono-mixed: 11 Oct 1968
Stereo-mixed: 11 Oct 1968
Orchestrations: George Martin
Notes: Stereo version fades in; mono does not.

**All songs written and composed by Lennon/McCartney, except where noted.*

Beatles Live Stream: Could the White Album be made today?

Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the White Album, Matt Everitt, Giles Martin, and a panel of journalists, broadcasters & artists discussed how the album has influenced musicians - 7pm (GMT) Wednesday 7th Nov 2018 In a world of snackable content, playlists and short attention spans, would an artist dare release such a diverse body of work now? The Panel Giles Martin (Producer) Georgie Rogers (BBC 6 Music / Soho Radio / Foundation FM) Dan Stubbs - (NME) Felix White – (The Maccabees / Yala! Records) Miles Kane - (Artist) Andy Bell – (Ride) youtube.com/thebeatles #beatleswhitealbum

The Beatles (White Album) - 50th Anniversary Releases

In November 1968, millions of double LPs were shipped to record stores worldwide ahead of that tumultuous year’s most anticipated music event: the November 22nd release of The BEATLES (soon to be better known as ‘The White Album’). With their ninth studio album, The Beatles took the world on a whole new trip, side one blasting off with the exhilarating rush of a screaming jet escorting Paul McCartney’s punchy, exuberant vocals on “Back In The U.S.S.R.” “Dear Prudence” came next, John Lennon warmly beckoning his friend and all of us to “look around.” George Harrison imparted timeless wisdom in “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” singing, “With every mistake we must surely be learning.” Ringo Starr’s “Don’t Pass Me By” marked his first solo songwriting credit on a Beatles album. For 50 years, ‘The White Album’ has invited its listeners to venture forth and explore the breadth and ambition of its music, delighting and inspiring each new generation in turn.

On November 9, 2018 The Beatles was released in a suite of lavishly presented ‘White Album’ packages (Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol/UMe). The album’s 30 tracks are newly mixed by producer Giles Martin and mix engineer Sam Okell in stereo and 5.1 surround audio, joined by 27 early acoustic demos and 50 session takes, most of which are previously unreleased in any form.

This is the first time The BEATLES (‘White Album’) has been remixed and presented with additional demos and session recordings. The album’s sweeping new edition follows 2017’s universally acclaimed Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band Anniversary Edition releases. To create the new stereo and 5.1 surround audio mixes for ‘The White Album,’ Martin and Okell worked with an expert team of engineers and audio restoration specialists at Abbey Road Studios in London.

All the new ‘White Album’ releases include Martin’s new stereo album mix, sourced directly from the original four-track and eight-track session tapes. Martin’s new mix is guided by the album’s original stereo mix produced by his father, George Martin. “In remixing ‘The White Album,’ we’ve tried to bring you as close as possible to The Beatles in the studio,” explains Giles Martin in his written introduction for the new edition. “We’ve peeled back the layers of the ‘Glass Onion’ with the hope of immersing old and new listeners into one of the most diverse and inspiring albums ever made.”

The BEATLES (‘White Album’) releases include:

Super Deluxe: The comprehensive, individually numbered 7-disc and digital audio collections feature:

CDs 1 & 2: The BEATLES (‘White Album’) 2018 stereo album mix

CD3: Esher Demos

- Esher Demo tracks 1 through 19 sequenced in order of the finished song’s placement on ‘The White Album.’ Tracks 20-27 were not included on the album.

CDs 4, 5 & 6: Sessions

- 50 additional recordings, most previously unreleased, from ‘White Album’ studio sessions; all newly mixed from the four-track and eight-track session tapes, sequenced in order of their recording start dates.

Blu-ray:

- 2018 album mix in high resolution PCM stereo

- 2018 DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 album mix

- 2018 Dolby True HD 5.1 album mix

- 2018 direct transfer of the album’s original mono mix

Deluxe: The BEATLES (‘White Album’) 2018 stereo album mix + Esher Demos

The 3CD; 180-gram 4LP vinyl box set (limited edition); and digital audio collections pair the 2018 stereo album mix with the 27 Esher Demos.

Standard 2LP Vinyl: The BEATLES (‘White Album’) 2018 stereo mix

180-gram 2LP vinyl in gatefold sleeve with faithfully replicated original artwork