Craig in Indy
Your cool Uncle
The Beatles (1968) Part One
The Beatles (aka The White Album) was released on November 22, 1968, on the anniversary of the release of their second LP, With the Beatles. That’s the 5th anniversary. No *****. I’ll pause a moment to let that fact sink in.
Only 5 years elapsed between the 2nd album and this one. Many of you younger forumites may not think that’s a big deal, but I assure you that as you get a little older and you witness first-hand how time speeds up, you will look back in amazement that any musical group could have grown so much in such a short time span. Not to mention the feat of producing that much sheer output in only 5 years. Those two records inclusive, that’s 9 albums, one of which was a double LP, in 5 years. And if you want to include the first album and make it an even 10, you’re still going back to the same year, 1963, just a few months earlier. And all of this at consistently high artistic levels for their time, to boot.
People have argued forever as to whether this could have been condensed to one really, really great single LP album. I think history would agree that at the very least, “Revolution 9” was pretty much a waste of acetate and petroleum distillates. But all the other songs have something worthwhile about them, IMO, even if it’s just to be heard as quaint snippets of curiosity. Yes, some of it may be a little self-indulgent, but even then it still maintains some degree of artistic merit. Other songs are undeniable classics, plain and simple.
Because of the sheer number of songs here, I’m going to do this one in two parts, so you all don’t have to wade through a seemingly never-ending post, and so I can get some sleep tonight (“I’m so tired…”). So here we go…
1 – “Back in the U.S.S.R.”
When I was in college I heard someone say that there was no finer rock and roll experience than a fresh, virgin copy of the White Album being tracked by a stylus for the very first time, and hearing the sound of the jet and the opening bars of this song coming out of the speakers. I don’t know that I’d go that far, but it’s undeniable fun anyway. And in the age of CDs where record wear is a thing of the past, it’s a bit of fun we can enjoy any time we want, as many times as we want. But, this remaster is not much different from the initial CD copy. It might have a slightly fuller sound, and possibly a little warmer tonal balance, but as I’ve found on the other late releases, the differences are extremely subtle, and in some cases can’t be heard at all, at least by these ears.
2 – “Dear Prudence”
The bass in the initial CD version is kind of dull and thumpy, without much musical tone definition, and I’m happy to say it’s slightly better in the remaster. But it’s still not fully fleshed out. I have to think that was a conscious choice on someone’s part. I also hear just the tiniest bit of a popping sound at the beginning of each enunciation of “Prudence” in the original and the remaster seems to be missing that artifact, resulting in a little smoother sound to John’s vocal. Otherwise they’re pretty similar.
3 – “Glass Onion”
John’s vocal benefits from the slightly warmer tonal balance. It has a little more bottom end oomph than it did before. The rest of the sound is a little fuller because of this, too, but to my ears it’s the vocal that benefits the most from it.
4 – “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da”
Here the biggest difference comes, once more, from a bit of lower midrange or upper bass boost, but it’s slight enough that it’s most easily heard in the piano introduction. It still has that “hony tonk” quality to it, but it sounds like it has some body to it now.
5 – “Wild Honey Pie”
I think I’m hearing a slight bit more extension of high frequencies in this song. Compare the tiny bit of shimmer on top of the percussion sounds that wasn’t there before and see if you don’t agree. One curiosity is the bit of classical guitar work between this song and the next – in the original release it was tacked onto the end of WHP, but on the remaster it shows up as the beginning of “Bungalow Bill.”
6 – “The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill”
A general improvement overall, but subtle. Again, a little more body, and a slight bit of extended highs I didn’t hear before.
7 – “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”
It’s nice to hear the added weight in things like the bass, guitar and piano, but it seems in this case to come at the cost of some clarity in Ringo’s cymbal work. It’s still easily heard in the opening bars, while the piano plays its single-note line and the guitar and bass do their descending steps, but it lacks the last little bit of shimmer it had before. Or maybe it’s there and it’s just harder to hear now.
8 – “Happiness Is a Warm Gun”
John’s vocal has a little more three-dimensional body to it, making it stand out a bit better from the instrumental background.
9 – “Martha My Dear”
As with the previous track, Paul’s vocal now benefits from having a little more weight and three-dimensionality. The added warmth of the lower mids/upper bass boost help lend some badly needed weight to the cellos as well.
10 – “I’m So Tired”
I’m having a hard time hearing any difference on this one. Seems pretty much the same to me.
11 – “Blackbird”
Here there’s a real difference in the vocal. The remaster, besides having the extra warmth of the lower end boost, seems to have quite a bit more texture than the original, and stands out in slightly greater relief from the guitar and percussion.
12 – “Piggies”
Just as with the previous two tracks, here George’s vocal has considerably more texture and realism than before. The instrumental tracks aren’t much different but the vocal is, and it stands out from the background better as well.
13 – “Rocky Racoon”
Again, the vocal stands out from the instrumentation much better than before, and with some added three-dimensional “roundness.”
14 – “Don’t Pass Me By”
Some of the highs that seemed to be missing before have been restored. Originally, Ringo’s vocal seemed to have had all trace of sibilant consonants stripped from the recording, and while it still sounds a little muffled, they’re back, at least to the point where you can hear them, if not restored to a realistic tonal balance.
15 – “Why Don’t We Do It in the Road?”
The centerpiece of the opening percussion is the hand slaps, but now it’s much more obvious that those hands are hitting something wooden and hollow. Whether it’s an acoustic guitar body or something a little less resonant I’m not sure. But it’s much more easily heard in the remaster
16 – “I Will”
That goofy bass has some real weight to it now, making me doubt my earlier belief that it was actually sung, rather than played. Still it has that “dwoop” kind of sound to it that makes me wonder – it’s obviously more than a simple picking or plucking of a bass guitar string. The left channel percussion sounds considerably more real now, too. Nice work on this one.
17 – “Julia”
John’s voice stands out in much better relief than before, sounding at times almost fragile. Very nice textures.
That's it for now. I'll be back later with the second half.
The Beatles (aka The White Album) was released on November 22, 1968, on the anniversary of the release of their second LP, With the Beatles. That’s the 5th anniversary. No *****. I’ll pause a moment to let that fact sink in.
Only 5 years elapsed between the 2nd album and this one. Many of you younger forumites may not think that’s a big deal, but I assure you that as you get a little older and you witness first-hand how time speeds up, you will look back in amazement that any musical group could have grown so much in such a short time span. Not to mention the feat of producing that much sheer output in only 5 years. Those two records inclusive, that’s 9 albums, one of which was a double LP, in 5 years. And if you want to include the first album and make it an even 10, you’re still going back to the same year, 1963, just a few months earlier. And all of this at consistently high artistic levels for their time, to boot.
People have argued forever as to whether this could have been condensed to one really, really great single LP album. I think history would agree that at the very least, “Revolution 9” was pretty much a waste of acetate and petroleum distillates. But all the other songs have something worthwhile about them, IMO, even if it’s just to be heard as quaint snippets of curiosity. Yes, some of it may be a little self-indulgent, but even then it still maintains some degree of artistic merit. Other songs are undeniable classics, plain and simple.
Because of the sheer number of songs here, I’m going to do this one in two parts, so you all don’t have to wade through a seemingly never-ending post, and so I can get some sleep tonight (“I’m so tired…”). So here we go…
1 – “Back in the U.S.S.R.”
When I was in college I heard someone say that there was no finer rock and roll experience than a fresh, virgin copy of the White Album being tracked by a stylus for the very first time, and hearing the sound of the jet and the opening bars of this song coming out of the speakers. I don’t know that I’d go that far, but it’s undeniable fun anyway. And in the age of CDs where record wear is a thing of the past, it’s a bit of fun we can enjoy any time we want, as many times as we want. But, this remaster is not much different from the initial CD copy. It might have a slightly fuller sound, and possibly a little warmer tonal balance, but as I’ve found on the other late releases, the differences are extremely subtle, and in some cases can’t be heard at all, at least by these ears.
2 – “Dear Prudence”
The bass in the initial CD version is kind of dull and thumpy, without much musical tone definition, and I’m happy to say it’s slightly better in the remaster. But it’s still not fully fleshed out. I have to think that was a conscious choice on someone’s part. I also hear just the tiniest bit of a popping sound at the beginning of each enunciation of “Prudence” in the original and the remaster seems to be missing that artifact, resulting in a little smoother sound to John’s vocal. Otherwise they’re pretty similar.
3 – “Glass Onion”
John’s vocal benefits from the slightly warmer tonal balance. It has a little more bottom end oomph than it did before. The rest of the sound is a little fuller because of this, too, but to my ears it’s the vocal that benefits the most from it.
4 – “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da”
Here the biggest difference comes, once more, from a bit of lower midrange or upper bass boost, but it’s slight enough that it’s most easily heard in the piano introduction. It still has that “hony tonk” quality to it, but it sounds like it has some body to it now.
5 – “Wild Honey Pie”
I think I’m hearing a slight bit more extension of high frequencies in this song. Compare the tiny bit of shimmer on top of the percussion sounds that wasn’t there before and see if you don’t agree. One curiosity is the bit of classical guitar work between this song and the next – in the original release it was tacked onto the end of WHP, but on the remaster it shows up as the beginning of “Bungalow Bill.”
6 – “The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill”
A general improvement overall, but subtle. Again, a little more body, and a slight bit of extended highs I didn’t hear before.
7 – “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”
It’s nice to hear the added weight in things like the bass, guitar and piano, but it seems in this case to come at the cost of some clarity in Ringo’s cymbal work. It’s still easily heard in the opening bars, while the piano plays its single-note line and the guitar and bass do their descending steps, but it lacks the last little bit of shimmer it had before. Or maybe it’s there and it’s just harder to hear now.
8 – “Happiness Is a Warm Gun”
John’s vocal has a little more three-dimensional body to it, making it stand out a bit better from the instrumental background.
9 – “Martha My Dear”
As with the previous track, Paul’s vocal now benefits from having a little more weight and three-dimensionality. The added warmth of the lower mids/upper bass boost help lend some badly needed weight to the cellos as well.
10 – “I’m So Tired”
I’m having a hard time hearing any difference on this one. Seems pretty much the same to me.
11 – “Blackbird”
Here there’s a real difference in the vocal. The remaster, besides having the extra warmth of the lower end boost, seems to have quite a bit more texture than the original, and stands out in slightly greater relief from the guitar and percussion.
12 – “Piggies”
Just as with the previous two tracks, here George’s vocal has considerably more texture and realism than before. The instrumental tracks aren’t much different but the vocal is, and it stands out from the background better as well.
13 – “Rocky Racoon”
Again, the vocal stands out from the instrumentation much better than before, and with some added three-dimensional “roundness.”
14 – “Don’t Pass Me By”
Some of the highs that seemed to be missing before have been restored. Originally, Ringo’s vocal seemed to have had all trace of sibilant consonants stripped from the recording, and while it still sounds a little muffled, they’re back, at least to the point where you can hear them, if not restored to a realistic tonal balance.
15 – “Why Don’t We Do It in the Road?”
The centerpiece of the opening percussion is the hand slaps, but now it’s much more obvious that those hands are hitting something wooden and hollow. Whether it’s an acoustic guitar body or something a little less resonant I’m not sure. But it’s much more easily heard in the remaster
16 – “I Will”
That goofy bass has some real weight to it now, making me doubt my earlier belief that it was actually sung, rather than played. Still it has that “dwoop” kind of sound to it that makes me wonder – it’s obviously more than a simple picking or plucking of a bass guitar string. The left channel percussion sounds considerably more real now, too. Nice work on this one.
17 – “Julia”
John’s voice stands out in much better relief than before, sounding at times almost fragile. Very nice textures.
That's it for now. I'll be back later with the second half.
