THE BEATLES [AKA: THE WHITE ALBUM]

The Beatles' double album, simply called The Beatles, but gone down in history as the White Album, is a Lp that features 4 very diverse facades, all very beautiful, and marks the Beatles' return to rock. The first side is thrilling, a 10/10 with flakes, it is the best ever in the Beatles discography (average 8.25), as far as Sgt. Pepper reaches 10/10 in the same way (but despite the lower average-song), given for the synergy of the pieces, the variety of arrangements and especially the novelty of the operation.

Back in The USSR is an excellent rock and roll by Macca, with sound of departing planes, unhinged rhythm, great piano percussion, great guitar solo. As is often the case with Paul's retro songs, the song may seem like a parody of 1950s music (in this case Chuck Berry's Rock and roll) but in reality it is only emphatic and sung and played with fury, as well as being embellished with backing vocals in Beach Boys style. Dear Prudence, with a beautiful acoustic guitar sound, is a reflective song by John, with a bewitching hypnotic trend and with a beautiful paroxysmal ending where Paul makes virtuosistic numbers on the drums (Ringo does not play). Glass Onion, a short song, with a violin ending, is a minor piece, with beautiful rhythm, beautiful sound and beautiful singing by Lennon. The mind-blowing sequence continues, giving excellent rhythm to the side, the pounding piano of Obladi Obladà, which in its pop-ska genre, is a masterpiece, with great finds of fiatistic arrangement, captivating text, beautiful piano sound, catchy chorus. It fades with a tail that is considered a song but is not: Wild Honey Pie, which alone means nothing but that in the economy of the A side is fine, before the flamenco guitar of Bungalow Bill, another cheerful and parodic piece (this time for real) , which makes Yoko Ono's overcut voice heard in some ways and which, with its goliardic chorus, ending in hand beats, makes the first side even smoother and more enthusiastic, and then finally arrives at a dramatic atmosphere, almost thriller, from a western duel, with the beautiful incipit of While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Harrison's absolute masterpiece and major piece of the whole album. It is a rockblues delighted by Clapton's guitar that, along with George's voice, the mighty bass and drums, and the background keyboards, creates a phenomenal pathos, which reaches the climax in the guitar solo and the chorus repeated in the paroxysmal ending with the constant wailing of the guitar, to create an epic-tragic atmosphere. After this tour de force, comes the calm and melodic voice of Lennon, who soon climbs, along with the endless convolutions of Happiness Is a Warm Gun, another absolute masterpiece of the Beatles, composite song, which combines three different tranches, first melodic, then hard rock, then soul, to end with a striking vocal performance of Lennon's singing. End of an A-side among the greatest in the history of rock music.

The B-side contains many songs, almost all of them short, which unlike those on the A-side, are often solo works by the Beatles. It's the worst side of the LP, although it still manages to maintain an average quality of the pieces more than good. It starts with the melodic pop of Martha My Dear, Paul's easy piece, dedicated to his dog, which is well arranged (piano and winds). It continues with I'm So Tired, two minutes scant, by Lennon, soulful, clear, which highlights his vocal performance. Lennon's unfolded voice, present here and in Happiness, leaves no doubt about which singer was the most gifted singer of the Beatles: Macca's best performances, however excellent, are curated and studied in detail, but they never reach the power and the natural casually of Lennon's best. Then comes McCartney soloist, vocals, guitar and toe-beating, for a small, melancholy, melodic masterpiece, Blackbird. It follows Harrison, with an acoustic-based song (Piggies), but is gracefully embellished by harpsichord and bridge, becoming a small gem of originality. So far, we've all had short pieces, very different from each other, however conventional, which are still great for inspiration. From now on, the B-side drops decisively: Rocky Raccoon is a very well-told song, with acoustic guitar and western saloon piano; "Don't Pass Me By" is a country song by Ringo, with folk violin, which is among the most ramshackle and least toned than the Beatles: it conquers the palm of their worst song; Why Don't We Do It In The Road features Paul solo, playing almost all the instruments and repeating only two verses for a soul-blues of great effectiveness thanks to his vocal performance; I Will is a melodic sketch that alternates sweet pieces with too sweet pieces; Julia is John's only solo song in all Beatles discography: very nice melodic theme, but too monotonous song, suffering from too much singing and arrangement. He finishes the first record, falling. That's why the album can't get to a 10 as the final grade. In one ideal sequence of Songs from the White Album (see below), such as to make it an absolute masterpiece of 10, a long single album, would be excluded 4 songs of the B side (out of a total of 9).

The second record opens with Side C, which is by far the most rock side in the history of the Beatles. It starts with "Birthday," Paul's song to a pounding beat, which reaches the climax in the bridge thanks to Lennon's voice and piano touches. The rhythm is so pressing that it makes the song a little too forced to proceed. However it is a piece of great effect. It follows, slowing down the pace a lot, Yer Blues, Lennon's masterpiece. It is the toughest blues of the Beatles, comparable only to the later I Want You by Abbey Road: where it is hypnotic obsessive, Yer Blues is dramatic, tragic, bordering on delirium. Never before had there been such harsh sounds, such loud turns of guitars and bass in Beatles songs. The rhythm is the master, and the finale, which repeats the guitar riff, with Lennon singing without a microphone, is like a real dirty blues rock band. It is no coincidence that in the Rolling Stones film Rock and Roll Circus, Lennon, the only beatle present, will play this song (accompanied by Eric Clapton, Keith Richards and Mitch Mitchell). Here comes Macca's melodic interlude, Mother Nature's Son, which suffers from the poor arrangement. However, Paul's voice, acoustic guitar and melody beauty are enough to understand that this song could have been a melodic masterpiece. Back John with Everybody's... a very fast piece, which for percussion, guitar riffs and sung could be punk. Overwhelming rhythm, it's an underrated piece: it's as forerunner of punk rock as Helter Skelter, and it has the only flaw of fading too abruptly in the finale. He deserved better development. Sexy Sadie, a vocal sharishi, is a piano rock ballad, with a very original harmonic development, as a melodic gradually becomes an atmospheric rock, conducted in the finale by voice and electric guitar. John's voice accompanied by the piano has the same sound that we'll find in Jealous Guy and Imagine. Big piece. Here comes rock, with a power never seen, unhinged, unhinged, screamed, it's Paul who wants to make a rock piece more explosive than those of the Who. And as always it gets an effect on the edge of parody. The piece is screamed, obsessive, repetitive, and impressive. It will be considered one of the first punk songs, and many will make its covers. Long finish, with nuance, shooting, growing, and Ringo screaming (in a very intonated way with surrounding din) who has the calluses on his hands. Long Long Long is an almost whispered, nocturnal song by George, which suffers from a non-focused arrangement. It still has an excellent bridge and a delirious psychedelic ending with strange sounds. It ends a great side, perhaps the side that fans of rock like the most and that pleases the Beatlesd d.o.c.

The D-side, the last, opens with Revolution No. 1, a semi-acoustic rock ballad with a fairly lazy, cute rhythm, with good progression and trumpet effect, but overall it doesn't take off. Lennon will make an accelerated rock version (Revolution, The B-side of Hey Jude) that will contain the maximum guitar distortion of the Fab Four discography, and which in my opinion is much more successful than this. Also because the name of Revolution takes a powerful, messy song, not an indolent song. Honey Pie is an ante-war swing-jazz piece by Paul, comparable to When I'm Sixty Four, which was well played and sung; compared to Sgt Pepper's, he has the advantage of being played with the instruments of a rock band. ). Luckily, Harrison arrives to make a slightly soft side more incisive. His Savoy Truffle is a small masterpiece for me. Cheerful blues rhythm, enjoys an excellent singing (finally George begins to affect the quality of his pieces with singing), a great rhythm, a great guitar sound (which makes a nice solo), and an excellent arrangement with distorted brass. It's a soundtrack song from an era. John's Cry Baby Cry is a simple song, but one that enjoys an excellent progression of drums and piano; punctuated by garden sounds, it looks a bit like Sgt Pepper's climate, and is more than pleasant, in its relentless and menacing. It has a piece of Macca that tempers in melancholy the previous menacing atmosphere. At this point a composition by Lennon begins, aided by Yoko Ono and George Harrison, who wants to follow the sound avant-gardes. You may or may not like Revolution No. 9. It can be boring or surprising. It's definitely long. In my opinion, however naive and amateurish, it is a masterpiece. The sounds and noises are well studied, there is a progression, a narrative, it could be a symphonic poem with a text describing what music represents; then there are piano sounds and the words Number Nine that, like a music box, hold the song together. It could have been the closing of the record, and it would certainly have been a brave and unconventional closure, but the Beatles are not subversives, and they keep us not taking themselves too seriously, especially John who, in fact, master of the D-side, wanted to put it last song , as a farewell to the listener, a lullaby arranged by George Martin with a Hollywood film-style orchestra. Sung by Ringo, Good Night closes giving good night to the listener: after the revolution, we return to our beautiful bourgeois security. Ideologically questionable, but ending up with Revolution No. 9 would have been difficult, given that George Martin and McCartney were against the song. Some critics say that this ending cancels, makes a joke the subversive power of Revolution No.9, which seems excessive to me. Simply, it is the Beatles who do not take themselves seriously, even in Sgt Pepper the song of Indian music and classical music harrison closed with laughter, given its pretentiousness. It is true, however, that in the finale of Pepper and Abbey Road (where McCartney commanded) the Beatles took themselves seriously.

White Album is a great album. The first sides of the two discs are the best. The A-side is a phenomenal pop-rock side, which follows that of Sgt Pepper: very smooth and varied in arrangements and musical styles; just missing the symphonic arrangements of She's Leaving Home and the circus pyrotechnics of Being For.... On the other hand, there are two mature rock masterpieces, Harrison's While My Guitar, and Happiness. The C-side is an experimental side, for the hard-rock sounds of 4 of his songs, two of which are remarkable 4 minutes (one by John and one by Paul), which lead the Beatles to successfully occupy the rock songs of the late Sixties. On the side, there are three atmospheric songs that soften the hardness of the side. The B-side is the more conventional one, which almost resembles the first albums: a long series of short single songs, with little in common (although the sequence flows), which vary on various styles (melodic, country, folk, blues), without however bringing anything of New. It's also the less rock and acoustic side, and it's dominated by McCartney songs. Lennon, on the other hand, dominates the fourth side, that of the revolution, in fact almost all the songs are written by him. So, in the White Album, the main novelties, in the lyrics and sounds, come from John, who tries to bring the Beatles into the arena of the 1968 protest and avant-garde music. Although not a project album like Pepper and as Magical Mystery Tour, White Album represents a very well organized collection of Beatles songs, with 4 sides very well studied and diversified, which end up in a last side that wants to send a one of its own message inherent to the 68-year-old revolution. The freedom that the Beatles take is unprecedented, since in practice John, Paul and George work as three soloists, who ask for help from others when they need it: in this way we find some minor or poorly arranged pieces, but also pieces by originals songwriters, which touch on avant-garde peaks, hard- rock, melodism, which certainly would not have found space in a single album by the Beatles, as too out of the canons of the group or too personal. This freedom of expression, this organized disorder, makes the White Album the most loved by classic rock listeners, and in any case, to be a double, holds very well, has no noticeable declines considering that every double Lp has moments of tiredness (the drop of the end of the Side B is not long and is well absorbed by the variety of the songs) and has the great merit of having four sides each with its own diverse and well-defined character, which continue to surprise the listener. Masterpiece.

1 Back in the USSR 8+ 2 Dear Prudence 8+ 3 Glass Onion 7,5 4 Obladi Oblada 8+ 5 Wild Honey Pie sv 6 Bungalow Bill 7,5 7 While My Guitar Gently Weeps 9+ 8 Happiness is a Warm Gun 8,5/9 -------------- 9 Martha My Dear 7+ 10 I'm So Tired 8 11 Blackbird 8 12 Piggies 8 13 Rocky Raccoon 7+ 14 Dont Pass Me By 5+ 15 Why Dont We 7,5 16 I Will 6,5 17 Julia 7

Totale 122,5; Media: 7,656

18 Birthday 7,5/8 19 Yer Blues 8,5 20 Mother Nature Son 7,5 21 Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey 7,5 22 Sexy Sadie 8 23 Helter Skelter 8,5 24 Long Long Long 7 ------------- 25 Revolution n. 1 7,5 26 Honey Pie 7+ 27 Savoy Truffle 8+ 28 Cry Baby Cry 7,5/8 29 Revolution n. 9 8,5 30 Good Night 7+

Total 101,25; Medium quality: 7,788

Average album 7,70. Final Rating: 9,5 - Five Stars, great masterpiece VOTO FINALE 9,5.

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Ideal White Album:

1 Back USSR 2 Dear Prudence 3 Glass Onion 4 Obladi Oblada 5 Mother Nature Son 6 I'm So Tired 7 Blackbird 8 Bungalow Bill 9 While My Guitar 10 Happiness ------- 11 Yer Blues 12 Honey Pie 13 Savoy Truffle 14 Cry Baby Cry 15 Everybodys Got 16 Piggies 17 Rocky Raccoon 18 Why Don't We Do It In The Road 19 Sexy Sadie 20 Helter Skelter

Ghost Track: Revolution n. 9

Medium quality: 8,012. Final Rating 10.

Not inclused: Wild Honey Pie, Martha My Dear, Don't Pass Me By, I Will, Julia, Birthday, Long Long Long, Revolution n. 1, Good Night.