They were one if not the best ever...and timeless is the right / correct word for their music. |
Likely sometime in the early 70s.My next listen,unlikely. |
but oddly the last few times it seemed 'trite' and just not what I remembered. Maybe I was in a bad mood who knows?
btw it has been about a year since I last heard it.
I am sure it will give me much more pleasure in the future but my perception of it has changed somewhat from the 'holy grail' status it had in my mind for so many years... |
I remember it appearing on the shelves just before Christmas 1968 and my best friend's parents got it for him for the holiday and we listened to it over and over that school break week on his dad's Garrard, Eico tube integrated, AR2 system. Pure heaven. I studied every lyrics hundreds of times over, discussed it at leangth etc. I was in the 6th grade.
So I play my vinyl copy every Christmas season several times in the week between that and the New Year. Just seems right. |
I listened to it the other night (I was recording the vinyl onto my music server to make a copy for a friend). I have to agree with Philjolet, I thought in particular most of side 2 of the second record was pretty much below the Beatles' standards, and overall, just as I remember when I listened to it back in the 60s, I felt they had maybe one album's worth of good tunes in the double album at best. Sgt. Pepper, Revolver and Rubber Soul, on the other hand, have some of their best work and are timeless, in my view. |
Sunday evening. I NEVER tire of The Beatles.
Not necessarily their best (IMO, Sgt. Pepper, Magical Mystery Tour and Abbey Road are better) but it takes me back to the fun times of being a teneager in the late 60's when gasoline was 30c/gallon and my mother screaming at me to turn the stereo down (grin).
Jan |
Last listen? Well doesn't everybody listen to them daily like me? Huh, weird.
Rubber Soul is my "holy grail" of Beatles albums. |
All Beatles albums are timeless because of lyrical perfection BUT their albums after Revolver shine as musical paintings beside. I'm not a big Beatles fan but I'd never say these are "just" records. To say that is to be deaf. |
I bought the album on release around Thanksgiving 1968 and played it quite a bit. Over the years it was not one of my favorites and did not get as much play as Sgt. Pepper, Revolver, and Abbey Road.
About 5 years ago I started playing the album more frequently and I probably listen to one of the four sides at least once each week. Some of it is absolutely brilliant. It's a great study of the individuals as opposed to the group.
I still play Abbey road more which has been my favorite since its' release in October 1969. |
It is my understand that the Beatles were not very interested in the stereo mixes of their material, leaving most of the engineering to Sir George Martin. His "typical" vocals on one channel and instruments on the other is pretty much his signature. It does not make for a great soundstage. I would not call the mixes outstanding.
But as it appears to be widely agreed, the music itself is timeless. I sometimes wonder what we'd be listening to had the Beatles never existed.
On a slightly different topic, I have the "Love" recording from the Cirque Du Soleil performance in 5.1 DVD-A and it is quite interesting to listen to. I like some of the different segues, the loops and effects panning.
There never was and probably never will be another band that had as much influence not only in music but society and culture as the Fab Four.
Jan |
So much music, so little time. "The White Album" rewards repeated listenings and foreshadows most of pop/rock of the last number of years. Timeless, indeed - what pop/rock/hip-hop is out today that we'll be discussing in 40 years?? (Nobody even listens to 3 year old Kanye West albums.) |
Don't know the white album, is it a new release? |
When you have 3 of the best songsmiths in rock history, it is hard not to be at the top of the heap. No other group I can think of has 3 great writers.
They were the best of the best. Always will be.
With specific reference to the White Album, I think I'll echo Ringo's sentiments. It is their best work. |
Although Abbey Road gets my vote as the best album side of all time, The White album is my favorite Beatles album. Probably because the music is so diverse and there is so much of it. Yes there are a lesser quality Beatles' songs on The White album but the abundance of truly magical numbers make up for them.
It's also my sentimental favorite as I purchased my copy shortly after its release. The photos and poster with lyrics were a major plus at that time. |
I've listened to a lot of music over the years + have many favorites. I always find I come back to the Beatles body of work as my reference standard... the all time best + timeless.
"I Will" is an all time classic love song...one of the many great lesser known Beatles tunes. It is in my mind a perfect piece of art/pop. It is hard to beat for what it is, yet, due to the volume of great music they produced, "I Will" seldom makes any top Beatles song countdown lists...amazing!
If you have small kids, I recommend singing them this one regularly before bedtime.....
If you can make out the "doo doo doo" bass line clearly, that's a good indicator that your system is doing some things pretty well. |
I have a friend whose father gave him the original copy, still sealed. He told me about it when I was talking about my system one day. He is not an audiophile, and his system is lo-fi. I told him to hang on to it, keep it sealed. He knows what it's worth, and will. |
I can never decide what my favorite Beatles record is..... I go through phases. Sometimes I won't listen to their music for weeks and then I can't get enough.
I think they are still the most important, and profound musical influence for me..... And that's even when I factor in Louis Armstrong, Robert Johnson, Bob Dylan, The Stones, Miles, etc...... Probably crazy, but I think it's just that they are a huge part of my growing up (and they had all gone solo by the time I was three).
Chris
PS Does anyone else think that Paul absolutely rocked the super bowl a couple years back?!? THose halftime shows usually suck...... But Paul... Guy had it going on! |
After seeing this thread I broke out, and listened to The White Album yesterday and again last night. |
The Beatles, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Mozart. I might toss Tchiakovsky in as well, I suppose.
Towards the less competitive, heavy metal/hard rock/grunge edge, I'd toss in Metallica, AC/DC Led Zep, and Nirvana, I suppose, but I would not put these in the same class as the others.
I'd say these are the artistic reference standards in various popular musical genres over the years that I am familiar with. |
One of the many factors that make the Beatles great is the diversity and exploratory nature of their music. No two albums sound the same, particularly in the second more artistic half of their career. The White Album is the most in interesting from an artistic perspective, but it is not possible for me to say that any one album is "the best". White album is one of my favs for sure though for all the unique things that only it brings to the table. |
went back last night for a listen...still groundbreaking and enjoyable....too back youngin's can't fully relate to back in the u.s.s.r. the way older folks do......a time capsule and satirical masterpiece, wrapped in a great beach boys parody.......the first time i heard it, i thought, holy cow, they've done it again. the rest of the lp is incredible as well.....i also agree that the the last beatles side ever recorded(abbey road)is the greatest of the great. talk about going out on top. |
The white album is a great one, of course. Since it has not been mentioned yet, I recommend another listen to "A Hard Days Night" (the album not just the song) and not the old US Capitol release. This one needs a remaster but the rock music is great. I think Lennon sings and wrote most of it as he did for about all of their early albums before losing interest. |
I was surprised to hear it coming from our family room system when my teenage college student was home on spring break- I reminded me of an incident from about twenty-five years ago when I was in the service- I was between assignments waiting for a "A" school program to start and I was placed on a detail to rake leaves. With me were several other waiting students and a few people waiting on discharges. One guy was a huge Beatles fan and we were singing snippets of Beatles songs as we worked and challenging each other as to who could do the best renditions. We did this a while and ran through most of the standards- "Help", "Here comes the sun", "Baby's in black"...,
He said "I can sing any Beatles song" I tried to stump him with "Hey bulldog"- spot on.
I thought what cant he sing- I challenged him with"Revolution 9"- he reeled off a perfect rendition with sound effects and all!- I was stunned!
This demonstrated to me how deeply every nuance of their music had been absorbed by our generation- and now by our kids.
My best friend from childhood always said that his favorite "White " song was "Wild Honey Pie" |
Three or four years ago I tried to buy my nephew (he's a musician) some music for his high school graduation, stuff like Hendrix, Beatles, Miles Davis, John Coltrane. I found out he had most of it and what he didn't have, his school friends had just gotten for him. I thought the multi-disc package of "Bitches Brew" would be good, was told his best buddy just gave it to him.
I think the Beatles music can stand on it's own without reference to time and place, and will still be as popular 20 years from now. |
Just gave it a fresh listen on CD!
This was the first listen since I completed my recent tweaks to my system.
The results: I'm very happy camper! Everything was there and everything sounded "right". Even picked up a few new details I've never heard or noticed before.
BTW, The White Album makes a great reference recording for me because there is so much to hear and I've heard it on so many systems over the years, starting with my first system and those of many others I know.
I have a decent vinyl copy still as well. It's in my queue.... |
Wouldn't it be something if they actually released their catalog in high rez ( like the Stones sacd's) or in true mono like they intended ? We all, and the remaining Beatles will all be dead before it happens, why ??? |
Great question and I have had no idea for 20 years why the best recordings take forever to be treated right. The Beatles albums didn't come out on CD until 1988 and then almost all of them sounded like crap. Now, here we are more than 10 years into the "high resolution revolution" and, except for "Love", "Yellow Submarine", and "#1s", we got none. A few years ago you could get remastered CDs from Japan but Red Trumpet Records went out of business.
Same thing with DVD. Why did it take four years for Godfather and Godfather II to be released? Arguably two of the best 10 movies ever made!! Same thing for a much of other great movies. |
Check it out but I do not believe the Red Trumpet items were "remasters'. They may have been either Japan or Europe pressings but there has never been a true CD remaster to Beatles music except for Submarine and Love. If #1s was remastered it was done quite poorly. |
The Red Trumpet offerings were indeed Japanese pressings which were done (according to what I was told) in 20 or 24 bit resolution. I bought 3 of them and they were light years better (dynamic, proper timbre, openness, transparency, etc) than the crummy ones I bought in the late 80s. |
The Japanese pressings always sound better. Even most of the LPs pressed there are better using the same source. They are known for their pristine pressings. However, the Beatles original albums have never been 20 bit or 24 bit remastered. This is what the world is waiting for and has been discussed many times in the past most recently while the Apple Computer/Apple battle was going on. Neil Aspinall (rest his soul) stated in court that the remaster had been started. That's the last word I have heard about this subject from Apple. Lets just hope it happens! |
I think Sony in Japan did remaster them in higher bit rates. The songs from Sgt. Pepper sound the same as on #1s which, I think, is remastered in higher resolution. |
Yesterday I listened to side one only. I don't always listen to the entire album, but I play cuts off the White album CD at least 3 to 4 times a month. |
The Beatles have never given Sony the authority to master any original albums. If Number ones was remastered we are in trouble because that one sounds pretty bad. We all believe what we will I guess. |
Slight wrinkle on the original post. What is your favorite and least favorite side?
Favorite- side 3
Least- side 4 |
Favorite alternates between 2 and 3. Least favorite is side 4 mainly because of #9.
How about your favorite song from The White Album. For quite some time my favorite has been "Dear Prudence." |
Revolution number 9 is a favorite followed by Martha My Dear... |
"Julia"
"Everybody's Got Something to Hide.........." |
Anyone in/near Atlanta who would like my album (Apple)? No longer have a TT so no use for the album, which is in excellent condition. |
''Blackbird'' motivated me to purchase my first-ever guitar, a Yamaha FG-180 (a staple of beginner's instrument) all those years ago, and this song became my first-ever learned song, complete with the foot tapping!
Second-ever learned song was ''Rocky Racoon''.
I played those two songs at a high-school show back in '77 or around then. People applauded asking for an encore and a third song.
I replayed blackbird one more time as those were the only two songs I knew back then!
I still finger-pick Blackbird at least once a week, it's a model of beauty and simplicity for a self-accompanied tune. It is truly timeless. I also went past my two-song repertoire over the years. Talk about an album that infuenced me... |
Long long long. I used to play that track over and over. It's a perfect song.
Bungalo Bill
Rocky Raccoon
I'm so tired
The White Album is my favorite Beatles record |
