By 1968, The Beatles had revolutionized music, but were also already a band in flux. They had already stopped touring for 2 years, after their last gig at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, in August 1966. It was a complete game-changer for the band as they found sanctuary in the studio following the controversial move. The Beatles were simply tired of not being able to hear themselves, so they let their musical imaginations run wild in the safety of a tranquil studio. Their creativity was liberated, and on November 22, 1968, The Beatles released the album that captured them at perhaps their most fearless and fluid. The Beatles, or The White Album, is a self-assured expression of a band that ruled the music industry through its many styles and genres. But nearly sixty years later, could it be considered to be The Beatles’ best work?
The Studio Had Become The Beatles’ Stage
When The Beatles decided to stop touring, it became the catalyst for the next stage of their evolution. Part of the reason the band called it quits on concerts is that the arrangements in their music were too intricate and complex to recreate on stage. On their last tour, they had played nothing from their latest release, Revolver, because it just wouldn’t translate on stage. Revolver’s iconic sound relies on reversed guitar tracks, heavy reverb, and complex tape loops to construct a deep sense of dimension. In The Beatles’ touring frustration, they couldn’t hear themselves over screaming crowds, let alone experiment sonically.
The Fab Four freed themselves of the burden of performance, finding peace and playfulness in the sanctuary of the studio. TheWhite Album is largely produced by George Martin, but the record also saw more self-produced tracks than ever before. “Why Don’t We Do It In The Road?” was written, recorded, and produced by Paul McCartney in just two days, showing how The Beatles, amongst other bands like The Beach Boys, were using production as an additional instrumental practice. TheWhite Album displays The Beatles at a new height of their abilities and entering a new level of sonic sophistication.
The White Album Is The Peak Of The Beatles’ Expression
The Beatles’ studio abilities gave them a new autonomy to explore each component of their musical imaginings. Their music through the mid-’60s was a defining moment in pop, but TheWhite Album revisited that notion to dismantle what the expectations of pop had become. The 93-minute double album navigates the spectrum of music of the time, even making space for the avant-garde of “Revolution 9.” “Honey Pie” celebrated British dance hall, “Helter Skelter” paved the way for heavy metal, ”Cry Baby Cry” touches on R&B, and “Don’t Pass Me By” stays true to the early Beatles’ jaunty narratives of loved-up young men, allowing Ringo a moment to shine.
By 1968, The Beatles had essentially made the rules for music, and that confidence runs through the entirety of The White Album. They weren’t worrying about touring, and were no longer chasing radio hits. The White Album is somewhat less streamlined than the conceptual Sgt. Pepper’s, or the narratively cohesive Magical Mystery Tour, but the record displays a liberated and self-aware band who were assured enough in their abilities to just go for it, exactly how they wanted to.
However, some critics at the time dismissed the explorative nature of the record as “unfocused,” with New York Times critic Mike Jahn labeled the album as “hip Muzak, a soundtrack for head shops, parties and discotheques.” But there were others who appreciated the unusual album structure. The Observer said that “should surely see the last vestiges of cultural snobbery and bourgeois prejudice swept away in a deluge of joyful music making” Rolling Stone marked it as “the history and synthesis of Western music.” Part of this synthesis is capturing the chaotic energy of the ‘60s, so even if The White Album gained negative traction for its lack thereof in contemporary society.
The White Album marks a certain maturity in The Beatles’ work. “Glass Onion,” for example, references past songs in The Beatles discography in a way that encourages listeners not to trouble themselves too much about hidden meanings in songs and to realize that, ultimately, they’re just songs. It acknowledges their own cultural relevance whilst also making the humble intentions of their writing clear. John Lennon breaks the fourth wall, connecting with listeners through his own musical evolution. It was a bold artistic statement and sums up the simultaneous impressiveness and casualness of The Beatles rather well.
Fifty-seven years after the release of The White Album, it’s still a classic. It may not be as conceptually cohesive as Sgt. Pepper’s, or as whimsical as Magical Mystery Tour, but it captures The Beatles as individuals with their own strengths, intentions, and explorations. The White Album is The Beatles at perhaps their most playful, provocative, personal, and even political, but whether it’s their best or not is up to you. Its greatness lies in its unapologetic variety, a self-aware acknowledgment that, at this point, The Beatles could do anything, and do it at the highest level.
