The task is all but impossible: reduce The Beatles' White Album down to a single disc.
But this was the goal I set for myself and my friend Trey Mowder. We would come up with our own lists and then meet together and record a podcast episode. You can listen to our conversation here.
Or at the link: Episode 36
This article is a supplement to the episode. It lays out all our rules for selecting as well as all the aspects of the album we had to consider in the selection process. It also features our single disc song lists and Trey's unorthodox track list for those who want to read along while they listen.
A majority of this article reflects my own self-imposed "rules and regulations". That is, these are the things I thought about while whittling down my songs.
To start with, here is an opening disclaimer:
I like every single song on The White Album. Every single one. Even the "quirky" songs have grown on me throughout the years. So this exercise is not about eliminating songs I don't like, but instead what I think would make the best single disc album possible.
My general approach:
I have pretended this is like a traditional Beatles album, or like I'm George Martin, the record execs have paid me a visit and said "No, George, we can't do 2 discs, only 1," and I now have to figure out what the best single LP would be.
So, let's start with the obvious and simple requirements:
—there will be 1 Ringo song
—there will be 2 George songs (one on each side)
Another obvious requirement:
Side Length: a single side of an LP can fit at most 26 minutes, but that's pushing it.
Categorizing John and Paul's Songs:
After these basic parameters we will have to figure out what to do about John and Paul's songs, so at this point I feel like it is best to categorize them by "type" as they are found on the White Album. Here are the different categories, as I see them, which you can feel free to quibble with. These are the different "types" of songs I hear coming from John and Paul:
Catchy pop/rock/folk hits:
Back in the U.S.S.R.
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
Birthday
Revolution 1
Rock or Psychedelic songs (also pretty catchy):
Dear Prudence
Glass Onion
Happiness is a Warm Gun
Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except For Me And My Monkey
Sexy Sadie
Helter Skelter
Cry Baby Cry
John falling apart at the seems songs (similar to the above category, but different in subject matter):
I'm So Tired
Yer Blues
Quiet acoustic ballads:
Blackbird
Mother Nature's Son
Heavily Narrative songs:
The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill
Rocky Raccoon
Tracks that sounds like early Beatles songs:
I Will
Julia
Short (or long!) surrealist/abstract/experimental/playful songs:
Wild Honey Pie
Why Don't We Do It In The Road
Revolution 9
Paul's "Classically" tinged, chamber pop, music hall, or "old people" music:
Marth My Dear
Honey Pie
All theses categories merely serve to help me differentiate where each song falls in terms of sound, which helps me to determine the best mix of songs that will make my final cut. This will come into play more below.
Different possible approaches to selecting the songs:
There are a number of different approaches for narrowing down the songs. Here are the ones Trey and I could list:
1. Choose only the catchiest, more up-tempo songs.
2. Since that would be too upbeat, choose a mix of the fast and slow catchy songs.
3. Choose a proper mix between the catchy and experimental songs.
4. Choose only the experimental or more progressive songs.
5. Keep in tact certain sequences of songs as they already exist on the album, thus cutting out huge swaths of songs. For instance, some people might be perfectly content with Side One, if only because the sequencing of songs is so perfectly arranged.
6. Again, choose catchy songs but cut anything out that sounds even remotely like an older Beatles song.
7. Or do the opposite of that, cutting out the most progressive sounding songs. That is, attempt to make it as conventional or "classic" a Beatles record as possible.
8. Another category for consideration: discerning between angry John songs or peaceful/funny John songs, and then between happy or older sounding Paul songs and more aggressive Paul songs.
9. Finally, you can simply choose the single White Album disc that you want to listen to. That is, what are the songs that you will always want to come back to again and again?
Before I finally get to my track list, here are a few more detailed notes on how to approach the song selection:
1). On selecting the "catchiest" songs: There are enough conventional mainstream pop hits on the White Album to fill 2 sides of a record for sure. However, there is such a diversity of songs on the album it would be a disservice to their songwriting to only choose the catchiest, most conventional songs. Therefore, I have decided to go with a mixture of "catchy" and "quirky" while leaning more towards the "catchy" side of things. It is interesting to think of a possible "b-sides" kind of album containing only the "weird" songs from the White Album. That would be an interesting album indeed. Nonetheless, I believe it would be wisest to take the best of the "weird" songs in order to create thematic and sonic diversity from track to to track. However, in this whole process I came to realize that there really are not that many "weird" songs. Even the songs I used to think were "out there" in terms of the music or the lyrics I now view as incredibly catchy and brilliant.
2). On the track order: In selecting which songs make the final cut, do I mess with the overall track order, or do I leave the tracks as they are and only lift the songs out that I don't want and basically leave the track order as it is? On the whole I decided to basically leave the track order as it is, as messing with the order adds a lot more complexity as to how I would go about the elimination process (in other words, thinking about it made my brain hurt). However, I reserved the right to do some re-arranging in the order of songs, as you'll see below.
3). The Singles: Should I be allowed to include non-album tracks of the same era, that is, the singles and b-sides recorded and released in the same cycle as The White Album songs? This would basically mean putting "Hey Jude" and the "Revolution" single on the album, which would make for a super album indeed. A big part of me thinks this is a bad idea though, as the process at the time was to release singles separate from an album. A small part of me however thinks this idea simply grand, as this could create the super album to end all super albums. (I didn't do it though...)
4). Songs that Sound the Same? What do I do with songs that sound the same, or that are of a certain type? For instance, to my ears "Dear Prudence" and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" feel like a similar kind of rock song to me. Or "Blackbird" and "Mother Nature's Son" are similar sounding acoustic ballads. Do I eliminate one of the songs in these set due to perceived similarity or do I keep them both because I believe they are both in the all time upper echelon of Beatles songs? I decided this is something I would determine on a song by song basis.
My Final Album Sequencing
Alright! Here is what I selected:
Side one:
Back in the U.S.S.R
Dear Prudence
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill
Martha My Dear
I'm So Tired
Blackbird
Piggies
Happiness is a Warm Gun
Total Time: 24:37
Side Two:
Birthday
Sexy Sadie
Mother Nature's Son
Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except For Me and My Monkey
Helter Skelter
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Good Night
Total Time: 23:34
Here's what you can tell from my Side One:
I kept 2 large sequences of songs from the original side one and the original side two, but adapted them a bit. I superimposed the side two sequence to go right before "Happiness is a Warm Gun", which I think makes a great side one closer. I also took out "Glass Onion" and "Wild Honey Pie" from the original side one sequence. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" made the cut, but was put somewhere else.
Here's what you can tell from my Side Two:
I basically took the "catchiest" song approach on my side two. At the same time I also mainly preserved the sequencing of side three, taking out "Yer Blues" and switching it with "Sexy Sadie." Unfortunately this resulted in all of side four getting axed except for "Good Night." I figured we didn't need "Revolution 1" (a classic song) as we would have already heard the single. The biggest change is where I put "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". To me this song sounds like the penultimate song on an album. It sounds like evening, the closing and culmination of the day, the perfect lead in to the peaceful "Good Night."
Trey's Final Album Sequencing
Conventional List:
Trey took a very straightforward approach: he simply chose the White Album he wanted to listen to, while mainly sticking with the original track listing.
Side One:
Dear Prudence
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
I'm So Tired
Rocky Raccoon
Martha My Dear
The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill
Blackbird
Helter Skelter
Side Two:
Why Don't We Do It In The Road
Don't Pass Me By
I Will
Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except For Me and My Monkey
Julia
Honey Pie
Revolution 1
Mother Nature's Son
Cry Baby Cry
Un-conventional List:
In attempting to think creatively about what the White Album could have looked like Trey came up something out of left field, a true alternative reality Beatles scenario. What if they didn't release the White Album at all, but instead released four separate LPs, each of them zeroing in on one of the Beatles. So, John, Paul, George, and Ringo would each have their own album. They would be solo albums but released under the entity of the Beatles and called The Beatles Present.
Here are two important notes about Trey's approach:
1.) Come Together!: In our alternate universe this was one possible way to keep the Beatles together and making music for years to come! Yeah, they were growing apart, growing up, and that Klein guy was going to get in the way, but this would be a way to acknowledge their individual creativities while also acknowledging they wanted to stay together. A four part "solo" Beatles album would give them the time to pursue their own interests for a while (and also take a rest away from the group) and also help them establish themselves more as individuals (who are still in The Beatles).
2. Across the Universe...: Trey soon ran into a problem though with his idea (as you will hear in the podcast). Chronologically it simply doesn't work, despite being innovative and fun. The problem comes with the fact that a number of the songs on his list were recorded later than the White Album sessions, and thus The Beatles Present would have had to of waited quite a long time to be released. Nonetheless, it still stands as a great idea in my mind, if only hypothetically.
The Beatles Present: John Lennon
Side One:
Hey Bulldog
Dear Prudence
Glass Onion
Happiness Is a Warm Gun
I'm So Tired
Julia
Revolution1
Side Two:
Revolution
Yer Blues
Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except For Me and My Monkey
Sexy Sadie
Cry Baby Cry
Don't Let Me Down
The Ballad of John and Yoko
The Beatles Present: Paul McCartney
Side One:
Back In The U.S.S.R.
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
Martha My Dear
Blackbird
Rocky Raccoon
Why Don't We Do It In The Road
Side Two:
I Will
Mother Nature's Son
Helter Skelter
Honey Pie
Lady Madonna
Hey Jude
The Beatles Present: George Harrison (Mini-LP)
Side One:
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Not Guilty
Piggies
Savoy Truffle
Side Two:
The Inner Light
Only A Northern Song
It's All Too Much
Old Brown Shoe
Long, Long, Long
The Beatles Present: Ringo and Other Silly Songs (Mini-LP)
Side One:
Don't Pass Me By
All Together Now
What's the New Mary Jane?
Step Inside Love
You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)
Side Two:
Birthday
Wild Honey Pie
The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill
Revolution 9
Good Night
Other Beatles Related Articles and Podcasts:
Podcast Ep 34: Beatles' Documentary "8 Days a Week" With Trey Mowder
Lessons Learned From the Beatles
Post Impressions #1: The Beatles Blackbird
Special thanks goes to these websites for research and idea purposes: http://gaag.home.xs4all.nl/swa/singlewhitealbum.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beatles_(album)
https://www.beatlesbible.com/albums/the-beatles-white-album/
http://www.thewhitealbumproject.com/
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