The “Rocky Raccoon” 2018 mix does take some of the humor from McCartney’s initial output, presenting the song as a more convincing folk effort. The 2018 version of “Piggies” yields a more upfront string arrangement, which doesn’t make the song any more serious, although it’s decent. “Blackbird,” on the other hand, is simple yet delicate, like always. The great sequencing of the album delivers us with the woeful and neurotic “I’m So Tired.” It gets a more sinister feel now, with Lennon’s voice being calmer and warmer than before. The new mix for “Martha My Dear” offers the tune a more solemn feel, which it definitely benefits from. Something similar happens with “Happiness Is a Warm Gun,” another excellent composition on its own that gets more strength and complexity in its 2018 form. On “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” Lennon’s rhythm guitar and McCartney’s bass can actually be heard, which improves the sound of the song, making it less gloomy yet more powerful. The vocals on both “Wild Honey Pie” and “The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill” are clearer on this reissue, but there’s not much one can do to make these songs any better than in earlier releases. “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” sounds funkier and cheerier than ever (if possible). The string arrangement heard on “Glass Onion” is brighter in 2018, making it rock harder, and the overall instrumentation is more atmospheric. In “Dear Prudence,” the bass and piano make the beautiful ballad sound groovier now, John Lennon’s voice gets a more appropriate accompaniment. Side A starts with the representative airplane sound from “Back In the U.S.S.R.” The song does blare differently now, the vocals are clearer, the harmonies fit the mix and it sounds more polished. To start, let’s see how this new remastering has affected the music, and changed the album from what it was in its original issue, as well as compared to its 2009 remastered edition. There’s also a seventh (Blu-ray audio) disc, with the original 30 tracks in all four mixes: PCM stereo, DTS-HD audio, Dolby sound and mono. The first two contain the remastered version of the original stereo double-LP, the third is for demos recorded at George Harrison’s home in Esher, and the remaining three comprise outtakes from recording sessions at Abbey Road and Trident studios.Īll of the 107 tracks have been re-engineered by Giles Martin, son of original producer, George Martin. Now, back to 2018, and The White Album has been reissued by Apple Records with an additional 77 tracks, for a total of 107 songs spread across 6 discs. Once it dropped in November 1968, The Beatles was met with acclaim by American and British press, which has aided in propelling it to become the group’s best-selling effort to date. Elmore James-like 12-bar-blues songs are more present here than in any other of the group’s previous LPs. Soul music luminaries like Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, and Sam Cooke seem to have impacted Paul McCartney’s delivery. The loose, jam-like arrangements on some themes exhibit the Rolling Stones and The Band as influences.
The broad genre and style range makes it clear that each band member was diversifying their interests while distancing themselves from the Beatle brand they had created. The presence of ska, music hall, proto-metal, musique concrète, acoustic ballads, and even Chicago blues spoof efforts have all been famously noted in assessments of the record.
The double-LP fully displays a dualism ever-present in their discography, a fame-fueled social claustrophobia, along with a wide openness for new trends and sounds coming from contemporary artists. In the context of the composition, recording, and release of this album, the Fab Four solidified their status as a youth force for Western culture with no parallel in pop music. It’s diverse, unfocused, charming, confusing, and most importantly, it gets to effectively showcase a band morphing into what they didn’t know was going to be their final form. A lot has been said, written and debated about this iconic album.
It’s about its 2018 reissue subtitled the 50th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition. It’s not only about the legendary, polarizing and super-long 1968 self-titled double-album by the Beatles, more affectionately known as The White Album.