The Beatles' White Album As A Single Disc

I got sucked in by an April Fool's Day joke on Easter Sunday. It involved George Martin's son, Giles, releasing a single LP version of The Beatles' White Album in honor of his father in time to celebrate the album's upcoming 50th anniversary. The senior Martin often said that a single LP is what the group should have released instead of the double set they issued late in 1968. You can read the fake news here at The Glass Onion Beatles Journal.

The article started out believable enough, then quickly became ridiculous but, somehow, I was completely fooled. I only realized near the end of the post that I had become an unwitting victim of a hoax.

The good news is the joke gave me an idea to actually create my own single disc version of one of my favorite Fab Four records.

Most people agree with George Martin's assessment but what we don't all agree on is which songs should have made the cut if the band had listened to their producer.

Here is my version.

SIDE 1
Back In The USSR
Dear Prudence
Glass Onion
The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Happiness Is A Warm Gun
Helter Skelter

SIDE 2
Birthday
Honey Pie
I'm So Tired
Blackbird
Sexy Sadie
Savoy Truffle
Cry Baby Cry
I Will
Julia

My upcoming anniversary edition of the single CD would include a bonus disc with all of the previously unreleased tracks that appeared on the original two record set plus a fully completed, band arrangement of George Harrison's "Not Guilty." This version of the song was never released anywhere until Anthology 3. It was mysteriously left off of the album all those years ago.

Comments

  1. Peter10:58 AM, April 03, 2018

    Isn't that fun? I hope you know of my book, The Death and Life of Mal Evans, which envisions what could have happened if the Beatles had stayed together. I created three fantasy Beatles albums for the 1970s, and it was challenging to put together a believable track list.

    Here's my single disc White Album:

    Back In The U.S.S.R.
    Dear Prudence
    Glass Onion
    While My Guitar Gently Weeps
    I'm So Tired
    Blackbird
    I Will
    Julia
    Birthday
    Mother Nature's Son
    Sexy Sadie
    Helter Skelter
    Revolution (single version)
    Good Night

    I also redid Sgt. Pepper (blasphemy!), adding Strawberry Fields Forever and Penny Lane. I ditched Fixing a Hole and Within You, Without You.

    I've also done the same thing with many U2 albums...

    Great post!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sean Coleman2:33 AM, April 13, 2018

    Revising/editing the track list of the White Album to boil it down to a single disc is always a fun game. My version:
    1
    Back In The USSR
    Dear Prudence
    Glass Onion
    While My Guitar Gently Weeps
    Happiness Is A Warm Gun
    Yer Blues
    2
    I'm So Tired
    Blackbird
    Sexy Sadie
    Martha My Dear
    Cry Baby Cry
    Savoy Truffle
    Helter Skelter

    ReplyDelete
  3. William Kates8:33 PM, April 16, 2018

    Okay Charlie, I'll play.

    Upon review, this is definitely a stronger record that the actual release. I would also create a deluxe edition with Disc 2 containing the rest of the tracks plus, perhaps, the relevant singles from the period, such as Hey Jude and the single version of Revolution. And I would further offer a super deluxe edition, which would add a third disc containing the Esher Demos.

    Side 1:
    01 Back In The USSR
    02 Dear Prudence
    03 Glass Onion
    04 Happiness Is A Warm Gun
    05 Helter Skelter
    06 Yer Blues
    07 While My Guitar Gently Weeps

    Side 2:
    01 I Will
    02 Martha My Dear
    03 Blackbird
    04 Rocky Racoon
    05 Julia
    06 Mother Nature's Son
    07 Revolution 1

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Charlie8:37 PM, April 16, 2018

      OOOOOOOOOOOH! Great idea adding the Esher Demos!

      Delete

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