This evening, I
treated myself to a from-the-beginning-to-the-end listen of the newly remixed
fiftieth anniversary edition of the White Album (that no-one on the planet
refers to by its real name ‘The Beatles’).
Only the other
day, it occurred to me why the band might have decided to make this specific
record eponymously-titled; the album they released the year before was
essentially put out under a pseudonym - Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band -
to give them freedom to step outside (love) of their perceived identity and try
new ideas, so in that spirit, it makes sense that they’d want to make the album
that followed, which was essentially back-to-basics (as far as any Beatles
project was) - more firmly-rooted in their own brand again. That said, it’s a
shame they couldn’t go with the working title ‘A Doll’s House’ (which was
nabbed by the prog band Family) as that would have reflected the eclectic
tracklist perfectly.
One thing
returning to the White Album reminded me was the extraordinary level of creativity
oozing from their pores at this stage of their career; the number of songs they
had to call on when they convened at George's house in Esher post-India to record demos was verging on ridiculous (hence the fact it’s a double album) and was
symbolic of the seemly never-ending evolution of a band whose entire recording
career lasted just eight years; a mere heartbeat before “Happiness of a Warm
Gun’ and ‘Revolution 9’, they were ‘She Loves You’-singing teen heartthrobs;
the speed they worked at makes my brain ache.
I must admit I
never thought I’d buy another copy of the White Album after they remastered
their back catalogue in 2009, which I snapped up as a complete box set
soon after its release. Now, nearly ten years on they’ve put it out again, this
time newly-remixed, which is a subtle difference, though it does beg
the question whether they’ll do the same with the rest of their work. Also, is
it necessary? To hand their mastertapes to a new producer for reinterpretation
seems a little revisionistic, whether that producer is George Martin’s son or
not; I’m not sure having my dad attempt my stand-up material would be wise, however intriguing the performance might be (for the right
or wrong reasons).