Yet despite the dips in quality, The White Album is an album I play regularly from start to finish. I suppose that a lot of the White Album's charm comes from the sequencing of songs that juxtapose rock with country with folk with experimental; that four composers are at work; Paul excels with Back in the USSR and Blackbird; that George's songwriting takes a big step forward (White My Guitar Gently Weeps just may be the best cut); that John returns to the forefront of the band with outstanding work (Dear Prudence, Julia and Yer Blues; and the album creates its own universe by sheer size and variety.

Though not my favourite Beatles album, and not a masterpiece along the lines of Revolver and Pepper, The White Album is a great album.

Maybe the most interesting thing about the White Album is that it shows just how far apart John and Paul had grown, artistically and, as we found out later, in other ways too. A lot of the songs are basically solo projects by either John or Paul (John: "Julia;""Cry, Baby Cry -- Paul: "Martha my Dear;""Blackbird,""Rocky Raccoon:), but mostly, I'm struck by both Paul's artistic range -- he shows us once again that he deserves to be included amongst the best pop songwriters in history, with songs like "Back in the USSR,""Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da,""Blackbird,""I Will,""Mother Nature's Son," and "Honey Pie," but he also shows us he may arguably be the most versatile pop song writer in history too, with "Rocky Raccoon" (which is hilarious), "Why Don't We Do It in the Road" (this too is hilarious, but in a different way; again, Paul draws on the demented part of his personality!), "Birthday" (again, Paul summons up the dementia within; I love it!), and "Helter Skelter," the most racous, crazy, lettin' it all hang out, doing permanent damage to the voice song Paul ever wrote. Fantastic stuff.

John, on the other hand, is not really in Pop mode at all on this album, with a couple of possible exceptions ("Bungalow Bill" might be considered poppish, but with John's wonderfully cynical twist). "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" is similarly satirical and brilliant, and includes John rapping (well, at least talking). But he's clearly in a lot of pain here, and laying bare his heart for the world to see; "Yer Blues," is a scary cry for help ("The eagle picks my eye/The worm he licks my bones/I feel so suicidal/Just like Dylan's Mr. Jones/Lonely wanna die/If I ain't dead already/Ooh girl you know the reason why"). Pretty heavy stuff.

The most unusual piece on the album is not a song at all; it's "Revolution #9," which, when I heard it as a teenager (only about thirty years ago; not long, really) I thought was just too strange, and I couldn't appreciate it. But now I appreciate even that; it's pretty avant-garde, experimental stuff, probably the first time a pop group had included "Musique Concrète" (taped sounds manipulated to make art music) on a record. Who's idea was this? I'm curious.

The White Album is by far the most unusual Beatles album of all, but it also covers the widest artistic territory. Well worth having, if you're a Beatles fan.

For instance, I didn't like 'Helter Skelter' for a long time. Now I consider it a really electrifying performance. At first, I never really noticed 'I'm So Tired'. Now the bass guitar accompaniment and the vocal lethargy comes across as brilliant.

Many of the songs have beautiful melodies and harmonies.

'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' demonstrates how great the Beatles functioned as a composing team. The original, as heard on the Anthology, is pretty boring to my ear. Although George had a great melody to act as a backbone for this song, and his/Clapton's guitar melodies are wonderful, listen to McCartney's intro and contributions from the others to make this a real masterwork. (George Harrison himself credited the intro to McCartney, by the way. Don't think that McCartney was a non-participant in those songs that weren't his).

This is a fantastic album.

This album goes to show why the Beatles have to be one of the most respected bands of all time. Sure, they could have put out poppish sounding records again and again (I want to Hold Your Hand, She Loves You, you know, all the 1964 and previous stuff) and made even more money that way, but they wanted to experiment and change the way music was made. In a way, you could say that they were an "alternative" band way before that whole genre even started in the 90s. I respect bands and artists who are willing to try something a bit different without regard for their recording being considered commercial! Thank you "Fab Four" for this album!

Many (including producer George Martin) have complained that the album is too long and includes tracks of inferior quality, that it could have been boiled down to a single album of solid gold. Honestly, there is something here to offend everybody. While most people (including Paul McCartney) find Revolution #9 unlistenable, it was a major achievement of experimental electronica at the time, and it bears repeated listening (but not when you're in an Obla-di Obla-da mood!). You may find yourself consistently skipping over several tracks, like Why Don't We Do It in the Road?, Wild Honey Pie, Good Night, Don't Pass Me By because they're all put-ons.

I find myself skipping over some tracks, like Yer Blues, not because it's a poorly written tune, but because it's just too emotionally painful, which is actually an acknowledgement of Lennon's success as an artist. He was in pain, and he conveyed it all too clearly. Helter Skelter, on the other hand, is completely empty of meaning, yet is absolutely hair-raising, perhaps the most terrifying pop song ever (after I Am the Walrus). The frantic clanging of Everybody's Got Something to Hide matches perfectly with Lennon's manic mood and mystical mind at the time. He describes the most profound LSD and/or meditation experience - "Your outside is in/when your inside is out" - but the way he sings it, it sounds like he's being torn apart by the experience, making the song both inspiring and frightening. I'm So Tired is such an effective evocation of apathy, insomnia, and frustration that it also makes my hair stand on end, esp. when he screams "I'd give you everything I've got for a little peace of mind!" That song has fit into the soundtrack of my life alarmingly well. In short, some people might be put off by The White Album because it is too emotionally charged and artistically adventurous. It wasn't designed as musical wallpaper and refuses to be reduced to that. You have to be prepared to listen to The White Album. When you are, it's an exhilirating experience. If not, it might make you want to puke.

The contrast in mood between the tracks is most jarring. Lennon snarls at his fans in Glass Onion, layers sarcasm on gun lovers in Happiness is a Warm Gun, pointedly berates the Left in Revolution #1, savagely attacks the Maharishi in Sexy Sadie, wails of suicide in Yer Blues. In contrast, McCarney offers some of his mildest, sweetest songs - I Will, Blackbird, and Mother Nature's Son, as well as the syrupy, music hall kitsch of Honey Pie, Martha My Dear, and Rocky Raccoon. None of McCartney's tracks here are "deep," but if you're in the mood for some tasty musical candies, these fit the bill quite nicely. Obladi Oblada is perhaps the best of the fluffy treats here. If this is your first exposure to the Beatles, you might well wonder how the group could contain such dramatic differences in temperament. (In fact, it couldn't, and would soon collapse because of those very differences in personality).

The classic tunes of this collection certainly more than justify the purchase of the two-disc set. John offers the stunning ode to his lost mother (and to Yoko) entitled Julia. George Harrison scores perhaps his greatest triumph with While My Guitar Gently Weeps (featuring Eric Clapton on lead guitar). Lennon's Dear Prudence is another touching masterpiece, written to order to induce Prudence Farrow to quit hiding out in her bungalow at Rishikesh. Ultimately, The White Album has something to delight everyone. If you prefer to avoid some tracks, you are among the majority of listeners. That's par for The White Album course. Once again, the inconsistency of the album accurately portrays the mind of each of the Beatles at the time as well as the larger cultural environment of 1968. It is required listening for anyone interested in 20th c. pop music. But be forewarned, it's not a smooth ride.