(LISTEN) The Beatles’ ‘White Album’: 50th Anniversary
In November 1968, millions of double LPs were shipped to record stores worldwide ahead of that tumultuous year’s most anticipated music event: the release of The BEATLES (soon to be better known as The White Album). On November 9, 2018, The Beatles will release a suite of lavishly presented White Album packages . The album’s 30 tracks are newly mixed by producer Giles Martin and mix engineer Sam Okell in stereo and 5.1 surround audio, joined by 27 early acoustic demos (aka the Esher demos) and 50 session takes, most of which are previously unreleased in any form.
From the announcement: With their ninth studio album, The Beatles took the world on a whole new trip, side one blasting off with the exhilarating rush of a screaming jet escorting Paul McCartney’s punchy, exuberant vocals on “Back In The U.S.S.R.” “Dear Prudence” came next, John Lennon warmly beckoning his friend and all of us to “look around.” George Harrison imparted timeless wisdom in “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” singing, “With every mistake we must surely be learning.” Ringo Starr’s “Don’t Pass Me By” marked his first solo songwriting credit on a Beatles album.
Watch a teaser clip, released October 8
Listen to the so-called “Esher demo” of “Back in the U.S.S.R.” from the collection
And the 2018 mix. (Scroll down for a previously unreleased instrumental version…)