Forty-five years since its release, the Beatles’ self-titled ninth studio album still remains one of the Fab Four’s most enigmatic pieces of musical artwork.
Released in the U.S. on Nov. 25, 1968, the self-titled album marked a significant moment in the history of the band. As evidenced by its incredibly disjointed and innovative sound, the self-titled album saw the English band at a time of revolution and change.
Nearly 94 minutes in length, the album shocked critics and fans alike with its odd collection of songs and minimalist album cover.
Although “The White Album,” the more commonly referred to name of the album, was not the Beatles’ most successful masterpiece, its significance is nonetheless profound.
“Flew in from Miami Beach BUAC / Didn’t get to bed last night / On the way the paper bag was on my knee / Man I had a dreadful flight,” Paul McCartney sings on the album’s opening track, “Back in the U.S.S.R.”
From its opening chord, “The White Album” sounded unlike anything the Beatles had ever recorded.
The album’s first four songs, “Back in the U.S.S.R.,” “Dear Prudence,” “Glass Onion” and “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da,” sounded completely different from one another.
Foreshadowing the band’s eventual demise, “The White Album” was arguably the first Beatles album to feature all four Beatles working seemingly independent of one another.
In addition to featuring a diversity in song styles, “The White Album” also saw the Beatles at their most experimental and audacious.
Avant-garde songs like “Wild Honey Pie” and “Revolution 9” were perhaps the two strangest Beatles songs ever recorded. Odd, repetitive vocals and bizarre tape loops characterized both songs.
In addition to featuring experimental work, the Beatles also included two of their most heavy-sounding songs with “Yer Blues” and “Helter Skelter.”
“The black cloud crossed my mind / Blue mist ‘round my soul / Feel so suicidal / Even hate my rock ‘n’ roll,” John Lennon sings on “Yer Blues.”
The often critical and depressing lyrical content of “The White Album,” as evidenced by “Yer Blues,” revealed a band whose members had seen the ups and downs of life and the music industry.
Unlike the band’s first studio album, “Please Please Me,” “The White Album” is surprisingly serious and critical of contemporary culture.
Brilliantly showcasing the band’s ability to forge a completely new sound in the midst of internal friction, “The White Album” is the Beatles at their core.
Although fans have listened to it for almost 45 years, “The White Album” remains one of the band’s most puzzling pieces of work.
Why did the Beatles defy expectations and record such an odd-sounding album?
Sadly, the answer to that question may never be answered since two Beatles have passed away. It appears “The White Album” will forever remain a mystery.
Shane Newell is a junior journalism major and the opinions editor at the Daily 49er.