Uggh! I hate the Beatles so much I think you could edit “The White Album” down to a decent 45. I don’t know…”Dear Prudence” b/w “Helter Skelter.”

You hate the Beatles? You might not be that smart.

Ah, complaining about “The White Album” is too obvious – How about Springsteen’s “The River”? I don’t think you could even get an EP out of that thing. Has U2 ever made a double album or do they just feel like it?

How about we pare down Frampton Comes Alive to just the guitar-talking part in the middle of DYFLWD?

I have a 45 that’s Helter Skelter b/w Got To Get You Into My Life. Quite a weird pairing, but it works. And yes, if you dislike The Beatles, you are wrong.

Many Live double albums always work better as singles. The Stones Live Licks, The Song Remains The Same and Roger Waters In The Flesh are good examples. I think Mellon Collie by the pumpkins would work better as a singe LP.

Sandinista! by the Clash

The only thing I hate more than the Beatles is Beatles fans. Snobby, little nerds. I love how they become INCREDULOUS that ANYONE could POSSIBLY DARE to be so STUPID to THINK that the ALMIGHTY BEATLES produced a lot of unlistenable, twee, overly clever garbage. I love the way they think. “if you hate the Beatles, you are WRONG.” I love that. Please, keep it up.

Brian

Old boy hates the Beatles!? In other news, he loves the new Killers track….

Awww. Maybe poor Brian just doesn’t get the “overly clever” songwriting of pioneers who, without parallel, influenced the proceeding thirty years.

Gavin, you are an idiot.

How about a current example? “Stadium Arcadium.” RHCP even have problems when they release a single disc. “Blood Sugar Sex Magic” had a LOT of filler on it, too.

I think the problem is Rick Rubin. He just doesn’t know what to cut out. Even the Rubin/Beastie Boys albums could do without three or four tracks.

And I like Johnny Cash but…not EVERYTHING the man committed to tape in his final months is worthy of release.

Brian
Brian

at first i was dismissive, i mean how can you have the white album without songs like, cry baby cry, revolution, yer blues, and one of my personal favorites long, long, long. but then i decided to put the edited track list as a playlist and give it a listen, and what can i say, it was a remarkable listening experience. the songs seem to fade into each other remarkabley well, except for the end of honey pie which teases bungalow bill. give it a listen, you wont be disappointed. as a side note, how great of an outtake albums would the 14 tracks not included on the rolling stone edit be?

U2 did release a double LP, Rattle and Hum but the version you find for the CD format is on one disc, clocking in at 70+ minutes. I would have chopped that album down by four or five songs. I’m exicted to see what they do with Physical Grafitti though because for me it would just be the first disc with maybe three from the second.

well you guys missed revolution on the white album. take the single version instead of either album revolutions and stick it on there for sure.

NEWS FLASH! Brian Wallace is still an idiot. Blood Sugar has “a LOT of filler on it, too.” Thanks Brian, we’re all dumber for having read that.

I’d recommend the double album “Get Away from me” by Nellie Mckay because its 18 tracks, well, COULD’VE FIT ON ONE CD!!!

Now how about all of the 79 minute single CDs? 45 Minutes should be the absolute MAX (as in 10-12 songs under 4:30. Led Zeppelin, Ac/DC, Van Halen all had it right. 4 on side one, 4 or 5 on side two. Then you can put out a CD every 18 months.

On a tangentially-related note, if you take the four singles* from Pink Floyd’s “A Momentary Lapse of Reason” (”Learning to Fly,” “The Dogs of War,” “One Slip,” and “On the Turning Away,” in that order) and follow them with the four singles* from “The Division Bell” (”What Do You Want From Me,” “Take It Back,” “Keep Talking,” and “High Hopes,” in that order), you have a remarkably strong final Pink Floyd album that clocks in at the old standard of just over 47 minutes long.

* I’m not sure if these songs were all technically singles or not, but they were all either radio or video staples.

The Beatles are the most overrated band in music history. Long live Led Zeppelin who actually had some balls!

The Who’s Quadrophenia could be edited to within the limits of a single album.

Beatles…..”the most overrated” That has got to be the most stupid thing I have ever heard. It is ok to hate them, but to call them overrated…..just plain dumb-ass. Neither the White Album or Use Your Illusion should be pared down….I’d rather have a triple album of both…give me more.

Thw White ALbum is THE double album…it can’t get any better! ONly worse by removing tracks. No Long Long Long Birthday or Sexy Sadie? Rolling Stone you’re insane how bout cutting the fluff on something awful like the new Chili Peppers. They could have one song on it and Tom Petty could write it first.

GNR Use Your Illusion 1 & 2 could have been an album to compete with Appetite for Destruction, but instead they decided to release two albums.

to be fair, the beatles are overrated…but zeppelin are just as overrated.

foo fighters- in your honor (probably still wouldn’t have been very good)

but definately do Smashing Pumpkins-”Mellon Collie” one of the days (most of the second disc is throw away. They could have had their greatest album in one disc, instead they did what they did)

and can everyone stop attacking the people who are criticizing the beatles? Not every song they released was good… and don’t give me the crap about how “it wouldn’t be the same album without all the bad songs…” no it wouldn’t, it would be better. Get a life and stop attacking people who are clearly smarter than you.

First off, I love the Beatles, and I love Led Zeppelin and everything in between. Considering this, I think that hating the Beatles because they lack the “balls” of Zeppelin is idiotic. If the Beatles had had those magical “balls” then Zeppelin wouldn’t have been half as amazing as they were, because it would have already been done.
Further more if you are a fan of Zeppelin, or Sabbath or Blue Cheer, etc. simply for their volume and power you are not truly a fan, what about “Going to California” or “Thank You”…? Little bit Beatle-esque wouldn’t you say? It’s about musicianship, talent, songwriting.
The point is that each band that comes after another is trying to build off of the influences of its predecesor therefore they will have things that are better and things that are worse and each should be appreciated differently.
So please, will everyone just realize that you don’t need to bash other bands because they don’t live up to your super-macho ideals or because they aren’t as heavy as another band. Music is an art and if a modern painting were to jump off the canvas and punch out the viewer would that make it superior to a Monet? Unfortunately in today’s world, most likely.

and every single accomplished band EVER has at least one throw away

I think most double albums are fantastic, they all have songs that aren’t really that great..but at the same time, its these songs that make the albums great. look at exile on main street; the stones rushed through production on some mediocore songs and it is an absolute gem of an album. Imagine some of the great double albums recut for one disc? no thanks.

I know they were released the same day, Axl Rose considers them “one album” and they definitely were all part of one recording project but are Use Your Illusions I & II really a “double album?” Have they ever been released as a single purchase where you have to buy both? That to me is what a double album is. You get both discs whether you like it or not. If you don’t want to hear the Elton John-like “November Rain”, you go for UYI II. If you would prefer to skip “My World”, then buy UYI I. I know it’s splitting hairs but GNR did give their fans some kind of choice when they released “Use Your Illusion.” You didn’t HAVE to buy both and I’m sure there’s a lot of people out there that own one and not the other (I believe only “Use Your Illusion II” ever hit No. 1 on the album charts.)

For that matter why don’t you consider “Lucky Town/Human Touch” by Bruce Springsteen a double album?

P.S. They DID release a single disc “best of” Use Your Illusion” a couple of years ago. It didn’t have any of the songs with objectionable language. They sold it at Wal-Mart.

Brian

Ryan Adams is a good example of an artist that can’t seem to trim out the filler. Love is Hell could have been trimmed down to one CD and it would have gotten much more attention. Same with Cold Roses, which is still one of his best CD’s.

9 times out of 10 double albums are pretentious and should be trimmed. Artists should release B-side albums or box sets for the fans that need to be completists. If that is a word….

Poor Brian Wallace, don’t blame him for being a mental handicaped kid.

The White Album is just fine how it is. One person’s filler is another person’s pot of gold. I won’t bash anyone on here for disliking the Beatles music, but if you think they’re “overrated” or didn’t have “balls”, you deserve any bashing you get!!

I found what I was talking about. See, someone DID edit “Use Your Illusion” onto one disc but only so it could be sold at stores like K-Mart and Wal-Mart.

It was released only in America in 1998. The tracklisting:

1. Live and Let Die
2. Don’t Cry (Original)
3. You Ain’t The First
4. November Rain
5. The Garden
6. Dead Horse
7. Civil War
8. 14 Years
9. Yesterdays
10. Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door
11. Estranged
12. Don’t Cry (Alt. Lyrics)

Brian

I just want to say that when i say that the edit of the white album is better than the full length im not saying the cut songs are bad songs, or that they are even filler. some of the cut songs such as sexie sadie, yer blues, long long long are some of my favorites of the abulm. im just saying that the experince of listening to the album as a whole is, on first impression, better than listening to the double album, which is still one of my ten favorite albums of all time. i am in no way dismissing the songs that were cut. i encourage you to check out listening to rolling stones suggestions. i changed my mind after listening to it.

Everyone loves Exile on Main Street, but I’m saying it would have been much better as a single disk – I prefer Sticky Fingers because it holds together better all the way through.

Likewise with just about every live album ever made. The Who’s Live at Leeds and the Stones’ Get Yer Ya Yas Out are such excellent live recordings in part because they capture the excitement and taste of a great event without purporting to represent the whole experience. (Woodstock, the Album – should have just been a 45 of Jimi’s SSB on one side and Country Joe getting the audience to scream “Next stop it’s Vietnam” on the B-side.)

Bloated albums that could be trimmed (studio and live)
1. The Clash “London Calling”
2. Genesis “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway”
3. Peter Frampton – “Frampton Comes Alive!”
Rolling Stones – “Exile on Main St.”
4. Wilco “Being There”
5. Pumpkins – “Mellon Collie”
6. Outkast – “Speakerboxx/Love Below

Only four songs from the second disc of the White album are on this list. Twelve of the sixteen are from the first disc.

Savoy Truffle over Yer Blues and Long, Long, Long? No Way.

How about NIN’s The Fragile? That could have made a killer 60-minute album instead of a track skipper.

How about the Clash album Sandinista? That was a bit of overkill. I heard they did it to try and get out of a deal with a record company though.

A lot of those old double records are fine the way they are. Trimming London Calling or Exile on Main Street? Are you insane? And you can’t have a White Album without Sexy Sadie.

This thread was made for Soundgarden’s Down On The Upside. There’s a classic 40 minute hard rock record in there. Too bad it’s 70 minutes long.

I think both discs of Stadium Arcadium could have been condensed into a “Dani California” 3 song EP. Thank God I don’t buy CDs anymore.

Nuthin but a bunch of haters here. RHCP should have put out a triple album.

Kate Bush’s “Aerial” would have made me just as happy without the first disc. Even after waiting 12 years for it.

Can’t wait to see what gets chopped off of Physical Graffiti!! Night Flight? The Rover?? Sick Again?!? That’s just madness I tell ya!!

I think Mr. Wallis is really Yoko Ono!!!

heres my version –

Back In the USSR
Dear Prudence
Everybodys Got Something To Hide
Martha My Dear
Im So Tired
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Honey Pie
Yer Blues
Rocky Racoon
Dont Pass Me By
Blackbird
Revolution (Single Version)
Sexy Sadie
Julia
Helter Skelter

i think that would sound better

The Minutemen’s Double Nickles on The Dime could’ve been stripped down same with Beefhearts Trout Mask Replica or the Pumpkins Mellon Collie and The Infinte Sadness could be (actually thats a triple on Vinyl)but it wouldn’t make sense cuz they were intended to be double albums so this list is kinda pointless lol

Brian,

I’m a fan of MUSIC – not necessarily a mark for one particular band, era or genre.

However your comments on the Beatles just make you look more and more ridiculous.

You may find some folks in the world who prefer the Stones to the Beatles – and that’s fine. Matter of opinion.

But you’ll find very few people in the world who will consider the Beatles “overrated” or unworthy of the attention they still recieve 35 years after their last album.

That minority are simply immature or mentally challengled individuals who prefer to antagonize people for their own enjoyment.

Have a nice day.

It’s the friggin’ Beatles! Nothing they do can be overrated, like Shakespeare or Einstein. If they would have taken tracks off the album in ‘68, then RS today would be doing a list on albums that could have been (e.g. Let It Be/Get Back). The album remains one of their best, because it has so many great, quirky songs.

Men talk about double albums. Yes, I’m looking at unaccomplished button-pushing, cubicle-stuffing, double-chinned wage slaves. You know, reading this, that is what you are. Talking about double albums is your escape from corporate monotony.

The White Album isn’t going to change, that is the way it’s been since 1968. Physical Graffiti is the way it’s been since 1975. These albums aren’t going to be re-sequenced by the artists who made them, ever. They’re done. You want to re-sequence them? Use your iPod, but that won’t change the fact that the rest of the world lives in the real world where THE ALBUMS ARE DONE.

How’s this: the White Album is the only Beatles album I own and listen to because it’s the only one that has guts. Beatles fans are going to give me some smart-ass geek response like they feel sorry for me or something, but that’s just more entertainment coming from fools.

How’s this for a bloated, and bad, double album: The Wall is over-rated because too many guys, like the kind who re-sequence double-albums, “relate” to it; it’s a crutch for spineless white post-modern geeks and mulletheads who want to blame everything on their mommies and teachers. Get help.

Alex | 7/24/2006, 5:05 pm EST

Nuthin but a bunch of haters here. RHCP should have put out a triple album.

haha i agree

frusciante is a better guitarist than the beatles could ever have gotten

Well, I know it wasn’t a big seller, but in terms of sheer content, NIN’s “The Fragile” is probably the best double album of the last 10-20 years or so. I doubt I will see it on here, but it was one of the best reviewed albums of 1999. Listening to certain albums from the 90’s (Ten, Dirt, MELON COLLIE) they all sound so dated, yet “The Fragile” sounds like it could have been released today (though to much contrast in the musical environment). It’d be a nice surprise, and I’m sure at least a few of you on here can agree that it’s, at the very least, an epic (if a bit bloated) album, that would be surely interesting cut down to one album.

How about we pare down Pink Floyd’s bloated and overblown “The Wall” to an EP. No wait, make it a single. Put Run Like Hell on the A-side and maybe….hmm…how about a remix of Run Like Hell on the B-side and call it a day.

Lebanesecuisine, I want to party with you my brother. We’ll take the white power structure down!

But before we do, we should address the fact that Sufjan Stevens’ Illinois drags a bit towards the end.

And Magnetic Fields’ 69 Love Songs could perhaps been more potent at 50.

I would leave these tracks off The Beatles “White Album”.

1. Wild Honey Pie
2. Martha My Dear
3. Why Don’t We Do It In The Road?
4. I Will
5. Long, Long, Long
6. Revolution 9
7. Savoy Truffle (Sorry George)
8. Good Night
9. Honey Pie

Now some more double albums that could have been shortened to one album.

1. Fleetwood Mac – Tusk
2. U2 – Rattle and Hum
3. Canned Heat – Hooker n’ Heat
4. Ben Harper – Both Sided of the Gun
5. Red Hot Chili Peppers – Stadium Arcadium
6. Todd Rundgren – Something/Anything?

New debate, who are worse, Beatle fans or Deadheads? Both exclaim they’re open minded and embrace all styles of music, but cast one dispersion toward their beloved musician-gods, they get all bent out of shape, like Bill O’Reilly at an ACLU convention. Personally, the Beatles high water mark was the Rubber Soul-Revolver era in which they weren’t overcome by dope and pretentious.
Those two records/cd’s are timeless. What proceeded it reflected their era in the worst way possible, songs that tried to demostrate a vast taste in American music (hey look, we’re cultured! we bought blues records!) but come off as inauthentic, over-produced, and self-indulgent. I can’t imagine too many kids in their bedrooms today listening to “Within You, Without You”, “Rocky Raccoon”, or most of their post ‘66 work and syaing, “This is great stuff I got to start a band”. No artist hits the mark with every work they produce. Every artist at one time in their career succumbs to commerce. If you think the Beatles were immuned to these trappings, reconsider who is smart and who truly needs to open their minds.

BG, I agree with you, Sandinista was overbloated. Most double albums are. Stadium Arcadium could have been condensed into one brilliant album as well.

man that white album could use some serious editing, but why does everyone want to get rid of birthday? That’s a kickin tune.

Really the only double albums I wouldn’t touch are London Calling and Blonde on Blonde.

The Beatles the White Album is way too indispensible to trim songs out. There quite frankly aren’t many to choose from if you were going to trim, and I feel trimming it wouldn’t make the album quite as sensational as it is. It’s the many different styles that make the White ablum the best album of the rock era. Cutting songs like Revolution 9 (which ain’t for the masses) or short oddities like Wild Honey Pie, or even Why Don’t we do it in the road, would have probably helped the White Album sell more copies than it has, but wouldn’t necessarily make it the behemouth it is today. Besides there wouldn’t be any “Heyfoxymophandlemamathat’sme” stuff if it weren’t for Revolution 9 (joke, although I do quite enjoy Rev 9).

That said, here are some double albums that could be trimmed:

1) Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. Trimming this to 1 disc would have made an already great album into the best album of the 90s. The first 2/3rds of disc 1 rule, and disc 2 has sporadic genius throughout, but it really starts to get boring and has overwrought failed experiments throughout. It’s a shame that this was 2 cds.

2) Wilco: Being There. Granted, this likely could have been 1 cd, but was released as 2 cds. Still the first cd is amazing. TIght songs, good songwrting, good variation. The second cd is just awful though. Boring, slow-moving, unfortunately it foreshadowed the rest of Wilco’s career. Disc One of being there made them the critic darlings they are today, and it’s unfortunate that they haven’t released anything approaching since those heights since (despite increased sales). Being there still is a must album (and in my top 10 of the nineties because of that first disc).

3) Todd Rundgren: Todd. 1/2 genius, half overwrought, inpenetrable instrumentals or weird oddities. It’s a shame that Todd hid his talents by purposely odditing up this LP. Could have been a 5 star masterpiece, instead it barely cracks the 3 star rating.

4) U2: Rattle and Hum. U2’s follow up to Joshua tree has it’s moments (Desire, Angel of Harlem, etc.) lost moments (Silver and Gold, Van Dieman’s Land) and a lot of garbage. THis one’s unwieldy.

5) The Kinks Preservation: Acts 1 & 2. Critics hated this overly dramatic 3 LP set (released in 2 parts). But had Ray edited this down to 1 record (From 3) you really would have had an overproduced classic LP. There are some great lost moments all over these discs (He’s Evil, the announcements, Sweet Lady Genevieve, Daylight). It would have been the kinks at their quirky best, instead it’s a forgotten mess, likely found still in pristine condition in a record store near you.

6) The Who Quadrophenia: Oddly this mess of an album has had a critical re-appraisal. Listen to it again, and you’ll see it really is a mess. 50% of it though is pure genius. Unfortunately the rest of it makes me almost hate the album entirely.

7) George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass. Still a classic 5 star masterpiece and challenges Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band for the best post-beatles, and post white album moment. George could have probaby added “Hear Me Lord” and “I Dig Love” to the first record and made this already indispensible classic, even more indispensible. He could have then saved some of the remaining scraps for the next 20 years of his solo career, and completely left off the “Apple Jam” that comprises side 4 of the second LP.

Frank Zappa’s Freak Out! Wasn’t there when this came out, so perhaps I missed the boat, but this one is way too long.

9) Donovan: HMS Donovan. Absolutely brilliant for about 2/3rds the songs. Songs like “The Pee Song” and “Mr. Wind” etc are easily amongst his worst songs ever though.

Now a few underappreciated double LPs.

1) The Kinks: Everybody’s in Showbiz. 1 sloppy drunken mess of a live album, backed with one sloppy drunken mess of a studio LP. THe Studio LP is quirky enough to be Ray Davies’ last all out brilliant record (with his sardonic humour in all it’s splendour), and the live LP is hilarious too. It’s a cult classic, and I guess I’m totally in the cult. This one’s much better than Lola v Powerman.

2) Donovan: A Gift from a Flower to a Garden. Mr. Leitch is too unfairly dismissed today. AGFAFTAG sounds nothing like Dylan. It’s like a happier, more relaxing mix of Nick Drake and Beck’s Sea Changes only with much more melody and charm than either of those two aforementioned artists.

3) Todd Rundgren: A Wizard A True Star. Todd at his absolute Peak, the weirdness that would overtake him on Todd is showing signs here, but it all works brilliantly.

Use Your Illusions was the most magnificent flame-out in rock n’ roll history. It was the work of a band that was at the top the business and wasn’t afraid to let everybody know it. It was brilliant. It was pathetic. There could have been a brilliant 15-song single disc — on par Appetite, Back in Black, Led Zep IV and Nevermind as the best hard-rock album effort. It wasn’t. But isn’t it f&^*ing glorious. I hope Chinese Democracy is just as magnificent/pathetic!

Would the world really be a better place with less Beatle’s songs in it? If you subscribe to this blasphemous way of thinking, let me hook you up with this cool chick I know. I think her name is Yoko.

come on no one is seriously advocating a white album reissue with half of the songs cut, we are only dealing with a hypothetical, what would the white album and other double albums be like if it was cut down to a single vinyl, i really dont think anybody is seriously adressing this issue

Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t Charles Manson inspired to kill innocent people after he listened to the White Album? Once again, let’s not throw stones at our beloved Beatles that made a world a better place… get a grip, it’s music, some of it is good and some of it isn’t.

the abridged White ablum. How about a condensed Desolation Row? these ideas rot!

1. RHCP’s Stadium Arcadium. Both albums are great, but a few songs could have been trimmed off.
2. SOAD’s Mezmerize/Hypnotize. Daron Malakian needs to quit singing and just play guitar. Every time he sings, the song is ruined. He also can’t write lyrics to save his life. Malakian needs to quit trying to run the band and just be part of it.
3. Smashing Pumpkins’ Mellon Collie…1979 and Bodies are the only two worthy songs on the second disc.
4. The Who’s Quadrophenia. Eventhough it tells an operatic story, too many songs just go nowhere.
5. Pearl Jam’s Lost Dogs. It’s a b-sides and rarities collection and even a bad song by PJ is better than 99% of what else is out there, but one tight disc could have one hell of an album.

Are we really going to blame the Beatles for Charles Manson? Is that where were at? Come on now .. you’re smarter than that, Flynnie.

Brian Wallace youre a moron

agree. brian wallace is a moron.

Stadium Arcadium could’ve been the best RHCP album if pared to 16 songs. However, I love those other flawed tracks if just for Frusciante’s brilliance. It is a sad commentary on the (un)popularity of real rock music that Frusciante isn’t worshipped as the modern guitar god he is. This man is the Richards/Hendrix/Page/Van Halen/ of our times. God bless him and his beautiful music.

Here are some single LPs I wish were double, ’cause they’re consistently good from start to finish

The Band – The Band
The Who – The Who Sell Out (love the radio concept!)
Bruce Springsteen – Nebraska
John Lennon – Plastic Ono Band
Neil Young – After the Gold Rush
Prince – Dirty Mind
Sly Stone – There’s A Riot Goin’ On
Al Green – Call Me

By the way, does anyone else here absolutely hate rock operas? They never work! Roger Waters buried the storyline to The Wall in a bunch of unintelligible phone conversations and weak 2-minute songs (Don’t Leave Me Now, Bring the Boys Back Home) You have to watch the movie to actually comprehend the plot. Billie Joe Armstrong, rather than just write 10-15 great songs about the state of the nation and today’s teenage disillusionment, has to come up with wierd characters with names like St. Jimmy. American Idiot falls apart straight out of the box. Just look at Who’s Next – songs salvaged from an overblown rock opera concept that still retain all the themes Pete Townhend was going to pump into a sci-fi 3-LP beast.

this is stupid.

i guess i have to say something reasonable. how about. . . mother nature’s son is gone, yet wild honey pie remains. ’nuff said.

“the white album” and “sandinista!” are perfect in their sprawlingness. the mixed in odds and ends that aren’t exactly masterpieces (”wild honey pie”, “junkie slip”) are part of the fun of double albums, why would you wanna cut em out? just so every album is 13 solid songs? sounds BORING to me!

altough… we could have been better off without ringo’s embarressing “don’t pass me by”, but hey, even that song has a place on the white album

alternate single-disc version of the white album (following the sequence of the original):
Side 1:
1-Back In The USSR
2-Glass Onion
3-While My Guitar Gently Weeps
4-Happiness Is A Warm Gun
5-Blackbird
6-Don’t Pass Me By
7-Why Don’t We Do It In The Road
8-I Will
9-Julia
Side 2:
10-Birthday
11-Yer Blues
12-Mother Nature’s Son
13-Everybody’s Got Something…
14-Sexy Sadie
15-Helter Skelter
16-Savoy Truffle
17-Cry Baby Cry
Run Time: 50:43

And to get ahead on the Zeppelin track, PG is perfect except for Night Flight. The whole thing plays in 79 minutes.

The thing about the White Album is that it wouldn’t be THE WHITE ALBUM if it wasn’t a double album. It is flawed (compared with what came before from the Beatles), but that’s where its appeal comes from. Think about it, is Magical Mystery Tour iconic?

“The White Albums” without Sexy Sadie? and the other stupid, but cool songs. I think the excess, the ego battle and all that situation made great, not only the White Album, but also other Beatles’ records. Let it Be is another case, or Abbey Road.

By the other hand, when I was trying to remember perfect double albums, London Calling came out, or Sign of the Times, and Mellon Collie & the Infinite Sadness (yes, that).

What people needs to do when artists make ambitious albums is to enjoy the albums as a whole concept with all the circumstances around

I think that all of Chicago’s double albums could have easily been trimmed to single discs. And this was before they did all those mushy power ballads.

Man, how could you think of leaving out “Long, Long, Long”???

now rap rarely has double discs…but one that i liked was by my favorite mc…nas…street disciple…nas had two back to back ill albums with stillmatic and god’s son…and while street disciple was pretty good…cutting it down to a single album woulda made it all killer…no filler…and maybe nas’s best album since…well…illmatic…

i heard nas’s next album is gonna be called “hip hop is dead” and if u listen to the crunken crap on the radio…i think he’s right…

How the hell can anyone leave out Revolution no. 9 or Yer Blues or… my god, even the crappy songs. You can’t modify the White Album!

You can however, modify these:
Mezmerize/Hypnotize – System of a Down
Physical Graffitti – Led Zeppelin
Skull and Bones – Cypress Hill
The Fragile (maybe) – Nine Inch Nails

Sincerely,
M. Woods

Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness can not be trimmed to one album. Maybe four songs can be taken from the album, but there is no way that you can trim a whole CD. Give it ten years and people will realize its importance a bit more. As for those who despise the second CD, please try listening to it again. It is far superior.

It’s the bloody white album, shutup.

An Alternate Track Listing For The White Album:

Side One
1. Birthday
2. Mother Nature’s Son
3. Back In The U.S.S.R.
4. Dear Prudence
5. I Will
6. Happiness Is A Warm Gun
7. I’m So Tired

Side Two
1. Helter Skelter
2. Blackbird
3. Don’t Pass Me By
4. Sexy Sadie
5. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
6. Piggies
7. Good Night

Try It Out. Great Mix. What do you think?

Quick Alternate Tracklist For Physical Graffiti:

Side One:
1. Bron-Y-Aur
2. Down By The Seaside
3. The Rover
4. In My Time Of Dying

Side Two:
5. Trampled Underfoot
6. Ten Years Gone
7. Houses Of The Holy
8. The Wanton Song
9. Kashmir

(Running Time 52:52)

With regard to Nebraska. I managed to add some bootlegs songs onto the original i.e Child Bride, Pink Cadallac, losin King and Born in the USA. It sounds great in the late hours, so sometimes more is better! The Rising should of been cut down to about 12 songs and then it would of been a killer album

Whats up with RollingStone? Why would anyone want to alter The White Album? Its remains to this day one of the best albums of all time. And to be fair, I would rather have more than less any day.

I was way ahead of you, and last year I came up with this list for a single CD:

Back in the USSR
Dear Prudence
Glass Onion
Blackbird
While my Guitar Gently Weeprs
Birthday
Yer Blues
Mother Nature’s Son
Everybody’s Got Something to Hide…
Helter Skelter
Long Long Long
Revolution 1
Hey Jude

As you can see, I’d include Hey Jude, which came from the White Album sessions but for some inexplicable reason was left off. The White Album was really John’s and Paul’s first solo albums–each has an album of material.

There isn’t any double album that couldn’t be pared down to a single disc–even Exile on Main Street and Blonde on Blonde.

Whoever poor craig is, was obviously born after 1980. He was weened on MTV and thinks that’s normal, instead of on love, like the rest of us…

I hate The Beatles too! Craig or Brian Wallace, you’re both as dumb as I am. Either of you want to be my next Secretary of State??

Lou Reed’s Metal Machine Music could use a bit of a cut down. Take out sides 2 % 3 and you have a nice 33 minute piece of crap.

the wall would’ve been much, much better as a single album….probably almost as good as dark side….and yeah the white album woulda been alot better to, but second geussing the beatles is like second guessing hemingway or scorcese or shakespeare. on another note blonde on blonde remains (by far) the best double album ever made

Speaking of single albums that should have been doubles:
Heartbreaker
Demoli tion
Rock n Roll
Gold
29
I had the tunes to expand all of these albums too…the only problem is that most of you morons can only handle the truth for about 40 minutes and then you get whiney and bored….I have some killer covers of the backstreet boys just sittin on the shelf, but you idiots would never understand the genius of it all. Not everyone has the genius and talent to issue a double album…listen to Cold Roses you fools….I rest my case.

The Fragile by NIN. Sometimes less is more. See With Teeth! Lean and mean. Double Albums are pretentious.

What!?!? You want to modify “the White Album?” I can’t beleive this. It’s almost like saying “that the Beatles would have been better off not composing most of the tracks on that record.” Shame on you, Rolling Stone, for wanting to edit one of the greatest contributions to Rock n’ Roll. And Billy, Led Zeppelin definately had balls, but the only reason they were allowed to show ‘em to us, was because the Beatles unzipped the fly! After all, the Beatles were 1st.

The only reason Rolling Stone mentioned culling down the White Album was to get people to comment more. Honestly, would you all be so concerned if “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness” was a single disc? It was impressive, yes, but not all of the songs were crucial.

Sorry, the white album and mellon collie are 2 of the best albums of all time. And yes, I listened to the white album while I was in high school, and songs like rocky raccoon did inspire me. Few people make songs like that anymore. Just to tell a silly story with a silly song? It’s great. Plus I love the “old saloon” style piano parts in that song. Anyway, cutting those albums down just doesn’t work for me. As much as I love the Foo Fighters, “In your Honor” could certainly use a trim. The acoustic disc is great generally all the way through; though, while the electric disc has only a few good songs.

Jacob

Do you people have nothing better to do? How a magazine can say that the White Album could be better as a single disc and recognize it as the 10th greatest album of all time is beyond me. The question is stupid to answer in the first place and you have all wasted valuable time which could have been spent listening to the white album. Screw you guys.. I’m going home.

pekoe | 7/25/2006, 7:08 am EST

Whoever poor craig is, was obviously born after 1980. He was weened on MTV and thinks that’s normal, instead of on love, like the rest of us

oh attacking me now are we? There we have some high levels of maturity. I respect the beatles greatly for what they did for music, and even though they aren’t my favorite band I can understand the greatness, something most of you beatles fans are having trouble doing.

All I’m saying is this. Go try and play “under the bridge” by the chili peppers on guitar. Its ten times more difficult than any guitar line in any beatles song.

I don’t think there is any artist, musician, band, writer, etc. that HAS to be “respected” for their “greatness.” That’s communism.

I just think the Beatles were a smug, naive, precious, insular band who wrote several good songs.

In “Fight the Power”, Chuck D said “Elvis was a hero to most
but he never meant s*** to me.”
That’s how I feel about the Beatles.

Brian

I just think this list is rather funny because I believe Rolling Stone ranked the White Album as the 11th greatest album of all time. Whoops.

Sorry it was No. 10… also a quote from the article “the White Album is an exhilarating sprawl — some of the Beatles’ most daring and delicate work.”

Elvis Presley’s the Sun Sessions was number 11

I love this idea! I’ve always had a problem with some so-so doubel albums that could have been excellent single albums if they just would have trimmed off the fat. I always thought “Wu-Tang Forever” by the WTC could have been a classic if it was one disc. Same with NIN “The Fragile” and Smashing Pumpkins “Mellon Collie…”

Smashing Pumpkins ‘Mellon Collie…’ is a great double cd because its so diverse. It wouldnt be the same if it were a single.

some great songs left off on the list like birthday, yer blues, cry baby cry…

If you hate the Beatles as much as you claim – why waste your time talking about them here??

Simply because you know you’re going to rile some folks up and you enjoy this kind of banter??

Probably.

Shows your lack of intelligence, maturity and taste.

When school starts up again, let’s hope your teacher makes you take the short bus after all.

It’s for your own good.

I think that the following albums are compressible:

Mezmerize/Hyp notize (keeping all Hypnotize’s songs)

Stadium Arcadium (yes, only a few songs or it’s preferable to listen Californication, where the RHCP new songs were already presented.)

Another possibility is Kid A/Amnesiac, but my heart is too big to touch these albums.

Mellon Collie and the Fragile are untouchable !!!(perhaps I’ll try to erase the last NIN album instead)

Here’s my list, still 24 tracks, well it’s the best rock album of all time …..and why do some people hate the Beatles? If you don’t like their music, don’t play it, just listen to your Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit albums….and feel the love!

Back In The U.S.S.R
Dear Prudence
Glass Onion
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Happiness Is A Warm Gun
Martha My Dear
I’m So Tired
Blackbird
Rocky Raccoon
Why Don’t We Do It In The Road
I Will
Julia

Birthday
Yer Blues
Mother Nature’s Son
Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except Me & My Monky
Sexy Sadie
Helter Skelter
Long, Long, Long
Revolution 1
Honey Pie
Savoy Truffle
Cry Baby Cry

I like the setup of the original set list better (how could you not have back in the ussr as the first song??), but here are the songs I would remove from the double-album:

Wild Honey Pie
Bungalow Bill
Don’t Pass Me By
Honey Pie
Goodnight
Sexy Sadie
Savoy Truffle
Both Revolutions (unless they used the better version)
Rocky Racoon

The Beatles are way overrated.

So are the Stones, Dylan, Zeppelin, the Sex Pistols, David Bowie and all of Hendrix’s incarnations.

And when I say they’re overrated, I mean they’re utter crap.

Come to think of it, Beethoven, Mozart and Bach were talentless hacks. I mean, they couldn’t even pen lyrics! Any deaf bastard can arrange notes into pretty pictures on the paper…

Hemingway couldn’t write prose if his next drink depended on it.

Hitchcock, Kubrick and Scorcese are all wankers.

Don’t get me started on that twit Thom York and those musically-challenged Radiohead kids. We’re in america…it’s spelled “Tom.”

Also severly overrated is sarcasm. Just say what you mean and stop confusing us!!

Anyone who disagrees with me is a bloody dimwit and I challenge them to a fight. Meet me out back. I’ll be there. Wait for it.

Long live the ghost of Paris Hilton!

I eat my own poop.

Ah, the maturity of a Beatles fan.
Is that all you have? Impersonating someone else and saying “I eat my own poop?” That’s it? That’s your Beatles-influenced wit? Way to go. That’s what I expected from someone who likes the Beatles. High-level verbal discourse. And they think Pink Floyd fans are stupid and illiterate!

Brian

No BIRTHDAY or MOTHER NATURE’S SON????
Must have’s for my list…
Could do without the demos (Why don’t we do it in the road and wild honey pie), but I suppose those are just for timing.

I’m sure this edit sounds good together because those are all great songs, but the White Album works best the way it was originally put together.

it seems like people today rip the Beatles to try in a futile attempt at being hip.
Just acknowledge their greatness. Otherwise, go paint your fingernails black and talk about how revolutionary AFI is.

As for the topic, I love the diversity of the White Album, its what makes it so great.

One more thing: Just the fact that people have to argue forever about which ALBUM, not song, but album is the best work of the Beatles is a small testament to how incredible they were.

If you hate the Beatles, you probably do not know much about music previous to when you were born (as a whole it was much better, and I’m only 22)

So, real Brian…what bands do you not “hate so much?”

Enlighten us, please…us lowly Beatle appreciators will surely be the better with the benefit of all your insight…

In defense of Brian Wallace..
The Beatles were responsible for creating some of the best music of their era and some of the worst. They were musicians/songwritiers, taht through no fault of their own became a deity. These many e-mails are a testament to the throngs of millions who cannot envision the millions that can either look at their collective work objectively and find its strengths and weaknesses, or the millions who would never buy a Beatles recording because they think its utter crap. That is not to say that anyone can deny their place in musicial history, or thier impact on American culture. Due to their influence, countless young men and women bought instruments and wanted to create bands for themselves. Forty-two years ago, their impact was profound. What I find particularly sad is how people pine for a group that has been dead for 37 years and cannot appreciate much else expect the Beatles. Young people should embrace the music of their generation, and I am certain many of the e-mails posted on thie thread are from kids born in the ’70’s, 80’s and possibly the ’90s and have missed out on seeing a band of their era playing live because they are of a mindset that the Beatles are the zenith of all recorded music and all else pales in comparison. The Beatles are not/were not gods. Their music made millions happy and at the same time had little to no effect on millions of others. For two stinkin’ generations, it has been foisted upon music comsumers that the Beatles are the gold standerd. I disagree. In fact, to borrow a lyric from the greatest double album ever recorded (the Clash’s London calling) I wait for the day when “phony Beatlemania has bitten the dust”

Listen to the Beatles with open ears and make up your own minds.
They wrote a lot of bad songs after 1966.

Where was this list Friday when I bastardized a single CD of the “genius” White Album for my car?

But to address the issues. Are the Beatles genius? Sure. They did more for pop music than blahity-blah-blah-blah… Is the White Album genius? Sure, whatev…look at all those music styles (dude, ska!)…Is the White Album a good listen? “Number 9, number 9, number 9, Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da…” Okay those tracks aren’t horrible– there’s no track titled “John mics the John,” (or “Squeeze Box,” which can titty fu-uck itself) and they’re, like, the Beatles, so everything’s listenable, but how much is actually to the level of “While-my-Guitar-Gently-Orgasm s”’s enjoyability?

Ob-la-di. Ob-la-da.

(Note: Somewhere Paul McCartney is getting laid and I’m not.)

Next issue. (Imagine: Graphix and FX.)
Q: Is it kosher to alter a masterpiece?

A: If I wanna draw nipples and a mustache on the Mona Lisa, that’s fine, because I bought it.

Zang! Capitalism. I got freedom of speech just like the authors, so I can use their work as I like, as long as I don’t distribute it. (Note: This isn’t true in Great Britain. If you live there you can’t say (lie) anything bad about anyone famous or they’ll sue you like that cute, Junior Charlie’s Angels, Almost Famous chick…)

Besides, if I always lift the needle/fast-forward/click next when that harpsichord slides (what’s a good adjective for harpsichord?) into “Little Piggies,” than what does it matter if it’s not on my “Beatle Crawl-to-Work” CD?

But… with your Rolling Stone mix, I miss “Revolution 1″ (you’ve heard it too much on radio; I haven’t) and “Sexie Sadie”… but, maybe, that’s a sentimetal– misspellings are sometimes funny, new band: “Bury Manilow” haha, think: Celine Dion leads Slayer– thing…

Umm, where was I?

Oh, I dig these lists, Rolling Stone. This makes my morning coffee taste less acidic– so do Tums, and beer (all three together’s like a triple panacea).

I like the “Physical Grafitti” list too. But, how can you cut down Led Zeppelin. They’re f-f-f’ing geniuses…oh, and most of their career was filler anyway–I get it, you can play guitar real good, Jimbo– and I can smoka-da-weed real good– well, we all need a soundtrack to our lives…

Oh, how I wished I had iPods when I went to high school. Instead of “Find the Inverse,” it’d be “Oh, let the sun beat down upon my face/ stars to fill my dream.”

Oh, and the Rolling Stones, when you get to “Exile on Main Street,” just ax the third side. I mean– nothing! The Rolling Stones are geniuses… They never, whatever.

Okay, I think that’s, like, my two bits or something. I hope it makes sense…oh, and I hope, like, lots of people disagree with me so I can, like, use exclaimation points and stuff. Exclaimation points are pointy.

Oh, also, Mozart and Miles Davis can use their untalented tongues to lick the sweat from Beatles’ Genius Ringo Starr’s car seat. Serious.

I think I need to go to a new website.

Someone stop rolling stone. This kind of drivvel is disgraceful.

The fact that you left “Wild Honey Pie” on there automatically makes this an article worth ignoring.

i wouldn’t have touched this album, guys. the white album and blonde on blonde should be considered off-limits. i think tommy would have been more appropriate for the first one. however, i think you should not rule out cutting down tusk by fleetwood mac.

Just about every double album could and should be pared down to a single disc. Typically, a double album is merely a statement (not necessarily from the band itself, but the record company) that the band releasing said album is so big that they can sell CD’s that cost 50-75% more without much (if any) more quality than a single disc. I do think that the White Album is the exception, though. Sure, you could take off a couple of tracks, but you could take a few tracks off most single discs. I don’t think there is any more filler on this disc than some of the better single discs out there. That is what makes it such a landmark. It is the one double album that actually deserved to be a double album. Do us a favor and disect “Stadium Arcadium” and “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness”. Both are good albums that didn’t need to be that long but for the perceived status that comes with double album/disc length.

The RS list is a supreme dissappointment because it left of gems like Cry Baby Cry, Revolution (better than the single version), Sexy Sadie, and Ob-la-Di Ob-la-da (the most unjustly maligned song of all time). And how can you justify including Wild Honey Pie instead of Honey Pie?

And where is Mother Nature’s son, that song is an amazingly melodic gem. You guys are awful.

The Beatles were the only truth that ever got through.

Sorry RS I just can’t get my head around the fact that you’d rather have Martha My Dear, Wild Honey Pie & Rocky Racoon on The White Album rather than Revolution 1, Sexy Sadie & Long Long Long.

Are you just being provocative for the sake of it or what?

Here’s my track listing:

Side one
Back in the USSR
Dear Prudence
Glass Onion
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Happiness Is a Warm Gun
Julia

Side Two
Everybody’s Got Something to Hide
Yer Blues
Sexy Sadie
Helter Skelter
Revolution 1
Good Night

First, attacking the White Album just to get a rise out of fans is not cool – especially with all the other crap out there. By your definition there is no perfect double album, therefore they all should be singles. Mother natures son, which is omitted from your list, is better than 99.9% of any groups best material. So while it may be filler when compared to My Guitar Gently Weeps, that doesn’t make it not worth including on the album.

Next, including Wild Honey Pie, but omitting Cry Baby Cry is probably the dumbest thing I have ever read. Yes I know its hyperbole, but needed to convey the otter stupidity of the list. Seriously, it clearly demonstrates that no thought whatsoever went into writing this article. And while it may be a matter of taste, I don’t think I know a single person who prefers Wild Honey Pie over Cry Baby Cry.

This is Rolling Stone for god sakes – not Maxim. Someone better get their sh*t together over there, and actually listen to music. Blasphemers, may God have mercy on your souls.

This was just a dumb idea. You were inviting all the bad things people are saying about this, and you deserve it. Seriously, I hope rollingstone.com doesn’t have too much influence on the magazine that I have come to love, because I would hate to actually see any slandering of the White Album in print. You’re Rolling Stone. You should know better. A fun idea? Maybe. But I don’t think for a second anyone will practice your idea of only listening to your single disc. Horrible. You should be ashamed. Someone should take away your press passes and bar you from any and all Strokes concerts for the next five years. Maybe that’ll give you time to appreciate the classics you so callously left off.

I agree that this concept is dumb, but if you are going to do this how in the hell is Yer Blues left off

I don’t think there are as many filler songs on the white album as many people do, but one song that definitely IS filler is “Everybody’s Got Something to Hide…” Why is everyone here keeping that song? Can any of you explain your thinking? I can’t think of a single good thing to say about that song.

A few things:

The first disc is better than the second, but only 3 of the 16 on this list are from sides 3 or 4… Mother Nature’s Son is a better recording than Wild Honey Pie any way you look at it, and that’s only the most obvious disc 2 recording being better than 1 of your disc 1 recordings on your list.

Also, I don’t get why the last 2 songs on your disc are George songs. There isn’t a Beatles album with two George songs in a row or a George song closing an album.

REPLY TO LOBSTERS – U2 double album is “Rattle & Hum”… and yes it’s definitely ready to be snipped!

Jeez-

OK. Here’s the solution: take out the following:

Wild Honey Pie,
Why Don’t We Do It in the Road
Savoy Truffle

Replace them with:
Revolution 1
Mother’s Nature’s Son
Yer blues

Everything else works fine. I like the opening and closing tracks especially. Ballsy to end with a Harrison track I must say.

I think McCartney put it best, “It’s the Beatles’ bloody (double) White Album. It sold (well). Shut Up!”

The Beatles weren’t good
I should be aloud to say that and not get shot.
they were just a pop group with catchy songs THEY DID NOT CHANGE PLANET EARTH
London Calling was a fine album but I can see where people who dont love the music the clash made prolly dont like the right profile of those kind of songs but I like it
and sandinista was for the clashes enjoyment not the fans they really only needed about 10 songs

you’re not smart. you can contest that the beatles were the greatest. you can’t say they weren’t good. and it’s allowed, not alloud. and they did change the world. they made social protest popular and acceptable to the mainstream, and furthered the introduction of blues, rock and drugs to all those middle class suburban white kids who were missing out. they’ve influenced nearly everyone who came after them, and many of their contemporaries including the beach boys and the rolling stones. people who know music give the beatles credit. ask any real rock musician.

My kids and I thought of this concept of “The Pure White Album” last year and had a lively conversation out of it. We even brought some of our friends into it. Rolling Stone was pretty close to my version with only two exceptions. I’d have replaced “Wild Honey Pie” with “Glass Onion” and Savoy Truffle” with “Yer Blues.” George is not well-represented in my version, but the only good song he wrote for the project was “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” As for a couple of the other double albums mentioned, don’t touch a single song from “The River” or “London Calling!”

Looks like just about everybody’s cutting Revolution No. 9. What a pity, not because it’s a masterpiece but because so many songs on the album are worse. Here’s a short list:
Goodnight
Don’t Pass Me By
I Will
Honey Pie
Wild Honey Pie
Birthday
Martha My Dear
Savoy Truffle

This list omits two of their best songs: Paul’s “Mother Nature’s Son,” and George’s “Long Long Long.” Sure, some of the songs aren’t their best, but I wouldn’t change them a bit because the whole concept of the White Album was to be a messy hodgepodge of weird, experimental stuff. I’d add on the single version of “Revolution” on there, and possibly take the one on the album off, if anything.

you guys should edit the smashing pumpkins overloaded ‘melon collie and the infinite sadness’

I don’t get this whole mania to edit down double albums. I’ve seen similar stuff elsewhere. Anyone with a CD player or IPod (or similar) can change the playlist any time they want. Basically I do that every time I get in the car. I have about a 20-25 minutes commute. Sometimes I just let a CD run. Sometimes I pick my favorite tracks. Sometimes I deliberately pick tracks I haven’t heard in awhile. The double album is a different type of statement than a single album. It’s like the difference between a sonata and a symphony. Electric Ladyland isn’t as punchy as Are You Experienced. On the other hand, it let Jimi stretch out and do sounds we never would’ve heard otherwise, instead of trying to cram everything into the 3-minute format. If Stone Free, for example, had been on Ladyland instead of Experienced, we would’ve gotten to hear him take off, instead of having it clipped just as he’s getting the guitar really cranked up.

One comment on the White Album: anyone who’d pick Martha My Dear over Long Long Long has me scratching my head.

Why is everyone dissing savoy truffle? It’s one of the most ridiculously sexy and fun songs the beatles ever made. And those horns!

Here’s my ideal list:
1. Back in the USSR
2. Glass Onion
3. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
4. Happiness is a Warm Gun
5. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
6. I’m So Tired
7. Blackbir
8. Piggies
9. Rocky Raccoon
10. Birthday
11. Yer Blues
12. Me & My Monkey
13. Helter Skelter
14. Revolution (or Revolution 1)
15. Savoy Truffle
I’m a big Beatles fan, but I always thought the White Album was a bit too long. Finally, someone agrees! Bonus points to RS for including Savoy Truffle on the “keeps” list!

Some other double-albums that could use trims, and my ideal tracklists:
Wheels of Fire (Cream)
Side 1
1. White Room
2. Politician
3. As You Said
4. Politician
5. Deserted Cities of the Heart
Side 2
1. Crossroads [live]
2. Sitting on Top of the World
3. Born Under a Bad Sign
4. Spoonful [live]
Side 1 psychedelic rock, side 2 blues

Blonde on Blonde (Dylan)
Side 1:
1. Rainy Day Women #12 & 35
2. Visions of Johanna
3. I Want You
4. Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat
5. Just Like a Woman
Side 2;
1. Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I’ll Go Mine)
2. Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again
3. Temporarily Like Achilles (very underrated)
4. Obviously 5 Believers (again, underrated).

I admit that I have difficulty staying completely engaged through an entire double album. I like an artist to hit me with their best shot. Apparently, so did Pat Benetar. But on the flip side, more power to the artists just putting stuff out there. Someone’s bound to like even a bad song, and at the very least, it can give insight to the creative process and inspire aspiring writers. Look at it this way–would you rather have an arguably bloated album that many people consider one of the best of all time, or instead, have the songs trickle out years later hyped as “the amazing secret Beatle songs” only to find that they leave you with that same “ugh” feeling that “You Know You’re Right” gave Nirvana fans after much anticipatory fanfare.

I can only echo the comments made by those who think this is a bad idea. And I have a question for the writer of the article: Have you talked to Sir George Martin lately? (You and he share the same opinion). Leave the album alone. It is what it is, and that’s the end of it! And if you’re going to pick on Beatles or Beatles Solo albums, I noticed that “All Things Must Pass” was ceremoniously omitted. In its original form, this was a triple, rather than a double-disc album. But if I did have to pick which songs to cut out, I would put all of McCartney’s tunes out there: “Blackbird”, “I Will”, etc. Songs like “The Continuing Story Of Bungaloo Bill” and “Rocky Raccoon” are among the most humorous pieces of work the Beatles ever recorded.

If you don’t like the music the Beatles recorded, then I’ve got a revolutionary idea: DON’T LISTEN TO IT! No one is forcing you to appreciate, support, or listen to anyone. But don’t say ANY of it “sucks”. No one has to like the Beatles, but respect their contributions to the music world and respect those who do enjoy them. ALL music is fine, it’s what you like and what it does for you that makes music both individually based on opinion and great, but remember the facts: we wouldn’t have any of what we have heard since 1965 if it weren’t for the original pioneers of the industry. The Beatles really opened the minds of others to see just how far the musical horizon could be pushed. The Beatles made every musician in the recording industry during the 1960s work a little bit harder to compete and keep up with them. ALL OF The music that we got as a result of the competition was amazing, because it forced us all to see what was possible for the first time in a long time! Was that such a bad thing? Did the Beatles change the world? No. Did they drastically affect millions of peoples lives? Yes, whether some of those people realize it or not.

The essential concept of the White Album, I think, is the Beatles presenting as broad a musical spectrum as they could: from the most inocuous old timey pop (Honey Pie) to the most out there avant garde weirdness (Revolution No. 9). What just about everyone’s done here is basically given a lame version of that with edges cut off. It seems to me that if you’re not going to keep it as it is, then it’s best to make a more unified musical statement at one end or the other: either a sweet Paul & Ringo dominated pop album, or something emphasizing the more rocking/psychedelic/lyrically edgy side of the group, such as the following:
Side A:
Back in the USSR
Dear Prudence
Glass Onion
Happiness is a Warm Gun
I’m So Tired
Piggies
Why Don’t We Do It in the Road
Julia
Side B:
Yer Blues
Everybody’s Got Something to Hide
Sexy Sadie
Helter Skelter
Long, Long, Long
Revolution 1
Cry Baby Cry
Revolution 9

any album without “The Continuing story of bungalow Bill” is not the White Album. other than that, that’s a really kicking lineup

Perhaps a little late, but I finally got it the way I like it:

Side One:
1. Everybody’s Got Something Except Me and My Monkey
2. Martha My Dear
3. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
4. Glass Onion
5. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
6. I Will
7. Helter Skelter

Side Two:
8. Happiness Is a Warm Gun
9. Long, Long, Long
10. Don’t Pass Me By
11. Blackbird
12. Sexy Sadie
13. Savoy Truffle
14. Julia

(total running time: 42:07)