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Frederick Rickmann

THE WHITE ALBUM - the real thing

On the 22nd of November 2018, the WHITE ALBUM was re-released after 50 years. It was on the same date in 1968 that the Beatles launched their iconic double LP album.

THE WHITE ALBUM - the real thing

Like almost everything else the Beatles did, it was a revolution. Not only in the composition and orchestration of the music and the selection of the tracks, but in the simple graphics of the cover. As the name suggests, it was a pure white double cover, with the name Beatles' embossed on the front.

THE WHITE ALBUM - the real thing

My version, isn't the modern, re-mastered re-release. It is the actual original. The real thing. Bought in November 1968. Except that now the cover isn't white at all. It's really a kind of scuffed creamy colour with a mass of scratches and cracks. Yet somehow that just intensifies the quality, and the authenticity, isn't that right?

THE WHITE ALBUM - the real thing

Like many revolutions, the strengthens and the values inherent in this album weren't apparent immediately. I recall being a bit disappointed on hearing it first time. I thought - like many reviewers now - that it could have been edited to a single LP album. But listening through the tracks now, with the clarity of hindsight, I see that the narrative of the entire album is a masterpiece.

 

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