Anyone else think the White Album is overrated? - Music

Guest

So I'm a pretty big Beatles fan. I'm still ironing out my list, but I have little doubt in my mind that Abbey Road (which is barely short of being a perfect album, in my opinion) will land somewhere in the top 10. I also think Revolver, Sgt. Pepper, and Magical Mystery Tour are great albums, though, unlike Abbey Road, they all have a few tracks I'm not too big on. I think Rubber Soul is pretty great, too, but it's not really my style. Of course, every one of these albums is considered a classic and is somewhere in the top 100 on our overall chart.

The one Beatles album I never quite understood the appeal of, however, was their eponymous White Album. On BEA, this album oscillates between #6 and #7 (though it spends most of its time at #7), Rolling Stone magazine ranked it at #10, and just about every music publication considers it an absolute masterpiece. I've been listening to this album since I was very young and still can't figure out why. It's got its highlights, of course (While My Guitar Gently Weeps; Martha My Dear; Long, Long, Long; and Cry Baby Cry are some of my favorite Beatles songs), but overall I feel like the average song quality is pretty low compared to their other albums. And on top of that, it totally fails to hold together. I mean, I can appreciate variety. The top 3 albums on my chart got there partially because they display such a wide range of styles. But, unlike the White Album, they manage to do so without venturing out of their genre. Listening to the White Album, I feel like I'm listening either to a mixed tape of 30 bands that all have similar-sounding singers or to a greatest hits album whose songs, for the most part, are nowhere near good enough to actually be greatest hits.

Now, I'm not posting this to attack the album or people who enjoy it, but rather because I'm curious. Does anybody else feel the same about this album? And for those of you who do consider it a masterpiece, what do you consider its strengths?

Facetious

Gender: Male
Age: 24
Location: Somewhere you've never been

swedenman wrote:

So I'm a pretty big Beatles fan. I'm still ironing out my list, but I have little doubt in my mind that Abbey Road (which is barely short of being a perfect album, in my opinion) will land somewhere in the top 10. I also think Revolver, Sgt. Pepper, and Magical Mystery Tour are great albums, though, unlike Abbey Road, they all have a few tracks I'm not too big on. I think Rubber Soul is pretty great, too, but it's not really my style. Of course, every one of these albums is considered a classic and is somewhere in the top 100 on our overall chart.

The one Beatles album I never quite understood the appeal of, however, was their eponymous White Album. On BEA, this album oscillates between #6 and #7 (though it spends most of its time at #7), Rolling Stone magazine ranked it at #10, and just about every music publication considers it an absolute masterpiece. I've been listening to this album since I was very young and still can't figure out why. It's got its highlights, of course (While My Guitar Gently Weeps; Martha My Dear; Long, Long, Long; and Cry Baby Cry are some of my favorite Beatles songs), but overall I feel like the average song quality is pretty low compared to their other albums. And on top of that, it totally fails to hold together. I mean, I can appreciate variety. The top 3 albums on my chart got there partially because they display such a wide range of styles. But, unlike the White Album, they manage to do so without venturing out of their genre. Listening to the White Album, I feel like I'm listening either to a mixed tape of 30 bands that all have similar-sounding singers or to a greatest hits album whose songs, for the most part, are nowhere near good enough to actually be greatest hits.

Now, I'm not posting this to attack the album or people who enjoy it, but rather because I'm curious. Does anybody else feel the same about this album? And for those of you who do consider it a masterpiece, what do you consider its strengths?

It's at #2 at my chart, but......
Why do I love it? Sometimes I wonder myself. What DO I like about it? And it's not just the songs, mind you. I KNOW that. I guess, for some reason, that feeling, that it fails to hold together, that works for me, somehow. 'Cause you know, sometimes people have the opposite tastes. I am one of those people who have a REALLY eclectic taste, I guess. And that's why I love it, I think.
On the other hand, the album I never understood the appeal of, ironically, was Abbey Road. I mean, I like it and all, it's in the 30s somewhere on my chart, but.....I consider it the worst of their so-called "5 great albums", while so many others call it a top 3 album of theirs. It just seemed so much more boring than their other albums, and that's what brings it down for me.

Norman Bates

Gender: Male
Age: 51
Location: Paris, France

Eggman wrote:

Why do I love it? Sometimes I wonder myself. What DO I like about it? And it's not just the songs, mind you. I KNOW that. I guess, for some reason, that feeling, that it fails to hold together, that works for me, somehow.

My thoughts exactly. I'm perfectly willing to admit that The Beatles is not their best album, maybe by far, and yet it's my favourite. It's got the whole world in it - even the shit of it.

daveybaker

Location: UK

No, it's not over-rated. I think it's a matter of time, when I first heard it in the 70's I, like so many, thought it woud have made a great single album. But now I like all the songs on it (even revolution no.9).

kidamnesiac

i dont like the white album that much, i like around 5 songs alot and then i don't really care for the rest.
_________________
"I would expect something wrong with the poll if the chart favorite was not the poll winner" - naples 12-8-11
"I was hoping he was gone for good, guess it was just too much to ask" - polythene pam 05-10-12
"Nickelback > Radiohead" - bork 05-14-12

kidamnesiac

i dont like the white album that much, i like around 5 songs alot and then i don't really care for the rest.
_________________
"I would expect something wrong with the poll if the chart favorite was not the poll winner" - naples 12-8-11
"I was hoping he was gone for good, guess it was just too much to ask" - polythene pam 05-10-12
"Nickelback > Radiohead" - bork 05-14-12

monosyllables

Gender: Male
Age: 33
Location: St. Louis, MO

I think it's a very heart-rending document of the growing distance between the individual members, but because of this, it gives them all a lot of space to stretch their limbs and do things that the rest of the band might not have always been on board with.
For one, while I've never been a big fan of Paul's songs, he's got a few real standouts of this one, and might have even secured my favorite Beatles song with "Helter Skelter." It's even got my favorite Ringo song! ("Don't Pass Me By")
Also, critical reception aside, I think it's funny that, while this album HAS gotten a lot of good press lately, it was literally the ONLY Beatles record that didn't feature a SINGLE #1 hit.

Norman Bates

Gender: Male
Age: 51
Location: Paris, France

monosyllables wrote:

Also, critical reception aside, I think it's funny that, while this album HAS gotten a lot of good press lately, it was literally the ONLY Beatles record that didn't feature a SINGLE #1 hit.

Even "Back In The USSR"?

monosyllables

Gender: Male
Age: 33
Location: St. Louis, MO

I may have just picked up a bit of apocryphal trivia from a friend, and am rushing to Wikipedia to verify, but I'm almost sure. And even if I'm wrong, it's just too romantic a notion to correct myself on.
Plus, it satisfies my hipster tendencies, that even when I like the Beatles, I like their least chart-topping album best.

linusishungry

Gender: Male
Age: 28

Don't get me wrong, I love the Beatles, I do admire the white album and a lot of the songs are great but you can't have a classic album with any filler at all and I think there's quite a bit. And if an album is this long, it has to be REALLY good to keep you interested for the whole 30 songs, but it isn't in my opinion