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Each song on the sprawling double album The Beatles is an entity to itself, as the band touches on anything and everything it can. This makes for a frustratingly scattershot record or a singularly gripping musical experience, depending on your view, but what makes the so-called White Album interesting is its mess. Never before had a rock record been so self-reflective, or so ironic; the Beach Boys send-up "Back in the U.S.S.R." and the British blooze parody "Yer Blues" are delivered straight-faced, so it's never clear if these are affectionate tributes or wicked satires. Lennon turns in two of his best ballads with "Dear Prudence" and "Julia"; scours the Abbey Road vaults for the musique concrète collage "Revolution 9"; pours on the schmaltz for Ringo's closing number, "Good Night"; celebrates the Beatles cult with "Glass Onion"; and, with "Cry Baby Cry," rivals Syd Barrett. McCartney doesn't reach quite as far, yet his songs are stunning -- the music hall romp "Honey Pie," the mock country of "Rocky Raccoon," the ska-inflected "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da," and the proto-metal roar of "Helter Skelter." Clearly, the Beatles' two main songwriting forces were no longer on the same page, but neither were George and Ringo. Harrison still had just two songs per LP, but it's clear from "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," the canned soul of "Savoy Truffle," the haunting "Long, Long, Long," and even the silly "Piggies" that he had developed into a songwriter who deserved wider exposure. And Ringo turns in a delight with his first original, the lumbering country-carnival stomp "Don't Pass Me By." None of it sounds like it was meant to share album space together, but somehow The Beatles creates its own style and sound through its mess.
FACTORY SEALED NEW OLD STOCK - 1988 PURPLE LABEL "C1" PRESSING - SEE PICS

The Beatles ?– The Beatles

Label: Capitol Records ?– C1-46443 Format: 2 × Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Stereo, C1 re-issue
Country: US Released: 1988 Genre: Rock Style: Pop Rock, Psychedelic Rock

Tracklist

A1 Back In The U.S.S.R. 2:42 A2 Dear Prudence 3:54 A3 Glass Onion 2:17 A4 Ob-La-Di, Ob- La-Da 3:08 A5 Wild Honey Pie 1:02 A6 The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill 3:05 A7 While My Guitar Gently Weeps Songwriter – George Harrison 4:45 A8 Happiness Is A Warm Gun 2:43 B1 Martha My Dear 2:28 B2 I'm So Tired 2:03 B3 Blackbird 2:18 B4 Piggies Songwriter – George Harrison 2:04 B5 Rocky Racoon 3:41 B6 Don't Pass Me By Songwriter – Richard Starkey 3:42 B7 Why Don't We Do It In The Road? 1:41 B8 I Will 1:45 B9 Julia 2:54 C1 Birthday 2:42 C2 Yer Blues 4:00 C3 Mother Nature's Son 2:47 C4 Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey 2:24 C5 Sexy Sadie 3:15 C6 Helter Skelter 4:29 C7 Long, Long, Long Songwriter – George Harrison 3:04 D1 Revolution 1 4:15 D2 Honey Pie 2:40 D3 Savoy Truffle Songwriter – George Harrison 2:54 D4 Cry Baby Cry 3:10 D5 Revolution 9 8:12 D6 Good Night 3:11

Companies, etc.

• Pressed By – Specialty Records Corporation
• Record Company – EMI Records Ltd.

Credits

• Mastered By – Wally Traugott
• Producer – George Martin (tracks: All)
• Songwriter – Lennon-McCartney (tracks: A1-A6,A8,B1-B3,B5,B7-B9,C1-C6,D1-D2,D4-D6)

Notes

1988 Purple Capitol label re-issue, which has the same catalog # as the CD (#46443), the first time this album was issued a new catalog # in the US. Also has a barcode for the first time.

New masters were used for this pressing, as remnants of the old "SWBO-101" markings are no longer in the matrix run-out.

This was pressed at Specialty Records Corporation, Los Angeles, one of the plants that Capitol used at the time after they closed their own plants. It's identified in the matrix by a large S with small R and C inside the S.

-"The Beatles" on the front in gray print, and not individually numbered.
-Back cover now has a barcode and new catalog # C1-46443 with "Stereo" in the upper right.
-Back cover at the bottom right now shows 1968 EMI copyright statements: "? 1968 Original Sound Recordings made by EMI Records Ltd." and "© 1968 EMI Records Ltd."
-Gatefold cover and comes with fold out poster. The 4 individual 7 3/4" x 11" photos are now attached as a fold out with perforations to separate them (see photo)
-Pressed on posterboard stock
-Discs marked "Record 1" and "Record 2"
-LPs comes in clear plastic sleeves

Mastered by Capitol Wally in deadwax