The Beatles

The Beatles (aka The White Album)

1968

The Beatles wrote this album after they traveled India. At the time they were recording the album the band began to fall apart. According to author Mark Lewisohn, Ringo Starr actually quit the band during some of the recording of some the songs so Paul McCartney plays the drums on some of those songs. I found some of the elements The Beatles incorporated into their interesting and odd. In Back in the USSR, The Beatles incorporate the sound of an airplane flying above in the song. The airplane sound plays throughout the song and gives it a feel traveling. The last part of the song is the airplane landing which gives the song its conclusion instead of words or a melody. They sort of do the same thing in the Glass Onion. At the end of the song, everything stops from the guitar, drums, bass etc, and the only thing playing is string instruments in an entire different melody and tempo with no words and it all slowly fades out. To me, it gave the song sort of a tragic ending.  Wild Honey Pie is another odd song for me. It sounds as though The Beatles are deranged back woods village people looking for food. They incorporated that same sound a bit into The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill. Rocky Raccoon comes close to the backwoods country people sound as well.

I like Martha My Dear. It starts out with a few instruments and gradually adds more instruments into the song. I like the stop time with the tuba in song, it has a playful feel to which I think is appropriate sense they refer to Martha as a silly girl.

I love Blackbird! I think that is because I have heard it so much and in movies it’s always played during a inspirational/crossroads moment. The song has an inspirational feel to in the lyrics and instrumentation. They also incorporate singing birds moving water sounds into the song. It makes me think of a dawn breaking by a creek in a peaceful forest. The simple sound of the tap on a wooden block (which keeps the beat in the song) also contributes to the inspirational and peaceful feel of the song.