The Beatles - The Beatles (1968)
1967 had brought on peak success for the Beatles with their two critical successes From Liverpool and Magical Mystery Tour. They were keen on following up this success in 1968 with a new opus to their name, but the band was sidetracked when they went to India for a Transcendental Meditation course led by the Maharishi (all five attending this time around). It was during these months that the band was extremely active, writing almost 50 songs in the span of their time in Rishikesh. While none of the five finished the course, it was clear by their new songs that India and the people surrounding them had influenced the band plenty. During their stay, the band released the non-album single "Lady Madonna" / "Karma Man". George's "The Inner Light" had originally been considered for the B-side, but it was cast aside when Bowie brought forth his new song.
When the band returned to England, they met at George's house in order to figure out what to do with the songs they had written. A majority of the songs were worked on in rough form at this time, but eventually, all of them would be used in some capacity when it came to making studio recordings. By the time recording had finished, it was clear that the Beatles had a new monster in their possession. It was a vast and eclectic collection of songs that, style-wise, was all over the place, nothing like From Liverpool. Talks were made to put everything on a double LP, but it was Paul who had the idea to split the album in two, the first being a collection of soft, acoustic songs and the second being much heavier in sound and subject. In an effort to distance themselves from their 1967 projects, the covers of their 1968 albums would be a simple and plain as possible, without the intervention of any real artists to help out.
The Beatles (now colloquially known as The White Album), was their first album of 1968, releasing September 13. While catching the public off-guard with its stripped-down approach, especially following their heavily-orchestrated psychedelic albums, it sold just as well as any other Beatles album and remains one of their best and most consistent.
All songs are sourced from The Beatles, with the exception of "The Inner Light" from Past Masters and both of Bowie's songs, which are once again from his self-titled 1967 album. "Dear Prudence" is the Vocal, Guitar & Drums version, "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill" is the Esher Demo, and "Good Night" is Take 10 with a guitar part from Take 5.
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