The Beatles - Unfinished Music (1968)

Unfinished Music was the Beatles' third and final album of 1968, releasing December 20. Unlike the previous two albums, this released on Zapple Records, an Apple Records subsidiary meant for spoken word and avant-garde recordings, of which Unfinished Music certainly is. The entire album, mostly commandeered by John and George, is a mix of out-there band songs that didn't fit the mood of either of the last two albums and solo recordings with little to no structure made for the fun of it. It was also their first album to be self-produced (it was still co-produced by their regular producer, George Martin). Predictably, while the album charted, it did horribly commercially and critically, with critics not getting the avant-garde nature of it all. The back cover features a quote from George Martin: "No comment". Following the release of this album, the Beatles took a few weeks off from music-making before setting off on their next project.

THE BEATLES - UNFINISHED MUSIC
Released: 20 December 1968
Genre: Experimental, experimental rock, music hall, novelty, musique concrète
Producer: The Beatles, George Martin

Side A
Wild Honey Pie
You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)
What's the New, Mary Jane?
Revolution 2

Side B
(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care
Under the Mersey Wall
Please Mr. Gravedigger [hidden track]

Track list sources:

"Wild Honey Pie" and "Revolution 2" (Revolution 9 in our timeline) are sourced from The Beatles, with "(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care" being from its 50th Anniversary edition. "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)" is from Past Masters, "What's the New, Mary Jane?" is from Anthology 3, Under the Mersey Wall is from George Harrison's Electronic Sound, and "Please Mr. Gravedigger" is from David Bowie's self-titled 1967 album.

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