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Table of Contents
Music History Events: albums released November 22
Albums released November 22:
Best Sheet Music download from our Library.
• 1966 – THE ANIMALS – ‘Animalism’ (USA)
• 1963 – THE BEATLES – ‘With The Beatles’
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• 1963 – PHIL SPECTOR / and others – ‘A Christmas Gift for You from Philles Records’
• 1968 – THE BEATLES – ‘The Beatles (White album)’
• 1968 – THE KINKS – ‘The Village Green Preservation Society’
• 1968 – ELVIS PRESLEY – ‘Elvis (NBC TV Special)’
• 1969 – MOTT THE HOOPLE – ‘Mott the Hoople’
• 1976 – JONI MITCHELL – ‘Hejira’
• 1977 – CHIC – ‘Chic’
• 1978 – WINGS – ‘Wings Greatest’ (USA)
• 1985 – LLOYD COLE AND THE COMMOTIONS – ‘Easy Pieces’
• 1988 – CROSBY, STILLS, NASH & YOUNG – ‘American Dream’
• 1988 – CHAKA KHAN – ‘ck’
• 1988 – CHAYANNE – ‘Chayanne II’
• 1992 – KOOL & THE GANG – ‘Unite’
• 1994 – PEARL JAM – ‘Vitalogy’
• 1994 – KENNY G – ‘Miracles: The Holiday Album’
• 1994 – PRINCE – ‘The Black Album’
• 1994 – JOHN HIATT – ‘Hiatt Comes Alive at Budokan?’
• 1995 – RANDY NEWMAN / OST – ‘Toy Story’
• 1995 – BRUCE GAITSCH – ‘A Lyre in a Windstorm’ (JAP)
• 1996 – ENIGMA – ‘Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi!’
• 1999 – SONATA ARCTICA – ‘Ecliptica’
• 1999 – THE LIGHTNING SEEDS – ‘Tilt’
• 1999 – ROGER ENO & PETER HAMMILL – ‘The Appointed Hour’
• 1999 – CULTURE CLUB – ‘Don’t Mind If I Do’
• 1999 – JIM O’ROURKE – ‘Halfway to a Threeway’ (EP)
• 2004 – U2 – ‘How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb’
• 2004 – CREED – ‘Greatest Hits’
• 2005 – SYSTEM OF A DOWN – ‘Hypnotize’
• 2005 – QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE – ‘Over the Years and Through the Woods’
• 2005 – PETRA – ‘Farewell’
• 2010 – MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE – ‘Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys’ (EUR)
• 2010 – KANYE WEST – ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’
• 2010 – ROBYN – ‘Body Talk’
• 2012 – ALICIA KEYS – ‘Girl on Fire’ (NED)
• 2013 – RHAPSODY OF FIRE – ‘Dark Wings of Steel’ (EUR)
• 2017 – IRON SAVIOR – ‘Reforged – Riding on Fire’ (JAP)
• 2019 – LEONARD COHEN – ‘Thanks for the Dance’
• 2019 – BECK – ‘Hyperspace’
• 2019 – COLDPLAY – ‘Everyday Life’
• 2019 – ROBBIE WILLIAMS – ‘The Christmas Present’
• 2019 – NO-MAN – ‘Love You to Bits’
• 2019 – LABRINTH – ‘Imagination & the Misfit Kid’
• 2024 – MARYLIN MANSON – ‘One Assassinati0n Under God – Chapter 1’
• 2024 – JOAN ARMATRADING – ‘How Did This Happen and What Does It Now Mean’
• 2024 – OPETH – ‘The Last Will and Testament’
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A Tapestry of Chaos and Genius: Revisiting The Beatles’ ‘White Album’ on its Anniversary
On November 22, 1968, a stark, minimalist cover arrived in record stores, a stark contrast to the vibrant psychedelia of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band just a year prior. This was The Beatles, a double LP so pure in its packaging it demanded to be known only by the band’s name, yet so vast and fragmented in its content that it would forever be nicknamed the “White Album.” More than just a collection of 30 songs, it is a sprawling, chaotic, and brilliant audio documentary of a band at its creative peak, even as the foundations of their unity were crumbling.
The Story: From Rishikesh to Rifts
The seeds of the White Album were sown in the spring of 1968 in Rishikesh, India. During a Transcendental Meditation course with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, freed from the pressures of touring and studio deadlines, The Beatles experienced an unprecedented creative surge. Unplugged and introspective, they composed dozens of songs on acoustic guitars.
They returned to London with a bounty of material, a potential follow-up to Sgt. Pepper that promised a new, more grounded direction. However, the idyllic retreat had been marred by rumors, and a premature departure. This sense of disillusionment seeped into the music, and more importantly, the sessions themselves.
The recording process, which began at the new Trident Studios and moved to the recently completed EMI Studios (Abbey Road), was fraught with tension. The four Beatles, now enriched by their individual experiences and artistic ambitions, were no longer a single-minded unit.
- John Lennon, with Yoko Ono constantly at his side, was exploring raw, personal confession (“Julia,” “I’m So Tired”) and avant-garde noise (“Revolution 9”).
- Paul McCartney was the driven perfectionist, crafting pristine pop gems (“Back in the U.S.S.R.,” “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da”) and lush ballads (“Blackbird”).
- George Harrison, no longer content with two songs per album, arrived with some of his strongest work, including the cynical “Piggies” and the gentle masterpiece “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”
- Ringo Starr, feeling isolated and undervalued, temporarily quit the band during the sessions, only to be coaxed back.
The famous “four-headed monster” was now four distinct individuals, often recording their parts separately. The collaborative spirit of “the band” was being replaced by the authority of “the songwriter,” with the others serving as session musicians—or not at all. For “Back in the U.S.S.R.” and “Dear Prudence,” Paul played drums in Ringo’s absence. For “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” George brought in his friend Eric Clapton to play the iconic lead guitar, a move unheard of for The Beatles.
The Style: A Universe in a Double Album
If Sgt. Pepper was a unified concept album, the White Album was the antithesis: an anti-concept. It was a kaleidoscopic journey through every musical style that fascinated them.
- Hard Rock & Proto-Metal: “Helter Skelter” was Paul’s attempt to create the loudest, rawest rock song ever, a track that would later become tragically infamous.
- Blues & Rock & Roll: They returned to their roots with a newfound ferocity on “Yer Blues” and the Chuck Berry-esque “Back in the U.S.S.R.”
- Folk & Acoustic Ballads: “Blackbird,” with its message of hope, “Julia,” John’s haunting tribute to his mother, and “Mother Nature’s Son” showcased their delicate, storytelling side.
- Avant-Garde & Sound Collage: “Revolution 9” remains one of the most challenging pieces in their catalog, an eight-minute sound collage that pushed the boundaries of what could be on a pop record.
- Music Hall & Parody: Tracks like “Honey Pie,” “Rocky Raccoon,” and the contentious “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” displayed their enduring love for whimsical, theatrical storytelling.
This lack of a single style was the album’s very style. It was a testament to their boundless creativity and their refusal to be pigeonholed.
Repercussion and Legacy
Upon its release, the White Album was a massive commercial success, topping charts worldwide. Critics, however, were divided. Some praised its stunning diversity and wealth of ideas; others found it bloated and self-indulgent, arguing it would have made a stronger single album.
Time has been kind to the White Album. It is now widely regarded as a masterpiece, precisely because of its chaotic, sprawling nature. It captures a cultural moment and the sound of a band’s internal dynamics laid bare. It demonstrated that The Beatles could be everything to everyone, but perhaps no longer everything to each other.
The album’s dark undercurrents had real-world repercussions, most notably when Charles Manson interpreted songs like “Helter Skelter” and “Piggies” as a prophetic call for a race war, leading to the horrific Tate-LaBianca murders in 1969.
The Final Act Begins
The White Album is the sound of the end of the beginning of the end. It is the bridge between the unified, studio-crafted magic of their mid-60s work and the brilliant, individual swan songs of Let It Be and Abbey Road. It proved that the collective whole could still produce staggering art, even as the individuals within it were pulling in different directions. Furthermore, it is beautiful, messy, infuriating, and sublime—not just an album, but a world, and a poignant, powerful farewell to the idea of The Beatles as a single, harmonious entity.