THE BEATLES – THE WHITE ALBUM 2LP + POSTER + PHOTOS – Nr MINT UK STEREO

The Beatles – The White Album
(Apple Records  1978  PCS7067/8  Stereo)
Matrix No’s: YEX709-1/YEX710-1/YEX711-1/YEX712-1 – UK Pressing

G&L Side Opening Embossed Gatefold Sleeve in Nr MINT/Excellent+ condition
– great condition apart from a small 1 inch tear in the middle of the spine & a couple of light foxing spots on the back at the top
Poster & Photos in Nr MINT condition

Double Vinyl in Nr MINT condition
(there are some light surface marks visible on the vinyls when held up to the light but they don’t affect the sound quality)

The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960. With members John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, they became widely regarded as the foremost and most influential act of the rock era. Rooted in skiffle, beat, and 1950s rock and roll, the Beatles later experimented with several musical styles, ranging from pop ballads and Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock, often incorporating classical elements and unconventional recording techniques in innovative ways. In the early 1960s, their enormous popularity first emerged as “Beatlemania”, but as the group’s music grew in sophistication, led by primary songwriters Lennon and McCartney, they came to be perceived as an embodiment of the ideals shared by the counterculture of the 1960s.

The Beatles built their reputation playing clubs in Liverpool and Hamburg over a three-year period from 1960, with Stuart Sutcliffe initially serving as bass player. The core of Lennon, McCartney and Harrison went through a succession of drummers, including Pete Best, before asking Starr to join them. Manager Brian Epstein moulded them into a professional act, and producer George Martin guided and developed their recordings, greatly expanding their popularity in the United Kingdom after their first hit, “Love Me Do”, in late 1962. They acquired the nickname “the Fab Four” as Beatlemania grew in Britain the next year, and by early 1964 became international stars, leading the “British Invasion” of the United States pop market. From 1965 onwards, the Beatles produced increasingly innovative recordings, including the albums Rubber Soul (1965), Revolver (1966), Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967), The Beatles (commonly known as the White Album, 1968) and Abbey Road (1969). After their break-up in 1970, they each enjoyed successful musical careers of varying lengths. McCartney and Starr, the surviving members, remain musically active. Lennon was shot and killed in December 1980, and Harrison died of lung cancer in November 2001.

The Beatles are the best-selling band in history, with estimated sales of over 600 million records worldwide. They have had more number-one albums on the British charts and sold more singles in the UK than any other act. According to the RIAA, the Beatles are also the best-selling music artists in the United States, with 178 million certified units. In 2008, the group topped Billboard magazine’s list of the all-time most successful “Hot 100” artists; as of 2016, they hold the record for most number-one hits on the Hot 100 chart with twenty. They have received ten Grammy Awards, an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score and fifteen Ivor Novello Awards. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, and all four were inducted individually from 1994 to 2015. They were also collectively included in Time magazine’s compilation of the twentieth century’s 100 most influential people.

The Beatles is the ninth official album by English rock group the Beatles, a double album released in 1968. It is also commonly known as “The White Album”, as it has no graphics or text other than the band’s name embossed (and, on the early LP and CD releases, a serial number) on its plain white sleeve.

The album was written and recorded during a period of turmoil for the group, after visiting the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in India and having a particularly productive songwriting session in early 1968. Returning to the studio, the group recorded from May to October 1968, only to have conflict and dissent drive the group members apart. Ringo Starr quit the band for a brief time, leaving Paul McCartney to play drums on two tracks. Many of the songs were “solo” recordings, or at least by less than the full group, as each individual member began to explore his own talent.

Upon its release in November 1968, the album received mixed reviews from music critics, who criticized its satirical songs as unimportant and apolitical amid a turbulent political and social climate. However, it reached number 1 on the charts in both the United Kingdom and the United States. The album has sold over 30 million copies worldwide and has since been viewed by critics as one of the greatest albums of all time.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Lennon–McCartney, except where noted.

Personnel

The Beatles

• John Lennon – lead, harmony and background vocals; acoustic, lead, bass and rhythm guitars; keyboards (electric and acoustic pianos, Hammond organ, harmonium and mellotron); extra drums and assorted percussion (tambourine, maracas, cymbals, thumping on the back of an acoustic guitar, handclaps and vocal percussion); harmonica, whistling and saxophone; tapes, tape loops and sound effects (electronic and home-made)
• Paul McCartney – lead, harmony and background vocals; acoustic, lead, rhythm and bass guitars; keyboards (electric and acoustic pianos and Hammond organ); assorted percussion (timpani, tambourine, cowbell, hand shake bell, handclaps, foot taps and vocal percussion); drums (on “Back in the U.S.S.R.” and “Dear Prudence”); recorder and flugelhorn; sound effects
• George Harrison – lead, harmony and background vocals; acoustic, rhythm, bass and lead guitars; Hammond organ; extra drums and assorted percussion (tambourine, handclaps and vocal percussion) and sound effects
• Ringo Starr – drums and assorted percussion (tambourine, bongos, cymbals, maracas and vocal percussion); electric piano and sleigh bell (on “Don’t Pass Me By”), lead vocals (on “Don’t Pass Me By” and “Good Night”) and backing vocals (“The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill”)

Guest musicians

• Eric Clapton – lead guitar on “While my Guitar Gently Weeps”
• Mal Evans – backing vocals and handclaps on “Dear Prudence”, handclaps on “Birthday”, trumpet on “Helter Skelter”
• Jack Fallon – violin on “Don’t Pass Me By”
• Grant Mansell – drums on “Martha My Dear”
• Pattie Harrison – backing vocals on “Birthday”
• Jackie Lomax – backing vocals and handclaps on “Dear Prudence”
• Maureen Starkey – backing vocals on “The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill”
• Yoko Ono – backing vocals, brief lead vocals and handclaps on “The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill”, backing vocals on “Birthday”, speech, tapes and sound effects on “Revolution 9”

Session musicians

• Ted Barker – trombone on “Martha My Dear”
• Leon Calvert – trumpet and flugelhorn on “Martha My Dear”
• Henry Datyner, Eric Bowie, Norman Lederman, and Ronald Thomas – violin on “Glass Onion”
• Bernard Miller, Dennis McConnell, Lou Soufier and Les Maddox – violin on “Martha My Dear”
• Reginald Kilby – cello on “Glass Onion” and “Martha My Dear”
• Eldon Fox  – cello on “Glass Onion”
• Frederick Alexander  – cello on “Martha My Dear”
• Harry Klein – saxophone on “Savoy Truffle” and “Honey Pie”
• Dennis Walton, Ronald Chamberlain, Jim Chest, and Rex Morris – saxophone on “Honey Pie”
• Raymond Newman and David Smith – clarinet on “Honey Pie”
• Art Ellefson, Danny Moss, and Derek Collins – tenor sax on “Savoy Truffle”
• Ronnie Ross and Bernard George – baritone sax on “Savoy Truffle”
• Alf Reece – tuba on “Martha My Dear”
• The Mike Sammes Singers – backing vocals on “Good Night”
• Stanley Reynolds and Ronnie Hughes – trumpet on “Martha My Dear”
• Tony Tunstall – French horn on “Martha My Dear”
• John Underwood and Keith Cummings – viola on “Glass Onion”
• Leo Birnbaum and Henry Myerscough – viola on “Martha My Dear”

Production team

• Geoff Emerick – engineer, speech on “Revolution 9”
• George Martin – record producer and mixer; string, brass, clarinet, orchestral arrangements and conducting; piano on “Rocky Raccoon”
• Ken Scott – engineer and mixer
• Barry Sheffield – engineer (Trident Studio)
• Chris Thomas – producer; Mellotron on “The Cont