Replay: Finding Rhythm with ‘The Beatles’

Growing into a young adult means journeying to find your identity. To me, “The Beatles” — known as the “White Album” because of its plain cover — represents finding closure amidst the struggle of self discovery.

Released in 1968, the album is the most sonically diverse album across The Beatles’ discography. Conceived during a meditation retreat to Rishikesh, India, the album’s 30 tracks allowed members Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr to find themselves musically after doing so spiritually.

The opening track “Back In The U.S.S.R” tributes the band’s early dance-pop sound. A sampling of the sound of a plane touching down flies the song straight into a Soviet anthem. Its dynamic Beach Boy-like melody makes it easy to miss its subversiveness — I certainly did, dancing to it while getting ready for middle school.

The severely underrated “Dear Prudence” follows. The spiritual lyrics influenced by the retreat embrace nature’s sanctity with a rustic guitar carrying the bravado. The song reflects the folksy sound Lennon developed as a single artist after The Beatles disbanded in 1969. 

“The wind is low, the birds will sing / That you are part of everything / Dear Prudence, won’t you open up your eyes?” Lennon sings earnestly.

The simplistic but peaceful words still endear me to the memories of the quiet Tennessee wilderness I grew up with, now living deep in the bustle of Chicago.

The self-referential “Glass Onion” comes in succession. With a psychedelic tune meant to confuse those who look too deeply into lyrics, the song’s enigmatic nature inspired Rian Johnson’s “Knives Out” sequel.

“Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” switches the tempo to an upbeat narrative about a blossoming family. The nursery-like storytelling infuses with infectious rhythm — a method McCartney mastered in his solo career.

Out of the four, I’ve always connected to McCartney’s delightful music most. After discovering his catalog when I was 12 years old, I’ve taken to collecting his records to decompress from adulthood stressors. The “White Album” allowed McCartney’s wings to spread as an artist, producing 1971’s “Ram” and 1973’s “Band On The Run” which never fail to brighten my day.

Harrison made a name for himself with track seven “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” Typically viewed as a second-string to McCartney and Lennon’s vocals and writing, Harrison’s hit embraced a philosophical mindset with a hypnotic guitar solo by Eric Clapton.

“I look at the world and I notice it’s turning / While my guitar gently weeps / With every mistake we must surely be learning / Still my guitar gently weeps,” Harrison chants in torment.

“Martha My Dear” is where the album takes a turn to the symphonic. With a signature pop chorus by McCartney, the bridge stands apart with an alluring orchestral accompaniment of strings, horns and brass. 

Two songs away is “Blackbird,” the album’s most stripped-down track and where I first fell in love with the record. A gentle acoustic guitar, tapping foot and McCartney’s voice lead the rhythm with sparse bird chirps. 

I was camping in high school when first hearing birds whistle in response to the melody. It was a moment between nature and music that gave me pure comfort and solidified my adoration for the record.

“Rocky Raccoon” maintains the homey strings but with a blues-heavy background. The lovesick cowboy shanty influenced Bill Mantlo and Ketih Giffen when creating “Guardians of the Galaxy” alumni Rocket Raccoon, according to Rolling Stone.

Even Starr dipped his toe in producing with the simplistically endearing “Don’t Pass Me By.” The carnival-country song is a footnote but demonstrates the album’s goal of allowing each member to define themselves.

I find it reassuring to remember The Beatles were just a few years my senior at this time. Finding your own voice is a scary process, but listening to these four artists explore their tumultuous self-actualization inspires me as a creative person to push back my writer’s block.

“I Will” and “Julia” are bare-bones love songs running back-to-back from McCartney and Lennon individually. While the two run parallel in their subject matter, they differ in tone with an upbeat McCartney and dreamy Lennon.

“Who knows how long I’ve loved you? / You know I love you still / Will I wait a lonely lifetime? / If you want me to, I will,” McCartney sings with charm.

McCartney’s love song rings cheerily with a skipping tempo. Lennon, on the other hand, sings his version of a romance melody through somber words and slow movement.

“Half of what I say is meaningless / But I say it just to reach you, Julia,” Lennon utters woefully.

The song most like the band’s prior title is the flagrant “Sexy Sadie.” A bittersweet number regarding Lennon’s disillusion towards Maharishi Mahesh Yogi during the retreat’s end, the song’s swimming vocals resembles notes clearest to their 1967 “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.”

“Helter Skelter” kicks up the tempo with an erratic beat. While composed in 1968, it sounds closer to the hard rock of the ‘70s and ‘80s, making it wildly ahead of its time.

The album closes with the fantastical “Good Night” sung by Starr. A fairytale-like ballad, the song registers as a Disney accompaniment rather than a rock ‘n’ roll track. It’s a tranquil finale to a creatively rich album.

The lullaby closes simply with, “Good night, good night everybody / Everybody everywhere / Good night,” Starr hums, closing the lullaby simply.

The “White Album” wasn’t the Beatles at their most polished or offbeat, but it was at their most inspired. It’s truly four individually eclectic albums wrapped in one tight-white bow.

The Beatles spearheaded the pop-rock craze of the British Invasion. Their ever-evolving sound was constantly on the cusp of innovating the music scene. The infectiousness of their lyricism is just as timeless today as it was 55 years ago. 

“The Beatles” is available to stream on all major platforms.

Featured image courtesy of Apple Corps.