One of pop music’s most iconic albums is getting a facelift
The Beatles have announced they will release a suite of lavishly presented The White Album packages to celebrate its 50th anniversary.
Released November 22nd 1968, The Beatles (soon to be better known as The White Album) was that year’s most anticipated music event with millions of double LPs shipped to record stores worldwide.
Entering the British chart at number one and remaining there for eight of the 22 weeks it was listed, The White Album also debuted at number one on the U.S. chart, holding the top spot for nine weeks of its initial 65 week chart run.
It was the band’s ninth studio album and included undoubtedly some of their finest work. Whether it was “Back in the U.S.S.R.”, “Dear Prudence”, and of course George Harrison’s timeless classic, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”, The White Album has long invited its listeners to venture forth and explore the breadth and ambition of its music, delighting and inspiring each new generation in turn.
Originally released in November 1968, this is the first time The White Album has ever been remixed and presented with additional demos and session recordings.
The album’s 30 tracks are newly mixed by producer Giles Martin and mix engineer Sam Okell in stereo and 5.1 surround audio, joined by 27 early acoustic demos and 50 session takes, most of which are previously unreleased in any form.
“In remixing The White Album, we’ve tried to bring you as close as possible to The Beatles in the studio,” explained Giles Martin in his written introduction for the new edition. “We’ve peeled back the layers of the ‘Glass Onion’ with the hope of immersing old and new listeners into one of the most diverse and inspiring albums ever made.”
The 50th anniversary releases of The White Album will include:
Super Deluxe: A comprehensive, individually numbered 7-disc and digital audio collection
CDs 1 & 2: The White Album 2018 stereo album mix
CD3: Esher Demos: tracks 1 through 19 sequenced in order of the finished song’s placement on The White Album. Tracks 20-27 were not included on the album.
CDs 4, 5 & 6: Sessions: 50 additional recordings, most previously unreleased, from The White Album studio sessions; all newly mixed from the four-track and eight-track session tapes, sequenced in order of their recording start dates.
Blu-ray:
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- 2018 album mix in high resolution PCM stereo
- 2018 DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 album mix
- 2018 Dolby True HD 5.1 album mix
- 2018 direct transfer of the album’s original mono mix
Deluxe: The White Album 2018 stereo album mix + Esher Demos
The 3CD; 180-gram 4LP vinyl box set (limited edition); and digital audio collections pair the 2018 stereo album mix with the 27 Esher Demos.
Standard 2LP Vinyl: The White Album 2018 stereo mix
180-gram 2LP vinyl in gatefold sleeve with faithfully replicated original artwork.
Released November 9th, The anniversary editions of The White Album can be pre-ordered here.
