The Beatles White Album: 40 Years Later

On Friday 12/26's rescheduled WVKR Gala show, we're asking listeners to design the perfect SINGLE disc version of "The Beatles" aka "The White Album". What would you keep? What would you discard if you absolutely HAD to make it one LP instead of two--or approx. 15 tracks instead of 30?

Not as easy as it might first appear. Most people agree there's some dead weight on the recording. Filler, some might say. Pretention? Failed experimentation? Yeah, probably. Many of the tracks were evocative of what was to become the members' solo output in the 70s and beyond--which most will again agree is a mixed bag at best.

Yet there's another side that views "The Beatles" as the group's masterpiece. It certainly is one of--if not THE biggest--seller of their career.

But the challenge is to make "The White Album" a single disc--one that you would want to listen to from beginning to end with no horrors in between, which has been my reaction. I decided to make Side 1 a listenable pop album, choosing Track 8 as a warmup for a more headphone-oriented, psychedelic mind blowing Side 2. Track 5 says "this is where we've been, that part is over. Get ready for something completely different."

I was pretty sure going in which cuts I did not want on a single disc White Album, but others weren't so hard to leave off. Coming close to making the list were "Mother Nature's Son", "Happiness Is A Warm Gun", and Ringo's only contribution "Don't Pass Me By" but such is the lot of a record executive.

Here's my choices below in the order I'd program them on the album:

Side 1

1. Birthday
2. Everybodys' Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey
3. I Will
4. Back In The USSR
5 . While My Guitar Gently Weeps
6. Blackbird
7. Ob La Di Ob La Da
8. Revolution 1

Side 2

1. Helter Skelter
2. Dear Prudence
3. Savoy Truffle
4. Julia
5. Glass Onion
6. Revolution 9
7. Good Night