Although we refer to it as The White Album, as you may well know, the record actually goes by the title The Beatles, following on from the album's conceptual and rather minimalist artwork. The entirely white sleeve was quite a departure from the band's two exuberantly colourful predecessors, Sgt. Pepper and Magical Mystery Tour. Its somewhat austere cover was in no way a reflection of the musical content however, for The White Album was the most diverse album The Beatles would release.
The (visual) break away from Sgt. Pepper was perhaps a subconscious strategy to avoid any comparisons with Pepper. At the time The White Album was released, Sgt. Pepper had already attained something of a mythical status, which might have proved a tough act to follow, but the group somehow managed it. Rolling Stone Magazine said of The White Album: "Whatever else it is or isn't, it is the best album they have ever released, and only The Beatles are capable of making a better one."
Included in the album was a fold-out poster featuring four separate portraits of The Beatles. Looking back, this doesn't seem to be a random choice either, as many of the songs that appear on The White Album could be deemed 'private projects’ of the individual members, and, at the time the album was being recorded, The Beatles could often be found working on their own tracks in separate studios.
The Analogues play Beatles albums in their entirety, from the very first to the very last note. Attempting to do so presents quite a challenge, especially in the case of The White Album: it is a double LP after all, containing roughly twice as much material. In addition, there are a number of tracks on it that you wouldn't exactly categorise as 'crowd pleasers'. Producer George Martin even suggested at the time that the group should 'kill their darlings' and put out a standard length LP. Fortunately, The Beatles stuck to their guns, and left us with what we consider to be a joyous and eclectic multitude of styles, which collectively lend this album its wonderfully unique character.
The Beatles; to us, it's modern classical music. We’re The Analogues; we think that you simply can’t achieve a real, authentic sound with digital short cuts. We use the same instruments that The Beatles used in 1967. It’s just different, and better, we think. It’s a lot of hassle too. We have to look for instruments all over the world. You really come across some amazing stories doing this kind of thing. That actually sums up quite nicely what we do: We’re obsessed with creating the perfect sound – but the story behind it is just as important for us.
Check out the pages with an overview of the instruments we used to recreate Magical Mystery Tour and Sgt. Pepper’s!
