Not McCartneyвЂ™s best piano-pounding homage to Little Richard, вЂњBirthdayвЂќ is nevertheless a breathless, unpretentious jolt of soda fountain sugar that tips to where the Beatles came from even as the bulk of the White Album revealed their (divergent) futures.Дў0. The song itself is fine, but itвЂ™s McCartneyвЂ™s flamboyant vocal вЂ“ alternating between a falsetto yelp and a growly challenge вЂ“ that makes вЂњRoadвЂќ a fucking good time. Whether this song is a cry for help, sly parody or some combination, the grungy authenticity of the jam at the end justifies its presence on the White Album.ДЄs much a dirty joke as a rhetorical cosmic question, вЂњWhy DonвЂ™t We Do It In the Road?вЂќ is a straightforward piece of twelve-bar blues that doesnвЂ™t overstay its welcome. But this one benefits from a searing, muddy guitar solo at the songвЂ™s end. The plodding вЂњYer BluesвЂќ demonstrates that the Beatles didnвЂ™t excel at composing blues tunes.

Still, it has an alluring bitterness that sticks with you. The lyrical barbs are sharp, but the ambling ivories and backup la-la-laвЂ™s fail to match the punch of the lyrics. When Lennon asserts вЂњYou know itвЂ™s gonna be alright,вЂќ he sounds less like a fired-up counterculture seer and more like a zonked out junkie repeating platitudes.Дisillusioned by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi after the Beatles spent time with him in India in February 1968, Lennon penned this scathing kiss-off to the religious guru. Not as exhaustingly pretentious as вЂњRevolution 9вЂќ or as unfettered and vital as вЂњRevolutionвЂќ (the searing hard rock version that appeared as the вЂњHey JudeвЂќ b-side), вЂњRevolution 1вЂќ вЂ“ with its hazy strumming and lazy shoo-be-doos вЂ“ is a great composition that suffers from a lackadaisical delivery. While itвЂ™s a cute sequencing touch to put what might as well be a Disney tune after eight minutes of вЂњRevolution 9вЂќ experimentation, it doesnвЂ™t save вЂњGood NightвЂќ from being a sweet but slight entry in the Fab FourвЂ™s catalog. One of two Ringo lead vocals on the White Album, this stately lullaby came from LennonвЂ™s pen for Starr to croon at the close of the 93-minute album. It wouldnвЂ™t be until WingsвЂ™ вЂњJetвЂќ that Paul would create a true classic named after a pooch. You canвЂ™t reasonably expect a music hall-indebted song named after a sheepdog to be the standout track on any album, and sure enough, вЂњMarthaвЂќ is jaunty, affable and disposable. But this also speaks to how peerless the Beatles were at this point вЂ“ their filler was twice as lively as most bandsвЂ™ throwawayВ songs. Not a bad treat by any stretch of the imagination вЂ“ the lively brass section is especially savory - but itвЂ™s obvious that had the Beatles sliced this double LP down to one disc, вЂњSavoy TruffleвЂќ wouldвЂ™ve been the first lightweight number to get canned. The 50th anniversary edition of the White Album presents a ten-minute version of вЂњRevolution 1вЂќ that wraps with a few minutes of tape loops that would eventually be expanded into вЂњRevolution 9,вЂќ suggesting an alternate reality where the Beatles grounded their avant inclinations in the structure of a malleable rock song and created a thrilling concrГЁte coda instead of a concrete chore. Like вЂњWild Honey Pie,вЂќ the music doesnвЂ™t back up the concept. With none of the hypnotism of a Karlheinz Stockhausen experiment or layered complexity of a Pierre Schaeffer collage, the end result comes across more like вЂThe Fabs Get ArtyвЂ™ than an impressive composition that rewards repeated listens. ItвЂ™s too bad, then, that this is not good musique concrГЁte.

ItвЂ™s hard to understate the cultural impact and importance of the biggest rock/pop band of the вЂ™60s forcing the public to sit through eight minutes of musique concrГЁte in 1968. It adds flavor, sure, but itвЂ™s one you want to spit out politely when the chef has turned away. While the under-one-minute вЂњWild Honey PieвЂќ helps set up the вЂanything goesвЂ™ spirit of the White Album as the double LPвЂ™s fifth track, thereвЂ™s just no getting around the fact that the wigged out guitar chords and yowling McCartney vocals are plain irritating after several listens.

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