60. The White Album by The Beatles

 60. The White Album by The Beatles

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nS5_EQgbuLc&list=OLAK5uy_njHTOnoK_aQOAa3XvnvmzZ76n8cBIJquI

Most people would put this one much higher on their list of top albums. Here's why it's the first album on the list at number 60 for me. Because it's the first album I remember listening to. That's because Mom heard "Rocky Racoon" on the radio one night when she was up tending two-year-old me that wouldn't go to sleep. She really liked the song and thought that it was the kind of song that would be sung about me, so she went out and bought The White Album just so she could listen to "Rocky Racoon" whenever she wanted. Mom and Dad even called me Rocky Racoon as a nickname for many years.

My older sister Tracy LOVED this album and played it a lot. So when Mom wasn't listening to it while tending me, Tracy was probably playing it while she was tending me. So this album is DEEPLY rooted into my brain, and it's the only one that I remember hearing while we lived in Pocatello before we made the move to Arimo--which happened the summer after I turned three years old.

There isn't much to say about the album cover. It's white. But the album insert featured huge pictures of all the Beatle's faces. 

In my family, there's a story of Carol asking Mom, "Does God love everyone?" And Mom said, "Yes, God loves everyone." And Carol said, "Even these men?" and she showed Mom this picture. And Mom laughed and said, "Yes. Even those men."

If you ever want to know what 60 hippies looked like, just slip out those liner notes and unfold the poster that featured a montage of all the Beatles doing all sorts of hippy-ish things--like sitting crosslegged on floor or singing at some dive bar or growing a bad mustache. 

Since it's a double album, and since it's the Beatles at their pre-married-to-Yoko best, this album has a song for pretty much any kind of feeling you want to feel. 

Are you angry? "Helter Skelter. "

Are you feeling peaceful? "Revolution 1."

Are you happy? "Birthday."

Are you sad? "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." "Cry Baby Cry."

Are you tired? "I'm So Tired."

Are you sleepy? "Good Night."

Are you lonely? "Yer Blues." "Don't Pass Me By.

Are you bored? "Long, Long, Long." 

Are you confused? "Revolution 9." "Glass Onion.

Are you feeling contemplative? "Mother Nature's Son."

Are you feeling silly? "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da." "Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey."

Are you feeling like killing something or someone? "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill." "Rocky Racoon." "Happiness Is a Warm Gun."

Are you hungry? "Piggies." "Honey Pie." "Wild Honey Pie." "Savoy Truffle."

Are you in love? "Dear Prudence." "Sexy Sadie." "Back in the U.S.S.R." "Martha My Dear." "Julia." "I Will."

Are you horny? "Why Don't We Do It In The Road?"

Obviously, there are a LOT of good songs on this album. But for my money, the very best song is
"Blackbird," even though it's the simplest song on the album. It's just Paul singing while playing an acoustic guitar and taping his foot and, of course, a blackbird singing toward the end. I don't know how this song does it, but it always manages to make me choke up with sadness and despair and joy and hope simultaneously. 

Some have criticized the album as being a disjointed collection of songs that had no central theme to the lyrics or consistent musical theme. To those people I say, "Ummm...didn't you listen to 'A Day In The Life?' Disjointed collections of songs with no central theme is kind of what the Beatles do!" So I'd say that this album is quintessential Beatles and, based on my own experience, is definitely worth listening to over and over and over for at least 52 years. And I can't say that for any other album on the list.