Editing The Beatles (album) (section)

==Critical reception==

===Contemporary reviews===
On release, ''The Beatles'' gained highly favourable reviews from the majority of music critics.{{sfn|Schaffner|1978|p=111}}{{sfn|Woffinden|1981|p=7}}{{sfn|Norman|2008|p=577}} Others bemoaned its length or found that the music lacked the adventurous quality that had distinguished ''Sgt. Pepper''.{{sfn|Schaffner|1978|p=111}} According to the author Ian Inglis: "Whether positive or negative, all assessments of ''The Beatles'' drew attention to its fragmentary style. However, while some complained about the lack of a coherent style, others recognized this as the album's ''raison d'être''."{{sfn|Inglis|2009|p=120}}

In ''[[The Observer]]'', [[Tony Palmer (director)|Tony Palmer]] wrote: "If there is still any doubt that Lennon and McCartney are the greatest songwriters since [[Franz Schubert|Schubert]]", the album "should surely see the last vestiges of cultural snobbery and [[Bourgeoisie|bourgeois]] prejudice swept away in a deluge of joyful music making".{{sfn|Norman|1996|p=346}} [[Richard Goldstein (writer born 1942)|Richard Goldstein]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' considered the double album to be "a major success" and "far more imaginative" than ''Sgt. Pepper'' or ''Magical Mystery Tour'',{{sfn|Schaffner|1978|p=111}} due to the band's improved songwriting and their relying less on the studio tricks of those earlier works.<ref>{{cite news |last=Goldstein |first=Richard |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |title=The Beatles |date=8 December 1968|pages=33, 37}}</ref> In ''[[The Sunday Times]]'', [[Derek Jewell]] hailed it as "the best thing in pop since ''Sgt. Pepper''" and concluded: "Musically, there is beauty, horror, surprise, chaos, order. And that is the world; and that is what The Beatles are on about. Created by, creating for, their age."<ref name="MacDonald/WhiteRiot">{{cite book|first=Ian|last=MacDonald|chapter=White Riot|title=Mojo: The Beatles' Final Years Special Edition|year=2003|location=London|publisher=Emap|page=56}}</ref> Although he dismissed "Revolution 9" as a "pretentious" example of "idiot immaturity", the ''[[NME]]''{{'}}s Alan Smith declared "God Bless You, Beatles!" to the majority of the album.<ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=[[NME]]|title=The Brilliant, the Bad, and the Ugly|date=9 November 1968 |last=Smith |first=Alan}}</ref> [[Jann Wenner]] of ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' called it "the history and synthesis of Western music",{{sfn|Schaffner|1978|p=113}} and the group's best album yet.<ref name=JannRS/> Wenner contended that they were allowed to appropriate other styles and traditions into rock music because their ability and identity were "so strong that they make it uniquely theirs, and uniquely the Beatles. They are so good that they not only expand the idiom, but they are also able to penetrate it and take it further."<ref name=JannRS>{{cite magazine|author=Wenner, Jann|date=21 December 1968|title=The Beatles|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|page=10}}</ref>

Among the less favourable critiques, ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine's reviewer wrote that ''The Beatles'' showcased the "best abilities and worst tendencies" of the Beatles, as it is skilfully performed and sophisticated, but lacks a "sense of taste and purpose".<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|title=The Mannerist Phase|page=53|date=6 December 1968}}</ref> [[William Mann (critic)|William Mann]] of ''[[The Times]]'' opined that, in their over-reliance on [[wikt:pastiche#Noun|pastiche]] and "private jokes", Lennon and McCartney had ceased to progress as songwriters, yet he deemed the release to be "The most important musical event of the year" and acknowledged: "these 30 tracks contain plenty to be studied, enjoyed and gradually appreciated more fully in the coming months."<ref name="MacDonald/WhiteRiot" /> In his review for ''The New York Times'', [[Nik Cohn]] considered the album "boring beyond belief" and said that over half of its songs were "profound mediocrities".<ref>{{cite news |last=Cohn |first=Nik |author-link=Nik Cohn |title=A Briton Blasts The Beatles |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9807E1D9123BE73ABC4D52DFB4678383679EDE|date=15 December 1968}} {{subscription required}}</ref> In a 1971 column, [[Robert Christgau]] of ''[[The Village Voice]]'' described the album as both "their most consistent and probably their worst", and referred to its songs as a "pastiche of musical exercises".<ref>{{cite news|last=Christgau|first=Robert|date=September 1971|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/bk-aow/beatles.php|title=Living Without the Beatles|newspaper=[[The Village Voice]]|access-date=1 February 2013}}</ref> Nonetheless, he ranked it as the tenth best album of 1968 in his ballot for ''Jazz & Pop'' magazine's annual critics poll.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Jazz & Pop]]|last=Christgau|first=Robert|year=1969|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/pnj/jpballot-69.php|title=Robert Christgau's 1969 Jazz & Pop Ballot|access-date=17 April 2014}}</ref>

===Retrospective assessments===
{{Album ratings
| rev1      = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1Score = {{rating|5|5}}<ref name="erlewine"/>
| rev2      = ''[[The A.V. Club]]''
| rev2Score = A+<ref name="Klosterman">{{cite web|last=Klosterman |first=Chuck |date=8 September 2009 |url=https://www.avclub.com/chuck-klosterman-repeats-the-beatles-1798217828 |title=Chuck Klosterman Repeats the Beatles |work=[[The A.V. Club]]|access-date=23 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130522154556/http://www.avclub.com/articles/chuck-klosterman-repeats-the-beatles%2C32560/ |archive-date=22 May 2013 |url-status=live  }}</ref>
| rev3      = ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]''
| rev3Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="McCormick">{{cite news|last=McCormick |first=Neil |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/the-beatles/6138859/The-Beatles-The-Beatles-review.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/the-beatles/6138859/The-Beatles-The-Beatles-review.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=The Beatles – The Beatles, review |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=8 September 2009 |access-date=7 November 2011}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
| rev4 = ''[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]''
| rev4Score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{sfn|Larkin|2006|p=489}}
| rev5      = ''[[MusicHound Rock]]''
| rev5Score = 4/5{{sfn|Graff|Durchholz|1999|p=88}}
| rev6      = ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''
| rev6Score = 10/10<ref name="Richardson, Mark">{{cite web |url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13432-the-beatles/ |title=Album Review: The Beatles: The Beatles |author=Richardson, Mark |date=10 September 2009 |work=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|access-date=19 May 2010}}</ref>
| rev7      = ''[[PopMatters]]''
| rev7Score = 9/10<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/beatles-whitealbum |title=The Beatles: White Album |author=Zupko, Sarah |work=[[PopMatters]]|access-date=19 May 2010}}</ref>
| rev8      = ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]''
| rev8Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=7928715 |title=The Beatles – Beatles (White Album) CD Album" > "Product Reviews |publisher=CD Universe/[[Muze]]|access-date=12 September 2016}}</ref>
| rev9 = ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
| rev9Score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{sfn|Sheffield|2004|p=51}}
| rev10      = ''[[Slant Magazine]]''
| rev10Score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref name="Henderson/Slant">{{cite web|last=Henderson |first=Eric |url=http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/the-beatles-the-beatles-the-white-album/467 |title=The Beatles: The Beatles (The White Album) |work=[[Slant Magazine]] |date=2 August 2004 |access-date=7 November 2011}}</ref>
}}

In a 2003 appraisal of the album, for ''[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]'' magazine, Ian MacDonald wrote that ''The Beatles'' regularly appears among the top 10 in critics' "best albums of all time" lists, yet it was a work that he deemed "eccentric, highly diverse, and very variable [in] quality".<ref name="MacDonald/WhiteRiot55">{{cite book|first=Ian|last=MacDonald|chapter=White Riot|title=Mojo: The Beatles' Final Years Special Edition|year=2003|location=London|publisher=Emap|page=55}}</ref> [[Rob Sheffield]], writing in ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]'' (2004), said that its songs ranged from the Beatles' "sturdiest tunes since ''Revolver''" to "self-indulgent [[filler (media)|filler]]". He derided tracks including "Revolution 9" and "Helter Skelter", but said that picking personal highlights was "part of the fun" for listeners.{{sfn|Sheffield|2004|p=54}} Writing for [[MusicHound]] in 1999, ''[[Guitar World]]'' editor Christopher Scapelliti described the album as "self-indulgent and at times unlistenable" but identified "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" and "Helter Skelter" as "fascinating standouts" that made it a worthwhile purchase.{{sfn|Graff|Durchholz|1999|p=88}}

According to ''[[Slant Magazine]]''{{'}}s Eric Henderson, ''The Beatles'' is a rarity among the band's recorded works, in that it "resists reflexive canonisation, which, along with society's continued fragmentation, keeps the album fresh and surprising".<ref name="Henderson/Slant" /> In his review for [[AllMusic]], [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] said that because of its wide variety of musical styles, the album can be "a frustratingly scattershot record or a singularly gripping musical experience, depending on your view". He concludes: "None of it sounds like it was meant to share album space together, but somehow ''The Beatles'' creates its own style and sound through its mess."<ref name="erlewine">{{cite web |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=22 November 2015 |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r1523/review|pure_url=yes}} |title=Review of ''The Beatles'' <nowiki>[White Album]</nowiki> |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine}}</ref>

Among reviews of the 2009 remastered album, Neil McCormick of ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' found that even its worst songs work within the context of such an eclectic and unconventional collection, which he rated "one of the greatest albums ever made".<ref name="McCormick" /> Writing for ''[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]'', [[Mark Kemp]] said ''The Beatles'' had been wrongly described as "three solo works in one (plus a Ringo song)", saying it "benefits from each member's wildly different ideas" and offers "two of Harrison's finest moments".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009/09/the-beatles-the-long-and-winding-repertoire.html |title=The Beatles: The Long and Winding Repertoire |last=Kemp|first=Mark |date=8 September 2009 |work=[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]|access-date=22 November 2015}}</ref> In his review for ''[[The A.V. Club]]'', [[Chuck Klosterman]] wrote that the album found the band at their best and rated it "almost beyond an A+".<ref name="Klosterman" /> In retrospect, Christgau wrote in 2020 that while he still found the album "somewhat scattered", he nevertheless considers it worthy of a "high A minus".<ref>{{cite web|last=Christgau|first=Robert|date=18 March 2020|url=https://robertchristgau.substack.com/p/xgau-sez-067|title=Xgau Sez|work=And It Don't Stop|publisher=Substack|access-date=18 March 2020}}</ref> Contrary to many other retrospective assessments, John O'Reilly of ''[[The Guardian]]'' rated the album two stars out of five, stating: "Inside this mess of a double album is an OK single album whimpering to get out."<ref>{{Cite news |date=4 December 1998 |title=Many unhappy returns |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-guardian/136499220/ |access-date=16 January 2024 |website=[[The Guardian]] |page=45 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> 

In 2000, ''The Beatles'' was voted number 5 in the third edition of [[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]'s ''[[All Time Top 1000 Albums]]''. Three years later, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked it at number 10 on the magazine's list of the [[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|500 Greatest Albums of All Time]],<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-20120531/the-beatles-the-white-album-20120524 |title=500 Greatest Albums of All Time: The Beatles, 'The White Album' |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=31 May 2009 |access-date=17 January 2013}}</ref> a position it maintained in the 2012 revised list.<ref>{{cite magazine| url= https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-156826/the-beatles-the-white-album-52281/| year=2012| title=500 Greatest Albums of All Time: Rolling Stone's definitive list of the 500 greatest albums of all time| magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]| access-date= 23 September 2019}}</ref> On the 40th anniversary of the album's release, the [[Holy See|Vatican]] newspaper ''[[L'Osservatore Romano]]'' wrote that it "remains a type of magical musical anthology: 30 songs you can go through and listen to at will, certain of finding some pearls that even today remain unparalleled".<ref>{{cite news |work=Vatican newspaper |title=Beatles' music better than today's pop songs |publisher=Catholic News Service |date=24 November 2008}}</ref> In 2011, ''[[Kerrang!]]'' placed the album at number 49 on a list of "The 50 Heaviest Albums Of All Time". The magazine praised the guitar work in "Helter Skelter".<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.kerrang.com/21081/50-heaviest-albums-ever/|title=The 50 Heaviest Albums Ever|magazine=[[Kerrang!]]|date=7 August 2014|access-date=8 August 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140810003928/http://www.kerrang.com/21081/50-heaviest-albums-ever/|archive-date=10 August 2014}}</ref> The album was also included in the book ''[[1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die]]''.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Robert|last1=Dimery|first2=Michael|last2=Lydon|title=1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition|date=7 February 2006|publisher=Universe|isbn=0-7893-1371-5}}</ref> In September 2020, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked ''The Beatles'' at number 29 on its new list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".<ref>{{Cite magazine|editor-last=Fine|editor-first=Jason|date=22 September 2020|title=The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/|access-date=25 September 2020|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|language=en-US}}</ref>

[[Giles Martin]], son of George Martin and supervisor of the 2018 50th Anniversary remix, stated that, contrary to the prevailing view of ''The Beatles'', he does not believe it was recorded by a band about to implode. He said he came to this conclusion after listening to all the demos and session tapes in preparation for the remix.<ref>{{Cite web|date=3 October 2018|title=The Beatles' 50th anniversary remix of 'The White Album' – what we learned from Giles Martin's revelatory playback session|url=https://www.nme.com/features/beatles-50th-anniversary-remix-white-album-learned-giles-martins-revelatory-playback-session-2386098|access-date=10 June 2020|website=[[NME]]|language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Savage|first=Mark|date=10 November 2018|title=The White Album 'slaps you in the face'|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-46152217|access-date=10 June 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2 November 2018|title=Digging into the Beatles' 50th anniversary 'White Album' box set where it all began: Abbey Road|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-beatles-white-album-50th-anniversary-20181102-story.html|access-date=10 June 2020|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|language=en-US}}</ref>