Editing The Beatles (album) (section)

===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>