Back in the U.S.S.R.

Today we start The Beatles' ninth studio album, The Beatles (also more popularly known as The White Album). It was the first the guys had created after the death of their manager, Brian Epstein, and marked a period of conflict and discord within the group. Ringo quit the group entirely for a short time, leaving Paul to play drums on a couple of tracks. 

A quote from Wikipedia gives us more details as to the songwriting of The White Album:

Although most of the songs on any given Beatles album are usually credited to the Lennon–McCartney songwriting team, that description is often misleading, and rarely more so than on The Beatles. With this album, each of the four band members began to showcase the range and depth of his individual songwriting talents, and to display styles that would be carried over to his eventual solo career. Indeed, some songs that the individual Beatles were working on during this period eventually were released on solo albums.

The Beatles themselves, Paul in particular, cite this album as being the beginning of the end, as it were. From Wikipedia: "Despite the album's official title, which emphasised group identity, studio efforts on The Beatles captured the work of four increasingly individualised artists who frequently found themselves at odds." As I mentioned above, Ringo quit the band for about two weeks, finally returning after the other three begged. George Martin found himself losing control over the guys, and recording engineer Geoff Emerick refused to continue working with them, despite having been with them since Revolver. The presence of girlfriends (like Yoko Ono and McCartney's girlfriend, Francie Schwartz) no doubt added to the contention, since previously the band's recording sessions were intensely private. Ringo and George would duck in and out over the next couple of years, and finally:

McCartney's public departure in 1970 would mark the formal end of the band's ensemble. He described the sessions for The Beatles as a turning point for the group. Up to this point, he observed, "The world was a problem, but we weren't. You know, that was the best thing about The Beatles, until we started to break up, like during the White Album and stuff. Even the studio got a bit tense then."

I think it's necessary to talk about the disharmony The Beatles were experiencing during the creation of this album, since it no doubt had an impact. With that, we'll start the first song.

"Back in the U.S.S.R.", primarily written by Paul, is one of the two songs from this album to feature Paul on drums, as Ringo had walked out of the recording session, declaring he'd quit. The lyrics are sung from a different point of view--namely that of an inhabitant of the old Soviet Union (the U.S.S.R.). It was partially inspired by the Beach Boys' "California Girls" and "Georgia on My Mind" by Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell. "The title was inspired in part by the I'm Backing Britain campaign that had been endorsed by British Prime Minister Harold Wilson. It has been suggested that McCartney twisted that into "I'm back in (backin') the U.S.S.R."

I have mixed feelings about this one. For years, I had it on my mp3 player, but I would skip it more often than not. It's a catchy song, but it's possible that what turns me off about it is it's reminiscent of The Beatles' early rock-and-roll days, of which I'm less than fond. I much prefer the later albums (as you can tell by my recent album summaries), so "Back in the U.S.S.R." is relegated to a lower spot on my favorites list.

That's all for today. See you tomorrow!

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Heard It Tally: 34

Songs Completed: 139