The Beatles Announce White Album 50th Anniversary Edition

24 September 2018, 14:59 | Updated: 24 September 2018, 15:47

The Fab Four’s classic 1958 double album with come as a 7-CD set with 50 extra tracks.

The Beatles are to mark the 50th anniversary of the release of their classic self-titled 1968 double album with a very special deluxe edition. The LP - known to everyone as “The White Album” thanks to its blank sleeve - featured classic songs like Back In The USSR, Helter Skelter and While My Guitar Gently Weeps.

The album has been remixed by Giles Martin, the son of Beatles producer Sir George and Sam Okell, sourced directly from the original four-track and eight-track session tapes, in the same way that Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band had a revamp last year.

The album will be accompanied by the “Esher Demos”, a series of acoustic recordings made by the Beatles at George Harrison’s house in the Surrey town, when the band had returned from their spiritual retreat in India, bursting with new songs. The 27 acoustic tracks include unique versions of tracks like Revolution, Blackbird and an early version of the John Lennon solo track Jealous Guy, then known as Child Of Nature.

The deluxe CD set will also include 50 additional recordings, most previously unreleased, from the “White Album” studio sessions, including the original "wig out" long version of Revolution 1, an early attempt at Hey Jude, and the slower, bluesy original version of the classic Helter Skelter. You get a preview of songs to come as Paul tries out Let It Be. Also included are studio jams including a take on Elvis Presley’s (You’re so Square) Baby, I Don’t Care and 50s classic Blue Moon.

The “White Album” will also be released as a quadruple, boxed vinyl set featuring the new remix and the Esher demos, a triple CD with the same tracks and a black vinyl edition of the 2018 mix. For White Album connoisseurs, there’s also a boxed set of lithographs of the four famous “White Album” photos, limited to just 200 sets.

All editions are availble to pre-order now via www.thebeatlesonline.co.uk and will be released on 9 November 2018.

The Beatles “White Album” Deluxe CD Box Set Track Listing:

CD1 - 2018 Stereo Remix

1 Back In The U.S.S.R.

2 Dear Prudence

3 Glass Onion

4 Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da

5 Wild Honey Pie

6 The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill

7 While My Guitar Gently Weeps

8 Happiness Is A Warm Gun

9 Martha My Dear

10 I’m So Tired

11 Blackbird

12 Piggies

13 Rocky Racoon

14 Don’t Pass Me By

15 Why Don’t We Do It In The Road?

16 I Will

17 Julia

CD2 - 2018 Stereo Remix

1 Birthday

2 Yer Blues

3 Mother Nature’s Son

4 Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey

5 Sexy Sadie

6 Helter Skelter

7 Long, Long, Long

8 Revolution 1

9 Honey Pie

10 Savoy Truffle

11 Cry Baby Cry

12 Revolution 9

13 Good Night

CD3 - Esher Demos

1 Back In The U.S.S.R. (Esher Demo)

2 Dear Prudence (Esher Demo)

3 Glass Onion (Esher Demo)

4 Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da (Esher Demo)

5 The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill (Esher Demo)

6 While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Esher Demo)

7 Happiness Is A Warm Gun (Esher Demo)

8 I’m So Tired (Esher Demo)

9 Blackbird (Esher Demo)

10 Piggies (Esher Demo)

11 Rocky Raccoon (Esher Demo)

12 Julia (Esher Demo)

13 Yer Blues (Esher Demo)

14 Mother Nature’s Son (Esher Demo)

15 Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey (Esher Demo)

16 Sexy Sadie (Esher Demo)

17 Revolution (Esher Demo)

18 Honey Pie (Esher Demo)

19 Cry Baby Cry (Esher Demo)

20 Sour Milk Sea (Esher Demo)

21 Junk (Esher Demo)

22 Child Of Nature (Esher Demo)

23 Circles (Esher Demo)

24 Mean Mr Mustard (Esher Demo)

25 Polythene Pam (Esher Demo)

26 Not Guilty (Esher Demo)

27 What’s The New Mary Jane (Esher Demo)

CD4 - Session Tracks

1 Revolution I (Take 18)

2 A Beginning (Take 4) / Don’t Pass Me By (Take 7)

3 Blackbird (Take 28)

4 Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey (Unnumbered rehearsal)

5 Good Night (Unnumbered rehearsal)

6 Good Night (Take 10 with a guitar part from Take 5)

7 Good Night (Take 22)

8 Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da (Take 3)

9 Revolution (Unnumbered rehearsal)

10 Revolution (Take 14 – Instrumental backing track)

11 Cry Baby Cry (Unnumbered rehearsal)

12 Helter Skelter (First version – Take 2)

CD5 - Session Tracks

1 Sexy Sadie (Take 3)

2 While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Acoustic version – Take 2)

3 Hey Jude (Take 1)

4 St. Louis Blues (Studio jam)

5 Not Guilty (Take 102)

6 Mother Nature’s Son (Take 15)

7 Yer Blues (Take 5 with guide vocal)

8 What’s the New Mary Jane (Take 1)

9 Rocky Raccoon (Take 8)

10 Back in the U.S.S.R. (Take 5 – Instrumental backing track)

11 Dear Prudence (Vocal, guitar & drums)

12 Let It Be (Unnumbered rehearsal)

13 While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Third version – Take 27)

14 (You’re so Square) Baby, I Don’t Care (Studio jam)

15 Helter Skelter (Second version – Take 17)

16 Glass Onion (Take 10)

CD6 - Session Tracks

1 I Will (Take 13)

2 Blue Moon (Studio jam)

3 I Will (Take 29)

4 Step Inside Love (Studio jam)

5 Los Paranoias (Studio jam)

6 Can You Take Me Back? (Take 1)

7 Birthday (Take 2 – Instrumental backing track)

8 Piggies (Take 12 – Instrumental backing track)

9 Happiness is a Warm Gun (Take 19)

10 Honey Pie (Instrumental backing track)

11 Savoy Truffle (Instrumental backing track)

12 Martha My Dear (Without brass and strings)

13 Long, Long, Long (Take 44)

14 I’m so tired (Take 7)

15 I’m so tired (Take 14)

16 The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill (Take 2)

17 Why don’t we do it in the road? (Take 5)

18 Julia (Two rehearsals)

19 The Inner Light (Take 6 – Instrumental backing track)

20 Lady Madonna (Take 2 – Piano and drums)

21 Lady Madonna (Backing vocals from take 3)

22 Across the Universe (Take 6)

Disc 7: Blu-ray

1 Audio Features: PCM Stereo (2018 Stereo Mix), DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (2018, Dolby True HD 5.1 (2018), Mono (2018 Direct Transfer of “The White Album” Original Mono Mix)