The Seven Least Great Tracks on the Beatles' White Album

The Beatles' White Album recently turned 40 years old. It's a legendary album that deserves it's status among the greatest albums of all time. Personally I think it is the greatest album of all time. But instead of looking at the best of the album I want to look at the 7 tracks that I think are the least great. You'll notice that I use the phrase "least great" instead of worst. That's because with the possible exception of "Good Night" I think all of these tracks have something special in them that makes them interesting to listen to and an important part of the album. In fact there's even something I like about "Good Night." Without further wait, here are the seven least great tracks on The Beatles greatest album.

#1 "Good Night"

As I just mentioned, "Good Night" is my least favorite song on the album. It's just never drawn me into it's world. I don't find the melody particularly memorable, the vocals are not suited to the song (sorry Ringo) , and I find the production far too syrupy (although I suppose that was the intended effect.) So what's good about the worst song on The Beatles best album? I love how it contrasts with "Revolution #9" as the song right before it.

#2 "Wild Honey Pie"

I actually quite enjoy the ridiculousness that is "Wild Honey Pie" and I think it's actually got some pretty cool riffs in it. It also works well as the segue track between "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" and "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill." So why is it ranked at #2? Well the competition is pretty fierce and I think this track just brings less to the table than it's competitors.

#3 "Don't Pass Me By"

Does it seem as if I'm picking on Ringo? I have the two songs he sang lead on as two of the three worst (and I almost put this ahead of "Wild Honey Pie") But this isn't really a negative against Ringo the singer, I think he had the perfect vocal on songs such as "Yellow Submarine" & "With a Little Help from my Friends." It is a negative against Ringo the songwriter in this case as this is a pretty substandard song. What I actually find most endearing about this song (besides the extremely silly lyric about the girl losing her hair in a car accident) is how the rest of The Beatles try to make this song more interesting than it really is and they do succeed somewhat as I do actually enjoy listening to this track now (I used to find it close to unlistenable.)

#4 "Piggies"

This is a decent sog that I quite enjoy from time to time which I think says a lot about how great The White Album really is. Did you know that this song (along with "Helter Skelter") was an "inspiration" for Charles Manson? He thought the song was telling him to attack the police ("what they need's a damn good whacking.")

#5 "Savoy Truffle"

This is a song I used to not be able to get into at all but it has grown on me a lot over the years. That being said I still think it ranks towards the bottom of the album's tracks. This is nothing against George Harrison as I think his other two songs on the album (besides "Piggies" & "Savoy Truffle") are brilliant ("While My Guitar Gently Weeps" & "Long Long Long."

#6 "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill"

This is where it starts to get really difficult. This is a strange song in that I don't think it's among The Beatles best work but I do find it very entertaining, anyway. When I'm in the mood I very much enjoy it. I also like Yoko Ono's vocals as they really aid in giving the song a sort of off kilter sound.

#7 "Why Don't We Dot It in the Road?"

This is an even more difficult decision. I mostly selected this one next as it is a pretty slight competition (both in musical value and in length) but I really love it and would miss it greatly if it were not on the album.

No "Revolution #9" ???

No I didn't forget to include "Revolution #9." I think it's a brilliant track that definitely accomplishes it's desired effect (and isn't that a great way to judge art?) and although I may not listen to it as often as some of the tracks above, I do think it's a more vital part of the album than any of them. That being said, I probably would have had to include it pretty soon if I kept on listing tracks. This album is just filled with too many amazing songs: "Dear Prudence," "Glass Onion," "I Will," "Blackbird," "I'm So Tired," & "Helter Skelter" to name just some of them.