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better known as the "white album," this was meant to be the record that brought them back to earth after three years of studio experimentation. instead, it took them all over the place, continuing to burst the envelope of pop music. lennon and mccartney were still at the height of their powers, with lennon in particular growing into one of rock's towering figures. but even mccartney could still rock, and the amazement on "helter skelter" was that he had vocal cords at the end. from beach boys knock-offs to reggae and to the unknown ("revolution #9"), this has it all. some records have legend written all over them; this is one. --chris nickson. The Beatles (commonly referred to as the White Album) is the ninth studio album and only double album by the English rock band the Beatles, released on 22 November 1968, and their first LP issued on Apple. Featuring a plain white sleeve, the cover contains no graphics or text other than the band's name embossed,[a] a deliberate contrast to the band's previous LP, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967). The Beatles is recognized for its fragmentary style and diverse range of genres, including folk, country rock, British blues, ska, music hall, hard rock, and avant-garde. It has since been viewed by some critics as a postmodern work, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time.[1] In late May 1968, the Beatles returned to EMI Studios in London to commence recording sessions that lasted until mid-October. During these sessions, arguments frequently broke out among the foursome over creative differences and the presence of John Lennon's new partner, Yoko Ono, which subverted the Beatles' policy of excluding wives and girlfriends from the studio. After a series of problems, including producer George Martin taking an unannounced holiday and engineer Geoff Emerick suddenly quitting during a session, Ringo Starr left the band for two weeks in August. The same tensions continued throughout the following year and led to the band's break-up. The album features 30 songs, 19 of which were written during March and April 1968 at a Transcendental Meditation course in Rishikesh, India. There, the only Western instrument available to the band was the acoustic guitar; several of these songs remained acoustic on The Beatles and were recorded solo, or only by part of the group. The production aesthetic ensured that the album's sound was scaled down and less reliant on studio innovation than most of their releases since Revolver (1966). The Beatles also broke with the band's tradition at the time of incorporating several musical styles in one song by keeping each piece of music consistently faithful to a select genre. The Beatles received favourable reviews from most music critics; detractors found its satirical songs unimportant and apolitical amid the turbulent political and social climate of 1968. It topped record charts in Britain and the United States. No singles were issued in either territory, but "Hey Jude" and "Revolution" originated from the same recording sessions and were issued as a single in August 1968. The album has since been certified 24× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), tied for fifth all time. A remixed and expanded edition of the album was released in 2018.