The Beatles celebrate the White Album with special anniversary releases

The Beatles are celebrating the 50th anniversary of their self-titled ninth studio album release, better known as The White Album, with fresh releases that include new mixes in stereo and surround audio, previously unreleased demos and session recordings. They’ll be available everywhere from 9 November 2018.

In November 1968, millions of double LPs were shipped to record stores worldwide ahead of that tumultuous year’s most anticipated music event: the 22 November release of The BEATLES (soon to be better known as The White Album). Their ninth studio album, The White Album has invited listeners to venture forth and explore the breadth and ambition of its music, delighting and inspiring each new generation in turn. On 9 November, The Beatles will release a suite of lavishly presented White Album packages, released by Apple Corps Ltd., Capitol and UMe. The album’s 30 tracks are newly mixed by producer Giles Martin and mix engineer Sam Okell in stereo and 5.1 surround audio, joined by 27 early acoustic demos and 50 session takes, most of which are previously unreleased in any form.

“We had left Sgt. Pepper’s band to play in his sunny Elysian Fields and were now striding out in new directions without a map,” says Paul McCartney in his written introduction for the new White Album releases.

This new edition follows 2017’s universally acclaimed Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band Anniversary Edition releases. Martin and Okell worked with an expert team of engineers and audio restoration specialists at Abbey Road Studios to produce the new White Album audio mixes, all sourced directly from the original four-track and eight-track session tapes. Martin’s new mix is guided by the album’s original stereo mix produced by his father, George Martin.

“In remixing The White Album, we’ve tried to bring you as close as possible to The Beatles in the studio,” explains Giles Martin. “We’ve peeled back the layers of the Glass Onion with the hope of immersing old and new listeners into one of the most diverse and inspiring albums ever made.”

The BEATLES (‘White Album’) releases:

Super Deluxe (7-disc and digital audio collection):
– CDs 1 & 2: The BEATLES (‘White Album’) 2018 stereo album mix
– CD3: Esher Demos (27 demos, several of which were not included on the original album)
– CDs 4, 5 & 6: Sessions (50 additional recordings, most previously unreleased, from White Album studio sessions; all newly mixed from the four-track and eight-track session tapes)
– Blu-ray: Various high resolution 2018 mixes and a direct transfer of the original mono mix

Deluxe (3CD, 4LP vinyl box set and digital audio collection):
– CDs 1 & 2: The BEATLES (‘White Album’) 2018 stereo album mix
– CD3: Esher Demos
– Limited edition 4LP vinyl box set 2018 stereo album mix

Standard (2LP vinyl):
– The BEATLES (‘White Album’) 2018 stereo album mix
– Gatefold sleeve, faithfully replicated original artwork

You can pre-order the reissue here.

Watch the unboxing video below: