The catalogue of The Beatles is undoubtedly one of the most impressive in musical history. But what were
John Lennon,
George Harrison,
Paul McCartney, and
Ringo Starr’s favourite
The Beatles album?
Paul McCartney – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
In this revealing 1991 interview, Paul suggests that he had a love for all the albums they made together but his favourite was the iconic concept album from 1967 Sgt. Pepper’s. The singer revealed it was the concept that he feels was really engaging. He said, “I’d pick Sgt. Pepper’s, meself, because I had a lot to do with it. It wasn’t entirely my idea but to get us away from being ‘The Beatles’ I had this idea that we should pretend we’re this other group”. He reiterates that he’d prefer not to choose just one but “I’d choose that if I had to.”
John Lennon – The White Album
In a 1971 interview Lennon, never afraid to speak his mind, suggested that Paul never liked The White Album because the band members were all following their own talents and doing their own songs – not working as a group. “[Paul] wanted it to be more a group thing, which really means more Paul. So he never liked that album.”
In the same interview John proclaimed The White Album to be his favourite. He said, “I always preferred it to all the other albums, including Pepper, because I thought the music was better. The Pepper myth is bigger, but the music on the White Album is far superior, I think.”
George Harrison – Rubber Soul
George would have picked The White Album, having four songs of his own on there, just like John. However, like John,George was not a fan of Sgt. Pepper. He felt the concept album had turned them into a puppet worker bee. “It became an assembly process – just little parts and then overdubbing,” he felt they had lost the edge that came with live performances.
So it feels right that Harrison’s favourite would reflect a time of creative unknowns and artistic challenges. “Rubber Soul was my favorite album, even at that time, I think that it was the best one we made,” he said when reflecting on the iconic record in the ’90s. The most important thing about it was that we were suddenly hearing sounds we weren’t able to hear before. Also, we were being more influenced by other people’s music and everything was blossoming at that time — including us.”
Ringo Starr – Abbey Road
“The second side of Abbey Road is my favorite,” he said. “I love it.”
Ringo felt they offered a sense of the band’s talent. “‘She Came In Through The Bathroom Window,’ and all those bits that weren’t songs … I mean, they were just all the bits that John and Paul had around that we roped together.”
