One conversation involving John Lennon has become as iconic as the glasses he wore, the tragedy that befell him, or the countless hit songs he wrote with his fellow Liverpudlians, The Beatles. In this famous interview, Lennon provided not only a clear-eyed reflection on his time in the world’s biggest band but also a scathing critique of their work. It has since gone down in history as one of the most revealing rock conversations of all time, offering an array of memorable soundbites and insights while capturing the essence of Lennon as both a man and a fan.
In one of the most notorious music discussions, Lennon sat back and let rip at the Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, slagged off his closest collaborator Paul McCartney and, amidst all the chaos and caustic wit, the singer also picked his favourite Beatles album. It makes for quite possibly one of the most iconic conversations in pop culture history and an undeniably accurate reflection of an artist who rarely allowed his mind or his acid-silver tongue to rest.
If you’ve never delved into The Beatles’ back catalogue, you’re not alone; their omnipresence can understandably turn some people off. However, exploring their extensive discography remains a rewarding experience, even six decades after their records first hit the shelves. Given the depth of their work, it’s best to set aside the singles—those are for the radio. The Beatles were pioneers of the album format, and their music is best appreciated in its full, immersive context. For newcomers, the ideal starting point might just be the album that the band’s founder and frontman considered his favourite.
Lennon’s talents extended well beyond his time with The Beatles, blossoming into a remarkable solo career before his life was tragically cut short in 1980. His songwriting prowess and knack for weaving narrative stories through music are undeniable. Rooted in the principles of poetry fused with a pop sensibility, Lennon consistently poured his heart and soul into every record, rarely deviating from his commitment to authenticity and emotional depth.
Together, he and Yoko Ono certainly showed the rest of the band how to produce records that captivated their audience. That said, it’s probably fair to say that he and the rest of the band completed some of his best work together as a unit within the Fab Four—but what would John Winston Lennon say was their finest moment?
During a 1971 interview with Rolling Stone, the ‘Imagine’ singer lashed out at Mick Jagger for copying the Beatles’ revolutionary sound and made remarks about the Fab Four in the press. He also shared his views on The Beatles and his favourite album of their catalogue. In fact, during the interview, Lennon made repeated cutting comments about his former bandmates and, it has to be remembered, took aim at his songwriting partner Paul McCartney with an unrelenting sense of animosity and disdain that only comes from hurt feelings and separation. However, he wasn’t going to let Jagger have his own free hit at The Beatles.
Lennon concluded by saying: “I was always very respectful about Mick and the Stones, but he said a lot of sort of tarty things about the Beatles, which I am hurt by, because you know, I can knock the Beatles, but don’t let Mick Jagger knock them.”
It’s a fitting assessment of a band that started out as a little gang of friends; as Lennon himself put it: “We were four guys… I met Paul and said, ‘You want to join me band?’ Then George joined, and then Ringo joined.” As simple as that. But you cannot argue that by the end of The Beatles, Lennon and McCartney were not exactly bosom buddies.
In fact, that relationship deterioration could be what influenced Lennon’s decision-making when asked about his favourite Beatles record. The guitarist picked the 1968 effort The White Album, perhaps largely because it would’ve annoyed his songwriting partner. McCartney was never a fan of that album, and Lennon revealed his theory as to why, stating: “[Paul] wanted it to be more a group thing, which really means more Paul. So he never liked that album.”
Ironically, some may argue that it was McCartney that made the record a success. Full of McCartney-penned hits, from ‘Back in the U.S.S.R’ to ‘Blackbird’ to ‘Helter Skelter’ and beyond, it’s an undeniable powerhouse fuelled by the buoyant face of the music hall scamp. However, it was the more rambunctious and darker moments that Lennon felt drawn to. ‘Dear Prudence’, ‘Happiness Is A Warm Gun’, ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ and ‘Yer Blues’ confirm that it is one of the more rock-focused records in their discography.
The record saw The Beatles return to rock ‘n’ roll in Lennon’s eyes, saying at the time: “What we’re trying to do is rock ‘n roll, ‘with less of your philosorock,’ is what we’re saying to ourselves. And get on with rocking because rockers is what we really are. You can give me a guitar, stand me up in front of a few people. Even in the studio, if I’m getting into it, I’m just doing my old bit… not quite doing Elvis Legs but doing my equivalent. It’s just natural. Everybody says we must do this and that, but our thing is just rocking. You know, the usual gig. That’s what this new record is about. Definitely rocking.”
The album was also heavily influenced by the Fab Four’s time in India practising transcendental meditation with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, “Most of this session has been written on guitar ‘cuz we were in India and only had our guitars there,” recalled Lennon. “They have a different feel about them. I missed the piano a bit because you just write differently. My piano playing is even worse than me guitar. I hardly know what the chords are, so it’s good to have a slightly limited palette, heh heh.”
Speaking with Rolling Stone, he continued with a swipe at Paul’s favourite Beatles record, Sgt. Pepper: “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.”
For Paul McCartney, though, the album represents a tough time for the group, with Ringo leaving during its recording, it can often be seen as the beginning of the end. He said: “The White Album was the tension album. We were all in the midst of the psychedelic thing, or just coming out of it. In any case, it was weird. Never before had we recorded with beds in the studio and people visiting for hours on end, business meetings and all that. There was a lot of friction. It was the weirdest experience because we were about to break up— that was tense in itself.”
So, The White Album or Sgt. Pepper — John Lennon or Paul McCartney? The White Album may rightly be seen as the “tension album” but that’s exactly why Lennon loved it.
