McCartney Times

In one of the most iconic interviews of all time, John Lennon once let rip at the Mick Jagger, slagged off Paul McCartney, and, amidst it all, picked his favourite Beatles album of all time. It makes for quite possibly one of the most iconic conversations in pop culture history.

We’re looking back to what we enjoy remembering about the late, great John Lennon the most, his brilliant music. If there’s one album you should start with when listening to Lennon, then surely it should be the singer’s favourite album? We think so.

Lennon’s talents weren’t restricted to The Beatles, having a more than a brilliant solo career but probably it’s fair to say that he completed some of his best work with the Fab Four. But what would John Winston Lennon say was the Liverpudlian band’s best work?

In a 1971 interview with Rolling Stone, in which he lashed out at Mick Jagger for copying the Beatles revolutionary sound as well as making remarks about the Fab Four in the press, the ‘Imagine’ singer also shared his views on The Beatles.

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. However, he wasn’t going to let Jagger have his own free hit at The Beatles.

He 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. But you cannot argue that during that time Lennon and McCartney were not exactly bosom buddies. In fact, that deterioration of relationship could be what influenced Lennon’s decision making when asked about his favourite Beatles record.

The guitarist picked 1968’s The White Album, perhaps largely because it would’ve annoyed his songwriting partner Paul. McCartney was never a fan of that album and Lennon revealed his theory as to why, “[Paul] wanted it to be more a group thing, which really means more Paul. So he never liked that album.” It’s a record that is full of hits, from ‘Back in the U.S.S.R’ to ‘Blackbird’ to ‘Helter Skelter’ and beyond, it’s an undeniable powerhouse of an album.

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.”

So, The White Album or Sgt. Pepper – Lennon or McCartney? Luckily, you can have them both.

Source: John Lennon revealed his favourite Beatles album