Revolution

Ian Inglis's “Revolution” offers a shrewd reading of the convoluted historical and cultural context inherent in the labyrinthine recording sessions for The Beatles (the White Album). Inglis establishes a complex level of acclaim and uncertainty for the Beatles at the dawn of 1968, ranging from the spellbinding success of Sgt. Pepper to the critical disdain for Magical Mystery Tour – not to mention the traumatizing specter of war and assassination on the international front. Inglis reads the resulting album as a strident contrast with the careful sense of direction and purpose that marked their earlier efforts, with the White Album sporting disunity, fragmentation, and disillusionment as its primary – if not primal – characteristics. In “On their way home: the Beatles in 1969 and 1970,”