The Beatles‘ 50th anniversary edition of the White Album is due out on a week from today. In its most expansive deluxe version, the set includes a new stereo mix of the album, a 27-track disc of demos recorded at George Harrison’s house in Esher, Surrey, and three discs of studio session takes, and an accompanying Blu-ray. Three versions of both “Back in the U.S.S.R.” and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” from the box set have already been released. This week, we have two new versions of John Lennon’s cryptic “Glass Onion.”
The first unreleased version of the track is a demo for solo acoustic guitar and vocals, featuring a slightly underdeveloped melody, some goofball overdubs from Lennon, and a decelerating ending. The other is another stripped-back full band take of the song, with a crisper, more driving quality than the album ending. It’s interesting to hear the song without the swoops of psychedelic strings that dominate the final studio version. Listen to the two “Glass Onion” versions, as well as a new stereo mix of the original studio version, below.
https://open.spotify.com/embed/album/63sNqrZoMSdo23mfmD8Jik
