The Beatles (album) the album, for "Mojo" magazine, Ian MacDonald wrote that "The Beatles" regularly appears among the top 10 in critics' "best albums of all time" lists, yet it was a work that he deemed "eccentric, highly diverse, and very variable [in] quality".<ref name="MacDonald/WhiteRiot55"></ref> Rob Sheffield, writing in "The Rolling Stone Album Guide" (2004), said that its songs ranged from the Beatles' "sturdiest tunes since "Revolver"" to "self-indulgent filler". He derided tracks including "Revolution 9" and "Helter Skelter", but said that picking personal highlights was "part of the fun" for listeners. Writing for MusicHound in 1999, "Guitar World" editor Christopher Scapelliti described
The Beatles (album) that band." He also supported the idea of the double album, to clear out the backlog of songs that the group had at the time. By contrast, McCartney said that it was fine as it was, adding: "It's the bloody Beatles' "White Album". Shut up!" "The Beatles" was the last Beatles album to be mixed separately for both stereo and mono, though the mono version was issued only in the UK and a few other countries. All but one track exist in official mono mixes; the exception is "Revolution 9", which was a direct reduction of the stereo master. The