Billy Joel Labels The Beatles’ ‘White Album’ As ‘Half-Assed’

While The Beatles are revered as one of the most important musical acts of all time, Billy Joel has a contrary take when it comes to the band’s White Album, describing the effort as “half-assed.”

Appearing on Bill Maher’s Club Random podcast, the Piano Man singer admitted that he wasn’t a huge fan of the record despite it being so well-loved and considered a classic double album.

“I’m not a big fan of the White Album, but some people love it,” Joel began.

He continued, “I hear it as a collection of half-assed songs they didn’t finish writing because they were too stoned, or they didn’t care anymore. I think they had fragments, and they put them on the album.”

Adding that he believed John Lennon was “disassociating” during the recording of the White Album, Joel stated that he thought Paul McCartney carried “the weight” of the release.

He also surmised that The Beatles experienced “their ups and downs,” and the White Album was a sign of one of their lower points. He explained, “Sometimes, they were more prolific and sometimes they weren’t, and I hear that in some of those things.”

You can watch the interview below.

In the same interview, Joel opened up about living with his recently diagnosed neurological disorder, normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH), saying that his balance “sucks.”

“It’s not fixed, it’s still being worked on,” Joel continued. “I feel fine. My balance sucks. It’s like being on a boat… They don’t really know what causes it. I thought it must be from drinking.

“They keep referring to what I have as a ‘brain disorder,’ so it sounds a lot worse than what I’m feeling.”

The first part of a two-part documentary about Billy Joel, titled And So It Goes, premiered on HBO last Friday (18 July), with the follow-up set to air this Friday (25 July).

According to the documentary’s synopsis, And So It Goes will explore the “love, loss and personal struggles that fuel his storytelling” and feature “never-before-seen performances, home movies, personal photographs, and one-on-one interviews.”