10 Famous Albums That Left The Best Song On The Cutting Room Floor
4. The Beatles - The Beatles (White Album)
Cut Song: "Sour Milk Sea"
Poor George Harrison. Despite his immense -- and in retrospect obvious -- songwriting talents, George was rarely able to get a chord in edgewise thanks to the suffocating nature of John and Paul's creative partnership. And yet, every time a tune of his showed up on an album -- from "Here Comes the Sun" to "I Me Mine" -- it felt like a huge moment.
"Sour Milk Sea", had it been included on The White Album, would have been no different. According to Harrison, the song is about the art of Tantra and the idea that "what is here is elsewhere, and what is not here is nowhere".
It may sound blasphemous to suggest this rough track could contend with, let alone transcend the mountain of terrific songs featured on the Fab Four's sprawling double album, there's a pure, straightforward rock and roll quality to "Sour Milk Sea" that would have stood out among the weirder, more experimental tracks on The White Album.
Instead we got songs like "Wild Honey Pie" and "Why Don't We Do It In the Road". Thanks for that, John and Paul.
"Sour Milk Sea" would later be recorded by singer-songwriter Jackie Lomax, and oddly enough with a lot of help from Harrison, McCartney, and Ringo Starr, essentially making it a non-Beatles/Beatles song.