Most of the songs on the album were written during March and April 1968 at a
Transcendental Meditation course in
Rishikesh, India. The group returned to
EMI's
Abbey Road Studios in London at the end of May to commence recording sessions that lasted through to mid-October. During these sessions, arguments broke out among the foursome over creative differences. Another divisive element was the constant presence of
John Lennon's new partner,
Yoko Ono, whose attendance in the studio broke with the Beatles' policy regarding wives and girlfriends not attending recording sessions. After a series of problems, including producer
George Martin taking a sudden leave of absence and engineer
Geoff Emericksuddenly quitting,
Ringo Starr left the band briefly in August. The same tensions continued throughout the following year, leading to the
break-up of the band by 1970.
On release,
The Beatles received favourable reviews from the majority of
music critics, but other commentators found its satirical songs unimportant and apolitical amid the turbulent political and social climate of 1968. The band and Martin later debated whether the group should have released a single album instead. Nonetheless,
The Beatles reached No. 1 on the charts in both the United Kingdom and the United States, and has since been viewed by some critics as one of the greatest albums of all time.
