Aug 2006

Them crazy kids finally did it-they bottled lightning! Following on the heals of the pivotal 'Rubber Soul' album 'Revolver' not only showed the change in the Beatles but in British culture. The last vestiges of 'Fab' can be seen fading away and the innovation and experimentalism of the new 'counter-culture' are beginning to show. This is the sound of 1966.

George's 'Taxman' is officially the best opener of any Beatles album and from there on it is an avalanche of life changing genius. Can you honestly imagine a world without Paul's 'Eleanor Rigby' or John's 'I'm Only Sleeping'? Didn't think so. This is also the sound of the most popular band in the world showing they aren't afraid to take risks-'Yellow Submarine' who'd have thought it?

But if you were to buy this album for only one reason, that reason would be the last track- 'Tomorrow Never Knows' a crazed 'Tibetan Book of the Dead', inspired one chord masterpiece. Those of you who have ever scoffed at Ringo's drumming should hang your heads in shame. 'Tomorrow Never Knows' is beyond stunning and it's influence on music and the recording process can still be heard today.

Easily one of the most influential albums of all time and, more importantly, listening to 'Revolver' will make you believe in magic and that's no bad thing.

Nick Probert, HMV Customer Service, Head Office Revolver was the album which saw the Beatles start their lift off into outer space. The sound experimentation that first reared it's head on Rubber Soul blossomed into way out soundscapes like the string led melancholy of Eleanor Rigby and the acid tinged stream of consciousness, Tomorrow Never Knows. The Beatles next move was the cultural earthquake that was Sgt. Pepper, but the achievement of Revolver doesn't deserve to be overshadowed by that fantastic but sometimes pompous and weighty LP. The Beatles took song craft in new directions on Revolver, outstripping the contemporaries both musically and lyrically on tracks like I'm Only Sleeping and Taxman, although the poetic sour grapes of the latter does seem a bit rich considering how extraordinarily well off the band were by that point.

Elsewhere McCartney pays tribute to the soul stomp of the Stax record label on Got too Get You Into My Life and the band do that sly 60s thing of giving their drug dealers a nod on Dr. Robert. Add in some classic summertime cheeriness with tracks like And Your Bird Can Sing and Good Day Sunshine and Revolver becomes the Beatles album that most satisfies as a cohesive whole. The patchy but inspired White Album has it's share of filler and later back-to-the-roots tunes inspired by former Dylan acolytes The Band are charming but hardly groundbreaking. Revolver helped push 60s culture forward and is a essential album for fans and music lovers everywhere.

Sam Jones, HMV Newport

• Rolling Stone (4/11/02, p.106) - Ranked #10 in Rolling Stone's "50 Coolest Records" - "...The Fabs tune into Dylan, the Stones, the Beach Boys, decide to top to top them all..."
  Q (6/00, pp.92-3) - Ranked #1 in Q's "100 Greatest British Albums" - "...The most shocking Beatles record....combining an astonishing mix of styles with a weirdly consistent sense of purpose....[mapping] out the pop universe...perfectly..."
  Melody Maker (10/2/93, p.29) - Ranked #2 in NME's list of the 'Greatest Albums Of All Time.'
• Classic Rock (04/06, p.56) - Ranked #35 in Classic Rock's "100 Greatest British Rock Albums" - "REVOLVER is the sound of The Beatles growing in confidence as their ideas became more potent."

Arguably the first psychedelic rock album, REVOLVER was praised for its musical experimentation--the Indian sounds of "Love You To", the Motown-inspired "Got To Get You Into My Life", the backwards guitar in "I'm Only Sleeping". "Tomorrow Never Knows" was the most radical departure from previous Beatles' recordings for its skeletal bass/drums propulsion enhanced only with tape loops (contributed by all four Beatles and added in the mix-down process), more backwards guitar, and an eerie John Lennon vocal.
Still, the Beatles' experimentation grew out of their songwriting, which had matured beyond formula pop. "Tomorrow Never Knows" was inspired by the Tibetan Book of the Dead, Harrison's "Taxman" was a bitter diatribe, and McCartney's "Eleanor Rigby" was a bleak portrait of loneliness. Balanced with upbeat songs like "Good Day Sunshine" and "Yellow Submarine", REVOLVER proved The Beatles were not mere pop stars, but musical artists in search of new sounds and ideas.

The Beatles: George Harrison (vocals, guitar, sitar); Paul McCartney (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards, bass); John Lennon (vocals, guitar); Ringo Starr (vocals, drums).
Additional personnel includes: Alan Civil (French horn); Anil Bhagwat (tabla); Brian Jones (background vocals).
Arguably the first psychedelic rock album, REVOLVER was praised for its musical experimentation--the Indian sounds of "Love You To," the Motown-inspired "Got To Get You Into My Life," the backwards guitar in "I'm Only Sleeping." "Tomorrow Never Knows" was the most radical departure from previous Beatles' recordings for its skeletal bass/drums propulsion enhanced only with tape loops (contributed by all four Beatles and added in the mix-down process), more backwards guitar, and an eerie John Lennon vocal.
Still, the Beatles' experimentation grew out of their songwriting, which had matured beyond formula pop. "Tomorrow Never Knows" was inspired by the Tibetan Book of the Dead, Harrison's "Taxman" was a bitter diatribe, and McCartney's "Eleanor Rigby" was a bleak portrait of loneliness. Balanced with upbeat songs like "Good Day Sunshine" and "Yellow Submarine," REVOLVER proved The Beatles were not mere pop stars, but musical artists in search of new sounds and ideas.

No other band has had quite the same impact as the four lads from Liverpool. Over the course of eight years and more than a dozen albums, the Beatles changed popular music and culture forever, spearheading the 1960s British Invasion and shaping rock & roll along the way. Along with their amazing musical output and unprecedented world-wide celebrity, John, Paul, George, and Ringo were responsible for many pop music revolutions, major and minor--writing their own material, pushing the limits of the studio, making films of their music, printing song lyrics on albums--that today are taken for granted. Although the Beatles disbanded in 1970, their artistic legacy is permanently ingrained in the entire world's musical vocabulary.