Revolver (1966)

As I said before, the Beatles documentary, Anthology, skipped over both Rubber Soul and this to move onto Sgt Pepper, odd for two albums that bridge, if you like, their early period, with their latter more experimental one.

Rubber Soul was, by my ears, their best album thus far, and so I venture onto Revolver expecting it to shoot for the stars.

The record has artwork by close friend, Klaus Voormann, known since their time in Hamburg. It contains some of their best known songs, and some of their most inventive.

Let's dive in:

Side 1.

1. "Taxman"
2. "Eleanor Rigby"
3. "I'm Only Sleeping"
4. "Love You To"
5. "Here, There and Everywhere"
6. "Yellow Submarine"
7. "She Said She Said"

Side 2.

1. "Good Day Sunshine"
2. "And Your Bird Can Sing"
3. "For No One"
4. "Doctor Robert"
5. "I Want to Tell You"
6. "Got to Get You into My Life"
7. "Tomorrow Never Knows"

All tracks writtem by Lennon/McCartney except "I Want to Tell Yoy" and "Love to You", which were by Harrsion.

"Taxman" was written after the members of the band were subjected to something like 97% supertax on their earnings. One for you and nineteen for me, references this. It has one of the most iconic guitar riffs, stolen by The Jam decades later on "Start". The song mentions Mr Wilson and Mr Heath, two UK Prime Ministers responsible for the tax on their earnings. It is an incredible piece of work, and with a message too. They'd have to go some to top that, mind.

"Eleanor Rigby" is next, and as a pop song, is remarkable. Back only by a string quarter, Paul mulls over lonliness. It is a truly remarkable song, and one of their very best. Nothing much like it before.

"I'm Only Sleeping" is the longest track on the labum, clocking in at 3:03, and features some backward tape loops which must have sounded astonishing when heard by fans for the first time. John sings, and the song has a false ending, starts again with the backward loops stronger. Nothing like this before either, but a very different kind of song. Three very different tunes to open the album, each one groundbreaking.

Sitar. Sitar on Sitar. Rock beat. Vocals. Double speed to outro. The George penned and playd "Love You To" carries on further the Eastern influence heard on Rubber Soul. A superb vison realised, and only The Beatles at the time could have come up with it. Four very different tracks then open the album!

Innovation takes a breather on "Here, There and Everywhere", with Paul on vocals, with a simple beat keeping time, and harmonised vocals at the end. It's a piece of pop perfection.

I have mixed feelings about "Yellow Submarine". It featured almost weekly on Junior Choice, and so I associate it as a children's song. It features Ringo on vocals, and had a bass drum keeping time, and all over it are various song effects, which make it a riot. On the first hearing. As a piece of work, it is remarkable, though not to everyone's taste. It was recorded intially as a children's song, so in that it succeeded.

"She Said She Said" closes side 1, and is pretty much the 60s wrapped up in a song. But in a good way. Backwards loops, I think sitar too, it features John on vocals and would be the outstanding track on the side, were it not for the six that preceeded it.

Side 2 kicks off with "Good Day Sunshine" which features George Martin on honky tonk piano, and is another well-known song from their canon, and yet delights on this rehearing. A light touch to start and with superb harmies too, last little of two minutes and is gone.

Even shorter by six whole seconds is "And Your Bird Can Sing" with John on lead vocals. It shimmers along and is glorious in that. Words of praise no longer have meaning, this is just the very best work that the very best band ever did. Dazzles with brilliance.

There's a wonderful French Horn playing counterpoint to Pau's vocals on "For No One", while the rest of the band add percussion and strumming. So simple, and yet so effective. Paul's vocal is so warm and pleasing. That he suffered so much from "fans" after the band broke up and he formed Wings with Linda.

"Dr. Robert" is the 11th track, and acts as a bridge, at least to my ears, of their previous pop phase, and this their latter psychedelic one. Again, way ahead of its time, and yet is "just" another track on Revolver. Amazing.

"I Want to Tell You" you expect to be sitar laden, as it is penned and sung by George, but has a guitar instead, through it shimmers with eastern magic. Layered backing vocals, isn't the worse track on the record, though there are no bad tracks on Reveolver to be honest.

Two bangers close out the record: first up is "Got to Get You into My Life", which has 60s op written all over it, but invented here. Then morphs into a shouted vocal with brass backing and lots of dirty guitars. Hearing it again in contex with the previous twelve tracks show how strong and effortless they make it all seem.

Throw everything that's gone before into a great big pop pot, stir, add some drugs and stunning studio techniques and bingo, the most breathtaking track thus far in their body of work. Much copied, but never bettered, "Tomorrow Never Knows" was their absolute peak. Except for tracks that were better like Penny Lane et al.

I find it hard to believe there is a better album than this, andf yet to come is Sgt. Pepper. We shall see. We leave The Beatles for a couple of months, having retired from playing live, sitting on top of the world they created.