Beatles album of the week - "Revolver"

[AKA]

One...
two...
three...
four...
One, two, three, four!

August 5, 1966. A normal day in merry olde England, save for the fact that the kids were packing the record stores to pick up The Beatles' latest album. That record, Revolver, is considered by many to be the beginning of the "second half" of The Beatles' career.

Revolver, The Beatles eighth album, is the last to follow the "fourteen songs an LP" formula. Here's the tracklist:

Side One:
Taxman (Harrison)
Eleanor Rigby (Lennon/McCartney)
I'm Only Sleeping (Lennon/McCartney)
Love You To (Harrison)
Here, There And Everywhere (Lennon/McCartney)
Yellow Submarine (Lennon/McCartney)
She Said, She Said (Lennon/McCartney)

Side Two:
Good Day Sunshine (Lennon/McCartney)
And Your Bird Can Sing (Lennon/McCartney)
For No One (Lennon/McCartney)
Doctor Robert (Lennon/McCartney)
I Want To Tell You (Harrison)
Got To Get You Into My Life (Lennon/McCartney)
Tomorrow Never Knows (Lennon/McCartney)

Here I am, sitting in my computer chair, trying to come up with the best way to describe Revolver. How do you review one of the best albums ever made? Where do you start?

Revolver is a landmark album. It's the one that broke all the barriers. All the aspects of rock that were presented before this album were just that - aspects. Can you imagine a rock album with strings or brass instruments? Chances are, you probably hadn't heard one before the release of Revolver (Phil Spector's "wall of sound" notwithstanding).

What can I say about Revolver? What should I say about it?

Well, Revolver is heavily influenced by acid. "She Said, She Said" is based on a drug trip and "Doctor Robert" is about John Lennon's dealer.

George Harrison's "Taxman" lashes out at the government, while Paul McCartney's is a gloomy ballad about a lonely old woman.

And then, of course, there's "Yellow Submarine..."

How do you write a coherent review of that? I have no idea. It might be writer's block on my part. Let's hand this over to my fail-safe: Stephen Thomas Erlewine of the All Music Guide.

All the rules fell by the wayside with Revolver, as the Beatles began exploring new sonic territory, lyrical subjects, and styles of composition. It wasn't just Lennon and McCartney, either — Harrison staked out his own dark territory with the tightly wound, cynical rocker "Taxman"; the jaunty yet dissonant "I Want to Tell You"; and "Love You To," George's first and best foray into Indian music. Such explorations were bold, yet they were eclipsed by Lennon's trippy kaleidoscopes of sound. His most straightforward number was "Doctor Robert," an ode to his dealer, and things just got stranger from there, as he buried "And Your Bird Can Sing" in a maze of multi-tracked guitars, gave Ringo a charmingly hallucinogenic slice of childhood whimsy in "Yellow Submarine," and then capped it off with a triptych of bad trips: the spiraling "She Said She Said"; the crawling, druggy "I'm Only Sleeping"; and "Tomorrow Never Knows," a pure nightmare where John sang portions of the Tibetan Book of the Dead into a suspended microphone over Ringo's thundering, menacing drumbeats and layers of overdubbed, phased guitars and tape loops. McCartney's experiments were formal, as he tried on every pop style from chamber pop to soul, and when placed alongside Lennon and Harrison's outright experimentations, McCartney's songcraft becomes all the more impressive. The biggest miracle of Revolver may be that the Beatles covered so much new stylistic ground and executed it perfectly on one record, or it may be that all of it holds together perfectly. Either way, its daring sonic adventures and consistently stunning songcraft set the standard for what pop/rock could achieve. Even after Sgt. Pepper, Revolver stands as the ultimate modern pop album and it's still as emulated as it was upon its original release.

Previous albums:
Please Please Me (1963)
With The Beatles (1963)
A Hard Day's Night (1964)
Beatles For Sale (1964)
Help! (1965)
Past Masters Volume One (1988)
Rubber Soul (1965)

See also:
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
Magical Mystery Tour (1967)
Yellow Submarine (1969)
The Beatles (1968)
Let It Be (1970)
Past Masters Volume Two (1988)
Abbey Road (1969)

Beatle Facts

[Brian]

This is an easy one, since there is one song that I love from that album. That is "Got to Get You Into My Life." I also like "Yellow Submarine" and "Good Day Sunshine" but the one I chose stands out to me the most.

[AKA]

Tomorrow Never Knows
(Lennon/McCartney)

Turn off your mind, relax and float downstream
It is not dying, it is not dying

Lay down all thoughts surrender to the void
It is shining, it is shining

That you may see the meaning of within
It is being, it is being

That love is all and love is everyone
It is knowing, it is knowing

That ignorance and hate may mourn the dead
It is believing, it is believing

But listen to the color of your dreams
It is not living, it is not living

Or play the game existence to the end
Of the beginning, of the beginning ...

[Jrnygrl]

ELEANOR RIGBY!!!

[jamier42]

Eleanor Rigby
Here, There and Everywhere
Yellow Submarine
Good Day Sunshine

[AKA]

Taxman
(Harrison)

Let me tell you how it will be
There's one for you, nineteen for me
'Cause I'm the taxman,
Yeah, I'm the taxman

Should five percent appear too small
Be thankful I don't take it all
'Cause I'm the taxman,
Yeah, I'm the taxman

If you drive a car, I'll tax the street
If you try to sit, I'll tax your seat
If you get too cold, I'll tax the heat
If you take a walk, I'll tax your feet

Taxman

'Cause I'm the taxman,
Yeah, I'm the taxman

Don't ask me what I want it for (ha ha, Mr. Wilson)
If you don't want to pay some more (ha ha, Mr. Heath)
'Cause I'm the taxman,
Yeah, I'm the taxman

Now my advice for those who die
Declare the pennies on your eyes
'Cause I'm the taxman,
Yeah, I'm the taxman,
And you're working for no one but me

In 1991, during his tour of Japan with Eric Clapton, George performed an updated version of "Taxman." Mr. Wilson was changed to "Mr. Major," and Mr. Heath became "Mr. Neil."

In addition, the following verses were added:

If I reduce it down, you'll see, (ha ha, Boris Yeltsin)
You'll get back more in the V.A.T (ha ha, Mr. Bush)
'Cause I'm the taxman,
Yeah, I'm the taxman.

If you get ahead, I'll tax your hat
If you get a pet, I'll tax your cat
If you wipe your feet, I'll tax the mat
If you're overweight, I'll tax your fat

This version is available on George's 1992 album, Live In Japan.

[Steve M.]

This was a toughie. This is the Beatles' best album ever. It's the best album ever, period. Every song is superb. I looked hard at "I'm Only Sleeping," but I went for Eleanor Rigby."

[Steve M.]

Various Revolver Covers

"Taxman" - Rockwell, Stevie Ray Vaughan

"Eleanor Rigby" - Ray Charles

"I'm Only Sleeping" - Roseanne Cash (I think that's who it was!)

"Here, There and Everywhere," "For No One" - Emmylou Harris

"Yellow Submarine" - the Sesame Street Muppets ( ), the Black Dyke Mills Band

"Got To Get You Into My Life" - Earth, Wind and Fire

"Tomorrow Never Knows" - Phil Collins

[Penny Lane]

Oooh! I love this album! "I'm Only Sleeping" and "Your Bird Can Sing" are in the top 10 of my all time favorite Beatles songs!

[AKA]

Coming next week...

[Steve M.]

Originally posted by AKA
Coming next week...

Umm, A Collection of Beatles Oldies (But Goldies!)?

(This was a UK-only compilation album issued in December 1966.)

[Steve M.]

Originally posted by AKA

Revolver, The Beatles eighth album, is the last to follow the "fourteen songs an LP" formula

Well, technically, it's their seventh album, as the Past Masters albums are posthumous compilations, but who's counting?

[AKA]

Originally posted by Steve M.
Well, technically, it's their seventh album, as the Past Masters albums are posthumous compilations

I know.

Originally posted by Steve M.
[B[but who's counting? [/B]

Obviously not me... at least, not very well.

[crystals]

Taxman and yellow submarine.

[AKA]

Alternate versions of songs from Revolver:

Beatles:
"Taxman"
-Take 11 (official studio take without the artificial lengthening), 1966 - The Beatles Anthology 2

"Eleanor Rigby"
-"Strings-only" version, sans vocals, 1966 - The Beatles Anthology 2
-1999 remix (in this version, the strings can be heard in stereo) - Yellow Submarine Songtrack

"I'm Only Sleeping"
-Studio rehearsal (instrumental), 1966 - The Beatles Anthology 2
-Take 1, 1966 - The Beatles Anthology 2

"Love You To"
-1999 remix - Yellow Submarine Songtrack

"Here, There And Everywhere"
-Alternate studio take, 1966 - Real Love (maxi-single)

"Yellow Submarine"
-1996 remix with spoken intro - Real Love (maxi-single)
-1999 remix - Yellow Submarine Songtrack

"And Your Bird Can Sing"
-Take 2 ("laugh take"), 1966 - The Beatles Anthology 2

"Got To Get You Into My Life"
-Take 5, 1966 - The Beatles Anthology 2

"Tomorrow Never Knows"
-Take 1, 1966 - The Beatles Anthology 2

Solo:
"Taxman"
-Live; Japan, 1991 - George Harrison - Live In Japan

"Eleanor Rigby"
-Studio recording, 1984 - Paul McCartney - Give My Regards To Broad Street
-Live; Worcestor, MA, 1989 - Paul McCartney - Tripping The Live Fantastic
-Live; venue unknown, 2002 - Paul McCartney - Back In The U.S., Back In The World

"Here, There And Everywhere"
-Studio recording, 1984 - Paul McCartney - Give My Regards To Broad Street
-Live; Limehouse Studios in London, 1991 - Paul McCartney - Unplugged (The Official Bootleg)
-Live; Sydney, Australia - Paul McCartney - Paul Is Live
-Live; venue unknown, 2002 - Paul McCartney - Back In The U.S., Back In The World

"Yellow Submarine"
-Live; Montreux, 1992 - Ringo Starr And His All-Starr Band - Live From Montreux
-Live; date and venue unknown - Ringo Starr And His All-Starr Band - The Anthology... So Far
-Live; Chicago, 2001 - King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents Ringo And His New All-Starr Band

"Good Day Sunshine"
-Studio recording, 1984 - Paul McCartney - Give My Regards To Broad Street

"For No One"
-Studio recording, 1984 - Paul McCartney - Give My Regards To Broad Street

"I Want To Tell You"
-Live; Japan, 1991 - George Harrison - Live In Japan

"Got To Get You Into My Life"
-Live; London, 1979 - Concerts For The People Of Kampuchea (out-of-print)
-Live; Dortmund, West Germany, 1989 - Paul McCartney - Tripping The Live Fantastic