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In terms of Beatle evolution, Revolver catches the Fabs in the midst of their most perfect phase -- more sophisticated than the Mop-Top years of 1963-64, yet more restrained than the experimental Later Years. Lush psychedelic tones flourish throughout, enhancing, yet never overwhelming the colorful song textures. Witness George's painstaking backward guitar solo on "I'm Only Sleeping" for a textbook example of innovation with restraint. Mesmerizing rhythmic structures, which pop-up all over, may well be the most inventive of the band's career. Ringo's percussive tom rolls transform John's single-chord mind-bender "Tomorrow Never Knows" into the most hypnotic three-minutes of acid-drenched pleasure ever recorded. Never have Beatle guitars sounded so bright, trebly and as bitingly distorted as they do on "And Your Bird Can Sing" and "She Said, She Said". On the gentle flipside are the baroque sophistication of "For No One" and the epic neo-classicism of "Eleanor Rigby". Gently washed in the mournful hues of George Martin's perfectly scored string arrangement, "Eleanor" emerges as Paul's most mature and, quite possibly, most beautiful song. Sing-a-long classics "Good Day Sunshine" and "Yellow Submarine" prove that fun was indeed still fashionable in the Swingin' Summer of '66.

Every aspect of Revolver--from the biting social commentary of "Taxman" to the childish joyride of "Yellow Submarine"-- clicks so perfectly. A 1996 Mojo Reader's Poll ranked Revolver as the greatest album ever recorded. But Revolver, like the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds, is more than merely a great rock album-- it is unquestionably one of the 20th Century's greatest works of art.


A masterpiece   September 3, 2002
 260 out of 287 found this review helpful

It's actually very difficult to try and review a record from 1966 36 years later and judge it by standards of 1966.

Can you put yourselves in the shoes of a 17 year old kid in 1966? You just walked home from the local record shop and you're sitting down in front of the turntable. You slide your thumbnail along the plastic to open up the album and remove the LP from its paper jacket. You carefully hold the edges of the record with your palms and set it down, pulling the tone arm over to drop the needle into the groove.

The guitar stylings of George Harrison are what you hear first, as "Taxman" plays through your phono speakers, a great new Beatles tune indeed. After listening to more of the record you hear the heady symbolism of "Eleanor Rigby", the Beach Boys-like harmony of "Here, There and Everywhere", the horns-rich McCartney kicker "Got To Get You Into My Life" and the Lennon acid-trip-set-to-music "Tomorrow Never Knows".

Yes, there are many other great tunes on this album...radio favorites like "Good Day Sunshine" and "Yellow Submarine". And other greats like "She Said, She Said", a song based on something Peter Fonda is said to have said to John Lennon, "I know what it's like to be dead". How about "And Your Bird Can Sing" and Lennon's beautiful "I'm Only Sleeping".

And at the age of 17 in 1966, you do not yet know that "Got To Get You Into My Life" would help usher in a genre of music known as the Chicago-sound with bands like The Buckinghams, The Ides of March, The American Breed, Chicago and more using rich brass harmony. In 1966 you do not know that Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys was also sitting listening to Revolver, which in no small part spurred him on to create "Pet Sounds". And you don't realize that there are lush string quartets playing on "Eleanor Rigby". String quartets on your local Top-40 radio station!! How can "Eleanor Rigby" with string quartets be played on-air alongside "You Can't Hurry Love" by the Supremes or "Hanky Panky" by Tommy James & the Shondells. Those are two great songs, but how do they compare to the orchestration and imagery of "Eleanor Rigby"?

These guys were just the Beatles...a rowdy quartet from Liverpool, England, right? Not much different from Gerry and the Pacemakers or Freddie and the Dreamers??? Not anymore...not after Revolver. After Revolver, rock and roll changed. The music was now becoming Rock music, and bands like the Beatles were evolving into something new. British bands like The Yardbirds, The Who and The Pink Floyd were experimenting with exciting new sounds, and there was a whole new free-form sound in the U.S. coming out of San Francisco with bands like The Charlatans, The Great Society (later Jefferson Airplane), The Grateful Dead and others.

"Pet Sounds" came out in `66, and then "Sgt. Pepper" came out in `67...this sealed the deal. Rock music was born.

How could you not own the CD "Revolver"?


The clearest portrait of what made The Beatles great   August 5, 2000
 225 out of 228 found this review helpful

The Beatles' overall achievement is rivaled by no one. In a course of only seven years, they produced 12 and albums (I don't count YELLOW SUBMARINE as a full album), one of which was a double album, and enough independent singles to make up two other albums. Very prolific, and the single most important band ever to grace the rock'n'roll scene. There is countless debates on what is their most important, but to me every one of those albums from Rubber Soul on (excepting YELLOW SUBMARINE) is a self-contained masterpiece.

That being said, REVOLVER gives us the most balanced view of The Beatles that we ever get. Everything that made The Beatles great is here in the right proportions. We have the three tracks of Harrison, including an Indian song of his, we have the ultimate Ringo song (everyone should know what song I'm talking about here), we have Paul's melodious love songs that would overwhelm his solo career, and we have the standard Lennon experimentation. On no other record do we get such a clear picture of what each Beatle brought into the equation. Everyone of them shine for their individual talents. The direct opposite of this is THE WHITE ALBUM, when The Beatles were in the process of breaking up.

In terms of artistic growth (remember, this was released almost a year after Help!, which was released August 6, 1965 and this August 5, 1965) we knew The Beatles were onto something. It foreshadows everything that will happen on SGT PEPPER, and is as important as its successor. And in terms of what made The Beatles great, this is the record to go too, because it gives you the most balanced view of the most important band in rock'n'roll history.


Probably the greatest album by the greatest rock band   February 12, 2001
 34 out of 37 found this review helpful

Who can say what's best? Art is and always will be subjective. It's strictly a matter of opinion, but music critics generally rate Revolver the best of the great Beatles albums and therefore, it must be considered one of the greatest of the rock era.

I've been a student of and fan of the Beatles for longer than I care to admit, but I'd rate this one as their best. Certainly, it showed John Lennon at the creative peak of a legendary career.

This isn't a concept album, like Pepper, but the songs meld together very nicely and are generally superior to Pepper (w/ the notable exception of Day in the Life, which is probably the best thing the Beatles ever did in a studio).

Let's look at the tunes 1 by 1.

Taxman: What an awesome way to start an album, w/ Lennon's throaty 1 2 3, the catchy guitar and Harrison's (w/ considerable help from Lennon) acerbic lyrics directed at the crippling British tax system of the time. The guitar riff is excellent and the backup vocals are very strong (how can you miss w/ Lennon/McCartney singing back-up?)

Eleanor Rigby: Groundbreaking w/ the use of symphonic instrumentation. A haunting tune. Sort of a precursor to the somewhat spiritual sounding Let it Be. Masterfully produced by George Martin. Ahead of its time. Beautiful.

I'm Only Sleeping: Waaaaaay ahead of its time. This is the first time we hear real psychadelia from the Beatles. A dreamy, surreal work of genius that only Lennon could right. The grandfather of the beautiful, dreamy #9 Dream.

Love You To: I'm not a big fan of the Indian stuff, but the Sitar is catchy and Harrison doesn't embarrass himself on the vocals. A serviceable tune that fits in well here.

Here, There and Everywhere: One of the most beautiful ballads of the rock era. Lennon called it his all-time favorite Beatles song. It's simply a gorgeous McCartney ballad.

Yellow Submarine: Written by Lennon, sung by Ringo, a fun tune w/ Lennon performing all sorts of magic w/ backing sounds, voices. Mostly a Lennon song, but Ringo's voice is out front. Fine.

She Said She Said: An interesting Lennon rocker w/ powerful Harrison guitar work. Another foray into the psychadelic, but call this psychadelia light. A mix of a strong rocker w/ psychadelia.

Good Day Sunshine: Harmless, upbeat McCartney ballad/rocker. Fun tune, but nothing special.

And Your Bird Sing: Very clever lyrics by the Beatles best lyricist, JW Lennon. An infectious song, another lower case psychadelic tune. Catchy melody. Brilliant.

For No One: A pretty McCartney ballad. Fits in well.

Dr. Robert: Lennon's tribute to a pill pushing NY Doctor. Catchy beat and, of course, very clever lyrics.

I Want to Tell You: See Love You To. Fits in well, but forgettable.

Got to Get You Into My Life: A finger snapping, toe tapping very upbeat McCartney rocker. Excellent middle of the road rock number, a very strong McCartney composition of this genre, which hardly prepares the listener for what follows....

Tomorrow Never Knows: Mind-blowing! Psychadelia w/ a very large P. Where else could this song have come from, but the very fertile imagination of Mr. Lennon. The song uses all sorts of crazy studio techniques (records being played backward, who knows what else). The song progresses on 1 note and leaves you scratching your head, but you know that only a genius could've done this one. What a way to end a landmark album!


Arguably their peak...   October 6, 2000
 26 out of 33 found this review helpful

It's so hard to write reviews of albums like this...it's undeniably a classic, and you really can't tell anybody anything about them that they don't already know. But what the hey, I'm gonna try anyway...!

Revolver is, in my opinion, the Beatles' crowning achievement...the one where they took all their varied and diverse influences and ran them through their genius filter. It's more advanced than Help and Rubber Soul, and more focused than Sgt. Pepper and the White Album. It's smooth and professional, but not slick like Abbey Road...I believe it was the first time that their ability as players and arrangers (as well as the invaluable assistance of George Martin) matched up with the ideas they had going on in their head. They were all truly on the same page this time.

One could (and I will...watch out, here we go!) go song by song and point out examples of this...George's "Taxman" with its dour humor, signature riff and killer guitar solo; the elegant "Eleanor Rigby", featuring another great string arrangement by Martin and some of Paul's best lyrics ever; "I'm Only Sleeping", John's ode to sloth, with the imaginative touches that seemed to just flow from him back then like the backwards-masked guitar licks and nice bass from Paul; George's sitar exercise "Love You To" with its infamous "make love singing songs" lyric (that sounds hard to do...), groundbreaking at the time; "Here There and Everywhere" in which Paul and buds tip their cap to Brian Wilson and the Boys; "Yellow Submarine" an inventive and charming kiddie song for grownups; "She Said She Said", in which John relates an acid-soaked conversation with a stinging guitar lick; "Good Day Sunshine", which sounds like Paul might have been listening to the Kinks or some sort of vaudevillian music hall stuff and is effortlesly happy go lucky, in contrast to the sad "For No One" which may or may not have been an account of Paul's breakup with Jane Asher...sandwiched in between is one of my all time favorite Beatletunes, "And Your Bird Can Sing", which John may have dismissed much later, but has always hooked me with its Byrdsy dual guitar riff and great harmony vocals; "Doctor Robert" also is clever and witty (John wrote it, of course...) with another outstanding riff at its base and more great BV's; "I Want To Tell You" is George's attempt to do Motown, but it turns out to be the only weak link here-contrast it to Paul's "Got to Get You Into My Life" which challenges Berry Gordy and Co. to a grudge match and holds its own admirably...Paul said many years later it was about marijuana (!); and finally, the piece-de-resistance psychedelic masterpiece "Tomorrow Never Knows" which features more wit, imagination, and creativity in its 2 plus minutes than some musicians have shown in their entire lifetime.

Whew!

Look, you can't go wrong with any Beatles album, and I love them all, but not all equally. You ask me where to start, and I say here. You'll thank me later.