Beatles, “Revolver”

Chris McJaggerly:

I give Revolver a 33.  I’m not going to award that last 1/3 of a point because a few of the McCartney songs are flabby.  But this is a great record.I want to dedicate a few paragraphs to John Lennon.  His songs on Revolver – “I’m Only Sleeping,” “She Said, She Said,” “And Your Bird Can Sing” (my personal favorite), “Doctor Robert,” and the experimental track “Tomorrow Never Knows” are a tour de force.  Eminently sing-able, mid-tempo rockers with that classic mid-sixties electric guitar sound and fantastic, layered lyrics, they kicked off a period of song craft unsurpassed in the history of rock music.  At about the time Revolver was released, the Beatles stopped touring, and their focus on studio recording paid off huge.  Post-Revolver, Lennon was primarily responsible for “A Day in the Life,” “I Am The Walrus,” “Strawberry Fields Forever,” “Glass Onion,” “I’m So Tired,” “Dear Prudence,” “Revolution,” “Come Together,” “Don’t Let Me Down,” and “Across the Universe,” to mention just a few.  (I also love “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” and “Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except for Me and My Monkey” but those might be acquired tastes).  Several of these songs are less known than they should be (although no Beatles songs are unknown) because they weren’t on the classic late-period Beatles albums, but were instead released as singles or on the soundtrack to “Magical Mystery Tour.”  If anyone reading this blog doubts John Lennon (or can’t distinguish between a Lennon and a McCartney song), put those songs on a playlist and give it a few listens.  I think it shows that John Lennon was the single most important figure in the development of the single most popular art form in the history of the world – rock music.

Which is not a knock on McCartney, who has a claim to being the second most important figure, and is certainly in the top 10.  On Revolver, McCartney contributed two absolute gems, the melancholy strings-driven “Eleanor Rigby” and “Got To Get You Into My Life,” the precursor to the horn rock of Chicago and Blood Sweat and Tears.  But even those great songs don’t match Lennon’s, in part because Paul didn’t use the rest of the band quite as well as John did on Revolver.  For example, on “She Said, She Said,” Lennon let the much-malinged Ringo shine with a little hesitating drum rhythm, and on “And Your Bird Can Sing,” John cut George loose on an irresistible up-and-down-the-scale guitar riff and lead guitar line (not to mention a bubbly McCartney base par)t.  But best of all, Lennon would back his own lead vocals with Paul singing a high part, which is a sound to behold.  If I could go back in time and witness just a few moments of the Beatles creating music, I would choose to hear a song where John sings the lead and Paul sings harmony a register higher.  Lennon’s songs on Revolver could not have been the product of any other band, while McCartney’s songs drift toward solo work with studio musicians.

Lennon was also a brilliant lyricist.  “Doctor Robert” is a great example.  It’s a thinly-veiled reference to the first time Lennon dropped acid, thanks to being slipped a mickey by a London dentist named Robert.  Lennon and Harrison (who also got a surprise dose of LCD) had no idea what they were about to experience when they got in the elevator at the dentist’s apartment building on their way home. The song is great if you don’t know that story, but even better if you do.

As I wrote in the discussion of Sgt Peppers, the experimental facets of Revolver were lost in the U.S., partly because Revolver wasn’t released in America in its true form.  A few years ago, the producers of “Mad Men” made the point that Revolver split the generations, when they showed their middle-aged protagonist Don Draper losing patience with “Tomorrow Never Knows,” lifting the needle off the record mid-song.  I suppose a lot of people lost interest in music in the mid-sixties, which is a shame.  It was just starting to get good.

Tom Heerman:

Here is another classic Beatles album.  Rolling Stone ranks it #3, and I would not go that high, but it still is in my own personal top 100.  I recently re-did my top 100 list so as not to get too excited about something we are reviewing and inadvertently rank it higher than something else I know is going to get a 32 or higher.  So I consult my list whenever I am scoring a record we are reviewing.

This record is full of incredible ideas and spurts of innovation.  I think that contributes to the logic Rolling Stone used in rating it way up at #3.  For me, I enjoy the everyday sounds, Hindustani twang, Chamber Pop, horns, and tape loops the Beatles use, but I can’t really give out bonus points for that especially if it has staled over time.  In this case, it has not. It remains cool, and its really well done, cough and all.

After playing it twice in succession, I will say it was more vital the first time.  I wonder if the fact that its stored in my deepest musical memory banks makes that first time through after a few years away seem incredible, and the next listen makes me impatient to be done.  It may also be that fact that Paul’s songs are pretty fluffy. They sound great once in a while, but can be like trying to finish a giant Three Musketeers bar.

Strictly speaking, I think She Said She Said is the best song here; one of the best Beatles songs ever.  Good Day Sunshine and For No One and I Want To Tell you are also highlights. Nothing is really lousy, although Yellow Submarine certainly comes close. Funny thing about that one is, its kind of a gateway drug to the whole Beatles catalog.  As if it is all part of a grand design to keep the world hooked on Beatles for eternity, Yellow Submarine hits every child in the English speaking universe at about age 3 via a kids CD or some TV show or the Beatles film. Parents will then reconnect with their Beatles period, and bring out other Beatles songs for little Ian and Lily to experience, and by age 12 another generation is drinking the Liverpudlian Koolaid. Its truly brilliant marketing, and probably wholly unintentional.

As a Beatles record, its not my favorite, but damn, some days I feel like putting 8 Beatles albums in my top 100. Its still a better LP than every record by almost every recording artist who ever wrote music.  So, yeah, its good. Rating 32 1/3

Buck Kingsley:

Ah, the Beatles.  A hugely influential band that over the course of a decade made several of the best-selling albums of all time.  A truly global phenomenon from “Love Me Do” in 1962 until this very day, 46 years after their breakup in 1970.  Beatlemania has endured for half a century, with well-timed reissues, documentaries, remasters, rarities collections, movies, much-hyped late arrivals to new music mediums, and Cirque du Soleil shows creating a never-ending stream of indicators that the Beatles are the single most important band ever and no one can touch their creative genius.

Don’t get me wrong, the Beatles made a whole bunch of really excellent music – even some of the best songs ever – but let’s take a step back and check our Beatles reverence.  Revolver came out in 1966, the same year that saw Pet Sounds, Blonde on Blonde, Sounds of Silence, Face to Face, and Aftermath.  Revolver is probably the #3 record of 1966, not of all time, and arguments could be made that it falls outside the 1966 top 5.  Now, it’s still a really good album and I have enjoyed listening to it many times over the years.  I agree wholeheartedly that John Lennon’s songs carry the weight.  The best on here are “Tomorrow Never Knows” “She Said She Said” and “And Your Bird Can Sing.”  These songs really are very good, especially “Tomorrow Never Knows”.  “I’m Only Sleeping” which I think was only on the UK version of the album is also a great song.  But, you guys, there is a soft middle on this record.  George’s “Love You To” is supposed to be interesting, I guess, because it uses Hindustani instrumentation but do you really want to listen to it over and over? “Here There and Everywhere” is reportedly Paul’s response to the Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows”… If that is true, then it maybe, sort of, definitely absolutely failed to live up.  In fact, most of Paul’s songs here, with the exception of “Eleanor Rigby,” are pleasant but not much more – songs that no one will get mad about, but if they weren’t written by a Beatle would be lost in British invasion archives. I used to think that “Yellow Submarine” was a song Paul was going to throw away until Ringo begged to sing something, but now Tom has me convinced that it was a plot to continue Beatlemania into perpetuity.  And it’s working!  I play this song in my house all the time… for my 1 year old son.  We’ve succumbed!

So, the album has some good, middling, stupid, and great songs.  Like most of the Beatles’ albums it is a collection of the songs they wrote, not necessarily together, in more or less then same time period.  The Beatles were always a singles band.  This album has some great singles.  It gets a 31.67

Chris:

I think you’re right, Buck.  Aside from side 2 of Abbey Road, the Beatles were a singles band.  Which is ok with me.  I think rock is more of a singles form more than an album form.  (Ironic coming from a guy who is doing a blog of album reviews.)

I also like the shout out to the Kinks’ Fact to Face as one of the best albums of 1966.  God bless Ray Davies!

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Tom Heerman:

It’s not the 3rd best record of 1966.

Buck:

An imperfect album, but still an undeniably solid collection with long legs and big influence.