John, Paul, George, and Ringo. Otherwise known as the Beatles, and one of the best rock bands ever.
Revolver was their first album during their psychedelic drug dabbling, which caused a great experiment in their sound. It shows in songs such as I'm Only Sleeping, Yellow Submarine, and Doctor Robert, which all give off a feeling that they were written while really high. Ranked number three in
Rolling Stone's Greatest 500 Albums list, it's one of the greatest albums ever made. Not once is there a single moment that's dull, repetitive, or even short of brilliant. It's all wonderfully well done and well deserving of it's number three spot, even though it deserved higher. It features fourteen tracks, with two just barely dipping over three minutes in length. As a result, it's fairly short, but it doesn't matter. It's pure genius. This is the lauchpad for the Beatles' experimentation. The ideas contained within would later be applied to the superb
Sgt. Pepper just a year later.
Taxman is up first. The first Harrison track starts with a four count with a cough thrown in as well. A bassline takes it's place and moves the song along. Vocals come in from George with "Let me tell you how it will be/There's one for you, nineteen for me." The lyrics here refer to the income tax by high-earners, which were sometimes as high as 95%. This goes into the chorus in which John and Paul join in to sing "Yeaaah, I'm the taxman." Back to the verse with "Should five percent seem to small, be thankful I don't take it all" as the bass thumps along underneath. Another chorus, and then a change with the others singing "If you drive a car" and George adding "I'll tax the street." This format continues with different lines for a little. Then there's the group sang "Taxman," followed by a short but sweet guitar solo. "Cuz I'm the taxman" brings another verse. This time the guitar plays along with the bassline as Harrison sings "Don't ask me what I want it for/If you don't want to pay some more." The verse continues with every line followed by a quick "Taxmaaaan!" Some final playing and then "Cuz I'm the taxman, and your working for no one but me" from George. A final "Taxmaaan!" and the repeat of the great solo fade away to end the song.
Eleanor Rigby is up next. It prominantly features the violin and cello. It adds greatly to the song, as that's just about all that's there, musically. It starts off with "I look at all the lonely people" alongside some cello bowing and quick violin notes. This leads into a verse with wonderful vocals by Paul. The lyrics here are great as well with lines like "Waits at the window, wearing a face that she keeps in a jar by the door/Who is it for?" This brings about some louder vocals with a chorus of "All the lonely people/Where do they all come from?" Back to the verse with "Father McKenzie, writing the words to a sermon that no-one will hear/No-one comes near." The cello does some repeated quick notes here, and it goes back to some high-pitched violin and another chorus. Another verse with more great lyrics in "Eleanor Rigby died in the church and was buried along with her name/Father McKenzie, wiping the dirt from his hands as he walks from the grave/No-one was saved." Another chorus and some more great string work and some high-pitched violin ends this great song. One of the best of the album. Well, all the songs are great, but this one is slightly above most of them.
Up next is one of my favorites,
I'm Only Sleeping. An interesting note on this one is that Harrison played the notes in reverse, then reversed the tape and mixed it. Why? Because he could, I imagine, but it works out great. Lyrics here deal with being relaxed by drugs, and not wanting to be disturbed. The song gets right to business with Lennon's great vocals with "When I wake up early in the morning/Lift my head, I'm still yawning." This leads to a chorus of "Please don't wake me/No, don't shake me/Leave me where I am/I'm only sleeping." This goes back to another verse with "Everybody seems to think I'm lazy/But I don't mind, I think they're crazy." A chorus follows with "Please don't spoil my day/I'm miles away/After all I'm only sleeping." This brings about a short break before it returns to another verse, which is followed by some o' that backwards guitar. More verse with great vocals that return to the lines from the first verse. What follows is another wonderfully sung chorus, and more strange sounding guitar, which fades out to end the song.
Love You To is the token Harrison sitar song. It starts off with a few strummed notes, and after a bit of an intro it speeds up a bit and is joined with some hand percussion. The vocals come in with "Each day just goes so fast/I turn around, it's passed/You don't get time to hang a sign on me." There's a bit of a break, and then right back into the verse. A chorus follows with "Make love all day long/Make love singing songs" while the sitar is plucked expertly and a tamourine type instrument shakes about. The verse makes a return with "There's people standing 'round/Who'll screw you in the ground/They'll fill you in with all the sins you see." The break occurs again with George singing "I'll make love to you/If you want me to." Then things speed up slightly, as they jam away. This jamming fades away to end this song. While not as instantly great as the other tracks, it's still quite good.
Here, There, and Everywhere was written in the style of the Beach Boys. It gets right into the vocals with some light guitar and drums. Vocals are once again great, and start out with "To lead a better life, I need my love to be here." There's some background vocals which enhance the song. This is mainly a vocal driven song, as the instruments are fairly quiet in comparison. Afer a chorus a wonderful guitar melody comes out of left-field and saves it from being an average song. "And if she's beside me, I know I need never care" brings another one of those nice guitar melodies and is followed by some background vocal harmonies. Towards the end, they get slightly higher as "Here, there, and everywhere" is sung to end the song. Vocals here are usually soft, and mellow, while the instruments take a back seat. This is one of the weaker tracks, but it's still enjoyable and even good.
Speaking of
Yellow Submarine, it's up next. It starts off with some strummed guitar and Ringo on lead vocals. He sings "In the town where I was born lived a man who sailed to sea" as some bass drum is brought in along with sounds of a hissing ocean. This brings the chorus of "We all live in a yellow submarine." It's terribly catchy, so beware. It might get stuck in your head for a few days. A verse comes back with "And our friends are all aboard/Many more of them live next door." This is joined by the sounds of many people talking and having a good time. "And the band begins to play" summons a short brass solo, before it returns to the chorus. Afterward, there's the sounds of a submarine and men shouting and commands over the loudspeakers. Another verse with "As we live a life of ease/Everyone of us has all we need/Sky of blue and sea of green/In our yellow submarine." A chorus follows, and features more voices this time. They repeat it a few times as it fades out to end the song. This is a classic Beatles tune, and terribly, terribly catchy.
She Said, She Said starts with some twangy guitar and a drum fill from Ringo. The lyics here are based on an acid trip John had with film star Peter Fonda in which Peter repeatedly proclaimed he knew what it was like to be dead. Vocals from John come in with "She said 'I know what it's like to be dead. I know what it's like to be sad.'" A chorus comes next with "And she's making me feel like I've never been born. Some good guitar work is followed by "I said 'Who put all those things in your head?'" Another chorus comes next and then some vocal story telling as Lennon tells his tale. Some more chorus and then a break with "When I was a boy, everything was right." More verse with "I said 'Even though you know what you know, I know that I'm ready to leave. Cuz you're making me feel like I've never been born.'" There's twangy guitar work for a few seconds, and then a few lines are repeated as it fades out quickly. Another good song, here.
Another favorite track,
Good Day Sunshine is next. It begins with some soft piano work that brings in the drums and bass. Paul's vocals are great and come in with "I need to laugh and when the sun is out, I've got something to laugh about." A chorus with some crashes and vocals of "Good day sunshine" comes next. Another verse follows, as the piano takes a bit of a break to twiddle away before another chorus. "Then we lie beneath a shady tree/I love her and she's loving me" begins the next verse. The piano, bass, and drums work wonderfully here. Some final choruses and crash hits end the track as they fade out. This is a great song, as it's not very complex but it just sounds good. Everything works together very nicely, and vocals are excellent.
Guitars make a triumphant return with
And Your Bird Can Sing, yet another favorite of mine. It gets right into it with a great guitar line, and then guitar sort of slips away for the verse. Wonderful vocals from Paul come in with "Tell me that you've got everything you want" in which the others respond by singing the title in unison along with him. A short repeat of the guitar line and then another verse. "You say you've seen seven wonders" brings the unison chorus and then another verse. This one has guitar going in the background, and sounds wonderful. After that, the guitar gets louder and is plucked away, almost like a solo. Pure greatness. Some more vocals with softer guitar and then some chorus work. More great guitar and then the song comes to an end. This song is home to one of my favorite guitar riffs ever. Another awesome song.
For No One is up next. Surprise, surprise, it's stellar. It's basically just a nice piano beat with Paul's almost depressed sounding vocals over top. It starts with vocals right off the bat with "Your day breaks, your mind aches, you find that all their words of kindness linger on when she no longer needs you." The piano changes a bit as bass and some hat work comes in, and the song gets a little darker in mood. A return to the verse, as it keeps the bass and hats. Then there's a little brass solo, as it goes back into the chorus of "And in her eyes, you see nothing/No sign of love behind the tears.." More verse with "You stay home, she goes out.." and then it returns to the beginning lines, but slightly altered. Another great sounding chorus, as the song quickly fades into silence.
Another one of my favorites. Just plain great.
Doctor Robert brings all the instruments back to the front. The subject of the song, is said to be the Beatles' dentist at the time, who first supplied the band with LSD. This would make a bit of sense, as this song sounds like it was influence by some sort of mind-altering substance. It starts off with a bassline and twangy guitar accompanied by drums. John takes the vocals this time, with "Bring my friend, I said you'd call Dr. Robert/Day or night, he'll be there anytime at all." A chorus comes in with "Dr. Robert, you're a new and better man/He helps you to understand." More verse work with "If you're down he'll pick you up/Take a drink from his special cup." This brings another chorus, but with different lyrics. A second or two of guitar twiddling and a mellow, slower break occurs, with relaxed vocals. This doesn't last long and jumps right into the verse. A chorus follows, and is the same as the first one. The slow break occurs again and then leads into a repeat of the first verse to end the song. It's a good one, too.
Next is
I Want to Tell You, a Harrison composition. It begins with some light guitar, which gets louder and brings in drums. This is followed by some thumping bass and then George's vocals. "I want to tell you" comes before the unison singing of "My head is filled with things to say." This format continues, with George singing a line, and then the band singing the next line with him. The music changes a bit about halfway into it, but it's not too much of a change. It goes back to normal along with "I want to tell you" and then "I feel hung up and I don't know why." This is an insight into the lyrics, which are apparently about George's troubles expressing himself through lyrics. Some piano joins in at some part, and is a worthy edition. A break occurs, with pronounced bass thumpage, the repeating of "I've got time" and then it fades away. Probably one of the weakest tracks here, as it's not up to the level of the other stellar works here. As is, it's still a part of this album, and still at least worth a listen.
There's a slight change of pace with
Got to Get You in My Life. Written in the form of a love song, McCartney has since revealed it as being an ode to marijuana. What, you didn't think the Beatles were strait-edgers, did you? It starts off with some brass instruments, which are used throughout. A bassline follows and Ringo brings his drums into the mix. Paul's vocals enter with "I was alone, I took a ride, I didn't know what I would find there." This brings a chorus with even better vocal work in "Oooh, and I suddenly see you/Did I tell you that I need you/Every single day of my life." More verse, in the form as before and then another chorus, with slightly altered lyrics. A drum roll and then he nearly shouts "Got to get you in my life." More verse, and a chorus repeat of the first one. He shouts again, and the brass toots away, before there's a short guitar solo. Another shout, some thumping bass, and more guitar twidding. A repeat of the first verse, but louder this time. The song fades away from here, and ends this great song.
Now, it's time for the final track. And what a final track it is, in
Tomorrow Never Knows. The brainchild of Lennon, this is one of the more unusual songs here, it's filled with several strange sounds, reverse guitar, and distorted vocals. It starts with some odd sounding guitar, which makes way for drums and a bassline. Ringo's drum beat here reminds me a bit of the beat from Radiohead's Morning Bell. The noises start right away, and it sounds like some high-pitched wailing. Vocals come in with "Turn off your mind, relax, and float downstream/It is not dying." More effects come in, and sound rather like some birds tweeting, but sped up. After a bit more vocals, the noises come in full blast, musique concrète style. There's some more wailing, and then what sounds like a horribly distorted guitar. The vocals come back now and are distorted a bit as well. Noises are still going on around the vocals, and make for some very strange listening. John's distorted vocals repeat "Of the beginning" several times while the noises twiddle around him and Ringo keeps his beat. Eventually, they all fade away, and the song ends and also brings an end to this classic album.
What can I say, it's a Beatles album. It's filled with some superb song-writing, great vocals, and several classic songs. While being nearly flawless, this is, without a doubt, one of the best albums ever made. Everyone should own this, or at least hear it. It's an album for the ages, one that musicians would draw inspiration from for decades to come. Do yourself a favor, go out and buy it. Go on, do it. It's well worth it, and you should be able to enjoy every minute of it. So go forth, young grasshopper, buy this absolute classic. Then listen, enjoy, and love.
[+] Pros
(+)Excellent song-writing all the way through
(+)Lyrics and vocals are wonderfully well done
(+)Contains many classic songs within a classic album
(+)There's something for everyone to enjoy
(+)
Eleanor Rigby
[-] Cons
(-)Uhh...
(-)Umm... there aren't any
[?] Perplexing
(?)Why do people usually claim that
Sgt. Pepper is better than this?
Tracklist
1. Taxman -2:39 (All songs written by Lennon/McCartney, except where noted)
2. Eleanor Rigby -2:07
3. I'm Only Sleeping -3:01
4. Love You To -3:01 (Harrison)
5. Here, There, and Everywhere -2:25
6. Yellow Submarine -2:40
7. She Said, She Said -2:37
8. Good Day Sunshine -2:09
9. And Your Bird Can Sing -2:01
10. For No One -2:01
11. Doctor Robert -2:15
12. I Want to Tell You -2:29 (Harrison)
13. Got to Get You in My Life -2:30
14. Tomorrow Never Knows -2:57
SCRUPLES
