Product Description

Arguably the first psychedelic rock album, REVOLVER was praised for its musical experimentation--the Indian sounds of "Love You To", the Motown-inspired "Got To Get You Into My Life", the backwards guitar in "I'm Only Sleeping". "Tomorrow Never Knows" was the most radical departure from previous Beatles' recordings for its skeletal bass/drums propulsion enhanced only with tape loops (contributed by all four Beatles and added in the mix-down process), more backwards guitar, and an eerie John Lennon vocal.
Still, the Beatles' experimentation grew out of their songwriting, which had matured beyond formula pop. "Tomorrow Never Knows" was inspired by the Tibetan Book of the Dead, Harrison's "Taxman" was a bitterdiatribe, and McCartney's "Eleanor Rigby" was a bleak portrait of loneliness. Balanced with upbeat songs like "Good DaySunshine" and "Yellow Submarine", REVOLVER proved The Beatles were not mere pop stars, but musical artists in search ofnew sounds and ideas.

Track Listing

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
8. Good day sunshine
9. And your bird can sing
10. For no one
11. Dr Robert
12. I want to tell you
13. Got to get you into my life
14. Tomorrow never knows

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #424 in Music
• Released on: 1998-11-01
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
There are only three stories worth knowing from the last 2,000 years of history: the life of Mohammed, the life of Jesus and the career of The Beatles. They invented all music ever. John was the best one; but Paul is--despite the knighthood and everything--still the most under-rated songwriter of the 20th century. This is the album with "Eleanor Rigby", "Here, There and Everywhere", "For No One", "I'm Only Sleeping" and "Tomorrow Never Knows" on it--but then, you knew that anyway. We presume you have this album already and you're just getting a second copy in case you lose the first. --Caitlan Moran

Customer Reviews

Getting Better All The Time
Nowadays critical consensus often ranks this as The Beatles' best album, and indeed one of the best albums ever made. While it's only my second favourite by them personally (The White Album being first), this is still one of the greatest albums I own.

Revolver is the point where The Beatles ceased to be a pop group and became something else entirely. Shortly after its release they gave up touring, having tired of performing to screaming fans when they'd much rather be holed away in a recording studio making new music. This also allowed them to be more experimental, recording sounds that could never have been recreated in stadiums and arenas at the time. Importantly they had all begun to experiment with drugs as well, witnessed by some of the songs here: She Said She Said is based on an LSD trip, Dr Robert is about a supplier of mind-altering substances, and Got to Get You into My Life was actually addressed to marijuana rather than a love interest.

So what of the music itself? Eleanor Rigby is a string-based ode to loneliness that cuts deeply, I'm Only Sleeping is Lennon's plea to be left alone to dream the day away, Love You To continued Harrison's interest in Eastern music and the sitar (which he had first played on Norwegian Wood the previous year), and Yellow Submarine is effectively a children's nursery rhyme with some nice sound effects. Good Day Sunshine is unashamedly cheerful, For No One unashamedly gloomy. I Want to Tell You is based around the same piano note being played over and over again, a technique that is utterly entrancing.

Revolver closes with Tomorrow Never Knows, a Lennon composition which quotes The Tibetan Book of the Dead and required the complex overlaying of tape loops to produce psychedelic sound effects. Although most of The Beatles' work is well-produced enough to stand up by today's standards, this sounds especially undated and isn't that far removed from modern dance music.

Revolver is a great album, and the band's first wildly experimental release. Far from alienating fans with this relentless boundary-pushing, their international success continued, allowing them free rein to continue doing whatever they wanted.

Hand me a pistol!!
Help!!!

What on earth have the Beatles ever done for the music scene in this country? They just popped up at the end of rock n roll in the late 50's made a few flouncy songs about roads, strawberries and women, smoked some pot, meditated (which they copied from The Doors) and then disbanded??

As for Smug McCartney, god I wish Heather Mills had taken him for every penny he owns and left him busking on the street. And STILL I would not give him a penny. How long can a man like that keep on pretending that he's "down with the kids" when he makes music for wrinklies?

Paul, do us all a favour and go and live back at the Mull of Kintyre and stop bothering the rest of the world!!

As for Mark Chapman (Chappers as he is affectionately known), he used to e-mail me many moons ago before he met Comedy Dave, then he just dropped me like a stone!!

All in all, I wouldn't waste my time writing a review about this album, it's THAT bad!!

their first genuinely awesome album
Really great tunes here! For a contemporary comparison I recommend Nick Worrall. His album is FREE to download as well.