Its been awhile. I have been pretty busy as of late, and plus, ranking my favorite Beatles albums has been more difficult than ranking my favorite Queen albums. But the wait it over. I have made a decision. Number 5 on my list: Revolver (1966): youtube/watch?v=4w3RlHi2kDc This is an innovative album. Not only did the Beatles completely re-brand themselves to a larger degree than what Rubber Soul did, but it completely revolutionized music. It transformed the possibilities of what could be done in the studio. It is a work of art. However, why is it number 5 on my favorite list? I understand the albums impact. I understand its genius. Its a great album! But, personally, the songs on this album have not had a strong impact for my love of the Beatles. In fact, it is one of the last albums that they produced that I listened to. Who knows, maybe over time Revolver will be in my top three, but, as of right now, it isnt. The album opens up with the critical, angry sounding Taxman. Harrison is criticizing the British government for taking roughly 90-95% of his earnings. I dont know how this isnt the Tea Partys theme song, but I digress. Anyway, the song itself is decent. Personally not one of my favorites, but still a good song. Revolver then goes into Eleanor Rigby, which is a melancholy piece. The music in the song is done, completely, by an orchestra. This, along with McCartneys multi-tracked vocals, add to a beautiful sounding song about all the lonely people. Personally, this is one of my favorites of all time. Then the album takes a psychedelic turn with Lennons Im Only Sleeping. The song feels like a dream with Lennons lullaby-esque vocals and the sound produced by running the tape backwards. It creates this interesting sound that is definitely appealing. Love You To demonstrates Harrisons immersion into Indian style music. Not one of the best tracks on the album, but it is definitely interesting to hear the sitar accompanied by a hard sounding guitar. Here, There and Everywhere probably the simplest track, musically and lyrically, on the entire album, but it is one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. McCartney, accompanied with the background Oooos, mystify the listener. It captures the listener in the narrators love for his significant other. The song is reminiscent of Cant Help Falling In Love by Elvis Presley. If you love that Elvis song, then youll love Here, There and Everywhere. Yellow Submarine is a simple, childish song sung by Ringo, mostly consisting of percussion along with backing vocals. Overall, its a decent sing-along-able song. But then this goes into the more musically complex song, She Said She Said. This song is driven by a heavy-distorted guitar along with hammering drums. It isnt psychedelic musically (at least compared to other songs the Beatles produced), but lyrically, it feels like it is. It creates an interesting combination. Side B opens with a McCartney love song, Good Day Sunshine. It is jovial in its nature, but is driven by lower key on the piano than songs like Lady Madonna. Like typical McCartney songs, it is optimistic and vaudevillian in nature. It is a nice, happy song. And Your Bird Can Sing is driven by a similar guitar sound like in She Said She Said and Taxman. However, this track, when compared to the others, is the most reminiscent of their previous pop songs. But it combines this distorted guitar with pop elements that create another interesting blend. The result, a good, catchy, interesting song. For No One is often classified as baroque rock, meaning it mixes pop elements with classical music. I cannot explain the song more accurately than that. Unlike McCartneys Good Day Sunshine, this song is depressing, which is odd for a McCartney song. Then again, he did write Yesterday. Anyway, For No One, like other songs on this album is an interesting blend of different musical genres. Doctor Robert is probably the worst song on this album because, lyrically, it is not interesting. Musically, compared other tracks, it is not interesting as well. I Want to Tell You, which is another Harrison song, sounds similar to Only a Northern Song, because it seems to change keys in an unorthodox fashion. This musical confusion, along with the confusion within the lyrics, reflects the mind of Harrison at the time. I know that I keep saying songs are interesting, but this song is as well. Got to Get You Into My Life is another McCartney track that is not only influenced by his use of marijuana (and love for it), but it has a bluesy, Motown vibe to the song. Because of that vibe, it is an outlier on the album. Its a decent song overall, but nothing too fantastic. The love McCartney now has for marijuana does not translate as well as other love songs he has written (for example Maybe Im Amazed). Tomorrow Never Knows is the most psychedelic, experimental, philosophical track on Revolver. It has so many twists and turns and added elements to the song that it makes the listener believe they are high. The song has numerous loops (similar to Im Only Sleeping, but on a larger scale), and it has these different pitches which are hard to describe. Overall, it creates an Indian-vibe throughout the song. Again, it is an interesting and innovative song to say the least. The reason why this isnt one of my favorite albums is because I find most of the tracks interesting. Interesting does not mean love. It does mean that the song is good, or innovative; but I do not love these songs. Therefore, I do not love this album. However, it is a great album! It is innovative and experimental to a large degree. It shows the musical talent and genius of the members of the Beatles, that they can transition from pop records and completely re-brand themselves and their image. No other band has been band has been able to do this as well (and probably no one will ever come close) as the Beatles. Revolver, therefore, is a must-listen to album. Therefore, I will give it a 4.5 out of 5 stars. Favorite Songs: Eleanor Rigby, Here, There and Everywhere, She Said She Said
Posted on: Fri, 14 Nov 2014 20:49:41 +0000
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