Revolver – Michael R. Smith

Much has been made about the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, the album that many consider to be the band’s very best. Certainly, the sleeve and packaging were quite original and groundbreaking in 1967. However, I’ve always wondered what the album would have been like had “A Day In The Life” and “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” not been included in the mix. To be frank, those two songs were really what made Sgt. Pepper such a popular classic.

It’s not the first album to take the Beatles in a new direction either – that distinction goes to producer George Martin’s favorite Beatles album, Revolver. Released one year prior to Sgt. Pepper, it was the first Beatles album to feature a weightier tone and edgier sound. Its patchwork feel is due in part to the wide array of musical genres – from soul, to fizzy guitar rock, to psychedelia, to Indian music.

Yes, this is one impressive and kaleidoscopic album. After this, the Beatles would never quite be the same. On first listen, it would appear that Ringo Starr is under-represented and John Lennon seems to be sleepwalking his way through the proceedings. Lennon even has a song entitled “I’m Only Sleeping” to back that assertion. But both Lennon and Starr manage to turn in at least one mind-altering performance before all is said and done.  Ringo’s sole contribution, “Yellow Submarine,” is perhaps the most recognizable track to be found here, which was the very first Beatles song I had ever heard as a child. My entire first grade class used to sing this song on the playground during recess! As for John, he wakes up at just the right moment to create a swirling masterpiece that is way ahead of its time, “Tomorrow Never Knows.” As far as bursts of dumbfounding creativity, it would seem that nobody could ever hold a candle to John Lennon.

Paul McCartney and George Harrison seem to carry the heaviest burden on Revolver, however, and they succeed in their efforts. Harrison in particular shows just how much he has grown and demonstrates the range he was now capable of. He also gets the rare opportunity to actually open a Beatles album, with the rocking “Taxman,” before slipping into something more comfortable on the sitar-based track “Love You To.” Indian music was quickly becoming something of a George Harrison trademark, learning from the Maharishi all he could about music and meditation during the Beatles brief yet potent sojourn in India.  Harrison’s other offering, “I Want To Tell You,” is a solid, straightforward tune that seems to have every other instrument, but no sitar.

Which brings us to Paul McCartney, who simply glows on this record. I could just stop and say the words “Eleanor Rigby,” but that would only be the tip of the iceberg when it comes to how many amazing, effortless songs he puts forth here. His fuzz bass is used in the best of all possible ways on the edgy “She Said, She Said,” while “Good Day Sunshine” is a close cousin to Harrison’s “Here Comes The Sun.” Another choice McCartney cut is “And Your Bird Can Sing,” where it’s all about the timeless harmonies.

And like Lennon, McCartney saves his biggest surprise for the end of the album, namely “Got To Get You Into My Life,” a soul song of the highest order that sounds absolutely nothing like the Beatles whatsoever! How the hell did Paul McCartney pull something like that off without the help of someone like Billy Preston? It really goes to show how important influences are in developing one’s own sound. When Earth, Wind & Fire covered “Got To Get You Into My Life,” it wasn’t much of a stretch to see it become a hit, since it is the type of funky song that fits them like a glove.

It’s no wonder the Beatles chose the word Revolver as the title for this album, because they really ended it all with a bang, and the album’s resonance would literally be the shot that was heard around the world for decades to come.

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