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Rating: After expanding their artistic boundaries with "Rubber Soul" (1965), the Beatles reach the pinnacle of Rock.
"Revolver" is tinged with psychedelia, ballads, rhythm & blues, nursery rhymes... everything contributes a bit to the creation of this timeless masterpiece.
The lyrics become more incisive; the adolescent themes of the early period are now surpassed. Death, drugs, and more outline the album's perspectives. The music, thanks to an exhausting sonic quest, transforms into art.
The Beatles leap light years ahead of their competitors. In the same year, the Rolling Stones are still grappling with their first album of original compositions, "Aftermath." The Who are far from the future success of "Tommy," and the Beach Boys, after releasing the magnificent "Pet Sounds," will plunge into a creative crisis with no return.
The album begins with a composition by George Harrison, "Taxman". A piece of tight rock where the bass riff is the main attraction of the track until Paul McCartney's guitar explosion.
Next comes "Eleanor Rigby", mainly by McCartney, a funerary piece orchestrated solely by classical instruments. One of the album's highest peaks.
"I'm Only Sleeping" is the first psychedelic warning of the album, with backward guitars and John Lennon's distorted voice. "Love You To" is the eastern essence of George Harrison. Cascades of sounds come from the sitar, played by a musician outside the group.
Here inevitably comes McCartney's sweet ballad, "Here, There and Everywhere", considered by the author as his best song ever.
Also from Paul's pen comes out "Yellow Submarine", a memorable nursery rhyme sung by Ringo Starr with plenty of sound effects.
"She Said She Said", by John, is the ideal meeting between rock and psychedelia where George Harrison's guitar reigns supreme.
"Good Day Sunshine" opens the second side of the album with the sunny joy of Sir. McCartney supported on the piano by the group's producer, George Martin. Once again, George's guitar takes the lead in "And Your Bird Can Sing" by John Lennon... a throwaway piece as the author himself would later define it.
McCartney returns to his full splendor with "For No One", a ballad with ancient flavors about lost love. One of the most beautiful songs in the entire Beatles catalog. "Doctor Robert" brings us back to a no-frills rock that Lennon loves so much.
"I Want To Tell You" is the lesser track among the three by Harrison. A return to the rhythm & blues roots amid the brass instruments of "Got To Get You Into My Life" by Paul.
Lowering the curtain is John Lennon's psychedelic jewel. "Tomorrow Never Knows" is the masterpiece within the masterpiece. Sounds that seem to come from who knows what other dimensions only to suddenly vanish into nothingness. A drumbeat that hypnotizes the subconscious. "Tomorrow Never Knows" will precede the entire psychedelic explosion of 1967 led by Velvet Underground, Doors, and Pink Floyd.
Thus ends one of the most memorable pages in the history of music.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Taxman (02:41)
Let me tell you how it will be
There's one for you, nineteen for me
'Cause I'm the taxman,
Yeah, I'm the taxman
Should five percent appear too small
Be thankful I don't take it all
'Cause I'm the taxman,
Yeah, I'm the taxman
If you drive a car, I'll tax the street
If you try to sit, I'll tax your seat
If you get too cold, I'll tax the heat
If you take a walk, I'll tax your feet
Taxman
'Cause I'm the taxman,
Yeah, I'm the taxman
Don't ask me what I want it for (ha ha Mr. Wilson)
If you don't want to pay some more (ha ha Mr. Heath)
'Cause I'm the taxman,
Yeah, I'm the taxman
Now my advice for those who die (Taxman)
Declare the pennies on your eyes (Taxman)
'Cause I'm the taxman,
Yeah, I'm the taxman
And you're working for no one but me (Taxman)
02 Eleanor Rigby (02:10)
Ah, look at all the lonely people
Ah, look at all the lonely people
Eleanor Rigby
Picks up the rice in the church where a wedding has been
Lives in a dream
Waits at the window
Wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door
Who is it for
All the lonely people
Where do they all come from
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong
Father McKenzie,
Writing the words of a sermon that no one will hear
No one comes near
Look at him working
Darning his socks in the night when there's nobody there
What does he care
All the lonely people
Where do they all come from
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong
Ah, look at all the lonely people
Ah, look at all the lonely people
Eleanor Rigby,
Died in the church and was buried along with her name
Nobody came
Father McKenzie
Wiping the dirt from his hands as he walks from the grave
No one was saved
All the lonely people (Ah, look at all the lonely people)
Where do they all come from
All the lonely people (Ah, look at all the lonely people)
Where do they all belong
05 Here, There and Everywhere (02:28)
To lead a better life,
I need my love to be here.
Here, making each day of the year
Changing my life with a wave of her hand
Nobody can deny that there's something there.
There, running my hands through her hair
Both of us thinking how good it can be
Someone is speaking but she doesn't know he's there.
I want her everywhere
And if she's beside me I know I need never care.
But to love her is to need her
Everywhere, knowing that love is to share
Each one believing that love never dies
Watching her eyes and hoping I'm always there.
I want her everywhere
And if she's beside me I know I need never care.
But to love her is to need her
Everywhere, knowing that love is to share
Each one believing that love never dies
Watching her eyes and hoping I'm always there.
I will be there, and everywhere.
Here, there and everywhere.
06 Yellow Submarine (02:42)
In the town where I was born
Lived a man who sailed to sea
And he told us of his life
In the land of submarines
So we sailed up to the sun
'Till we found a sea of green
And we lived beneath the waves
In our yellow submarine
We all live in a yellow submarine
Yellow submarine, yellow submarine
We all live in a yellow submarine
Yellow submarine, yellow submarine
And our friends are all aboard
Many more of them live next door
And the band begins to play
We all live in a yellow submarine
Yellow submarine, yellow submarine
We all live in a yellow submarine
Yellow submarine, yellow submarine
(Full speed ahead Mr. Boatswain, full speed ahead
Full speed ahead it is, Sgt.
Cut the cable, drop the cable
Aye, Sir, aye
Captain, captain)
As we live a life of ease
Every one of us has all we need
Sky of blue and sea of green
In our yellow submarine
We all live in a yellow submarine
Yellow submarine, yellow submarine
We all live in a yellow submarine
Yellow submarine, yellow submarine
We all live in a yellow submarine
Yellow submarine, yellow submarine
11 Doctor Robert (02:17)
Ring, my friend I said you'd call
Doctor Robert
Day or night he'll be there any time at all
Doctor Robert
Doctor Robert
You're a new and better man
He helps you to understand
He does everything he can
Doctor Robert
If you're down he'll pick you up
Doctor Robert
Take a drink from his special cup
Doctor Robert
Doctor Robert
He's a man you must believe
Helping anyone in need
No one can succeed like
Doctor Robert
Well, well, well, you're feeling fine
Well, well, well, he'll make you
Doctor Robert
My friend works for the National Health
Doctor Robert
Don't pay money just to see yourself
Doctor Robert
Doctor Robert
You're a new and better man
He helps you to understand
He does everything he can
Doctor Robert
Well, well, well, you're feeling fine
Well, well, well, he'll make you
Doctor Robert
Ring, my friend I said you'd call
Doctor Robert
Doctor Robert
12 I Want to Tell You (02:32)
I want to tell you,
My head is filled with things to say,
When you're here,
All those words,
They seem to slip away.
When I get near you,
The games begin to drag me down,
It's alright,
I'll make you make me next time around.
But if I seem to act unkind,
It's only me,
It's not my mind,
That is the confusing thing.
I want to tell you,
I feel hung up,
But I don't know why,
I don't mind,
I could wait forever,
I've got time.
Sometimes I wish I knew you well,
Then I could speak my mind and tell you,
Maybe you'd understand.
I want to tell you,
I feel hung up,
But I don't know why,
I don't mind,
I could wait forever,
I've got time.
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Other reviews
By R2061478
With Revolver, they start to get really serious.
Tomorrow Never Knows sounds modern even today, a cross between the Chemical Brothers and the minimalist electronics of Radiohead.
By DanteCruciani
"The Beatles are the greatest band of all time, it seems obvious to me."
"I could never explicitly say how much I loved the Beatles because it wouldn’t be appropriate for a serious music critic... In the Beatles, there was something mystical, AND I love them."
By sausalito
"Revolver is emblematic ... the weakest record in the band's mature discography."
"A record where the disparity between fame and actual value is evident."
By david81
Revolver is a revolutionary LP that anticipates the times to come by a year.
A must-have album for every respectable music collection: a Brunello di Montalcino of music!!
By miraggio2
With Revolver, they really started to get serious.
Tomorrow Never Knows still sounds modern today, a cross between the Chemical Brothers and the minimalist electronics of Radiohead.
