I Got Revolver and I Know How To Use It!

Overall Album Score: 10 out of 10

Transition complete. We now are to the officially official Beatles and to the first majorly major art rock album by the Beatles. This album has EVERYTHING. It has "Eleanor Rigby," it has "Taxman," it has "Yellow Submarine," it has "Good Day Sunshine," it has "Genital Herpes," it has ... geez! Every song in here is great!

Me: [salutes] I salute thee, o great Beatles album!

And, I doubt there ever was a rock musician to come after the Beatles who wasn't influenced by them. Though, I suppose the most influential of Beatles albums might have to be Sgt. Pepper. Revolver is not a concept album ... just a VERY STRONG collection of songs. They're so strong, Sylvester Stalone himself would lose to it at an arm-wrestling match. And ... this song is key to what the Beatles would accomplish on Sgt. Pepper.

This is precisely where the Beatles start their psychedelic movement ... where the Beatles put all their old traditions in the bin and start exploring new and daring things. And, by that, I mean utilizing strange and unusual instruments ... there are some I've never even heard of. Like... what's a tabla? Somebody on this album plays a bleedin' tabla. Not to mention horn sections, "sound effects," the sitar, etc... Rock and roll is finally branching out and doing something radically new, and the Beatles are leading the way! And, isn't it amazing that the Beatles succeeded greatly at their first try of it? I think so.

This is also the first Beatles album to create such thick, delicious atmospheres. No longer do we see two dimensional songs! We see track-layering ... we see piles and piles of instruments ... we see major work in the studio ... it's great! And, the Beatles will only improve on this and create new wonders with it all as they move on.

I'm not reviewing these Beatles albums one after another in one long string. I'm reviewing them in between other albums. And ... wow ... especially after listening to some of this WANNABE DRECK, it makes me appreciate this Beatles' magic even more. This album has many songs that I would qualify as being perfect. Every single other song on here is close to perfect.

Yeah ... what else would receive the honor of being the greatest album ever made as deemed by VH1? ... Okay, I suppose that's not exactly a trusting source. They also had some questionable additions to the list. But at least SOMEBODY thinks this album is great. I'm sure you do, too. And so does the rest of the world. And so does every single race of aliens that we're aware of. So does God. So does Martha Stewart. If you don't, THEN YOU'RE STUPID ... in the most respectful sense of the term. No really. If you don't like the album, then I don't know what your problem is. You're mother didn't love you, or something.

That said, I enjoy The Magical Mystery Tour and (especially) Abbey Road more than this. But they're all super! SUPERSUPERSUPERSUPER!

ON WITH THE REVIEW GRID THINGY!

Overall Album Score: 10 out of 10 (Could you have expected a score any less? Noooooooooooooo.)

Average Song Score: 9.8 (Oh! These are some GREAT songs. I don't know how many times I have to say that. The Beatles are the absolute masters.)

Album Tilt: 10 (Duh.)

Artist Tilt: 10plus (There were many, many musical revolutions that sparked directly from this album. Like the whole psychedelic movement for one! It influenced everybody!)

Track Reviews

Taxman 10/10

George, my man! MY MAIN MAIN! I didn't know ya had it inya! This super duper George Harrison song is one of the most memorable tracks of the album. Man ... it's just timeless ... I can't even describe it (nor do I probably even need to). The lyrics ... guess what? ... they have nothing to do with love. No! It's a funny, satirical thing about the taxman who GETS YOUR HARD EARNED BUCKS JUST SO THEY CAN BUY A LOT OF STUFF LIKE GOVERNMENT CANDY BARS OR SOMETHING. Yep. This is a timeless song. However, George surpassed the I'm-not-worthiness of this song three other times while he was with the Beatles. ("Here Comes the Sun," "Something," "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" ... the latter of which is my favorite Beatles song PERIOD. I love George.)

Eleanor Rigby 10plus/10

And yet another major stunner. This is Paul's first serious song. He brings in a string quartet (or something like that) and creates yet another timeless Beatles classic about a LONLEY NUN!

I'm Only Sleeping 10/10

This is the first 'sonic exploration' song on the album. Though, experimentation doesn't get into the way whatsoever with enjoying the song totally. This song is also the first LCD-inspired song on here! Yikes!

Love to You 9/10

The second Harrison composition on here is an Indian influenced psychedelic thing. It's perhaps not as easily likable as some of the other tracks on here, but it's lovable just the same!

Here There and Everywhere 9.5/10

Ohhhhhhh... this is a slower song that actually bored me when I first got this album. But ... I mean ... it's a classic Beatles song! It can only be good! It's another one of Paul's songs and it, too, shows that he has matured as a songwriter.

Yellow Submarine 9.5/10

Would it be fair to call this song throwaway? Naaaaaaaaaaaah! What would this world be without "Yellow Submarine?" It wouldn't be a good place; that's fer sure. I wouldn't say that it is a MAJOR song ... the melody is a bit to 'kiddy' for me. But perhaps that's the point. The sound-effects in here were unique in this time period and some of John Lennon's muted vocals echoing the lyrics in the background are quite funny! The song wouldn't work as well without that.

She Said She Said 9.5/10

Another keeper-of-a-song. This is one also helped define the whole psychedelic era. It's not a traditional song; that is, the melody relies a lot on prolonged notes while odd-sounding guitars give the song a thick atmosphere. Fortunately, it's not thick enough to choke on!

Good Day Sunshine 9.5/10

I like this song. It is a happy, upbeat ditty that isn't without its little quirks. While it doesn't particularly have 'sonic atmosphere' or anything like that, I like this song for its happy little melody. It's nice to know that some people wake up in the morning without hangovers.

And Your Bird Can Sing 10/10

Ahhhhh! We're back in comfortable Beatles 10-territory! This one has both atmosphere and an utterly unforgettable melody. Wonderful and wondrous and thunderous and gunderous and jhiroeunderous and ...

For No One 10/10

A great Macca song! This one is a little bit of baroque-pop ... but it's one of the finest examples of that I've ever heard. Beautiful and bountiful and shountiful and glountiful and thiorountiful and... touching!

Doctor Robert 8.5/10

Hah! Hmmm... Apart from the subject matter (which is an odd sarcastic song about a DOCTA) it is a bit of a throwback to the early Beatles. The riff, at least, seems typical of that. And, the song displays the same sort of unbridled energy. There's no real beauty or atmosphere in this song, and no real reason for me to call it a great. BUT! It's far from being unwelcome here. No sir! Like every Beatles song ever written after 1965, there are multiple reasons to like it. For starters, the melody is absolutely scrumptious.

I Want to Tell You 9.5/10

More of this psychedelic stuff that you wouldn't find in a typical rock song. For one the instrumentals and the singing all seem to conflict with each other (especially that piano). Yet, it comes out as being a fully enjoyable and even beautiful song. That's why it's so amazing. And, guess what? This is another George Harrison composition!

Got to Get You Into My Life 9/10

Will it never end? What another great song! I'm feeling absolutely bombarded with classics! It's less significant than most of the songs on the album, but it's still a masterpiece.

Tomorrow Never Knows 10plus/10

Well. It's official. John Lennon out-weirds George Harrison. This is the ultimate sonic song and, I'm venturing to say, this is the first to utilize, for the time, high-tech studio equipment to create something wholly unique. Sure, many of the other songs on this album were wholly unique, but they don't even compare with the creature Lennon unearthed with this baby! Track layering after track layering ... odd little bits of sound being thrown into the mix including sped up tapes, clips of music being played backwards, and strange and unusual sound effects ... He just let himself have fun with it all!

Do you have the same opinion of this album? Or, do I reek of fishsticks? Leave your ideas here

I've seen REVOLVER in the top spot in more than a few top 100 lists for the best rock albums ever, but IMO, it wouldn't make the top spot in my top 100 list. It still is a pretty good album, though, and it's really influential. [Note: the REVOLVER I first listened to was the US vinyl version with just 11 songs instead of the 14 that are on the UK vinyl and CD versions. I now have the CD version, which I think is not as good as the US vinyl version.] Here I review the CD version.
Song Ratings:
1. Taxman (10)
2. Eleanor Rigby (9)
3. I'm Only Sleeping (8)
4. Love You To (7.5)
5. Here, There and Everywhere (7)
6. Yellow Submarine (7.5)
7. She Said, She Said (8)
8. Good Day Sunshine (8.5)
9. And Your Bird Can Sing (6.5)
10. For No One (9)
11. Doctor Robert (6.5)
12. I Want to Tell You (7.5)
13. Got To Get You Into My Life (8.5)
14. Tomorrow Never Knows (9.5)
Album cover rating: (8)
Total Album Rating: 121/150 (81%)