Beatles 'REVOLVER' (1966) REVIEW I wrote @ Amazon.Com

The Beatles Revolver ( 1966 ).

This album, released in one of rock music's most pinnacle years - and a very testing important make or break time for the Beatles themselves too - Shoots right straight out of the cannon immediately with two of the Beatles most all time Greatest Songs ,...those two being of course the riveting majestic Taxman with it's heavy guitars ,..as the classic 'lead off track' ( and to set the pace for lead off tunes to come for years from other bands )  ,..AND FROM GEORGE NO LESS ?? ( Strangely for a Lead Off - Where's John ?? ) !! - followed by Paul's mini-epic violin-laced monster Cut Elinore Rigby ,... but after these two dynamic lead off tunes,..things begin to go bad and quick ( a first for the mighty Beatle albums collection  ) immediately for the band as they lay out a confusing and almost lost way collection of works - many of which have nothing to do with each other ( and are too short in minutes,.. ) ,..or far too much ,..and always in a bad worst Way !! John's dreary acoustic  "I'm Only Sleeping" begins the carnage early ,... I don't care what the scared and defending critics say ,...THIS IS A BAD BEATLES SONG ,...AND I DON'T LIKE IT MUCH ,... I find myself turning it off,.. the same way I would turn off an Early Beatles Cover tune on their many many early albums, and curiously seeking out their 'originals' along with the throngs of other smart fans !! It is indeed a somewhat 'Innovative" idea for it's time ,... YES indeed admittedly ,..but it is not as remarkable or memorably brilliant as it might have been and could have been ,.... Things move in a bad way from there too as the George 1966 Version of his Sgt. Pepper '67 better track 'Within you Without You' ,..... "Love You too" is a tepid demo ,..Yes, very innovative - Like 'Tomorrow Never Knows" ( And others here are ) is too ,... but a weak-ish track indeed ....and YES: undeniable too ,... 

,....And 

One of the things about Revolver that probably Fucking gauls me the most is that while other bands were getting into the garages in 66' and creating a raw blues infused hard rock sound ( Think The Standells, the Moving Sidewalks, Count Five,.. etc,..) or getting sophisticated bluesy and deep ( The Animals) or getting creatively weird and energetically dynamic ( The Who A Quick One ) .. the Beatles were busy doing 'this' Over-Produced shit and stunningly with the usually Great George Martin twiddling the console knobs  ,..and Yes, the many weak McCartney tracks here on this record ( For No One, Good Day Sunshine, Got to get you into my Life, Here, there, and Everywhere) are only marginally worse than the sheepish Lennon Losers like Dr. Robert ,.,

Yes, there is some good news everywhere on Revolver that most critic people won't and or can't deny ,... "And your bird can Sing' is excellent even though miserably dreary uptemp rrrrock ... and even unusual for John - a very busy guitar driven impressively arranged and well played song instrumentally as it backs up the Beatles Humble Claim as Numero-Uno with in-your-face angst and applom  ,..and it is a somewhat stunning winner smack in the middle of this album ,..that makes the whole album better for it - and really work !!,..still, AYBCS would probably not measure up on Rubber Soul or even 'Help' as being as good as a track as those on those records - that being said, it is very respectable Beatles indeed !

George's "I Want to tell You" is a pleasant surprise !! A Good solid song - and quite melodic and Garage-ish heavy too ,..but no way is it in the league of Harrison's finest works ! John's "She Said She Said" is a novel instant classic and today an almost beyond well produced-Garage rock n roll relic of a better music time long ago !! These two songs show Beatle growth and maturity ,..that sadly ended there ,..and the Beatles never later expanded upon ,..as there was no time as they almost immediately went into work and Production on the far superior to this 1967 Gem "Sgt Pepper",... On a scale of one to ten ,..I only give Revolver a very generous 6 ,..or even a five and a half ,....because this album could have been so much better !! 'Had it maybe been Produced By Pete Townshend and Eric Burdon !! In closing I will say that the "American Version" of Rubber Soul is way better ( So too is the British Version unfortunately  ) ,..and today, looking back,..the Beatle's Revolver Period seems like their weakest era - a trough,... ,...a time when the Beatles were giving up and no longer cared as much ( and that's really what they were at the time as they quit playing Live as they had to .....due to being dog-tired ),..( Note: funny to see now that it was after just two or three short brief Beatle years of fame ) { Today's bands last much longer - and today's bands probably 'should' quit earlier ,..as they certainly are in no league with the likes of the Mighty Beatles !! } ,...Anyway,... There is nothing on Revolver even close to as amusing as the Who's Happy Jack ,..or has the power and message of 'Substitute' ,... What Revolver 'IS' though ,.'is' very innovative,... this album is easy to take for granted as there is some impressive Production and stuff everywhere,.. ( Paul's ideas are laden with horns, Pianos, strings, etc,..Bizarre for that time  ,..like for example GTGYIML ,,..this song sounds like 1967 already and I hate to Say !! ....bad song and all !! What this album clearly shows me,..is the Whole thing was one big 'demo' for Sgt. Pepper, as it pointed way to what the Beatles' "Future" might sound like ... even though, really ,..and weirdly ,..this recording sounds nothing at all really like Pepper,.. or basically any Beatle releases to come after it ,...

I like Magical Mystery Tour Much more ,.. and yes, frankly ,..the White Album too of course ,..though it is indeed unfair to compare these eras,... The White Album has moments that can strike some as let downs while being good in general as a whole over-all while,.. ,..as so too can the tedious Satanism of Pepper ,..and of course the Beatles very under-rated Let it Be ,..I find to be better than this one too somehow,... it's just something about the atmosphere ,..i don't know,..

Oh Sorry ,... I almost Forgot,..the Beatles Brilliant 'Yellow Submarine" is somehow a part of this album in history strangely ,..and REALLY IS one solid reason why they say Revolver is so damn great !! This way-ahead of it's time silly but masterful song sounds like 1968 already !! ( Or maybe the confusion of looking back in time and seeing it re-released in 68' with the Soundtrack for the said Movie has miffed me ,..and others too ) ...

Oh well ,...maybe I should move it now up to 7 ,..from 6 ,..

HOLD ON !!!

I take it all back ,...THIS 'IS' A GREAT ALBUM NOW !!

A Classic !! BUY IT !! 

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED !!

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Final Notes;

The McCartney Junk that is ALL OVER THIS album is virtually unforgivable and John's amazing 'Tomorrow Never knows' ( weirdly the first track recorded in these sessions ) cannot save it ,.... Oddly, GEORGE Turns out to be SOMEHOW the - not so reluctant too - ....STAR of this album !!

This album explodes off to a Great Start ,..but then stumbles ,.. a first for the Beatles  ( Just think about the brilliance of Beatles For Sale '64 and songs like "What Your Doing" and "Every Little thing"  ) ,.. and I find myself listening to Revolver often quite attentively more as a yearning hopeful guilty pleasure than a thorough enjoyable musical experience like say a Sgt. Pepper listening would do,..

This Album is no White Album - not even close - and there is nothing on it as killer as 'I Am the Walrus" either ,... and Rubber Soul - before it - blows it completely away ,....

But all in all ,... this album had to be made ,..and exactly as is ,..to get from point A to point C and D ,.. in other words, the Beatles 'had to' take weird chances and experiment -,... to get to Sgt. Pepper and the White Album later,..,... and they did that here !!