The Beatles‘ Revolver

When the Beatles first exploded onto the scene they had an altogether different look then the years to come. Following the proper style of dress that was indicative of the 50’s and early 60’s along with their poppy songs made the Beatles become the world’s first boy band. Songs like I Wanna Hold Your Hand were constructed very simply allowing for them to grasp a huge fan base, mainly with young teenage woman. The seemingly innocent band changed as they grew into their own and started redefining what was expected from popular music.

Revolver is easily labeled as one of the best rock albums of all time. What is incredible to see is despite the drastic changes in music over the course of several years the Beatles still peaked the charts on every album. What is easily overlooked however is Revolver can be seen as an extension to the album Rubber Soul. George Harrison has said "I don't see too much difference between Revolver and Rubber Soul, to me, they could be Volume One and Volume Two." Revolver however took on a more psychedelic vibe than Rubber Soul.

Revolver in many ways can be attributed to the spawning of psychedelic rock alongside The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds. Although The Beach Boys’ released their album first, Revolver is the more popular of the two. Most notably is John Lennon’s "Tomorrow Never Knows" wherein he attempts to relay to the listener a LSD trip in a three-minute song. Lennon drew heavily from Timothy Leary's version of The Tibetan Book of the Dead as he continued to be influenced by acid induced trips.

On Revolver, the band had used many experimental recording procedures to record the album. Tape loops and backward guitar solos were experimentally used alongside a tambura to complete the experimental effect. They also made use of the studio itself by recording the environment they were in. listening to the album puts you directly in the studio as the rustling activity of people is clearly audible. 

A more notable method widely used today is artificial double tracking. Lennon had asked if there was an easier way to obtain vocal doubles. As a result an engineer discovered a method that utilized a slight tape delay between an original vocal take and its copy to produce an artificial double, called flanging. Compression, an uncommon method at the time, was also instrumental in giving the band the feel they wanted. This is heard clearly when listening to the kick drum and guitars.

Having grown up with a father who listened to the Beatles, their music has always been there to influence me. Revolver still emits an innovative feel that will unlikely be reproduced ever again. From their political standpoints to love songs to psychedelic vibes Revolver time and again exceeds my expectations of what pure rock should be.