Revolver (Beatles album)
In the early months of 1966, the Beatles took a three-month break from their relentless touring schedule. This pause marked the longest period the group had experienced outside their collective identity since 1962. Manager Brian Epstein had originally planned for 1966 to follow the pattern of previous years, involving a feature film and an accompanying album followed by summer concerts. The band vetoed the proposed film project, creating this extended window free of professional engagements. During these months, the members immersed themselves in London's cultural scene. They attended concerts by visiting artists like Stevie Wonder and Roy Orbison. They socialized extensively with Bob Dylan and attended film premieres and plays. Paul McCartney became immersed in the nascent British counterculture movement under the guidance of Barry Miles. John Lennon and George Harrison continued their use of LSD, developing a fascination for Eastern philosophical concepts regarding the illusory nature of human existence. Ringo Starr also partook of the drug, though Paul McCartney refused to try it despite his bandmates' urging. McCartney drew inspiration from intellectual stimulation within London's arts scene, particularly its thriving avant-garde community.
Recording for Revolver began at EMI Studio 3 in London on the 6th of April 1966. George Martin served as producer once again. The sessions spent over 220 hours recording, excluding mixing sessions. This figure compares with less than 80 hours for Rubber Soul. For the first time at EMI Studios, four-track tape machines were placed in the control room alongside the producer and balance engineer rather than in a dedicated machine room. Nineteen-year-old Geoff Emerick joined as the new recording engineer. He described himself as an English audio experimentalist in the tradition of Joe Meek. No preproduction or rehearsal process took place for Revolver. Instead, the band used the studio to create each song from what was often just an outline of a composition. They encouraged staff to break from standard practices. Every instrument should sound unlike itself: a piano shouldn't sound like a piano, a guitar shouldn't sound like a guitar. The group incorporated musical instruments such as the Indian tambura and tabla, clavichord, vibraphone, and tack piano into their work for the first time. Harrison used a Gibson SG as his preferred instrument. Fairchild 660 limiters were introduced for recording. The Beatles increasingly used outside contributors while making the album. This included their first use of a horn section on Got to Get You into My Life. They also incorporated sound effects extensively during a party-style overdubbing session for Yellow Submarine.
Revolver covers a wide range of styles including acid rock, chamber music, R&B, raga rock, musique concrète, and standard contemporary rock and pop. The lyrics mark a radical departure from the Beatles' past work. A large majority of the songs avoid the subject of love. The lyrics capture psychedelic culture's belief in truth-revealing qualities over illusions of bourgeois thinking. They reject materialism in favor of Asian-inspired spirituality. Time and space become blurred within narratives where characters experience consciousness differently. Where songs do present as love songs, love is often conveyed as a unifying force among many rather than between two individuals. Taxman serves as a protest against high marginal tax rates paid by top earners like the Beatles under Harold Wilson's Labour government. Eleanor Rigby tells a narrative about the perils of loneliness involving an aging spinster and a lonely priest named Father McKenzie. I'm Only Sleeping simulates the half-coherence of the state between wakefulness and sleep through varispeeding techniques. Love You To marks Harrison's first conscious attempt in pop to emulate a non-Western form of music in structure and instrumentation. Tomorrow Never Knows adapts lyrics from Timothy Leary's book The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on The Tibetan Book of the Dead.
The cover for Revolver was created by German-born bassist and artist Klaus Voormann. His artwork combined line drawing with photo collage using photographs mostly taken over 1964, 65 by Robert Freeman. Voormann drew inspiration from the work of nineteenth-century illustrator Aubrey Beardsley. An exhibition at London's Victoria and Albert Museum in 1966 featured Beardsley extensively influencing fashion and design themes of the time. Voormann placed various photos within the tangle of hair connecting the four faces. He aimed to reflect each Beatle in another state of consciousness where older images appear tumbling out from them. His choice of black-and-white cover stood in deliberate defiance of the preference for vivid color. When he submitted his work to the Beatles, Epstein wept overjoyed that Voormann had managed to capture the experimental tone of their new music. The LP's back cover included a photograph of the Beatles shaded by sunglasses and cigarette smoke. This image came from a series taken by Robert Whitaker during filming at Abbey Road on the 19th of May. Lennon wore a long-collared paisley shirt from Granny Takes a Trip while Harrison donned a wide-lapelled velvet jacket designed by Hung on You. Voormann also designed four images titled Wood Face, Wool Face, Triangle Face, and Sun Face appearing on sheet music for each song.
Revolver was released in the UK on the 5th of August 1966 and on the 8th of August in the United States. In Britain, EMI gradually distributed the album's songs to radio stations throughout July. The single Eleanor Rigby topped the national chart for four weeks during August and September becoming the best-selling song of 1966. On Record Retailers LPs chart Revolver entered at number one and stayed there for seven weeks during its 34-week run in the top 40. By October at least ten of the LP's songs had been covered by other artists. Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers' version of Got to Get You into My Life became a top ten hit. McCartney's ballads Here There and Everywhere and For No One became highly popular among mainstream recording artists. In the UK Revolver was the second highest-selling album of 1966 behind The Sound of Music. In America Capitol pushed Yellow Submarine instead of Eleanor Rigby due to religious references amid ongoing controversy. Yellow Submarine peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 making it the first designated Beatles single since 1963 not to top that chart. On the Billboard Top LPs chart Revolver hit number one on the 10th of September staying there for six weeks. The Beatles received gold discs from the Recording Industry Association of America recognizing the album as a million seller during their the 24th of August press conference at Capitol Tower in Hollywood.
In Britain reception to Revolver was highly favorable. Melody Maker lauded the new release saying it would change the direction of pop music. Peter Clayton described it as an astonishing collection defying easy categorization since much lacked precedent in pop context. Edward Greenfield wrote Thinking Pop highlighting importance of McCartney's classical aesthetic. Richard Goldstein called it a revolutionary record as important to expansion of pop as Rubber Soul had been. Ralph Gleason declared it the most outstanding pop album in years possibly best of all time with no single disappointing track. In the US critical reaction remained muted relative to previous releases due to controversies surrounding the band. Paul Williams gave mixed review admiring Love You To and Eleanor Rigby but deriding Tomorrow Never Knows and Yellow Submarine. Later assessments consistently ranked Revolver among greatest albums ever made. Rob Sheffield called it best album Beatles ever made meaning best by anybody. Henry Yates paired it with Sgt Pepper as two essential classics in canon. Mark Kemp said completed transformation from mop tops into bold experimental rockers. Stephen Thomas Erlewine described ultimate modern pop album covering so much new stylistic ground perfectly executed on one record. Chris Coplan rated B calling black sheep catalog yet still admirable for psychedelic tone.
Continue Browsing
Common questions
When was the Beatles album Revolver released in the UK and US?
Revolver was released in the UK on the 5th of August 1966 and in the United States on the 8th of August 1966. The album entered the Billboard Top LPs chart at number one on the 10th of September 1966.
Who produced the recording sessions for the Beatles album Revolver?
George Martin served as producer once again for the Revolver sessions. Geoff Emerick joined as the new recording engineer to work alongside Martin during the process.
What musical instruments did the band use for the first time on the Revolver album?
The group incorporated Indian tambura, tabla, clavichord, vibraphone, and tack piano into their work for the first time. Harrison used a Gibson SG as his preferred instrument while Fairchild 660 limiters were introduced for recording.
How many hours were spent recording the Beatles album Revolver compared to Rubber Soul?
The sessions spent over 220 hours recording excluding mixing sessions which compares with less than 80 hours for Rubber Soul. Recording began at EMI Studio 3 in London on the 6th of April 1966.
Who designed the cover art for the Beatles album Revolver and what was its style?
German-born bassist and artist Klaus Voormann created the cover combining line drawing with photo collage using photographs mostly taken over 1964 and 1965 by Robert Freeman. His choice of black-and-white cover stood in deliberate defiance of the preference for vivid color.