The Beatles Revolver [UK]
This is the album that ripped Brian Wilson's brain into disrepair, the first Beatles album to be written for the studio, their first album that is a conscious experiment, while still retaining solid rock 'n roll roots.
But most of all, the album is about the songs; "Taxman", with Harrison's dry delivery, McCartney's booming bass and unorthodox-but-nevertheless-shredding solo, Starr's energetic drum fills, and Lennon's mocking backup vocals; "Eleanor Rigby", with its stark and cold string arrangement and McCartney's incisive commentary on loneliness and depression; "I'm Only Sleeping", steeped in Lennon's newfound acid passivity, seeming about 20 minutes longer than it actually is (in a good way); "Love You To", the first Harrison song to emulate his obsession with India; "Here There and Everywhere", soft and full with lush harmonies that make you forget there are things wrong with the world; "Yellow Submarine", the dreamland song that has made so many people happy, but left me ashamedly wondering when I'm going to start liking it. "She Said She Said", Lennon's shaken and disturbed experience while tripping with Peter Fonda put to music - ferocious and confused with an incredible and upsetting meter change.
The hits continue on the second half of the disc; "Good Day Sunshine", effortlessly infectious and pure McCartney, with an unexpected key change inaugurating its off-time fade-out ending; "And Your Bird Can Sing", with its ass-kicking harmonized and arpeggiated guitars and enthusiastic vocal delivery from Lennon and McCartney. "For No One", a heartbreaking tune about a dead love featuring one of McCartney's most hauntingly resonant melodies. "Doctor Robert", Lennon's continually key-shifting and sarcastic-yet-somehow-honest song about the equation of drugs and enlightenment. "I Want To Tell You", Harrison's third (!) contribution, a song whose music expresses the frustration of its lyrical content better than its lyrics. "Got To Get You Into My Life", a rocker (some say about McCartney's hesitance to try LSD) featuring one of McCartney's best energetic, screaming, and octave-leaping performances. And of course "Tomorrow Never Knows", Lennon's amazing attempt to aurally recreate an acid trip mixed together with lyrics from the Tibetan Book of the Dead.
Revolver can't be essentialized, boiled-down, or summed-up. Revolver can be listened to, however; this is the best way to understand what it's really all about.
