Time to take it to the 1966 classic, Revolver! My favorite album by a band that needs to be mentioned in having a formative role in my music tastes. Revolver was one of the first albums I owned on CD, and was listened to on repeat! The first CD I owned however was Michael Jackson’s greatest hits, bought at the Target across from Fayette Mall…

My top song on this album will always be Taxman. Not only is it an incredibly clever tune talking about the tax hikes that were put in place in the 60’s for the affluent, but also is a song that circa 6th grade I remember playing at a little show in Natasha’s Bistro and Bar on Main street in Lexington with my parents sitting to the right of the stage. I was informed years later that this performance was particularly moving for my papa! Nothing like watching your little man get on stage for the first time to sing and play about the financial stresses imposed by the government. This performance was before I got my natural Fender Strat, and was still playing a little black and white Squier through my Line 6 amplifier with “insane” mode. I digress…

For me I find that Revolver is the first album where you begin to see the Beatles get increasingly experimental with their song writing, composition, and alternative production techniques that are largely due to efforts by the man responsible for much of the Beatles success, George Martin. Following the catchy tune Taxman is a woeful tale of Eleanor Rigby. This song fills my heart and soul, and I often like to imagine how unique and out there this song must’ve sounded when it was released. Eleanor Rigby also marks the first Beatles song where no one is playing an instrument, a natural progression from Yesterday off of the previous album Rubber Soul, which is known to be the first song without all the Beatles on it. I also recall learning that the score of Eleanor Rigby, which is produced by George Martin, was written with the music from Alfred Hitchcock’s film Psycho in mind.

I can’t say Yellow Submarine is one of my favorite songs on this album, but for memory sake, I can say without hesitation that it’s the first song by the Beatles that I was ever aware of, and for that reason alone it will always be so special to me. Yellow Submarine came into my life in elementary school at Community Montessori School, with the whole class learning it and singing it together. Just a bunch of kiddos singing a non sensible ballad about living under the sea with their friends! Gotta love Ringo.

Another particularly interesting tune and the most “far out” song to date recorded by the Beatles is Tomorrow Never Knows, the closing track on the album where John Lennon wanted his voice to sound, “As though I’m the Dalai Lama singing from the highest mountain top.” This resulted in his vocals being hooked up to a Leslie revolving cabinet (a very important piece of tech from the sixties, specifically in psychedelic music). Other unique effects in this song are the seagull sounds, that were created by reversing and speeding up the sound of Paul McCartney laughing, as well as an amazing (reversed) guitar solo done by George Harrison. This song used to scare the heck out of me and be quite cacophonous when I was younger, but know is very much so a song that I love.

For me, this album has beautiful dynamics that isn’t constrained to only fast or slow, but also Revolver is incredibly dynamic emotionally. It brings sad odes like Eleanor Rigby to sit in contrast with tunes that emanate light such as Good Day Sunshine. The Beatles are without a doubt one of the most influential bands of all time, and this album in particular I look to as a turning point for where the next half of the 60’s will be going music wise.