My thoughts on why 'Revolver' has eclipsed 'Pepper' as the Beatles' masterpiece

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by action pact, Sep 11, 2018.

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  1. Daniel Plainview

    Daniel Plainview God's Lonely Man

    "Abbey Road" is a death rattle of half-finished songs and novelty pastiches.

    :hide:
     
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  2. dkmonroe

    dkmonroe A completely self-taught idiot

    Location:
    Atlanta
    I always thought "Baby's In Black" was an unusually creepy song when I was a kid. I always figured that she was "in black" because her ex was dead. The combination of mourning girl/dead ex/guy trying to hit on mourning girl/bright guitars and pop harmonies was just bizarre to me!
     
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  3. dkmonroe

    dkmonroe A completely self-taught idiot

    Location:
    Atlanta
    Yeah, I like it too.
     
  4. vudicus

    vudicus Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    That's how I wanna go! :D
     
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  5. All Down The Line

    All Down The Line The Under Asst East Coast White Label Promo Man

    Location:
    Australia
    It all amuses me as all through the eighties and early nineties, (And seemingly i assume since 1967 also?)
    We've been told that Pepper is the best Album ever released!

    Amusing as i never felt it was even the best Beatles Album to start with!
    Track for track Revolver has always had a stronger set of songs and you could quite possibly argue that Abbey Road is better also.
     
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  6. Purple Jim

    Purple Jim Senior Member

    Location:
    Bretagne
    Whatever
     
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  7. All Down The Line

    All Down The Line The Under Asst East Coast White Label Promo Man

    Location:
    Australia
    Yes Beatles for sale is way better than it's reputation but Revolver is as good as it's current reputation.
     
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  8. All Down The Line

    All Down The Line The Under Asst East Coast White Label Promo Man

    Location:
    Australia
    I was born in 68' and have 'Always' preferred Revolver.
     
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  9. If I Can Dream_23

    If I Can Dream_23 Forum Resident

    Location:
    United States
    For me, and not that it matters, Abbey Road is the one that has slightly cooled for me over time. I love McCartney's stuff (as always) and it will always contain my favorite Beatles song in Here Comes The Sun, but for some reason I don't return to it as much. I'm satisfied with just the best tracks being picked out and added to my custom compilations.

    On the other hand, Revolver, Pepper, The Beatles keep going up and up! It must be that the "mystique factor" or the repeat-enjoyment factor is more inherent for me in those three. But who knows why we keep gravitating to certain artists or albums and not others...
     
  10. Luke The Drifter

    Luke The Drifter Forum Resident

    Location:
    United States
    I think Dr. Robert is the weakest on the album, but one thing it does very well is the dreamy quality to the "You're feeling fine" section.
     
  11. kwadguy

    kwadguy Senior Member

    Location:
    Cambridge, MA
    Sgt. Peppers was a cultural milestone and an OK album. Its cultural status lead to citing Peppers as shorthand for the brilliance and importance of the Beatles, and for the tidal cultural changes of the '60s in general.

    But the reality is that it was never, ever, their best album. And, as time has worn on, the specific cultural significance in the minds of those who were there has been replaced by a more clear-eyed evaluation based solely on musical merit.
     
    Last edited: Sep 11, 2018
  12. All Down The Line

    All Down The Line The Under Asst East Coast White Label Promo Man

    Location:
    Australia
    Bingo, someone said it!
     
  13. MicSmith

    MicSmith Forum Resident

    I find it hard to accept that there hasn’t been a ‘better’ album from the world of pop or rock since 1966 or 1967 so I for one don’t consider Revolver or Pepper to be “the greatest album ever made” - which is purely a subjective view whoever decides upon these things. Essentially we can gauge albums as ‘favourite’ but never unequivocally ‘best’ or ‘greatest’.

    As for the Beatles I prefer Abbey Road to either albums that are the subject of this thread, that’s not to stay Abbey Road is perfect but it’s the album I prefer to hear all of the way through than the others. I like Revolver and Pepper too - I just have other favourite albums that I personally prefer. Not so much of a White Album fan which sounds like half a Beatles album and half an album of solo songs or songs that might have sat better on solo records. That’s not to say The White Album would be a better single album - if you take half the album away you lose the essence of what is the White Album and so it would, for me, have a different title if it was a single album made up of my favourite songs.
     
  14. If I Can Dream_23

    If I Can Dream_23 Forum Resident

    Location:
    United States
    Yet I would argue that Pepper endures, at least for me, because it has the musical merit (if you happen to like the songs to begin with) and the significance/impact/timepiece aura behind it. It's rare that an album can capture both equally at a pivotal moment.

    By contrast, Revolver merely has the "musical merit component". And, again, even that assumes that you actually like the songs. Which I do, by the way. :)
     
    Last edited: Sep 11, 2018
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  15. Rojo

    Rojo Forum Resident

    Like you say, Revolver has the better individual songs. "Sgt Pepper's" added value is in viewing it as a whole.

    Those who are not into song cycles/ concept albums or those who do not warm up to the particular atmosphere of "Sgt Pepper's" are obviously going to prefer Revolver.
     
  16. Luke The Drifter

    Luke The Drifter Forum Resident

    Location:
    United States
    Six covers make it the weakest Beatles album for me. And one of those is the worst cover they ever did in "Mr. Moonlight". It is a shame they had "Leave My Kitten Alone" in the can. But still, six covers.
     
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  17. Rojo

    Rojo Forum Resident

    There is more Lennon and more Harrison. But, in quality terms, it has more McCartney too.

    "Revolver" has the best set of McCartney songs in any album ever.
     
  18. lennonfan1

    lennonfan1 Senior Member

    Location:
    baltimore maryland
    Revolver is all about death so it suits the times.
    More concept than Pepper IMO.
    More concise and pointed lyrics, less obtuse.
     
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  19. Daniel Plainview

    Daniel Plainview God's Lonely Man

    I didn't know the submarine capsized. Adds a whole new layer to the song!

    Revolver as Death concept record makes me like it more!

    Taxman - pennys on eyes.
    Rigby - Died
    Only Sleeping - mistakenly buried
    Love You To - creepy weirdness
    Here There Everywhere - Ghosts!
    Yellow Submarine - death at sea!
    She Said - Know what it's like!
    Good Day sunshine - sunshine on grave feels good!
    And Your Bird - Can't see meeeeeeee (I'm dead!)
    For No One - her love is dead
    Doctor Robert - need treatment. nope....dead.
    I want To Tell You - Can't tell you. I'm dead.
    Got To Get You Into Life- don't drive stoned. Dead!
    Tomorrow Never knows - the river styx. It's a bad trip!

    Maybe other Beatle albums are also death concept records. Take for instance the underappreciated For Sale:

    No Reply - dead. murdered by love he shouldn't have crossed.
    I'm A Loser - because he's dead at the hands of crazed lover.
    Baby in Black - mourning death
    I'll Follow The Sun - go into the light Carol Ann!
    Honey Don't - been steppin' around after he died
    Eight Days Week - time is meaningless in afterlife.
    I Don't Want TO Spoil Party - seance goes awry, upsetting people. Nothing for him here so he disappears. You know, because he's a ghost.
    What You're Doing - fed up with bump in the night the ghostbusters capture ghost
    Everybody trying to Be My Baby - in absence due to death and ghost capture they make a stand-in for the departed using tree stuffs.

    Oh, not so bad of an album now, is it?
     
    Last edited: Sep 11, 2018
  20. tkl7

    tkl7 Agent Provocateur

    Location:
    Lewis Center, OH
    I have said it before, I will say it again. Pepper is nowhere near a great album. With the exception of A Day In The Life, the songwriting is mediocre at best, poor at worst, and the reason people like the album is because its faults are hidden in the psychedelic production, and many listeners were high when they first heard the album. The only reason it continues to be acclaimed is due to nostalgia and the fact that it is an iconic record.
     
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  21. schnitzerphilip

    schnitzerphilip "Modern Dad" Unlocked Award

    Location:
    NJ USA
    To me it's because Pepper sounds like a single collection of 13 same-sounding songs whereas Revolver sounds like a varied collection of 14 different sounding songs.

    Like the White Album, diversity is the key to longevity and repeated playings and Revolver has it in spades. It is no coincidence that the three Beatles LP's with the most mashed-up presentations of musical styles and genres are the ones usually ranked most highly- Revolver, Abbey Road, White Album.
     
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  22. Hardy Melville

    Hardy Melville Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York
    To some extent the comparison here is apples and oranges. Pepper has a basic concept of being a sort of variety show with the band playing different styles as if they were different bands. Revolver is more a collection of songs. Pepper you put on and listen to the whole thing. You can listen to Revolver in pieces much more easily. So it's not surprising to me in an ADD time that some might find Pepper to be off putting.

    For myself beyond I think getting the point of Pepper, I have some issues with songs on Revolver I simply do not have with Pepper, like Taxman's tendentiousness, Submarine's childishness, Got To Get You's boringness, and some others. Tomorrow Never knows is awesome, but better than Day in the Life? No way. For No One might be Paul's best song, though.

    I prefer the flow of Pepper's, but that gets back to my first point.

    Well, both are in my top four.
     
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  23. dkmonroe

    dkmonroe A completely self-taught idiot

    Location:
    Atlanta
    I often like your posts, but I'm gonna have to unleash the blah-blah on you! :laugh:

    :blah:
     
  24. Sear

    Sear Dad rocker

    Location:
    Tarragona (Spain)
    Stupid people play stupid games. They don't even have their own opinion /criteria
     
  25. Stencil

    Stencil Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lockport, IL
    Pepper is just sequenced badly. Having LSD come in so early kills the flow and makes the songs after it lesser. It needs to build up to LSD, then have the quiet come down of She's Leaving Home.
     
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