Revolver is the Beatles' most revolutionary album*

Rubber Soul was a step forward but not such a great one as Revolver. The title Rubber Soul is not aggressive like Revolver and they still look cute and cuddly on the cover. Never been much of a fan of anything before Revolver.

 

For me, they begin with Beatles For Sale, at least the original Lennon-McCartney songs from that album. They forecast the direction they headed in '65

 

/\ /\ This

 

The root word in the title?

 

I will never understand the elevation of Revolver to the top of the Beatles album heap. In the VH-1 "artist countdown" of the 100 Greatest Albums (hosted by Jeff Bridges in the late '90s), Revolver was number one. With the White Album at number 11, Sgt. Pepper at number 10, and Abbey Road and Rubber Soul in the Top Ten under Revolver. Simply does not compute.

First of all, in 1966, after the release of Rubber Soul, the Monkees dominated the airwaves more than the Beatles. When Revolver was released, songs like Eleanor Rigby and Taxman could not compete with I'm a Believer, Last Train to Clarksville, and Steppin' Stone.

Secondly, the album is just too unfocused. Putting a child's song in the middle of it didn't help. The White Album may have been criticized as being unfocused and all over the map too, but considering where the Beatles were as a band, the messiness made complete sense.

Finally, the US release of Revolver (remastered a few years ago) removed some of the album's best songs, and didn't replace it with any other songs. Why bother with the U.S. remaster when the 2009 UK version is still out there.

I know this post is going to irritate some - I am not trying to be provocative. I love all Beatles albums and do play this one from time to time. But putting it above the White Album and especially Sgt. Pepper makes no sense. Regardless of what Elvis Costello, Chuck D and Billie Joe Armstrong have to say.

 

Personally, I disagree with the majority of what you wrote except for your assessment of the U.S. version of Revolver compared to the U.K. release . To my taste, VH-1 got it right though I prefer the White Album to Sgt. Pepper (despite the fact that the former is too long and unfocused, too messy). As for Revolver, it is by far the greatest Beatles album -- to me, anyway --- and I don't find it unfocused at all. To each his own.

 

People just want to pick something other than Pepper because they've heard too many people tell them that it's the greatest Beatles album. They seem to believe that long-standing judgments are based in conformity rather than good reason.

 

Maybe in the U.S. the Monkees dominated the airwaves, but that doesn't apply for the rest of the world. The Monkees can also not be seen as a real band. Talking about American bands, I would rather say that the Byrds and the Beach Boys (and later the Doors) are far more important and way more influencial.

And - I think everyone has the right to put their favorite album above any other album. Some people hate Pepper, some people hate the White Album. I don't. But everyone is entitled to have their own opinion.

To me Revolver is a very important Beatles album mostly because of its partly harder edge and groundbreaking recording technique. I love the guitar and compressed drum sound on it. I think this is what bands like Oasis loved most about the Beatles.

And it is VERY innovative. Comparing "Tomorrow Never Knows" with the stuff that was on the charts around that time demonstrates how the Beatles were ahead of their time in 1966.

 

It was the version of Revolver that was released in 66, hence the missing songs. People bothered with it because it was what we heard back then.

 

Spot on about The Monkees.

 

Comparing the 66 Beatles to the Monkees is inapt. By the preceding year the Beatles had begun to emphasize the album as their main focus with Rubber Soul. Which had no singles released from it (the US version did not contain Nowhere Man, which was released as a single, but only in the US). In 66 they released two number one albums, Yesterday and Today and Revolver in a year when Rubber Soul continued to sell extremely well. As for the Eleanor Rigby single, it was outperformed by the Paperback Writer/Rain single in any event.

Comparing Monkees' 66 singles to Eleanor Rigby is to put it nicely not very illuminating.

 

Revolver is the apex of the Beatles catalog. While some of the songs may be "non-rockers", they all keep the album moving along. I can listen to the 66 Beatle albums without hitting the "next track" button, but Sgt. Pepper and the White Album don't keep my interest quite as well (that's not to say that they aren't great albums).

Comparing the 66 Beatles to the Monkees is comparing a group that had matured and was producing more complex material, whereas the Monkees were producing well-crafted pop material that occasionally was too sweet.

I agree the removal of the Lennon tracks hurt Revolver, but we ended up getting 2 great albums out of it with Yesterday and Today.

Anyway, I appreciate that your perspective on the albums. It's good that we have so many great albums that we can still purchase 50 years after they were released.

 

& Jones LTD is a tad more revolutionary than Head.

 

I think it's important to put Revolver in context of the time it was released. "Eleanor Rigby" and "Tomorrow Never Knows" were so far away and evolved than "Steppin' Stone" or "I'm A Believer." I will agree that Pepper certainly was more a mind-blower and nothing like it had been out before from a major pop act. It falls into psych territory and I think that's why it's been relegated to a lower status. Revolver has the psych too but it's in the messages more than the music. As for the White Album, it's a bit long, ain't it? It has some of Paul's worst songs ever within the Beatles while Revolver has his best.

 

As a warm up to Pepper, Revolver works. But to put it above Pepper and the other classics? I'd rank Magical Mystery Tour and even that anomaly Hey Jude over Revolver.

 

Why? Just because!

 

Why not Love Songs or Santana's Greatest Hits while you're at it?

 

I think we have to put each album in context with the time when it was released. For 1966 it was highly innovative. I agree that the Beatles albums released 1967-1969 (and also albums by other artists during that era) are in many ways a progression and development.

To me Revolver and the single Rain/Paperback Writer mostly stands out due to the specific sound (much due to Geoff Emerick), which the Beatles partly moved away from later. For 1966 it is a revolutionary album in many ways.

 

Revolver is The Beatles finest, just my opinion.

 

UK Revolver is virtually flawless. Even 'Yellow Submarine' is innovative in that it's their first attempt at a 'pocket symphony' which would bear even greater fruit just months later.

If I was forced to choose one track that feels less then 'genius' it would be Dr. Robert. It feels like a Rubber Soul leftover.

 

That church organ with the hypnotic choral vocal-melody, those ADT’d mixolydian guitar-runs, Paul’s badass upper-harmony, and one of their first songs in subject-matter about drugs (namingly, their ‘registered-doctor/speed-dealer’). C’mon, how’s that not cool? That’s like Velvet Underground-cool.

 

That's my point, trying to nitpick UK Revolver is like nitpicking the Mona Lisa.

 

There were no singles released from Sgt. Pepper, which was indeed novel, and it does make the release significantly different from Revolver. Anybody who wanted to hear new Beatles songs had no other option but to buy the LP. That's basically how the album era began.

 

England was four years ahead of America in terms of "the album era"..With The Beatles from 1963 had no singles on it..neither did Beatles For Sale or the UK Rubber Soul. I get what you're saying though

 

I never understood the elevation for Sgt Pepper as their greatest, back in the late 1970's and through my own formative years.

And I get the "you had to be there" comments, and perhaps that's part of my particular POV as I came in about a decade late. But when I heard the famous Sgt Pepper for the first time I was...underwhelmed. Meanwhile Revolver was great from the get-go, the first time I heard it.

I am older now and some albums have fallen into and out of favor. But Revolver not only was a mainstay in my eyes/ears but when I learned of the UK version additional tracks, that was just icing on the cake.