Additional information
The Beatles: George Harrison (vocals, guitar, sitar); Paul McCartney (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards, bass); John Lennon (vocals, guitar); Ringo Starr (vocals, drums). Additional personnel includes: Alan Civil (French horn); Anil Bhagwat (tabla); Brian Jones (background vocals). Arguably the first psychedelic rock album, REVOLVER was praised for its musical experimentation--the Indian sounds of "Love You To," the Motown-inspired "Got To Get You Into My Life," the backwards guitar in "I'm Only Sleeping." "Tomorrow Never Knows" was the most radical departure from previous Beatles' recordings for its skeletal bass/drums propulsion enhanced only with tape loops (contributed by all four Beatles and added in the mix-down process), more backwards guitar, and an eerie John Lennon vocal. Still, the Beatles' experimentation grew out of their songwriting, which had matured beyond formula pop. "Tomorrow Never Knows" was inspired by the Tibetan Book of the Dead, Harrison's "Taxman" was a bitter diatribe, and McCartney's "Eleanor Rigby" was a bleak portrait of loneliness. Balanced with upbeat songs like "Good Day Sunshine" and "Yellow Submarine," REVOLVER proved The Beatles were not mere pop stars, but musical artists in search of new sounds and ideas.
Reviews
Rolling Stone (4/11/02, p.106) - Ranked #10 in Rolling Stone's "50 Coolest Records" - "...The Fabs tune into Dylan, the Stones, the Beach Boys, decide to top to top them all..." Q (6/00, pp.92-3) - Ranked #1 in Q's "100 Greatest British Albums" - "...The most shocking Beatles record....combining an astonishing mix of styles with a weirdly consistent sense of purpose....[mapping] out the pop universe...perfectly..." Melody Maker (10/2/93, p.29) - Ranked #2 in NME's list of the 'Greatest Albums Of All Time.' Paste (magazine) (p.59) - "With REVOLVER, The Beatles completed their transformation from the mop tops of three years earlier into bold, groundbreaking experimental rockers."
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