Revolver is quite possibly one of the best albums I know of. Which is surprising, as I am an ex-Beatles hater. This is an interesting album to say the least, because it shows them doing something of a transition from their earlier sound (which contained more cooperation from everyone involved and was generally more normal than later) into the later, psychedelic stuff that they'd delve into later with stuff like the White Album and what have you...So anyway, I got this album because my cousin gave me Abbey Road for my birthday...it was a joke, because she knew I already had it. She gave me a gift receipt so I could go and get something different. And this was the something different.
Taxman: This is George Harrison's first song...right? It seems to foreshadow stuff he'd write later on, like Piggies and stuff. It's about paying taxes. I usually don't like it when songs contain political statements, but it's tolerable here because, 1, it's such a universal topic that even I can relate to it (even though I don't even pay taxes!), and 2, they're the Beatles. They can get away with pretty much everything.
Eleanor Rigby: Interesting...a song about a lonely janitor lady who dies. Interesting. Interesting subject matter. The string orchestration (is it really orchestration?) is pretty cool. This represents some of the stuff the Beatles were trying at the time.
I'm Only Sleeping: For some reason, this song makes me sleepy whenever I listen to it, like somebody's kept me awake far too long when I want to sleep. I wonder if it's the subject matter. It was initially an okay song to me, but after a few listens, I think it's a little more than okay. And - is that an instrument in reverse there? Man are the Beatles getting weirder or what?
Love to You: This song gets a bit tedious after a while. It's not bad, of course, because it's the Beatles. And hey, there's a sitar on this one! Yes, those Beatles were constantly trying to push the limits of what they could musically do. The best parts are the very beginning and the very end.
Here, There and Everywhere: This is apparently the Beatles trying to emulate the Beach Boys. Well, why not? The Beach Boys were the popular thing at the time! (And one of these days, the Beatles are going to emulate them even more.) This song puts me in a good mood whenever I hear it. It automatically relaxes me.
Yellow Submarine: This song is just a classic. Period. I took the liberty of teaching itto my 2-year old cousin. He sings it all the time and he now assosiates the song with me. Hooray! Corrupting the youth of America with Beatles! Anyway...a lot of people think this song is about drugs. I suppose they could be right. I'm not sure. At any rate, it's not going to inspire a bunch of us to go take drugs (unless someone tells them it's about drugs), so it's a perfectly child-friendly Beatles tune. Hooray for the whimsical Beatliness!
She Said She Said: This song strikes me as a bit weird, possibly because I can't tell what exactly it's about. More Beatley nonsense, I suppose. I never feel the urge to automatically skip it, however, which I suppose is a good thing.
Good Day Sunshine: Is this not happy or what? I noticed that the Beatles like to sing about the sun...Good Day Sunshine...Here Comes the Sun...stuff like that. It's happy, which is a good thing. (Methinks I ought to stop listening to the emo.) And the repeating part at the end is cool. Proof that the Beatles were doing weird stuff!
And Your Bird Can Sing: I think this is one of my favorite songs from the album. It's an anti-materialism song, except it doesn't go out and preach at you or anything. It's done in a way so that it's still enjoyable. I like this.
For No One: This is one of the tracks on the album that I consider "filler". It's kind of boring, if you think about it...but then again, I am never compelled to skip it. Good thing.
Doctor Robert: I like this song. It's cool. The Beatles are writing songs about doctors now? I once wrote a song about a doctor...except his name was Doctor Hobbes...I based it on this tune. It's a rather nifty tune, too.
I Want to Tell You: It strikes me as maybe one of those "filler" songs. It doesn't particularly stand out to me (that is, I don't think of Revolver and think, "Oh yeah, it's that album with "I Want to Tell You" on it). But I do indeed tolerate it.
Got to Get You Into My Life: This is such a great song. It makes me think of what I was feeling like when I first heard it. (Relationships...a little high, a little low.) It makes me think of what I feel like when I'm on a "people high" (that is, when I've been around people I like and feel so happy because I've been with them). Maybe that's the different kind of high he's trying to get! Hooray for songs that have personal significance to me!
Tomorrow Never Knows: Oh my gosh...this is such a great song. It too has personal significance to me. To me, this song is the other kind of high I would get (not drugs, rather, I simply got high on my own imagination and art and relaxing and stuff...) The sounds and everything are both 1, demonstrative of what the Beatles were doing musically at the time, and 2, really cool. It makes me think of my surreal art for some reason (I'm into that sort of thing). The song really does make me want to turn off my mind, relax and float downstream. Fantastic. Just fantastic.
Best tracks: Taxman, Eleanor Rigby, Here There and Everywhere, Doctor Robert, Got to Get You Into My Life, and Tomorrow Never Knows.
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