Revolver
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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review
There are only three stories worth knowing from the last 2,000 years of history: the life of Mohammed, the life of Jesus and the career of The Beatles. They invented all music ever. John was the best one; but Paul is--despite the knighthood and everything--still the most under-rated songwriter of the 20th century. This is the album with "Eleanor Rigby", "Here, There and Everywhere", "For No One", "I'm Only Sleeping" and "Tomorrow Never Knows" on it--but then, you knew that anyway. We presume you have this album already and you're just getting a second copy in case you lose the first. --Caitlan Moran
Reviews
The most over-rated band in the history of rock music
Review date: 2010-06-30 Rating: 6 out of 10
The legacy of 'Revolver' is immense. Its influence, however, should be viewed not in a positive way but in a negative and reactionary way.
This is because the album has single-handedly been responsible for spawning its own genre, that of the "Brill Building" - a genre of pop that sees 'Revolver' as its masterpiece. The bands associated with 'Britpop' come to mind, as does the reactionary and backward revisionism and retro revivalism of Mod culture and its populist offshoots.
On the face of it, 'Revolver' appears to be an album entirely dedicated to sophisticated and polished songs, a lighter version of 'Rubber Soul' - hardly the sign of a band that is being driven forward creatively, artistically and musically.
The 'soft' psychedelia of 'Tomorrow Never Knows' (sitar, backward guitar, organ drones), the vaguely oriental 'Love You Too', the classic 'Eleanor Rigby', the Vaudevillian operetta 'Good Day Sunshine', the rhythm and blues of 'Got To Get You Into My Life' and 'Dr. Robert', are all mitigated by an ever more languid and romantic attitude.
The album lacks rhythm, pace and urgency which is restrained further by the tenderness of 'I'm Only Sleeping', 'Here, There And Everywhere' and 'For No One'.
'Revolver' is notable for its approximation to the pop music of the "Brill Building" at the expense of rock and roll. Hence the album has somewhat of a languid and over-familiar feel to it that is characteristic of the style of music of the many bands it has spawned.
The truth is that 'Revolver', like its predecessor, 'Rubber Soul', was out of step with the times, a reactionary and sterile work.
The year of 'Revolver's release (1966), was the year Dylan had released 'Blonde On Blonde', a double album with compositions fifteen minutes long, and Frank Zappa had released 'Freak Out', also a double album, in collage format.
Rock music was experimenting with free form jams as in 'Virgin Forest' by the Fugs, 'Up In Her Room' by the Seeds, 'Going Home' by the Rolling Stones.
The songs of the Beatles truly belonged in a parallel universe within another century.
Beatles Classic
Review date: 2010-06-03 Rating: 8 out of 10
My all time favourite Beatle album - Rubber Soul comes a close second. Eleanor Rigby, really was McCartney's best song ever. I was never a great fan of the fab four, preferring instead, the rougher edge of The Rolling Stones. I hated Sgt Pepper - still do. Half an hour or so, of pretentious twaddle. And almost everything that followed sounded like hard work to me - and not only for the band, but for the listener too.
Fantastic!
Review date: 2010-05-09 Rating: 10 out of 10
I already own the original vinyl LP and I had not heard all the songs for ages, this cd version is every bit as good as the original LP and brought back so many good memories, great value for money.
Beatle Band: The Case for the Defence
Review date: 2010-04-02 Rating: 10 out of 10
The Beatles are one of those iconic cultural phenomena that split the critics into those who think they are genius or rubbish - bit like Shakespeare or Picasso. So powerful is the legend and so all-pervasive the influence that you can't say "they're all right" and leave it like that. For some reason people feel they have to kill or deify. Well, this album is probably the Case for the Defence, if one were needed, for The Beatles. Some people were lucky enough to have been the right age to appreciate the impact of this album on the musical world of their time - the rest of us can just imagine, problem being the innovations have long since been absorbed over the years into that sprawling, many-tentacled monster called rock music. Still, even today, there will be those who find Lennon's classic Tomorrow Never Knows too avante garde. To which the only answer may be: turn off your mind, relax and float upstream and if you find that pretentious, well fine, but I'm afraid Modern Music Fan it knocks Champagne Supernova into the proverbial cocked hat and I suspect two of the guitarists who play on that track would agree with me. But it is easy to get carried away by the influence of this album on those who came after and compare Mr Weller's Start to Taxman - I enjoy both songs, so get over it! Talking of Taxman, this album contains three of Harrison's greatest, alongside I Want To Tell You and the under-rated Love You To and yet George is only the third best composer on this elpee! Apart from the afore-mentioned Tomorrow, this album showcases the powerhouse creativity and lyrical brilliance of Lennon on tracks like Doctor Robert and She Said She Said. Vocally Lennon is at the peak of his considerable powers here - just listen to I'm Only Sleeping, another favourite of mine. But probably the revelation of this album is the greatness of McCartney as singer, player and composer - For No One, Here There and Everywhere, Eleanor Rigby and Got To Get You Into My Life. Yes, this is an amazingly consistent album, great song follows great song and you have to be a hard man to resist the charms of an And Your Bird Can Sing or a Good Day Sunshine. Only Yellow Submarine grates and even that's not bad - Ringo does a good job of singing the simple toytown lyrics, it's only the chorus that is pretty awful. Oldtime music fans may remember the NME letters page in the late seventies used to feature (spoof?) letters from foreign music fans written in pidgin-english which said things like: "Where are Beatle Band now?" Well, Lennon/McCartney and Harrison, to sum up the case for the Defence, all I would say is if you are on a budget and can only afford to buy five rock/pop albums in your life, this should be one of them. And to that (imaginary?) NME letter writer - Beatle Band never went away, my friend, and, as long as music's legal, I suspect they never will. Hopefully, prospective buyer, nuff said.
Product Details/Specifications
Artist(s):
The Beatles
Recording label: EMI
Manufacturer: EMI
EAN: 0094638241720
Binding: Audio CD
Format: Original recording remastered,
Release date: 2009-09-09
Universal product code (UPC): 094638241720
Number of discs: 1
Disc 1 Tracks:
1. Taxman
2. Eleanor Rigby
3. I'm Only Sleeping
4. Love You To
5. Here There And Everywhere
6. Yellow Submarine
7. She Said She Said
8. Good Day Sunshine
9. And Your Bird Can Sing
10. For No One
11. Docter Robert
12. I Want To Tell You
13. Got To Get You Into My Life
14. Tomorrow Never Knows
15. Revolver Documentary
Publishers: EMI
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