But you can also hear it in “And Your Bird Can Sing” and “Love You To”, whose Indian influence is anchored by a beat heavy enough to drive a dance floor regardless of the continent it’s on. “Taxman” is obvious, as is “Got to Get You Into My Life”, which John called “our Tamla-Motown bit”. Revolver is the last Beatles album where you can really hear the influence of American soul and R&B. On the occasion of the album’s 2022 Super Deluxe reissue-which, in addition to a new mix in Spatial Audio by Giles Martin and Sam Okell, features some extraordinary rehearsals, outtakes and demos-we’re taking a look back at what shaped Revolver and what Revolver shaped in turn. Not only were The Beatles able to bridge their interest in the relatively uncommercial worlds of psychedelia, experimental, and Indian classical music with Motown (“Got to Get You Into My Life”) and what we now think of as classically Beatlesque pop (“Good Day Sunshine”), but they also gave us a template for the pop album as the kaleidoscopically varied studio construction we think of it as today. But Dylan’s point was well-taken: For a band that put out “I Want to Hold Your Hand” less than three years earlier, the relative complexity of Revolver-in both sound and subject matter-not only challenged The Beatles’ image as the pop band the whole family could agree on (as opposed to, say, The Rolling Stones), but it also put pop on a course toward unfamiliar horizons. Part of what makes Revolver appealing is that it’s as much “Yellow Submarine” and the domestic sweetness of “Here, There and Everywhere” as it is “She Said She Said” and “Tomorrow Never Knows”. (In Dylan’s case, it was Blonde on Blonde.) On hearing the tape loops and death poetry of “Tomorrow Never Knows”, Dylan allegedly said to McCartney, “Oh, I get it. His notes follow Paul’s chord sequence perfectly, to provide a most subtle and sophisticated finale to the last ever recorded piece featuring all four Beatles.One of the great, possibly true stories about 1966’s Revolver concerns an exchange between Paul McCartney and Bob Dylan at London’s Mayfair Hotel about what they were currently working on. While producer George Martin threw a 30-piece orchestra at this track which lasted all of half a minute or so, and McCartney played piano and sang the immortal couplet, “And in the end the love you take, is equal to the love you make”, George devised a beautiful arpeggiated solo, featuring clean-toned mini sweeps and soulful string bends. While the dramatic three-guitarist solo during the climactic finale to Abbey Road naturally grabs the intention (it was played in two lots of two-bar chunks by McCartney, Harrison and Lennon in that order and you must definitely check it out), the much more subtle and extremely beautiful guitar solo in The End song itself, is a Harrison mini work of art. George, who had helped John with the song’s tricky time signature changes, introduces this section with one of the filthiest, most lowdown solos ever. This morphs into the ‘bluesy’ section where the key switches to Bb7. John used Donovan’s fingerstyle approach but on electric guitar (probably his stripped-body Epiphone Casino), with fuzz-toned ‘snicks’ behind it. Split into four distinct sections it begins with the dreamy first verse which moves from Bb minor 7 and Bb minor 6, to F minor/add9 and F minor.

These included Dear Prudence, the delightful acoustic Julia, and the incredible Happiness Is A Warm Gun. Lennon took to the technique immediately and would employ it on several tracks on the self-titled release from later that year, also known as the White Album. It’s well documented that Lennon learnt fingerpicking from Scottish folk singer and songwriter Donovan during the group’s 1968 visit to Rishikesh in India, where they practiced transcendental meditation with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. And Your Bird Can Sing (Revolver and Yesterday And Today, 1966) His concise Nashville-inspired solo – clearly a nod to legendary picker Chet Atkins and probably performed on his own Gretsch ‘Chet Atkins’ Country Gentleman guitar – offers the perfect foil for the song’s outwardly twee demeanour.įollowing a simplified progression specially written for the solo, George used a mix of single notes and double-stop 6ths to create a short but deceptively clever, and highly memorable break.ģ. He was clearly pleased with his work, as he later described it as “a superb piece of guitar”. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Want all the hottest music and gear news, reviews, deals, features and more, direct to your inbox? Sign up here.

Revolver album cover beatles