One, two, three, four
One, two (one, two, three, four)
Let me tell you how it will be
There's one for you, nineteen for me
'Cause I'm the taxman
Yeah, I'm the taxman
Should five percent appear too small
Be thankful I don't take it all
'Cause I'm the taxman
Yeah, I'm the taxman
(If you drive a car, car) I'll tax the street
(If you try to sit, sit) I'll tax your seat
(If you get too cold, cold) I'll tax the heat
(If you take a walk, walk) I'll tax your feet
(Taxman)
'Cause I'm the taxman
Yeah, I'm the taxman
Don't ask me what I want it for
(Ah, ah, Mr. Wilson)
If you don't want to pay some more
(Ah, ah, Mr. Heath)
'Cause I'm the taxman
Yeah, I'm the taxman
Now my advice for those who die (taxman)
Declare the pennies on your eyes (taxman)
'Cause I'm the taxman
Yeah, I'm the taxman
And you're working for no one but me (taxman)
The Beatles - Revolver Album Lyrics
The Beatles - Revolver Lyrics
Writer: George Harrison
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Eleanor Rigby
Ah, look at all the lonely people
Ah, look at all the lonely people
Eleanor Rigby
Picks up the rice in the church where a wedding has been
Lives in a dream
Waits at the window
Wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door
Who is it for?
All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?
Father McKenzie
Writing the words of a sermon that no one will hear
No one comes near
Look at him working
Darning his socks in the night when there's nobody there
What does he care?
All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?
Ah, look at all the lonely people
Ah, look at all the lonely people
Eleanor Rigby
Died in the church and was buried along with her name
Nobody came
Father McKenzie
Wiping the dirt from his hands as he walks from the grave
No one was saved
All the lonely people (ah, look at all the lonely people)
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people (ah, look at all the lonely people)
Where do they all belong?
Ah, look at all the lonely people
Eleanor Rigby
Picks up the rice in the church where a wedding has been
Lives in a dream
Waits at the window
Wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door
Who is it for?
All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?
Father McKenzie
Writing the words of a sermon that no one will hear
No one comes near
Look at him working
Darning his socks in the night when there's nobody there
What does he care?
All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?
Ah, look at all the lonely people
Ah, look at all the lonely people
Eleanor Rigby
Died in the church and was buried along with her name
Nobody came
Father McKenzie
Wiping the dirt from his hands as he walks from the grave
No one was saved
All the lonely people (ah, look at all the lonely people)
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people (ah, look at all the lonely people)
Where do they all belong?
Writer: John Lennon, Paul McCartney
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Im Only Sleeping
(Lennon/McCartney)
When I wake up early in the morning
Lift my head, I'm still yawning
When I'm in the middle of a dream
Stay in bed, float up stream (Float up stream)
Please, don't wake me, no, don't shake me
Leave me where I am, I'm only sleeping
Everybody seems to think I'm lazy
I don't mind, I think they're crazzy
Running everywhere at such a speed
Till they find there's no need (There's no need)
Please, don't spoil my day, I'm miles away
And after all I'm only sleeping
Keeping an eye on the world going by my window
Taking my time
Lying there and staring at the ceiling
Waiting for a sleepy feeling...
Please, don't spoil my day, I'm miles away
And after all I'm only sleeping
Ooh yeah
Keeping an eye on the world going by my window
Taking my time
When I wake up early in the morning
Lift my head, I'm still yawning
When I'm in the middle of a dream
Stay in bed, float up stream (Float up stream)
Please, don't wake me, no, don't shake me
Leave me where I am, I'm only sleeping
When I wake up early in the morning
Lift my head, I'm still yawning
When I'm in the middle of a dream
Stay in bed, float up stream (Float up stream)
Please, don't wake me, no, don't shake me
Leave me where I am, I'm only sleeping
Everybody seems to think I'm lazy
I don't mind, I think they're crazzy
Running everywhere at such a speed
Till they find there's no need (There's no need)
Please, don't spoil my day, I'm miles away
And after all I'm only sleeping
Keeping an eye on the world going by my window
Taking my time
Lying there and staring at the ceiling
Waiting for a sleepy feeling...
Please, don't spoil my day, I'm miles away
And after all I'm only sleeping
Ooh yeah
Keeping an eye on the world going by my window
Taking my time
When I wake up early in the morning
Lift my head, I'm still yawning
When I'm in the middle of a dream
Stay in bed, float up stream (Float up stream)
Please, don't wake me, no, don't shake me
Leave me where I am, I'm only sleeping
Writer: John Lennon, Paul Mccartney
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Love You To
Each day just goes so fast
I turn around, it's passed
You don't get time to hang a sign on me
Love me while you can
Before I'm a dead old man
A lifetime is so short
A new one can't be bought
But what you've got means such a lot to me
Make love all day long
Make love singing songs
Make love all day long
Make love singing songs
There's people standing 'round
Who'll screw you in the ground
They'll fill you in with all their sins, you'll see
I'll make love to you
If you want me to
I turn around, it's passed
You don't get time to hang a sign on me
Love me while you can
Before I'm a dead old man
A lifetime is so short
A new one can't be bought
But what you've got means such a lot to me
Make love all day long
Make love singing songs
Make love all day long
Make love singing songs
There's people standing 'round
Who'll screw you in the ground
They'll fill you in with all their sins, you'll see
I'll make love to you
If you want me to
Writer: George Harrison
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, ST MUSIC LLC
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, ST MUSIC LLC
Here There and Everywhere
To lead a better life
I need my love to be here
Here, making each day of the year
Changing my life with a wave of her hand
Nobody can deny that there's something there
There, running my hands through her hair
Both of us thinking how good it can be
Someone is speaking
But she doesn't know he's there
I want her everywhere
And if she's beside me I know I need never care
But to love her is to need her everywhere
Knowing that love is to share
Each one believing that love never dies
Watching their eyes and hoping I'm always there
I want her everywhere
And if she's beside me I know I need never care
But to love her is to need her everywhere
Knowing that love is to share
Each one believing that love never dies
Watching their eyes and hoping I'm always there
I will be there
And everywhere
Here, there and everywhere
I need my love to be here
Here, making each day of the year
Changing my life with a wave of her hand
Nobody can deny that there's something there
There, running my hands through her hair
Both of us thinking how good it can be
Someone is speaking
But she doesn't know he's there
I want her everywhere
And if she's beside me I know I need never care
But to love her is to need her everywhere
Knowing that love is to share
Each one believing that love never dies
Watching their eyes and hoping I'm always there
I want her everywhere
And if she's beside me I know I need never care
But to love her is to need her everywhere
Knowing that love is to share
Each one believing that love never dies
Watching their eyes and hoping I'm always there
I will be there
And everywhere
Here, there and everywhere
Writer: John Lennon, Paul McCartney
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Yellow Submarine
In the town where I was born
Lived a man who sailed to sea
And he told us of his life
In the land of submarines
So we sailed on to the sun
'Til we found a sea of green
And we lived beneath the waves
In our yellow submarine
We all live in a yellow submarine
Yellow submarine, yellow submarine
We all live in a yellow submarine
Yellow submarine, yellow submarine
And our friends are all aboard
Many more of them live next door
And the band begins to play
We all live in a yellow submarine
Yellow submarine, yellow submarine
We all live in a yellow submarine
Yellow submarine, yellow submarine
Full steam ahead, Mister Boatswain, full steam ahead
Full steam ahead it is, Sergeant
(Cut the cable, drop the cable)
Aye-aye, sir, aye-aye
Captain, captain
As we live a life of ease (a life of ease)
Every one of us (every one of us)
Has all we need (has all we need)
Sky of blue (sky of blue)
And sea of green (sea of green)
In our yellow (in our yellow)
Submarine (submarine, aha)
We all live in a yellow submarine
A yellow submarine, yellow submarine
We all live in a yellow submarine
A yellow submarine, yellow submarine
We all live in a yellow submarine
Yellow submarine, yellow submarine
We all live in a yellow submarine
Yellow submarine, yellow submarine
Lived a man who sailed to sea
And he told us of his life
In the land of submarines
So we sailed on to the sun
'Til we found a sea of green
And we lived beneath the waves
In our yellow submarine
We all live in a yellow submarine
Yellow submarine, yellow submarine
We all live in a yellow submarine
Yellow submarine, yellow submarine
And our friends are all aboard
Many more of them live next door
And the band begins to play
We all live in a yellow submarine
Yellow submarine, yellow submarine
We all live in a yellow submarine
Yellow submarine, yellow submarine
Full steam ahead, Mister Boatswain, full steam ahead
Full steam ahead it is, Sergeant
(Cut the cable, drop the cable)
Aye-aye, sir, aye-aye
Captain, captain
As we live a life of ease (a life of ease)
Every one of us (every one of us)
Has all we need (has all we need)
Sky of blue (sky of blue)
And sea of green (sea of green)
In our yellow (in our yellow)
Submarine (submarine, aha)
We all live in a yellow submarine
A yellow submarine, yellow submarine
We all live in a yellow submarine
A yellow submarine, yellow submarine
We all live in a yellow submarine
Yellow submarine, yellow submarine
We all live in a yellow submarine
Yellow submarine, yellow submarine
Writer: John Lennon, Paul McCartney
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
She Said She Said
She said
"I know what it's like to be dead
I know what it is to be sad"
And she's making me feel like I've never been born
I said
"Who put all those things in your head?
Things that make me feel that I'm mad
And you're making me feel like I've never been born"
She said, "You don't understand what I've said"
I said, "No no no, you're wrong"
When I was a boy
Everything was right
Everything was right
I said
"Even though you know what you know
I know that I'm ready to leave
'Cause you're making me feel like I've never been born"
She said, "You don't understand what I've said"
I said, "No no no, you're wrong"
When I was a boy
Everything was right
Everything was right
I said
"Even though you know what you know
I know that I'm ready to leave
'Cause you're making me feel like I've never been born"
She said
She said
I know what it's like to be dead
I know what it's like to be dead
I know what it is to be sad
I know what it is to be sad
I know what it's like to be dead
I know what it's like to be dead
"I know what it's like to be dead
I know what it is to be sad"
And she's making me feel like I've never been born
I said
"Who put all those things in your head?
Things that make me feel that I'm mad
And you're making me feel like I've never been born"
She said, "You don't understand what I've said"
I said, "No no no, you're wrong"
When I was a boy
Everything was right
Everything was right
I said
"Even though you know what you know
I know that I'm ready to leave
'Cause you're making me feel like I've never been born"
She said, "You don't understand what I've said"
I said, "No no no, you're wrong"
When I was a boy
Everything was right
Everything was right
I said
"Even though you know what you know
I know that I'm ready to leave
'Cause you're making me feel like I've never been born"
She said
She said
I know what it's like to be dead
I know what it's like to be dead
I know what it is to be sad
I know what it is to be sad
I know what it's like to be dead
I know what it's like to be dead
Writer: John Lennon, Paul McCartney
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Good Day Sunshine
Good day sunshine
Good day sunshine
Good day sunshine
I need to laugh, and when the sun is out
I've got something I can laugh about
I feel good, in a special way
I'm in love and it's a sunny day
Good day sunshine
Good day sunshine
Good day sunshine
We take a walk, the sun is shining down
Burns my feet as they touch the ground
Good day sunshine
Good day sunshine
Good day sunshine
And then we lie, beneath a shady tree
I love her and she's loving me
She feels good, she knows she's looking fine
I'm so proud to know that she is mine
Good day sunshine
Good day sunshine
Good day sunshine
Good day sunshine
Good day sunshine
Good day sunshine
Good day sunshine
Good day sunshine
Good day sunshine
I need to laugh, and when the sun is out
I've got something I can laugh about
I feel good, in a special way
I'm in love and it's a sunny day
Good day sunshine
Good day sunshine
Good day sunshine
We take a walk, the sun is shining down
Burns my feet as they touch the ground
Good day sunshine
Good day sunshine
Good day sunshine
And then we lie, beneath a shady tree
I love her and she's loving me
She feels good, she knows she's looking fine
I'm so proud to know that she is mine
Good day sunshine
Good day sunshine
Good day sunshine
Good day sunshine
Good day sunshine
Good day sunshine
Good day sunshine
Writer: John Lennon, Paul McCartney
Copyright: Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Copyright: Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
And Your Bird Can Sing
Tell me that you've got everything you want
And your bird can sing
But you don't get me
You don't get me
You say you've seen seven wonders
And you bird is green
But you can't see me
You can't see me
When your prized possessions
Start to weigh you down
Look in my direction
I'll be 'round, I'll be 'round
When your bird is broken
Will it bring you down?
You may be awoken
I'll be 'round, I'll be 'round
You tell me that you've heard every sound there is
And your bird can swing
But you can't hear me
You can't hear me
And your bird can sing
But you don't get me
You don't get me
You say you've seen seven wonders
And you bird is green
But you can't see me
You can't see me
When your prized possessions
Start to weigh you down
Look in my direction
I'll be 'round, I'll be 'round
When your bird is broken
Will it bring you down?
You may be awoken
I'll be 'round, I'll be 'round
You tell me that you've heard every sound there is
And your bird can swing
But you can't hear me
You can't hear me
Writer: John Lennon, Paul McCartney
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
For No One
Your day breaks, your mind aches
You find that all her words of kindness linger on
When she no longer needs you
She wakes up, she makes up
She takes her time and doesn't feel she has to hurry
She no longer needs you
And in her eyes, you see nothing
No sign of love behind the tears
Cried for no one
A love that should have lasted years
You want her, you need her
And yet you don't believe her
When she says her love is dead
You think she needs you
And in her eyes, you see nothing
No sign of love behind the tears
Cried for no one
A love that should have lasted years
You stay home, she goes out
She says that long ago she knew someone
But now he's gone, she doesn't need him
Your day breaks, your mind aches
There will be times when all the things she said will fill your head
You won't forget her
And in her eyes, you see nothing
No sign of love behind the tears
Cried for no one
A love that should have lasted years
You find that all her words of kindness linger on
When she no longer needs you
She wakes up, she makes up
She takes her time and doesn't feel she has to hurry
She no longer needs you
And in her eyes, you see nothing
No sign of love behind the tears
Cried for no one
A love that should have lasted years
You want her, you need her
And yet you don't believe her
When she says her love is dead
You think she needs you
And in her eyes, you see nothing
No sign of love behind the tears
Cried for no one
A love that should have lasted years
You stay home, she goes out
She says that long ago she knew someone
But now he's gone, she doesn't need him
Your day breaks, your mind aches
There will be times when all the things she said will fill your head
You won't forget her
And in her eyes, you see nothing
No sign of love behind the tears
Cried for no one
A love that should have lasted years
Writer: John Lennon, Paul McCartney
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Doctor Robert
Ring, my friend, I said you'd call
Doctor Robert
Day or night, he'll be there any time at all
Doctor Robert
Doctor Robert
You're a new and better man
He helps you to understand
He does everything he can
Doctor Robert
If you're down, he'll pick you up
Doctor Robert
Take a drink from his special cup
Doctor Robert
Doctor Robert
He's a man you must believe
Helping anyone in need
No one can succeed like
Doctor Robert
Well, well, well, you're feeling fine
Well, well, well, he'll make you
Doctor Robert
My friend works for the National Health
Doctor Robert
You'll pay money just to see yourself
With Doctor Robert
Doctor Robert
You're a new and better man
He helps you to understand
He does everything he can
Doc Robert
Well, well, well, you're feeling fine
Well, well, well, he'll make you
Doctor Robert
Ring, my friend, I said you'd call
Doctor Robert
Ring, my friend, I said you'd call
Doc Robert
Doctor Robert
Doctor Robert
Day or night, he'll be there any time at all
Doctor Robert
Doctor Robert
You're a new and better man
He helps you to understand
He does everything he can
Doctor Robert
If you're down, he'll pick you up
Doctor Robert
Take a drink from his special cup
Doctor Robert
Doctor Robert
He's a man you must believe
Helping anyone in need
No one can succeed like
Doctor Robert
Well, well, well, you're feeling fine
Well, well, well, he'll make you
Doctor Robert
My friend works for the National Health
Doctor Robert
You'll pay money just to see yourself
With Doctor Robert
Doctor Robert
You're a new and better man
He helps you to understand
He does everything he can
Doc Robert
Well, well, well, you're feeling fine
Well, well, well, he'll make you
Doctor Robert
Ring, my friend, I said you'd call
Doctor Robert
Ring, my friend, I said you'd call
Doc Robert
Doctor Robert
Writer: John Lennon, Paul McCartney
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
I Want to Tell You
I want to tell you
My head is filled with things to say
When you're here
All those words, they seem to slip away
When I get near you
The games begin to drag me down
It's alright
I'll make you maybe next time around
But if I seem to act unkind
It's only me, it's not my mind
That is confusing things
I want to tell you
I feel hung up and I don't know why
I don't mind
I could wait forever, I've got time
Sometimes I wish I knew you well
Then I could speak my mind and tell you
Maybe you'd understand
I want to tell you
I feel hung up and I don't know why
I don't mind
I could wait forever, I've got time
I've got time
I've got time
My head is filled with things to say
When you're here
All those words, they seem to slip away
When I get near you
The games begin to drag me down
It's alright
I'll make you maybe next time around
But if I seem to act unkind
It's only me, it's not my mind
That is confusing things
I want to tell you
I feel hung up and I don't know why
I don't mind
I could wait forever, I've got time
Sometimes I wish I knew you well
Then I could speak my mind and tell you
Maybe you'd understand
I want to tell you
I feel hung up and I don't know why
I don't mind
I could wait forever, I've got time
I've got time
I've got time
Writer: George Harrison
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Got to Get You into My Life
I was alone, I took a ride
I didn't know what I would find there
Another road where maybe I
Could see another kind of mind there
Ooh, then I suddenly see you
Ooh, did I tell you I need you
Every single day of my life?
You didn't run, you didn't lie
You knew I wanted just to hold you
And had you gone, you knew in time
We'd meet again, for I had told you
Ooh, you were meant to be near me
Ooh, and I want you to hear me
Say we'll be together every day
Got to get you into my life
What can I do? What can I be?
When I'm with you I wanna stay there
If I'm true, I'll never leave
And if I do I know the way there
Ooh, then I suddenly see you
Ooh, did I tell you I need you
Every single day of my life?
Got to get you into my life
I've got to get you into my life
I was alone, I took a ride
I didn't know what I would find there
Another road where maybe I
Could see another kind of mind there
And suddenly I see you
Did I tell you I need you
Every single day of my life?
I didn't know what I would find there
Another road where maybe I
Could see another kind of mind there
Ooh, then I suddenly see you
Ooh, did I tell you I need you
Every single day of my life?
You didn't run, you didn't lie
You knew I wanted just to hold you
And had you gone, you knew in time
We'd meet again, for I had told you
Ooh, you were meant to be near me
Ooh, and I want you to hear me
Say we'll be together every day
Got to get you into my life
What can I do? What can I be?
When I'm with you I wanna stay there
If I'm true, I'll never leave
And if I do I know the way there
Ooh, then I suddenly see you
Ooh, did I tell you I need you
Every single day of my life?
Got to get you into my life
I've got to get you into my life
I was alone, I took a ride
I didn't know what I would find there
Another road where maybe I
Could see another kind of mind there
And suddenly I see you
Did I tell you I need you
Every single day of my life?
Writer: John Lennon, Paul McCartney
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Tomorrow Never Knows
Turn off your mind, relax and float downstream
It is not dying
It is not dying
Lay down all thoughts, surrender to the void
It is shining
It is shining
That you may see the meaning of within
It is being
It is being
That love is all and love is everyone
It is knowing
It is knowing
That ignorance and hate may mourn the dead
It is believing
It is believing
But listen to the color of your dreams
It is not living
It is not living
Or play the game "Existence" to the end
Of the beginning
Of the beginning
Of the beginning
Of the beginning
Of the beginning
Of the beginning
Of the beginning
It is not dying
It is not dying
Lay down all thoughts, surrender to the void
It is shining
It is shining
That you may see the meaning of within
It is being
It is being
That love is all and love is everyone
It is knowing
It is knowing
That ignorance and hate may mourn the dead
It is believing
It is believing
But listen to the color of your dreams
It is not living
It is not living
Or play the game "Existence" to the end
Of the beginning
Of the beginning
Of the beginning
Of the beginning
Of the beginning
Of the beginning
Of the beginning
Writer: John Lennon, Paul McCartney
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Revolver is the seventh studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. It was released on 5 August 1966, accompanied by the double A-side single "Eleanor Rigby" / "Yellow Submarine". The album was the Beatles' final recording project before their retirement as live performers and marked the group's most overt use of studio technology to date, building on the advances of their late 1965 release Rubber Soul.
It has since become regarded as one of the greatest and most innovative albums in the history of popular music, with recognition centred on its range of musical styles, diverse sounds and lyrical content.
The Beatles recorded Revolver after taking a three-month break at the start of 1966, and during a period when London was feted as the era's cultural capital. Regarded by some commentators as the start of the group's psychedelic period, the songs reflect their interest in the drug LSD, Eastern philosophy and the avant-garde while addressing themes such as death and transcendence of material concerns.
With no plans to reproduce their new material in concert, the band made liberal use of automatic double tracking, varispeed, reversed tapes, close audio miking, and instruments outside of their standard live set-up. Among its tracks are "Tomorrow Never Knows", incorporating heavy Indian drone and a collage of tape loops; "Eleanor Rigby", a song about loneliness featuring a string octet as its only musical backing; and "Love You To", a foray into Hindustani classical music. The sessions also produced a non-album single, "Paperback Writer", backed with "Rain".
In the United Kingdom, the album's 14 tracks were gradually distributed to radio stations in the weeks before its release. In North America, Revolver was reduced to 11 songs by Capitol Records, with the omitted three appearing on the June 1966 LP Yesterday and Today. The release there coincided with the Beatles' final concert tour and the controversy surrounding John Lennon's remark that the band had become "more popular than Jesus".
The album topped the Record Retailer chart in the UK for seven weeks and the US Billboard Top LPs list for six weeks. Critical reaction was highly favourable in the UK but less so in the US amid the press's unease at the band's outspokenness on contemporary issues.
Revolver expanded the boundaries of pop music, revolutionised standard practices in studio recording, advanced principles espoused by the 1960s counterculture, and inspired the development of psychedelic rock, electronica, progressive rock and world music. The album cover, designed by Klaus Voormann, combined Aubrey Beardsley-inspired line drawing with photo collage and won the 1967 Grammy Award for Best Album Cover, Graphic Arts.
Aided by the 1987 international CD release, which standardised its content to the original Parlophone version, Revolver has surpassed Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) in many critics' estimation as the Beatles' best album. It was ranked first in the 1998 and 2000 editions of Colin Larkin's book All Time Top 1000 Albums and third in the 2003 and 2012 editions of Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".
It has been certified double platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and 5× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). A remixed and expanded edition of the album was released in 2022.
Performed By:
The BeatlesIt has since become regarded as one of the greatest and most innovative albums in the history of popular music, with recognition centred on its range of musical styles, diverse sounds and lyrical content.
The Beatles recorded Revolver after taking a three-month break at the start of 1966, and during a period when London was feted as the era's cultural capital. Regarded by some commentators as the start of the group's psychedelic period, the songs reflect their interest in the drug LSD, Eastern philosophy and the avant-garde while addressing themes such as death and transcendence of material concerns.
With no plans to reproduce their new material in concert, the band made liberal use of automatic double tracking, varispeed, reversed tapes, close audio miking, and instruments outside of their standard live set-up. Among its tracks are "Tomorrow Never Knows", incorporating heavy Indian drone and a collage of tape loops; "Eleanor Rigby", a song about loneliness featuring a string octet as its only musical backing; and "Love You To", a foray into Hindustani classical music. The sessions also produced a non-album single, "Paperback Writer", backed with "Rain".
In the United Kingdom, the album's 14 tracks were gradually distributed to radio stations in the weeks before its release. In North America, Revolver was reduced to 11 songs by Capitol Records, with the omitted three appearing on the June 1966 LP Yesterday and Today. The release there coincided with the Beatles' final concert tour and the controversy surrounding John Lennon's remark that the band had become "more popular than Jesus".
The album topped the Record Retailer chart in the UK for seven weeks and the US Billboard Top LPs list for six weeks. Critical reaction was highly favourable in the UK but less so in the US amid the press's unease at the band's outspokenness on contemporary issues.
Revolver expanded the boundaries of pop music, revolutionised standard practices in studio recording, advanced principles espoused by the 1960s counterculture, and inspired the development of psychedelic rock, electronica, progressive rock and world music. The album cover, designed by Klaus Voormann, combined Aubrey Beardsley-inspired line drawing with photo collage and won the 1967 Grammy Award for Best Album Cover, Graphic Arts.
Aided by the 1987 international CD release, which standardised its content to the original Parlophone version, Revolver has surpassed Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) in many critics' estimation as the Beatles' best album. It was ranked first in the 1998 and 2000 editions of Colin Larkin's book All Time Top 1000 Albums and third in the 2003 and 2012 editions of Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".
It has been certified double platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and 5× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). A remixed and expanded edition of the album was released in 2022.
Genre(s): Rock, pop, psychedelia, R&B
Producer(s): George Martin
Length: 35:01
Released: August 5th, 1966
Year: 1966