Thrifty Tunes 09.12.09: The Beatles - Revolver
Posted by Paul Hollingsworth on 09.12.2009
The Beatles invent metal! The Beatles invent prog-rock! The Beatles invent psychedelic music! The Beatles discover the meaning of life, the universe and everything! The answer, by the way, is not 42, but it might be 35.
It took Easter baskets full of LSD, an Indian guru, a Japanese avant-guarde artist, a sitar master, a pissed off producer and four English musicians 300 studio hours to create 35 minutes of music. That half hour, however, might just be the highest point (in more ways than one) ever reached in pop music history. In the time it takes to watch a brainless episode of "Rock of Love", "My Super Sweet 16" or the soon to be released "John Cena's Wrestling Psychology 101", (which features a 29 minute extended cut of 'Bad Man') you could discover the meaning of life, the universe and everything, if only you spend that time listening to Revolver instead.
First off, to discover the meaning of life, you have to know what defines it and what is constant in it. According to Buddhism, the answer is suffering. According to Benjamin Franklin, the answer is death and taxes. The Beatles first tackle Franklin, as George Harrison advises us: 'If you drive a car/I'll tax the street/if you try to sit/I'll tax your seat/If you get too cold, I'll tax the heat/if you take a walk/I'll tax your feet' on album opener "Taxman." Paul McCartney tackles death next with "Eleanor Rigby". '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 walked from the grave/No one was saved,' sings the impish, 'happy' Beatle.
After Franklin, the band turns to the Buddha's first noble truth: "All Life Is Suffering." Here, John Lennon takes his turn at voicing his suffering with "I'm Only Sleeping." Buddha, of course, was sleeping shortly before his death and before his entry into nirvana. The track, by the way, features a Harrison guitar solo played backwards. Some think the song may be about Lennon's notorious appetite for naps or his appetite for mind-altering substances. I would point to the lines in the song, 'Keeping an eye on the world going by window/Taking my time', and 'Please don't spoil my day/I'm miles away/And after all/I'm only sleeping' as proof that the song is more than just a song about being lazy.
Now that life's constants have been wonderfully put to music by the band, we move on to how best to fill it. Harrison decides 'making love all day long/make love singing songs' on "Love You Too" is a worthy goal, while Paul suggests 'To lead a better life/I need my love to be here' on "Here, There And Everywhere. Both songs seem to suggest that love, is in fact, all you need. However, Ringo Starr suggests living a life of ease in a sea of green is what's best in life on "Yellow Submarine." Lennon wonders, on "She Said, She Said" if knowing what it's like to be dead is what gives life it's meaning and depth. (Apparently going on an acid trip with Peter Fonda brings out lots of repressed memories.)
The second side of the album continues this exploration about how best to appreciate life, including a rather obvious ode to pot ("Got To Get You Into My Life") and an even more obvious ode to LSD. ("Doctor Robert".) However, both songs end rather abruptly and in musical anguish, suggesting, perhaps, that the band realized that drugs weren't necessarily the answer.
The moment of truth, comes, at last, on album closer "Tomorrow Never Knows." Lennon answers the ultimate question, by saying, in effect, to stop thinking about it so much and instead, " The meaning of within/It is being/It is being". I never said it was a good answer, just that it was 'a' answer.
Complete Track Listing: (1966 on Parlophone Records.)
Side One:
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
Side Two:
1. Good Day Sunshine
2. And Your Bird Can Sing
3. For No One
4. Doctor Robert
5. I Want To Tell You
6. Got To Get You Into My Life
7. Tomorrow Never Knows
While I'm mostly kidding about the meaning of life stuff, this is a remarkable record, with some of the Beatles best songs and their most complex and mature lyrics. There's no question that recreational drugs, mostly LSD, played a vital part in the creation of the music, but just how much is myth and how much is truth is only known (now) by Paul, Ringo and (maybe) Yoko. 'Tomorrow Never Knows" may be the most forward sounding song ever recorded, as it predates Radiohead and similar bands by decades. Last week, I know, I said Rubber Soul was my favorite album by the band, but listening to this again from start to finish, I might have to change my mind. (Again.)
