The Beatles Reveal Secrets Behind ‘Revolver’ — ‘We Were Looking for a New Sound’
The Beatles are the rock band behind Revolver, an LP featuring “Yellow Submarine,” “Taxman,” and other hit songs. With such a new direction for this rock band, McCartney revealed the band almost recorded in the United States.
Here’s what we know about the 1966 release — which later premiered as Revolver (Super Deluxe).
What songs are on The Beatles’ ‘Revolver’?
In 1966, the Beatles released Revolver — even if it was considered the Tusk of the Beatles albums decades later. It featured songs “Love You To,” “Taxman,” and “Tomorrow Never Knows,” dipping into more creative recording processes for the rock band.
This collection continues to earn praise, with “Yellow Submarine” and “Eleanor Rigby” later featured in the Beatles’ animated film Yellow Submarine. According to Mental Floss, this was one of the first albums featuring a backward guitar track.
The website reports the Beatles used backward vocals on “‘Rain,’ the B-side to “Paperback Writer,” released just before they started recording Revolver. The backward guitar features prominently on ‘I’m Only Sleeping,’ the LP’s third track.” McCartney even played the opening lead guitar track of “Taxman,” according to the same site.
Paul McCartney said the Beatles wanted to record ‘Revolver’ in the United States
In 1966, The Beatles Book Monthly asked about the group’s latest endeavors — including their album released that same year. According to Beatles Interviews, the band intended to record Revolver tracks in Memphis.
“It all fell through for various reasons when Brian [Epstein] went over there to check up,” McCartney added. “We did go into the matter again when we were on our last American tour, but we found that the idea was going to prove very expensive and, as we didn’t like being taken for a ride just because we’re Beatles, we dropped it.”
The songwriter mentioned the different recording sounds in “the states.” With Revolver acting as a departure from the band’s early rock ‘n’ roll-driven tracks, it made sense this would be the move, creatively.
“I think that Revolver did produce a new sound anyway,” the artist noted. “Perhaps by accident, perhaps not. We have been looking for it a long time, and something was definitely there. We’d still like to record in the states, but I can’t see it happening in the near future.”
In 2022, a Revolver (Super Deluxe) version premiered with dozens of new tracks by the Fab Four. That includes the first versions of songs like “Got to Get You Into My Life” and “Paperback Writer.”
The Beatles visited the United States for concerts, with John Lennon later moving to Manhattan
The Beatles had several connections to the United States — even sparking “Beatlemania” overseas. After the group split, John Lennon continued his life abroad, moving to Manhattan with Yoko Ono. Now, music by the Beatles, including Revolver (Super Deluxe), is available on most major streaming platforms.
