Donovan: 3 Reasons Why The Beatles’ ‘Revolver’ Is So Good
The Beatles‘ Revolver is one of several great albums that came out in 1966 and changed the entire trajectory of rock music. Donovan, one of the rock stars who made 1966 a watershed year, discussed why so many musicians made history at the same time. At least one of his comments was questionable at best.
Donovan said civil rights inspired The Beatles’ ‘Revolver’
When people think about the 1960s, they are probably thinking about the period from 1966 to 1969. That era typified most of the artistic and aesthetic elements that defined the decade. Prior to 1966, 1960s music mostly sounded like 1950s music, as evidenced by Phil Spector’s early girl group songs and The Beatles’ bubblegum rock ‘n’ roll tunes.
During a 2016 interview with Billboard, Donovan discussed the musical legacy of 1966. That was the year of Donovan’s Sunshine Superman, The Beatles’ Revolver, The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds, and Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde. A reporter asked him why the music of that years was so incredible.
“Three things came together: There was the invasion of pop culture, with what they called folk music,” he said. “Folk music you might call Donovan and Dylan, OK? It invaded pop culture with meaningful lyrics. That means everything. That meant protest, that meant civil rights, that meant explorations of the levels of consciousness.” Dylan and Donovan certainly didn’t invent socially conscious music! However, they’ve both been singing protest songs for decades.
Donovan felt 1 subculture inspired The Beatles
Donovan also said that bohemianism led to Revolver and its peers. “The second thing was the pop music world didn’t quite expect what was going to happen with the bohemian invasion of bohemian ideas, and that was self-change and responsibility for the future,” the “Mellow Yellow” singer opined. “Nothing in pop music was like that.
“And the third element was we were really good,” Donovan added. “In 1966, we proved to everybody that the engineers, the producers, the songwriters and the fans were ready for something extraordinary and that’s what happened. The ’60s burst wide open in ’66 into full color!”
‘Revolver’ became a hit machine
Revolver topped the Billboard 200 for six weeks. It stayed on the chart for a total of 94 weeks, making it one of the Fab Four’s most popular records. The album produced three singles in the United States: “Yellow Submarine,” “Eleanor Rigby,” and “Got to Get You Into My Life.” Each of those singles entered the top 20. “Yellow Submarine” hit No. 2, “Eleanor Rigby” hit No. 11, and “Got to Get You Into My Life” reached No. 7.
For decades, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was widely considered to be The Beatles’ masterwork. Despite this, that album’s reputation has taken a slight hit over the years while Revolver has only grown and grown in esteem. Different listeners will prefer different Beatles albums, but it’s undeniable that Revolver includes some of the band’s best pop songs and most daring experimentations. It also manages to be eclectic and cohesive at the same time.
Donovan explained why Revolver is so good and he knows that part of it was simply The Beatles’ immense talent.
