The Beatles’ ‘Revolver’: The 5 Best Songs
The Beatles‘ Revolver is one of the most important albums in rock history. It paved the way for a lot of the music that came after it. For example, one track from the album paved the way for the style and themes of George Harrison’s subsequent career.
5. ‘Got to Get You Into My Life’
“Got to Get You Into My Life” was arguably the song on The Beatles’ Revolver with the most pop potential. The tune hit No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and inspired hit covers by both Earth, Wind & Fire and Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers. It’s not hard to see why. This upbeat slice of quasi-funk has a lot of energy.
In the 1997 book Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now, Paul said “Got to Get You Into My Life” is about marijuana. It’s interesting the song has more to do with drugs than some of The Beatles’ songs which are more connected to drug culture in the popular imagination.
4. ‘Taxman’
By the time The Beatles’ Revolver came out in 1966, the Fab Four were associated with liberal ideas like desegregation and anti-Christianity. Despite this, one of their only directly political songs — “Taxman” — has a rather conservative message. For an anti-materialistic hippie, George seems awfully miffed his taxes are high!
Hearing a rich man complain about taxes might be insufferable. “Taxman” works anyway because of its sense of humor and its chic beat. It sounds just a tad like Neal Hefti’s Batman theme, and that’s one of the highest compliments you can give any composition.
3. ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’
The 1960s saw the development of a rock genre called raga rock, which combined western rock music with Indian classical music. The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, and The Byrds all dipped their toes in the style, but it’s most associated with The Beatles for their psychedelic experiments like “Tomorrow Never Knows.”
Placed at the end of The Beatles’ Revolver, “Tomorrow Never Knows” concludes the album on a stunning note. “Lay down all thoughts / Surrender to the void / It is shining” are some of the best lyrics from the Fab Four’s catalog, as they feel more like lines from the Akashic records than pop songwriting. The track’s jittery instrumental still feels otherworldly. Notably, Oasis’ Noel Gallagher boldly ripped off this song with The Chemical Brothers’ “Setting Sun.”
2. ‘Eleanor Rigby’
“Eleanor Rigby” is a bit like if Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote a song about Miss Havisham, the lonely widow from Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations. For context, Havisham was a lonely lady left at the altar. With “Eleanor Rigby,” The Beatles proved themselves literate and willing to abandon rock and pop altogether if an idea worked.
1. ‘Love You To’
While it’s not as remembered as “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)” and “Tomorrow Never Knows,” “Love You To” might be The Beatles’ best stab at raga rock.
With its mix of sensuality and Eastern mysticism, “Love You To” set the tone for George’s career. That alone makes it one of the great songs from The Beatles’ Revolver.
