60. The Beatles — Revolver (1966)

Actually a pretty rad cover

1. Another Beatles album, another mixed bag. I’m coming to accept that I’m just not going to find myself loving the Beatles after all of this, and if anything, I think my impression of them may have dropped a bit. They’re a good band! They’re so close to being great! Sigh.
2. The good: “Eleanor Rigby” is as good as I’ve always remembered it to be. The Beatles have spent a fair amount of time on both Rubber Soul and Revolver experimenting with unique sounds, and when it works — the strings here, the sitar on “Norwegian Wood” — it really works. The guitar work on “She Said She Said” is excellent; here’s a Beatles tune I wasn’t really familiar with, and it’s now one of my favorites. The French Horn solo on “For No One” is whimsical in the best possible way. “Got To Get You Into My Life” is is a big party tune at its best.
3. But what on earth are people thinking with “Yellow Submarine”? How does it make sense to sandwich a god damned children’s song in the middle of a lovely ballad (“Here, There, and Everywhere”) and a guitar-driven rocker (”She Said”). This isn’t Raffi. This isn’t Sesame Street. “Love You To” tries to pull a “Norwegian Wood” with its sitar but loses its soul in the process. “Good Day Sunshine” is almost repulsively candy-coated.
4. Most of the remaining songs here are at least good. But I’d be remiss not to talk about “Taxman.” Fucking “Taxman.” This is the damned anthem of the Tea Party Movement. Did the Beatles create Barry Goldwater? Are they responsible for the Reagan Revolution? I’m only slightly joking. What an overly simplistic, misleading, manipulative view of progressive taxation. The attitudes espoused in this song are responsible for a great many of the problems with the world today. And I’m sorry George, I just don’t feel bad for you. But the tune itself rules.
5. Maybe Sgt. Pepper’s will be different.

One Essential Song:

Listen on Spotify:

Lend A Hand: The nation has been a box of dry matches for the last four years, and it’s finally erupting. The Minnesota Freedom Fund and a number of other organizations could use your help. Please consider tossing them a few bucks. Black lives matter.