The Beatles - Revolver POLL

"i hate myself and want to die" & "tales of a scorched earth"

cohn:

"What's gone wrong basically, the trouble is, simply that rather more than half the songs are profound mediocrities."

it gives me confidence that some people who construct sentences as terribly as i do manage to wind up reviewing beatles albums for the nyt

cohn's review of abbey road is up too -- he loved the medley but hated everything else:

http://www.nytimes.com/library/music/100569lennon-beat.html

small mistake on the Oh! Darling analysis there

two songs by George Harrison, mediocrity incarnate;

Yeah, what ever became of THOSE two pieces of crap?

Sinatra used to introduce "Something" as "the most mediocre love song of the last 50 years."

lol

not gonna lie, sometimes I start Abbey Road on "Maxwell's Silver Hammer." might make me a bad person. I like "Something" well enough though, but def. prefer "Here Comes the Sun"

i love abbey road but it was the first and only beatles stuff i heard for a long time (i had a weird musical upbringing) and it kind of gave me the wrong idea about them for several years

I love both Harrison tunes, and sometimes marvel at the utterly batshit and equally unselfconscious time-signature changes in "Sun."

small mistake on the Oh! Darling analysis there

― nova, Thursday, May 22, 2014 5:56 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Well, of course McCartney sings it and not Lennon, but aside from that error he's actually OTM regarding the vocal. It's a well known fact that McCartney struggled to get that vocal to his satisfaction, and Lennon is quoted as saying he'd have done a better job, and I agree. At this point in time, Lennon could still scream 'em out, but I think McCartney kinda forgot how to do it during the years he wasn't playing live.

I love both Harrison tunes, and sometimes marvel at the utterly batshit and equally unselfconscious time-signature changes in "Sun."

― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Thursday, May 22, 2014 8:42 PM (14 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I have a soft spot for many Harrison songs in his Beatle period, but I'd definitely say that 'Here Comes The Sun' and 'Something' are two of his finest without a doubt. I totally agree about the time sig changes in 'Here Comes The Sun'... I get a similar feeling from all the strange and completely natural time sig changes in Lennon's 'Good Morning Good Morning'.

Still haven't heard the UK Revolver, strange to see all those songs on the same list.
This is the US LP version of Revolver, the only one I've heard (and orig.thought it cooler than Pepper's, dunno why, except for being 15)
Side one
No. Title Length
1. "Taxman" 2:36
2. "Eleanor Rigby" 2:11
3. "Love You To" 3:00
4. "Here, There and Everywhere" 2:29
5. "Yellow Submarine" 2:40
6. "She Said She Said" 2:39
Side two
No. Title Length
1. "Good Day Sunshine" 2:08
2. "For No One" 2:03
3. "I Want to Tell You" 2:30
4. "Got to Get You into My Life" 2:31
5. "Tomorrow Never Knows" 3:00

the fact that "I'm Only Sleeping" was omitted = no bueno

The US version makes the album more weighted towards McCartney. All three of the songs that got the chop ('I'm Only Sleeping', 'And Your Bird Can Sing' and 'Doctor Robert') were Lennon's!

Yet, even with those three tracks left off, 'She Said She Said' and 'Tomorrow Never Knows' still tower over pretty much the rest of the album for me.

Well, this US-only cobbler, Yesterday and Today, also 1966, still looks good to me; at least, I remember it a lot better than Revolver (I'd put "Tomorrow Never Knows," "Taxman", "For No One" and "I Am The Walrus" on the burned tail of my personal Pepper's)

Side one

"Drive My Car" – 2:25
"I'm Only Sleeping" – 2:58
"Nowhere Man" – 2:40
"Doctor Robert" – 2:14
"Yesterday" – 2:04
"Act Naturally" (Morrison–Russell) – 2:27

Side two

"And Your Bird Can Sing" – 2:02
"If I Needed Someone" (George Harrison) – 2:19
"We Can Work It Out" – 2:10
"What Goes On" (Lennon–McCartney–Richard Starkey) – 2:44
"Day Tripper" – 2:47

one thing that bugs me about Lennon's solo work is that sometime around 1970 or so his stuff becomes much more rhythmically simple and straightforward. His Beatles stuff has a lot of weird dropped beats and mid-song time signature shifts, but this seems to be a stylistic tic that he just completely abandoned at some point. it's strange, as it's a very distinctive feature of some of his best material.

― Οὖτις, Wednesday, May 21, 2014 10:15 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Hmm. If there's anything that bugs me the most about The Beatles solo work (aside from the slips of quality control that come with having to write more material for an album, because The Beatles with three writers could afford to be selective as to which tracks they recorded), is that the performances of the musicians don't feel as "vibey" (for want of a better word).

I mean, I get this feeling from different albums by all the solo Beatles... McCartney's Driving Rain is a notable example for me: it's professionally performed by a team of hot-shot session players who are undoubtedly good musicians, but I don't get any sort of vibe from the performances and equally, I don't think they're adding much. It's all very "yep, we'll sit down, shut up and just play these songs as Paul wants 'em, and we'll take the cheque and job done". McCartney might have been quite into those songs while he was writing 'em, but if the band don't seem to be excited by 'em, it kinda shows. The musicians on Driving Rain don't seem to be in it for the excitement of playing on a McCartney record, they're essentially there to do a job. And fuck me, does it feel like it.

I get a similar vibe from a couple of Lennon's albums, particularly Mind Games and Walls and Bridges. I like some of the tracks from both on a songwriting level, but the performances just feel like they have some kind of "professional sessioneer autopilot" thing going on.

With The Beatles, regardless of who wrote the song, and even with the animosity and bullshit going down, everyone put their own stamp and contribution on the track, and the recordings still feel very "vibey", even as late as Abbey Road. With some of the solo stuff, the players feel a bit anonymous and "hey, we're just doing a job, man".

Yeah, I was going to answer something like that:

Basically, Lennon's albums had session dudes doing whatever John wanted, as opposed to Paul, Ringo and George doing what they wanted.

And switch for whoever's album it was.

Except the occasional Ringo track that featured some combo of the other three, they got closer to BeatleVibe sometimes.

Mark, I agree about the two you specify, but John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band's stark lyrics, austere beats, concise vocals times electronic shading still sound on point, to put it mildly. Imagine, Double Fantasy and Milk and Honey still have their own soulful lucidity, not hemmed in by sessioneers or Yoko (who sounds better on her own albums). Also like the outtakes etc. on Menlove Avenue and the box set sampler Wonsaponatime (the box itself is worth checking out).

Not that familiar with the others' solo albums, although McC's Run Devil Run still kills, and lots of Ringo's hits sounded fine on the radio.

'Twas me that specified Mind Games and Walls and Bridges.

As for John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, that album works because the spare arrangements allow the listener to focus on the vocal and, most importantly, the lyrics which are obviously key to the album. The relative rawness and slow tempos suit the mood of the compositions. It goes without saying that 'Mother' wouldn't have anywhere near the impact as it does if it were performed at a faster pace, with a smoother production and a string section over it. So for that album, it works. It has the right mood and the right vibe. Goodness knows what Ringo must have thought during sessions for that record, though.

I guess I must add at this stage that I don't really rate Klaus Voormann as a bassist and never have. He does his job, but he ain't a McCartney, that's for sure. He was definitely suitable for John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, though. McCartney's bass playing may have sweetened things up a bit and may have been a little more precise, but that wasn't the point of that particular album.

Have you heard the Yoko version of Plastic Ono Band? Because Ringo and Klaus put together a pretty amazing rhythm section that borders on Krautrock. Which is funny because Klaus is German! And actually the Beatles haircut and whole initial attitude is sort of in debt to the German art school roots that would result in Can, Kraftwerk, etc. The same lineup plays on Ono's Fly as well, on "Don't Worry, Kyoko", but it's more No Wave than Krautrock imo.

For as long as Klaus and the Beatles had been friends I don't think it's that big a stretch to imagine Klaus jamming with John and Ringo (and maybe the other Beatles as well) during the band's lifespan.

Yeah, I've heard both of those albums and I rate both highly, particularly Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band. He's fine on those records too, but on the whole I find his bass playing a bit stodgy.

Never really bothered to rate Voormann as a bassist, but I have no issues with JL/POB as far as the playing, or the production. Furthermore, Lennon's singing on that record is great, and in the last 10 years, I've played "Isolation", "Love" and "Look At Me" as much or more than any of his Beatles tracks. However, if the album has a fault (and imo it does), it's an insularity in Lennon's worldview. In interviews, he comes off as amazingly well balanced, aware, compassionate -- but on record, he can seem bitter, self-absorbed, whiney, often resorting to cheap insults and reliance on his own mythology. Obviously I can't fault him for writing about "what he knows", because more than any other Beatle, he captures his current reality with candor and emotional honesty. But in retrospect, I'm not sure the world needed Lennon to declare the "dream was over". The Beatles certainly were, as were the 60s, but imo the record comes off as entitled to a place on the cultural stage that, Beatles importance notwithstanding, Lennon doesn't completely justify.

Yeah the "Dream Is Over" is super sentimental, but it's also totally in the language of Janov's Primal Therapy. This era of Lennon music is very ephemeral and transcendent, so he isn't specifically talking about The Dream being The Beatles or The 60's or whatever in isolation. Deconstruct the very idea of a dream. We dream all the time, sometimes unwillingly. The lyrics are incredibly naive as a result of the defenses being lowered. By this time his songs are either incredibly cynical Proto-Punk or incredibly naive Proto-Adult Contemporary.

I'm sure that stuff was on his mind but they were locked into the zeitgeist like few bands ever were, so he could write more or less straight up nonsense (ie. "I Am the Walrus") and it would still come out like Dylan-on-acid.

The self-aware aspects of John & Yoko were also pretty ahead of their time. You could see them doing Kickstarter stuff with youtube concept videos and stuff. For a while in the early 70's that's what they did. Eventually it made the music start to suffer, but it's something John could never have done in the Beatles.

I guess you could say they were Proto-Selfie.

The whole Hair Peace Bed Peace thing what is that but a 2014 viral youtube video?

just stop

the performances of the musicians don't feel as "vibey" (for want of a better word).

I don't care about this myself tbh I was just pointing out an odd shift in Lennon's compositional approach that is not reflected in the work of the others'. Paul's solo material is pretty consistent with his Beatles work in terms of how he wrote lyrics, melodies etc. George too (altho he did abandon the sitar). John's the one whose songwriting seemed to go through some major shifts - not all of them positive imo - and the rhythmic thing I noted is part of that.

another article from back in December 1967:

http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/bk-aow/column2.php

This one from Robert Christgau provides some nice cultural context.

I'm not a huge fan of Got to Get You Into my Life as it is in the actual record but the demo version that appears on Anthology is amazing. More subtle and I enjoy much better Paul closing the chorus with 'somehow, someway'. Unfortunately, you lose the solo freakout at the end of the Revolver version.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YarB2VkpzYw

It's weird that they cut the 'somehow, someway' completely in the final song. After hearing the demo the chorus sounds incomplete.

I didn't mean solo freakout I meant Paul singing freely, no idea how that's called.

from 2:00 onwards

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxhhFOnXs2M

The ideal version of GTGYIML for me would be a mix between both, getting rid of the horns completely.

I imagine that the "somehow, someway" got junked for a couple of reasons: firstly, it'd get in the way of the horn hook, and secondly, it's unnecessary! Glad those backing vocal ideas got junked, too. I like the "I need your love, I need your love" part, though... wish they'd found a way of getting that in somewhere.

Got to Get You into My Life 0
Good Day Sunshine 0
Taxman 0

0__o

brings the lols

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7P2I3qA7Oag

the guitar sound on this album is just the best. how did they do that?

"she said she said" is so heavy and scary and strange i always forget it's even on the album, always feels like such a kick in the head when it comes on.

Mixolydian Mode plus distortion and backwards?

i always expect that he's gonna say eleanor rigby is wearing her socks, instead of her face

I just noticed that "Taxman" is basically "yeah, I'm greedy"

George loves his dough

don't republicans/libertarians like that song?

Is it true they were liable for a 95% tax bill? "1 for you, 19 for me".

my friend said the other day that yellow submarine should have been kept off revolver. is he right? i don't think so

No he's not right.

Light and shade.