Why 'Revolver', now 50 years old, is still the greatest album ever

 


"The greatest album in history, by the greatest group in history, is the one that came out a year before Sgt. Pepper and a few months after Pet Sounds. The one that was released 50 years ago on August 5 1966 (but criminally, never released in the U.S. in complete form until the 1980s). It is less flashy than its successor, less pretentious. There's no half-baked concept about an imaginary group in Edwardian gear.

It is, of course, Revolver. Clocking in at a mere 34 minutes, it would barely register as an album in the 21st century. But every second is pure sonic genius, the seemingly effortless output of four cocky young talents casually deciding to create a masterpiece at the absolute height of their powers.

It is the sound of early Beatles, the mop-top era of simplistic "oooh"s and "yeah"s, falling face first into the bearded, acid-drenched later years. The resulting collision is a perfect jangle of fuzzy guitar licks, grown-up concepts, in-jokes, orchestral and brass instrument experiments, world-changing tape loops, and melody after melody that you could not scrub from your brain if you spent a lifetime trying.

It is an album that fizzes and pops with the essence of life itself. It will alternately lift your spirits and break your heart, giving you chills even on the hundredth listen. Many will come close, but we will never hear its like again."

read article by Chris Taylor

Why 'Revolver', now 50 years old, is still the greatest album ever