The Beatles: Revolver (Revolved) [1966]

So -- been doing this for about 450 straight days. Skipped yesterday because everything was blowing up at home (just small stuff, but a surprising amount of simultaneously-exploding small stuff). One of those days where, if I did post something, my foul mood meant that, instead of a "hey, check out this obscure '70s record, it's awesome and you'll love it" post, it would end up more like a "hey, you know who really annoys me? Steely fucking Dan" post. So I took a break.

I'm back today, but I have been thinking about maybe phasing this thing out. I started the blog, a hopelessly dated concept (check out my blog after visiting my MySpace!), mainly as an exercise to get myself writing a little each day back when I was writing my book. (And, hey, if you still haven't checked out Jittery White Guy Music, the book, please do. And tell your friends!) With that behind me, this is mainly just some self-indulgence for me and maybe 2-3 people who stop by on occasion to check it out. That said, I've barely made a dent in my music collection, so we'll see...

***

Anyway, here's some (reworked) Beatles. Revolver is the earliest Beatles album I spend much time with. While they were the greatest band ever from the very first note they played, I very rarely listen to anything pre-'66 (with the exception of the occasional spin of Rubber Soul.) And while Abbey Road remains my favorite, Revolver is in a 3-way tie (with Sgt. Pepper and the White Album) for the #2 slot.

As with Sgt. Pepper and White Album, I like to make some tweaks to the album. And the one flaw in Revolver, if you can call it that, is that what would have been two of its best tracks -- McCartney's "Paperback Writer" and Lennon's "Rain" (my all-time favorite Beatles song, bar none) -- were instead released as a single before the album came out. So I've reconstructed the album by including those two songs, with a bit of reordering to maintain the flow (I've always questioned "Taxman" as the opening song; nothing against George, but I don't think it properly signals what's to come... "Rain," in contrast, is a tour de force opening salvo, and works well as a bookend counterpart to "Tomorrow Never Knows.")

At 16 songs, it runs a bit long; if pressed, I'd probably cut "Love You To" (again, no offense to George). But since it's still only 40 minutes, I've retained the entire album for purposes of this playlist.

Here's "Rain":
...and "Paperback Writer":
Here's George performing "Taxman" with Eric Clapton:
...and Paul performing "Got To Get You Into My Life" at the White House for the Obamas. (Sigh....)

Comments

  1. I love playing these games, but I tend to put restrictions on myself that are probably unnecessary. I'd try to stick to the 14 songs so adding Rain and Paperback Writer would force two cuts. One would be George's Love You To. The other cut? Changes from day to day. Probably would vote for I'm Only Sleeping today.

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  2. I also tend to get a little "streaky" - what starts out as a fun daily thing eventually turns into a bit of a burden. Post whenever you feel like. We will enjoy it. And THANK YOU for bringing new music into my life - especially during COVID times.

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  3. Humanfund here.
    I totally agree that adding singles to concurrent albums is a proper rejoinder to record company $ decisions.
    I eagerly await a rant, on Steely Dan or whatever.

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