Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

All the rules fell by the wayside with Revolver, as the Beatles began exploring new sonic territory, lyrical subjects, and styles of composition. It wasn't just Lennon and McCartney, either -- Harrison staked out his own dark territory with the tightly wound, cynical rocker "Taxman"; the jaunty yet dissonant "I Want to Tell You"; and "Love You To," George's first and best foray into Indian music. Such explorations were bold, yet they were eclipsed by Lennon's trippy kaleidoscopes of sound. His most straightforward number was "Doctor Robert," an ode to his dealer, and things just got stranger from there, as he buried "And Your Bird Can Sing" in a maze of multi-tracked guitars, gave Ringo a charmingly hallucinogenic slice of childhood whimsy in "Yellow Submarine," and then capped it off with a triptych of bad trips: the spiraling "She Said She Said"; the crawling, druggy "I'm Only Sleeping"; and "Tomorrow Never Knows," a pure nightmare where John sang portions of the Tibetan Book of the Dead into a suspended microphone over Ringo's thundering, menacing drumbeats and layers of overdubbed, phased guitars and tape loops. McCartney's experiments were formal, as he tried on every pop style from chamber pop to soul, and when placed alongside Lennon and Harrison's outright experimentations, McCartney's songcraft becomes all the more impressive. The biggest miracle of Revolver may be that the Beatles covered so much new stylistic ground and executed it perfectly on one record, or it may be that all of it holds together perfectly. Either way, its daring sonic adventures and consistently stunning songcraft set the standard for what pop/rock could achieve. Even after Sgt. Pepper, Revolver stands as the ultimate modern pop album and it's still as emulated as it was upon its original release.

Rickey Wright, Amazon.com

Revolver wouldn't remain the Beatles' most ambitious LP for long, but many fans--including this one--remember it as their best. An object lesson in fitting great songwriting into experimental production and genre play, this is also a record whose influence extends far beyond mere they-was-the-greatest cheerleading. Putting McCartney's more traditionally melodic "Here, There and Everywhere" and "For No One" alongside Lennon's direct-hit sneering ("Dr. Robert") and dreamscapes ("I'm Only Sleeping," "Tomorrow Never Knows") and Harrison's peaking wit ("Taxman") was as conceptually brilliant as anything Sgt. Pepper attempted, and more subtly fulfilling. A must.

Caitlan Moran, Amazon.co.uk

There are only three stories worth knowing from the last 2,000 years of history: the life of Mohammed, the life of Jesus and the career of The Beatles. They invented all music ever. John was the best one; but Paul is--despite the knighthood and everything--still the most under-rated songwriter of the 20th century. This is the album with "Eleanor Rigby", "Here, There and Everywhere", "For No One", "I'm Only Sleeping" and "Tomorrow Never Knows" on it--but then, you knew that anyway. We presume you have this album already and you're just getting a second copy in case you lose the first.

Steve Simels, Barnes & Noble

An almost unbearably gorgeous album, crafted in the white heat of creativity at a time when the pressure of simply being the Beatles had almost destroyed the group, REVOLVER represents the first mature flowering of the Beatles' songwriting and instrumental prowess. Nearly every track here amazes: the austere, lovely ballads "Here There and Everywhere" and "For No One"; the proto-psychedelia of "I'm Only Sleeping" and "Tomorrow Never Knows," by turns poignant and frightening; the R&B groove of "Got to Get You into My Life" and its wonderfully concise guitar solo; and even hints of the metal to come in the otherwise sad and despairing "She Said, She Said." Next stop was the greatest two-sided single of all time ("Penny Lane"/"Strawberry Fields") and SGT. PEPPER, the album that would change the world for several highly interesting minutes.

The Beatles: George Harrison (vocals, guitar, sitar); Paul McCartney (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards, bass); John Lennon (vocals, guitar); Ringo Starr (vocals, drums).
Additional personnel includes: Alan Civil (French horn); Anil Bhagwat (tabla); Brian Jones (background vocals).

Arguably the first psychedelic rock album, REVOLVER was praised for its musical experimentation: the Indian sounds of "Love You To," the Motown-inspired "Got To Get You Into My Life," the backward-recorded guitar in "I'm Only Sleeping." "Tomorrow Never Knows" was the most radical departure from previous Beatles' recordings: skeletal bass/drums propulsion enhanced only with tape loops (contributed by all four Beatles and added in the mix-down process), more backward-recorded guitar and an eerie vocal by Lennon.
Still, the Beatles' experimentation grew out of their songwriting, which had matured beyond formula pop. "Tomorrow Never Knows" borrowed from the Tibetan Book of the Dead, Harrison's "Taxman" was a bitter diatribe, and McCartney's "Eleanor Rigby" was a bleak portrait of loneliness. Balanced with upbeat songs like "Good Day Sunshine" and "Yellow Submarine," REVOLVER proved The Beatles were not mere teen idols, but musical artists in search of new sounds and ideas.

© Frank Steven Groen