The Beatle's Revolver pretty much changed everything. Watch the story behind its creation HERE.

THE BEATLES MADE THEIR DEBUT IN 1963 WITH PLEASE PLEASE ME….AND, OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT FEW YEARS, THEY SET THE COLLECTIVE POP WORLD ON ITS EAR.  THEIR SUCCESS WAS UNPRECEDENTED BUT THE INCESSANT TOURING WAS STARTING TO TAKE A MAJOR TOLL ON THE FAB FOUR. AS A RESULT  JOHN LENNON, PAUL MCCARTNEY, GEORGE HARRISON AND RINGO STARR WANTED TO TAKE THE BEATLES IN A NEW DIRECTION.

BY 1965, AFTER THE RELEASE OF THEIR ALBUM RUBBER SOUL, IT WAS CLEAR THAT THE FOUR LADS  FROM LIVERPOOL NO LONGER NEEDED TO SPEND THEIR LIVES ON THE ROAD. INSTEAD, THE IDEA OF BECOMING A STUDIO BAND BECAME MORE AND MORE PROMISING.

FIRST, THE BAND OPPOSED MANAGER BRIAN EPSTEIN’S IDEA TO MAKE A  FULL-BLOWN FILM TIED TO A NEW ALBUM, ALA A HARD DAYS NIGHT AND HELP! THE BEATLES WERE, IN FACT, EXHAUSTED, AND LONGED TO INFUSE THEIR MUSIC WITH THEIR GROWING INTERESTS IN EASTERN PHILOSOPHY, AND AVANT-GARDE ART—ALONG WITH THE RECREATIONAL USE OF LSD ON BEHALF AT LEAST HALF THE MEMBERS OF THE GROUP. IN FACT, THE BAND WAS ENTERING THEIR “PSYCHEDELIC PERIOD” WHEN THEY RETURNED TO ABBEY ROAD STUDIOS IN LONDON…AND WITH SO MANY NEW SPHERES OF INFLUENCE, THE BOYS KNEW IT WAS GOING TO BE UNLIKE ANYTHING THEY’VE DONE BEFORE.

WITH LONG-TIME PRODUCER GEORGE MARTIN BEHIND THE BOARD JOINED BY NEWCOMER GEOFF EMERICK, THE FIRST SONG RECORDED FOR THE NEW ALBUM’S SESSIONS WAS THEIR MOST EXPERIMENTAL TO DATE. ORIGINALLY TITLED “THE VOID” BUT CHANGED TO “MARK 1,” AS TO NOT SCARE EXECS AT LABEL EMI, THE SONG WAS FULL OF PRE-RECORDED TAPE LOOPS SPED UP AND REVERSED, AND FEATURED JOHN LENNON SINGING THROUGH AN OSCILLATING SPEAKER. WITH LYRICS TAKEN FROM THE WORK OF ACID VISIONARY TIMOTHY LEARY, “TOMORROW NEVER KNOWS” BECAME THE FIRST “ACID SONG” ACCORDING TO LENNON HIMSELF.

EACH BEATLE HAD THEIR OWN TIME TO SHINE DURING THE RECORDING SESSIONS, WITH PAUL BRINGING MORE SERIOUS SONGWRITING FOR SONGS LIKE “ELEANOR RIGBY”, WHICH HIT NUMBER ONE ON THE UK SINGLES CHARTS UPON ITS RELEASE. GEORGE INCORPORATED HIS CONTINUING OBSESSION WITH THE SITAR ON “LOVE YOU TO” AND HIS GROWING INTEREST IN EXPERIMENTATION CREPT INTO “I’M ONLY SLEEPING” WITH HIS GUITAR SOLO RECORDED AND DUBBED BACKWARDS FOR THE FINAL CUT.

HOWEVER, IT WAS THE MOMENTS OF FULL-BAND COLLABORATION THAT LEAD TO SONGS LIKE “YELLOW SUBMARINE”, WITH JOHN BLOWING BUBBLES THROUGH A STRAW AND RINGO SINGING NAUTICAL-THEMED LYRICS IN A SING-SONGY VOICE. THE SONG DEBUTED AT NUMBER ONE ON EVERY UK CHART, MAINTAINED ITS POSITION FOR FOUR WEEKS, AND STAYED ON THE CHARTS FOR THIRTEEN WEEKS.

SEVERAL TITLES WERE TOSSED AROUND FOR THE ALBUM, INCLUDING “AFTER GEOGRAPHY” AS A JAB AT THE ROLLING STONES’ ALBUM AFTERMATH. HOWEVER, THE BAND DECIDED ON REVOLVER AS A DOUBLE ENTENDRE FOR THE WAY A RECORD SPINS ON A TURNTABLE AND FOR THE CONSTANTLY REVOLVING FOCUS FROM ONE BEATLE TO THE NEXT ON THE RECORD.

ARTIST AND FRIEND OF THE BAND KLAUS VOORMAN DESIGNED THE ICONIC ALBUM COVER AS A COLLAGE OF PICTURES OF THE BAND, AND PROVIDED LINED CARICATURES OF THE BEATLES WHICH HE DREW FROM MEMORY. THE ALBUM COVER WOULD GO ON TO WIN  VOORMAN THE BEST RECORD-PACKAGING AWARD AT THE NINTH ANNUAL GRAMMYS…A FIRST FOR A ROCK ACT.

AFTER TWO MONTHS OF PURE EXPERIMENTING IN THE STUDIO, REVOLVER WAS RELEASED ON AUGUST 5th, 1996. PETER CLAYTON WRITING FOR GRAMOPHONE SAID THAT “THIS NEW DIET OF NEWNESS MIGHT GIVE THE ORDINARY POP-PICKER INDIGESTION”. RICHARD GOLDSTEIN OF THE VILLAGE VOICE DECLARED REVOLVER A MILESTONE IN THE PURSUIT OF ROCK N ROLL AS AN ARTISTIC PURSUIT.

RETROSPECTIVELY, REVOLVER IS PRAISED AS A CLASSIC ACROSS THE BOARD, AND IT'S NOTED FOR THE BAND’S ABILITY TO HIGHLIGHT THE STRENGTHS OF EACH MEMBER, AS WELL AS THEIR POWER AS A UNITED FRONT.

TWO DAYS AFTER THE ALBUM WAS FINISHED, THE BEATLES EMBARKED ON THEIR FINAL WORLD TOUR. NONE OF THE MATERIAL FROM REVOLVER WAS PLAYED, AS THE BAND BELIEVED IT TOO DIFFICULT TO RECREATE LIVE. HOWEVER, BY THEN, THE FINAL NAIL IN THE COFFIN WAS SET. THE MOP-TOP BOY BAND THAT WOWED LEGIONS OF SCREAMING GIRLS ACROSS THE WORLD WAS NO MORE.

REVOLVER IS THE SOUND OF ONE OF THE GREATEST BANDS IN THE WORLD REACHING THEIR POINT OF MOST NOTABLE INFLUENCE. FOR ITS UNDENIABLE LEGACY AND UNCOMPROMISING EXPERIMENTATION FOR THE SAKE OF EVOLVING THE ART FORM, REVOLVER IS OUR GREATEST ALBUM EVER...THIS WEEK.