"Revolver" and the Balance of Dark and Light

By Rio

For the first Music Monday, we are going to be talking about “Revolver”.

Released in 1966, Revolver shows a new direction for the Beatles not only with sound but in attitude. Of course there’s the legendary backwards guitar on “Tomorrow Never Knows”, but the album displays a level of storytelling that can make the listener feel equally hopeful and melancholic.

Take “She Said, She Said” and then “Good Day Sunshine”. You are left feeling existential, thinking about your own mortality and then poof, you could be strolling through a field, thinking about your lover and how happy they make you. You have “For No One” a song about moving on from an unfulfilling relationship, then on the opposite end of the spectrum you have “Got to Get You Into My Life”, a song seemingly about wanting to get into a new relationship (although Paul McCartney described his composition as "an ode to pot").

With artwork by longtime Beatle friend and collaborator, Klaus Voorman, “Revolver” remains a classic album with an amazing sound.

Favorite song on the album: And Your Bird Can Sing