Rubber Soul had come as a surprise to them – crashing it out in a few weeks for the Christmas 1965 deadline, the Beatles stumbled into a revelation of how how far they could travel over the course of a full-length LP. Revolver was the first time they set out to make a masterpiece on purpose, arrogant bastards serenely confident that any idea they tried would turn out brilliant. And this time, at least, they were right.
Revolver is all about the pleasure of being Beatles, from the period when they still thrived on each other's company. Given the acrimony that took over the band at the end, it's easy to overlook how much all four of them loved being Beatles at this point and still saw their prime perk as hanging with the other Beatles. Despite the fact that all doors of society and celebrity were open to them, the Beatles' main human contacts were each other.
The Beatles are so confident of their superhuman hipness it doesn't even occur to them to argue the point, which is how Revolver can sound so arrogant yet so suffused with warmth. If you play "And Your Bird Can Sing" or "Love You To" back to back with "Ballad of a Thin Man" or "Nineteenth Nervous Breakdown," Dylan and the Stones sound like sophomores trying a little too hard to impress the seniors.And just like their supreme confidence in not even bothering to put Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever on Sgt. Pepper, they released Paperback Writer/Rain a few weeks before Revolver came out.
It's my #2 or 3 Beatles record, and it's amazing and I fucking love it :)
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