Revolver, Revolver, Revolver

From the Guardian (or, as I call it, "The Guardian"):

The Revolver work tapes and demos are fascinating from an archival perspective. Although the band are certainly enjoying themselves – on one take of And Your Bird Can Sing, they charmingly collapse into giggles and can barely get through the song – many of the demos hint that Revolver could have been quite melancholy. A Lennon home demo of She Said She Said with a tweaked melody is stormier, while a more ascetic Here, There and Everywhere feels like the narrator is pining after someone unattainable. For era completists, various versions of the Revolver reissue also include sparkling updates of the 1966 standalone single Paperback Writer and its B-side, Rain; a session take on Rain played at actual speed makes a good argument that it’s one of the greatest Beatles songs.

In the foreword to a book included with the box set, Paul McCartney writes, “When asked what our formula was, John and I said that if we ever found one, we would get rid of it immediately.” That certainly explains the rapid sonic progression within the Beatles catalogue. But it also explains why Revolver still sounds so vibrant. With each studio album they recorded, the Beatles sought out new ways to express themselves and push their music forward. Revolver is the sound of them striving and laying the groundwork for even more ambitious music to come.