The Beatles originally wrote in a very straightforward manner. Their songs were about love and relationships, which was consistent with many of the pop artists in Britain and the U.S. at the time. When they were first breaking out in the 60’s, they were essentially a mega-star quartet that wrote and preformed their own songs. They were a group of very interesting and unique characters who didn’t take their popularity too seriously. (Beatles Anthology)
Around the time “Revolver” was written, LSD and other drugs were becoming more popular. Particularly when writing music, John would use LSD to fuel his creative process. This caused the Beatles to dabble in psychedelic music, which was most apparent in songs like “Tomorrow Never Knows”. Both John and Paul got many of their lyrics from books. Whenever they were reading and found something that inspired them, they would often find ways to incorporate it into their songs. (Everything was Right)
The Beatles were very innovative in their methods of creating a unique sound in the studio. Paul would sometimes record his bass guitar using another guitar cabinet as a microphone. This created a notably muted and beefy tone that was famous in “Revolver”. For some their songs, John would record his vocals through the Leslie cabinet intended for the organ. As the cabinet internals are constantly moving this created an interesting Doppler effect on the vocals. (Everything was Right)
In “Yellow Submarine” several field recordings and foley samples were used to create the mood for the song. In “Tomorrow Never Knows” the Beatles used reversed tape samples throughout the song. At the time this was a very new and inventive effect. It also added to the psychedelic feel of the song. (Everything was Right)
“Revolver” seems to hold the overall style the Beatles were originally known for while also reaching out into more experimental styles of music. While the Beatles wrote countless songs and albums, “Revolver” may have been the one album that transitioned their music into the psychedelic style that dominated the 70’s. It made good use of new technology and was lyrically deeper than the Beatle’s previous albums.
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First off, great article. I love how thorough you were without saying too much while describing the image of The Beatles and the events that led up to the recording of Revolver. I knew Paul did something with his bass but I was not sure. Thank you for clarifying. One cool note about the Leslie cabinet is that not only does it create a Doppler effect as you described, it also modulates volume, creates vibrato and introduces phasing issues that result in chorusing. You are definitely correct in saying, “Revolver may have been the one album that transitioned their music into the psychedelic style that dominated the 70’s.” I did a discography research and confirmed what you said. These are the albums recorded after Revolver:
ReplyDelete(1966) Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
(1967) Magical Mystery Tour
(1968) The Beatles
(1968) Yellow Submarine
(1969) Abbey Road
(1970) Let it Be
Every album can trace their roots back to Revolver.