The Beatles had started out as a cover band around the Liverpool area in England while they were just teens. They wore the standard rock & roll attire of leather jackets and tight pants. They viewed themselves more as a group of rebellious teens playing music than a pop group at this time. As they started to make a splash in the local scene the group hired Brian Epstein as their manager, Brian started to clean up their act. He dressed them in matching suits and required them to maintain proper manners in public. The new manager Brian Epstein wanted to convey a certain image of innocence for the Beatles that would be acceptable to many different social groups. The music that the group recorded spanned many different topics but many of them alluded to themes such as love and loneliness in the early years at least. The sonic characteristics of their early work was more like folk rock or pop rock compared to the more experimental approaches the Beatles were known for with the albums after Rubber Soul.

During the recording of the Revolver sessions, the Beatles started to find their own interests outside the studio. Paul McCartney started to become a fan of eccentric art and the carefree lifestyle. This caused Paul to look at his music as a form of art rather than a craft or just music. It also inspired some of the classically arranged songs and the use of orchestral instruments. George Harrison started to further his interest of the Indian culture. After a few encounters with the culture, George started to find a passion for the Indian way of life, religions, and the music of the area. He would eventually become vary passionate about meditation and self-awareness as well. This initial interest was prevalent on the Revolver album but reached further heights on later albums. John Lennon started to experiment more frequently with the hallucinogenic properties of LSD.  John had written a couple songs for the album while using the drug, which affected his lyrics only slightly at first. Then he wrote “ Tomorrow Never Knows” which basically, had been made into an audible acid trip.

The recording studio is where all the real magic happened. During the recording of Revolver, the Beatles had turned the studio into an instrument. They used anything that they felt would sound good. The band included conversation before a few takes and a count in at the beginning of the opening track “Taxman.” They used a Leslie speaker on John Lennon’s voice for “Tomorrow Never Knows.” They recorded Paul’s bass cabinet with another bass cabinet acting as a microphone. The band found new ways to process the drums, they played with reversed recordings, artificially doubled tracks, tape loops, and sound effects like on “Yellow Submarine.”

They brought so many studio innovations into this album. The drums alone had several innovations that had not been in the mainstream before. Revolver was the first time a drum kit was run through compression, the microphones were moved much closer than previously practiced, and the kick drum was stuffed with cloth. This had been the beginning of the huge drum sounds on later rock records throughout time. Paul McCartney had been the initial member to bring the first tape loops into the studio. He had been playing with a home tape recorder and had brought a bunch of loops the next day that they used mainly on “Tomorrow Never Knows.”

This album has been a profound influence on me throughout my life. I remember hearing “Yellow submarine” as a child and could not get it out of my head. As I grew older, I started to have a much better appreciation for the songs such as “Eleanor Rigby” or “Got To Get You Into My Life.” This has been an inspiring album for me as a listener for a long time. Now that I have a better understanding of the studio innovations that went into the album, I understand why it is one of the best ever made. As an industry professional, I have used processes such as reversed sounds and drum compression but I never realized I had the Beatles and their studio team to thank for it.