# The Beatles: Revolver **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 6, 2009, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beatles-revolver/520163 "2009-12-06T03:06:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beatles-revolver/520163/41 "2009-12-07T22:11:38Z")
> [@choie](#): > > 1. Piggies – Snarky, dark, socio-political message, terrific keyboards, what’s not to like? If anything, that song should also get credit for using an _Animal Farm_ reference years before Pink Floyd did. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beatles-revolver/520163/42 "2009-12-07T23:29:35Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > Seemed pretty obvious to me it was tongue in cheek. I forget saying you don’t like something on the Dope is the same thing as calling those who do like it pieces of shit. No. We don’t know you. We don’t know anything about you except for your bare words on the screen. If you say something then everybody is going to assume you meant exactly what you said, unless you indicate otherwise. Nobody knows when you’re saying something tongue in cheek. You really think there aren’t people on the internet who might make that post and mean it? I get really tired of people who expect the rest of us to read their minds and then get upset when we don’t succeed. Why should we even bother to try? How tough is it to use a smilie? Don’t tell me that smilies aren’t necessary because we should know what you mean. That’s not true and never has been true. It’s your responsibility to make your intent known. If you don’t bother then you don’t get to complain. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beatles-revolver/520163/43 "2009-12-07T23:58:58Z")
No, smilies are never necessary because they’re fucking retarded. I’d rather be misunderstood than resort to communicating like a 13-year-old girl. Anyway, I’ve never met anybody who didn’t think a few Beatles songs I consider utter crap are great. I have no doubt there are those who get off on “Wild Honey Pie” (or “Dizzy Miss Lizzy” or “Flying” or “Maggie Mae” or…). Arguing about them is fun, as long as you’re not humorless. Personally, I can’t stand Harrison’s spiritual platitudes, which come off as smug (same with “Piggies”, sans the spiritual element). But if you like 'em, you like 'em. Maybe there are 1 or 2 people who’d claim to be the final arbiters of What Is Good, and mean “case closed” literally, but they’d more than likely be found on message boards comprised on teenagers than this one, unless I’ve missed a ton of threads where this has happened. ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beatles-revolver/520163/44 "2009-12-08T00:28:15Z")
I think Revolver and the White Album are similar: a fine set of very interesting songs showing off the three composer’s talents. And if you wanted to look at the glass half-empty side of things: both these albums have a disjointed, jarring feel… Lennon is druggy/dreamy, Harrison is East Indian and heavy relentless rock, and McCartney is a show tune and Schubertian song writer. Really too dissimilar to hang together well like Abbey Road does. But, no matter. All Beatle albums are fascinating because of these differences. That’s why they have that magical appeal. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beatles-revolver/520163/45 "2009-12-08T01:07:10Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > A travesty? I guess it depends on your taste. I would count “Fool on the Hill”, “I Am the Walrus”, “Penny Lane”, and “Strawberry Fields Forever” as great songs, with “Hello Goodbye” and “All You Need Is Love” close. That’s 6 of 11 songs. On “Sgt. Pepper’s”, by comparison, I would probably count “With A Little Help from My Friends”, “Lucy in the Sky…”, and “A Day in the Life” as great, with the title track and “Good Morning Good Morning” as close… that’s 5 of 12 songs (or 13 if you count the title track and reprise as separate songs). Now, you can argue that “Pepper” is more consistent, and also that it’s a “real” album as opposed to a patched-together collection. And, of course, the film was… well… let’s say “for special tastes”. Still, I see nothing travestitial about the album. (What the hell is the adjectival form of “travesty”, anyway?) Perhaps I am scarred from watching the film. The second side consists of singles, and I agree that most of them are great. I’m not that fond of “Fool on the Hill” but I do love “I Am a Walrus.” All the other ones you listed are from the second side. The only weak song on Sgt. Pepper’s is “She’s Leaving Home.” It is probably my favorite Beatles album, but it also was the first I listened to as an album and not as a bunch of singles, and it is forever tied to wandering around the East Village in NY in 1967, where it was playing in just about every store. However I do get those who prefer Revolver. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beatles-revolver/520163/46 "2009-12-08T01:10:56Z")
> [@K364](#): > > I think Revolver and the White Album are similar: a fine set of very interesting songs showing off the three composer’s talents. And if you wanted to look at the glass half-empty side of things: both these albums have a disjointed, jarring feel… Lennon is druggy/dreamy, Harrison is East Indian and heavy relentless rock, and McCartney is a show tune and Schubertian song writer. Really too dissimilar to hang together well like Abbey Road does. That the second half of Abbey Road, with its collection of half finished songs, hangs together as well as it does is testimony to their genius. I love it because it finally was the Beatles just being the Beatles, showing what they could do together without a ton of technology. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beatles-revolver/520163/47 "2009-12-08T01:20:16Z")
The one Beatles song my friends and I always made fun of was **Mr. Moonlight**. The cheesy lyrics, the (Farfisa?) organ, the drumbeat that goes, _THUD!_, and the plaintive vocals just cracked us up. > [@](#): > > _Mister Moonlight, come again puuuuullllleeeessseeee…_ ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beatles-revolver/520163/48 "2009-12-08T01:37:32Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > The one Beatles song my friends and I always made fun of was **Mr. Moonlight**. The cheesy lyrics, the (Farfisa?) organ, the drumbeat that goes, _THUD!_, and the plaintive vocals just cracked us up. Everyone sneers at that one. I love it, though not without a degree of irony. (That delightfully gloopy organ solo! And dude, it’s emphatically a _Hammond_–played by Paul–and as far from a Farfisa sound as it gets.) But you’ve got to admit that Lennon’s vocal delivery on the intro and his solo lines (“On the nights you don’t come my way…”) is _killer_. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beatles-revolver/520163/49 "2009-12-08T01:47:32Z")
Hammond? Of course! Farfisa was the first thing that came to mind (I **did** put a question mark there, after all…:D) ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beatles-revolver/520163/50 "2009-12-08T01:52:15Z")
I’m with you, **Biffy the Elephant Shrew** ; Lennon’s delivery knocks it out of the ballpark and I’m successfully swept away into a world of overwhelming, lush romanticism. Sure there’s some cheese but that’s part of its charm. And “She’s Leaving Home” is possibly my favorite Beatles song, if I had to choose only one (which… thank goodness, I don’t have to do!). The lyrics and music with special nod to the orchestration all conspire to break my heart. McCartney really excelled at painting pictures with his music. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beatles-revolver/520163/51 "2009-12-08T02:34:30Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > No, smilies are never necessary because they’re fucking retarded. I’d rather be misunderstood than resort to communicating like a 13-year-old girl. … > > but they’d more than likely be found on message boards comprised on teenagers than this one, unless I’ve missed a ton of threads where this has happened. You mean like the ton of threads with smilies that you’ve missed? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beatles-revolver/520163/52 "2009-12-08T03:23:40Z")
DAMN YOU, MAPCASE!:mad: ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beatles-revolver/520163/53 "2009-12-08T05:05:29Z")
The midle-period Beatles put on a clinic in pop music writing and performing. They almost define the idea. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beatles-revolver/520163/54 "2009-12-08T07:33:51Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > No, smilies are never necessary Apparently one was. > [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > because they’re fucking retarded. I’d rather be misunderstood than resort to communicating like a 13-year-old girl. Seriously? Why? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beatles-revolver/520163/55 "2009-12-08T13:31:56Z")
Stop hijacking. Nobody wants to read a smilie argument in a _Beatles_ thread. 29 years ago today John Lennon was killed. I was watching Monday Night Football when Howard Cosell announced the shooting. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beatles-revolver/520163/56 "2009-12-08T13:35:56Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > Says you. But it’s my list, and I say those songs suck ass. **Revolver** , on the other hand, has not a weak track on it. > > Thanks for the roll eyes smiley, though. That shit never seems dickish. > [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > Seemed pretty obvious to me it was tongue in cheek. I forget saying you don’t like something on the Dope is the same thing as calling those who do like it pieces of shit. > [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > No, smilies are never necessary because they’re fucking retarded. I’d rather be misunderstood than resort to communicating like a 13-year-old girl. **woodstockbirdybird** , you’re acting like a jerk here, being unnecessarily offensive and rude for Cafe Society. I’m issuing a warning. ---
**Author:** ![Negative\_Lite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Negative\_Lite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Negative_Lite)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beatles-revolver/520163/57 "2009-12-08T18:14:22Z")
Three personal quibbles about Revolver: (1) While the songs taken individually are each and every one glorious, whenever I play the album I feel like I’m listening to my Beatles collection on random. Perhaps it’s because the songs all run two and a half to three minutes long. But it’s also that the songs don’t seem to have any dramatic sequencing. The White Album may be more jarringly diverse, but the songs hang together much better because they build tension and release, and effect greater contrasts between long and short, heavy and light, poppy and artsy. (2) The cover art is hideous. I know I shouldn’t let the cover affect how I feel about the music but I can’t help it. Album art is part of the experience of the album itself. (3) It’s the least humorous Beatles album. Well, there’s Yellow Submarine. But it still doesn’t seem to have quite enough irony and quirkiness to properly represent the personality of the Beatles. Having said that, Revolver is legitimately in the running, along with 4 or 5 other albums, for the title of best Beatles album. The songs are uniformly excellent. What surprises me is how, in my lifetime, it’s gone from overlooked gem to “consensus number one.” I think that understates the general high quality of the Beatles output in the late 60s, if that’s possible. ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beatles-revolver/520163/58 "2009-12-09T00:26:32Z")
1. Isn’t that the same issue with all the albums prior to _Sgt Pepper_? I actually find the increasing Eastern music influence (f’rex on “Taxman,” “I’m Only Sleeping,” “She Said She Said,” “I Want to Tell You,” “Love You To” and of course “Tomorrow Never Knows”) to be pretty unifying as a theme. 2. Fair enough! _De gustibus_ after all. Seems like it was a huge influence on modern album covers and I dig its almost amateur, scribbled feel, but that’s wholly personal of course. 3. Really? I find humor / irony / personality in “Taxman,” “Doctor Robert” and even “I’m Only Sleeping” in addition to the obvious “Yellow Submarine.” Coupled with the thoughtful “Here There and Everywhere,” “Eleanor Rigby,” “For No One” (gorgeous song!) and the spiritual “Love You To” and “Tomorrow Never Knows” I think it captures several different sides of the band’s personas. But in a way it’s silly to argue about the Beatles. Everyone has a favorite and with this band there’s an embarrassment of riches to choose from. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beatles-revolver/520163.md?page=2)