Rating: 9/10
After branching into more experimental musical territory on their sixth album, Rubber Soul, The Beatles had made a statement that they were moving away from their cutesy boy-band image and into a more mature, creative musical identity. Their proceeding album, Revolver, only solidified this notion by coming out as the first fully transparent psychedelically-influenced record from the group.
This album amazed me. The Beatles have always been a great albums-artist for me, but this one in particular is just filled to the brim with incredible, standout songs that are probably some of my ultimate favorites in their catalog. I’d probably consider it to be tied with Abbey Road as my favorite Beatles album.
In this post I’ll be ranking all the songs from The Beatles’ seventh studio album, Revolver, from least favorite to favorite. Feel free to share your opinions on the album in the comments, and let’s get into the ranking!
14. Love You To (Track 4)
Okay, this is a very experimental song so I can applaud it for that, but it’s really not a style of music that I personally enjoy, and the vocal style George uses freaks me out a little. Overall, not my type of song.
13. Tomorrow Never Knows (Track 14)
This song uses the same kind of vocal style as ‘Love You To’, which I’m not a fan of. But fortunately, I enjoy the instrumental of this song more, so I find this song a little more bearable. The huge drums that fill up the song are cool and add a nice roughness to the track, and I like the piano (or harpsichord? I can’t really tell) that closes the song – and the album.
12. Doctor Robert (Track 11)
This is a fun song, but it doesn’t stand out to me among the other amazing songs on this album. It just feels like a filler track, and I think it pales in comparison to the true beauty and artistry that can be found within other songs on Revolver.
11. Yellow Submarine (Track 6)
Okay, this is obviously a classic. The storytelling is nice and I like how carefree and playful the song is, and I’m sure I would enjoy participating in a crowd sing-along of this song at a concert. But it feels out of place on Revolver, and it’s just not as good as a lot of the other songs on this album.
10. I Want To Tell You (Track 12)
This song kind of feels like it could be on Rubber Soul, which is a win in my book. It makes use of a lot of Beatles trade marks, such as multi-layered group harmonies over a bouncy piano-rock instrumental. It’s not a super outstanding track in my eyes, but it’s decent and not unpleasant to listen to.
9. She Said She Said (Track 7)
Pretty much everything I just said about ‘I Want To Tell You’ also goes for this song, but for some reason I like this one a tad bit more. The vocals are pretty and the springy guitar that dominates the instrumental makes the song feel very alive and dynamic.
8. Taxman (Track 1)
I’d say this is probably the most rock-influenced song on the album, so it opens up Revolver on a stinging, hardcore note. The lyrics are pretty angry and scathing and are meant to serve as social commentary, and the instrumental matches the tone of what’s being said. Overall, a solid song and solid opener to the record.
7. Good Day Sunshine (Track 8)
Yay, we’ve now reached my favorites from the album! This is a very jaunty and joyous song, and, true to its name, it sounds like a sunny day. Every time I listen to this one it puts me in a happier mood, and I could see myself skipping down the sidewalk in the middle of summer to this song.
6. Here, There, and Everywhere (Track 5)
A very peaceful and serene song. This song features breezy group harmonies over a romantic, mellow instrumental. The whole song is very calming and tender, and apparently Paul has said that it’s one of his favorites, which makes sense given how pretty and intimate his songs tend to be.
5. Eleanor Rigby (Track 2)
Before I listened to Revolver in full, I found it hard to believe that any song on the album would be able to top this one on my ranking, so the fact that this isn’t number one just goes to show how amazing some of these songs are. This song is incredible in every sense. The vocals are beautiful, the lyrics are hauntingly captivating, and the all-strings instrumental is so innovative and unique but it works so well.
4. I’m Only Sleeping (Track 3)
This is the kind of psychedelic music that I can always get behind. It’s dreamy, hypnotic, and honestly just beautiful. This song just puts me in a trance whenever I listen to it and I love everything about it. From John’s eerie vocals to the backwards guitar, it’s all stunning and creative and vivid. The lyrics are also really nice and descriptive and match the tone of the song perfectly.
3. For No One (Track 10)
A very short but sweet song. The melody is beautiful and there’s a simplicity to the lyrics that I think helps capture the bittersweet nature of the song. I was very taken aback with how good this song is because it was buried within a tracklist filled with songs I’ve loved for a while, but something about this one just struck a chord for me and really stuck with me. This is a beautiful little song, and it just feels like a calming, fresh breath of air in the album.
2. And Your Bird Can Sing (Track 9)
“When your prized possessions start to weigh you down, look in my direction, I’ll be ’round.” I adore this song. I don’t care that the lyrics make no sense to me, I adore it. It’s so fun and lively and infectious. The guitar is amazing and so impressive and it adds so much life to the song. The drums also brings lots of dimension to the instrumental and make it feel very dance-able. More than anything though, I just love the vocals and melody. There’s so much conviction in the way John sings that, as nonsensical as the lyrics may seem, I still want to belt them at the top of my lungs.
1. Got to Get You Into My Life (Track 13)
This song gets me so pumped. It’s like caffeine to me, because not only does it boost my energy immensely, but it’s also incredibly addictive. I sort of wish it had been the album’s closer because it would’ve ended the project on an extremely triumphant note, but alas. The horns are so jubilant and bombastic, they really make the song. Paul’s vocals are also insanely fun and passionate. My favorite part of the song is in the verses when Paul’s vocals on the word “there” get backed with a giant swell in the horns. It sounds so good and adds so much texture to the song. In conclusion, this song is incredible and it has to be one of my all-time favorites from The Beatles.
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