I doubt there’s ever been a piece of music that’s had as much of an effect on my life as Revolver. Never mind that it was recorded half a decade before I was born. In fact, I wouldn’t hear it until the early 1980’s, when the survivors of the “psychedelic culture” supposedly inspired by this record had gone on to become corporate raiders and investment bankers.
According to some sources, the Beatles were somewhat influential on musical trends and cultural movements in the late 1960’s. I wasn’t around for that, and I couldn’t have cared less. What attracted me to them was the sheer talent they had, and the quality of their output, which has never been matched.
Like just about everyone else, I’ve heard their early output all my life. It’s hardwired into our cultural DNA. I wasn’t as familiar with their middle-period input until a friend gave me a copy of Revolver. Continued...