Here's a blog about Revolver, an album by The Beatles. I've posted the questions as well so you can get a better idea of what it is I'm talking about. Enjoy!
1. Describe the music and image of The Beatles prior to the recording of Revolver
Before the recording of Revolver, The Beatles had seen much success in the world of pop music, having already received airplay and embarking on world tours. The Beatles were seen as more of a teen sensation, whose music was nearly all based around boy-girl romance. Having toured and been in the public eye constantly for the past few years, The Beatles finally decided to take a break that would later serve as their time to write Revolver (Ingles, P.).
Before the recording of Revolver, The Beatles had seen much success in the world of pop music, having already received airplay and embarking on world tours. The Beatles were seen as more of a teen sensation, whose music was nearly all based around boy-girl romance. Having toured and been in the public eye constantly for the past few years, The Beatles finally decided to take a break that would later serve as their time to write Revolver (Ingles, P.).
2. What non-musical interests influenced the music and lyrical content of Revolver?
The non-lyrical interests of Revolver are openly discussed, and span from anything such as psychedelic drugs to books. On the track "Taxman," Harrison reveals his influence as being the taxes, and how much of what he makes will shortly be returned to them (Beatles Interview). On "Yellow Submarine," McCartney claims to have awoken from his sleep with the idea of writing a children's song for Ringo Starr (drummer) to sing (Everything Was Right: The Beatles' Revolver). "Tomorrow Never Knows" draws inspiration from Tim Leary's book, Psychedelic Experience: A Book Based On The Tibetan Book Of The Dead (Beatles Interview). A conversation between Lennon and a friend who had a new death experience served as the inspiration behind the lyrical content of "She Said She Said" (Beatles Interview).
3. Explain how the Beatles used the studio as an instrument during the recording of Revolver
The use of the studio as an instrument during the recording of Revolver is apparent right from the start of the album on the track "Taxman," where we are introduced to various studio sounds while a countdown happens. Apart from literally hearing the studio, Revolver is densely populated with various effects and procedures that were only available in the studio and couldn't be reproduced live (Beatles Interviews).
4. Discuss in detail a minimum of two innovations found on Revolver e.g. tape loops, instrumentation, vocal treatments, doubling of instruments, sound effects, compression
There are numerous musical and sonic innovations that were introduced with the album Revolver. I'll talk about two of them:
Artificial Double Tracking: As any listener may point out whether they have a musically inclined ear or not, the vocals were absolutely essential to the sound of the Beatles. Not just the lead, but the harmonies and doubles that so often saturate and satisfy their tracks - and the fact that all four members contribute to singing makes their studio recordings feasible for a live performance. However, vocal doubling was such a time consuming process, especially for Lennon, whom had difficulty producing two similar vocal takes. He questioned, "isn't their any way we can do this automatically?" Sure enough, their audio engineering crew developed a technique that utilized a time delay effect to produce an artificial double - artificial double tracking! (Ingles, P.).
Leslie Speaker Re-routing: Another innovation that the recording of Revolver gave birth to was sending a vocal track through a leslie speaker to be recorded for the album. This gave the vocal a phasing, whirly effect, which is a property of the spinning speaker of the Leslie Speaker. This effect is apparent on the track, "Tomorrow Never Knows" (The Beatles(1966)).
Artificial Double Tracking: As any listener may point out whether they have a musically inclined ear or not, the vocals were absolutely essential to the sound of the Beatles. Not just the lead, but the harmonies and doubles that so often saturate and satisfy their tracks - and the fact that all four members contribute to singing makes their studio recordings feasible for a live performance. However, vocal doubling was such a time consuming process, especially for Lennon, whom had difficulty producing two similar vocal takes. He questioned, "isn't their any way we can do this automatically?" Sure enough, their audio engineering crew developed a technique that utilized a time delay effect to produce an artificial double - artificial double tracking! (Ingles, P.).
Leslie Speaker Re-routing: Another innovation that the recording of Revolver gave birth to was sending a vocal track through a leslie speaker to be recorded for the album. This gave the vocal a phasing, whirly effect, which is a property of the spinning speaker of the Leslie Speaker. This effect is apparent on the track, "Tomorrow Never Knows" (The Beatles(1966)).
5. What impression does Revolver have on you as a listener and as an industry professional?
In my opinion, Revolver rightfully earned its place in the history of music. Its impact on music up to this day can be seen almost anywhere in nearly any aspect - from lyrical layout, songwriting structure, chord progression, and effects that were created and used. I find the vocal harmonies to be incredibly impressive even to this day, especially in an industry that is polluted with overproduction and auto-tuning. The creativity and experimentation with not only instrumentation and vocals, but sound in general is one major element of Revolver that remains standing tall nearly 50 years later (The Beatles (1966)).Check out my references (tab at the top of this page) to go more in depth about what I just discussed!
-Matthew Morrison
No comments:
Post a Comment