Ranking the songs on Revolver | Page 5 | Fab Forum | The Beatles Bible

This is an extremely painful and nerve-racking song ranking to do, the two reasons being it’s my favorite album and an extremely solid album throughout.

My personal ranking:

14) I Want To Tell You – Early on and I can already feel the need to run away from the angry George fans. Let me say early on that the only reason I put this at the bottom is simply because one of them needs to be at the bottom. And (I sincerely mean it) am sorry to say, but I’ve always found this song the less experimental of the bunch, and is also the least interesting to me. That being this said, I love this George song, especially the main riff and the keys, and the lyrics are solid as well. Perhaps I will appreciate this song more in the future, but now is not the time.

13) Doctor Robert – My stance on this song is similar to “I Want To Tell You ”, but it’s slightly higher because I am not waiting in anticipation for “Got To Get You Into My Life ”. Got to love the drug references.

12) Good Day Sunshine – I’m sure some of you are thinking I’ve gone nuts for placing this song above “I Want To Tell You ”, but in all sincerity I think this is the best out of Paul’s granny rockers. Out of all the songs on the album, I think this has the catchiest piano lines (not that are many on this album, though). That being said, I think this song benefits most from the placement on the album, sandwiched between the two hard-rockers on this song, “She Said She Said ” and “And Your Bird Can Sing ”.

11) Yellow Submarine – Let’s be honest, no one takes this song seriously, but that is its charm. Everything from Ringo’s vocals, the rhythm guitar and the overdubs is kooky, but done so in the right way. A lot of people dismiss this song as filler, while that can be understandable to a certain extent, but could you imagine ‘Revolver ” without it?

10) For No One – Before anybody plans to silence me forever, let me say I love this song. Lyrically it is a great piece that talks about the pain of losing a lover, although I personally don’t think it’s as great as people make it out to be. Sonically it plays out a mellow yet somehow scathing tune, and Paul’s vocals makes the irony all the stronger. It’s pretty low on the list because I just prefer all the other songs, personally.

9) And Your Bird Can Sing – Despite John’s perception towards the song, I think we can all agree this is a marvelous song. Not a lot of people think of “Revolver ” as a precursor album towards hard rock, but the discography on the album begs to differ. This song is a prime example. Both John and George deliver extremely well in this song on the lead and rhythm guitar, and the vocal performance here is probably one of John’s more underrated. However, it does have a lack of Ringo, which might (or not) have made it better, but that’s my opinion.

8) Tommorow Never Knows – Gentlemen, put down your pitchforks please. Let me just say that this is a great song and the best possible closure for such a great album. Sonically it’s decades ahead of its time, and such experimentation with overdubs and track looping will never come close for the next few decades or so. Despite all that, it’s lower on the list because as a person, it can feel a bit clustered after a few repeated listens. Either that or I’m not listening to this song properly, which is under the influence of acid.

7) I’m Only Sleeping – In my opinion, one of the more underrated tracks during the Beatles acid years (1965 -1967). The technical elements of this song is something to be in awe of, with Martin and Emerick utilizing every aspect of their studio wizardry to turn a simple song about wanting to sleep into a psychedelic masterpiece (about wanting to sleep). The guitars on this album is the part that shines the most, playing chords and notes that makes you feel on the edge of consciousness ever since the first listen. A spectacular and unique song in not just “Revolver ”, but throughout their Beatles entire catalogue.

6) Here, There And Everywhere – Now I’ve probably ticked off fans of all four Beatles, a new record. All jokes aside, I adore this song, and anybody who doesn’t is probably mental (or have a valid reason, no offense to those who don’t particularly love it). Paul’s vocals on this song is one of (if not is) his best in his career, and lyrically it is also the same. Even the most amateur guitarist will be in awe on how perfect the chord progression of this song is. At this point, it’s almost impossible to think of playing this song in a different key or chord progression and expecting it to come halfway close to the original. That being said, it’s lower on the list simply because of my pure bias (as the entire ranking is).      

5) Love You To – According to George himself, this is his first polished song on the sitar, and I have to agree. Among George’s sitar trilogy (my referent to “Norwegian Wood ”, “Love You To ” and “Within You Without You ”), this is my favorite out of the bunch. Sonically it incorporates George’s sitar skills and adapting into a song that very much has elements of a blues song (the song is in A-B-A-B), and it works wonderfully. Not sure who to credit whom, but I really enjoy the table being played in the background as well as the table drone during the song as well. Though not as polished as “Within You Without You ”, I must say that “Love You To ” is a great addition to “Revolver ”.

4) Got To Get You Into My Life – My stance on this song can be seen above, and no I don’t think it’s filler.

3) Eleanor Rigby – Before any one kidnaps me and keeps me as a hostage at gunpoint, let me say that I adore this song, and this was the song that got me hooked to this album in the first place. It deserves every credit it gets, from the lyrics to the instrumentation as well as the impact the song has on pop music and society in general. Despite being ( no doubt) one of Paul’s best, it’s lower on the list because of pure bias, and the two next two songs are some of my favorite Beatles songs and songs in general.

2) Taxman – I mean what I said on “And Your Bird Can Sing ”. Everything about this song screams hard rock. From the thundering riff provided by George (one of his best), to the funky yet scathing bass lines provided by Paul (also one of his best), the screaming guitar solo provided by Paul (in my opinion, Paul’s best guitar solo throughout his career) and Ringo’s supremely underrated drumming (in my humble opinion of course). I consider this a milestone song in the sub-genre of hard rock, and one of the greatest album openers of all time, up there with “Sgt. Pepper ’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”, “So What” and “Like a Rolling Stone”.

1) She Said She Said – The only problem I can think of this song is that Paul does not play in this song, other than that it’s perfect. Arguably the hardest song on the album (which is quite a feat given this is the Beatles at their hardest yet), this song is also the perfect album closer to Side One for this album. Both John and George deliver one of the greatest dual guitar performances in their career, with Martin and Emerick warping their songs and making it sounds drug-fueled. However, I believe the most credit should go to Ringo, for his drumming sounds both thunderous yet somehow mellow at the same time, and his fills still amaze me at how heavy it is for a year like 1966. Truly a spectacular song, and it’s a shame that not a lot of people outside the Beatles fanbase recognize and appreciate the song.

Apologies once again if it very long-winded.