I had the joy of getting to know Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper, the White Album and Abbey Road in 2022, and I was very conscious of what an enviable position it was to hear these albums, really, for the first time.
The obsession continued, though, and I first read Hunter Davies' authorised Beatles biography (a great read, as is his biography of Wordsworth) to get general context - and later, by accident, I discovered Revolution in the Head. Something of a quest to obtain a copy, this book built its own mythology, and by the time I got my hands on it, I was hungry for its contents, whatever they may be.
Why Revolution in the Head is next level Beatles reading
Revolution in the Head is, in a nutshell, a chronological overview of the Beatles' songs - every single one ever recorded, 241 according to their official EMI discography. Song by song, MacDonald recounts anecdotes about composition, an overview of structure, recording techniques or historical context even. What it does is ground the Beatles firmly in their time, giving an overview of social and political movements and thinking of the time (hence the head), historical events and even musical references and inspiration (some truly surprising - see, for example, Watch Your Step by Bobby Parker and I Feel Fine).
What it did, specifically for me, was give a fascinating insight into how - and why - all these creations came to life in the first place. Starting with the early Decca auditions, it meticulously catalogues each song: E for early creation (if we want to be specific, 'tracks and records taped before the first release [1] in the Parlophone/Apple discography'), U for unreleased, and all others numbered from [1] Love Me Do to [186] I Me Mine and all the way to the two posthumous songs by John Lennon, finished by The Beatles in the nineties.
It is hard to write objectively about this. For me, it is mind-blowing that a song like Love Me Do, the first of all songs to be officially recorded, was written by 16-year old Paul. What follows on their first LP, Please Please Me, are further hits that are hard to believe were just so - see P.S. I Love You, or I Saw Her Standing There. And it keeps going from there. The context is this: no one was writing their own material at the time, and so one of the first things that set The Beatles apart was their ability to write their own hit songs, with no previous musical training and yet a keen ear for surprising musical progressions that were already the envy of their competitors.
And later came the incredible innovations, like being the first band to use feedback on record, to use tape loops, or Tomorrow Never Knows, which in itself was revolution on record.
To me, one of the most surprising revelations is how in tune The Beatles were inadvertently with their time, being always one step ahead of the game. They were always searching for new inspiration and influences, reaching to places that other UK and US acts wouldn't. It's difficult to conceive how strange it seemed at the time that they were into Indian meditation and mantras, or that they listened to Motown. This is one of the triumphs of the book - by giving context to their work, it helps future-dwellers like myself appreciate the significance of their experiments.
Behind the Beatles scenes
The most enjoyable aspect was certainly the second-specific details that MacDonald shares. How many times have I listened to Hey Jude without noticing that, at 2:58, Paul swears over a fumbled harmony vocal? How could I have missed George’s whispered count-in for the tabla player at 3:46 on Within You Without You (and what is a tabla anyway)? How have I never heard John’s sarcastic ‘Bye’ in the Sgt. Pepper reprise? Or Mal Evans’ dramatic counting in A Day in the Life (1:41, 3:46)?
There are also the anecdotes, which entice me as much as I'm sure they enticed my screaming 60s predecessors crying and fainting at live appearances. Although MacDonald prefers an objective, removed and often somewhat harsh stance (perhaps necessary to be taken seriously, especially when it comes to music journalism) the personalities shine through clearly, from the early phases of light-hearted fun, to the egotistical final years of 'I Me Mine'.
These are all nuggets of information that, perhaps if you're not a particular fan, wouldn't interest you much. But Twist and Shout, the version that we all know, was recorded in a single take at 10pm, when an exhausted band gave one last song a go for their first LP - after which, John's voice was completely gone. And the Sgt. Pepper album, on that morning when the finishing touches were added, was blasted from a window in Chelsea by the band at 6am, and oh to be a fly on the wall.
It is undeniable that it reads like mythology - and MacDonald knows it too.
Beatles Reverb: reflective sound; room abience.
Naturally, a lot of it goes over my head. I don't know what the significance is of delaying the expected move to D from A with an interjected bar of 2/4. Nor am I always clear or familiar with the ideologies and historical events being mentioned, and to be able to cover all of this information in one book would, naturally, be impossible. So I am content with as much as I can grasp, and don't dwell too much on what a tonic or a coda or a chromatic descent means if it isn't clear from the context.
To his credit, the supporting information in MacDonalds' book is excellent - not only does he include an incredibly detailed general index, there is also a song index (broken down by key), a detailed discography, a glossary and a chronological table spanning nearly 100 pages which includes what the Beatles were doing, a UK pop overview, culture and current affairs.
Despite being laid out and written as a reference book, the story of the band also comes through, and towards the end it does become somewhat difficult and heart-breaking to read. There are tears and walk-outs and ego and fights over chocolate digestives (shame on you, Yoko). But it is to the author's credit not to get sentimental over these affairs (unlike this reader).
Ultimately, the book creates such reverb around The Beatles that it's impossible not to see how much effect they still have, and especially highlights their achievements, in music and beyond, without placing them on a pedestal. It is a fascinating insight and one I will be referring back to regularly.
Best read with a good pair of headphones to hand.
