.

The Beatles Recall Making of "Revolver" In Reissue Doc

July 15, 2009 10:03 AM ET

We've been so excited about hearing the remastered sound of the Beatles reissued catalog on September 9th that we forgot all about another of the reissue's perks: Each of the 13 proper albums being re-released on 9.9.09 will be accompanied by a mini-documentary featuring the Beatles and producer Sir George Martin talking about how each album was created. On the Beatles' official site, the Fab Four are offering up an excerpt of the mini-doc that accompanies Revolver.

While it appears that the docs won't feature any actual footage from the studio, the Revolver short film artfully dissects and reassembles the LP's iconic collage cover art as the voices of Starr, Lennon, McCartney and Harrison drop in and out give insight into what it was like recording the album. Against a backdrop of archival photos from the period, the band discuss how Rubber Soul and Revolver could have just been "Volume 1 and Volume 2," experimentation in the studio and the stories behind classic tracks like "Tomorrow Never Knows." McCartney also reveals why they called the album Revolver. "We suddenly thought 'What does a record do?' Hey, it revolves, great," Macca says in the mini-doc. "So we called it Revolver."

(Look back at the Beatles' studio albums and Rolling Stone's stories on the LPs.)

As Rock Daily previously reported, a lavish Box of Vision will be sold to house the remastered reissues. September 9th will also feature the release of The Beatles: Rock Band, which Rock Daily got a sneak preview of at this year's E3 conference.

Related Stories:
The Beatles' Remastered Albums Due September 9, 2009
Beatles Artwork Comes to Reissue Storage Set "Box Of Vision"
Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr Unveil "The Beatles: Rock Band" in L.A.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

prev
Music Main Next

blog comments powered by Disqus
Stay Connected

Sign up to get Rolling Stone's daily newsletter.

Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

More Song Stories entries »