The Beatles’ Groundbreaking ‘Revolver’ to be Digitally Remastered

No album changed The Beatles’ sound quite like 1966’s Revolver. It officially put the lovable mop-tops on ice, leaving psychedelic superheroes in their place. Describing the album to NME journalist Chris Hutchins, John Lennon had this to say: “Paul and I are very keen on this electronic music. You make it [by] clinking a couple of glasses together or with bleeps from the radio, then you loop the tape to repeat the noises at intervals. Some people build up whole symphonies from it!” This would be the go-to sound of the album, leaving us with songs like “Tomorrow Never Knows”, “Yellow Submarine”, and “I’m Only Sleeping”.

Giles Martin, son of Beatles’ producer George Martin, has been remixing the band’s back catalog since 2017. This has seen full stereo remixes of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles (The White Album), Abbey Road, and last year’s Let It Be/Get Back. For a long time, fans (and Giles himself) thought technology limitations ruined the possibility for anything pre-Sgt. Pepper to get similar treatment. While speaking to Variety, Giles explained, “If you take something like “Taxman” […], [its] guitar, bass and drums [are] on one track, and vocals and a sort of shaking and guitar solo [are on the right]. And it sounds good; they’re amazing recordings, and amazing mixes. You know, we have to look into what technology we can do to make things de-mixed and all this kind of stuff, which I’m looking into. So I’m looking for the technology to do it with, to do something really innovative […].” It looks like things are truly “getting better all the time” as Revolver has been officially digitally remixed and is set for a late-2022 release. In the official press release, Apple Co. states, “The new stereo mix, sourced directly from the original four-track master tapes, is brought forth in stunning clarity with the help of cutting edge de-mixing technology developed by Peter Jackson (of “Get Back” fame)’s WingNut Films Productions Ltd.”

First revealed by Ringo Starr on his fan video newsletter, Revolver will be available across 5CD/4LP Super Deluxe, 2CD Deluxe, Picture Disk, 1 LP, 1CD, and of course digital and streaming. Included will be a new EP featuring singles “Paperback Writer” and “Rain”.

Our first sample, a 2022 mix of the George Harrison-penned “Taxman”, is available to stream here.

Your various Revolvers can be pre-ordered here.