The Beatles – Revolver: Special Edition (Deluxe 2 CD) (2022) (*****)

What’s to like?

One of The Beatles’ most loved and respected albums gets a brand new remix from trusted hands, and blossoms into life all over again, shedding new light on previously hidden corners.

The low down

Revolver is the Beatles album I probably haven’t appreciated enough over the years, perhaps because it felt overshadowed by Sgt Pepper and then my favourite, Magical Mystery Tour. It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy Revolver, but the other albums always seemed to nudge it to one side, until now. When it was announced that Giles Martin was about to deliver a remixed edition of the album, it felt an opportunity to revisit and compare the original mono and stereo mixes before hearing this new remix.

In many ways, it’s a pivotal album, marking the point where the band walked away from the pressure of live performances, and fully embraced the freedom of the studio and emerging technology that would inspire some of their best music. But it’s also been a problematic album for me, because of the challenges of listening to the stereo mix on headphones.

When the Beatles albums were last reissued in 2009, the production team did an excellent job remastering the albums, but they chose not to tamper with original stereo mixes, which suffer from gaps of silence in each speaker during certain songs, mainly due to the limited number of tracks that could accommodate voices and instruments using the available technology in 1966. The stereo mixes were also hampered by the fact that the band were only interested in the mono mixes at that point, as that was the prevailing way to listen to music, so Giles’ father George Martin was usually left to complete the stereo mixes in a rush to meet deadlines.

For some fans, listening to the mono mix instead is the preferred option, but this can be a challenge, as the mono albums are not available separately, and a box set will cost you anything north of £300. But if you can track down a set, the mono albums are a fascinating listening experience, with the music sounding more natural and direct.

However, with the release of this new edition, you now have a third option, in which Giles has created a hybrid remix that brings out the best of the previous mono and stereo mixes. He created a similar hybrid remix of the Sgt Pepper album, but with Revolver he was hesitant because he felt that current digital technology wasn’t good enough to separate out the individual instruments. Enter film-maker Peter Jackson and his audio team, who succeeded in developing “de-mixing” software during the production of the Get Back television series, which then gave Giles the confidence to proceed with the Revolver mixes.

The results are impressive, with the remixed music comfortably filling out both speakers and offering a wonderful stereo listening experience, but without losing any of the directness of the original mono mix. This remix sounds perfectly natural, with nothing jarring or out of place, and mastered at a sensitive volume that opens up the sound without the need to turn the dial back down.

Initially, I had planned to play each track back-to-back between the mono, stereo and remix versions, out of sheer curiosity, but I so enjoyed the remix that I ended up playing that version of the album in its entirety, as it was always intended to be heard.

However, I subsequently went back and did three-way comparisons, via headphones, and came away even more impressed by how much work Giles and his team must have undertaken to reshape the music in such a subtle and respectful way.

Here are a few examples of differences that I picked up on:

Taxman – the original stereo mix suffered from periods of silence in the right speaker until the main body of the song kicked in with added vocals. On the other hand, the mono mix pulled everything into the centre, and gave the bass guitar more presence, but the results were occasionally distorted. The remix addresses all these issues, with guitars ringing out across both speakers, while the bass still pins everything down, but now there’s added clarity (and more cowbell!), and none of the distortion of the mono mix.

Eleanor Rigby – again, the stereo mix suffered from silence in the left speaker, while Paul’s vocals were solely in the right speaker, and the strings were placed in the centre. The remix now brings the vocals into the centre and splits the string section across both right and left speakers to give the song a much fuller sound.

Dr Robert – the mono mix had the advantage of bringing the vocals, organ and guitar solo into the centre, rather than hanging them out too far on the right speaker in the stereo mix, but with all the instruments competing for space within the tight mono frame, the vocals were low in the mix. The new remix brings the vocals up front and centre stage, while playfully swapping some of the brief guitar licks originally on the right speaker over to the left for added colour.

Tomorrow Never Knows – this might be the one song that actually sounded better in stereo than it did in mono, as it needed the extra bandwidth to incorporate the myriad of sound effects bouncing back and forth between the speakers. The remix doesn’t mess with this formula, but it does have an added depth and clarity that allows the listener to get even further inside the song and appreciate why the original audio mix was so ground-breaking for its time.

Of course, these are only a handful of observations, but hopefully they give you a taste of what to expect with this remix. (For fun, I’ve included my working notes at the conclusion of this review below.)

Given how iconic this album was in terms of the songwriting and the sound, I opted to go for the two-disc special edition, so that I could dig a little deeper with selected out-takes from the recording sessions. Suffice to say, if you’re a fan of the original album, you’ll find these alternate versions fascinating – Tomorrow Never Knows (Take 1) has a completely different ambience to it, as the band created a tape loop of drums and guitar recorded through a Leslie speaker and then slowed down to half speed. The version of And Your Bird Can Sing here might only be the second take, but even at such an early stage the song is so fully formed and arranged that you realise just how much the band were peaking creatively at this point.

And completists will be happy that the Paperback Writer / Rain single that accompanied Revolver, are also included on the second disc, in remixed form, again taking the best bits of the previous mono and stereo mixes and creating a fuller sound without losing any of the crucial dynamics.

The two-disc edition comes in a cardboard slip case which holds the discs in one folder and a detailed set of sleeve notes, setting the album in historic context and detailing where and when each song was recorded, as well as pointing out the differences with the alternate versions on disc two.

All in all, this is an excellent package maintaining the high standards expected of Beatles releases, and the new remix is well worth lending an ear to. And while I understand the views of fans who feel that the original mixes are still good enough, and see no need for a remix, I would gently encourage them to give this new version a try, and hear the Revolver album come to life all over again, shedding new light on previously hidden corners.

Highly recommended.

Revolver Mix Comparisons – Working Chart

	Stereo	Mono	Remix
Taxman	Guitars and drums – left speaker. Empty space on right speaker until main body of song opens up a minute later	Bass has more precision and heft. Cowbell more audible.	Guitars fill up gap on the left, and cowbell rings out more clearly.   Bass retains the heft of the mono mix. Distortion has been removed.
Eleanor Rigby	Vocals hard right speaker. Strings centre.   Sound becomes fuller during “Lonely People” refrain.		Strings are now separated out across both speakers, and vocals pinned to the centre.
I’m Only Sleeping	Vocals right speaker. Guitars centre and left speakers. Reversed tape guitars right speaker.	Reverse tape guitars feel more embedded in the sound and less of a gimmick.	Vocals now centred and further up in the mix. Guitar effects sound seamless. Hadn’t previously noticed John’s yawn at the two minute mark.
Love You To	Good spread of guitars, sitar and vocals across all speakers.	Stereo mix opens up the sound more.	The pulsing drone is now more prominent in the right speaker.
Here, There & Everywhere	Harmony vocals left speaker. Lead vocal centre speaker. Guitars right speaker. Guitar solo on left speaker.	Little details like the finger snapping are less audible in this mix.	Overall song sounds warmer and fuller, without losing any of the details of the previous stereo mix.
Yellow Submarine	Guitars left speaker. Vocals right speaker. Stereo opens up sound effects.		Sound effects of waves and engines are more immersive and draw the listener into the imagery.
She Said She Said	Vocals centre speaker. Guitars right speaker. Drums and bass left speaker.		Extended organ chord in the background has been lowered in the mix – felt like a distraction on the previous versions – but individual organ notes are more noticeable in the chorus.
Good Day Sunshine	Opening piano chords and drums on left speaker. Second piano joins in on right speaker during main body of song. Vocals centre.	Piano sounds heavier and more of a lead instrument	Remix retains the dominance of the piano chords.
And Your Bird Can Sing	Vocals right speaker. Guitar left – solo centre		Centred vocals now sound more natural.   Hand claps during closing part of song are more prominent.
For No One	Harpsichord right speaker. Vocals centre. Bass left speaker.	Harpsichord notes have more bite to them.	Retains much the same positioning of instruments as the previous stereo mix.   Sustained piano chords have more depth.
Dr Robert	Guitar left speaker. Bass centre. Vocals, organ and guitar solo on right speaker.		Vocals are now more up front than on the mono mix. (A trait shared across most of these remixes.)   Guitar licks have been swapped from right speaker to left.
I Want To Tell You	Vocals right speaker. Piano and bass centre.	Mono is less cluttered compared to stereo mix. Snare drum more upfront, and bass sounds precise rather than boomy.	Opening guitar notes now fade in, panning from right speaker over to the left.
Got To Get You Into My Life	Bass left speaker. Brass right speaker. Vocals centre Good stereo mix.	Mono sounds compressed compared to stereo mix.	Retains the best elements of the previous stereo mix, but with added detail and bass “bounce”.
Tomorrow Never Knows	Drums centre. Sound effects stereo. Reverse tape guitar left speaker. Vocals , tambourines and piano on right speaker.	Mono lacks some of the wider scope and detail of the stereo mix.	Bass is more defined and propels the song along.   Remix opens up the sound effects, and allows a greater appreciation of why the original audio mix was considered groundbreaking.