Geezer Butler’s favourite Beatles album: “It was revolutionary”
Geezer Butler is no stranger to revolution. When he picked up the bass guitar, he looked at it like people view aliens, with a sense of familiarity but acknowledging its utterly unknown aura. He was a guitarist driven by heavy riffs, so when he picked up the bass at a time when Motown was topping the charts and bass runs were fun, and pretty, he was left in the dark about what he should play.
Eventually, when Black Sabbath started recording music, rather than trying to mimic somebody he wasn’t, Butler also played the guitar riffs on the four-string instead. The result? Sheer musical revolution. The layered approach to riffs created a heavy, deep sound that hadn’t been recorded before and contributed massively to what we now know as heavy metal.
Geezer Butler knows all about pivotal moments in music that give rise to something much bigger than just the recording itself. As such, when he describes an album as revolutionary, you best be sure to listen up, because the bass player knows what he’s talking about.
In an interview, when Butler was asked what albums he couldn’t live without, he was quick to name the Beatles as one of his favourite bands ever to play music, and while he loves every album they’ve ever made, there was one in particular that stands out: Revolver.
“All the Beatles albums could easily fill my top five, 10, 20 albums I can’t live without, but in 1966, when I rushed out to the local record shop and bought this album, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing – it was revolutionary,” he said. “From ‘Elanor Rigby’ to ‘Tomorrow Never Knows,’ the world of ‘pop’ music had taken a giant leap forward. The Beatles were here to stay, and this album established their importance in/to British culture.”
Butler isn’t alone in his opinion. Revolver wasn’t just a regular album; it marked the end of The Beatles performing live and saw them embrace studio technology in a way that pop bands had previously hesitated to. The result was an album that was unique in its creation and production. There is a massive range of musical styles and lyrical content on display, which makes the whole listening experience unpredictable but enjoyable, as some of the tracks on the album are considered the band’s best.
The album also marked the beginning of the band’s psychedelic phase. They had started experimenting with the drug LSD, and the effects of the drug seeped into their music. The sound was much looser and free-flowing, incredibly avant-garde compared to some of their earlier work, but still with an undeniable Beatles sound attached. It marked the band as not just a pop band but innovative musicians keen to push the boundaries of sound and the human psyche.
Geezer Butler is correct in that this album let everybody know the Beatles would be a fundamental part of British culture. It marked the beginning of a revolution in music. While many albums are considered good, some, such as Revolver and the debut self-titled Black Sabbath album, are turning points in music.
