During their ultimately very short career as a band (hard to believe between the release of their first album, Please Please Me in 1963 and their last official release, Let it Be in 1970), The Beatles revolutionized Rock ‘n Roll.

Seven years.  An astonishing twelve albums (Including 1969’s Yellow Submarine, which was more like 1/2 Beatles and 1/2 producer George Martin album).  Add to that a very large number of mind-bogglingly good singles, now collected in Past Masters Volume 1 and 2.  And they also found time to write songs for other bands/artists.

Truly an incredible burst of creativity, given how many of the songs produced during that short time were absolute classics.

Another fascinating thing about The Beatles was their evolution.  The early Beatles music owed a clear debt to the 1950’s rock scene but in and around the time of the release of Help! (1965) it was clear things within the band were changing and their musical direction, in my opinion, soared.

I happen to be a fan of the second half of The Beatles’ career more than the first, though there are some great songs to be found in the early going.  With Help!, The Beatles displayed some early examples of that second stage brilliance.  Within that album, which was actually a soundtrack plus for the film of the same name, you find such tracks as You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away, Ticket to Ride, and Yesterday, among others.

Their follow up album, 1965’s Rubber Soul, is considered a stone cold classic and the one that follows it, 1966’s Revolver, is considered by many the all-time best Beatles album ever.  (Incredibly, they would follow that album in 1967 with Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band).

There are those that consider Rubber Soul and Revolver a “double album” that just happened to be released as two separate albums and I can’t argue the point.

Focusing on Revolver, that album featured some very strong works by the band, including such classic songs as Taxman, Tomorrow Never Knows, Yellow Submarine, and She Said She Said (one of my all time favorite Beatles songs).

There is another song on this album, Eleanor Rigby, which many consider one of the more unique -though still incredible- Beatles songs.

Hunter Davies wrote this article and presents a piece of an interview he conducted with Paul McCartney (the song’s primary writer) soon after the song was released about what went into the making of it and its possible meanings:

The Making of Eleanor Rigby, The Beatles’ Most Mysterious Song

For those unfamiliar with the song (shame on you!):

A very fascinating article which, in a way, shows just how quickly things came together for The Beatles and how they -there was more of a sense of collaboration then- would knock off a song together.

Fascinating stuff.