IT WAS 40 YEARS AGO TODAY—no, not Sgt Pepper teaching the band to play, but the band itself delivering their most un-derrated, yet most revolutionary, album. Released in August 1966, Revolver pushed the envelope farther than any mainstream musical recording had and, though lost in the shadows of the work The Beatles produced in the months to follow, stands up today —in strictly musical terms —as a watershed.

That accolade is usually given to Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, whose shimmering, spacey notes echoed (or set off?) the vibes of the Summer of Love. Yet it merely followed the path already trav-elled, and today is an anachronism. Revolver has lasted the course far better; its style echoed through the years by Pink Floyd to Radiohead to Kula Shaker to Lennon himself (Watching the Wheels is I'm Only Sleeping redux).

Indeed, it was a great year for albums: When Revolver hit the charts. It shared space with Blonde on Blonde, Sound of Silence, John Mayall’s Blues-breakers and Pet Sounds. Each of them earns a place high on any list of all-time top 100 albums; Revolver usually tops such charts.

The album benefited from the group being at their peak, experience dovetailing into creativity. John, already steeped in acid, was hearing and seeing things no one else could; George was picking up Eastern waves from his close friend Ravi Shankar.

Ringo’s drumming in 1966- 67 was at its most creative (three tracks stand out: She Said, She Said from Revolver, Rain, recorded as a single at the same time, and ADay in the Life, off Pepper).

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