Revolver marked another artistic step

Released in August 1966, a week before the Beatles’ final tour, Revolver marked another artistic step forward for the group. The album featured sophisticated songwriting, studio experimentation and a greatly expanded repertoire of musical styles, ranging from innovative classical string arrangements to psychedelia . Abandoning the customary group photograph, its Aubrey Beardsley -inspired cover – designed by Klaus Voormann , a friend of the band since their Hamburg days – was a monochrome collage and line drawing caricature of the group. The album was preceded by the single ” Paperback Writer “, backed by ” Rain “. Short promotional films were made for both songs; described by cultural historian Saul Austerlitz as “among the first true music videos”, they aired on The Ed Sullivan Show and Top of the Pops in June.