Music For a While (Special Edition)

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Revolver are a band from France with a serious jones for mid-period Beatles, as you might have inferred from their choice of band name. It's hard to imagine why anyone would list the Fab Four as a major influence at this point in pop history. While these guys clearly have a gift for charming melodies, the chance of any young band matching the energy, creativity, and exuberance of the Beatles is close to nil. That said, there are a few cuts here that do capture that mid-'60s Brit-pop flavor without falling too flat. The cello-dominated track "Leave Me Alone" has a vague resemblance to "Can't By Me Love" and sports some glorious harmonies. "Balulalow" echoes the sound of Rubber Soul with its jaunty rhythm and piano fills that suggest the guitar of George Harrison. "Luke, Mike & John" has a bouncy McCartney-ish melody, the lilt of a country tune, more lush harmony singing, and another Harrison solo, this time on guitar. They stretch a bit on the lazily titled swing tune "Untitled No. 1"; "Do You Have a Gun?," which sounds a bit like the Zombies gone acoustic, although the vocals lack the unique quality of Colin Blunstone; and "Get Around Town," a swing tune with a vaudevillian feel and a lyric that suggests the Brecht/Weill standard "Alabama Song." Most of the lyrics here are fairly derivative and awkward, too. Perhaps because English isn't their first language, they often seem to be an afterthought, although they manage to avoid the obvious clichés that often plagued ABBA. ~ j. poet, Rovi