‘Taxman’ would have been the track I heard first when deciding to go thorugh Revolver, having never heard it before, when I was in the depths of a Beatles discovery phase in 2009. Makes sense seeing as it’s the opening song on there. I’m sure I liked it then and there. I honestly wouldn’t be able to recall here how I felt about the song after that initial listen. It feels like it’s been around forever, I’ve heard it so many times since. But I’m sure I would have thought the ‘Taxman’ refrains were an obvious nod to the ’60s Batman theme tune and how similar the song ‘Start!’ by The Jam was to it. I usually see how ‘Taxman’ is talked about in the wider context of the Beatles’ discography. How it, and the rest of Revolver sort of marks a point where they were really blossoming into these fantastic songwriters, more than they were already, but with this newfound edge that clearly separated them from their peers. I mean, I’m sure all of that’s true. Just sounded like a cool song to me at the time.

People in the Beatles camp thought George Harrison had finally made a song worthy enough to begin a Beatles album, and so ‘Taxman’ did, and on it Harrison sings about the audacity the British government had in the mid-’60s to impose a supertax on the people with the highest taxable income in the country. The Beatles were four of those people, and they each were liable to give away 95% of their income to the taxman, hence the “one for you, 19 for me” lyric and Harrison’s general annoyance exuded in the song. Harrison further reinforces the preposterous nature of the titular taxman, who would tax the street, the seat, the heat, and your feet, if they could, for all the people who drive, sit, get too cold and go for leisurely walks. It’s quite comical how it’s written, I’m thinking Harrison felt the same way about the whole tax situation – but there’s definitely a seething undertone to it all, which makes it all the more emphatic of the political critique it is.

Online, you’ll find many a video detailing how the group recorded it and all the technicals. This one does, going into a dive as to who does the two count-ins you hear at the beginning of the song. For what it’s worth, before I saw it, I thought it was George doing the loud count-in and Paul McCartney doing the buried one. Now I think it’s Harrison doing both. Notable highlights in the song that I’d like to shine a light on is McCartney’s rapid-fire guitar solo about halfway through. It’s like a machine gun the way it comes out of the gate. It may also be out of frustration out of having to do it because Harrison couldn’t get the solo down himself. But that’s just my theory. His bassline isn’t too bad either, particularly those licks he pulls out during the middle eight. So, really, on a Harrison song, McCartney manages to take the spotlight somehow. And I just like the overall biting tone to that stabbing rhythm guitar that blasts the chords throughout. Got some real grit to it. And thankfully, the 2022 mix of it (above) did a good job of preserving all those things, just making it easier for listeners of the here and now. Or the here and now of 2022.