Revolver (Beatles album) as the Beatles'. While also highlighting the importance of the production, David Howard writes that "Revolver" was a "genre-transforming album", on which Martin and the Beatles had "obliterated recording studio conventions". Combined with the similarly "visionary" work of American producer Phil Spector, Howard continues, through "Revolver", the recording studio had become "its own instrument; record production had been elevated into art." Whereas "Sgt. Pepper" had long been identified as the Beatles' greatest album, since the 2000s "Revolver" has often surpassed it in lists of the group's best work. Sheffield cites the album's 1987 CD release, with the full complement of
Revolver (Beatles album) instrumentation played by a Beatle and a novelty song marked a significant departure from the usual content of the band's singles. Schaffner likens the Beatles' 1966 recordings to the moment of transformation in the film "Wizard of Oz", "where, when Dorothy discovers herself transported from Kansas to Oz, the film dramatically changes from black-and-white to glorious technicolor". The album was also the source of confusion for the group's more conservative fans. A female fan later complained in "Beatles Monthly" that 1966 represented the end of "The Beatles we used to know before they went stark, raving mad." The release coincided