Revolver (Beatles album) group collective since 1962, and gave them an unprecedented amount of time to prepare for a new album. Writing in "The Beatles Forever", Nicholas Schaffner cites 1966 as the start of the band's "'psychedelic' period" and adds: "That adjective implies not only the influence of certain mind-altering chemicals, but also the freewheeling spectrum of wide-ranging colors that their new music seemed to evoke." Music journalist Carol Clerk describes "Revolver" as having been "decisively informed by acid", following John Lennon and George Harrison's continued experimentation with the drug LSD since the spring of 1965.<ref name="Clerk/Uncut"> Available at Rock's Backpages (subscription required).</ref>
The Beatles (album) release of "The Beatles". The album debuted at number 1 in the UK on 7 December 1968. It spent seven weeks at the top of the UK charts (including the entire competitive Christmas season), until it was replaced by the Seekers' "Best of the Seekers" on 25 January 1969, dropping to number 2. However, the album returned to the top spot the following week, spending an eighth and final week at number 1. The album was still high in the charts when the Beatles' follow-up album, "Yellow Submarine", was released, which reached number 3. In all, "The Beatles" spent 22