Revolution 9: Then and Now

Interesting thread. Must be running low on Beatles stuff.

 

It still scares me.

 

I have this on a boot Cd that came in a book-like encasement. It was a double disc set...one had Take 20 and the other, among a couple of other things, about 20 takes of Badfinger's Come And Get It.

 

There is nothing good about the track... I think it was just the Beatles messing around on sounds in the studio.

 

I did have a higher appreciation level of the songs after I heard that early take. I do remember being a little weirded out when my friends and I first heard Rev. 9 late at night when we were kids. It is not a track I play on its own, but I do not skip it when playing the whole album.

 

It was just sitting in the recycling bin and couldn't be ignored.

We are probably due for another "Is Sgt. Pepper overrated?" thread soon.

 

Experimental nonsense, never liked it.

 

Well, so far, the poll seems to bear out what I stated - people either "hear" it's critical-ness to the White Album, or they simply despise it as noise. Very few votes for the other two categories (thus far).

 

Blew/blows. I doesn't bother me, I just skip it when I listen to the album.

 

The white album has been one of my favorites since 68 but that "song" is a waste of record groove.

 

That's interesting because it's hard for me to imagine the double having the same quirky character without it. If I were to take it away, I wouldn't feel it was the "White Album" anymore. Much in the same way that I could never remove While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Helter Skelter or Mother Nature's Son or, well, most any of them. It would be like a puzzle with one missing piece.

Yet I know we certainly all have some tracks that we simply enjoy more than others.

 

I have a CD burned and it's the only song on it. I've listen to it on repeat more than once. More than 10 times, actually. There's my answer.

 

I was bitter against it for many years because I felt it took the space of Hey Jude and the single version of Revolution.
Looking at it today, I wish they filled the entire side 4 with experimental tracks like Revolution 9. As is, even though now I can appreciate it, it's still an awkward mix of two different styles that don't sound comfortable together.

 

I used to pick up the needle after Cry Baby Cry and that was the end of the album for me. I was familiar with the track but didn't think it was worth the extra 10 minutes to play the last two tracks of the album. Now, I just let the album play all the way through and I've come to appreciate all the work that went into Revolution 9. It's nowhere my favorite track, and I still think it's a partially-failed experiment, but it is ambitious, original and avant-garde.

 

I agree. It's part of the fabric of the album. But I have skipped it for the most part.

 

Meh then, meh now. If it wasn't by The Beatles no one would give it a second thought, IMHO. There's better avant garde sound collage musique concrete before and after.

--Geoff

 

I think we all know/suspect COL is not a masterpiece. We all simply want to hear it once out of curiosity and the satisfaction in finally hearing it before we die.

 

I think you hit on a good point. The album as a whole seems full of awkward shifts and moods. On one hand, they seem to make the album dis-jointed from a track list standpoint. On the other hand, you actually play it and it somehow "works". Then you play it again, and again, and again. Before you know it, you realize you still don't get the album yet you've played it 20 times!

As mentioned, perhaps only 1968 could have given us an album like this.

 

I hated it as a kid and just fast-forwarded the cassette to the end before Revolution 9 came on. These days I find it interesting, but mostly for the funny bits (Eldorado! kills me every time).

Does Revolution 9 actually succeed at its supposed goal? Is it really "the sound of revolution" as John later claimed (in the Playboy interviews maybe?)? I think not, but it's great that it's still making people get into heated discussions about it decades later.

 

Yes. I love the "Eldorado" bit too.

I personally think it succeeds. It is bizarre, puzzling and intentionally placed and crafted, on an album that is bizarre, puzzling and intentionally placed and crafted. I'm not sure myself if it is the "sound of revolution" per se but it sure is...interesting. As you said, if it didn't succeed, then it sure draws a lot of study, attention and discussion (probably prompted by fools like me).

 

Said it before (here) and I'll say it again, if there was some way to somewhat seamlessly edit the final minute-or-so of the ending onto the first four minutes-or-so of the beginning, it would be a very good, interesting experimental track.

 

It shows how short John fell of who he was trying to be.

 

I like the mama dada part...



ive always enjoyed it, especially having goodnight follow it. if I was going to skip anything it would be ob la di, or wild honey pie (sorry paul)

 

I had so much respect for Lennon I figured I must be missing something. I didn't get it, it seemed like a waste of time and vinyl.
Nope, I wasn't missing anything. All these years later I still have the world of respect for Lennon but Revolution #9 is a pretentious, self indulgent test of my patience.

 

Only somewhat related but I got to researching the events of 1968 and was reminded why the months of Sept-Dec of that year are arguably the greatest in the history of popular music. I know many might cite the early months of 1964 or some other time frame, but, for me, late 1968 is just...wow!

Just look at some of this stuff...

SEPT
Led Zeppelin plays for the first time billed initially as the "New Yardbirds".
The Who take to work on the eventual epic, "Tommy".
On the singles chart, the likes of "Hey Jude" dominate racks and airwaves, eventually becoming the most successful record of the decade.

OCT
Jimi Hendrix releases the stirring "Electric Ladyland", complete with its controversial cover.

NOV
The Beatles release a double album named aptly "The Beatles" with, gulp, nothing on the cover! It doesn't matter. It ships a quarter million units before even coming out of the shipping boxes. In time this famous, and infamous, album will earn the nickname "The White Album" and go on to earn honors as arguably the greatest double album ever made.

DEC
The Rolling Stones release "Beggar's Banquet". No shabby album in its own right.
Elvis Presley's NBC TV Special airs and would come to be known as his "Comeback Special". It is a rejuvenating milestone in the King's career, launches a new career for him, and will go down as one of the most landmark events in the history of popular music.

And I didn't even mention some of the other notable albums and events during this 3-4 month window!

This kinda stuff is always subjective, but based on the above, no 3-4 month period in the history of pop music was as fruitful and volatile as this window in late 1968. Just my humble opinion of course.

Now back to Revolution 9...