What did you think the first time you heard The Beatles "Revolution 9"???

Oh come on really ?? I thought it was great from the moment I heard it, so different and interesting, but then again I was a George and John guy !!

 

I was 12, and was fascinated by it and spooked at the same time. I also imagined it to be some strange movie soundtrack, sort of on fast-forward. Then again I have grown to really like more experimental music... stuff like The Residents, Nurse With Wound, Negativland, Plunderphonics, early minimalist classical (Riley, Reich, Glass, La Monte Young).... it's modern art and it challenges and takes you to a different place than more accessible stuff.

 

Same here: I credit (or blame, depending on how you look at it) "Rev. 9" for giving my the open mind needed to explore ALL the artists you've mentioned above! And, I feel I'm the better for it!
I'd also add People Like Us to your list. They (she) has made a career out of making funny 'sound collage' ! Picture "Rev.9" performed by Spike Jones & His City Slickers!
http://www.peoplelikeus.org/

 

The same thing I do now. Bad!

 

What did I think?

"What a piece of crap"

"These guys are whacked out on drugs"

 

I thought it was (and pretty much still is) complete crap. Before I heard it, I was very excited because I saw "Revolution 1" and "Revolution 9" and figured there would be 2-8 as well and I liked #1 a lot so it boded really well! How wrong I was.

 

First thought: YUCK, there's that Yoko influence!

Today: especially after hearing it in mono (which I mostly prefer for all the Beatles songs save for the missing "blisters on my fingers" from Helter Skelter), REV 9 seems even more otherworldly, and I agree with other posts that it works within the context of the album's sequencing, even if I usually skip it. To say I "like" it is a bit strong, perhaps "appreciate" is a better term.

I actually think the "can you take me back" bit is creepier than anything on REV 9, perhaps because of its ominous/foreshadowing nature.

Fascinating observation; I hadn't really thought of it like that, but this eerily makes sense.

 

Thought the same. "Mary Jane" wasn't much better. Still wish I could have been the proverbial "fly on the wall" during those sessions.

 

I thought "very cool". Not really my cup of tea, but I never skip it when listening to the White Album.

 

Hey:

I though wow they could've put "Hey Jude" on the Album

T.

 

That John Lennon must have been listening to "Come Out" by Steve Reich. I was just learning about tape loops and the verbal transformation effect just before Revolution #9 came out

 

Rev9 is certainly polarising! I didn't like it then, and I don't like it now.

 

Polarizing indeed!

As many stated here, the first time I heard #9 was when my Dad was in the hospital. I was 9 at the time and the thought of my Dad in the hospital scared me. Sure enough, the track blew my mind, scared the &^*# out of me, and has become a significantly enjoyable trip. Cinematic, powerful and eerie...

 

I thought the album was scratched or dirty, hoped that it could be fixed with discwasher. Discwasher didn't help.

 

I think the whole album's a little unsettling, so Revolution 9 is just icing on the cake.

I think the first time I heard Revolution 9 was in an altered state of mind; a friend and I were doing a "battle of the double albums", him a huge Beatle fan(me, not so much then) and me trying to turn him on to Electric Ladyland. Hard to believe those records were once "new".

Maybe that night colored the whole thing, but I still find the whole record, not just R9, kind of dark and sad (okay, maybe not Obla-Di Obla -Da)

 

When I first heard Rev. #9 I thought it was an odd and boring song. I didn't like it when I was a kid and I have never liked it since then.
I always skip over it when I play the White Album.

 

First heard it during the latter part of the 70's (my college years). I loved it.

 

Loathe it. It reminds me of experimental jazz ... another bunch of noise I cannot begin to get into.

 

Probably my least favorite of all the Beatles songs.

 

IT IS a dark, sad, disturbing album. A great one though! You are not alone in your feelings. Why, the White Album could drive a lesser man insane!

 

I thought it was a waste of precious Beatle vinyl space.

 

Yes, we could have had more Macca ballads and music hall style tributes as it was 1968 and that was the current type of song to record for an innovotive trend setting band like The Beatles, do you all feel the same about 'Tommorow Never Knows', that was much more weird for its time?, or is it the fact that all The Beatles are not on it that puts all the people who don't like it off ??

 

Anybody who likes both "Tomorrow Never Knows" and "Revolution Number 9" is invited to my next party.

 

Sign me up.

And seriously consider getting another keg.

 

One of my favourite Beatles songs. Incredible.