Revolution 9
Encyclopedia
"Revolution 9" is a recorded composition that appeared on The Beatles
' 1968 self-titled LP release
(popularly known as "The White Album"). The sound collage
, credited to Lennon–McCartney, was created primarily by John Lennon
with assistance from George Harrison
and Yoko Ono
. Lennon said he was trying to paint a picture of a revolution using sound. The composition was influenced by the avant-garde
style of Ono as well as the musique concrète
works of composers such as Edgard Varese
and Karlheinz Stockhausen
.
The recording began as an extended ending to the album version of "Revolution
". Lennon then combined the unused coda
with numerous overdubbed
vocals, speech, sound effects, and short tape loops of speech and musical performances, some of which were reversed. These were further manipulated with echo, distortion, stereo
panning
, and fading
. The loop of "number nine" featured in the recording fuelled rumours about Paul McCartney
's death after it was reported that it sounded like "turn me on, dead man" when played backwards.
McCartney argued against including the track on The Beatles, and it was generally poorly received by both fans and critics. At over eight minutes, it is the longest track that the Beatles officially released.
" during a session for "Penny Lane
". McCartney said the work was inspired by composers Stockhausen and John Cage
. Stockhausen was also a favourite of Lennon, and was one of the people included on the Sgt. Pepper album cover. Music critic Ian McDonald
wrote that "Revolution 9" may have been influenced by Stockhausen's Hymnen
in particular.
Another influence on Lennon was his relationship with Ono. Lennon and Ono had recently recorded their own avant-garde album, Unfinished Music No.1: Two Virgins
. Lennon said: "Once I heard her stuff—not just the screeching and howling but her sort of word pieces and talking and breathing and all this strange stuff ... I got intrigued, so I wanted to do one." Ono attended the recording sessions and helped Lennon select which tape loops to use.
"Revolution 9" originated on 30 May 1968 during the first recording session for Lennon's composition "Revolution". Take 20 lasted more than ten minutes and was given additional overdubs over the next two sessions. Mark Lewisohn
described the last six minutes as "pure chaos ... with discordant instrumental jamming, feedback, John repeatedly screaming 'alright' and then, simply, repeatedly screaming ... with Yoko talking and saying such off-the-wall phrases as 'you become naked', and with the overlaying of miscellaneous, home-made sound effects tapes."
Lennon soon decided to make the first part of the recording into a conventional Beatles' song, "Revolution 1", while using the last six minutes as the basis for a separate track, "Revolution 9". He began preparing additional sound effects and tape loops: some newly recorded in the studio, at home and from the studio archives. The work culminated on 20 June, with Lennon performing a live mix from tape loops running on machines in all three studios at Abbey Road
. Additional prose was overdubbed by Lennon and Harrison.
More overdubs were added on 21 June followed by final mixing in stereo. The stereo master was completed on 25 June when it was shortened by 53 seconds. Although other songs on the album were separately remixed for the mono version, the complexity of "Revolution 9" necessitated making the mono mix a direct reduction of the final stereo master. McCartney had been out of the country when "Revolution 9" was assembled and mixed; he was unimpressed when he first heard the finished track, and later tried to persuade Lennon to drop his insistence that it be included on the album.
across the stereo channels. The unidentified voice was found on an examination tape in the studio archives. Lennon recalled: "I just liked the way he said 'number nine' so I made a loop ... it was like a joke, bringing number nine in it all the time ..." Both the piano theme and the "number nine" loop recur many times during the piece, serving as a motif
.
Much of the track consists of tape loops that are faded in and out, several of which are sampled
from performances of classical music
. Works that have been specifically identified include the Vaughan Williams
motet
O Clap Your Hands, the final chord from Sibelius' Symphony No. 7
, and the reversed finale of Schumann's
Symphonic Studies. Other loops include brief portions of Beethoven
's Choral Fantasy
, "The Streets of Cairo
", violins from "A Day in the Life
", and George Martin
saying "Geoff, put the red light on". There are also loops of unidentified opera
tic performances, backwards mellotron
, violins and sound effects, an oboe
/horn
duet, a reversed electric guitar in the key of E major, and a reversed string quartet
in the key of E-flat major.
Portions of the unused coda of "Revolution 1" can be heard briefly several times during the track, particularly Lennon's screams of "right" and "alright", with a longer portion near the end featuring Ono's discourse about becoming naked. Segments of random prose read by Lennon and Harrison are heard prominently throughout, along with numerous sound effects such as laughter, crowd noise, breaking glass, car horns, and gunfire. Some of the sounds were taken from an Elektra Records
album of stock sound effects
. The piece ends with a recording of American football
chants ("Hold that line! Block that kick!"). In all, the final mix includes at least 45 different sound sources.
") and "Revolution 9". The first was a fragment of a song based on the line "Can you take me back", an improvisation sung by McCartney that was recorded between takes of "I Will". The second was a bit of conversation from the studio control room where Alistair Taylor
asked George Martin for forgiveness for not bringing him a bottle of claret.
"Revolution 9" was released on 22 November 1968 as the fifth track on the fourth side of the album The Beatles, four tracks after "Revolution 1". With no gaps in the sequence from "Cry Baby Cry" to "Revolution 9", the point of track division has varied among different re-issues of the album. Some versions place the conversation at the end of "Cry Baby Cry", resulting in a length of 8:13 for "Revolution 9", while others start "Revolution 9" with the conversation, for a track length of 8:22.
and John Piccarella called it "an anti-masterpiece" and noted that, in effect, "for eight minutes of an album officially titled The Beatles, there were no Beatles." Jann Wenner
was more complimentary, writing that "Revolution 9" was "beautifully organized" and had more political impact than "Revolution 1". Ian MacDonald remarked that "Revolution 9" evoked the era's revolutionary disruptions and their repercussions, and thus was culturally "one of the most significant acts The Beatles ever perpetrated."
Among more recent reviews, The New Rolling Stone Album Guide said it was "justly maligned", but "more fun than 'Honey Pie
' or 'Yer Blues
'." Pitchfork
reviewer Mark Richardson observed that "the biggest pop band in the world exposed millions of fans to a really great and certainly frightening piece of avant-garde art."
" mental state, with underlying themes of consciousness and quality of awareness. Others have described the piece as Lennon's attempt at turning "nightmare imagery" into sound, and as "an autobiographical soundscape."
asserted that Charles Manson
believed that many songs on the album The Beatles contained references confirming his prediction of an impending apocalyptic
race war
, a scenario dubbed "Helter Skelter
". According to Gregg Jakobson
, Manson mentioned "Revolution 9" more often than any of the other album tracks, and he interpreted it as a parallel of Chapter 9 of the Book of Revelation
. Manson viewed the piece as a portrayal in sound of the coming black-white revolution. He misheard Lennon's distorted screams of "Right!" within "Revolution 9" as a command to "Rise!"
In addition, McCartney and Ringo Starr
performed on the extended "Revolution" coda, elements of which were used intermittently in "Revolution 9", and a line by George Martin
was used as one of the tape loops.
Phish
performed "Revolution 9" (along with almost all of the songs from The Beatles) at their Halloween
1994 concert that was released in 2002 as Live Phish Volume 13
. Australian dance rock band Def FX
recorded a version for their 1996 album Majick. Little Fyodor
recorded a cover in 1987 and released it as a CD single in 2000. In 2008, the contemporary classical chamber ensemble Alarm Will Sound
transcribed an orchestral re-creation of "Revolution 9" which they performed on tour. "Revolution 9" has also inspired songs by punk group United Nations
("Resolution 9") and rock band Marilyn Manson
("Revelation #9"). It also inspired White Zombie
's "Real Solution #9", which contains samples of a Prime Time
Live interview that Diane Sawyer
conducted with Patricia Krenwinkel
. In the sample used Krenwinkel is heard saying: "Yeah, I remember her saying, I'm already dead."
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' 1968 self-titled LP release
The Beatles (album)
The Beatles is the ninth official album by the English rock group The Beatles, a double album released in 1968. It is also commonly known as "The White Album" as it has no graphics or text other than the band's name embossed on its plain white sleeve.The album was written and recorded during a...
(popularly known as "The White Album"). The sound collage
Sound collage
In music, montage or sound collage is a technique where sound objects or compositions, including songs, are created from collage, also known as montage, the use of portions of previous recordings or scores...
, credited to Lennon–McCartney, was created primarily by John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
with assistance from George Harrison
George Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
and Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono
is a Japanese artist, musician, author and peace activist, known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking as well as her marriage to John Lennon...
. Lennon said he was trying to paint a picture of a revolution using sound. The composition was influenced by the avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
style of Ono as well as the musique concrète
Musique concrète
Musique concrète is a form of electroacoustic music that utilises acousmatic sound as a compositional resource. The compositional material is not restricted to the inclusion of sounds derived from musical instruments or voices, nor to elements traditionally thought of as "musical"...
works of composers such as Edgard Varese
Edgard Varèse
Edgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse, , whose name was also spelled Edgar Varèse , was an innovative French-born composer who spent the greater part of his career in the United States....
and Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. Another critic calls him "one of the great visionaries of 20th-century music"...
.
The recording began as an extended ending to the album version of "Revolution
Revolution (song)
"Revolution" is a song by The Beatles written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The Beatles released two distinct arrangements of the song in 1968: a hard rock version as the B-side of the single "Hey Jude", and a slower version titled "Revolution 1" on the eponymous album The Beatles...
". Lennon then combined the unused coda
Coda (music)
Coda is a term used in music in a number of different senses, primarily to designate a passage that brings a piece to an end. Technically, it is an expanded cadence...
with numerous overdubbed
Overdubbing
Overdubbing is a technique used by recording studios to add a supplementary recorded sound to a previously recorded performance....
vocals, speech, sound effects, and short tape loops of speech and musical performances, some of which were reversed. These were further manipulated with echo, distortion, stereo
Stereophonic sound
The term Stereophonic, commonly called stereo, sound refers to any method of sound reproduction in which an attempt is made to create an illusion of directionality and audible perspective...
panning
Panning (audio)
Panning is the spread of a sound signal into a new stereo or multi-channel sound field. A typical physical recording console pan control is a knob with a pointer which can be placed from the 8 o'clock dial position fully left to the 4 o'clock position fully right...
, and fading
Fading
In wireless communications, fading is deviation of the attenuation that a carrier-modulated telecommunication signal experiences over certain propagation media. The fading may vary with time, geographical position and/or radio frequency, and is often modelled as a random process. A fading channel...
. The loop of "number nine" featured in the recording fuelled rumours about Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
's death after it was reported that it sounded like "turn me on, dead man" when played backwards.
McCartney argued against including the track on The Beatles, and it was generally poorly received by both fans and critics. At over eight minutes, it is the longest track that the Beatles officially released.
Background and recording
"Revolution 9" was not the first venture by The Beatles into experimental recordings. In January 1967, McCartney led the group in recording an unreleased piece called "Carnival of LightCarnival of Light
"Carnival of Light" is an unreleased experimental piece by The Beatles. It was recorded on 5 January 1967, after the vocal overdubbing sessions for the song "Penny Lane"...
" during a session for "Penny Lane
Penny Lane
"Penny Lane" is a song by The Beatles, written by Paul McCartney. It was credited to Lennon–McCartney.Recorded during the Sgt. Pepper sessions, "Penny Lane" was released in February 1967 as one side of a double A-sided single, along with "Strawberry Fields Forever". Both songs were later included...
". McCartney said the work was inspired by composers Stockhausen and John Cage
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
. Stockhausen was also a favourite of Lennon, and was one of the people included on the Sgt. Pepper album cover. Music critic Ian McDonald
Ian MacDonald
Ian MacCormick was a British music critic and author, best known for Revolution in the Head, his forensic history of The Beatles which borrowed techniques from art historians, and The New Shostakovich, a controversial study of the Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich...
wrote that "Revolution 9" may have been influenced by Stockhausen's Hymnen
Hymnen
Hymnen is an electronic and concrete work, with optional live performers, by Karlheinz Stockhausen, composed in 1966–67, and elaborated in 1969. In the composer's catalog of works, it is "Nr. 22".-Musical form and content:...
in particular.
Another influence on Lennon was his relationship with Ono. Lennon and Ono had recently recorded their own avant-garde album, Unfinished Music No.1: Two Virgins
Unfinished Music No.1: Two Virgins
Unfinished Music No.1: Two Virgins is an album released by John Lennon and Yoko Ono in 1968. The result of an all-night session of musical experimentation in Lennon's home studio at Kenwood, John and Yoko's debut album is known not only for its avant garde content, but also for its cover...
. Lennon said: "Once I heard her stuff—not just the screeching and howling but her sort of word pieces and talking and breathing and all this strange stuff ... I got intrigued, so I wanted to do one." Ono attended the recording sessions and helped Lennon select which tape loops to use.
"Revolution 9" originated on 30 May 1968 during the first recording session for Lennon's composition "Revolution". Take 20 lasted more than ten minutes and was given additional overdubs over the next two sessions. Mark Lewisohn
Mark Lewisohn
Mark Lewisohn is an English author and historian, regarded as the world's leading authority on the English rock band The Beatles.-The Beatles and related subjects:...
described the last six minutes as "pure chaos ... with discordant instrumental jamming, feedback, John repeatedly screaming 'alright' and then, simply, repeatedly screaming ... with Yoko talking and saying such off-the-wall phrases as 'you become naked', and with the overlaying of miscellaneous, home-made sound effects tapes."
Lennon soon decided to make the first part of the recording into a conventional Beatles' song, "Revolution 1", while using the last six minutes as the basis for a separate track, "Revolution 9". He began preparing additional sound effects and tape loops: some newly recorded in the studio, at home and from the studio archives. The work culminated on 20 June, with Lennon performing a live mix from tape loops running on machines in all three studios at Abbey Road
Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...
. Additional prose was overdubbed by Lennon and Harrison.
More overdubs were added on 21 June followed by final mixing in stereo. The stereo master was completed on 25 June when it was shortened by 53 seconds. Although other songs on the album were separately remixed for the mono version, the complexity of "Revolution 9" necessitated making the mono mix a direct reduction of the final stereo master. McCartney had been out of the country when "Revolution 9" was assembled and mixed; he was unimpressed when he first heard the finished track, and later tried to persuade Lennon to drop his insistence that it be included on the album.
Structure and content
The piece begins with a slow piano theme in the key of B minor and a male voice repeating the words "number nine", quickly panningPanning (audio)
Panning is the spread of a sound signal into a new stereo or multi-channel sound field. A typical physical recording console pan control is a knob with a pointer which can be placed from the 8 o'clock dial position fully left to the 4 o'clock position fully right...
across the stereo channels. The unidentified voice was found on an examination tape in the studio archives. Lennon recalled: "I just liked the way he said 'number nine' so I made a loop ... it was like a joke, bringing number nine in it all the time ..." Both the piano theme and the "number nine" loop recur many times during the piece, serving as a motif
Motif (music)
In music, a motif or motive is a short musical idea, a salient recurring figure, musical fragment or succession of notes that has some special importance in or is characteristic of a composition....
.
Much of the track consists of tape loops that are faded in and out, several of which are sampled
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
from performances of classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
. Works that have been specifically identified include the Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
motet
Motet
In classical music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions.-Etymology:The name comes either from the Latin movere, or a Latinized version of Old French mot, "word" or "verbal utterance." The Medieval Latin for "motet" is motectum, and the Italian...
O Clap Your Hands, the final chord from Sibelius' Symphony No. 7
Symphony No. 7 (Sibelius)
The Symphony No. 7 in C major, Op. 105, was the final published symphony of Jean Sibelius. Completed in 1924, the Seventh is notable for being a one-movement symphony, in contrast to the standard symphonic formula of four movements...
, and the reversed finale of Schumann's
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....
Symphonic Studies. Other loops include brief portions of Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
's Choral Fantasy
Choral Fantasy (Beethoven)
The Fantasy in C minor for Piano, Chorus, and Orchestra, Op. 80, was composed in 1808 by Ludwig van Beethoven.-Background, composition, and premiere:...
, "The Streets of Cairo
The Streets of Cairo, or the Poor Little Country Maid
"The Streets of Cairo, or the Poor Little Country Maid", also known as "the snake charmer song", is a well-known melody in the United States. Alternate titles for children's songs using this melody include "The Girls in France" and "The Southern Part of France".- History :Purportedly the original...
", violins from "A Day in the Life
A Day in the Life
"A Day in the Life" is a song by The Beatles, the final track on the group's 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Credited to Lennon–McCartney, the song comprises distinct segments written independently by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, with orchestral additions...
", and George Martin
George Martin
Sir George Henry Martin CBE is an English record producer, arranger, composer and musician. He is sometimes referred to as "the Fifth Beatle"— a title that he often describes as "nonsense," but the fact remains that he served as producer on all but one of The Beatles' original albums...
saying "Geoff, put the red light on". There are also loops of unidentified opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
tic performances, backwards mellotron
Mellotron
The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...
, violins and sound effects, an oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
/horn
Horn (instrument)
The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
duet, a reversed electric guitar in the key of E major, and a reversed string quartet
String quartet
A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...
in the key of E-flat major.
Portions of the unused coda of "Revolution 1" can be heard briefly several times during the track, particularly Lennon's screams of "right" and "alright", with a longer portion near the end featuring Ono's discourse about becoming naked. Segments of random prose read by Lennon and Harrison are heard prominently throughout, along with numerous sound effects such as laughter, crowd noise, breaking glass, car horns, and gunfire. Some of the sounds were taken from an Elektra Records
Elektra Records
Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
album of stock sound effects
Stock sound effects
A stock sound effect is a prerecorded sound effect created for or contained within a sound effect library for the intended reuse within entertainment productions; as opposed to creating a new, unique sound effect.-History:...
. The piece ends with a recording of American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
chants ("Hold that line! Block that kick!"). In all, the final mix includes at least 45 different sound sources.
Album sequencing and release
During compilation and sequencing of the master tape for the album The Beatles, two unrelated segments were included between the previous song ("Cry Baby CryCry Baby Cry
"Cry Baby Cry" is a song by The Beatles, written by John Lennon, from their 1968 album The Beatles.-Composition:Demos of the song indicate that Lennon wrote the song in late 1967...
") and "Revolution 9". The first was a fragment of a song based on the line "Can you take me back", an improvisation sung by McCartney that was recorded between takes of "I Will". The second was a bit of conversation from the studio control room where Alistair Taylor
Alistair Taylor
James Alistair Taylor was the English personal assistant of Brian Epstein who accompanied him to the Cavern Club when he first saw The Beatles play on 9 November 1961...
asked George Martin for forgiveness for not bringing him a bottle of claret.
"Revolution 9" was released on 22 November 1968 as the fifth track on the fourth side of the album The Beatles, four tracks after "Revolution 1". With no gaps in the sequence from "Cry Baby Cry" to "Revolution 9", the point of track division has varied among different re-issues of the album. Some versions place the conversation at the end of "Cry Baby Cry", resulting in a length of 8:13 for "Revolution 9", while others start "Revolution 9" with the conversation, for a track length of 8:22.
Reception
The unusual nature of "Revolution 9" engendered a wide range of opinions. Lewisohn summarised the public reaction upon its release: "... most listeners loathing it outright, the dedicated fans trying to understand it." Music critics Robert ChristgauRobert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
and John Piccarella called it "an anti-masterpiece" and noted that, in effect, "for eight minutes of an album officially titled The Beatles, there were no Beatles." Jann Wenner
Jann Wenner
Jann Simon Wenner is the co-founder and publisher of the music and politics biweekly Rolling Stone, as well as the owner of Men's Journal and Us Weekly magazines.-Childhood:...
was more complimentary, writing that "Revolution 9" was "beautifully organized" and had more political impact than "Revolution 1". Ian MacDonald remarked that "Revolution 9" evoked the era's revolutionary disruptions and their repercussions, and thus was culturally "one of the most significant acts The Beatles ever perpetrated."
Among more recent reviews, The New Rolling Stone Album Guide said it was "justly maligned", but "more fun than 'Honey Pie
Honey Pie
"Honey Pie" is a song by the Beatles, from their 1968 eponymous album The Beatles, also known as The White Album. Although credited to Lennon–McCartney, it was composed solely by Paul McCartney.-Interpretation:...
' or 'Yer Blues
Yer Blues
"Yer Blues" is a song by The Beatles, the second song on the third side of The Beatles, also known as The White Album. It is credited to Lennon–McCartney, but was written by John Lennon while in Rishikesh, India.-Lyrics:...
'." Pitchfork
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
reviewer Mark Richardson observed that "the biggest pop band in the world exposed millions of fans to a really great and certainly frightening piece of avant-garde art."
Interpretation
Lennon described "Revolution 9" as "an unconscious picture of what I actually think will happen when it happens, just like a drawing of revolution." He said he was "painting in sound a picture of revolution", but he had mistakenly made it "anti-revolution". In his analysis of the song, MacDonald doubted that Lennon conceptualised the piece as representing a revolution in the usual sense, but rather as "a sensory attack on the citadel of the intellect: a revolution in the head" aimed at each listener. MacDonald also noted that the structure suggests a "half-awake, channel-hoppingChannel surfing
Channel surfing is the practice of quickly scanning through different television channels or radio frequencies in order to find something interesting to watch or listen to. Modern viewers, who may have cable or satellite services beaming down dozens if not hundreds or thousands of channels, are...
" mental state, with underlying themes of consciousness and quality of awareness. Others have described the piece as Lennon's attempt at turning "nightmare imagery" into sound, and as "an autobiographical soundscape."
Charles Manson
Based on interviews and testimony, prosecutor Vincent BugliosiVincent Bugliosi
Vincent Bugliosi is an American attorney and author, best known for prosecuting Charles Manson and other defendants accused of the Tate-LaBianca murders. His most recent books are Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy , The Prosecution of George W...
asserted that Charles Manson
Charles Manson
Charles Milles Manson is an American criminal who led what became known as the Manson Family, a quasi-commune that arose in California in the late 1960s. He was found guilty of conspiracy to commit the Tate/LaBianca murders carried out by members of the group at his instruction...
believed that many songs on the album The Beatles contained references confirming his prediction of an impending apocalyptic
Apocalypse
An Apocalypse is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament...
race war
Race war
Race war is a term referring to developing hostilities between ethnic groups divided on the basis of racial group or skin color. The term may refer to specific violent acts or to general overt or covert hostilities between ethnic groups; compare ethnic conflict.-Manson:The murders perpetrated by...
, a scenario dubbed "Helter Skelter
Helter Skelter (Manson scenario)
The murders perpetrated by members of Charles Manson's "Family" were inspired in part by Manson's prediction of Helter Skelter, an apocalyptic war he believed would arise from tension over racial relations between blacks and whites...
". According to Gregg Jakobson
Gregg Jakobson
Gregg Jakobson was an acquaintance of Dennis Wilson of The Beach Boys. Together they wrote "Baby Blue" along with Karen Lamm, "Celebrate the News", "Forever" and "San Miguel" for The Beach Boys...
, Manson mentioned "Revolution 9" more often than any of the other album tracks, and he interpreted it as a parallel of Chapter 9 of the Book of Revelation
Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...
. Manson viewed the piece as a portrayal in sound of the coming black-white revolution. He misheard Lennon's distorted screams of "Right!" within "Revolution 9" as a command to "Rise!"
Personnel
- John LennonJohn LennonJohn Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
- Spoken Vocals, Tape Loops, Sound Effects - George HarrisonGeorge HarrisonGeorge Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
- Spoken Vocals, Tape Loops, Sound Effects - Yoko OnoYoko Onois a Japanese artist, musician, author and peace activist, known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking as well as her marriage to John Lennon...
- Spoken Vocals, Tape Loops, Sound Effects
In addition, McCartney and Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
performed on the extended "Revolution" coda, elements of which were used intermittently in "Revolution 9", and a line by George Martin
George Martin
Sir George Henry Martin CBE is an English record producer, arranger, composer and musician. He is sometimes referred to as "the Fifth Beatle"— a title that he often describes as "nonsense," but the fact remains that he served as producer on all but one of The Beatles' original albums...
was used as one of the tape loops.
Cover versions
The jam bandJam band
-Ambiguity:By the late 1990s use of the term jam band also became ambiguous. An editorial at jamband.com suggested that any band of which a primary band such as Phish has done a cover of be included as jam band. The example was including New York post-punk band Talking Heads after Phish performed...
Phish
Phish
Phish is an American rock band noted for its musical improvisation, extended jams, and exploration of music across genres. Formed at the University of Vermont in 1983 , the band's four members – Trey Anastasio , Mike Gordon , Jon Fishman , and Page McConnell Phish is an American rock band...
performed "Revolution 9" (along with almost all of the songs from The Beatles) at their Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
1994 concert that was released in 2002 as Live Phish Volume 13
Live Phish Volume 13
Live Phish Vol. 13 was recorded live at the Glens Falls Civic Center in Glens Falls, New York on Halloween night, 1994. It was released on October 29, 2002, along with Volume 14, Volume 15, and Volume 16....
. Australian dance rock band Def FX
Def FX
Def FX was an Australian industrial-dance-rock group, formed in Sydney. The core of the group was keyboardist and vocalist Sean Lowry and vocalist Fiona Horne ....
recorded a version for their 1996 album Majick. Little Fyodor
Little Fyodor
Little Fyodoris the performance name of Dave Lichtenberg, an underground punk/garage musician from Denver, Colorado, who has been on the scene for two decades. He originally performed in the band Walls of Genius, and then went on to become a solo act...
recorded a cover in 1987 and released it as a CD single in 2000. In 2008, the contemporary classical chamber ensemble Alarm Will Sound
Alarm Will Sound
Alarm Will Sound is a 20-member chamber orchestra that focuses on recordings and performances of contemporary music. Its performances have been described as "equal parts exuberance, nonchalance, and virtuosity" by the Financial Times and as "a triumph of ensemble playing" by the San Francisco...
transcribed an orchestral re-creation of "Revolution 9" which they performed on tour. "Revolution 9" has also inspired songs by punk group United Nations
United Nations (band)
United Nations is an experimental punk supergroup whose roots go back to at least 2005. They consider "screamo power-violence" as their main influence.-History:United Nations was started by Geoff Rickly, the vocalist/lyricist of the band Thursday...
("Resolution 9") and rock band Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson (band)
Marilyn Manson is an American metal band from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Formed in 1989 by Brian Warner and Scott Putesky, the group was originally named Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids with their uniquely theatrical performances gathering a local cult following in the early '90s. This attention...
("Revelation #9"). It also inspired White Zombie
White Zombie
White Zombie was a Grammy Award-nominated American heavy metal band. Based in New York City, White Zombie was originally a noise rock band. White Zombie are better-known for their later heavy metal-oriented sound...
's "Real Solution #9", which contains samples of a Prime Time
Prime Time
Prime Time is an Irish news analysis, current affairs and politics programme. It is broadcast on RTÉ One on Tuesday and Thursday nights between 21:30 and 22:10. It is currently presented by Miriam O'Callaghan, who has presented the programme since its commencement in 1996...
Live interview that Diane Sawyer
Diane Sawyer
Lila Diane Sawyer is the current anchor of ABC News' flagship program, ABC World News. Previously, Sawyer had been co-anchor of ABC Newss morning news program, Good Morning America ....
conducted with Patricia Krenwinkel
Patricia Krenwinkel
Patricia Dianne Krenwinkel is an American convicted killer and a former member of Charles Manson's murderous commune, known as "the Family". During her time with Manson's group, she was known by various aliases such as "Big Patty", "Yellow", and "Mary Ann Scott", but to The Family she was most...
. In the sample used Krenwinkel is heard saying: "Yeah, I remember her saying, I'm already dead."