aded by TheBeatleMirko on Feb 7, 2012
"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 (commonly called the "White Album"). Although "Revolution" was released first, it was recorded several weeks after "Revolution 1" as a re-make specifically designed to be released as a single. A third connected piece written by Lennon is the experimental "Revolution 9", which evolved from an unused portion of "Revolution 1", and also appears on the White Album.
"Revolution" was inspired by political protests in early 1968. Lennon's lyrics expressed doubt about some of the tactics. When the single version was released in August, the political left viewed it as betraying their cause. The release of the album version in November indicated Lennon's uncertainty about destructive change, with the phrase "count me out" modified to "count me out, in". In 1987, the song became the first Beatles recording to be licensed for a television commercial, which prompted a lawsuit from the surviving members of the group.
The Beatles began their studio sessions for the new album on 30 May, starting with "Revolution 1" (simply titled "Revolution" for the first few sessions). The first day concentrated on recording the basic rhythm track. Take 18 lasted 10:17, much longer than the earlier takes, and it was this take that was chosen for additional overdubs recorded over the next two sessions.
During overdubs which brought the recording to take 20, Lennon took the unusual step of performing his lead vocal while lying on the floor. He also altered one line into the ambiguous "you can count me out, in". He later explained that he included both because he was undecided in his sentiments. The appended "in" did not appear on the lyric sheet included with the original album.
"Revolution 1" has a blues style, performed at a relaxed tempo. The basic time signature is 4/4, but the song has several extra half-length bars during the verses. There is also an extra beat at the end of the last chorus, the result of an accidental bad edit during the mixing process that was left uncorrected at Lennon's request.
Take 20 of "Revolution 1" has been described as bridging the gap between the song and the musique concrète "Revolution 9". The outtake appeared in 2009 on the bootleg album Revolution: Take...Your Knickers Off in full fidelity, although lower quality portions had been bootlegged previously. The authenticity of the recording has not been officially confirmed. The bootlegged track runs 10 minutes 46 seconds and is presumed to be RM1 (remix in mono #1) of take 20, created at the end of the 4 June session with a copy taken away by Lennon.
The recording starts with the studio engineer announcing the remix but momentarily forgetting the take number, which Lennon jokingly finishes with "Take your knickers off and let's go". The first half of the recording is similar to the released version of "Revolution 1". It lacks the electric guitar and horn overdubs of the final version, and adds a distorted siren-like tone that is faded in and out at various times throughout the song. Beyond the point where the album version fades out, the basic instrumental backing keeps repeating while the vocals and overdubs become increasingly chaotic, including distorted screams from Lennon, feedback, and sound effects. Paul McCartney and Harrison repeatedly sing "Dada, Mama" in a childlike register. As the music concludes, Ono quietly says "maybe... it's not that" followed by Harrison emphatically stating "It is that!" Lennon then mumbles "Gonna be alright" a few times, and Ono's prose is heard among other sounds during the final portion.
Lennon wanted "Revolution 1" to be the next Beatles single, but McCartney was reluctant to invite controversy, and argued along with Harrison that the track was too slow for a single. Lennon persisted, and rehearsals for a faster and louder re-make began on 9 July; recording started the following day.
The song begins with "a startling machine-gun fuzz guitar riff", with Lennon's and Harrison's guitars prominent throughout the track. The distinctive distorted guitar sound was achieved by direct injection of the guitar signal into the mixing console. Emerick further explained that he routed the signal through two microphone preamplifiers in series while he kept the amount of overload just below the point of overheating the console. Lennon overdubbed the opening scream, and double-tracked some of the words "so roughly that its careless spontaneity becomes a point in itself".
Category:
Music
Tags:
The Beatles Revolution 2011 Stereo Remastered HD
License:
Standard YouTube License
'via Blog this'
No comments:
Post a Comment