This oft derided piece from The Beatles (White Album) seems to fill the hearts and minds of Beatles fans the world over with scorn, even hatred. So why - when The Beatles are regularly championed for their innovations during the sixties - is Revolution 9 treated with such distaste?

This June sees the 40th anniversary of the recording sessions that brought about, what was to become The Beatles longest legally released recorded track. Avant Garde/Experimental music was not a new thing at the time, though most pop music fans were probably unaware of it's existence. The likes of John Cage had been producing this kind of thing since the mid '50's. Paul McCartney had become an unofficial patron of the undergound Avante Garde movement in the mid sixties, extolling the virtues of Cage, Stockhausen, and experimental film. John Lennon was living with an experimental artist, and George Harrison had recorded an album of electronic music (Wonderwall Music), so it should not have come as a massive surprise that something akin to this might one day turn up on a Beatles record.

Far from being derided, should The Beatles not be praised for being the first 'popular' music act to release such a piece?

Discuss.

Alright, credits for the experiment. But unlistenable to my ears.

Oooh, I can't decide. Points for trying something "new" (for a mainstream act) but the fact that a) it sounds awful and b) didn't exactly kick off a new trend puts it firmly in the "George Harrison And The Sitar" mode for me - thanks, but no thanks. Somethings are best left alone.
But then again if people didn't experiment we'd still be doing The Peppermint Twist. And being from a double album, it's not like it was using up valuable space.
Maybe the whole thing was sponsored by the makers of stereo stylus's. (stylisi?) It must have been a goldmine for them after all that backwards dragging.
Praise or Purge?.......Praise!!! Da da.

I'll give them points for having the guts to do Revolution #9, .. or at least
John!  

come on, its a masterpiece!!  

i like revolution 9. and i love John's odd commentary throughout the song

Hearing the song backwards is much more interesting then listening to it forwards.

Quoted from JimmyMcCullochFan

Hearing the song backwards is much more interesting then listening to it forwards.

Sideways helps!

I think it's an interesting piece, and very bold, for the time. I just think that they've never received the credit they should have for it. Had it been made by a major Avante Garde artist at the time, it would have received publicity of a different kind.

I  never skip it when i listen to The White album and i think i would miss it if it was'nt there.

It doesn't hold my attention enough to allow me to sit through the whole thing. I have nothing to compare it to, so whether it's good or not for is a genre I don't know.
Mind, it's in good company. With the exception of the "normal" revolution, for me side 4 of the White Album must be the most uninspired piece of vinyl the band made.

Quoted from Bobber

Alright, credits for the experiment. But unlistenable to my ears.

I agree.

I could throw tomatoes and dog puke at a canvas and it would equal the art of that song.

Quoted from BlueMeanie

This oft derided piece from The Beatles (White Album) seems to fill the hearts and minds of Beatles fans the world over with scorn, even hatred. So why - when The Beatles are regularly championed for their innovations during the sixties - is Revolution 9 treated with such distaste?

This June sees the 40th anniversary of the recording sessions that brought about, what was to become The Beatles longest legally released recorded track. Avant Garde/Experimental music was not a new thing at the time, though most pop music fans were probably unaware of it's existence. The likes of John Cage had been producing this kind of thing since the mid '50's. Paul McCartney had become an unofficial patron of the undergound Avante Garde movement in the mid sixties, extolling the virtues of Cage, Stockhausen, and experimental film. John Lennon was living with an experimental artist, and George Harrison had recorded an album of electronic music (Wonderwall Music), so it should not have come as a massive surprise that something akin to this might one day turn up on a Beatles record.

Far from being derided, should The Beatles not be praised for being the first 'popular' music act to release such a piece?

Discuss.

its tuneless even if youre going to make something like it there must be some thing driving the it along in the background.

if you took the all the vocals out of tomorrow never knows and just replaced it with weird noises and tape tricks it would still be interesting and listenable because of the hypnotic bass and drums.

i think it just lacked somehting to focus on while everything around it was goin off in different directions

and i forgot to mention it was quite unsettling to listen to for me in the same way the Orchestral crescendo in a day in the life was, the only difference being a day in the life comes and goes quickly but revolution 9 keeps on going and is awkward to listen to right through

the first time I heard Rev. 9 I was in the dark and thought someone was talking to me.

I think I they should be praised because people weren't used to that kind of thing, and like everything else they did it opened a door for other artists.
a song without set lyrics is what I think of it as.

Quoted from PaulieBear

a song without set lyrics is what I think of it as.

a song?

Quoted from Andy Smith

a song?

well...ok music without lyrics.
well what would you call it, it's on an album so I figured song...