Revolution (Beatles song)
"Revolution" | |
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Song | |
A-side | "Hey Jude" |
"Revolution" | |
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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 (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.
Background and composition
In early 1968, media coverage in the aftermath of the Tet Offensive spurred increased protests in opposition to the Vietnam War, especially among university students.[1] The protests were most prevalent in the US, but on 17 March several thousand demonstrators marched to the American embassy in London's Grosvenor Square and violently clashed with police.[2] Major protests concerning other political issues made international news, such as the March 1968 protests in Poland against their communist government, and the campus uprisings of May 1968 in France.[3]
The Beatles had avoided expressing political viewpoints, with "Taxman" being their only prior song with an overt political topic. During his time in Rishikesh, Lennon decided to write a song about the recent wave of social upheaval. He recalled, "I thought it was about time we spoke about it [revolution], the same as I thought it was about time we stopped not answering about the Vietnamese war. I had been thinking about it up in the hills in India."[4]
Despite Lennon's antiwar feelings, he had yet to become anti-establishment, and expressed in "Revolution" that he wanted "to see the plan" from those advocating toppling the system.[5] The repeated phrase "it's gonna be alright" in "Revolution" came directly from Lennon's Transcendental Meditation experiences in India, conveying the idea that God would take care of the human race no matter what happened politically.[6] Another influence on Lennon was his burgeoning relationship with avant-garde artist Yoko Ono; Ono attended the recording sessions, and participated in the unused portion of "Revolution 1" which evolved into "Revolution 9".
Around the fourth week of May 1968, The Beatles met at Kinfauns (George Harrison's home in Esher) to demonstrate their compositions to each other in preparation for recording their next studio album. A bootleg recording from that informal session shows that "Revolution" had two of its three verses intact.[5] The line referencing Mao Zedong was added to the lyrics in the studio. During filming of a promotional clip later that year, Lennon told the director that it was the most important lyric of the song.[7] Lennon had changed his mind by 1972, saying "I should have never put that in about Chairman Mao".[8]
Recording
Revolution 1
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.[9]
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".[10] He later explained that he included both because he was undecided in his sentiments.[11] The appended "in" did not appear on the lyric sheet included with the original album.[12]
"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.[13] 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.[14]
Take 20
Take 20 of "Revolution 1" has been described as bridging the gap between the song and the musique concrete "Revolution 9".[15] 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.[16][17] The authenticity of the recording has not been officially confirmed.[15] 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.[18]
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".[19] 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.[18] 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.[20] 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.[18]
Splitting of Revolution 1 and Revolution 9
Lennon soon decided to divide the existing ten-minute recording into two parts: a more conventional Beatles track and an avant-garde sound collage.[21] Within days after take 20, work began on "Revolution 9" using the last six minutes of the take as a starting point. Numerous sound effects, tape loops, and overdubs were recorded and compiled over several sessions almost exclusively by Lennon and Ono, although Harrison provided assistance for additional spoken overdubs.[22] With more than 40 sources used for "Revolution 9", only small portions of the take 20 coda are heard in the final mix; most prominent from take 20 are Lennon's multiple screams of "right" and "alright", and about a minute near the end featuring Ono's lines up to "you become naked".[23]
On 21 June, the first part of take 20 received several overdubs and became officially titled "Revolution 1". The overdubs included a lead guitar line by Harrison and a brass section of two trumpets and four trombones. Final stereo mixing was completed 25 June.[24] The final mix included the hurried announcement of "take two" by engineer Geoff Emerick at the beginning of the song.[14]
Revolution (single version)
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.[25] Lennon persisted, and rehearsals for a faster and louder re-make began on 9 July; recording started the following day.[26]
The song begins with "a startling machine-gun fuzz guitar riff", with Lennon's and Harrison's guitars prominent throughout the track.[27] The distinctive distorted guitar sound was achieved by direct injection of the guitar signal into the mixing console.[28] 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.[29] Lennon overdubbed the opening scream, and double-tracked some of the words "so roughly that its careless spontaneity becomes a point in itself".[30]
"Revolution" was performed in a higher key, B major, compared to the A major of "Revolution 1". The "shoo-bee-do-wah" backing vocals were omitted in the re-make, and an instrumental break was added. "Revolution" was given a climactic end, as opposed to the fade out of "Revolution 1".[31] For this version, Lennon unequivocally sang "count me out". A piano overdub by Nicky Hopkins was added 11 July, with final overdubs on 13 July and mono mixing on 15 July.[32]
Release and reception
"Revolution" was released as the B-side of the "Hey Jude" single in late August 1968. The song reached number 12 in the US and number 1 in New Zealand.[33] The "Hey Jude"/"Revolution" single was listed as a double-sided number 1 in Australia. "Revolution 1" was released on The Beatles in late November 1968. It was the first track on the fourth side, four spots ahead of the companion piece "Revolution 9".
"Revolution" later appeared on the 1970 US compilation album Hey Jude, the first time the song appeared in stereo. Lennon disliked the stereo mix, saying in a 1974 interview that the mono mix of "Revolution" was a "heavy record" but "then they made it into a piece of ice cream!"[34] The song was released on other compilations, including 1967–1970 and Past Masters. It was remixed for the 2006 soundtrack album Love, appearing in full length on the DVD-Audio version and as a shortened edit on other versions.
Politically, the release of "Revolution" prompted immediate responses from the New Left and counterculture press: Ramparts branded it a "betrayal", and the New Left Review said the song was "a lamentable petty bourgeois cry of fear".[35] The far left contrasted "Revolution" with a song by The Rolling Stones that was inspired by similar events and released around the same time: "Street Fighting Man" was perceived to be more supportive of their cause.[2] Others on the left praised The Beatles for rejecting radicalism and advocating "pacifist idealism".[36] The far right remained suspicious of The Beatles, saying they were moderate subversives who were "warning the Maoists not to 'blow' the revolution by pushing too hard".[6] As further evidence of The Beatles' pro-Soviet sentiments, the John Birch Society magazine cited another song on the White Album, "Back in the U.S.S.R.".[37]
Music journalist Greil Marcus noted that the political critics had overlooked the music; he wrote that while "there is sterility and repression in the lyrics", the "freedom and movement in the music ... dodges the message and comes out in front."[12] Among later music critics, Dave Marsh included "Revolution" in his 1989 book covering the 1001 greatest singles, describing it as a "gem" with a "ferocious fuzztone rock and roll attack" and a "snarling" Lennon vocal.[38] Writing for Allmusic, Richie Unterberger called "Revolution" one of The Beatles' "greatest, most furious rockers" with "challenging, fiery lyrics" where the listener's "heart immediately starts pounding before Lennon goes into the first verse".[27]
Promotional clips
Filming for promotional clips of "Hey Jude" and "Revolution" took place on 4 September 1968 under the direction of Michael Lindsay-Hogg. Two finished clips of "Revolution" were produced, with only lighting differences and other minor variations.[39] The Beatles sang the vocals live over the pre-recorded instrumental track from the single version. Their vocals included elements from "Revolution 1": McCartney and Harrison sang the "shoo-bee-doo-wah" backing vocals, and Lennon sang "count me out, in". Lennon also substituted "we'd all love" for "we all want" in the opening verse. Unlike the single version, McCartney performed the opening scream because Lennon could not recover his breath in time to start singing the first verse.
While the "Hey Jude" clip debuted on David Frost's ITV television programme, the "Revolution" clip was first broadcast on the BBC1 programme Top of the Pops on 19 September 1968. The first US screening of "Revolution" was on the 13 October 1968 broadcast of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.[39]
Personnel
- Revolution
- John Lennon – double-tracked lead vocals, lead guitar, handclaps
- Paul McCartney – bass guitar, Hammond organ, handclaps
- George Harrison – lead guitar, handclaps
- Ringo Starr – drums, handclaps
- Nicky Hopkins – electric piano
- Revolution 1
- John Lennon – lead vocal, acoustic guitar, lead guitar
- Paul McCartney – bass guitar, piano, organ, backing vocals
- George Harrison – lead guitar, backing vocals
- Ringo Starr – drums
- Derek Watkins and Freddy Clayton – trumpets
- Don Lang, Rex Morris, J. Power, and Bill Povey – trombones
- Personnel per Ian MacDonald[40]
Use in Nike advertisement
In 1987, "Revolution" became the first Beatles recording to be licensed for use in a television commercial. Nike paid $500,000 for the right to use the song for one year, split between recording owner Capitol-EMI and song publisher ATV Music Publishing (owned by Michael Jackson). Commercials using the song started airing in March 1987.[41]
If it's allowed to happen, every Beatles song ever recorded is going to be advertising women's underwear and sausages. We've got to put a stop to it in order to set a precedent. Otherwise it's going to be a free-for-all. It's one thing when you're dead, but we're still around! They don't have any respect for the fact that we wrote and recorded those songs, and it was our lives.
— George Harrison (November 1987)[41]
The three surviving Beatles, through their record company Apple, filed a lawsuit in July 1987 objecting to Nike's use of the song. The suit was aimed at Nike, its advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy, and Capitol-EMI Records.[42] Capitol-EMI said the lawsuit was groundless because they had licensed the use of "Revolution" with the "active support and encouragement of Yoko Ono Lennon, a shareholder and director of Apple".[41] Ono had expressed approval when the commercial was released, saying the commercial "is making John's music accessible to a new generation".[42]
The "Revolution" lawsuit and others involving The Beatles and EMI were settled out of court in November 1989, with the terms kept secret.[43] The financial website TheStreet.com included the Nike "Revolution" advertisement campaign in its list of the 100 key business events of the 20th century, as it helped "commodify dissent".[44]
Cover versions
"Revolution" | |
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Song |
In October 2001, Stone Temple Pilots performed "Revolution" live during Come Together: A Night for John Lennon's Words and Music, a television special in tribute to Lennon that raised funds for victims of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. After their performance received significant radio airplay, the group recorded a studio version, which was released as a single in November 2001.[45] The song reached number 30 on the US Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.[46]
An early cover version appeared in 1969 on The Head Shop, the only album by the psychedelic rock band of the same name.[47] Billy Bragg performed a punk rock arrangement of the song on the 1997 compilation album Revolution No. 9: A Tribute to The Beatles. Other artists who have featured "Revolution" on their albums include the Grateful Dead (Terrapin Station (Limited Edition)), the Thompson Twins (Here's to Future Days), Blessid Union of Souls (Walking Off the Buzz), Running Wild (Victory), and Reckless Kelly (Reckless Kelly Was Here). Other performers have recorded versions for film soundtracks, including Grandaddy (I Am Sam), Jim Sturgess (Across the Universe), and Rascal Flatts (Evan Almighty).[48] Bands as diverse as Phish and MercyMe have performed the song in concert.[49]
References
- Footnotes
- Bibliography
- "The Beatles: Charts & Awards: Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Retrieved 4 September 2010.
- The Beatles (2000). The Beatles Anthology. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. ISBN 978-0-8118-2684-6.
{{cite book}}
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(help) - Bextor, Robin; Barrow, Tony; Newby, Julian (2004). Paul McCartney: Now and Then. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard. ISBN 978-0-63406-919-2.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - "Mainstream Rock Tracks (December 1, 2001)". Billboard. 1 December 2001. Retrieved 4 September 2010.
- Burley, Leo (9 March 2008). "Jagger vs Lennon: London's riots of 1968 provided the backdrop to a rock'n'roll battle royale". The Independent. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - Doyle, Jack (27 July 2009). "Nike & The Beatles, 1987–1989". The Pop History Dig. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
{{cite web}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Dülffer, Meike (26 March 2008). "1968—A European Movement?". euro-topics. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
{{cite web}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Emerick, Geoff; Massey, Howard (2006). Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of The Beatles. New York: Gotham. ISBN 978-1-59240-179-6.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Everett, Walter (1999). The Beatles as Musicians: Revolver through the Anthology. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19512-941-0.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Kozinn, Allan (10 November 1989). "Beatles and Record Label Reach Pact and End Suit". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 August 2010.
{{cite news}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Kreps, Daniel (27 February 2009). "The Beatles' Experimental 'Revolution 1 (Take 20)' Surfaces". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
{{cite web}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Lewisohn, Mark (1988). The Beatles Recording Sessions. New York: Harmony Books. ISBN 0-517-57066-1.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Lewisohn, Mark (2000). The Complete Beatles Chronicle. London: Hamlyn. ISBN 978-0-60060-033-6.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - MacDonald, Ian (1994). Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties. New York: Henry Holt. ISBN 978-0-80504-245-0.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Marsh, Dave (1989). The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made. New York: New American Library. ISBN 978-0-45226-305-5.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - McKinney, Devin (24 February 2009). "'Revolution 1' in the head". Retrieved 12 September 2010.
{{cite web}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - "Unreleased Beatles material surfaces online". New Music Express. 23 February 2009. Retrieved 16 March 2010.
- Pareles, Jon (5 August 1987). "Nike Calls Beatles Suit Groundless". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
{{cite news}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Pollack, Alan W. (1997). "Notes on 'Revolution' and 'Revolution 1'". Soundscapes.info. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
{{cite web}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Spignesi, Stephen J.; Lewis, Michael (2004). Here, There, and Everywhere: The 100 Best Beatles Songs. New York: Black Dog. ISBN 978-1-57912-369-7.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - "The Basics of Business History: 100 Events That Shaped a Century: Nos. 100 to 81". TheStreet.com. 19 May 1999. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
- Unterberger, Richie (2006). The Unreleased Beatles: Music and Film. San Francisco: Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-0-87930-892-6.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Unterberger, Richie. "Revolution (The Beatles): Song Review". Allmusic. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link) - Wenner, Jann S (2000). Lennon Remembers (Full interview from Lennon's 1970 interview in Rolling Stone magazine). London: Verso. ISBN 1-85984-600-9.
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: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Wiederhorn, Jon (1 November 2001). "Stone Temple Pilots launch 'Revolution' For WTC Victims". MTV News. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
{{cite web}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Wiener, Jon (1991). Come Together: John Lennon in His Time. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-06131-8.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Winn, John C. (2009). That Magic Feeling: The Beatles' Recorded Legacy, Volume Two, 1966–1970. New York: Three Rivers Press (Random House). ISBN 978-0-307-45239-9.
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(help)