Revolution (The Beatles Song)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
revolution
The Beatles
publication August 26, 1968
length 3 min 22 s
Genre (s) Pop rock
Author (s) Lennon / McCartney
Producer (s) George Martin
album The Beatles (The White Album)
German single release

Revolution (also: Revolution 1 ) is a song by the British band The Beatles from 1968. It was written by John Lennon , but published under the credit of Lennon / McCartney . The song first appeared as the B-side of the single Hey Jude and was later released in a different version on the double album The Beatles (also known as the White Album ).

background

Revolution was the first song the Beatles recorded for the White Album . It was written by John Lennon during the band's stay in India in early 1968. The song was inspired by the student unrest in Paris , the Vietnam War and the assassination attempt on Martin Luther King . The song heralded Lennon's later distinctive quality as a political activist.

Recording and production

Album version

Revolution was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London in the spring of 1968 . The producer was George Martin , assisted by Geoff Emerick . On May 30, 1968, the band recorded a total of 16 takes of the song. Take 16 was released later, but was around ten minutes long at the time. The last six minutes of Revolution at this point consisted of dissonant tones , moans from John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and Lennon's constant scream "All right!"

On May 31, 1968 further vocals and electric bass were added. On June 4, 1968, Lennon re-recorded his singing. He lay down on the studio floor to sing while lying down. The other Beatles did other overdubs , including Paul McCartney and George Harrison , who kept singing "Mama, Dada, Mama, Dada". The majority of these overdubs focused on the experimental six-minute end of revolution . An eleven minute mono mix of this early version of the song fell into the hands of bootleggers in February 2009 .

Recordings were completed on June 21, 1968 after the addition of wind instruments and a guitar solo .

Ultimately, after about three and a half minutes, the song faded out , leaving the avant-garde part of Revolution unreleased. This part later formed the basis for the nine-minute sound collage Revolution 9 , which also appeared on the White Album .

Single version

Lennon would have liked to release Revolution in the June 1968 version as the Beatles' next single, but was overruled by McCartney and Harrison because the song was too slow. Lennon gave in and the band picked up Revolution again and at a much faster pace.

The recordings began on July 9, 1968 with producer George Martin and recording engineer Geoff Emerick, characterized by very heavily distorted guitars. Lennon double-recorded parts of the vocals to emphasize certain passages. Any errors that occurred in the process were left on the recording to give it spontaneity. Further recordings and overdubs took place on July 10 and 11, 1968. The line-up and instrumentation of the title were John Lennon (lead vocals, choir singing, distorted guitar, clapping hands), Paul McCartney (electric bass, Hammond organ, clapping hands), George Harrison (lead guitar , Clapping hands), Ringo Starr (drums, clapping hands) and Nicky Hopkins (electric piano).

publication

The re-recording of Revolution came before the original recording from June 1968. It was released on August 26, 1968 in the UK and on August 30, 1968 in the US on the B-side of the single Hey Jude . In 1988 it was re-released on Past Masters Volume Two . The recording from June 1968 appeared under the name Revolution 1 on the double album The Beatles on November 22, 1968.

The music project 1,000 Days, 1,000 Songs published the title on its website in March 2017 as a protest against the policies of US President Donald Trump .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Revolution 1 on beatlesbible.com (English)
  2. ^ Mark Lewisohn: The Beatles Recording Sessions, Harmony Book, New York, ISBN 0-517-57066-1 .
  3. ↑ Revolution on beatlesbible.com (English)
  4. ^ Mark Lewisohn: The Beatles Recording Sessions, Harmony Book, New York, ISBN 0-517-57066-1 .
  5. ↑ Volker Rebell: The Beatles 1968 - The White Album . 2nd Edition. Heupferd Musik Verlag, Dreieich 2010, ISBN 978-3-923445-68-4 , p. 77 ff .
  6. ↑ 1,000 Days, 1,000 Songs. Dave Eggers & Jordan Kurland, accessed March 28, 2017 .