bcart12 Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 The Beatles: A fascinating, 10-minute 'Revolution' mysteriously appearsFeb 23, 2009, 06:03 PM | by Rob BrunnerOver the past couple of days, Beatles fanatics have been chattering about an amazing outtake that recently leaked onto the Internet. The 10-minute-plus recording of "Revolution" (embedded below) offers a fascinating look at the wildly ambitious plans the band originally had for the song, eventually included in much shorter form on The White Album. "As someone who's heard, I'd say, 99.8 percent of the Beatles music that has leaked onto bootleg, this is really interesting," says Richie Unterberger, author of the book The Unreleased Beatles. According to Mark Lewisohn's definitive book The Beatles: Recording Sessions, this unheard version was recorded on May 30 and 31, and June 4, 1968. Strangely, John Lennon recorded his vocals while lying flat on his back, hoping it might make his voice sound different. The song starts off very similar to the version that was eventually released, but halfway through it veers off in all sorts of strange directions, adding whooping vocals, tape loops, and other sonic embellishments. It sounded great, as you can hear above, but there was a problem: The band quickly realized "Revolution" had potential as a single, and a 10-minute running time would make that impossible. The solution? They chopped it in half. The first part became "Revolution 1," while the rest served as the basis for the "Revolution 9," an experimental noise-fest that has long baffled many fans. Mystery solved! When you listen to this complete 10-minute version, suddenly "Revolution 9" starts to make a lot more sense. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDvzHqytwp8 How the track leaked after all this time is hard to say. It's possible -- but highly improbable -- that one of the few people with access to EMI's vaults swiped it. More likely, it came (indirectly) from Lennon himself. According to Lewisohn's book, Lennon took a copy of the song home with him from the studio after the June 4 session. It's possible that the recording sat in his apartment in the Dakota for years, and somebody -- the cable guy? The dog walker? -- recently stole it. "That's not so far-fetched," says Unterberger. "John kept a lot of his tapes. Who knows if it was someone rummaging through Yoko's stuff in an unauthorized capacity, but it's possible that she still had that tape." But whatever happened, we're grateful. It's not often that completely new Beatles material trickles out, and we're eager for anything that helps solve the endless mysteries of the band's ever-elusive genius. So what do you think? Is this better than the two songs it became, "Revolution 1" and "Revolution 9"? Or would you rather keep listening to the originals? http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2009/02/beatles-revolut.html Sometimes listening on YouTube sucks! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tongue-tied Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Thank you Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Col. Hapablap Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 I just listened to the whole thing. amazing Quote Link to post Share on other sites
deepseacatfish Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Neat, don't know that I prefer it to Revolution 1/Revolution 9 but a cool find anyway. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
johnes Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 This is cool, thanks for posting. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HungryHippo Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 it ain't everyday you come across a thread with a title like this one! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bcart12 Posted February 24, 2009 Author Share Posted February 24, 2009 it ain't everyday you come across a thread with a title like this one! I wish it was everyday. Man would that be great. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TCP Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Sweet beans! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
a.miller Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Pretty cool. I always play the "what if" game with the Beatles... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Synthesizer Patel Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 That is so much better than the 2 songs split. I can't even begin to think why they ended up doing it the way they did. The "Dada, Mama" bit is great. It also shows how totally gypped we were with the scraps they put on the anthology series. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SarahC Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 very very cool. i am pretty sure this has made my day. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PopTodd Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 I need to see this when I get home!Thanks so much. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Moss Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Listening right now. Sweet! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 I suppose it's interesting to hear something we have not heard before, but I don't much care for that sort of noisy experimental stuff. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MattZ Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 the winner, and STILL champions...! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Stewart Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Sometimes listening on YouTube sucks! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
imsjry Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Isn't this on the Purple Chick White Album? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
So Long Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 bad news, the youtube link is down. But you came just google blog search for it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aricandover Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 I suppose it's interesting to hear something we have not heard before, but I don't much care for that sort of noisy experimental stuff. oh shush, ya big baby. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 oh shush, ya big baby. Oh really. You like that sort of thing? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Isn't this on the Purple Chick White Album? I was wondering about that also. BootlegZone Vol. 1 Disc 1Vol. 1 Disc 2Vol. 2 Disc 1Vol. 2 Disc 2Vol. 3 Disc 2Vol. 5 Disc 1Vol. 6 Disc 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aricandover Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Oh really. You like that sort of thing? I was just messing with you, but yeah, actually I listen to a lot that stuff. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sparky speaks Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 Hear it here.... http://ifitsgood.wordpress.com/2009/02/24/...ution-1-leaked/ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
uncool2pillow Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 Hear it here.... http://ifitsgood.wordpress.com/2009/02/24/...ution-1-leaked/Download not working for me. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sparky speaks Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 Download not working for me. I don't know why? I'm currently listening to it a second time as I type this.....It is an mp3 so I thought it would play for everyone.....I'm playing it through windows media player..... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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