Written by:Â Lennon-McCartney
Recorded: 9, 10, 11, 12 July 1968
Producer:Â George Martin
Engineer:Â Geoff Emerick
Released: 30 August 1968 (UK), 26 August 1968 (US)
Available on:
Past Masters
Love
Personnel
John Lennon: vocals, electric guitar, handclaps
Paul McCartney: bass guitar, Hammond organ, handclaps
George Harrison: electric guitar, handclaps
Ringo Starr: drums, handclaps
Nicky Hopkins: electric piano
John Lennon’s “Revolution” was his response to the popular calls for uprising in the US and Europe. It was a revised version of a track already recorded for the White Album and served as the b-side for “Hey Jude.”
Even though it was recorded after “Revolution 1,” this faster and louder rendition was the first to be released. The song was composed while The Beatles were in India, immersing themselves in meditation in Rishikesh.
John Lennon expressed his desire to convey his thoughts on revolution. He believed it was time to openly discuss this topic, just as it was essential to address the Vietnam War while on tour with Brian Epstein. Lennon stated, “We’re going to talk about the war this time, and we’re not going to just waffle.” His inspiration for the song came during his time in the hills in India. He maintained a belief that “God will save us” and that everything would be fine. He wanted to communicate and share his views on revolution with others.
While “Revolution 1” found Lennon unsure about joining the movement, the faster “Revolution” saw him emphatically stating that he would not participate in violence and wouldn’t join any violent protests.
The urgency to create this new version arose from Paul McCartney’s resistance to making “Revolution 1” The Beatles’ next single after “Lady Madonna.” With George Harrison’s support, McCartney argued that the original recording was too slow. This prompted Lennon to re-record the song in an up-tempo, distorted manner, in what seemed like an impromptu expression of anti-revolutionary sentiments. After two years marked by LSD use, Lennon, fueled by his love for Yoko Ono, was eager to meet this challenge.
Lennon explained, “We recorded the song twice. The Beatles were getting real tense with each other. I did the slow version, and I wanted it out as a single: as a statement of The Beatles’ position on Vietnam and The Beatles’ position on revolution.”
In the studio, “Revolution” featured a high level of distortion, particularly in the twin fuzz-toned guitars plugged directly into the Abbey Road soundboard, deliberately played loudly to overload the meters.
George Martin, the Beatles’ producer, commented on the distortion, stating, “We got into distortion on that, which we had a lot of complaints from the technical people about. But that was the idea: it was John’s song, and the idea was to push it right to the limit. Well, we went to the limit and beyond.”
On July 9, 1968, following a remake of “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da,” The Beatles began rehearsing and trying out the new arrangement for “Revolution.” The first take of “Revolution” was considered not fast enough by George and Paul. Although it could have been released as a single, The Beatles chose not to. Lennon attributed this decision to their discomfort with his growing creativity and dominance in the band.
Although the rehearsal was recorded, they erased the tape the next day and recorded ten fresh takes, adding handclaps and another drum track overdubbed afterward. The drums were as forceful as the distorted guitars, undergoing compression and limiters to create a claustrophobic atmosphere.
On that day, John Lennon added his two vocal tracks, double-tracking key words and leaving in occasional mistakes to emphasize the spontaneous nature of the recording. He also added the screaming introduction.
On July 11, bass and electric piano were added, with the latter played by session musician Nicky Hopkins. “Revolution” was finalized on July 13, with the addition of another bass part and some lead guitar played by McCartney and Lennon.