“Revolution 9” is a recorded composition that appeared on the Beatles’ 1968 eponymous LP release (popularly known as The White Album). The sound collage, credited to Lennon–McCartney, was created primarily by John Lennon with assistance from George Harrison and Yoko Ono. Lennon said he was trying to paint a picture of a revolution using sound. The recording began as an extended ending to the album version of “Revolution”. Lennon then combined the unused coda with numerous overdubbed vocals, speech, sound effects, and short tape loops of speech and musical performances, some of which were reversed. These were further manipulated with echo, distortion, stereo panning, and fading. At over eight minutes, it is the longest track that the Beatles officially released. (More from Wikipedia)
One student came up with the name, the Holy Ghost Reception Committee #9 – the numeral I figure came from the Ed Wood cult classic horror film Plan 9 from Outer Space, but I’m just guessing. (Their first album predates The Beatles – the so-called White Album – that included the avant garde track “Revolution 9”, so that wasn’t it).
(August 2014)
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In my judgment, the whole “backward masking” business is nonsense; what I have heard most of the time is the main vocal track played backwards, which seems to form other words. The best example that I know of is on “Revolution 9” by the Beatles, where the frequently repeated line “Number Nine” played backwards sounds like “Turn me on, dead man” (one of the many so-called “clues” that Paul McCartney was dead). It took me a while to hear that myself, since it actually sounds more like: “Tu-u-u-u-rn me ’n, d’d m’n”. It is obvious on its face though that there is no one on Earth who could hear “Number Nine” with one ear and “turn me on, dead man” with the other ear.
(November 2014)
