Revolution 1 thru 9

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For those who have not yet heard the new Beatles boot-leg going 'round the web:

The Beatles Revolution 1-9 (http://www.thetalentshow.org/2009/02/24/revolution-1-take-20/)

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 ... 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 ...

To read more, click here (http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2009/02/beatles-revolut.html)

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... or is it?

Is the unreleased take of "Revolution" that created such a buzz a fake? ... the overwhelming sentiment, especially among Beatle experts, say that it appears to be real. Ritchie Unterberger ... talks about that on Music Radar "With technology these days, it certainly seems theoretically possible to manufacture and overdub some effects that are heard on the circulating version. A particular feature of this circulating recording is the weird, unclassifiable flowing and ebbing swell of a note that occurs throughout - it's what I call a 'train-passing-by' sound. It seems like it could be an electronically manipulated effect or perhaps even a distorted snatch of a harmony vocal," he says. "When I hear them, they don't sound impossible to me that they could have been part of the original recording. The Beatles were coming up with all kinds of unpredictable and futuristic effects in the studio, especially in their final years."

To read more, click here (http://www.examiner.com/x-2082-Beatles-Examiner%7Ey2009m2d25-Beatle-news-briefs)

[Kevy Baby]

I've heard/read the talk of this. I am waiting for more info. Until then, I remain skeptical. Hopeful, but skeptical.

[mousepod]

A couple of years ago, a tape was released with Yoko doing a rambling, one-sided interview. Behind her, you can hear the Beatles playing this take of Revolution. It was maddening, because you wanted to listed through Yoko to hear the damn Beatles track.

This one, released on a new bootleg called "Revolution Take.. Your Knickers Off" this week, sounds like the real deal. I've listened for edits, and I'm not hearing 'em. If it's an 'outfake', I'm sure impressed.

[lindyhop]

Number 9, number 9, number 9, number 9...