Fans of one of the best records from The Beatles say one track in particular captures the “dark side of the 1960s.”
The Beatles’ White Album was tipped as a remarkable representation of the decade in a post to r/TheBeatles on Reddit. Fans shared their thoughts on the whole of the album, which one user says “perfectly encapsulates the chaos of the 60s.” They continued: “When a lot of people think of the late 60s, they think of the hippies, peace, love, and flower power. The White Album has a darker feel to it, which (along with The Doors and Frank Zappa) show more of a seedier and scarier undercurrent to this time in history.
“A lot of the songs on the White Album have this theme of violence underneath them (‘what they need’s a damn good whacking’ from Piggies, and ‘if you talk about destruction, don’t you know that you can count me out…’ from Revolution 1).”
Where sound collage Revolution 9 may divide fans, some have declared it the most important part of the White Album. The original post adds: “Revolution 9 isn’t out of place on this album, even though it’s very avant garde. It’s a representation of the violence and confusion that was going on in 1968.”
Another added: “I’ve always been ‘afraid’ of the White Album. It’s dauntingly long, the themes are dark, and the spectre of Revolution 9 waiting for me at the end of it. Of course, I can’t deny I was also influenced by the Helter Skelter/Manson connection.
“But the content itself lends to a mysterious, heavy vibe that’s always left me uneasy. I can’t decide if Good Night is a breath of optimism at the end, or just another tongue-in-cheek ‘all is well!’ moment.”
A third wrote: “In all seriousness, the White Album is a magic mirror. You will see whatever it is you want to see in it.” Others wrote less highly of Revolution 9 and say it is a “sound collage” rather than something to be considered a song.
Revolution 9 (and the White Album in general) is a representation of the dark side of the 60s
byu/Known-Damage-7879 inTheBeatles
They wrote: “It’s a collection of twenty-nine songs that show their incredible diversity. Rock, pop, folk, dance hall, metal, soul, ska/reggae, etc. I don’t think there’s any deliberate attempt to have some sort of overall theme or statement.
“These were the songs they had, most of them written in India. I don’t think they were trying to consciously say anything. I said twenty-nine songs because Revolution 9 is not a song… it’s a sound collage. And we could have had three actual songs on there in place of it. But no… the John/Yoko vanity project was put on instead.”
Another user disagreed, adding: “Say what you want but I think Revolution 9 deserves its place it makes the catalogue as a whole more interesting and it’s also one of if not the biggest meme in the Beatles community.”
Sadly, the great Fab Four went from The Beatles, down to The Threetles, and down to the Twootles.