Among more recent reviews, Rob Sheffield wrote in "The New Rolling Stone Album Guide" that it was "justly maligned", but "more fun than 'Honey Pie' or 'Yer Blues'". Mark Richardson of "Pitchfork" commented that "the biggest pop band in the world exposed millions of fans to a really great and certainly frightening piece of avant-garde art." David Quantick, writing in 2002, similarly described it as being "after nearly a quarter of a century, the most radical and innovative track ever to bring a rock record to its climax". He added that, given the Beatles' popularity ensured that an avant-garde recording was found in millions of homes around the world: "No one in the history of recorded music has ever been so successful in introducing such extreme music to so many people, most of whom, admittedly, will try their best never to hear 'Revolution 9.' Those who do listen to it usually find that it not only rewards repeated playing ... but that it also knocks other tracks on the White Album into a cocked hat."