It was 50 years ago - Sgt Pepper

[cloughie]

I had that one too, ts. Such a delight.

I think one of the things that set Sgt Pepper aside was the quality of the production. Also it was pretty innovative at the time to run the tracks together and for me the song order is wonderful...and that cover and the wee things contained within...it was part of a whole experience. My criticism is that it sometimes feels a bit one-paced, but I love it nonetheless and still give it the full LP treatment once in a while - still got my beat-up original in the cupboard, stripes and all.

A Hard Day's Night was when they came of age as songwriters and those songs on that EP are as good as any they wrote. I'd love to get together with three or four other singers, perhaps incuding a sound soprano who know the album inside out and evolve an a cappella version of Sgt Pepper from scratch. Yes a good bass, three baritenors and a soprano!

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

If I fell.

One of my very favourite songs.

[Richard Barrett]

As appropriate to someone in their late teens, early twenties in the second half of the sixties I think I dabbled in every kind of music around and there were no boundaries.

It's a shame that that's no longer regarded as unexceptional, isn't it? Having been born at the end of 1959, I wasn't buying records during the 60s, nor was there a record player at home, so what I heard was what was on the radio, as a result of which when I began to appreciate the Beatles "properly" a few years later, I was already intimately familiar with many of the songs. Abbey Road, Revolver and the "White Album" are the ones I still listen to most, but Sgt Pepper is a masterpiece too of course. The way the songs are sequenced on all of these albums is an example of complex and subtle long-range structure that has stayed with me ever since.

[Lat-Literal]

As part of activities linked to the release of Sgt Pepper 50 years back the Beeb have posted this interesting link. You can go through the cover and see clips of film from the archives about characters on there. Just watched a great one of Warhol and Burroughs, but Diana Dors and Laurel and Hardy and others are there.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p052lh4m

To mark 'Irish Friday' (TM) here's George Bernard Shaw.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p052lzmw

I love the album. I love all the Beatles albums. However, it was one of the last that I heard all the way through and, dare I say it, I expected more. Specifically, "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Penny Lane" which were recorded with the intention that they should be on it. Is there a perfect Beatles' album? No, I'm not sure there is but the second side of "Abbey Road" is very close to perfection. Of course, I don't have memories of the Beatles at the time. My first memory of them is the television moment "All You Need Is Love".

[gurnemanz]

I can't imagine my teenage years without them. I joined the Fan Club aged about 14 and got a monthly magazine. I kept them but someone later threw them out. I believe they are now collectors' items. I still listen to the songs often, including a mix for the car. Many songs are masterpieces which have stood the test of time. My preferred listening was the pirate station Radio London where Kenny Everett was a great enthusiast. They were closed down in 1967 and I well remember listening to the last track they played in August 67 which was Day in the Life from Sgt Pepper with its long fadeout. This time was quite a turning point in my life - a few weeks late I left home to go to university, became less interested in pop and turned "square", getting into classical music. I'm sure I will get the remix Sgt Pepper just published.

[johncorrigan]

Interesting one of James Stewart reading a short story by Edgar Allan Poe...and did me old eyes deceive me or was R Crumb briefly in there?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0538jty

[Conchis]

All Beatles albums are flawed by their bizarre insistence on giving Ringo one vocal spot per album: whatever his virtues as a drummer, the man couldn't sing. His voice is flat, totally lacking in range and completely unmusical.

Sergeant Pepper has a few less than inspired songs but - as others have noted - everything is put across with such confidence that it takes you years to notice this fact.

Abbey Road is, I'd argue, the finest Beatles album, featuring some incredible vocal workouts by McCartney (particularly on Golden Slumbers where he 'turns black' in front of your ears).

Revolver I find a bit spotty and over-rated: the presence of Yellow Submarine (one of the Beatles' worst songs) degrades it, imo.

[Bryn]

Just been watching Sgt Pepper's Musical Revolution with Howard Goodall on BBC2. Amazingly, not a word about the centre groove, side 2.

However:

[pastoralguy]

An interesting documentary. I was slightly disappointed that trumpeter David Mason didn't get a name check for his work on Penny Lane.

[cloughie]

Just been watching Sgt Pepper's Musical Revolution with Howard Goodall on BBC2. Amazingly, not a word about the centre groove, side 2.

Did I hear that this has been reinstated on the remastered CD?

[Bryn]

Did I hear that this has been reinstated on the remastered CD?

In the remixed disc 1 of the 50th Anniversary edition there are a few repetitions, then it is faded out. Easy enough to rip and extend the repetitions. The second disc has alternative takes, plus Strawberry Fields Forever and Penny Lane.

[Stunsworth]

I really enjoyed the Goodall programme. The dissection of the structure of the songs was very interesting. It could have lasted for two hours and I wouldn't have lost interest.

[cloughie]

In the remixed disc 1 of the 50th Anniversary edition there are a few repetitions, then it is faded out. Easy enough to rip and extend the repetitions. The second disc has alternative takes, plus Strawberry Fields Forever and Penny Lane.

If Giles is doing a good job of remastering his Dad's recordings I may well get the new double set.

[Richard Barrett]

Revolver I find a bit spotty and over-rated: the presence of Yellow Submarine (one of the Beatles' worst songs) degrades it, imo.

There's an easy remedy for that. In the stereo mix of that song all the voices are in one channel, everything else in the other. Rotate your balance knob and bingo! - no Ringo.

I agree with you about Abbey Road. It isn't perfect but it gets very close. What sets it and Sgt Pepper apart isn't just the songs themselves but the way they're put together into a single big and diverse composition, as I think I've said before, pardon me for going on about it but this is one of the things that's most important to me about the Beatles.

[teamsaint]

There's an easy remedy for that. In the stereo mix of that song all the voices are in one channel, everything else in the other. Rotate your balance knob and bingo! - no Ringo.

I agree with you about Abbey Road. It isn't perfect but it gets very close. What sets it and Sgt Pepper apart isn't just the songs themselves but the way they're put together into a single big and diverse composition, as I think I've said before, pardon me for going on about it but this is one of the things that's most important to me about the Beatles.

......and , for me, making things that " shouldn't " work, ( in the context) , work.

See also, ( for me) Alex Harvey, the Byrds ( Sweetheart), or .........add to taste.........



Just checking, it is ok to sort of not mind Ringo's singing, isn't it ?