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Track Listings
| 1. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (2009 - Remaster) |
| 2. With A Little Help From My Friends (2009 - Remaster) |
| 3. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (2009 - Remaster) |
| 4. Getting Better (2009 - Remaster) |
| 5. Fixing A Hole (2009 - Remaster) |
| 6. She's Leaving Home (2009 - Remaster) |
| 7. Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite! (2009 - Remaster) |
| 8. Within You Without You (2009 - Remaster) |
| 9. When I'm Sixty Four (2009 - Remaster) |
| 10. Lovely Rita (2009 - Remaster) |
| 11. Good Morning Good Morning (2009 - Remaster) |
| 12. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) (2009 - Remaster) |
| 13. A Day In The Life (2009 - Remaster) |
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Before Sgt. Pepper's, no one seriously thought of rock music as actual art. That all changed in 1967, though, when John, Paul, George and Ringo (with "A Little Help" from their friend, producer George Martin) created an undeniable work of art which remains, after 3-plus decades, one of the most influential albums of all time. From Lennon's evocative word/sound pictures (the trippy "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds", the carnival-like "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite") and McCartney's music hall-styled "When I'm 64", to Harrison's Eastern-leaning "Within You Without You", and the avant-garde mini-suite, "A Day in the Life", Sgt. Pepper's was a milestone for both 1960s music and popular culture in general. --Billy Altman
Review
It took 129 days to record, between autumn 1966 and spring 1967, and it changed the world. Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band may have all but disappeared under an avalanche of hyperbole, but if there’s one reason why this album stands the test of time it’s because its sum is greater than its whole. After five listens most people will know it as a suite, where Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds always follows With a Little Help from My Friends. And it will always be thus.
The reason it took 129 days to piece together isn’t due to the band’s indulgences – on the contrary, The Beatles were extremely disciplined during their studio sessions. It’s simply because guiding an album this complex to fruition in those days took a long time. These guys weren’t just recording songs; they were inventing the stuff with which to make this record as they went along.
But with George Martin and his backroom boys on hand, the Faberge psychedelic egg that was finally laid on the eve of the Summer of Love came so fully-realised that it changed the way we listened to recorded sound forever. Sgt Pepper’s… is at once warm and familiar, yet wild and strange; cosy and English with a very empirical eye on the exotica of the East (note George Harrison’s underrated Within You Without You). Shot through with Peter Blake-assisted Edwardiana, it was also as fashionable as it could possibly be.
It was also a release key in the canon of concept albums, coming with its own alter-ego mythology and very much addressing the pressing concerns of their generation, ie: how to achieve higher states of consciousness in 60s suburbia. It is riddled with The Beatles’ trademark love/hate affair with the Establishment as their own lives were suddenly shoved unceremoniously up against those of the chattering classes, encapsulated by She’s Leaving Home’s blow at straight parenthood, Lovely Rita’s suggestion of sexual deviancy, and A Day in the Life’s oblique references to minds being blown on buses in rush hour traffic.
Yet it’s all a far cry from the militancy of their American peers. Paul McCartney’s When I’m 64 is pure nostalgia for his parents’ golden age, one which was taken from them. It’s less a kicking out of the jams, more a spreading them on scones at teatime.
Yet what was revolutionary was the sonic carpet that enveloped the ears and sent the listener spinning into other realms. There was the nursery rhyme surrealism of Lucy in the Sky…, the crazed calliopes of Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite! and, of course, the lysergic collage of A Day in the Life, promising the meaning of life in its endless final chord. And it still rings on today. --Chris Jones
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Landmark Album with Landmark Remastering!,
By Martin A Hogan "Marty From SF" (San Francisco, CA. (Hercules)) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Audio CD)
"Sgt. Pepper" is arguably the Beatles most recognized album. Released in 1967 at the peak of the 'hippy/flower power' movement, it combined art with music in a way that no album had previously done. From the way upbeat, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" to the surreal, somewhat somber, "A Day In The Life", every song is a classic. The sound is what makes this album amazing. George Martin and his son remastered and remixed several songs for the "Love" album. This same remarkable remastering has revitalized "Sgt. Pepper's" to an unbelievable clarity. Mixed with an array of sound effects, the remastering not only enhances the instruments and vocals, but brings all those art/music sound effects throughout the album to a vivid height. It's really remarkable how great this album sounds.
Also included in the great album is a multi-paged booklet with some excellent liner notes. There is also a diagram identifying all the famous people in the cover photo! On your computer, you can play the five-minute mini-documentary about the album (Quick-time), which showcases comments from all four Beatles and George Martin. All of this is mixed in with rare photos never seen before. Imagine learning that this album was recorded at night with over 400 hours devoted to it. That's perfectionism and its shows. In fact, there is a mini-documentary for all the Beatles albums. This CD is a collector's item and a perfect showcase for the Beatles genius.
27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
" A Splendid Time Is Guaranteed For All!",
By
This review is from: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Audio CD)
That 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' is an iconic album in the history of popular music is without question - the Beatles, with the aid of producer George Martin, were pushing boundaries in terms of the kind of sounds and production techniques they were using, and producing something genuinely different from a lot of their earlier material. If you're familiar with the Beatles' music, the chances are you know the album inside out already. So, to the most important question - is the remastered edition worth getting?
In a word, yes. There isn't perhaps the night-and-day difference between the old CD and the new that one might expect, but it's certainly a difference you can notice - especially when comparing the two versions side by side. There's a 'cleaner', less hissy sound to the tracks now, which benefits some tracks immensely - 'Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds' and 'A Day In The Life' particularly. On others, which were arguably a little more 'lo-fi' to begin with, such as 'Lovely Rita', there's a less pronounced difference. One thing all the tracks benefit from, though, is a slightly heavier bass presence - always there, but the remastering makes it much clearer. Frankly, some of the hype surrounding the remasters is going to leave potential buyers with unrealistic expectations, and as I've only heard selections from other remastered tracks from the catalogue, I can't comment on how it compares to the other Beatles albums undergoing the same treatment. If you're perfectly happy with your current CD of 'Sgt. Pepper', you needn't feel too pressured into picking up this new version, but if you've ever felt a little disappointed with the original CD, go for it. You won't regret it - and, you get it all in an attractive gatefold sleeve akin to the original vinyl, with sleeve notes and lyrics in an accompanying booklet, plus a short featurette on the making of the album included as a CD-ROM element on the disc.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Genius,
By
This review is from: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Audio CD)
Deserves it's reputation as a seminal album. I'd already heard more than half the tracks but it's the less familiar tracks that make this worth owning - Getting Better, and Fixing a Hole being 2 examples
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