26 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
It Was 40 Years Ago Today
Well, almost.
What do you say about this truly iconic album, about which millions of words, both intelligent and otherwise, have been written and spoken by millions of people?
As a total package, it's brilliant, from the cover, to the cut-outs (which are much better with the LP version!) to the music itself. The sound, experimentation, the songs...
11 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
Great production but the songs are of mixed quality
Now widely regarded as not being as good as it was thought to be in 1967 - i.e. it was known as the best thing in music since sliced bread - George Martin's production turned a number of ordinary songs and ideas into quite good ones (his midas touch shows on "Good Morning, Good Morning", "Fixing A Hole", "Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite" and "Lovely Rita"). Although "A...
What do you say about this truly iconic album, about which millions of words, both intelligent and otherwise, have been written and spoken by millions of people?
As a total package, it's brilliant, from the cover, to the cut-outs (which are much better with the LP version!) to the music itself. The sound, experimentation, the songs and the musicianship are stunning.
If you're at all interested in The Beatles, you already own this and arguments about whether or not it's the 'best' Beatles album (or even 'the best album ever') are irrelevant. But, if you're not that interested, or new to the music, I suggest this isn't the place to start.
Of course, A Day in the Life is probably The Beatles' all time greatest song, but after many hundreds of listens, I really think Revolver, its predecessor, and The Beatles, its successor, are more enjoyable albums and better demonstrate the genius of the band.
Anyway, whatever anyone says, this is still **#@! fantastic.
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Listened to this album for the first time in years- quite simply-it's magnificent.
Trends change and attention seeking people will snipe...but when all is said and done..the quality of John,Paul,George and Ringo shines through.
A Day In The Life is stunning...i would recommend buying the album just for this track.
Mccartney dominates this album..but John contributes brilliantly...Lucy In The Sky..and the surreal Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite take us on a journey...
Put on your headphones and drift away...you won't regret it.
Don't listen to me...listen to genius... and enjoy.
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Many people believe this album to be the greatest album ever made. But there was more to the creative genius of 'The Beatles' than Lennon and McCartney (and Harrison for that matter). What really made 'Sgt. Pepper' a quantum leap in the evolution of music history was the skill, artistry and production genius of George Martin. He was the master of the sonic soundscape that would define a generation, and turn into reality what Lennon and McCartney could only dream. You might argue about the true identity of 'the fifth Beatle', but this album demonstrates (for me atleast) that George Martin is the most deserving of that particular description.
Every track is now part of popular music legend. Ranging from the twee and silly pop of McCartney in 'When I'm 64', to the fascinating and brilliant 'A Day In The Life' (a song many people regard to be the greatest Beatles song ever written), 'Sgt. Pepper' represents 'The Beatles' at their creative peak. Controversy surrounded several tracks, not least because of veiled (and sometimes downright overt) references to drugs. The BBC infact banned atleast 3 songs for that exact reason, 'Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite' and it's references to 'Henry The Horse' (both Henry and Horse being alternative terms for heroin), 'A Day In The Life' for the lyric "Went upstairs and had a smoke/then someone spoke and I went into a dream" being perceived as a direct reference to marijuana use (and on public transport too!), and of course, 'Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds', which according to John Lennon, was NOT about LSD. Blinding coincidence though, you'd have to say!
But 'The Beatles' were experimenting with more than mere drugs when they made this album. With the expert guidance of 'straight man' Martin (from whom they would hide their joints during rehearsals like naughty schoolboys), 'The Beatles' tried everything to create an original masterpiece that would silence their critics, who couldn't understand what was taking them so long in preparing this album. But to Paul McCartney's endless joy, the end result was more stunning than even the most impatient of critics could have hoped for.
And then of course is the other thing that makes 'Sgt. Pepper' stand head and shoulders above the rest in terms of artistic achievement... the legendary cover art by Peter Blake. Packaged in a neat, glossy slipcase, the famous 'crowd' of living and dead celebrities is detailed on the reverse side, telling you exactly who is who. Indeed, this album is a shining example to the record industry of what you should expect from a CD. Like a DVD packed with 'extra features', this CD comes with a thick booklet with all the original lyrics and details of when the tracks were recorded, plus information about the album in general. Indeed, all that is missing is the original idea by Lennon to sell the album complete with coloured pencils and pictures to colour in. A bit impractical today perhaps, but it would no doubt sell like hotcakes!
'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' transcends every other album of it's generation for it's sheer originality and creativity, and (sadly) represents a musical peak that 'The Beatles' would never reach again.
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This is the first Beatles album I owned, so my attitudes to it are coloured by that. Aside from the great music, the album had the most interesting packaging. It is terrific that when the CD was released in 1987, 20 years after the original outing, it was also packaged in an interesting manner, with excellent notes about the music and the cover included in the booklet.
It is a great shame that the other CDs were so miserably packaged.
The recording features a lot of other players and instruments besides The Beatles, including horns on the title track, weird-sounding harpsichord in Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds, another string group, this time with harp, too, on She's Leaving Home, old-fashioned steam organs on Being For the Benefit of Mr Kite, a full Indian ensemble, but with orchestral strings as well on Within You, Without You, clarinets and tubular bell on When I'm 64, the saxophones, trumpets and trombones of Sounds Incorporated on Good Morning, Good Morning and then a full orchestra playing atonal, aleatoric crescendos on A Day in the Life.
The album features quite simple songs like With A Little Help From My Friends to songs with strange rhythms and keys like Within You, Without You and Good Morning, Good Morning.
It is a great album, but I think you have to be in the mood for it, whereas Rubber Soul always sounds fine.
It is only really a concept album in a loose sense, because the idea of it being a concert by Sgt Pepper's band is really only evident in the first two tracks, where the band is introduced and Sgt Pepper introduces Billy Shears, Billy [Ringo] singing With A Little Help From My Friends.
Then you have several songs not related to this theme at all, but after Within You, Without You the crowd laughs and reminds you that this is supposed to be a concert. Before the last song, Sgt Pepper's theme tune is reprised and we are thanked for being such a great audience. But this seems to be enough to hold the album together.
McCartney's great bass playing really shines on this album. It is so often melodic and interesting. When I first got the album, I sometimes listened to the album, focussing on the bass part.
Every song is interesting, and each has its own unique sound. Even the guitars and voices have been given a different sound for each song.
I still enjoy listening after 35 years.
Highly recommended.
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The recent years haven't been kind to this album. Rubber Soul, Revolver and the 'White Album' are usually getting higher ratings in the list of rock-fans and pop-journalists.
Compared to Revolver, I always found the the friendlier and 'warmer' album. The one you'll be singing along. The hooks are great (Getting Better), some songs really rock (Good Morning Good Morning, the title song). Even the tracks that are a bit weaker (Fixing a Hole) are nice to listen to. The build-up is great; after the party of Sgt. Peppers we wake up (or dream away?) with the masterful A Day in the Life.
Pity this cd (along with the rest of the Beatles-albums) isn't remastered (yet); the original LP sounds way better!
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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.
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In 1966 the beatles decided to end touring the world,they were fed up of the crowd screaming over their songs,fed up of death threats and fed up of being banned from countries after lennons jibe about being bigger than jesus christ.So with that in mind they had longer to concentrate on recording an album,and this in turn allowed them more creative freedom and this their eighth album was the result.
It is first and foremost an experimental album,an album filled with instruments from all over the world,sitars,french horns,violins,violas,cello,harps,clarinet,saxophone,bells,harmonium,in that sense you get the idea of the grand scale of whats going on in the album aside from the two guitars,drum and bass guitar,it could be argued that 1966s revolver was the first psychedelic album the band ever recorded but sgt.peppers was certainly the bands biggest album in terms of ideas,there are psychedelic moments on here regardless but in other ways its a finely tuned rock album with all the variety in the world,hence many regard it as the finest and most complete album of all time.
The album opens with the title track and for those who wonder who billy shears is,i will tell you,its ringo starr himself,as he sings the next track with a little help from my friends,a song covered a million times and never bettered,its an uplifting song that recalls so many good memories.Lucy in the sky with diamonds follows and is a landmark song,lennons voice is at its best and there is so much going on here,a classic if ever i heard one,and still the classics roll on,getting better,shes leaving home,a song that is capable of bringing a tear to the eye,when im sixty four,a classic mccartney number with its eccentric lyrics and classy message,lovely rita who is a meter maid or so they say,a day in the life closes the album and what a song,basically its two unfinished songs thrown together but the result is devastating,immense.I still believe that abbey road is their greatest album but this is another stunner,and who can forget the legendary album cover!
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Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is, in my opinion, the most historically important album ever released. This album revolutionized the rock and roll industry; often imitated but never duplicated, it continues to exert a significant influence on the very business of singing and recording music. Even the timing of the album was perfect; the year was 1967, the Summer of Love, and this album captured the spirit of the times in such an amazing fashion that other recording artists immediately recognized the profound significance of what the Beatles had just succeeded in doing. I remember seeing an interview with David Crosby, who basically said that Sgt. Pepper accomplished what he and so many other artists of that war-torn generation had been trying to achieve themselves - musically, artistically, and culturally.
There had never been an album like Sgt. Pepper's before 1967. Before then, an album was simply a collection of songs; since Sgt. Pepper's, an album has been looked upon as more than the sum of its parts. The Beatles were determined to break new ground, putting in an estimated 700 hours in the studio to produce the thirteen songs you find here (three additional songs were also recording during the Sgt. Pepper sessions but went on to be released separately: Strawberry Fields Forever, Penny Lane, and It's Only a Northern Song) . The amazing stereo sound was borne of carefully placed microphones all over the studio, including the insides of instruments. All manner of mixing, tape speed manipulation, and other elaborate technological twists were done to the recordings to make each of them sound unlike anything ever heard before. There were no breaks between songs, so each side of the original long-playing record played without pausing from beginning to end. In the case of the second side, you could even say that there was no end to the music; John Lennon, after adding several seconds of a high-pitched tone near the end of A Day in the Life, had several seconds of inane chatter stuck at the very end - this chatter played over and over again in one continuous groove until the listener lifted the needle (unless the record player featured auto return). The historic evolution of the album went far beyond the individual song tracks. The album cover, featuring a gallery of familiar men and women is famous in and of itself - as much for those individuals who were rejected as too controversial as it is for the faces you do see (many of whom had to be paid for the use of their likenesses). Sgt. Pepper was also the first album to come with the lyrics of the songs printed on the sleeve.
You can already see the importance of this album, and I haven't even discussed the song selection yet. What's to say, really, when every single track is a classic? The title track gets the music off to a rousing start before bridging smoothly into With a Little Help From My Friends featuring Ringo on lead vocals. Then you have John's remarkable Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds. Paul jumps out front on Getting Better, Fixing a Hole, and She's Leaving Home, followed up by John on Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite. The next track is the most unusual song on the album: George Harrison's Within You Without You. At first, this song - with its Oriental, psychedelic sound - doesn't seem to fit in with the surrounding songs, but all it takes is a couple of listens to see just how important the track is to the album itself. Next comes Paul with the jaunty When I'm Sixty-Four, followed by Lovely Rita, the most entertaining and enjoyable song on the album in my opinion. After John says Good Morning, Good Morning, the band is back for a reprise of the title track and an encore of sorts in the form of A Day in the Life, a particularly unusual track that changes drastically in terms of sound and singer midway through.
It is hard to do justice to this album in words; as important and influential as it is enjoyable to listen to over and over again, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band represents The Beatles at its very best, and this CD really should find a home somewhere in the collections of music lovers everywhere.
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The whole point of these Beatles' re-releases is that they are remastered. As not one of the reviewers here has heard the remastered versions, they cannot possibly be reviewing the CDs in question. Instead, they are expressing views about other versions that have long been available. Let's wait until 9th September, when we can hear what the sound of these releases is like, before offering opinions about them.The Beatles Box Set - Remastered in Stereo
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There are some amazing songs on this album (most of them are John Lennon songs such as "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" and one of my favourite Beatles tracks, "A Day In The Life") and even the majority of the McCartney songs (out of the 2, I much prefer the writing style of Lennon) are spot on as well-"Sgt.Peppers", "She's Leaving Home" etc. This album (along with titles such as "Revolver", "Rubber Soul" and "Abbey Road") is essential, not just to any Beatles fan but to anyone who is a fan of music!
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