Mr Nice GuySgt Peppers - 43 years ago today
June 1st 2010 01:17
Sgt Peppers - the best of the best?
Conjecture rules over what exactly was The Beatles best album.
Some will argue that The White Album sits atop the heap - others Abbey Road. Some would even mount the cause for inclusion of Revolver, Let It Be or The Magical Mystery Tour, but for mine, the Fab Four reached their pinnacle when the masterpiece Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, released on June 1, 1967.
Its influence came from The Beach Boy's album "Pet Sounds."
As Paul McCartney said, "the album just flipped me."
Although "Pet Sounds," is one of their best technical and creative efforts there is no comparison between the two - the difference simply stated, The Beatles.
If there ever was a time that I could have attended a Beatles recording session, this would have been the one.
The brainchild of Paul McCartney, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was devised as if the Beatles were in fact that band, Sgt. Pepper.
Outside a magnificent set of production values and artwork, Sgt. Pepper signified the first time an album had the entire printed lyrics on the album sleeve; the first time a "gatefold" sleeve design was used; the first to have something other than a plain inner bag with the first pressing coming in a psychedelic sleeve.
In fact it was EMI/Capitol which had to change the original order of the tracks to that which we hear today with Side A to have had Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band; With A Little Help From My Friends; Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!; Fixing A Hole; Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds; Getter Better, and She's Leaving Home.
However, this order had to be altered because the vinyl could not accommodate the combined length of these songs.
Had CD's been available in 1967, the album could have been delivered as the Beatles intended.
Besides the many sound effects throughout, you'll find the forty-second crashing piano chord after the last track, A Day in the Life, followed by what is a 15-kilocycle tone, placed there by John Lennon to "especially annoy your dog." This was followed by several seconds of nonsense talking by the Beatles that was recorded, then cut into several pieces of tape, then stuck back together to form these sounds.
On the vinyl album unfortunately, the arm would return before these sounds could be heard, as this track was so far at the end, the arm would reject before this part was heard.
However, on the CD version, these sounds can be clearly heard.
Then there was the use of a 40-piece orchestra - unheard of back in 1967 for a pop/rock album.
Taking 135 days to record with the song When I'm Sixty-Four and ending on April 21, 1967 with the final cut of A Day In The Life it is without doubt one of the most creative in rock history.
Even the cover of Sgt. Pepper is unique in itself, containing cardboard 86-cut-outs depicting images of famous people, wax models of Paul, John, George and Ringo, and other objects such as a velvet snake, television, stone figures, a trophy, an Indian doll, a Hookah, Tuba, and more.
Also, the image of Adolph Hitler was originally to be included, but was vetoed by producers.
All in all - Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band is in my opinion the defining Beatles masterpiece - it may not be everyone's cuppa - but given the magnitude of creative, production and artistic firsts - it rocked the popular musical world like no other.
| 139 |
| Vote |
subscribe to this blog
