sgt peppers

[Annabelle 0]

..has to be one of the weakest beatles outings in the popular 65-70 timeframe. can anyone please explain to ym why it is so highly revered? like abbey road obliterates it. completely. the white album is a better, but only suffers in its generous length & eclectic selections. rubber soul & revolver show signs of it, but are much poppier & exemplify what made the beatles great. pop songs. but sgt peppers starts out so well. but after song four it becomes quite difficult. not the intriguing type of difficult. they were just songs that seem almost weak in comparison to their satanic majesties. the album is nearly saved from complete mediocrity with a day in the life. but man, this album is a stinker. how did it make brian wilson lose his mind?

 

but abbey road, kids. up there almsot with the first band album, between the buttons, & blonde on blonde as the essential 60's albums

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

I wouldn't call the album difficult (though "Within You Without You" is the lamest sitar song in the band's catalogue) and I do like it. But, it isn't as good as the albums you've pointed out. Much of its reputation must be attributed to it being that this was the time the Beatles were the most visibly 'artistic', dabbling in all the eastern stuff and very consciously classing themselves as innovators and great people--the cover art does that. I think, at the time, it was a greater mindfuck sonically than Rubber Soul and Revolver, and much more accessible than any similarly vital albums (you might call Pet Sounds one, and you and a few others have referred to Their Satanic Majesties). My dad, for example, remembers laying on a deck listening to "A Day In the Life." He doesn't have similar experiences with "God Only Knows."

 

Really, the praise for Sgt. Pepper's is praise for "A Day In the Life," which remains one of the greatest songs I've ever heard. I'll also point out that I think most of the "greatest albums ever" polls that were a big trend maybe 2 or 3 years ago always seemed to put Revolver at the top. Maybe the tides are changing.

 

And I agree on Abbey Road. They peaked with that, they stopped, and they'll always have a near-perfect legacy for it.

[Angle-plex 0]

I agree that the first four songs are great, but then the middle of the CD isn't nearly as good. Until A Day in The Life anyways, which is by far the best song on the CD. I'm not a big Abbey Road guy though; I'd take the White Album over it any day of the week.

[Mecha Mummy 0]

I honestly think the strength of Sgt. Pepper's lies entirely in the first couple tracks and the last couple of tracks. Because whilst I think A Day in the Life is the best Beatles song ever, She's Leaving Home is easily one of the worst.

 

And I agree about Abbey Road; the only song I dislike on Abbey Road is Maxwell's because its novelty has worn off for me. Everything else is wonderful.

[Anorak 0]

I always enjoyed Sgt.Peppers a lot despite it's flaws. It's not a truly classic record as a whole or the band at their peak but a lot of people go way overboard on slating it.

[Annabelle 0]

i should have rephrased. why has sgt peppers stood the test of time as 'the greatest album of all-time'? edwin explained why it was popular at the time. but it just hasn't seemed to stand the test of time. i like a day in the life, but i'd take something & oh darling over it. both fab songs. the second best beatles album after abbey road is harrisons everything must pass. cut down to a double album, it may be the best. but lennon/mccartney really castrated harrison at the time. the sheer brilliance of stock piled songs demonstrates how much greater the beatles could have been if everything was divided equally.

 

edit: i'd say their satanic majesties, on the whole, is a better album than sgt peppers. truly. even if it was a complete bite of the beatles schtick at the time.

[Hank Kingsley 0]

Yeah, All Things Must Pass is my favorite album by a Beatle, group or solo. So many tremendous songs on one album. Hell, tracks one through six on disc one and one through five on disc two are all incredible. You don't see that too often.

[Nighthawk 0]

It hasn't really stood the test of time. It's a default "best album ever" for people who don't really know or particularly care, like Jimi Hendrix is for best guitarist.

[The Decemberists 0]

Abbey Road is the kick ass solo album the McCartney should've made.

 

As a 'Beatles' album it's not too great in as much of the complete lack of any group effort on anything (apart from when Paul alledgedly pretty much re-wrote Something) and John's songs certainly aren't his best stuff, as the few thing that were good he was managed to write when not off his head on heroin he was deliberatly saving for the Plastic Ono Band. I Want You in particular is quite an embarrassing attempt to write a Hendrix song. Plus there's Mean Mr Mustard and Polythene Pam which are just throwaways.

 

Stick on Maybe I'm Amazed, Junk and Teddy Boy from McCartney and a couple from Ramand you've got the all time classic Macca album that he never quite managed, even with Band On The Run, imo.

 

 

I've always found Pepper a little over rated too, compared to Revolver, Rubber Soul and most of the self titled ablum, but that still makes it a fucking awesome record.

[Narcoleptic Jumper 0]

Sgt. Pepper was the album that got me into the Beatles... the Beatles (or more specifically, Paul McCartney) at the peak of their (his) compositional extravagance. Songs like "Getting Better" and "Lovely Rita" and "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" are just... I dunno, perfect. The only two songs I feel are even slightly weak are "within you, without you" and "good morning, good morning" which are just not very memorable. The former goes on for way too long and the second one just feels like filler.

 

I think it's interesting that people play up the whole "concept" album part of it but really it's no such thing. the "concept" goes from the cover to the first two tracks and then after that it's just a bunch of songs thrown together. anyway, it's not my favorite beatles album (the White album, duH) but it's still a cultural artifact and is host to 10 or so perfect pop songs (when I get older losin' my hair... MANYYY years from now! do dodo do doo)...

[nl5xsk1 0]

It hasn't really stood the test of time. It's a default "best album ever" for people who don't really know or particularly care, like Jimi Hendrix is for best guitarist.

Milky. spits the truth.

[k thx 0]

Almost any "best album" list I've seen with a Beatles #1 has Revolver at the top.

 

Sgt Peppers is probably the most famous album of all time, and is possibly their most listened too of the later stuff. It's also the most significant of their later stuff, Revolver was better but Sgt Peppers was the album which signalled their move from pop to psychedelia. And if you ask most people to name a Beatles album, they'll name Sgt Peppers. I think that's the main reasons for it's places on these lists.

[The Man in Blak 0]

It's a proto-concept album, the first album where the Beatles could sit down in the studio and really map out songs and instrumentation. The whole idea of the album, the idea of the Beatles "playing as" Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, is an allegory of the band wanting to separate themselves from the oppression of their worldwide fame. The production on the album (which is somewhat squandered on the sparse CD mixes) was a mind-blowing success at the time, with orchestral swells that one-upped the instrumentation that Brian Wilson had used on Pet Sounds.

 

Though some of the songs are pretty bad ("Good Morning, Good Morning" is probably the worst one, in my opinion), there are some tremendous pop songs on there and the songs that aren't all-world classics are just good enough to make for great transitions throughout the album. It's just a damn good album and, with Revolver, arguably makes for the greatest and most historically important one-two punch in any catalogue in music history.

 

I will admit, though, the current CD mix of the album is pretty bad. Banky, you're a big proponent of vinyl records - why don't you pick up the LP for Sgt. Pepper's and give it a spin?

[Annabelle 0]

thats also the thing. sgt peppers is so highly praised that its the most expensive lp to purchase. i settled for between the buttons & nashville skyline today. i can't find revolver or rubber soul anywhere in town. sgt peppers probably won't be purchased unless its for a decent price.

 

and the decemberists should stick to morrissey discussions. no abbey road talk for him.

[Murmuring Beast 0]

Pepper has that great COLLECTIVE sound that Revolver doesn't have but which Abbey Road does. In my opinion Abbey is the best Beatles record - not a bad track on it with everyone playing really well and writing superbly. Pepper relies heavily on production - and it is one of the best produced albums ever but that hasn't really anything to do with the Beatles themselves. That's down to George Martin. Pepper's appeal is also in the artistic weight of some songs and the delightful nonsense of some of the other tracks, something which McCartney got carried away with and overdid far too much.

 

Far from the best album of 1967. See The Doors, Velvets & Nico, Forever Changes, etc, etc, etc.

 

The Beatles- vastly over-rated

Edited December 28, 2005 by Murmuring Beast

[Nighthawk 0]

sgt peppers is so highly praised that its the most expensive lp to purchase.

 

What kind of money are you talking about? I actually have that LP.

[Murmuring Beast 0]

I'll sell you my dad's. Almost perfect condition original.

[Annabelle 0]

sgt peppers is so highly praised that its the most expensive lp to purchase.

 

What kind of money are you talking about? I actually have that LP.

 

40 dollars

 

thats ridiculous. thats like the soviet pressing of sticky fingers expensive. especially when already used.

 

murmering beast give me a price

[SuperJerk 0]

The problem with judging the Beatles 40 years after they were first popular is that they've been ripped-off so much its become difficult to see just how innovative they were.

[Murmuring Beast 0]

For you Banky, $100.

[BUTT 0]

Beatles LP's are rare? My mom has almost all of them. I figured they'd be common.

[Annabelle 0]

For you Banky, $100.

 

you beast

[Annabelle 0]

Beatles LP's are rare? My mom has almost all of them. I figured they'd be common.

 

no one said they were rare. just expensive.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

From what I understand, Sgt. Pepper was one of the first true "albums" that wasn't just a bunch of singles and extra songs thrown together. It was a thought out, complete recording.

 

I've never cared much for Beatles stuff from that time, but it is more of a landmark record than anything, I suppose.

[Garth 0]

There's a book out called, I think "Summer of Love", written by George Martin. It's all about the making of the Sgt. Peppers album, it's an interesting read. It was considered at the time of the album to be pretty much career suicide to take months off from touring and spend a long time making an album. Allot of what they did on the album, recording wise anyway, they wanted to do something different with that particular album.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

I think I've mentioned this before, but I've totally turned around on the Beatles, and now like their early pop stuff more than anything post Rubber Soul.

[Murmuring Beast 0]

I've sort of forgotten about the Beatles of late but I like the early stuff as much as the latter. 'Please Please Me' is one of their greatest tracks.

[SuperJerk 0]

This thread is making me feel very close to yelling at young whippersnappers to get off of my yard.

[The Czech Republic 0]

From what I understand, Sgt. Pepper was one of the first true "albums" that wasn't just a bunch of singles and extra songs thrown together. It was a thought out, complete recording.

Freak Out! preceded and influenced Sgt. Pepper's, McCartney said so. They're similar in that we can't fully grasp how different they were for their time. Make a playlist of mainstream songs from 1966, and throw "Who Are The Brain Police?" in there.

[Giuseppe Zangara 0]

Still my least favorite Beatles album. Oh, and Yellow Submarine doesn't count, guys, so don't bother bringing it up.