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71Tele
Hard to believe that Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane were left OFF this album so they could be "saved" for a single! This would never happen today.

The Beatles had a policy about this: singles were different from albums. A single would never be pulled from an album once the album was released, and quite often a single would not appear on an album because they didn't want the fans to have to buy a song twice, though there were some exceptions. Hey Jude, which never appeared on an album, was out when the White Album was released, from which no singles were pulled. Paperback Writer/Rain were likewise not included on Revolver.

When the Beatles reconvened to record a new album in November 1966, they were already overdue for a new single. At a time when EMI would record a whole album in one week, the Beatles by this time were taking three weeks and more on one song. After two months in the studio, they only had three new songs recorded--Strawberry Fields, Penny Lane, and When I'm Sixty-Four--so George Martin and Brian Epstein decided on the first two for the new single.

It wasn't even Sgt. Pepper at this point--Paul brought that track in later, and the concept for Sgt. Pepper was only completed toward the end with the recording of With A Little Help From My Friends. So no loss, really. Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane only serve to strengthen Magical Mystery Tour, which is more a singles compilation (four top ten hits, three of them number one and three previously released), than a new album, with some of the album tracks left over from Pepper.

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stonesnow

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71Tele
Hard to believe that Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane were left OFF this album so they could be "saved" for a single! This would never happen today.

The Beatles had a policy about this: singles were different from albums. A single would never be pulled from an album once the album was released, and quite often a single would not appear on an album because they didn't want the fans to have to buy a song twice, though there were some exceptions. Hey Jude, which never appeared on an album, was out when the White Album was released, from which no singles were pulled. Paperback Writer/Rain were likewise not included on Revolver.

When the Beatles reconvened to record a new album in November 1966, they were already overdue for a new single. At a time when EMI would record a whole album in one week, the Beatles by this time were taking three weeks and more on one song. After two months in the studio, they only had three new songs recorded--Strawberry Fields, Penny Lane, and When I'm Sixty-Four--so George Martin and Brian Epstein decided on the first two for the new single.

It wasn't even Sgt. Pepper at this point--Paul brought that track in later, and the concept for Sgt. Pepper was only completed toward the end with the recording of With A Little Help From My Friends. So no loss, really. Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane only serve to strengthen Magical Mystery Tour, which is more a singles compilation (four top ten hits, three of them number one and three previously released), than a new album, with some of the album tracks left over from Pepper.

Strictly speaking, Magical Mystery Tour doesn't include anything left over from Sgt. Pepper, as there was a gap of a few days between the final work on Pepper and beginning of work on anything (the song MMT itself) that was "saved" for the next album. George's Yellow Submarine track, "Only A Northern Song" could be considered a Sgt Pepper leftover, since it was recorded while work on Pepper was still continuing.

Any album with a song like Strawberry Fields Forever on it is able to conquer about the title 'Best album ever made'....




I was driving home early Sunday morning through Bakersfield...

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Come On
Any album with a song like Strawberry Fields Forever on it is able to conquer about the title 'Best album ever made'....

Don't you just hate it when a photo from 1964 is used on a picture sleeve for a single from 1967?

George Martin has said in several interviews one of the things he most regrets from his career with The Beatles was not including Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane on Sgt Peppers. But to be fair to Martin, The Beatles were originally thinking about making a concept album about their childhood and Liverpool. Hence those two songs starting a frenzy of ideas and writing. Soon the original idea faded and with those two songs, they wanted to get something out, knowing they were going to take some time on the next full album. They also worked hard on a vision and soundscape and films for both songs, and they were released as a gap filler between their release and the future release of their new album. Very similar in some ways to Rain and Paperback Writer not being released on Revolver. Both would have felt right at home on Revolver. As was mentioned above, there was a few songs left off Sgt Peppers, Its Only a Northern Song, and the long unreleased acid jam Carnival of Light, that McCartney wanted on Anthology, but was vetoed by Harrison. That song is interesting in that is was made purposely for a acid rave The Million Volt Light and Sound Rave at the Roundhouse in London and was even debuted at the rave. Then quickly spirited back to the vaults. The idea of Sgt Peppers actually didn't occur until halfway through the recording sessions when McCartney gave the song, and the germination of an older idea he had about being a different band, was proposed at that session and agreed upon.
The other thing to remember is The Beatles had a policy of not putting their singles on their studio albums. And for the most part most of their singles were stand alone releases. Which is pretty cool and amazing.
A wonderful anniversary for an album that strangely was over hyped in history for a long time, and often thought as The Beatles high point, and through the years many got tired of the hype around Sgt Peppers and there was a backlash, even Lennon went along on it...but listening to it now, wow! What an incredible statement that just flows and is a memory of a spirit and a time. Time to crank it out loud. I prefer the Mono mix on The Beatles Mono box set. It is fun to listen to after having the stereo version imprinted on my memory. There is enough differences in mixes and sound to make it a new discovery.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-06-03 16:46 by whitem8.

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tatters

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Come On
Any album with a song like Strawberry Fields Forever on it is able to conquer about the title 'Best album ever made'....

Don't you just hate it when a photo from 1964 is used on a picture sleeve for a single from 1967?

Yeah, that's why I choose this one...wonder which country it is from...???


I was driving home early Sunday morning through Bakersfield...

Quote
Come On

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tatters

Quote
Come On
Any album with a song like Strawberry Fields Forever on it is able to conquer about the title 'Best album ever made'....

Don't you just hate it when a photo from 1964 is used on a picture sleeve for a single from 1967?

Yeah, that's why I choose this one...wonder which country it is from...???

Dont know, but it was common practice to use out-of-date photos on picture sleeves of Beatles singles released in foreign (non-UK, non-US) markets.

Most Beatle songs are just magic.
They were so cool back then and now
when I hear one,
it just takes me back to that time and place.

I was just wondering if maybe part of the magic
now comes from the fact that they didn't keep going.
It came to a definite end.

Marv

Marv Peck

Y'all remember that rubber legged boy

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marvpeck
Most Beatle songs are just magic.
They were so cool back then and now
when I hear one,
it just takes me back to that time and place.

I was just wondering if maybe part of the magic
now comes from the fact that they didn't keep going.
It came to a definite end.

Marv

They would definitely have begun to seem much less magical if they had kept going and released tracks like Silly Love Songs with "The Beatles" on the label.

I was just thinking about picture sleeves and how, when I started collecting Beatles records in 1969, I bought the Meet The Beatles LP and "The Ballad Of John and Yoko" picture sleeve single on the same day. I remember spending a long time comparing the 1963 and 1969 photos and trying to figure out who was who, and wondering why they had decided to change their appearance so drastically. I think even as a 10-year-old child, I recognized it as a kind of self-loathing (especially on John's part), a need to kill their former selves. Or maybe it reflected more of a loathing for the fans who still cherished and clung to the earlier version of the Beatles.

[en.wikipedia.org]



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2012-06-04 02:28 by tatters.

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tatters

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stonesnow

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71Tele
Hard to believe that Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane were left OFF this album so they could be "saved" for a single! This would never happen today.

The Beatles had a policy about this: singles were different from albums. A single would never be pulled from an album once the album was released, and quite often a single would not appear on an album because they didn't want the fans to have to buy a song twice, though there were some exceptions. Hey Jude, which never appeared on an album, was out when the White Album was released, from which no singles were pulled. Paperback Writer/Rain were likewise not included on Revolver.

When the Beatles reconvened to record a new album in November 1966, they were already overdue for a new single. At a time when EMI would record a whole album in one week, the Beatles by this time were taking three weeks and more on one song. After two months in the studio, they only had three new songs recorded--Strawberry Fields, Penny Lane, and When I'm Sixty-Four--so George Martin and Brian Epstein decided on the first two for the new single.

It wasn't even Sgt. Pepper at this point--Paul brought that track in later, and the concept for Sgt. Pepper was only completed toward the end with the recording of With A Little Help From My Friends. So no loss, really. Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane only serve to strengthen Magical Mystery Tour, which is more a singles compilation (four top ten hits, three of them number one and three previously released), than a new album, with some of the album tracks left over from Pepper.

Strictly speaking, Magical Mystery Tour doesn't include anything left over from Sgt. Pepper, as there was a gap of a few days between the final work on Pepper and beginning of work on anything (the song MMT itself) that was "saved" for the next album. George's Yellow Submarine track, "Only A Northern Song" could be considered a Sgt Pepper leftover, since it was recorded while work on Pepper was still continuing.

Yes, quite right, I stand corrected. I should have mentioned that they were tracks begun or recorded before Pepper was released.

From Geoff Emerick's book, Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles: "As a result, it (Yellow Submarine) essentially became a receptacle for any song of theirs that they deemed substandard, such as George Harrison's Only A Northern Song. 'Shovel that sideways,' they would say, and we knew that meant it was destined to be given over to the cartoon: they simply couldn't be bothered writing anything new for it." - p. 193

Further, Emerick marks the zenith of Pepper as the point that ironically begins the group's creative decline: "However misguided the concept (Magical Mystery Tour) and however poorly executed it ended up being, it was yet another sign of the Beatles wanting to branch out, to break out of the mold of just being pop stars, so I had to give them credit for that. The problem was timing: we were all so exhausted from the hard work of the past five months.

"With the benefit of hindsight, it's obvious that we went back into the studio way too soon. Paul was the only one with any creative energy left, and he was determined to top Pepper; the others didn't seem to care nearly as much. But in the face of John's excessive drug-taking and George's spiritual journey eastward, Paul had taken control of the band's direction so firmly that the others didn't even question the wisdom of returning to work right away.

"...Perhaps because of their drug intake, the Beatles started getting a bit complacent and lazy around this time, and their concentration was dwindling, too.

"...But the main problem was that we simply weren't fresh; as a result, the recordings themselves sound kind of tired. John's I Am The Walrus could have been a track on Pepper, I suppose, but it wouldn't have been a particularly outstanding one. Few of the other songs on either Magical Mystery Tour or
Yellow Submarine would have fit. To some degree, the Beatles were a little too overconfident about their abilities at that point in time. They felt they could get away with recording almost anything and the public would accept it, but it wasn't as simple as that. Certainly they had no appreciation of what we had been doing in the control room during Pepper, of the time and effort we had devoted to creating the icing on the cake, the sounds and atmosphere. They viewed what we were doing as normal, whereas in reality we were tearing our hair out a lot of the time!

"Sadly, Pepper was the last Beatles album where all four band members worked like a team. There would still be good days ahead, but they would occur less frequently. The cracks were beginning to appear and tensions were starting to bubble to the surface." - pp. 194-195

That opening guitar riff is great, and the punchy style of the rhythm throughout this song is timeless. Guitarists are still trying to capture that tone in today's music. This was hard edged rock stuff and really made the Beatles much hipper as a result. This was their answer to the Stones Satisfaction tone, and it was very very effective. And no simple arrangement here either, these guys were pushing their writing skills and it worked. Wonderful music to get stoned to back in the day. Just listening to it today gets me high again. peace

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Naturalust
That opening guitar riff is great, and the punchy style of the rhythm throughout this song is timeless. Guitarists are still trying to capture that tone in today's music. This was hard edged rock stuff and really made the Beatles much hipper as a result. This was their answer to the Stones Satisfaction tone, and it was very very effective. And no simple arrangement here either, these guys were pushing their writing skills and it worked. Wonderful music to get stoned to back in the day. Just listening to it today gets me high again. peace

Ah, but take a guess as to whose guitar that actually is. In fact, only Paul and Ringo play on the title track.

From Geoff Emerick's book, Here, There and Everywhere: "The new song was one of Paul's, and it actually ended up not only becoming the title track, but also defining the concept of the album: a performance by a fictional band that was the alter ego of the Beatles.

"...There was another surprise: Paul wanted to play rhythm guitar on the backing track instead of bass--the first time I'd known him to do that. He simply told John, 'Let me do the rhythm on this; I know exactly what I want.' John accepted Paul's instruction without a word of protest and simply picked up a bass guitar. He didn't have any feel for the instrument, though, so we decided to record him on a separate track, using a DI box instead of a bass amp--this way, his guide bass part could be replaced later by Paul, without any problem of bleed or leakage onto any of the microphones.

"...The 'Sgt. Pepper' theme song was completed in a remarkably short space of time--just two days, including all vocals--despite the fact that George Harrison spent hours trying to nail down the guitar solo. In the end, Paul peremptorily replaced George's work with a stunning solo of his own, which Harrison was clearly not happy about." - pp. 151-152

Wow, that's very interesting stonesnow. I knew Paul could do it all but this is an impressive accomplishment for him. I was sure it was Lennon on guitar. Thanks for that info. Paul really had it going on at that time. wow. peace

"Sadly, Pepper was the last Beatles album where all four band members worked like a team. There would still be good days ahead, but they would occur less frequently. The cracks were beginning to appear and tensions were starting to bubble to the surface."


I think you can make a strong case for Revolver being their last true group effort. Other than his work on "Within You, Without You", George Harrison is largely absent from Sgt Pepper.

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whitem8
George Martin has said in several interviews one of the things he most regrets from his career with The Beatles was not including Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane on Sgt Peppers. But to be fair to Martin, The Beatles were originally thinking about making a concept album about their childhood and Liverpool. Hence those two songs starting a frenzy of ideas and writing. Soon the original idea faded and with those two songs, they wanted to get something out, knowing they were going to take some time on the next full album. They also worked hard on a vision and soundscape and films for both songs, and they were released as a gap filler between their release and the future release of their new album. Very similar in some ways to Rain and Paperback Writer not being released on Revolver. Both would have felt right at home on Revolver. As was mentioned above, there was a few songs left off Sgt Peppers, Its Only a Northern Song, and the long unreleased acid jam Carnival of Light, that McCartney wanted on Anthology, but was vetoed by Harrison. That song is interesting in that is was made purposely for a acid rave The Million Volt Light and Sound Rave at the Roundhouse in London and was even debuted at the rave. Then quickly spirited back to the vaults. The idea of Sgt Peppers actually didn't occur until halfway through the recording sessions when McCartney gave the song, and the germination of an older idea he had about being a different band, was proposed at that session and agreed upon.
The other thing to remember is The Beatles had a policy of not putting their singles on their studio albums. And for the most part most of their singles were stand alone releases. Which is pretty cool and amazing.
A wonderful anniversary for an album that strangely was over hyped in history for a long time, and often thought as The Beatles high point, and through the years many got tired of the hype around Sgt Peppers and there was a backlash, even Lennon went along on it...but listening to it now, wow! What an incredible statement that just flows and is a memory of a spirit and a time. Time to crank it out loud. I prefer the Mono mix on The Beatles Mono box set. It is fun to listen to after having the stereo version imprinted on my memory. There is enough differences in mixes and sound to make it a new discovery.

It might be fun to compile an alternate track list for Sgt. Pepper, assuming hypothetically that Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane had made it on to Pepper--that means, with the spatial limitations of vinyl, that two tracks would have had to have been left off. Below is my list:

1. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band
2. With A Little Help From My Friends
3. Strawberry Fields Forever
4. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
5. Getting Better
6. She's Leaving Home
7. Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite
8. Within You Without You
9. When I'm Sixty-Four
10.Penny Lane
11.Good Morning, Good Morning
12.Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club band (Reprise)
13.A Day In The Life

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stonesnow

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whitem8
George Martin has said in several interviews one of the things he most regrets from his career with The Beatles was not including Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane on Sgt Peppers. But to be fair to Martin, The Beatles were originally thinking about making a concept album about their childhood and Liverpool. Hence those two songs starting a frenzy of ideas and writing. Soon the original idea faded and with those two songs, they wanted to get something out, knowing they were going to take some time on the next full album. They also worked hard on a vision and soundscape and films for both songs, and they were released as a gap filler between their release and the future release of their new album. Very similar in some ways to Rain and Paperback Writer not being released on Revolver. Both would have felt right at home on Revolver. As was mentioned above, there was a few songs left off Sgt Peppers, Its Only a Northern Song, and the long unreleased acid jam Carnival of Light, that McCartney wanted on Anthology, but was vetoed by Harrison. That song is interesting in that is was made purposely for a acid rave The Million Volt Light and Sound Rave at the Roundhouse in London and was even debuted at the rave. Then quickly spirited back to the vaults. The idea of Sgt Peppers actually didn't occur until halfway through the recording sessions when McCartney gave the song, and the germination of an older idea he had about being a different band, was proposed at that session and agreed upon.
The other thing to remember is The Beatles had a policy of not putting their singles on their studio albums. And for the most part most of their singles were stand alone releases. Which is pretty cool and amazing.
A wonderful anniversary for an album that strangely was over hyped in history for a long time, and often thought as The Beatles high point, and through the years many got tired of the hype around Sgt Peppers and there was a backlash, even Lennon went along on it...but listening to it now, wow! What an incredible statement that just flows and is a memory of a spirit and a time. Time to crank it out loud. I prefer the Mono mix on The Beatles Mono box set. It is fun to listen to after having the stereo version imprinted on my memory. There is enough differences in mixes and sound to make it a new discovery.

It might be fun to compile an alternate track list for Sgt. Pepper, assuming hypothetically that Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane had made it on to Pepper--that means, with the spatial limitations of vinyl, that two tracks would have had to have been left off. Below is my list:

1. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band
2. With A Little Help From My Friends
3. Strawberry Fields Forever
4. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
5. Getting Better
6. She's Leaving Home
7. Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite
8. Within You Without You
9. When I'm Sixty-Four
10.Penny Lane
11.Good Morning, Good Morning
12.Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club band (Reprise)
13.A Day In The Life

I like your placement of Penny Lane, but I think I'd put Strawberry Fields after Lucy in Sky, as I like the transition from With a Little Help to Lucy. And the punchiness of Getter Better would offset the more languid feel of Strawberry Fields, if GB followed it directly.

Wow, I can't believe I just put that much thought into this! But it's a fun exercise.

Man I couldn't take Fixing a Hole off! It is one of the best on it, especially the lead. I would nix Good Morning and Lovely Rita in favor of Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane.

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tatters
"Sadly, Pepper was the last Beatles album where all four band members worked like a team. There would still be good days ahead, but they would occur less frequently. The cracks were beginning to appear and tensions were starting to bubble to the surface."


I think you can make a strong case for Revolver being their last true group effort. Other than his work on "Within You, Without You", George Harrison is largely absent from Sgt Pepper.

True tatters. Harrison in interviews on the Anthology said Pepper was boring for him. Ringo said the same, this was deeply a John and Paul effort. With Rubber Soul and Revolver they entire group was participating. George remarked he saw Revlover as Rubber Soul Pt. 2. But stylistically Revolver sounds more like Pepper. But I think he was remembering he had far more input on Revolver.

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tatters

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stonesnow

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71Tele
Hard to believe that Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane were left OFF this album so they could be "saved" for a single! This would never happen today.

The Beatles had a policy about this: singles were different from albums. A single would never be pulled from an album once the album was released, and quite often a single would not appear on an album because they didn't want the fans to have to buy a song twice, though there were some exceptions. Hey Jude, which never appeared on an album, was out when the White Album was released, from which no singles were pulled. Paperback Writer/Rain were likewise not included on Revolver.

When the Beatles reconvened to record a new album in November 1966, they were already overdue for a new single. At a time when EMI would record a whole album in one week, the Beatles by this time were taking three weeks and more on one song. After two months in the studio, they only had three new songs recorded--Strawberry Fields, Penny Lane, and When I'm Sixty-Four--so George Martin and Brian Epstein decided on the first two for the new single.

It wasn't even Sgt. Pepper at this point--Paul brought that track in later, and the concept for Sgt. Pepper was only completed toward the end with the recording of With A Little Help From My Friends. So no loss, really. Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane only serve to strengthen Magical Mystery Tour, which is more a singles compilation (four top ten hits, three of them number one and three previously released), than a new album, with some of the album tracks left over from Pepper.

Strictly speaking, Magical Mystery Tour doesn't include anything left over from Sgt. Pepper, as there was a gap of a few days between the final work on Pepper and beginning of work on anything (the song MMT itself) that was "saved" for the next album. George's Yellow Submarine track, "Only A Northern Song" could be considered a Sgt Pepper leftover, since it was recorded while work on Pepper was still continuing.

MMT was only a double-EP release in the U.K., with Capitol making it a full album in the U.S. by including the Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields and Hello Goodbye/All You Need Is Love singles, a rare case when Capitol's interference resulted in a better product.

Yes 71tele I agree. MMT is a very cool album. When Lennon did his guest spot DJing a California radio station he played I am the Walrus and intro'd it by saying, "Im going to play I am the Walrus from MMT. One of my favorite albums because it is so freaky, and because I wrote it!" Great album.

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tatters
"Sadly, Pepper was the last Beatles album where all four band members worked like a team. There would still be good days ahead, but they would occur less frequently. The cracks were beginning to appear and tensions were starting to bubble to the surface."


I think you can make a strong case for Revolver being their last true group effort. Other than his work on "Within You, Without You", George Harrison is largely absent from Sgt Pepper.

Harrison often stated that Pepper was an unhappy experience for him, and that coming back from India to the Beatles was a let-down. There's lots of Paul lead guitar on the album. If it were not for his one tune, we would have barely any George at all on Pepper.

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rocker1

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stonesnow

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whitem8
George Martin has said in several interviews one of the things he most regrets from his career with The Beatles was not including Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane on Sgt Peppers. But to be fair to Martin, The Beatles were originally thinking about making a concept album about their childhood and Liverpool. Hence those two songs starting a frenzy of ideas and writing. Soon the original idea faded and with those two songs, they wanted to get something out, knowing they were going to take some time on the next full album. They also worked hard on a vision and soundscape and films for both songs, and they were released as a gap filler between their release and the future release of their new album. Very similar in some ways to Rain and Paperback Writer not being released on Revolver. Both would have felt right at home on Revolver. As was mentioned above, there was a few songs left off Sgt Peppers, Its Only a Northern Song, and the long unreleased acid jam Carnival of Light, that McCartney wanted on Anthology, but was vetoed by Harrison. That song is interesting in that is was made purposely for a acid rave The Million Volt Light and Sound Rave at the Roundhouse in London and was even debuted at the rave. Then quickly spirited back to the vaults. The idea of Sgt Peppers actually didn't occur until halfway through the recording sessions when McCartney gave the song, and the germination of an older idea he had about being a different band, was proposed at that session and agreed upon.
The other thing to remember is The Beatles had a policy of not putting their singles on their studio albums. And for the most part most of their singles were stand alone releases. Which is pretty cool and amazing.
A wonderful anniversary for an album that strangely was over hyped in history for a long time, and often thought as The Beatles high point, and through the years many got tired of the hype around Sgt Peppers and there was a backlash, even Lennon went along on it...but listening to it now, wow! What an incredible statement that just flows and is a memory of a spirit and a time. Time to crank it out loud. I prefer the Mono mix on The Beatles Mono box set. It is fun to listen to after having the stereo version imprinted on my memory. There is enough differences in mixes and sound to make it a new discovery.

It might be fun to compile an alternate track list for Sgt. Pepper, assuming hypothetically that Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane had made it on to Pepper--that means, with the spatial limitations of vinyl, that two tracks would have had to have been left off. Below is my list:

1. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band
2. With A Little Help From My Friends
3. Strawberry Fields Forever
4. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
5. Getting Better
6. She's Leaving Home
7. Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite
8. Within You Without You
9. When I'm Sixty-Four
10.Penny Lane
11.Good Morning, Good Morning
12.Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club band (Reprise)
13.A Day In The Life

I like your placement of Penny Lane, but I think I'd put Strawberry Fields after Lucy in Sky, as I like the transition from With a Little Help to Lucy. And the punchiness of Getter Better would offset the more languid feel of Strawberry Fields, if GB followed it directly.

Wow, I can't believe I just put that much thought into this! But it's a fun exercise.

It's fun to speculate on how it would happen today, with longer running times on CD, and singles culled from albums. Personally I would keep all the original tracks and add the other three recorded during the sessions (Strawberry Fields, Penny Lane, and It's Only A Northern Song). What a killer album!

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71Tele

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tatters
"Sadly, Pepper was the last Beatles album where all four band members worked like a team. There would still be good days ahead, but they would occur less frequently. The cracks were beginning to appear and tensions were starting to bubble to the surface."


I think you can make a strong case for Revolver being their last true group effort. Other than his work on "Within You, Without You", George Harrison is largely absent from Sgt Pepper.

Harrison often stated that Pepper was an unhappy experience for him, and that coming back from India to the Beatles was a let-down. There's lots of Paul lead guitar on the album. If it were not for his one tune, we would have barely any George at all on Pepper.

But also funny to consider Abbey Road as being their last true group effort. By all accounts, they were still fighting, but got it together and worked as a team to record Abbey Road.

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tatters
"Sadly, Pepper was the last Beatles album where all four band members worked like a team. There would still be good days ahead, but they would occur less frequently. The cracks were beginning to appear and tensions were starting to bubble to the surface."


I think you can make a strong case for Revolver being their last true group effort. Other than his work on "Within You, Without You", George Harrison is largely absent from Sgt Pepper.

That's exactly right, Tatters, and this is what Geoff Emerick says in his book: that Pepper was mainly a John and Paul album. Because before, the Beatles would present new songs with the four of them playing together as a group to present a new song to George Martin, whereas on Pepper it became a solo artist and then a backing group, as with all of them sitting back and watching Paul layer track after track of keyboards for Penny Lane. In those first weeks of sessions, George Harrison had precious little to do apart from his bit of slide guitar on Strawberry Fields. And of course, in all those months of recording Sgt. Pepper, Ringo played a lot more chess than he did drums.

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rocker1

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stonesnow

Quote
whitem8
George Martin has said in several interviews one of the things he most regrets from his career with The Beatles was not including Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane on Sgt Peppers. But to be fair to Martin, The Beatles were originally thinking about making a concept album about their childhood and Liverpool. Hence those two songs starting a frenzy of ideas and writing. Soon the original idea faded and with those two songs, they wanted to get something out, knowing they were going to take some time on the next full album. They also worked hard on a vision and soundscape and films for both songs, and they were released as a gap filler between their release and the future release of their new album. Very similar in some ways to Rain and Paperback Writer not being released on Revolver. Both would have felt right at home on Revolver. As was mentioned above, there was a few songs left off Sgt Peppers, Its Only a Northern Song, and the long unreleased acid jam Carnival of Light, that McCartney wanted on Anthology, but was vetoed by Harrison. That song is interesting in that is was made purposely for a acid rave The Million Volt Light and Sound Rave at the Roundhouse in London and was even debuted at the rave. Then quickly spirited back to the vaults. The idea of Sgt Peppers actually didn't occur until halfway through the recording sessions when McCartney gave the song, and the germination of an older idea he had about being a different band, was proposed at that session and agreed upon.
The other thing to remember is The Beatles had a policy of not putting their singles on their studio albums. And for the most part most of their singles were stand alone releases. Which is pretty cool and amazing.
A wonderful anniversary for an album that strangely was over hyped in history for a long time, and often thought as The Beatles high point, and through the years many got tired of the hype around Sgt Peppers and there was a backlash, even Lennon went along on it...but listening to it now, wow! What an incredible statement that just flows and is a memory of a spirit and a time. Time to crank it out loud. I prefer the Mono mix on The Beatles Mono box set. It is fun to listen to after having the stereo version imprinted on my memory. There is enough differences in mixes and sound to make it a new discovery.

It might be fun to compile an alternate track list for Sgt. Pepper, assuming hypothetically that Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane had made it on to Pepper--that means, with the spatial limitations of vinyl, that two tracks would have had to have been left off. Below is my list:

1. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band
2. With A Little Help From My Friends
3. Strawberry Fields Forever
4. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
5. Getting Better
6. She's Leaving Home
7. Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite
8. Within You Without You
9. When I'm Sixty-Four
10.Penny Lane
11.Good Morning, Good Morning
12.Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club band (Reprise)
13.A Day In The Life

I like your placement of Penny Lane, but I think I'd put Strawberry Fields after Lucy in Sky, as I like the transition from With a Little Help to Lucy. And the punchiness of Getter Better would offset the more languid feel of Strawberry Fields, if GB followed it directly.

Wow, I can't believe I just put that much thought into this! But it's a fun exercise.

Yes, but of course, one has to consider the "real" concept behind Pepper, that is, of no longer having spaces between songs, that through [even a fluke of] engineering, the songs would flow in to one another without a second of interruption, as opposed to the three seconds that separated each song on albums up to that time. So who knows, perhaps you couldn't rework Pepper, that it's perfect as it is.

From Geoff Emerick's book (Here, There and Everywhere: My life Recording The Music of the Beatles): "...George Martin and I spent a few days experimenting with the running order of the album... Because most of the songs ran directly into one another, without the usual three-second gap, there was a lot of crossfading to be done, which was quite time-consuming. It was sheer fluke the way the clucking chicken at the end of 'Good Morning, Good Morning' turned into George's guitar at the beginning of the 'Pepper' reprise. We were all surprised and delighted at how well that worked. I didn't even have to alter the pitch of the cluck with the use of varispeed, though I did tighten up the gap between songs by cutting out a bit of tape." - pp.187-188

Sgt Pepper containing Strawberry and Penny Lane means that songs like 'When I'm Sixty-four' and 'Good Morning Good Morning' must be deleted. The deleted songs would be an excellent single ....And why not startin up the album with 'Strawberry Fields since it's there?, The Beatles strongest song just have to be a album-starter...


I was driving home early Sunday morning through Bakersfield...

Not sure that would have worked, and I think A Day in the Life is a stronger song, most probably The Beatles finest achievement. Starting Sgt Pepper with the orchestra tuning up and the crowd noise then the furst punching slab of guitar is brilliant. And set the concept that you were getting a performance by the band Sgt Peppers. I think it would have fit well after Fixing a Hole, or after Within You Without You.

With my solution this album had not been named Sgt Pepper .... possibly 'Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite' instead ... you could then possibly deleting both Sgt Pepper numbers and insert the brilliant 'Hey Bulldog' and 'Lennonized' the album a little more ... Sgt Pepper tracks could have been moved to 'Magical Mystery Tour' album ....


I was driving home early Sunday morning through Bakersfield...

Bulldog wasn't ready for Pepper. It was done during the Lady Madanna sessions, and was a knock off for Yellow Submarine. Hey Bulldog is one of my all time favorite Lennon tracks. And a lost gem. Removing Sgt. Pepper would be radically altering the entire innovation of the album and the concept of them being another band. In the same breath as loving Hey Bulldog, Good Morning Good Morning is one of Lennon's throwaway songs. It is dull and listless, much like the cornflakes commercial that inspired him to write it. Lennon doesn't speak fondly of the song as well. BUT! It fits in Pepper perfectly, with the wonderful edit at the end segueing into Sgt. Pepper's Reprise. Which is also, interestingly enough, one of their heaviest sounding songs! Listen to them crunch that riff, sounding like a mini heavy metal band. Fantastic. And the segue from Reprise to Day in the Life is brilliant and a great concept to end the album then add a metaphysical encore. Wonderful. But I would be happy trading Lovely Rita and Penny Lane for Good Morning and Lovely Rita, or possibly When I'm 64.
But I am not one for revisionist history, and think it is one of the most perfect statements by a rock group. The booklet with the CD gives the original track sequencing so you can program your CD player, or create a play list with it.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-06-04 13:05 by whitem8.

Quote
whitem8
Bulldog wasn't ready for Pepper. It was done during the Lady Madanna sessions, and was a knock off for Yellow Submarine. Hey Bulldog is one of my all time favorite Lennon tracks. And a lost gem. Removing Sgt. Pepper would be radically altering the entire innovation of the album and the concept of them being another band. In the same breath as loving Hey Bulldog, Good Morning Good Morning is one of Lennon's throwaway songs. It is dull and listless, much like the cornflakes commercial that inspired him to write it. Lennon doesn't speak fondly of the song as well. BUT! It fits in Pepper perfectly, with the wonderful edit at the end segueing into Sgt. Pepper's Reprise. Which is also, interestingly enough, one of their heaviest sounding songs! Listen to them crunch that riff, sounding like a mini heavy metal band. Fantastic. And the segue from Reprise to Day in the Life is brilliant and a great concept to end the album then add a metaphysical encore. Wonderful. But I would be happy trading Lovely Rita and Penny Lane for Good Morning and Lovely Rita, or possibly When I'm 64.
But I am not one for revisionist history, and think it is one of the most perfect statements by a rock group. The booklet with the CD gives the original track sequencing so you can program your CD player, or create a play list with it.

Yeah you're absolutely right of course.... Just the thought of mixing and changing the songs on Sgt Pepper got me carried away...