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Rolling Stone, a few years back, listed the Top 500 albums of all time. Not surprisingly, The Beatles had most of their albums make the list. Of the Top 5, Rubber Soul was #5 and Revolver ranked #3. These two albums, released December 1965 and August 1966 respectively, began to show that there was absolute substance to the maturing group. The groundbreaking levels of melodies, lyrics, and production was far above what had been already produced by the band during the previous three years, which even then, was far above all other pop music production, as underscored by Beatlemania. The group spent the months between November 1966 and May 1967 out of ther spotlight, other than a release of the double A-side single Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever, which, as previous singles in America, hit #1. But in England, "Please Release Me" by Englebert Humperdinck kept this single from the #1 slot (although the unit sales were more!). So this, along with the Fab's out of the spotlight, led one critic to write that the group had peaked, and with their touring days over, they could no longer be a group, that they were finished. He was in for a surprise. The only thing The Beatles were finished with was putting the finishing touches on the tracks that would make up the album Rolling Stone put at #1 of all time. With the previous two albums being a precursor, the group began to use the studio as a canvas; the were painting pictures in sound. And what sounds! Horns, comb and paper, alarm clocks, dog whistles, Indian musicians, symphony musicians, animal noises, tape loops, pump organs, and of course, the trusty guitars, bass, and drums. Inspiration for songs ranged from breakfast commercials and changing weather to preschool drawings. Their producer, George Martin, used the technology of 1967 (i.e four track tapes) to realize John's wish to have people "smell the sawdust" on "Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite", as well as figure out how to make a single piano chord last about 45 seconds, and how to make Paul sound like a teenager in "When I'm 64". George was able to take a foreign style of music (and musicians) and translate, with great success, the drones of asian instruments to a western music piece. The styles of music presented ranges from hard rock (listen to the riffs on the title track!) to the strings (and sly lyrics of Bye-Bye/Buy Buy)of "She's Leaving Home", ragtime, and of course, the psychedelic. Two of the strongest tracks, "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" and "A Day In The Life" took not only the Beatles music to new heights, but set the bar for all other bands far too high to reach. The Beatles point out The Beach Boys "Pet Sounds" was a huge inspiration. But Brian Wilson knew that when he heard it, SPLHCB trumped the best he could do. And Ringo: his vocals for "With A Little Help From My Friends" and drumwork (imagine the power of three beats of a bass drum on "Lucy" show exactly why he was the perfect last piece of the fab four puzzle. Johnny Rivers sang "All summer long we were dancing in the sand, and the jukebox kept on playing Sgt. Pepper's Lonley Hearts Club Band" and Jimi Hendrix was playing the title track three days after the albums release as part of his stage show. Bob Dylan said he now knew the Beatles didn't want to be cute anymore. And if Shrek's remark about Sgt Pompous's Fancy Pants Band 4 decades later doesn't show the staying power of the album, ask yourself where Rolling Stone placed this album.Read full review
This recording is special to me because it was the 1st album I ever purchased. Bought this album in June 1967. Played it so much I really did think I was going 2 wear it out. So to hear this on this special cd is awesome. Sound is great. The folks at Apple/EMI did an outstanding job! Bottom line, this album proves how far ahead of the game the Beatles were . As the Beatles put it so appropriately, "A splendid time is guaranteed for all!"
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
What can I say? This is The Beatles at their very best. At the time, this recording revolutionized the recording industry. The Beatles had stopped touring, so they put all of their time and effort (129 days) into making what is considered by many to be the ultimate album. The raised the bar and set a new standard in the recording industry. The Beatles broke all of the rules when they made the album. Songs: The song writing stands out. There are brilliant lyrics, amazing melodies, interesting sounds, etc. All of these things go together to make these songs stans out. Packaging: In the ,09 version, the packaging is a plus. You get a 30 page booklet that includes song lyrics, notes from Paul McCartney, recording notes and information, Cover art notes and information, and you get a mini-documentary. To me, it seems like you get all, and you get one of the best Beatles albums ever made.Read full review
I am one of those people who loves to constantly search for the best sounding Beatles stuff available. I have the original issues of all the Beatles discs that Capitol put out back in the 1980's, I have the MFSL Master Recordings on bootleg compact discs that sound excellent and are worth a fortune, and now I have the remastered versions. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is the last disc I bought from this new batch of Fab Four discs. The sound is crisp and clear, but you already knew I'd say that, right? If you've heard the original issue discs and noticed how they were all lacking that warm, comfortable bass and sharp, smacking drums; then you won't be disappointed with this, the 8th disc put out by the Beatles. This disc is not a remix. It is a remaster, and many people don't know the real difference between the two. If you want a remixed remaster of some of the songs in this disc, then go buy 1999's Yellow Submarine Songtrack disc (which I find to have some excellent remixes of my favorite Beatles songs). This new Sgt. Pepper's CD is a cleaned up version of the old CD that's been available for years sitting in the same bin of the same old bland packaged CD cases containing the same, non-remastered songs that sounded the same probably since their first release on LP. This is not the case here. As I said, the music on this disc has a cleaner sound than any other version out there. From the orchestra tuning opening of the title track on towards the orgasmic climax of strings at the end of "A Day In The Life" (and the disc loop after the final track), this CD is filled with all the little nicks, chimes, and ticks that I have never heard before with such clarity (except the hard to obtain MFSL Gold CD edition). All the guitars are sharper as well. This is very apparent on "It's Getting Better". "She's Leaving Home" has a more solid sound than the flat sounding version found on the original release. If you have a halfway decent stereo system with a "small Hall" audio option, then you are in for a treat with this song. This collection of songs sounds like it was recorded yesterday; that's how good it is. The disc's mini-documentary is alright. While it doesn't go into very much detail about the making of the album, it does a decent job of giving first time listeners the gist of what the album was about. Various audio clips from the Anthology series and other interviews were used in the mini-documentary. The packaging is exceptional, especially considering how poor the old editions were in this department. The booklet is printed on glossy stock paper, and contains a new forward by Paul, and other liner noted by Sir George Martin and Peter Blake as well as all the lyrics to the album's songs. Some rare photos are included as well. They've been seen before, but they're still not very common unless you own the original LP which this new edition tries to resemble. All in all, if you're already a fan of the group, then what I have to say isn't going to sway your mind; you'll probably go and buy this thing regardless. If you've lollygagged around, and never got into the Beatles before, then don't waste your mind's time listening to the garbage music that has been produced in the years since this album's 1967 release. Expand your tastes, listen to this album in its entirety, and see why the Beatles (not the Rolling Stones) are the world's greatest rock group.Read full review
Playing bass I grew up with the Beatles. Sgt peppers was one of the cds I was missing. I don't play much anymore because of arthritis in my left wrist but the Beatles are one of the band's that keeps me interested in music. Dave
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
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