that Sgt Pepper taught the band to play! ....... https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/30/a...sary.html?_r=0
So may I introduce to you
The act you've known for all these years
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
The album's official release was June 1st, 1967 so I'm a little late - but what the hey!
It's an album that, depending on your age (generation), gets different reviews ... you either rave/love it, call it a masterpiece or say it's OK, don't know what all the hype is (was) about, and say it's not the Beatles best work. It was panned by some critics when it was released, not that well received. Last year Keith Richards call it "rubbish" (LOL). I remember when they released the videos of Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields (which was a part of those sessions) and Dick Clark had a mixed audience of girls and boys review it afterwards. The girls, wanting them to remain four lovable mop-tops singing "Yeah, yeah, yeah" hated it. While the boys loved it (LOL).
To those of use from the "older generation" who grew up with the Beatles, experienced Beatlemania (changed our lives forever), and remember when this album was released, it probably holds a special place in our hearts and lives that the younger generation may not understand. It was definitely a change of direction for the band.....
From the album cover artwork
and from four mop-tops who introduced the world to the Beatle hair cut and funny collar-less suits
to this .....
And then there was, of course, the music. One could see that "evolution" in their music beginning in '65 with Rubber Soul, and progressing with Revolver. Many claim Revolver is the best Beatles album ever (definitely one of my favorites). Years ago, Rolling Stone claimed it was best rock-produced album ever.
But in '66, which was a year filled with a lot of controversy for the band .... with Lennon's Jesus remarks (the South burning Beatle albums), the problems in the Philippines, the grind of touring wearing on them until they decide no more touring, each was working on separate projects .... many thought that the Beatles were through, on the wane. Little did they know as they entered the studio with George Martin. And I remember McCartney once (basically) saying "We'll show you!"
And of course the concept for Sgt Pepper was Paul's, who was inspired by the Beach Boy's Pet Sounds .... https://www.beatlesbible.com/1966/11...rts-club-band/
"We were fed up with being the Beatles. We really hated that ******* four little mop-top boys approach. We were not boys, we were men. It was all gone, all that boy ****, all that screaming, we didn't want any more, plus, we'd now got turned on to pot and thought of ourselves as artists rather than just performers. There was now more to it; not only had John and I been writing, George had been writing, we'd been in films, John had written books, so it was natural that we should become artists.
Then suddenly on the plane I got this idea. I thought, Let's not be ourselves. Let's develop alter egos so we're not having to project an image which we know. It would be much more free. What would really be interesting would be to actually take on the personas of this different band. We could say, 'How would somebody else sing this? He might approach it a bit more sarcastically, perhaps.' So I had this idea of giving the Beatles alter egos simply to get a different approach; then when John came up to the microphone or I did, it wouldn't be John or Paul singing, it would be the members of this band. It would be a freeing element. I thought we can run this philosophy through the whole album: with this alter-ego band, it won't be us making all that sound, it won't be the Beatles, it'll be this other band, so we'll be able to lose our identities in this."
And the rest is history
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