Sgt. Pepper week continues. The BBC celebrated the 50th anniversary of the landmark album by broadcasting a brand new one-hour special that aired yesterday (June 3) on the BBC (and PBS in the U.S. and Canada), Sgt. Pepper's Musical Revolution with Howard Goodall.
Noted British classical composer Goodall narrates this special which explores the making of the album by showcasing snippets of outtakes (some culled from the various 2017 Pepper CD sets, other exclusive to this series) and illustrated by archival films and photographs as well as striking visual effects. The special is an unofficial sequel to The Making of Sgt. Pepper, the fine 1992 doc that is part of the Super Deluxe box set.
The key difference here is that the Goodall special lacks new appearances by any of the remaining Beatles or their confidantes. Instead, Goodall takes us on a musical lecture-tour of the Pepper sessions. His musical observations are insightful and new even to lifelong fans of the album. Like a good teacher, Goodall offers insight but speaks in terms that don't sail over our heads. Here are some things we learned:
1) In December 1966, EMI recording engineer Ken Townsend (far right) joined the fast and dreamy versions of Strawberry Fields Forever by slowing down the fast one to match the tempo and key of the slower one. He accomplished this by manipulating the electricity supply feeding the tape machine. Remember: there were no computers in those days, just magnetic tape machines. And no, George Martin didn't pull this off, though he oversaw it.
2) The influence of Little Richard on Penny Lane. No surprise that Paul was a huge Little Richard fan, but Richard's double-time rhythm (heard on such hits as Lucille that The Beatles covered on BBC Radio) had a direct effect on the piano performance on Penny Lane.
3) Now consider that the piano performance of Penny Lane is actually four different pianos mixed together.
4) The musical "wash" that appears twice in Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite consists of one-second snippets culled from various calliope recordings (circus organs) that producer George Martin had engineer Geoff Emerick splice together at random. Okay, maybe this is not news to some Beatlefreaks, but the Goodall special isolates several splices of them so you can hear them individually--and that is a revelation.
5) John's vocal was recorded at a slower speed, so he sounds younger (and higher in pitch) in Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds, a song that's based on a child's fantasy (Alice in Wonderland).
6) Paul's melancholy vocal in She's Leaving Home is rooted in the ancient "modal" tradition that Paul would've absorbed from Anglo-Celtic folk songs he heard growing up in Liverpool.
7) The numerous shifts of rhythm (taal) in George's Within You, Without You are absolutely normal in Indian music, though unusual, if not radical, for Western rock music.
8) George's vocal is actually a compromise between Western and Indian conventions. The latter "stretches" single words over several bars--and this bears no comparison in Western songs, certainly not rock. The Goodall special features an Indian singer demonstrating how Within You, Without You would be sung in the Indian tradition, which is light-years from Western music.
9) The glissando orchestral "rush" heard twice in A Day in the Life was inspired by avant-garde composers such as John Cage and Karlheinz Stockhausen (above). John, and especially Paul, were curious about these composers. They all share a spirit of musical adventure.
Fifty years, almost to the day, The Beatles have properly mixed Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in stereo. Producer Giles Martin and engineer Sam Okell have reconstructed the album by sourcing the original tracks to present vocals and guitars that sparkle and bass and drums that roar.
Martin has centered the vocals, forever erasing the ugly extreme panning which segregated vocals to one channel and almost all instruments to the other. On every track he has added new details from guitars, keyboards, tablas, strings and backing vocals that ring out of speakers and headphones alike. Layers of sound that The Beatles and his father George with engineer Geoff Emerick first constructed in the winter of 1966/67 burst across the stereo picture in songs such as Getting Better.
Pepper was never my favourite Beatles album. (Revolver is.) In fact, Pepper was down my list. I listened to the 1967 stereo all these years and lamented how the album just lacked something. Too whimsical in places, not enough weight. Sounded flat. However, this 2017 remix makes me reassess Pepper. I now see its depth and appreciate its complexity. Its sheer force is now undeniable--and exciting.
Overall, Martin and Okell have injected the overall album with power and dimension. Long buried in the original 1967 stereo mix, Ringo's drums propel virtually every song, balancing the whimsy in tracks, such as Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite, andadding menace to others, including Good Morning, Good Morning.
Sgt. Pepper rocks.
Oh God, you may be thinking, another bloody Beatles reissue. Not at all. This release is not a re-master, but a brand new mix. It ain't a paint job and scrub, but an entire re-design by shifting vocals and re-organizing sounds to realize the effect that The Beatles originally intended in spring 1967. The band oversaw three weeks of mono mixing, but weren't ever around for the stereo mix that lasted three days. Mono outsold stereo in 1967. The audience lagged behind the imagination and ambition of The Beatles. In turn, their Pepper would propel stereo's dominance, usher the rise of the long-playing record and spark the transition of "pop" to "rock."
Giles' stereo mix takes its cue from the mono mix which was the mix that The Beatles intended the world to hear. Mono packs a sonic punch, forceful and aggressive, compared to the thin 1967 stereo. Here's a review of each track, plus the single that was originally planned for the album, Strawberry Fields Forever/Penny Lane:
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Opens with snare drum on the left channel, a much louder bass that rumbles in the center and a guitar that now snarls on the right. The guitar offers far more detail than before and sounds like Jimi Hendrix. The guitar continues to slash as Paul screams the vocal in the centre to create an exciting dialogue. Backing vocals are spread across both channels in exquisite detail. An amazing opening. Verdict: Excellent With A Little Help From My Friends
Vocals are centered, and the overall track has a mono feel except that Paul's melodic bass dominates the right channel. This is one of the simpler tracks of the album, so there are no sonic fireworks, but all the elements roll along in the right place. Verdict: Good
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
The opening keyboard riff dances across the left and right channels to mesmerizing effect that runs through the entire track. It's a subtle, but brilliant touch as if enticing the listener to run down the rabbit hole with vocalist Lennon. John's vocal is centered, anchoring the song. Drums, tamboura are center-left, while Paul's bass is center-right in a delicate balance. This is one of the few tracks where Ringo's drums aren't pushed to the forefront, and I understand why. That would have smothered the sound collage that Lucy creates. Verdict: Good
Getting Better
The fireworks return with this track. Paul's bass is right upfront and gives the song a whallop that was missing before. Again, vocals are centered. New to my ears were the guitars chiming in both channels and the piano plucking in the right. Ringo's high hat sparkles in the left. The remix shows off the layers of sound like never before which hum together like a mighty machine. Verdict: Stunning Fixing A Hole
The opening keyboard has never sounded so detailed. Ringo's drums are predominantly left, guitar mostly right (except the solo) and Paul's vocal at center to anchor the sound picture. Backing vocals also mostly right, but the panning is balanced, not lopsided or distracting. Verdict: Good She's Leaving Home
The first thing you notice is how fast this track is, nearly as fast as the mono (which never sounded right to me). This mix demands some adjustment, because I'm used to hearing the slower 1967 stereo version. But in direct comparison, the slower version sounds melodramatic. Also, Giles has separated the individual stringed instruments across the channels giving them room to breathe while allowing Paul's vocal to dominate in the center. Faster, less emphasis on the strings, less melodramatic. Also, John's key background vocals are more distinct and detailed. Overall, a well-balanced track. This faster version gives the song more urgency and bite. Verdict: Surprising at first, but overall good Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite
This was one of the worst-mixed songs on the 1967 stereo, your typical hard-pan with the vocals 2000 miles away from the instruments. I hated it. Centering the vocals is a huge step forward here. Secondly, the individual instruments are separated across left and right, and each rings clearly. The difference is immediate and amazing. Third, Ringo's drumming adds weight to a song that was whimsical, even slight, before. And fourth, the wash of sound at the end is downright dazzling. Another WOW moment. Verdict: Stunning Within You Without You
Every instrument, stringed and Indian, sparkles on this track. They are spread across both channels instead of lumped together into a dull mess as before. George's vocal in the center literally bridges both sets of instruments. Most astonishing is the extended musical break starting at 2;23 where Giles exploits the soundscape to contrast and blend the Indian and Western instruments. Hands down, this is one of the most breathtaking moments of this remix. Verdict: Stunning When I'm 64
Brushes-on-snare on the left, clarinets on the right and Paul's vocal in the middle. Simple and it works. Verdict: Good Good Morning Good Morning
Crank this one. This new remix is a monster rock track. Ringo drives a tank throughout this song, adding a layer of menace which injects John's lyrics about a dull day with paranoia and chaos. And I mean that as a compliment. Another WOW moment. This remix is light years from any you've ever heard. Verdict: Stunning Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (reprise)
Given the bass-and-drums boost of every track before, it's a slight letdown to hear this mix. On the 1967 mix, this track rocked the hardest, but no longer. Is this a bad mix? Not at all, but it doesn't surprise like the others. Paul's vocal, though, is crisper, and you can hear him scat in the fade out just like he does on the mono mix. Verdict: Okay A Day In The Life
Mixed feelings. John's vocal is centered throughout and--for once--I miss the extreme panning. In the 1967 mix, his vocal starts in the extreme right than gradually shifts to the center and eventually hard-left, counter-clockwise. I miss this sense of disorientation and movement. That said, every sonic element on this track rings clearer with more detail, notably John's unearthly Ahhhh at 2:46. And the final piano chord is a knock-out punch. Verdict: Mixed feelings Strawberry Fields Forever
Actually remixed in 2015, but the structure is the same as the other tracks: centered vocals and individual instruments and effects delicately mixed on the left and right channels. The svarmandal still deliciously sweeps across the soundscape. Again, the instruments offer detail and immediacy. Verdict: Good Penny Lane
It's subtle, but this is one of the most radical remixes. It's not a hard rock song, but a collection of vignettes that Paul imagines of his hometown, Liverpool. Storyteller Paul is front and centre. Flourishes appear discreetly on the left and right channels, like the piccolo trumpet solo on the right, or the fireman's bell on the left. Again, subtle. My only complaint is that the trumpet near the end of the song is slightly buried in the left channel. (If anyone's asking, on my iPod I've placed SFF/Penny between Within You Without You and When I'm 64 and chucked Lovely Rita altogether.) Verdict: Good
OVERALL: Though imperfect, the 2017 stereo remix is the new definitive mix of Sgt. Pepper. It comes closest in capturing the Beatles' intentions and in conveying the complex soundscapes created in 1967 when the band was limited by four-track technology. All vocals, instruments and sound effects burst with fresh detail. Centering the vocals is a leap forward and boosting the drums and bass restores the visceral power of this rock album that used to be found only in the mono mix. My only real misgiving is the vocal placement in A Day In The Life, but the remixes of the title track, Getting Better, Mr. Kite, Within You and Good Morning are breathtaking. This remix firmly places this album in the 21st century and (partially) restores Pepper's reputation which has been overshadowed in recent years by Revolver.
For years, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was considered rock's greatest album. In the U.S., Rolling Stonemagazine has long ranked it at #1 while Pepper sits in the prestigious Library of Congress' National Recording Registry for posterity. Critics on both sides of the Atlantic first in 1978 then 1987 awarded Pepper the top spot.
Then, Revolver stole the crown. It topped the 2000 Q magazine list of the 50 Greatest British Albums Ever; VH1's greatest albums in history list (2001); the Virgin All-Time Top 1,000 Albums list; and 2013's Entertainment Weekly's greatest albums in history.
1966 ad for the U.S. Revolver
So, what happened?
Probably the tide turned when the 1987 CD issue of the UK version of Revolver finally reached American fans. Since the album's stateside release 50 years on August 8, 1966, American listeners were stuck with an inferior version that omitted I'm Only Sleeping, And Your Bird Can Sing and Dr. Robert. Since 1987, generations have grown up on the complete 14-track album which restores the absence of John's missing songs and rectifies the balance of Revolver.
1967 ad for the U.K. Sgt. Pepper
Further, those GenX'ers and Millennials didn't live through the Summer of Love, which Pepper shaped. Instead, the younger generations grew up with a critical distance and simply listened to the music.
That said, Pepper remains the favourite of many rock and Beatles' fans, but so does Revolver. Below, we (the Doc exhalting Revolver and the Guv championing Sgt. Pepper) debate the merits and weaknesses of both albums.
Doc: Sgt. Pepper had the greatest
impact of any Beatles -- or rock -- album, but in terms of
songwriting, performance, innovation and vision, Revolver is
superior. Revolver captures Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr
hitting their creative peaks at precisely the same time. They were abetted by an experienced, yet adventurous producer in George Martin, and a hungry, innovative
engineer in Geoff Emerick.
Guv: Revolver is the latter
part of the Beatles' transition to studio band, but it's still not fully
realised. It's patchy. The studio band is still finding its wings.
Pepper, on the other hand, stands as a whole. I clearly remember the
first time I heard the album as a teen. It blew my mind. As an album,
it was greater than its parts and evokes an atmosphere -- a place, a
time, a psychedelic, swinging 60s Liverpool.
Poetry & fantasy Doc:Pepper is an
achievement of the highest order, too, but it's an excursion into
fantasy and whimsy and not terribly personal or profound, except for
A Day In The Life.
Guv: Pepper as an album is
more complete, more realized. It's a painting, a watercolour. Revolver
is a collage that is best viewed in segments.
Doc: The songs on Pepper are
as varied in style and subject matter as those on Revolver, but
because the former is packaged as "Sgt. Pepper's band" there's an illusion of unity. It's a
collection of songs, that's all, and those songs simply aren't as
memorable as Revolver's.
Guv: It wasn't really a
concept album, but that's what it is. And it's not just the
packaging. The flow of the album is a listening experience. I can dip
in and out of Revolver. Pepper is an album I listen to in total.
Doc: The overall flavour of
Pepper is self-conscious fantasy, a la Mr. Kite and Lucy and the
title track itself. Mind you, the fantasy
is dazzling...
Guv: While I agree it's very
much fantastical, I don't for a moment believe it's self conscious.
Lucy and Kite both have brilliant and creative origins: a child's
drawing and an Elizabethan poster - both ideal candidates for songs,
and neither is self-conscious. And the instrumentation
on those two tracks is highly inventive. Original, stunningly
beautiful soundscapes to listen to.
Doc: I find the lyrics on
Revolver are more personal and therefore resonant. Pepper is fun, but
Revolver touches me.
Guv: Exactly! Pepperis fun. It's
not wildly introspective, which is what acid [LSD] did for them, but full
of humour and wit. The backing vocal lines in With A Little Help From My Friends. The humour of Lovely Rita ("What do you see when you turn out the lights? I can't tell you, but I know it's mine", "took her home, I nearly made it," & "sitting on a sofa with a sister or two") Nudge-Nudge, wink-wink.
Doc: That's my point: Pepper
is indeed fun, more fun that Revolver, but Revolver is grittier. The
songwriters began writing introspectively with Rubber Soul, then went
full bloom with Revolver, but the acid-Carnaby Street scene pushed
John and Paul into whimsy and fantasy.
Guv: Oh, come on! Once again you're picking on Rita and Friends? Just how introspective and reflective do you find Yellow Submarine?
And Taxman is just George complaining about how much he had to pay the government.
As far as protest songs go, it's hardly Dylan! And what's wrong with
Whimsy and Fantasy?
Doc: Nothing, but Pepper is
90% whimsy and fantasy. It needed a personal, poetic song like
Strawberry Fields Forever to balance it out.
Guv: Again I come back to
listening experience. Put on Pepper and I'm transported. A
fantastical world. I can close my eyes and be lost for 43 minutes.
Robert Freeman's dazzling cover for Revolver that was rejected. Freeman photographed the covers of With The Beatles, Beatles for Sale and Rubber Soul.
The George factor
Doc: One area where Revolver
triumphs over Pepper is the diversity of voices. Revolver boasts three George songs and the rest are split between Paul and John. Pepper is
overwhelming Paul. You barely hear George. John shines with Lucy and
A Day In The Life, but his presence is weaker than usual. I love the
contrast of voices on Revolver and miss that interplay on Pepper.
Guv: George shone on
Revolver, no doubt. But an album is not about democracy. It's about
the best songs at the time. It was a mistake to leave SFF and Penny Lane off
Pepper, for sure. I know Paul can be twee (i.e. the verses of Getting
Better) but John was there to balance that with, "It can't get much
worse." Paul countered this by softening Lennon's seriousness, for example, with his interlude in the middle of A Day In The Life.
Doc: Look at side 1 of Revolver:
George's Taxman (an angry song with a funky bassline and a blistering
guitar solo), the sad eloquence of Eleanor Rigby with a restrained,
but effective classical backing, taking Yesterday a step further),
then dipping into psychedelia with John's dreamy ode to daydreaming in I'm Only Sleeping with the backwards guitar.
Then, we turn 180-degrees into India with Love You To, which rocks as hard as
any Beatles song, only it's done with a tabla and not a Rickenbacker.
Guv: But it's disjointed. It
doesn't flow as well. And this is where tone comes in. Revolver works well
enough, but as I suggested, by accident.
Doc: My point about Revolver
isn't about democracy, but diversity. You have three voices -- and
personalities and world viewpoints -- contrasting each other. In
Pepper, those viewpoints are glossed over by fantastical songwriting
and elaborate musical arrangements. What may be a jumble of
songs to you, is to me like reading an anthology of the greatest
short stories of all time from cover to cover.
An early version of Klaus Voorman's cover for Revolver before the photo montage.
Guv: Even an anthology of
short stories needs a unified theme and flow.
Doc: Revolver flows.
The unity lies in the consistent level of musical invention and economical writing of
every song. There's no fat on this album and each song is reaching
for a new sound and expression. For example, the long, "elliptical" fade-in of I Want To Tell
You is seductive and smart.
Guv: Of course there is fat
on Revolver. Yellow Submarine belongs there? It's a throwaway, charming kiddie song. Love You To is good, but hardly vital.
Doc: Oh, please,
The Revolver sessions, spring 1966 at EMI Studios on Abbey Road. (photo: Robert Freeman)
Words & music
Doc: The lyrics in Revolver
are more personal and the songwriting is economical. Lyrics get to
the point and they are sharper. Take any line out of Eleanor Rigby,
which is one of Paul's finest lyrics ever ("and was buried along
with her name"); or the sardonic Taxman ("If you take a
walk, I'll tax your feet"); or the sadly nostalgic She Said She
Said ("When I was a boy, everything was right'); or the
enigmatic Tomorrow Never Knows ("Lay down all thought surrender
to the void").
Guv: Those are fine
examples, but you can counter those lines with a bunch from Pepper.
"And the time will come when you see we're all one and life
flows on within you and without you".
Doc: Pepper has its moments,
lyrically, but they are fewer and far between. "I used to be
angry young man, me hiding me head in the sand" in Getting
Better is honest and powerful. "See the people standing there
who disagree and never win and wonder why they don't get in my door"
is a rare instance of Paul talking to himself (a la John). Then, of
course, you have A Day In The Life.
Guv: I won't deny Revolver
pushed envelopes both instrumentally and in arrangement. It was a
huge leap from Beatlemania's boy-meets-girl. But Pepper took it a step
further and the studio became another instrument like never before. I would argue that has never been surpassed. Elaborate, textured,
layered, but not self-conscious.
Doc: On Revolver, some songs
just didn't need elaborate arrangements, like Here There and
Everywhere, She Said She Said and Good Day Sunshine. They could have
been performed in concert. Pepper songs were all
intended for a full production. I can't imagine Lucy in acoustic.
Listen to the isolated tape loops that appear in Tomorrow Never Knows
Guv: Revolver was a band
still in transition, from teenyboppers to studio masters. Their minds
and imaginations were opened by acid, and they needed to replicate
that experience on vinyl. They had time to experiment in the studio,
and were fortunate to have willing accomplices in Martin and Emerick.
And they did it so well. Revolver is, indeed a masterpiece. But by
the time they got to Pepper they had more control, more time (they'd
stopped touring) and were able to practise and develop their parts.
Paul's playing is more melodic than every before. Revolver took them to the final camp, but with Pepper they reach the top of the mountain.
Doc: The fantasy of Pepper
is imaginative and beautiful, but there is a shallowness to it as
well. Revolver's songs are more personal and direct, so they touch
the listener. Also, there is a diversity of voices on Revolver
that is lacking on Pepper. (The Beatles could have rectified this by
including Strawberry Fields Forever.)
Guv: That's where Pepper
works. It's Psychedelic Music Hall.
Doc: Revolver is a
collection of sounds, many new to listeners in 1966, yet still fresh 50 years later.
There's Indian raga,
Memphis soul, Beach Boys harmonies, a children's song, an acid trip
and classical strings on an album that has no weak moments.
Read more of our special coverage celebrating the 50th anniversary release of Revolver: Cos I'm The Staxman: What if the Beatles recorded Revolver in Memphis?
