beatles band
Sgt Pepper’S Lonely Hearts Club Band: Track By Track
I hope this article is successful in turning the conversation on The Beatles’ classic Sgt Pepper album from all of the “other stuff” to the really important stuff: the songs. What follows is a song by song look at this amazing album. #1 “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” is the album’s opener and arguably the heaviest song the band had done to that point (they would definitely surpass it with some songs on The White Album though, in particular “Helter Skelter.”) But as usual with The Beatles, there is a lot more to the song than just that. Sure there are the heavy rhythm guitars and the Jimi Hendrix inspired guitar solos but there’s also the horns and of course the crowd chatter and orchestral “tuning up” which really sets the mood for the song and the entire album. #2 “With A Little Help From My Friends” may be one of the few Beatles songs where a cover version is more well known than their original. Joe Cocker’s cover version was really seared into the public consciousness as it was used in the opening credits of The Wonder Years. While Cocker’s version is cool (and totally different than The Beatles) I still greatly prefer this one. #3 “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” was one of the most overtly “psychedelic” songs The Beatles recorded. Everything about the song from it’s imaginative lyrics to it’s phased out sound is tripped out to the extreme. #4 “Getting Better” is where I really start enjoying the album as an album. The first three songs of the album have become so well known that I have a hard time appreciating them in the same way I do the rest of the songs on the album. #5 “Fixing A Hole” contains some of Paul McCartney’s greatest lyrics and some of his most imaginative music. This is one of the coolest Beatles songs that is not so well known (as much as any Beatles song is “not so well known” that is.) #6 “She’s Leaving Home” is a song the people tend to either hate or love. Except for me. I guess for me it’s somewhere in between those extremes. I do enjoy it but I can see why people would find it a bit distasteful too. The song was actually not arranged by George Martin because he was not available so McCartney had Mike Leander help him instead. Another bit of trivia: The harp was played by a woman named Sheila Bromberg. She was the first female to appear on any Beatles recording. #7 “Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite!” is one of The Beatles most bizarre and surreal songs and for that I love it. #8 “Within You Without You” is a song that has caused a fair share of arguments among Beatles fans over the years. Many think it doesn’t fit with the other songs but I disagree. To me it’s meditative center of the album. It’s perfectly placed right in the middle. #9 “When I’m 64″ is another tune that people seem to like to fight about. Again, I love it. I get it. I know what McCartney was going for with songs like this (see “Honey Pie” and “Your Mother Should Know”) and I totally dig it. It’s important to realize how firmly his tongue is in his cheek with these tunes. That is definitely not to say they are “joke” songs. No. And Ween is not a “joke” band either. That’s not it at all. I guess it’s one of those things you either get or you don’t get. But if you are a fan of Ween then I definitely recommend taking a second listen to McCartney’s Beatles stuff. I see it as the seed for Ween’s approach. #10 “Lovely Rita” is one of the songs I tend to always really enjoy when I listen to this album, I think that’s partly because it’s a song that’s not included on any other Beatles release. #11 “Good Morning Good Morning” is probably the song I had the hardest time getting into and if I had to choose my least favorite, it’s probably this one. But that being said, I still like the song and enjoy listening to it which says a lot about how great I think this album is, doesn’t it? Also the rooster sound morphing into the guitar sound at the end of the song is awesome. #12 “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)” actually rocks harder than the opening track. It’s like a looser funkier version and I always love hearing it. It’s because it rocks and also because of the amazing song that I know is coming next. #13 “A Day In The Life” is the greatest song ever. Pretty sweet way to end the album, eh?
About the Author
Marvin J. Markus loves to read music trivia every day on his favorite music blog.
|
|
Vandor 64266 The Beatles Ceramic Mug, Abbey Road Black/White, 12-Ounce $9.99 More than 50 years after four lads from Liverpool made their debut; the greatest rock band of all time still excites, inspires, and shapes our world. From their hairstyle, to their clothes, to their hangouts, The Beatles set off a social and cultural revolution that is imitated to this day. From Europe to Asia to South America, more people have listened to the Beatles than any other group in histo… |
|
|
Beatles Yellow Submarine Cookie Cutter $7.19 Make your own fantastic cookies with this yellow submarine Beatles cookie cutter…. |
|
|
The Beatles Yellow Submarine Apron $15.95 Navy Blue Apron with Yellow Submarine images of each of the Beatles and the Yellow Submarine itself…. |
|
|
Abbey Road [Vinyl] $9.96 Sealed Limited Edition Mid 1990 s Reissue With Custom Sticker On Shrink Wrap Pristine Copy With The Original Tower Records 13 99 Price Tag On The Shrink Wrap… |
|
|
Abbey Road (Remastered) $9.31 BEATLES THE ABBEY ROAD (EDICION LIMITADA)… |
|
|
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band $9.31 BEATLES THE SGT. PEPPERS LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND (ED… |
|
|
Sold Out at Madison Square Garden [Blu-ray] $7.99 Studio: Sony Music Release Date: 12/16/2008… |
|
|
The Beatles Anthology Collector’s Set [VHS] $16.82 Initially broadcast as a TV miniseries to go with the series of three Anthology double-CD albums, this set of eight documentary tapes has the heft and scope of one of Ken Burns’s expansive projects. Still, unless you are either a historian or a truly committed fan, you’ll find yourself with way more material–particularly about the Beatles’ early lives as lads in Liverpool–than you’ll want t… |
|
|
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band [VHS] $3.37 If it weren’t for a couple of inspired performances, as well as the time-capsule weirdness of it all, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band would be definitively unwatchable. This misguided effort to dramatize the classic Beatles album (the Fab Four had nothing to do with it, thank goodness) also includes tunes from other Beatles LPs, strung together in lumbering ’70s rock-opera style. Peter Framp… |
|
|
The 25th Anniversary Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Concerts [Blu-ray] $26.78 Marking a quarter-century since the venerable Rock and Roll of Fame & Museum was established, an impressive assortment of musical legends gathered in Madison Square Garden to commemorate the occasion by performing some of their best-loved songs. This record of the three-night live concert event includes appearances by Mick Jagger, Billy Joel, Sting, Jeff Beck, CSN, Metallica, B.B. King, Lou Reed, … |
